Unverified Voracity Sits Down In A Hole Comment Count

Brian

Ed-Ace: Brian is out of pocket for the weekend and left this to post for today; it's worth adding that the athletic department announced that radio play-by-play broadcaster Frank Beckmann will retire following the 2013 season — full release can be found here. It contains quotes from the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics AND the VP of Audio for IMG College, but not Beckmann himself, strangely. (Beckmann has since given quotes to Angelique Chengelis, FWIW.)

The Michigan offer letter. From Michael Ferns:

image

No mention of four years, one erroneously capitalized "Championship."

Read this now. Smart Football breaks down Jason Witten, and there's a reason to read the article other than a desire to weep about that Citrus Bowl in dickety-six: Chris Brown talks in-depth about the "option" route that is a staple of the Dallas offense… and will hopefully be a staple of Michigan's soon.

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At its base, the option route is "go get open underneath" for inside receivers—usually tight ends—who run out to 8 or 10 yards and then either break outside, break inside, or sit down depending on what the coverage is and where the defender is relative to him. Witten's quite good at this, to the tune of 110(!) catches a year ago.

The option route is one of six core elements of the Michigan passing offense and the thing should emerge into a weapon as long as someone can run it. Devin Funchess is obviously the best bet, but don't sleep on Khalid Hill, all 258 pounds of him.

Gardner hype. Warning: Fall Out Boy may cause allergic reaction in haterz.

(This may be Wiz Khalifa?)

A STRANGE MAN DOES NON THINGS ON THE INTERNET. Pretty sure this is Wiz Khalifa.

FAMOUS RAPPIST

PROTIP: MAKE SURE YOU SPELL THAT WITH TWO Ps

He reminds me of Ed McCaffery and Wes Welker. Jon Kolesar gets the Wolverine Historian tribute:

Probably not Wiz Khalifa.

Anonymous and false boilerplate. You know, when Joe Tiller was around your anonymous quotes from Big Ten coaches features would have a heavy dose of bitchiness, thus making them interesting. These days no dice, as the opinions proffered are largely milquetoasty and sometimes flat out false:

"Their offensive line is very good, much like Ohio State and Wisconsin. Very physical up front, great defensive scheme. For two years, they were confusing us a little bit."

Wat.

This is the most interesting thing:

"They have a great package defensively. Their third down package — (defensive coordinator) Greg Mattison gives the illusion of pressure every time. You never know when they are really coming or not coming. It’s the different stuff that he does." … -

Okay, also:

"Nebraska is Nebraska — with people wearing those stupid hats."

Yes, I hope that is Brady. Very much.

Bring me a chicken, hold the dry white toast. Mike Rothstein has an interesting article on Taylor Lewan's nutrition reform:

“It sucks. It’s awful. The diet is rough,” Lewan said. “When you go out with your friends and they order pizzas and wings, I look at that and I’m salivating. I’m looking at it and am excited about it.

“I go to Buffalo Wild Wings and order a salad and five chicken breasts. I swear that’s what I do. They are like, ‘I don’t think we can do that.’ I’m like, ‘No, if you go to menu, there’s a button that says chicken breast.’ I found that out somehow.”

Lewan's dropped five percent body fat since last season and is doing complicated physical things at elite levels.

Etc.: Oh man, Michigan Hockey Net just put up the 2001 M-MSU hockey game at the Joe, an all time classic. Very good dude Bruce Madej to retire. Andrew Copp talks football. Congrats to Phil Brabbs, who's made it five years since his cancer diagnosis. CTK gets to Drew Dileo, and Dileo talks Norfleet(!). Desmond Howard considers joining the O'Bannon suit. MVictors has shots from practice.

Comments

Space Coyote

August 9th, 2013 at 3:35 PM ^

Anyone else reading those anonymous coach quotes in their best Hoke voice, throwing in some "umm" and "wellll" and figuring out which ones he said? I think I know a few of them.

MGoShoe

August 9th, 2013 at 3:28 PM ^

...The Game, 1985 edition (4:05 of Wolverine Historian's tribute) is still my all time favorite in person play. Almost 28 years later, I can still see that play from start to finish in my mind's eye.

True Blue Grit

August 9th, 2013 at 3:49 PM ^

One of the biggest plays I've seen in the Big House.  I was in the end zone corner that Kolesar ran into to score on that 77 yarder.  I'll never forget that ball arching through the gloom and dim temporary lights right into a streaking Kolesar's hands.  Huge play too in the game.  With Michigan nursing a 3 point lead and facing 3rd & long deep in our territory, giving the ball back to Ohio could have turned around the game for them.  Instead, Harbaugh facing a blitzing corner uncorks a long TD pass and that broke Ohio's back. 

