Member for

8 years 11 months
Points
6659.00

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
"Anyone who disagrees with

"Anyone who disagrees with this coaching staff should be mocked with impunity", or something to that effect, a few months ago..... and now when he realizes he was wrong he just shuts down. 

 

Nice. 

 

This fanbase is not "toxic-ass", anymore than any other fanbase; on the contrary, we seem to be one of the few fanbases with a large segment that views any criticism, despite literally no meaningful results to hang your hat on, as some irrational disloyalty.

Yes, many people are stupid/nasty in any fanbase, but the vast majority of the criticism is valid.

This post right here is a bad take and more mockworthy than most of the fanbase reaction recently.

 

The opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy. It's sad that this blog is now pushing that rather than taking a critical analysis of the problems at hand. 

Some of the people who can't

Some of the people who can't have a reasonable conversation/analysis about this program are Brian and the "everything is great" turned "nothing matters, nbd, get over it" crowd. 

Literally, scary

Literally, scary close...

Similarities:

  1. September non-conference win over a ranked team that ends the season unranked (2013 Notre Dame, 2017 Florida; 2017 was worse). 
  2. As a fringe Top 25 team, suffer a blowout slaughter on the road to a Top Ten conference foe in October to drop from the rankings (2013 MSU, 2017 PSU; Even)
  3. First loss of the year: a close conference loss in October to a team we were expected to beat preseason (2013 PSU, 2017 MSU; 2017 was worse)
  4. Crushing bowl loss in a lower tier bowl game (Even; 2013 was a worse margin, 2017's collapse was epic though and we were more expected to win)
  5. Close games to non-conference teams without actually losing (2013 was definitely worse, but Air Force and Cincy games this year were still closer than they should've been). 
  6. Overperforming versus expectations against Ohio State at home but still falling short (2017 was worse, bigger margin of loss). 
  7. Blowout Minnesota at home. 
  8. Close game against Indiana that we ultimately pull out.

 

2013 did have one more loss though (road collapse at Iowa as well as home chokejob versus Nebraska, compared to the Wisconsin loss in 2017). 

 

2017 was a better season than 2013, but it wasn't too far off and similar in a lot of ways. 

Good, not great or able to

Good, not great or able to pull of the win when they could've. 

 

Safeties are weak. 

Scheme needs adjusting, too aggressive too often; prone to huge breaks on easy screen dumps. 

Okay...but South Carolina is

Okay...but South Carolina is not a 40 point a game team. They're more like a 20 point a game team and we gave up 26. 

If you of all people are on

If you of all people are on the same page with the rational people criticizing, hopefully people like Ace/Brian stop with the endless excuses. 

2016 showed a failure to

2016 showed a failure to capitalize on elite talent; 2017 showed a failure to accomplish anything as an underdog.

Harbaugh better shut up on Twitter this offseason and the team should skip Europe.

I'm not ready to call 2018 a hot seat season, but 2019 will be unless 2018 has at least 10 wins with one over OSU/MSU.

It is normal for a Jim

It is normal for a Jim Harbaugh team.

  • Michigan State 2015
  • Iowa 2016
  • Ohio State 2016
  • Florida State 2016
  • Michigan State 2017
  • South Carolina 2017

Completely unable to handle the slightest shift in momentum. 

Don't get angry at a 19 year

Don't get angry at a 19 year old sophomore who is unpaid. 

 

Get angry at an overpaid, overrated coach who is paid nearly 10 million dollars a year. 

Yes, the turnovers were huge.

Yes, the turnovers were huge. And no, this is not mostly on the defense.

 

However, the defense shares blame and did not play well enough. You can be too aggressive. When South Carolina has no conventional offense, not sure why we are bringing tons of pressure every play just to get murdered on easy screen plays. 

MSU 2017 was pretty atrocious

MSU 2017 was pretty atrocious too and the stakes were much higher. This is #2 for me. 

First time ever that I'm not

First time ever that I'm not confident Harbaugh is the answer. 

 

If he doesn't win at least 10 games in 2018, 2019 100% should be a hot seat season, especially with how easy our schedule is that year. 

Bad coaching by Don Brown on

Bad coaching by Don Brown on that drive. Continuously blitzing unnecessarily being murdered by easy screens. 

Defense is having their one

Defense is having their one drive a game where unnecessary over-aggresiveness is killing them; screens and penalties. 

Minor complaint, but with

Minor complaint, but with SC's mediocre offense, why bring the house on 1st and 10?

HORRENDOUS COACHING. Jim

HORRENDOUS COACHING. Jim Harbaugh should be fucking ashamed. 

Our WRs look even worse than

Our WRs look even worse than Peters so far, so does the OL.

 

Just a wretched offense. 

 

Harbaugh is an offensive coach...how long is it supposed to take to just get average? 

Our defense is so good, it

Our defense is so good, it makes it so much harder to watch our wretched offense. 

