ross03

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Date	Title	Body
16 weeks 3 days ago	I did too, at first	I love Smith's film.   He simply dominates.  I hear it's against poor competition, but he does everything I'd expect him to do against that level of competition.   The competition may be bad but in some of those he takes pretty significant hits and keeps churning out tough yards.  It's not like he had gigantic holes to run through and simply ran past everyone (actually that's what I thought when I watched Ty Issac's video - he never gets touched at the LOS and has massive holes to run through so I found it hard to judge his ability other than speed).   A solid hit from poor competition is still a solid hit, and he deals with those without any problem.  I think speed if too often overrated (see guys like Terrell Davis, Emmitt Smith, M. Clarett, and Mike Hart none of whom were particulary fast).  Speed can make an amazing back elite, but it can't find a hole or get that 2 extra yards after contact.   I think Smith has great potential.   I may be wrong as I'm no expert but I think he's an absolute steal. My first take on Green from his Junior video was Kevin Grady 2.0.   I remember seeing Grady's video and being worried that he didn't have much vision or ability to make people miss.  He trucked people and ran through contact fine but I worried that wouldn't translate to college (and unfortunately I was correct as oppossed to other guys I've been dead wrong about).  That was my first assessment of Green too.   Then I saw his senior video and my mind has changed.   He finds every hole, break tackles and seems to have good if not great speed.   It's a highlight reel so I take it with a grain of salt, but compared to his junior highlights he just looks amazing. I'm really excited as I think we have 2 backs with really great potential - hopefully 1 or both are as good as they look to my untrained eye.  Both seem dedicated to competing and if they push each other to be better it's all the better.
17 weeks 9 hours ago	Close	According to this officiating site it's similar to an out-of-bounds call.  It doesn't matter if the defender's tip is what the real cause of it going into the back court.  Once Stauskas touched it in the front court which he appears to do then it's him "causing" the ball backcourt.  And therefore Michigan cannot touch it again before a Purdue player.   It was very close as the ball was pretty much at/near the line but hard to say the official was wrong   http://forum.officiating.com/basketball/51471-ncaa-back-court-rule-meani...
24 weeks 1 day ago	23%	600K raise is 23% assuming my quick math was correct.  I agree that a 23% isn't insignificant.  I'd leave my current company for a 23% raise even though I'm relatively happy here.   I'm surprised people are acting like it's chump change or something.
27 weeks 2 days ago	Bielfeldt	I thought Bielfeldt looked pretty good in limited minutes.  He's a solid defender and rebounder and may be as good or better than McLimans especially if we need D and rebounding over offense. Having depth and options is phenomenal.  I think what Coach B. has done with no depth over the last few years is a testament to how good a coach he is.  Same coaching with talent and depth could be scary for other teams out there.
27 weeks 3 days ago	Way too early	Way to early to worry about that.  There is a good chance, but on the positive side he may not have quite the money incentive that other players would have considering Big Dog (hopefully) still has $$ from his NBA days.  Let's enjoy his growth and worry about that in April after win with the championship :)
27 weeks 3 days ago	Good Points	But I'd counter with the fact that Michigan shot an unusually high % from the field - 60% overall and 62% from 3.   That's unlikely to stay that high especially on back-to-back nights.  I also thought IUPUI shot a high percentage in part due to poor defensive rotation on Michigan's part that got ironed out a bit as the game went on.   Considering the youth on the team it's entirely possible they will have defensive issues.   I think talent etc. take over and they win handily, but a 40 point blowout may not be in the cards. Then again if Clev. St. doesn't have good depth they may get run out of the gym.  Having a deep bench for once will allow M to keep guys fresh which should allow them to score in transition and hit their 3's more consistently in the second halves of games.
28 weeks 16 hours ago	Sam Gordon	My sources say it's Sam Gordon.  I hear she will be an early enroll as well.  Too bad that won't happen for another 7 years as we could use a speed back that can go all Road Runner with ESSSS   EEEEE    SEEEE    speed.
28 weeks 16 hours ago	Happy	I'm just happy to see that Michigan Fandom stays with us when we become Zombies.  I can live (or die) with that.
