Member for

13 years 2 months
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Recent Comments

Date Title Body
So sad and sorry for your

So sad and sorry for your loss.  I cannot imagine what you and your family must be feeling.  Thank you for sharing your perspective for the rest of our benefit.  

right...

...but that doesn't mean he couldn't make greg jackson, for example, his D-coordinator at MD, right?

Also TBD

EDIT: wrong thread.  Mods pls delete k thx thx

Also TBD

whether he will poach any others from our defensive staff for his D-coordinator job (or others) at MD.  Ugh.

injuries

injuries

no, no, just kidding, yes I don't actually wish to see 18-22 year olds actually get injured....yes, I know it's just a game...

I'll show myself out, thanks

Hrm. Hadnt realize that. May

Hrm. Hadnt realize that. May just find another local brew then

And God bless the NY bodegas

And God bless the NY bodegas that now make it their mission to stock every random local beer in the tristate area so you can try them all!

Try blue point toasted lager.

Try blue point toasted lager. It has brought UM a win when I drank it throughout the past few games (and enjoying more tonight of course)

Yes

The reason for the question was that I read the article and found it to be in contrast to information I'd heard previously.  

Basically, the article contradicts both the message I'd heard and and the rankings on the conference website, so I asked the question looking for something definitive.  Not sure if anything like that exists (the conference rules don't clarify which "record" they refer to really) but thought it was worth a shot

Does "record" = Conference record or overall record?

I have heard mixed messages on which record would be applied by the B1G in the tie-breaker.  Obviously Dienhart wrote the article under the premise that it's only conference record, but the "standings" section of the Big Ten website implies it's overall record (http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/standings/m-footbl-standings.html).

Anyone heard anything definitive (other than just assuming Dienhart is correct obviously)?

Checked back on where we were ~4.5 years ago

Via that thread and, damn, wish I'd known then we were gonna get here now.

+1 Insightful

+1 Insightful

Looked up the San Jose state

Looked up the San Jose state schedule after reading this and realized Borges just had to watch Michigan tape to scout their game against Oregon State, then they got beaten by the team M handled easily.

Not onlu that but SJSU still has UNLV and BYU, on the schedule! Probably not fun days ahead even if he will be watching the defense not the offense.

Saw the pope

Now drinking scotch... can't really complain so much

In the NATION

yes yes, not just the state of Michigan

Brooklyn summer ale

Just biding my time until I need to switch to something harder to keep warm!

Phillies don't belong on this list

they just won the world series in 2008 and won their division 5 years in a row.  They're rebuilding now but not in that category at all

Absolutely

Great guy with an extraordinary devotion to the university.  Sad to see him go as he was a constant source of positive energy and moved the program in the right direction academically and in terms of recruiting talent. 

Wish he had succeeded more on the field, and sad to see him go.

In case you guys didn't see

Jon Runyan Jr.'s team high school team won the PA state championship for his group, so little Jon must be doing something right!

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/high_school/20131216_St__Joe_s_Prep_captures_Class_AAAA_football_crown.html

woooo!!!

actually infinite percent more voting, but we won't be picky since we're so happy

That might be on the low side

Serious question though - what do you you personally get out of telling everyone you're dropping your season tickets so much?  Why do you want to keep talking about it?

Everyone has their own methods for dealing with disappointment, and this season has certainly been disappointing, but there just doesn't seem to be a lot in it for you.

 

it's a nice straw man

but no one is actually angry at the people who are dropping their season tickets. 

No one really cares that you are taking your ball and going home. Not us, not the athletic department, no one. 

 

Not sure why the callout

I don't think SC's or anyone else's disagreements mean that they don't appreciate the vast knowledge you, Brian, have about Michigan football from watching and studying it.  So why take the comments so personally? SC's posts add quite a bit of value to this site, and the debate is not as black and white as "I'm on this side of the fence you're on that side." It's helpful to have opposing points of view for me, at least. 

And where does it get us if everyone agrees anyway?  We all clamor more for Borges to be fired?  Clearly part of the problem is execution and part of the problem is they're doing something difficult.  When an offense performs like M has the past few games no one is really "dying on Borges Hill," even SC.  The debate is really about where the coaches failed - in playcalls or preparing the players to execute hard assignments ahead of time. 

You're right that it's not

You're right that it's not unheard of, but it's still not a very good foundation to build a "Hoke doesn't develop top tier talent" on.