Especially with Michigan's

Especially with Michigan's year in and year out relative offensive weakness and defensive strength, punting is crucial. 

Disconcerting. 

Punting is the story of this

Punting is the story of this game 100% so far....not good. 

DPJ really needs to be

DPJ really needs to be smarter on punt returns. Let that one bounce, force them to stop it. Don't catch it inside the 5 when the South Carolina players are 5 yards away from you. 

Attended the Orange Bowl

Attended the Orange Bowl tonight. 

 

All I can say is that we better not be the one to ruin the perfect record!!!

Incredible end to that game.

Incredible end to that game. Congratulations to Purdue!!!

Purdue very well might be the

Purdue very well might be the second place favorite in the West next season. They get Northwestern, Iowa and Wisconsin all at home. 

 

It's somewhat possible Purdue could be 6-0 when the Buckeyes roll into town on October 20th. 

Purdue's first six games:

  1. vs. Northwestern
  2. vs. Eastern Michigan
  3. vs. Missouri
  4. vs. Boston College
  5. @ Nebraska
  6. BYE
  7. @ Illinois

They should be favored in 5 of those games and I'm not sure that Nebraska will be very good in Frost's first season; Boilermakers will want revenge against the Huskers too after the close loss this year. 

I know, I know. But they'll

I know, I know. But they'll probably be even better next year. 

They were able to grab an elusive win in Kinnick too and were competitive against Wisconsin in Madison; great start for what that program came from.

I wouldn't be shocked if Purdue defeats either Wisconsin or Ohio State next season (both come to West Lafayette). 

Also, maybe he'll do us a solid and take out the Sparties in EL :)

I am glad we don't have to

I am glad we don't have to play Purdue next year. 

 

Brohm is a great coach. Hopefully they can knock off the Buckeyes in West Lafayette next year. 

I wouldn't say that. They won

I wouldn't say that. They won the SEC East their first three years in the conference. 

Jesus, Arizona's defense is

Jesus, Arizona's defense is bad. 

 

This feels like Purdue will run away with it if Arizona can't score again before halftime. 

The Catholic diocese that BC

Haha.

Well...the Catholic diocese that BC resides in made plenty of them under the leadership of Cardinal Law, probably more than anywhere else in the US!

Game over barring an MSU 2015

Game over barring an MSU 2015 type miracle for BC. 

HUGE forced fumble. Let's go

HUGE forced fumble. Let's go Hawkeyes!

Atrocious drive. 
 
Boston

Atrocious drive. 

 

Boston College has all the momentum. 

20-20! 8 minutes to play.

20-20! 8 minutes to play. Huge stop by the Iowa defense within the 10 yard line after they gave up a bust to let BC get there on one long play. 

Oof, that guy was so open on

Oof, that guy was so open on second down. 

 

We'll see if this 3 point lead will be enough for the Iowa defense to grab a win. 20-17 Hawkeyes with just over 11 minutes to play. 

Tie game heading into the

Tie game heading into the fourth quarter at 17-17. Iowa is driving the ball, just on BC's side of midfield. 

This has turned into a very

This has turned into a very solid game. 

I looked up the recruiting

I looked up the recruiting rankings you did not. 

But if you want me to analyze it, I will.

Not sure why 8 seasons prior is your benchmark, that seems way too big. Not sure why 2008 has any effect on Harbaugh, or if it does, why it's significantly more than, say, 2006. That metric is cherrypicked specifically to paint Harbaugh in the best possible light. 

 

Realistically, a far more fair range of records to judge a new coach's situation by is the last 4 years (i.e. when your oldest possible players as a coach were freshman). 

Records in the 4 seasons prior to a coach's arrival:

  • Harbaugh/Michigan: 31-20 (0.608)
  • Kelly/Notre Dame: 26-24 (0.520)
  • Dantonio/MSU: 22-26 (0.458)
  • Saban/MSU: 14-31 (0.311)
  • Swinney/Clemson: 31-18 (0.633)
  • Saban/LSU: 26-20 (0.565)
  • Saban/Bama: 26-24 (0.520)

Harbaugh walked into the second BEST recent record of the coaches you listed (0.608), only a hair behind Dabo/Clemson (0.633), but again Dabo's recruiting talent was slightly worse and he had less money/resources.

 

So yes, I stand by my statement and have now offered much more analysis than you have. It seems Harbaugh may have walked into perhaps the best situation of those coaches and was definitely paid the most. 

Both the MSU coaches you listed walked into teams with sub .500 records over 4 years. It is beyond dumb to insinuate that Harbaugh's situation was even close to as bad as Dantonio's or Saban at MSU. 

I'm surprised how full this

I'm surprised how full this game looks in the stands. I suppose BC is closeby and Iowa always travels well. 

At least they ruined Ohio

At least they ruined Ohio State's too?

Yeah, I agree. Good slate

Yeah, I agree. Good slate this evening overall, a lot of evenly matched teams and all Power 5 matchups. 

