I think Bolden is good, don't get me wrong. But I think Gedeon probably has more upside, and entering his Junior year, will be too good to keep off the field. There'll be a lot of split time...I'm just really high on Gedeon.
Navy: I used to love Paul Johnson's flexbone offense there, and wished we had seriously considered him in 2008. They're also so easy to root for. It's literally watching American heroes beating up on Notre Dame with the most fun offense in all of football. What's not to like?
Vanderbilt: I live in Nashville and work for the Vandy medical center. I've gone to a bunch of games since moving here 3 years ago, and got to experience the height of the James Franklin experience. Zac Stacy and Jordan Matthews were really fun to watch, plus it's easy to root for the nerd school of the SEC. The Derek Mason era is going to be rough, but I suppose I'm a fan for life at this point...
This is the only Michigan athletics thing I have ever had a personal connection on, but the day before he accepted the job, my sister-in-law was in New York with some Amway bigwigs, and she found herself eating lunch with Hackett as part of the excursion.
Her boss told her as they were walking to the restaurant that Jim was the CEO of Steelcase, and had an important decision to make soon, but didn't elaborate. It didn't come up over lunch.
So my theory is he was approached and took some time to think it over, rather than he approached Schlissel.
He may have said something like "Uh, sure, I guess," but that evaporated over two days. Go back and check the coaching fiasco posts from 2011.
This time, there is a unified front, an organized plan, no phumphering around, and no serious alternative candidates. As far as the rumor mill goes, Hoke was pretty sure the job was his all along in late 2010/2011.
Nothing from 2011 suggests a serious effort by Brandon to get Harbaugh.
I don't think that many, although the teams they have faced have been incapable of big offensive plays because they are terrible.
The only team to consistently take shots was Notre Dame. There were drives that were seemingly built out of the Tecmo Super Bowl playbook, where Rees just stepped back, and hucked the ball downfield. The plays rarely worked, but the receivers tended to be open, or would draw a PI/holding penalty from Dennard (who did nothing but commit penalties that game).
I agree with Mathlete: the key to this game is hitting those big plays, and forcing the MSU DB's to play against our talented receivers in space. We'll either draw penalties, or Gallon and Funchess will chew up yardage. This also requires Gardner to be solid, or at least Rees-ian in his passes (overthrowing everyone is preferable to turnovers).
ND had a fine gameplan against MSU (the best of any of their opponents by far), and it worked. It wasn't pretty, but you could see they were never panicked, and they simply bled MSU dry over the course of the game. It was punt-punt-punt for a while, but ND never got impatient, didn't make too many bonehead mistakes, and left with a fairly comfortable victory. That's the key.
My biggest concern is that the ND d-line was nigh on dominant throughout that whole game, and I don't know that we have that kind of talent up front to kill drives dead on the reg.
Anybody trolling this thread looking for a friendly Nashville establishment, a small (but hopefully growing) contingent of us meet at Bar Louie in the Gulch. They have a decent beer selection, are not overrun with SEC fans, have many TVs, and the managers are Michigan grads.
They're very amenable, and when our crowd is big enough, they'll stick us in a private room.
Oh, and sometimes the awesome cook who lived in Sterling Heights will give us free nachos. Because he's awesome.
Just culling from the dankest nugs of the shittiest fanbase in all of sports. Misogyny, victim blaming, and minimization ahoy!
A selection of comments from various Eleven Warriors stories about the Hyde incident (horrific grammar and spelling obviously not mine):
"The bitch is the agressor, but if Drayer's story is correct then [Hyde will] probably miss a couple games."
"Anyway in reference to hitting a chick there are exceptions."
"I hate the fact that he might have thrown away his season. There's very few circumstances when hitting a female is warranted"
"I hate when women assault a man, then hide behind their gender when there might be consequences."
"The fact that she went on vacation immediately AFTER that shows that the ordeal couldn't have been that serious."
"It was so serious that she put a young mans future in jepoardy yet she couldnt delay her vacation?"
"How about just be held accountable for her actions?"
