non believers

Submitted by noahtahl on

having posted a diary titled '13-0', I guess you could say I'm "all in" and maybe a little overly optimistic, but the truth is the first time I saw Tate and Denard, I was sold.

having watched Threet and Sheridan all of last year make the spread look disorganized and inept, the 'dynamic duo' of Forcier and DRob is such a breath of fresh southeastern Michigan air I could just soil my maize and blue depends.

a day after the impressive display of execution,excitement and especially talent, some of the naysayers have silently joined those of us who have our maize colored glasses on, while others still wait for Notre Dame and Michigan St. to expose the Wolverines for what they hope is another season of struggle, but the type of fan who really irks the shit out of me are those among us who are totally excited about Michigan just making a bowl...any kind of bowl...Motor City,Liberty,WTF!!

the 6-6,7-5,8-4 predictions make me wanna puke.

this is not the chardonnay crowd I'm talking about, this is the fan who doesn't really care.they like it when Michigan wins but when Michigan loses,oh well, there is always next weeks game.

all 9 losses last year hit me in my gut.losing at home to App St. at home followed by a thrashing by Oregon a week later in 2007 sickened me.during many of Bo's years in A2, the one loss of the year took place in either late November or in a place called Pasadena and that one loss may as well have been 100.

losing sucks!!!!!!!

Michigan has not started its season with a win since 2006.that same year having Notre Dame in wait in it's second game as a major test did not deter me from having aspirations of a 13-0 season and this year it is no different.

13-0, why not.

will it happen?

the winged helmets are one win closer.

Viper

September 6th, 2009 at 7:56 PM ^

I like the way they played yesterday too but let's try to be a little realistic.

Winning 7-8 games would be an enormously successful season and major progress given last year's mess. And it would be a major step in making believers out of non-Rich Rod fans as well as increasing their chances for the elite recruits.

They just don't have all the pieces in place yet and it's still a ridiculously young and inexperienced team.

I'm not expecting miracles.

david from wyoming

September 6th, 2009 at 8:05 PM ^

The type of fan who really irks the shit out of me is the type that thinks he/she is better then other fans.

StuckinKY

September 6th, 2009 at 8:07 PM ^

Think about how you felt after the PSU win in 1997. For me that is when I knew our team was special....not saying this is a special team yet. But the way the team tackled on defense yesterday, our poise at QB and the way OSU struggle against Navy I can see Great Posibilities one game at a time.

KC8NIY

September 6th, 2009 at 8:12 PM ^

Anyone posting 13-0 predictions shouldn't qualify that as "overly optimistic". The subject should aptly be titled "Insane" or "OMG UNDEFEATED FTFW!!!!!1" so we all know what's coming and can choose to read or bypass at our leisure.

7-5 or 8-4 are still very valid predictions. If that makes reasonable people "non-believers", then I guess a lot of us have much to learn about how football seasons are won in week 1.

MICHDAD1

September 6th, 2009 at 8:15 PM ^

I feel the exact same way. There is absolutely no reason why we can't go 13-0. All of the BT10 teams are vulnerable. If we can stay focused we can beat all of our opponents. I predicted during the spring game that we would go 10-2. I even have a 100 dollar bet on it with MICHSON1. Keep up the good posting noahtahl
you are now a MICHDAD1 friend.

I knew Tate was the real deal from the moment he was committed. I did an extensive study on him and his whole family. What happened yesterday wasn't a surprise. I mean, we had guys saying they didn't know what to expect in the game yesterday. Well I knew. Tate was groomed from the point that he picked up a football. The support that his family had given him was unequaled to any other QB in his class. He had a hell of a lot of time to go to camps then the average player, because he was home schooled. He attended camps with Drew Breese as his mentor. No surprise here.

MICHDAD1

September 6th, 2009 at 8:22 PM ^

Every parent wants their child to succeed in sports and they would support them whether they win or lose. This family is different than most. I will guarantee you Terrell Pryor did not have the kind of grooming that Tate has had.

It's a totally different support.

david from wyoming

September 6th, 2009 at 8:32 PM ^

Tate has been a qb since he was old enough to play football. But you don't think other kids have played or practiced as much as he has before they get a scholarship offer? Terrelle Pryor has a family friend in Charlie Batch.

I guess I really don't buy into the whole 'Tate isn't like other true freshman' meme, and one game isn't going to change my mind.

MICHDAD1

September 6th, 2009 at 8:36 PM ^

.... and Tate showed everyone in his first game. Notice how all of the TV commentators were so surprised at his play. They knew nothing but what everyone was spewing on Tate. Now they know.

Here's what Tate said on Friday:

"I mean, like, I'm so jacked for this," Forcier said. "I must have watched ESPN four or five times where they say it's impossible for a freshman quarterback to be successful (at Michigan this year). I'm not buying it. Anything is possible."

"You're saying I'm not going to be successful. Well, watch me prove you guys wrong. They're tellin [Michigan] fans you're going to have to wait, be patient. No they don't."

david from wyoming

September 6th, 2009 at 8:46 PM ^

What are your thoughts on Tate vs Matt Bakley? Matt was higher ranked then Tate a year ago, has been playing football for just as long, has been around top athletes and top qb's most of his life, and at the end of the day, is still a freshman that has things to learn about football.