Storylines:

  • Tom Herman is trying to avoid a losing record in his first season in Austin (Texas enters 6-6).
  • Purdue seeking its first bowl win since 2011 (last appearance in 2013 was a loss). 
  • Khalil Tate is always fun to watch. 
  • Iowa is trying to snap a five game bowl losing streak (haven't won a bowl game since the 2010 season). 
  • BC and Iowa seem very evenly matched. 
  • First games for both the SEC and Big Ten. 
Near repeat of OSU for the

Near repeat of OSU for the Hawkeyes; interception returned to the BC 5 on the third play of the game. 

17 degrees for kickoff in New

17 degrees for kickoff in New York....brrrrrr.

 

 

At this point, I think what

At this point, I think what we need more than any particular record is to win at least one game that we "shouldn't" or play above our heads.

The hardest part of the Harbaugh era hasn't been the record to rivals, or lack of Big Ten Championships, but the inability to just grab one signature win to hang our hats on. 

What's our best win? The 2015 Florida blowout was great, but the Gators were barely a Top 25 team and the stakes were low. 2016 Wisconsin was great, but a single-score, rock fight win over a 3 loss Badger team at home doesn't necessarily scream "signature win" either. 

I suppose you could compare

I suppose you could compare Dabo to Harbaugh, I was wrong about that. But Dabo definitely did not have a better situation than Harbaugh. I'd still argue Dabo's situation was slightly worse.

Including the poor end to Hoke's recruiting, Michigan's 4 year recruiting average when Harbaugh joined was #17 after signing day in 2015; Clemson's 4 year average was #19 at the same point in Dabo's career (his best class at the time was #9, which were the freshman). 

Harbaugh had two top ten recruiting classes to work with (#4 and #6), at essentially the perfect ages (Juniors and Sophomores; not old enough to lose them right away and not young enough to be ineffective).

Harbaugh was also at a blue blood program, with unparalleled fan support and (relatively) unlimited salaries to spend on coaching assistants while Dabo did not have nearly as many resources/tradition to rely on.

Dabo was also paid significantly less than Harbaugh, so he should be held to at least a slightly lower standard early in his career.   

 

I am not one of those who thinks Harbaugh should be feeling any pressure yet. I just think it's clear he does not deserve to be in the top tier of coaches conversation yet (Saban, Meyer, Swinney, etc.), even though so many on here seem to think he should be and bristle at any suggestion he's not. 

And, while he didn't walk into a great situation (i.e. Urban Meyer) it was very far from horrible. Above average in terms of recruiting talent for a rebuilding job, certainly. 

HateSparty's ascertation that Harbaugh walked into "at least" a bottom two situation on his list is beyond dumb. Harbaugh had an infinitely superior position than both the MSU coaches on the list. Probably slightly better than Dabo, if not even, and about even with Kelly too. 

Cactus Bowl in Phoenix last

Cactus Bowl in Phoenix last night (UCLA and Kansas State) was the first decently attended game I've seen. 

You can't compare him to

You can't compare him to Dantonio, Saban at MSU or Swinney. Harbaugh had a much better situation to walk into than all of those. 

 

The most appropriate comparison is probably to Kelly, but I'd say that Saban at LSU/Bama are also fair comparisons.

Not sure if it's a good or bad thing that Harbaugh is the same as Kelly...

Anyone who refers to 2017 as

Anyone who refers to 2017 as a failure to raise the ceiling is dumb.

 

Anyone who doesn't see how Harbaugh failed in 2016 in similarly dumb. 2016 is his worst season as a Michigan head coach and it's not close. 

Interesting

Interesting topic. 

Realistically, in terms of football, the goals/standards of success should be as follows:

  • 0.500 record vs. Ohio State (1 out of 2 games on average)
  • 0.667 record vs. Penn State (2 out of 3 games on average)
  • 0.750 record vs. Michigan State (3 out of 4 games on average)
  • Win the East Division at least once every 4 years (every player goes to Indy at least once). 
  • 2-3 Big Ten Titles per decade, along with 2-3 playoff appearances per decade. 
  • Winning record in bowl games. 
  • No scandals. 
  • Stronger than average academics.

 

That's decent, but not great.

That's decent, but not great. For the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, we had way more Michigan fans there. To me, this reads that Michigan fans are pulling their normal weight but not excited about this game or location in particular. 

 

You also have to count that a few thousand UM fans will buy from the venue directly or secondary seats. Especially because the Outback bowl is especially shitty in its seat allotment policy (the school seats are entirely in the endzones, with essentially zero sideline seats)

 

I'd imagine the crowd will be 10-15k Michigan fans, 15-20k South Carolina fans (closer, bigger game relative for them, haven't been to Florida three years in a row), and about 5k neutral fans from the local area. 

 

35-45k total attendance, including the stadium staff, team staffs, band/cheer from both teams. 

Or 2015. 

Or 2015.