January 13th, 2013 at 9:44 PM ^
Are you going to, Chuckwoodson2 it?
January 13th, 2013 at 9:47 PM ^
I am going to Chuckwoodson it!
January 13th, 2013 at 10:28 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 9:54 PM ^
My thoughts exactly.
Only people who make special announcements to reaffirm their commitment are coaches.
January 13th, 2013 at 10:00 PM ^
what sent you there?
January 13th, 2013 at 11:16 PM ^
January 14th, 2013 at 8:54 AM ^
Many of us wondered why Taylor Lewan held a conference if he was staying, because after all, why would anyone hold a conference just to say nothing is changing? Well, he did just that.
Who knows, maybe the Dawson kid likes the attention?
January 14th, 2013 at 8:57 AM ^
I don't know the kid, but he doesn't seem like he's really sought out a ton of attention, and he also said that he's going to announce his decision by keeping it quiet and calling each of the team's coaches. I like Taylor Lewan, but he's enjoyed being in the spotlight every step of the way.
January 14th, 2013 at 10:31 AM ^
Thanks for the clarification. I was under the impression that he was making a special "announcement" after reading only the commentary here. In my mind, I envisioned local TV or radio coverage, a full HS gym, etc.
I suppose, in this day and age, any high-level athlete (even one who doesn't like it) is going to get attention no matter how hard he tries to aviod it.
January 13th, 2013 at 9:43 PM ^
the board would prolly melt down more if green goes elsewhere similar to the josh garnett thread. I feel like I remember that garnett thread being 300 posts long
January 14th, 2013 at 12:41 AM ^
January 14th, 2013 at 6:19 AM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 9:45 PM ^
Well, he's committed to Illinois right now, right? So if he's "deciding," that kind of sounds like bad news for the school he's committed to.
January 14th, 2013 at 10:29 AM ^
Samuelson was in the same situation with Nebraska, but he jumped the gun and switched to Michigan before his scheduled announcement date.
January 13th, 2013 at 9:46 PM ^
i have two questions:
do you guys think i should change my name to "jake from state farm"
how do you rate peoples comments?
January 13th, 2013 at 9:50 PM ^
2. in your case, not well
January 13th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 10:08 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 10:17 PM ^
January 14th, 2013 at 12:45 AM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 10:30 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 10:40 PM ^
January 14th, 2013 at 12:45 AM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 9:57 PM ^
Go Blue Dawson! Apparently Green just named his final three, but I can't see who they are. Michigan, Auburn and Tennessee?
January 13th, 2013 at 9:59 PM ^
His final three is Michigan, Michigan, and Michigan. I like Michigan's chances here.
January 13th, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^
Three Michigan hats on one table? Sounds good!
January 13th, 2013 at 10:35 PM ^
But...but...but...adidas, nike or walmart?
January 13th, 2013 at 10:37 PM ^
a snapback, a flatbrim, and a beanie
January 14th, 2013 at 12:41 AM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^
When David recommitted. This would just be gravy, and not even the awesome kind. I know we won't get him, but I'd rather be surprised over the next couple of weeks by landing Rueben Foster or someone of that caliber. I'd also love for the Lions to win a Super Bowl and for Chappelle Show to come back on the air. Am I really asking for that much?
January 13th, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 11:45 PM ^
January 13th, 2013 at 10:24 PM ^
i think what has happened as a fan base is we have become complacent and apologetic...
we have gotten used to mediocrity and greatness is something we dont demand. we need to change ....in our dreams we keep trying to push mediocrity to greatness ...but it falls down eventually...time to call apples as apples
January 13th, 2013 at 10:54 PM ^
We need to start beating Ohio regularly and putting up 10 win seasons like we used to. Until we get back to doing that, all this talk about recruits and what ifs will be just that - talk. Our fan base is too arrogant to admit this, but right now we are Little Brother and Ohio is Big Brother. It wasn't always like this and it will hopefully change in the future, but until it does we have to accept the facts - we are not as good as we think we are.
Personally, I'm hoping that Meyer and Crew get busted sooner rather than later for the SEC-esque recruiting practices many of us suspect they're up to. Of course, since the NCAA has done nothing to bust the most obvious offenders in the SEC, I doubt they'll be looking to drop the hammer on Ohio anytime soon.
Dear Lord I hate that team. No wonder why my blood pressure is so high.
January 14th, 2013 at 1:19 AM ^
They soundly beat us like 7 years in a row - I think we all were fully admitting it. I wouldn't call it little brother simply because that would imply at least a modicum of positive feeling towards them.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:41 AM ^
Big Douchebag/Little Great All Around Guy instead?
January 14th, 2013 at 7:44 AM ^
It would be more like Ron Burgundy/Wes Mantooth.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:49 AM ^
January 14th, 2013 at 7:34 AM ^
The last 2 seasons have definitely been an improvement, but we are not where we need to be yet as a program. The OP I was responding to had his comment hidden, so maybe my post read a bit out of context. Yeah, we "averaged" close to 10 wins because of 2011, but we still haven't won a significant game on the road during that time and we have yet to see how we'll perform on a recurring basis against an Urban Meyer run Ohio program. Losing to them this year was not a good way to get things started, obviously.