29 weeks 3 days ago	Reasons for optimism	I think there are a few reasons for optimism regarding this team being ranked about right (as far as often wildly inaccurate pre-season polls can be anyway). 1.  Burke - he's very talented and should be better.  He wore down last year which led to the dropoff.  He was still very green and made a lot of Freshman mistakes.  It's possible he regresses but I'm doubting it. 2.  Hardaway - he just wasn't right most of last year.  I think he's more likely to have a year at least as good as his Fresh. year than he is to have a year like last year.  I think with more talent around him he'll relax a bit and play better 3.  Rebounding - we may actually be able to get a few this year.    4. Less one dimensional with more depth.  What Beilein did with that group was amazing.  We were small, couldn't rebound and had to play everyone far too many minutes.  Unless all the incoming Frosh are poor we should have more depth, more lineup possibilities to match up to the competition.  That puts less pressure on guys like Burke and Hardaway which should make them better.   Of course anything can happen.  Most didn't see M missing the tournament when Manny was returning, but we lost good role players and lacked chemistry.  So far reports are good regarding that, and if a single player is off we have a lot more options with this group.   I'm pretty excited to see this group and I think they have a really good shot at winning the Big 10.
30 weeks 16 hours ago	Yes - so confusing	Because you read the headline and thought it was something else...? I mean really when the Title is clear does having an OT:  before it really add anything?   pet peeve.  end rant.
31 weeks 1 day ago	Pee Wee	On the fantastic clock management play is that coach allowed to be all the way out in the middle of the field escorting his players off the field?   I've never seen that outside Pee Wee ball maybe.   I've seen coaches a few steps in and the refs sort of ignoring it, but never all the way in the middle of the field.
31 weeks 2 days ago	First Choice?	Interesting.  Agree that I really don't care.  I'm not sure I buy that MSU was "really his first choice the whole time" thing.  Since a preferred walk-on pays their own way and doesn't count against anything wouldn't Dantonio have taken him in a heartbeat as a walk-on?
32 weeks 1 day ago	All the guards	Wow - Kentuky says All Your Top 5 Guards Are Belong to Us. 3 guards all in the top 5.   Not sure how many slots they have but they are in on #1 Parker (if they take him from Sparty too that'd be ok) and other top 10 guys as well.  Crazy.
32 weeks 2 days ago	Maybe	If they give up 7.4 yards per play in every game like they did here then his call was correct by .4yards of expected field position.  Scary thought, but maybe he figured they'd have a better chance of holding 2 plays under 8 yards than 3 under 15.
32 weeks 6 days ago	Agree	He needs to cut it up and get 2 or sometimes a Sam will appear and he'd get more He seems to lack patience unless its to dans outside. When they showed his highlights from last year he looks like a different back. A few of those runs lacked holes as well but he was patient when needed and decisive when it was Noth South time
32 weeks 6 days ago	Never get that	Didn't matter but looked like Denard was in. When his elbow hit shadow of the ball is ever the line and you can see from other shadows that they are direct overhead to slightly behind But even if not it's the one foot line not one yard line. Why don't they review that as well and move the ball? Can be the difference.
33 weeks 3 days ago	Leadership	I've got to believe the players love playing for Borges.  I think one of the things the best leaders do is acknowledge their own mistakes and try to improve them.  It's simply leadership by example.  It also shows them that he has enough confidence in his own ability that he can air his mistakes for them to see.  Leaders that act like they are infallible are a huge turn-off.  When Borges is able to do that it has to mean more to the players when he shows them their mistakes. I think that's one area guys like Charlie Weis fail.  They are so strongly entrenched in their "superiority" (either out of arrogance or masking insecurities) that they can't admit mistakes or look internally at how they might improve.  This in-turn alienates players and you end up with talented players that don't truly give 100%
33 weeks 4 days ago	Chemistry	If he was a Chemistry teacher I would have seen through this ruse...but since it's math maybe it's legit
34 weeks 17 hours ago	ND	I don't think ND is that hot chick you can't have any more. She's more like that chick that you had that was very hot, but then became that crazy chick that still thought she was amazing but really just drove you batshit crazy.  But at the same time you kept her around because of the crazy good times you'd have every so often and you still got some street cred from you buddies cause she was still pretty hot.
34 weeks 1 day ago	the League	<blockquote>Caveat: against a team more likely to screw with your linebackers in a play action game this may go more poorly. ND quickly committed to the run in this game. Teams that can throw a bit are going to make it harder on these guys.</blockquote>   Looks like we picked the right year to be in the League of Extordinarily Sucky QBs     aw - blockquote fail.  need tool bar for types like me to quote
34 weeks 3 days ago	EDBS	Not a fan, but it absolutely kills EDSBS.  I hadn't realized it was SB Nation but it had a unique layout that just said EDSBS.  Maybe it's just me, but it just "looked like EDSBS".   Now it looks generic.
34 weeks 3 days ago	No need	My sources say Alabama is trading Saban to Arkansas for John L. plus a co-ed to be named later.   John L. almost blew the deal by letting the cat out of the bag when talking about "his Alabama team".   Book it.