Power football still wins

It seems to me that every team that has won the national championship has controlled the line of scrimmage with a physical attack.  Even the spread teams that have won the national championship (Florida, Auburn, Texas to some degree) did it with physical, downhill rushing QBs and an offensive line that could run over people. 

I don't mean to say running a spread couldn't work, but I think the Stanford-Oregon game does indicate that there is nothing inherently wrong with power offense (I hate the pejorative term Manball).  We just need to pick an identity and stick with it - that has been the problem lately not the move away from the spread.

next year

next year

This

Makes little sense on a few levels. First, Harbaugh is no longer there. Second, we are recruiting on Harbaugh levels. Third, you don't know that about Hoke based on anything other than his answers to dumb press conference questions.

This game should be encouraging to everyone that the program is headed in the right direction.

thank you

This is pretty much the call to reason I was hoping to read.  While no one is happy with performances like Saturday's, I see this team on a very upward trajectory, mainly due to recruiting and the "crater" where the senior class should be.  Firing is the easy part of the equation, but unless there is someone better suited for the job who those people think would realistically take the job and they can name them, it's only half an argument. 

I had a lot of hope for this year that obviously isn't going to be fulfilled, but the idea of going through yet another coaching change is completely unpalatable.  Borges bears much fo the blame for the performance this year, but I also think the offense-without-an-identity is partially due to the fact that he ran a spread (which we all applauded) for 2 years.  It's technically year 3, but really only year 1 in the Borges system.  They should still be farther along, but that with the youth should at least cast doubt on the "he needs to be fired immediately" argument. 

Brian's point about transitions is the one everyone seems to forget. - they take time.  Let the guy prove he can't win with his own class of seniors before jumping back into the cesspool of coaching changes.

Even if it is prescient

Which I don't think it is, it still sucks

question

do you think the problem is running from under center or the fact that our offensive line didn't play very well in that game?  Is the blocking that different?

This is exactly correct

Every discussion on this forum seems to begin with the underlying premise that what Brian says is gospel, so disagreeing with him takes an incredible amount of effort.  There is also seems to be a general feeling that not running the spread is a choice that could only rationally made by people who lack the capacity for abstract thought and hate knowledge and learning - it doesn't exactly foster a positive environment.

I personally have decided to diversify my sources of M football information and take Brian's post for what they are - informed editorials with identifiable biases.

EDIT: and I should be clear that I very much appreciate and respect this blog and the content providers here.  My knowledge of the players and football concepts is worlds higher than it was when I started reading 4 years ago. 

Absolutely

And I admire them more for their persistence. I just don't have the energy to fight the overwhelming negativity most of the board and front page has generated recently. Those two posters have done more than their share.

And thanks to the OP for posting this. SC in particularly has been far more well thought out and far more helpfully than nearly everyone on the Borges hatred bandwagon.

Correction

Jon Runyan Jr. goes to St. Joseph's Prep, and it looks like John Reid also goes there.

Also, as I mentioned in the Runyan thread Victor Hobson was also a prep guy.

"Manball" is the accepted

"Manball" is the accepted opposite of spread so he mentioned it by contradiction.

The difference of opinion I have, I guess, is that I don't see any basis for the coaches "failure to appreciate what tempo changes accomplish." I think they appreciate it but choose to focus their attention elsewhere.

Also, generally "tempo" is a synonym for spread and implying that a lack of tempo is a program wide problem is imposing an inherent bias that (1) the spread is an inherently better system and (2) the coaches are stuck in the Stone Age for not employing the spread. I'm fine with the preference but dislike the idea that anyone who prefers power football is inherently either out-intelligenced or hopelessly stuck in the past.

And I haven't seen the excitement in for the system. I think he has been excited about the recruiting but very critical of the system.

this paragraph

this quoted paragraph below is a fairly strong rebuke of the entire program, basically for not running the spread.  It is prominently displayed at the beginning of the UFR and states that Michigan has a "whole program issue" because they have trouble with Indiana's offense at the moment.  My point is there are a number of reasons they had trouble with the offense, and not running a jet tempo spread may contribute but doesn't constitute a program level issue. 

To me the issue goes deeper than Mattison. This is a whole-program issue, one that I think we all wondered about when Michigan hired a guy who was all about manball. If Michigan can't get a two-minute drill executed in under eight minutes, how can we take the idea that Michigan is comfortable at high pace seriously? They suck at it on offense; they suck at it on defense. This goes back to the guy in charge.