"Women should really think about what they do or say about crying assault or rape."
"I think too many times we give the female species "free passes" on things of this nature."
"I thing she was entitled to get slapped."
As a social worker who has worked with male perpetrators of domestic violence...this is the kind of shit that they say all of the time. Always her fault.
In summation: fuck Ohio State forever and ever. And if you say or think any of these things, fuck you too.
Dipping is one of those things that is awful and disgusting, and you can't rationalize doing it, but you catch yourself doing it and enjoying it for no good reason.
Kind of like housing a large pizza or a dozen donuts by yourself.
What I'm saying is Kansas should have to self report every time Charlie Weis takes down a Hot N Ready by himself.
I so wish PSU was stuck with Air Force this week instead of Navy. Navy's defense is horrific, and their triple option is not as fearsome as it has once been (I still chose Navy in my Pick em, because seriously, fuck Penn State).
I think AF would probably drub PSU by two or three scores.
I think the offense is going to have a lot of fun on Saturday.
Air Force wasn't equipped to really stymie Idaho State (who was playing catch up for the whole game), so I don't think they have a prayer against Fitz or Denard. I think Denard senses it too. There was a twinkle in his eye at the end of that clip.
And we have two kickers, but they're both normal college kickers. So, you know, not Jason Elam or Sebastian Janikowski...
Also nobody is blowing Saban's oversigning out of proportion. Except Saban. And the University of Alabama. You know, by redacting their scholarship numbers for CERTAINLY NO NEFARIOUS REASON.
1) I expect Rawls to look Rawlsian. He will run forward into a mess of Crimson giants, and will sometimes get forward yards and sometimes not. Michigan will mix in Smith and probably Hayes. Dee Hart will look at our sideline with yearning.
2) Denard will probably break a run or two, but it's more important for him to pass. If he went to Alabama and all you did was use him as a CB and PR, that would be sad. Shame on fake alternate universe Alabama.
3) Does any team have faith on hitting a 52 yard field goal for the win? I mean, other than the Oakland Raiders. That is a silly question.
4) Your DB situation might be worse than Michigan's DB situation, but only based on experience, and it is definitely worse than our LB situation...which is not a situation, unless you define situation as "a position where you have experience, talent, and depth." Our D-line will not be very good, however.
5) One that won't be measurable in our first game against Alabama, I would expect. Kovacs will probably break into your backfield a couple of times, as will Jake Ryan, but I don't know how much we can glean from this. Your offense, like all SEC offenses, is kind of boring, but that's not to say it's ineffective. Pounding the ball into the middle of our line will probably be good enough, and your speed at WR is...speedy.
6) I expect to have 2 offensive TD's in the game.
7) He's a 5th year senior who was well-hyped during his recruitment oh so many years ago. He'll be fine.
8) Since this wasn't a huge problem last year, especially toward the end of the year, no, mental mistakes are not my concern going into this game.
9) I'm glad you would take Kovacs, but Saban would have pushed him out years ago. As for our CB's playing on an island...maybe? JT Floyd is born again hard, and Countess has a good up-side, but neither are faster than your slowest WR. Still, with good technique...I don't know.
10) Sometimes?
11) I think Denard improved to a point with his passing, but how that shows up on the field is a big unknown. He was getting better as the year went on in 2011, however (Sugar Bowl notwithstanding). He does less than good when he's being pressured, so that bodes great for this game!
12) Roundtree, Gallon, and Dileo all have good hands, but are tiny. The rest are untested or freshmen. Also Devin Gardner exists, but I don't know anything about his hands other than that high school clip that Brian posted earlier of Devin making silly catches.
13) We don't have an endless stream of 5-star death machines, if that's your question. We have barely a functional starting lineup, and then freshmen. It probably won't be good.
14) That is not a question. Also, Arizona is going to own, so there.
So I took it upon myself to create a website and Twitter feed for Nashville Michigan fans, just so you know where to watch the games on any given week.