Just so we're clear, I like Hoke and believe in what he's trying to do but the relative mediocrity we've been mired in goes all the way back to 2004/2005 at this point. Ohio has been consistently better than us as a football program since that time, both in terms of on field results and recruiting. I was there at Michigan when we were having similar success against Ohio in the 90's. Eventually it got to the point where we always expected to find a way to win that game, and in the rare instances when we lost we still found something positive to take away from it ("Cooper's contract just got extended - awesome!") and assumed we'd win the following year.
Ohio is in that same position now thanks to the years of Tressel and RichRod. Even when they finally lost to us in 2011, they could rationalize that we were finally due, the game was in Ann Arbor and their team was in total flux at the time. And despite all that, they still almost won the game, then turned around the next day and hired Urban Meyer who proceeded to salvage/assemble a Top 10 recruiting class in less than 2 months.
When you get to that kind of position in the rivalry like where Ohio's at now....where every recruit we lose to them, every time their coach opens his disingenuous mouth on camera, every time we lose to them in football, basketball or checkers.....it gets under our skin and causes us to lose all perspective, that's how you know we've reached the Big Brother-Little Brother stage of this relationship.
Because when we were winning our fair share of games against them, the fear factor and paranoia around everything Ohio does was not like this. We knew we couldn't win them all, but we definitely felt good about our chances and didn't question our strength as a program relative to those bastards.
I think more Michigan fans need to accept and understand this is the reality of the situation in 2013, and that until we get back to consistently performing at the level we used to regularly do, we are going to have to deal with being the Little Brother. I hate it, it sucks, bit it is what it is.
Hopefully, Hoke's recruits turn out to be as strong on the field as they appear to be on paper, and that these more talented players are able to play for Hoke with the same level of passion and effort that their less talented predecessors from the 2008-2011 classes have done over the last 2 years. IF all that happens, we should be ok longer-term, but we are not there yet.
January 14th, 2013 at 9:56 AM ^
January 14th, 2013 at 11:22 AM ^
It's just more general venting, than anything else. My complaint is not with Hoke or the current staff, but rather the collective Michigan football program of the past decade. I do think that with Urban Meyer entrenched in Columbus, we will have to make a choice at some point in order to effectively compete:
1. Do we change our recruiting strategy and academic standards to make Michigan more appealing to the five star recruits from the South? ( Less of a concern if Meyer struggles to bring a number of these guys to Columbus but if business picks up for him with those type of recruits it will put us in a tough spot)
or
2. Does Brandon give Hoke 5-6 years to see if he can turn the tide against Ohio and if not, go for broke and try for Harbaugh again even if it means screwing over Hoke? I really hope this doesn't happen. But if we're going 9-3 every year while Ohio is going 11-1, will the Natives grow restless? Harbaugh is the only guy in the Michigan family who has the "IT" factor and national-level credibility that Meyer has. My hope is that Hoke is able to get things to an even playing field with Ohio. I feel he would have had no problem doing so against past Ohio coaches like Tressel, Cooper and Bruce. But Ohio's never had anyone like Meyer before. Most Big 10 schools don't have anyone in their coaching tree like Meyer, but Michigan does - the question is whether or not we'd feel compelled to try to land him once he finishes his run in SF.
January 14th, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^
Based on SAT scores for our football team, I think it is safe to say that many of our scholarship athletes in the football program are already being admitted with much lower academics than the typical student.
I posted this last week on another thread:
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/paper-trail/2008/12/30/athletes-s…
As for giving Hoke time, Hoke has had to use players that he didn't recruit, many of which just didn't have the level of talent Michigan has formerly enjoyed with its football players. In a couple of years, the talent should be in place. At that time, if we go 9-3 every year and Ohio goes 11-1 and they continue to dominate in head to head, yeah, that will be a problem.
January 14th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^
Are you suggesting Michigan has higher acadmeic standards for elite football recruits than Ohio State? I believe Northwestern is the only Big Ten school to not admit elite football players at the basic NCAA clearinghouse level. Do have evidence otherwise?
January 14th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
O let do it
January 14th, 2013 at 10:27 AM ^
You might have a difficult time finding someone who thinks we are there yet, but your comments give the impression that you think we should be.
Hoke can't go back and rerecruit classes from a time when he wasn't the coach. What he has done indicates that there is an upward progression. Success breeds success, so as talent increases (and depth) there will be more games won which focuses the attention of young talent on the program. That increases the chances of winning more games.
Very few fans have gotten complacent about the UM football program, the realists among us take into account that the program is rebuilding and that takes some time. What realists want to see is consistent improvement, the establishment of a working system on both sides of the ball, and solid recruiting. Winning big road games is still on the "to do" list, as is establishing an offensive identity. The recruiting is already solid; in fact, it's rather spectacular considering Hoke is not Urban Meyer and he's rebuilding a program.