M-Dog

August 9th, 2013 at 5:59 PM ^

Loudest I ever heard the stadium.

The stadium was loiuder back in those days.  The field was not lowered yet and the hard astroturf presented a flat surface for the noise to bounce back on.  Nobody ever said the stadium was quiet back then.  That narrative only came later.

 

harmon40

August 9th, 2013 at 6:47 PM ^

Sounds like I was in the opposite corner of the stadium as you both - I remember Kolesar running away from me.

That guy made so many big plays for Michigan...none bigger than the two he made at the end of the '88 OSU game: 

The video shows Kolesar returning the KO 59 yards and then catching the 41 yd game-winner from D Brown (8:15).  What the video doesn't show is that Michigan led 20-0 at half but had been outscored 31-7 in the 2nd half and had given up the go-ahead TD with only 2 minutes left.  With two huge plays, Kolesar saved the game - IN THE HORSESHOE. 

Great write-up in the Plain Dealer:

http://www.cleveland.com/osu-michigan/2012/03/osu-michigan_1988_john_kolesar.html

I think that's the most dramatic finish I've ever seen in The Game...

Kilgore Trout

August 9th, 2013 at 7:08 PM ^

That was the play that hooked me for life. I was 6 and for some reason my grandparents took me to the game. I'm not sure I really got it, but I remember Harbaugh letting it go and then everyone standing up in front of me so I couldn't see, but then getting blown away by how loud it was. I can still picture the twilight and everything. Awesome moment.

jsquigg

August 9th, 2013 at 3:44 PM ^

Beckmann retiring is a bit sad.  I think it's the right time, but he was the voice of Michigan football along with Brandstatter throughout my life.  He has definitely become a sort of blow hard, but I liked him as the PBP guy.  Here's hoping Brandon doesn't have Mason (of Pistons fame) hired as the new guy for MAXIMUM MARKETING POWER!!!

Space Coyote

August 9th, 2013 at 3:56 PM ^

They clearly teach them how to sit in between zones, as that's basic stuff. I believe they also ran some relatively basic "options" last year, mostly with differing the post vs the seam route as those are easier for the TE to read. Maybe I'll see if I can dig something up.

Tree

August 9th, 2013 at 3:59 PM ^

Funchess, Butt and Bunting could (and hopefully will) use that Option route with devastating results. Lord knows we've earned some TE production after watching Eifert and the previous versions of him pick up 3rd down after 3rd down after 3rd down.......

Nitro

August 9th, 2013 at 4:20 PM ^

Why would they sully that letter by putting the name Notre Dame anywhere on it?  It's like handing out a diploma with a poop smudge on it.

charblue.

August 9th, 2013 at 7:25 PM ^

And the first is that hype video on Devin who is a physical marvel and whose ability was of course overshadowed in recent times by the man he understudied for and then replaced. It has been noted that what happened last year may not have ended the way we wanted, but you could argue that Denard's injury was certainly a blessing in disguise, because it certainly takes away any anxiety about Devin as a leader and producer as a starting quarterback. 

The best thing about this team heading into the season, and this video underscores this, is its vibe and confidence. That undercurrent is unmistakenly present and alive in No. 12.

That the Wolverine Historian chose to acknowledge the career of one of my all-time favorite Michigan players, Westlake, Ohio native John Kolesar, whom Drew Dileo so reminds me of, is just a matter of good fortune. I think Kolesar can easily be ranked with Howard and No. 1 in the history of Michigan receivers. 

Certainly no other receiver in school history has made the kind of game-winning plays catching balls from three different quarterbacks than he did as a four-year performer in beating Ohio twice and Alabama. Of course, there must be something about Westlake, Ohio guys and the Michigan connection. 

 

 

Magnus

August 9th, 2013 at 10:17 PM ^

I went to a coaching clinic a couple years ago, and one of the coaches from a west coast D-II school said they run a simple option route about 50% of the time. Since it puts the same player(s) in a bind every time, they can run it over and over again because they practiced it so much. It's sort of like Nebraska's old option; you know what's coming, but it's tough to stop because they run it so much and so well. 

XM - Mt 1822

August 10th, 2013 at 3:22 PM ^

have been running option routes for quite a while.   it's a simple call in the huddle:  pass blocking usually the first digit, then something like a '90 read', letting them know the down and distance.   so, the call goes- '690 read', and maybe you add some motion or waggle of some sort and you break your huddle. 

snarling wolverine

August 10th, 2013 at 2:18 PM ^

Brian is out of pocket for the weekend

Is this a common expression nowadays? Until very recently, I'd never heard "out of pocket" to mean anything other than to pay for something yourself. Am I in fact living in a well-disguised cave?