Now all 12 games this year will have an official watching location, and I hope some Nashville based fans see this and come out. I really want to reinvigorate the alumni base in the area!
The place is called Benchmark, and it's on 21st, across the street from the north end of Vanderbilt.
However, they're only doing 6 games there, and we have to share the bar with Alabama and Nebraska alumni clubs (the U of M spirit club here is...lame), so I'm trying to work out another place to watch the remaining games/the games I don't want to watch with Bama or Nebraska fans.
There are a couple of groups on Facebook you can keep an eye on.
To any Nashville Michigan fans that don't live in the nightmarish hellscape that is Green Hills, the U of M Nashville Spirit Club posted today on their facebook that Benchmark on 21st is the new game-day watching locale.
Full address: 204 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN
Best news: it's easily walkable from my apartment.
Is the Crow's Nest the only place in Nashville for Michigan football? I know the official bar (as of last year) was the Frayed Knot (yuk yuk), but that has since closed.
I mean, I'll drive out to the Crow's Nest, but Green Hills suuuuucks.
On Wunderground, the only weather site worth visiting, the forecast isn't quite so doom and gloom:
Partly sunny through mid morning...then becoming mostly cloudy. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs 89 to 93...with a heat index around 95. Light and variable winds...becoming west 5 to 15 mph...then turning to south late. Chance of rain 20 percent.
The gourmand side of me: We have purchased a 10lb pork tenderloin, and will lovingly marinate it in lemon and oil before rubbing it gently with herbs and salt and stuffing each thickly sliced chop with proscuttio, pepperoni, and provalone and grilling it over charcoal and applewood chips.
A fresh apple slaw will present a delicate compliment to the heavier pork dish, and a cold pasta salad will suit the balmy temperatures well.
The "forever an undergrad" side of me: I also can't wait to clumsily stuff handfuls of Cheez-Its in my mouth while I guzzle cheap beer and play Cornhole.
I've noticed that thread throughout a lot of analysis too.
If the difference between Hoke and RR is brought up so much, what was a standard RichRod practice like? I know from gamedays that he looked violently disgusted at times on the sidelines, so I imagine it was something like that, but probably worse since he wasn't on national TV.
On the possibility that the NCAA levies additional punishment:
"I'll be shocked and disappointed and on the offensive," Smith told The Associated Press. "It'll be behavior you haven't witnessed."
What the heck does that mean? He's going to climb a clocktower with a high powered rifle? He's going to burn the school to the ground? He'll call the NCAA officials dirty names? Non stop crank calls?
The athletic director of one of the largest and most successful college athletics programs in the nation basically just told the press that if you fuck with him, he'll go crazy, so you'd better not fuck with him.
Recent Comments
Proudly voted for Mel Tucker
I think Bolden is good, don't get me wrong. But I think Gedeon probably has more upside, and entering his Junior year, will be too good to keep off the field. There'll be a lot of split time...I'm just really high on Gedeon.
Plus, you know, #HotTakes
Those are really the 2nd most badass helmets in all of football. So cool.
Navy: I
Navy and Vanderbilt.
Navy: I used to love Paul Johnson's flexbone offense there, and wished we had seriously considered him in 2008. They're also so easy to root for. It's literally watching American heroes beating up on Notre Dame with the most fun offense in all of football. What's not to like?
Vanderbilt: I live in Nashville and work for the Vandy medical center. I've gone to a bunch of games since moving here 3 years ago, and got to experience the height of the James Franklin experience. Zac Stacy and Jordan Matthews were really fun to watch, plus it's easy to root for the nerd school of the SEC. The Derek Mason era is going to be rough, but I suppose I'm a fan for life at this point...
The beer sounds great, and your label is fantastic. Cheers!
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Her boss told her as they were walking to the restaurant that Jim was the CEO of Steelcase, and had an important decision to make soon, but didn't elaborate. It didn't come up over lunch.
So my theory is he was approached and took some time to think it over, rather than he approached Schlissel.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
This time, there is a unified front, an organized plan, no phumphering around, and no serious alternative candidates. As far as the rumor mill goes, Hoke was pretty sure the job was his all along in late 2010/2011.