 

So far so good

I think I don't rank high enough and so have avoided the choke using the force so far :)

Manball

Is there anything wrong with the program that we can't blame on "manball"?  Do you think there might be other more important issues besides the fact that they don't go at jet speed on offense and so are used to practicing against that? It seems that indiana puts up points against everyone, not just those teams that spend time practicing at warp speed.

We are perfectly capable of being a very good team without running the spread.  Just because it's new and fun doesn't mean the coaches are idiots for not running it. 

Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebels' hidden fort!

Even granting that you can

Even granting that you can find a trend from a 6-1 record so far this year, the outlook for this team is more positive for the next 3 years than it has been at any point since 2006 or 2007. The "trend" is definitely positive.

When a coach is recruiting like Hoke et al., you let them prove they can't manage a team before making assumptions based on his record with a team that still isn't really his guys and has with very few upperclassmen on the 2 deep from the previous staff. Those last 2 points are related, it only seems like it's Hoke's team now because no one is left from RichRod's classes who would be playing.

One more question

How smart do you think les miles is and how smart does he sound in press conferences?

The levels are

Your complete lack of any rational basis for calling him dumb. He actually makes quick intelligent decisions and answers questions in press conferences quite well, much better than RichRod who put his foot in his mouth every other week.

Yet you have the gall to call the guy stupid based on what exactly? Have you seen Alabama and it's "antiquated philosophy" an how far it got them.

The ceiling is based 99.9% on recruiting, not how well you can teach a zone read. All the teams at an elite level year in and year out recruit like crazy.

The guy also happened to take a 7-5 team that got blown out of the gator bowl to 11 wins and the sugar bowl the very next year too, but somehow the press conference responses are more important.

Absolutely

A few people kept the faith last week. Looking forward to some some apologies for the apologists

Fire Borges!!!! He knew we

Fire Borges!!!! He knew we could do this all along!!!

Burn in firey moooordooooorrrrrr!!!!

also I think it's at 3:30 not

also I think it's at 3:30 not 5pm

Really hoping this guy gets

Really hoping this guy gets banned soon. Not funny or helpful or intelligent. Just stupid and annoying for the sake of it.

Hindsight

You're of course entitled to complain about the playcalling in OT, but I don't think you should pretend it isn't monday morning quarterbacking.  Maybe you'd like to see him be more aggressive, and certainly with hindsight you would, but the strategy is, a priori, easily defensible. 

Like I said above, Mark Richt did the exact same thing against Tennessee in OT that we did against PSU, and then no one mocked him mercilessly because his kicker made the FG...

The fact that something

The fact that something worked once, and that that one time was the only time you tried it, certainly means that it's a defensible strategy.

It may not be the best, depending on your perspective, but had Gibbon's made the field goal no one would have complained, just like everyone forgot after the sugar bowl and UGA's OT win over Tennessee the week before, where they did exactly the same thing.

I agree

the "sheep" comment is not really correct.  The blog is not full of sheep generally (although Brian's opinion is generally taken as gospel, which was the point there), but the people who are prone to overreact and all agree are the ones who post in times of woe and want such as these.  People are looking for answers, and Brian sells the only blog that's got em (sort of).

fair enough

I think I did that in the post above.  Could have been stated better

Gotcha

I think we can all agree with your last sentence.  And perhaps I was too sensitive in thinking your comment was directed at me.

To be clear also, I didn't call everyone sheep for enjoying the content of the site (and my point could have been better stated).  I actually think there are some of us who read this site regularly and think that while Borges is probably not the best, he is definitely not the worst OC out there, and firing him mid-season makes no sense, so it isn't full of sheep.

Having said that, this place does sound like an echo chamber in times of stress (new coach, 4OT loss, etc.) because everyone (A) thinks generally what Brian thinks because he watches the games more closely than anyone save SC and (B) even those who disagree don't bother to post because "let's let cooler heads prevail" can only be said so many ways.  I agree with Brian on 90% of issues (although I can't get as worked up about ads in the stadium) and I trust his judgement for obvious reasons when evaluating players (namely that I don't know sh*t). 

The point we call all agree on is it's nice to have SC providing another informed perspective on the games, players and coaches. 

The masses were also pretty

The masses were also pretty certain Hoke was a terrible hire so I'd be careful about that.

Also, my point is that it's not actually "the masses" it only sounds that way because this is a blog full of sheep.