I'm not trying to say that Tate isn't any good. But I strongly urge you to lower your expectations for Tate. He still has a learning curve ahead of him and will make mistakes.

MICHDAD1

September 6th, 2009 at 8:53 PM ^

human and I understand that. He could get hurt. He is definitely on a learning curve, but I am basing my opinion on his "athletic maturity". Matt Barkley is going to be an excellent QB as well. He will put a hurtin on UOS next week.

Why would the media think that Matt could be successful and not Tate?

Muttley

September 7th, 2009 at 12:41 AM ^

basically sucks?

I know it's only one week, but I'd rate Mich as the #3 team in the league. Iowa survived a FBS opponent by blocking two FGs. Wiscy's FBS opponent failed to convert a fourth & three down only 8 on the Wiscy ~30 with a little more than a minute to go. Illinois got blown out. tOSU, with it's two top 200 Scout college football players (PSU has six), escaped a team expected to be about as good as WMU. PSU took care of business vs Rivals #96 Akron & MSU took care of business against FBS Montana State.

8-4 is my new base case. I believe ND is our third toughest opponent. If we win this Saturday and the rest of the B10 plays as it did yesterday, those placing ceilings on the regular season may look rather foolish after all is said and done.

Jlow

September 6th, 2009 at 8:38 PM ^

I think after viewing the other B10 teams performances yesterday that we do have a legitimate shot at excellence this year. We'll see how we fair against the domers next week. This should give us a better picture of how our season will go.

foreverbluemaize

September 7th, 2009 at 12:47 AM ^

I feel your pain having been at the Vandy game in '06 (my first time in the big house) and then to follow up with Appy the next year and then Utah last year I feel your pain. That being said I really think you are setting yourself up for dissappointment. I have said for a while that I think 9-3 is a cieling with a good chance at a Jan bowl. I just don't think we have much chance of doing better than that. Keep in mind this was one game against a rebuilding MAC team.

West Texas Blue

September 7th, 2009 at 1:03 AM ^

Fact: no team has ever gone 3-9 in previous season and then gone 13-0 in next season.

Fact: no true freshman QB has led a team to an undefeated record and a MNC.

Probability of going 13-0 this season: you're more likely to win the lotto than this happening for us.

noahtahl

September 7th, 2009 at 3:05 AM ^

I guess notre dame's roster is filled with nothing but all americans and should easily defeat the overmatched wolverines.michigan state just replaced their qb with 2 guys who are better than tom brady's backup and their new tailback makes barry sanders look like west texas blue. illinois should have this years game settled after the 1st quarter instead of waiting till the 4th quarter like last year.wisconsin should improve enough to payback the wolveries for last year.indiana will probably leapfrog michigan based on the pasting they should lay on michigan this year. penn st always beats michigan and this year should be no different.purdue's defense wont have threet to worry about this year.minnesota and northwestern both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw sheridan is now 3rd on the depth charts and of course ohio st. just wins championships.michigan should go 1-11.

do you feel better?

VictorValiant

September 7th, 2009 at 4:08 AM ^

don't let these guys crush your dreams. i don't share your original expectation of a 13-0 season, but we do need big dreamers - even if they sound crazy.

what we do have here is expectations that have been raised. look at ESPN's bowl projections: http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls/projections?season=2009&week=1

initially they had UM barely going to a bowl game, but now they have UM going to the Alamo Bowl - which is the #4/5 conference tie-in.

also, i don't know if anyone even noticed, but UM did get 1 point in the preseason USA Today coaches' poll. keep an eye out for that number to rise.

psychomatt

September 7th, 2009 at 5:54 AM ^

Plenty of people think Michigan is going to go 6-0 or 7-5 this year. I believe it will be 8-4 or possibly 9-3. That does not make us non-believers in RR or Michigan, it just makes us non-believers in 13-0.

It is extremely rare for a team from a BCS conference to go undefeated and anyone who thinks that Michigan is going to do it this year with freshman quarterbacks and 70% of the team being underclassmen is not making an objective assessment of the likely outcomes of the games they are going to play.

Brodie

September 7th, 2009 at 4:29 AM ^

I fail to see why 8 wins would be considered "bad" by people. Let's take a trip down memory lane:

Bo Schembechler:

5 eight win seasons

Gary Moeller:

Two eight win seasons

Lloyd Carr:

Two eight win seasons

Alright, so nine years out of forty ain't exactly common, but it's not some unprecedented low point for the program. Seven and six win seasons have happened in that span, too. We were still Michigan. If we win eight games this year, it will not be un-Michigan like.

The King of Belch

September 7th, 2009 at 11:10 AM ^

Because based on the title of the thread, I thought this would be a Scout-like diatribe full of "I TOLD YOU SO" bullshit that would have made me go out and kill a bunch of small animals.

But then his post about "well then, we'll just go 1-11. nanny nanny boo boo" relegates him right back to the the guy whose Dad pops the 9.99 per month so he can read all the latest recruiting teases on the pay boards and start dumb threads all over the intranets.