Nothing from 2011 suggests a serious effort by Brandon to get Harbaugh.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLKnCeeAW48
I don't think that many, although the teams they have faced have been incapable of big offensive plays because they are terrible.
The only team to consistently take shots was Notre Dame. There were drives that were seemingly built out of the Tecmo Super Bowl playbook, where Rees just stepped back, and hucked the ball downfield. The plays rarely worked, but the receivers tended to be open, or would draw a PI/holding penalty from Dennard (who did nothing but commit penalties that game).
I agree with Mathlete: the key to this game is hitting those big plays, and forcing the MSU DB's to play against our talented receivers in space. We'll either draw penalties, or Gallon and Funchess will chew up yardage. This also requires Gardner to be solid, or at least Rees-ian in his passes (overthrowing everyone is preferable to turnovers).
ND had a fine gameplan against MSU (the best of any of their opponents by far), and it worked. It wasn't pretty, but you could see they were never panicked, and they simply bled MSU dry over the course of the game. It was punt-punt-punt for a while, but ND never got impatient, didn't make too many bonehead mistakes, and left with a fairly comfortable victory. That's the key.
My biggest concern is that the ND d-line was nigh on dominant throughout that whole game, and I don't know that we have that kind of talent up front to kill drives dead on the reg.
This is the holy grail. Just give up. Braver/smarter men than you and I have tried and failed to unearth it.
Just live with the delay, or put up with Matt Millen.
Anybody trolling this thread looking for a friendly Nashville establishment, a small (but hopefully growing) contingent of us meet at Bar Louie in the Gulch. They have a decent beer selection, are not overrun with SEC fans, have many TVs, and the managers are Michigan grads.
They're very amenable, and when our crowd is big enough, they'll stick us in a private room.
Oh, and sometimes the awesome cook who lived in Sterling Heights will give us free nachos. Because he's awesome.
Bar Louie: 314 11th Ave S Nashville, TN 37203
Just culling from the dankest nugs of the shittiest fanbase in all of sports. Misogyny, victim blaming, and minimization ahoy!
A selection of comments from various Eleven Warriors stories about the Hyde incident (horrific grammar and spelling obviously not mine):
"The bitch is the agressor, but if Drayer's story is correct then [Hyde will] probably miss a couple games."
"Anyway in reference to hitting a chick there are exceptions."
"I hate the fact that he might have thrown away his season. There's very few circumstances when hitting a female is warranted"
"I hate when women assault a man, then hide behind their gender when there might be consequences."
"The fact that she went on vacation immediately AFTER that shows that the ordeal couldn't have been that serious."
"It was so serious that she put a young mans future in jepoardy yet she couldnt delay her vacation?"
"How about just be held accountable for her actions?"
"Women should really think about what they do or say about crying assault or rape."
"I think too many times we give the female species "free passes" on things of this nature."
"I thing she was entitled to get slapped."
As a social worker who has worked with male perpetrators of domestic violence...this is the kind of shit that they say all of the time. Always her fault.
In summation: fuck Ohio State forever and ever. And if you say or think any of these things, fuck you too.
They still have to stop
Meh.
They still have to stop it.
Dipping is one of those things that is awful and disgusting, and you can't rationalize doing it, but you catch yourself doing it and enjoying it for no good reason.
Kind of like housing a large pizza or a dozen donuts by yourself.
What I'm saying is Kansas should have to self report every time Charlie Weis takes down a Hot N Ready by himself.
I so wish PSU was stuck with Air Force this week instead of Navy. Navy's defense is horrific, and their triple option is not as fearsome as it has once been (I still chose Navy in my Pick em, because seriously, fuck Penn State).
I think AF would probably drub PSU by two or three scores.
I highly recommend using Chrome and installing ad-block. It takes care of every ad on the site, including the ones that pop up over the stream itself.
I couldn't imagine that site without it.
Being an undergrad now seems hard.
Where are the kids playing NHL '95 tournaments in their rooms?