I dont' know if you know this, but we played the national champion this year, and we likely wouldn't have done any better than ND at the end of the season. The realist fans aren't complacent, you're unrealistic to expect that in year two of the Hoke era UM should be recruiting 5 stars left and right and winning every game.
January 14th, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^
I didn't expect us in Year 2 of the Hoke program to be 12-0 and winning national titles, etc. The OP who I originally responded to was venting out of frustration, and my main response to his post was that we can stress about recruiting commitments, etc all we want, but nothing is going to change for us as Michigan fans until the program reaches a point where it's winning 10 games regularly again.
In no way do I think we should be at that stage yet given all the damage from the past 5-7 years that needed to be undone. All I'm saying is that until we get back to that point (be it next year, 2015, or whenever), we will have to deal with the frustrations that come with losing to Ohio and/or being percieved nationally as the inferior team among the two schools. And that's something that should/ will continue to make our blood boil as Michigan fans.
January 14th, 2013 at 11:25 AM ^
That we've regularly put up 10 wins is the era of the Big 2 and Little 8, when the rest of the Big Ten was basically the MAC outside of Michigan and Ohio State?
January 14th, 2013 at 12:42 PM ^
around the early to mid 80's or so, give or take. Here are our records for the first 15 years following that stretch:
85: 10-1-1
86: 11-2
87: 8-4
88: 9-2-1
89: 10-2
90: 9-3
91: 10-2
92: 9-0-3
93: 8-4
94: 8-4
95: 9-4
96: 8-4
97: 12-0
98: 10-3
99: 10-2
So over a 15 year period, we won 10 or more games 7 times for an average of nearly every other year. I'd say winning 10 games every other year for a sustained period qualifies as a regular occurrence. Considering we were playing a 12 game schedule in most years during this stretch rather than 13, this makes our performance even more impressive. Were we the best program in the country during this period? No, teams like Florida State and Nebraska were more dominant. But in most years during this stretch, we were an elite team and our records generally reflected this.
We started to slip a little during the back half of the Carr era after Tressel came in, but even through 06 we were still doing respectably when it came to double digit win seasons. Below you can see that from the 7 year period from 00-06, we won 10 or more games 3 times:
00: 9-3
01: 8-4
02: 10-3
03: 10-3
04: 9-4
05: 7-5
06: 11-2
So in total, we won 10 games or more 10 times in a 22 year stretch following the end of the Big 2/Little 8 Era. If you want to say that this means we didn't win 10 games on a "regular" basis during this stretch, I suppose you could make that argument on a technical basis. But we certainly had a very healthy number of 10 win seasons over a period of 2 decades plus, and that's the cadence I'd like to see us get back to as a Michigan fan.
January 14th, 2013 at 3:41 PM ^
The Big Two really ended with Woody leaving, which was after '78. The years after that?
8-4
10-2
9-3
8-4
9-3
6-6
That turns it to 11 in 28 years.
and a multitude of things have changed over that time. The Big Ten is a lot tougher with the bad teams being good. (Wisconsin in those days was worse than Indiana). We've added to major powers in Penn State and Nebraska. And back in those early days, teams like Notre Dame weren't regular OOC teams. In the favor is there's an extra game on the schedule (which is why I didn't include those later Michigan teams, who got ten wins playing 13 games).
Since Bo what does that add up to? 19 with at least 10, and 25 with less? So I don't know what "regularly" means. If it means multiple years in a row, then we haven't really done that regularly. If it means close to 50% of the time, then we've done that. But then we've never stopped, because we had ten wins in 2006 and 2011. Then you're saying just don't suck for 3 years. But that was hardly the first stretch without ten wins.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:25 PM ^
I started in the mid 80's as a guesstimate. Woody left in 78 but from 79-84, Ohio and Michigan still combined to win 4 out of the 6 B1G titles (79 and 84 for Ohio, 80 and 82 for Michigan). Iowa became a legit Top 10 team in 85, and MSU got pretty good under Perles during the second half of the 80's. Jeff George was also playing at Illinois in the late 80's and even Indiana had a couple respectable teams with Anthony Thompson at RB during that time.
Obviously, I could have picked an earlier date to start and the results would have been skewed a bit the other way - it's a fair point. I just thought it was worth observing that there was a solid 15 year period, well after the Big 2/Little 8 era ended, during which Michigan had a healthy number of 10 win seasons despite the the increased competition in conference.
As far as the more recent times go, our rate of 10 win seasons has slowed a bit. If you go back to 06, we've done it twice in 7 seasons. That's not nearly as close to 50% of the time as we saw during a much larger sample period, and it's further exacerbated by the fact that we had a couple losing seasons thrown into the mix as well.
The larger point in all of this is that for Michigan to truly get its mojo back as an elite football program, we need to get back to the level of success we saw from 1985-1999, rather than what occurred from 2007 onward or even from 2000-2006, for that matter. The strength of competition within the B1G is not radically different from what we saw throughout the 90s, so with good coaching and strong recruiting this is a reasonable goal to strive for. But until we get back to that level of success, Ohio will have the advantage over us as a program.
This was the point I was trying to make when I alluded to the 10 win seasons in the first place, and I think it's still a valid argument.