34 weeks 3 days ago	As I said	that's the point of a trick play - to catch them off guard.  It worked here except ND reacted so quickly and Smith panicked.  Throwing to a tall pass catching tight end would be a great play.  Not surprising at all, but a good call.   Either a fade or crossing rub routes might have worked.  Unfortunately Denard is terrible at touch fade passes and any type of slant/crossing route is always an adventure.   I think he's just as likely to throw an interception trying as V. Smith was in this situation.  Like I said, Vince Smith is an intelligent Senior and I think almost every time would have known to toss that.  Unfortunately this game was just one of those games where he didn't.  If V. Smith simply throws it away and we run 2 "normal" plays I doubt there are so many freaking out about Borges on this play.    Again I'd rather be aggressive sometimes and fail sometimes than always go the predictable route. I'm sure if we had stopped T. Rees on that touchdown run and won the game the Domers would have freaked out about that call too.  It was a good aggressive call that used the element of surprise.  If our linebackers blew it up it's still not a bad call - aggressive sometimes pays off big and sometimes bites you in the ass.
34 weeks 3 days ago	This	I don't understand all the hand wringing over the playcall. I understand that the offense was working and it was first down.  That's the least expected time for that play, which is when it's most likely to work.  I'm sure the coaches realize Smith isn't Joe Montana - hence the backup running back position.   I'm sure they also realize he's a Senior and should know that that's a play that is either there or you throw it away.   He panicked and threw a crap pass.  Obviously that's the downside.   But I'm betting 99% of the time he knows to throw that away if it's not there.   Then they have 2 more downs to get the TD.   I'm sure it's exactly because the offense was working that Borges through he could get away with it.   I'd rather take a few chances like that than call Rock, Rock, Rock and kick a field goal.  For years we had to hear how awful those decisions were.  Now we have someone that's not massively risk averse and he gets skewered.   I thought he made a few poor calls and agree he's a bit stubborn with sometimes not taking what the defense gives him but Christ fans can be a whiny bunch.   I can't think of a single game I've watched where there weren't at least some calls that left me scratching my head - guess that's why I'm not an OC.
35 weeks 1 day ago	Confused	I'm confused by what Mattison was doing with his packages.   With a lack of experience on the interior I would have thought he'd try to let guys like Washington and Campbell get more snaps rather than fewer. If he's searching for guys that can play inside going small wouldn't seem likely to show much against such a weak front.   If he knew he could get away with it due to a weak front and wanted speed it still seems like he'd try to get Q and Campbell more reps to hopefully improve. My fear is Campbell is a lost cause and QW is slowly progressing so they are talking him up hoping that praise helps him elevate his game.  In that scenario it is likely all the pre-season praise for Campbell was the same thing but it didn't work.   God I hope I'm wrong and Mattison just wanted to rest those 2 a bit.      Who knows.  Let's hope Mattison has some of that magic left to get this line to improve and play above their heads going forward.
35 weeks 2 days ago	Thanks	That's great it hit the goal.  Thanks for posting the reminders.  I'm definitely the type that needs that 3rd time to finally take the time to contribute.     And for Mr. Odoms, if he's still reading these boards:  way to go.  It's great to see someone so passionate about their community trying to make a difference.  I loved watching you play, but what you are trying to do now is far more important.  Best of luck!
36 weeks 1 day ago	Interesting	I find this very interesting.  Maybe this explains why Borges continued to run from under center last year despite it not working well as Brian pointed out several times.   If he realized Denard was a much better passer out of the I then it would make sense to run out of that formation some as well - otherwise it's a sure tip of run vs. pass.
36 weeks 2 days ago	thanks - it's been a long	thanks - it's been a long time so maybe that wasnt' the place, or maybe I just don't remember my rendition of Sweet Caroline after a really really bad bender...
36 weeks 2 days ago	CUBS AC/Colonial Lanes	It's been a long time but if I recall CUBS AC had a lot of TVs with sound and the expansion tent that didn't get too ridiculously crowded (if I'm remembering the right place - had to google map it but remember it being around Industrial so think that's the place).   Perhaps someone else can comment on its merits or lack thereof as another possibility.
36 weeks 3 days ago	Fair enough	I agree that may have been a hold although I recall many much worse that didn't get called either so I could go either way.    On the other hand, while perfect execution may indeed be worth 5+ yards, I don't think it qualifies as Crime Against ManPanda level as many very good offenses average 5 per carry.  I'd call it more average execution versus perfect execution or Crime Against Man Panda.   I remember many many 5 yard gains from Mike Hart and Co. with teams designed to block man v. man.  If we hit 5 yards every time we ran the RB I'd be ecstatic.

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