I think the offense is going to have a lot of fun on Saturday.
Air Force wasn't equipped to really stymie Idaho State (who was playing catch up for the whole game), so I don't think they have a prayer against Fitz or Denard. I think Denard senses it too. There was a twinkle in his eye at the end of that clip.
I know it's just Idaho State, but Air Force put up 629 yards of total offense, and their senior RB Getz went HAM.
Good test for Michigan. Slightly scary, but good test regardless. Should be fun.
This post, however, owned. Yaaay you.
Voted down for homophobia. Booooo you.
Rivals claims that Lewan's injury is "not serious."
Whatever that means.
Don't go to sleep on Air Force. I know they played Idaho State, but they still racked up 629 yards of total offense, and their RB is DARN GOOD.
Gonna need to play tight and hard to control that game like we'll want.
Your kicker is 65% for FG's beyond 50 yards?
And we have two kickers, but they're both normal college kickers. So, you know, not Jason Elam or Sebastian Janikowski...
Also nobody is blowing Saban's oversigning out of proportion. Except Saban. And the University of Alabama. You know, by redacting their scholarship numbers for CERTAINLY NO NEFARIOUS REASON.
1) I expect Rawls to look
1) I expect Rawls to look Rawlsian. He will run forward into a mess of Crimson giants, and will sometimes get forward yards and sometimes not. Michigan will mix in Smith and probably Hayes. Dee Hart will look at our sideline with yearning.
2) Denard will probably break a run or two, but it's more important for him to pass. If he went to Alabama and all you did was use him as a CB and PR, that would be sad. Shame on fake alternate universe Alabama.
3) Does any team have faith on hitting a 52 yard field goal for the win? I mean, other than the Oakland Raiders. That is a silly question.
4) Your DB situation might be worse than Michigan's DB situation, but only based on experience, and it is definitely worse than our LB situation...which is not a situation, unless you define situation as "a position where you have experience, talent, and depth." Our D-line will not be very good, however.
5) One that won't be measurable in our first game against Alabama, I would expect. Kovacs will probably break into your backfield a couple of times, as will Jake Ryan, but I don't know how much we can glean from this. Your offense, like all SEC offenses, is kind of boring, but that's not to say it's ineffective. Pounding the ball into the middle of our line will probably be good enough, and your speed at WR is...speedy.
6) I expect to have 2 offensive TD's in the game.
7) He's a 5th year senior who was well-hyped during his recruitment oh so many years ago. He'll be fine.
8) Since this wasn't a huge problem last year, especially toward the end of the year, no, mental mistakes are not my concern going into this game.
9) I'm glad you would take Kovacs, but Saban would have pushed him out years ago. As for our CB's playing on an island...maybe? JT Floyd is born again hard, and Countess has a good up-side, but neither are faster than your slowest WR. Still, with good technique...I don't know.
10) Sometimes?
11) I think Denard improved to a point with his passing, but how that shows up on the field is a big unknown. He was getting better as the year went on in 2011, however (Sugar Bowl notwithstanding). He does less than good when he's being pressured, so that bodes great for this game!
12) Roundtree, Gallon, and Dileo all have good hands, but are tiny. The rest are untested or freshmen. Also Devin Gardner exists, but I don't know anything about his hands other than that high school clip that Brian posted earlier of Devin making silly catches.
13) We don't have an endless stream of 5-star death machines, if that's your question. We have barely a functional starting lineup, and then freshmen. It probably won't be good.
14) That is not a question. Also, Arizona is going to own, so there.
So I took it upon myself to create a website and Twitter feed for Nashville Michigan fans, just so you know where to watch the games on any given week.
http://gobluenashville.weebly.com
and
@GoBlueNashville
Now all 12 games this year will have an official watching location, and I hope some Nashville based fans see this and come out. I really want to reinvigorate the alumni base in the area!
The place is called Benchmark, and it's on 21st, across the street from the north end of Vanderbilt.
However, they're only doing 6 games there, and we have to share the bar with Alabama and Nebraska alumni clubs (the U of M spirit club here is...lame), so I'm trying to work out another place to watch the remaining games/the games I don't want to watch with Bama or Nebraska fans.
There are a couple of groups on Facebook you can keep an eye on.
The unofficial one: http://www.facebook.com/groups/20492365847/
And the official one: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nashville-University-of-Michigan-Spirit-Club/112431547869
You can also email me at aaronpj (at) gmail.com, because I would love to catch the non-Benchmark games with another Michigan fan.
Edit: Also, out of curiosity, do you have plans to go to any Vandy games this fall?
To any Nashville Michigan fans that don't live in the nightmarish hellscape that is Green Hills, the U of M Nashville Spirit Club posted today on their facebook that Benchmark on 21st is the new game-day watching locale.
Full address: 204 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN
Best news: it's easily walkable from my apartment.
Is the Crow's Nest the only place in Nashville for Michigan football? I know the official bar (as of last year) was the Frayed Knot (yuk yuk), but that has since closed.
I mean, I'll drive out to the Crow's Nest, but Green Hills suuuuucks.
We be taking out abscesses all over the place!
I found myself replaying the death blow by Kovacs four or five or ten times.
I knew it was huge in the stadium, but now that I get to see it up close...damn, son!
If their QB was a senior, they would be winning this game right now.
We
Holy shit counter draw!
We have to run that play!
Hahah, the BTN announcers just said that the heat was to blame for MSU's poor D-Line play.
Hahaha, God damn, MSU...
Muffed punt. MSU continues to allow the defense to scrimmage.
They look like crap, especially up the middle.
I would be gnashing my teeth if I were an MSU fan.
On Wunderground, the only weather site worth visiting, the forecast isn't quite so doom and gloom:
Partly sunny through mid morning...then becoming mostly cloudy. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs 89 to 93...with a heat index around 95. Light and variable winds...becoming west 5 to 15 mph...then turning to south late. Chance of rain 20 percent.
It's going to be sticky.
Baylor over TCU in the Texas Jesus Bowl.
I think TCU will get caught up in a fight against an experienced Baylor team, they won't expect it, and they'll suffer for their insolence.
It will be the biggest massacre in Waco's history.
The gourmand side of me: We have purchased a 10lb pork tenderloin, and will lovingly marinate it in lemon and oil before rubbing it gently with herbs and salt and stuffing each thickly sliced chop with proscuttio, pepperoni, and provalone and grilling it over charcoal and applewood chips.
A fresh apple slaw will present a delicate compliment to the heavier pork dish, and a cold pasta salad will suit the balmy temperatures well.
The "forever an undergrad" side of me: I also can't wait to clumsily stuff handfuls of Cheez-Its in my mouth while I guzzle cheap beer and play Cornhole.
And if it
Two Hearted
And if it isn't: GTFO.
Steele.
Tuman.
Woodson.
Steele.
Tuman.
?
I've noticed that thread throughout a lot of analysis too.
If the difference between Hoke and RR is brought up so much, what was a standard RichRod practice like? I know from gamedays that he looked violently disgusted at times on the sidelines, so I imagine it was something like that, but probably worse since he wasn't on national TV.
If we go undefeated, there will be a Mardi Gras party in Hoke Arbor.
Festivities will begin on the corner of Hoke and Hoke, right outside of Hoke Auditorium.
On the possibility that the NCAA levies additional punishment:
"I'll be shocked and disappointed and on the offensive," Smith told The Associated Press. "It'll be behavior you haven't witnessed."
What the heck does that mean? He's going to climb a clocktower with a high powered rifle? He's going to burn the school to the ground? He'll call the NCAA officials dirty names? Non stop crank calls?
The athletic director of one of the largest and most successful college athletics programs in the nation basically just told the press that if you fuck with him, he'll go crazy, so you'd better not fuck with him.
I have lucked out so far. Only one is planned, and it is on EMU Saturday (and doesn't start until after the game is over).
I will still do my best to weasel out of it, however.