Enough

Submitted by caserm10 on
Unfortunately I just had to endure something painful, however, this is a new unrecogonizable pain. My pain comes from hearing fellow "followers", fellow "wolverines", fellow, and I use this lightly, "FANS". I was recently at a NYC UM bar and heard nothing but disdain for the UM program. Nothing but hatred for the hiring of RR. I've come to the conclusion that there are two types of people following UM football right now:
1. Those who know UM football. Personal, history, tradition, and statistics. These people can rattle off our bowl appearance streak, our deficiancies, and our past accomplishments. They claim that they could indeed coach UM to a better W-L record at this point. They point out the, "I told you so about Coach RR and his staff". 
However, these people seem to know very little about the actual sport itself. They claim that they would adjust to the personal around them. They would run the "I" or a more pro-style offense. They could all of a sudden become Buddy Ryan playing zone instead of "46" constant pressure. They could all of a sudden become Bill Walsh running a "Run and Shoot". 
2. TRUE FANS....
Yes TRUE FANS who understand and ACCEPT that there are shortcomings on this team. That is not to say, that this team deserves any less acceptance than any other before them. For this team is TRYING, PERSEVERING, PLODDING, and showing, most importantly, HEART. This folks is called laying the foundation. Unfortunately, so many are blinded by simple numbers such as 2-5. Please realize this is not the fault of the coaches, nor is it the fault of the players! This is the result of timing!! 
I would find it very hard to believe that there was a UM fan that didn't say, "OH SH*T", here comes Sheridan. Don't blame the kid, he's a walk-on....at MICHIGAN....PLAYING THE NUMBER 3 TEAM IN THE COUNTRY. We've seen him, he's not the answer. Don't act surprised when something goes wrong. 
We've all seen the potential of this offense. We've all asked one another, "where would we be with TP right now?"
F him...We'll get there without him. This is painful but who would not trade a BOWL APPEARANCE streak for a 3 game BCS winning streak. Tradition you say? Give this man a chance to coach a MSU game or a OSU game for that matter. 
Think about it. Any job takes time to adjust to. If you work for a company and transfer to a rival within that year, will you fit in immediately. Will you know all of the traditions of that company, the mission statement, or will you have to adjust to them?
GIVE THIS MAN A CHANCE. Ask yourself if you are willing to forgo the stagnation that has slowed the progress of this institution or are you willing to allow transition for prosperity( i.e. USC, Alabama, etc...). 
LETS GO BLUE!!!!
 

Comments

pjrodrig

October 18th, 2008 at 8:54 PM ^

with a freshman QB, LOL, at least ND has J Claw & no.1 recruiting class, we're doomed to 6-6 next season & maybe up to Lloyd's 8-4 or 9-3 in 2010. I can't wait. This is so much worse than we all thought. No bowl, ND will beat us again in September, OSU will keep rolling, even MSU will roll us next week. Waiting, after winning 8/9 per year minimum, ain't in our vocabulary. This thing isn't getting that much better in one or two seasons. I wish I had your patience.

Joined: 07/21/2008

MGoPoints: 1

caserm10

October 18th, 2008 at 9:01 PM ^

That is what you have to ask yourself. 
Is it better to have a winning record for X amount of years w/ 2 possible shots at a MNC or be USC?
What hurts more, knowing you have the talent to win the NC every year and blowing it to a less adequate team or performing to your to maximum abilitly. I for one believe RR and staff will bring out the best of our talent. We've endured the last 15 years of saying "what if?"
For better or worse, it was time for something different. Thus far the results are skewed. Recruiting is a plus....Record is a minus. 
However, RECRUITING does not equal RECORD thus far. That is undetermined. 
Give these guys credit, understand the hardships they are experiencing! Remember what you were doing at 18 and if you truly believe, with little/no experience, you could do better, so be it. KNOWLEDGE=POWER. 

Joined: 10/18/2008

MGoPoints: 2

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 18th, 2008 at 9:45 PM ^

Thank you, thank you, thank you. caserm10 is right.  Quit whinning and stick behind the coach. This team is going to be very good eventually but not this season.  Rodriguez is a great coach and recruiter and handles himself well.  Sorry everyone but it is time to grow up and see that sometimes you may have to be patient.

 

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 18th, 2008 at 9:59 PM ^

Since you can apparently see into the future, now I don't have to waste anytime watching what will happen.  So, will they can RR after the '10 season?  Let me know how everything will go because that will save me a lot of hassle.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

imafreak1

October 18th, 2008 at 10:18 PM ^

Dude, every post you write is about ND. Most of the time the original post you're responding to has nothing to do with ND. You've suggested Skip Holtz should replace RR, pimped J Claw multiple times, rationalized players leaving ND etc. Is there something you'd like to tell everyone?

But hey fellas, don't take my word for it. Click the nick and check his post history!

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 2844

Polisci

October 18th, 2008 at 8:57 PM ^

Yeah, I understand your pain. Except that there is no reason to put Sheridan. If Threet is hurt, then we might as well put a RB at QB, because Sheridan is totally and completely worthless. He makes bad decisions, he can't throw, and he can't run. What's left?

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 196

goblue02

October 18th, 2008 at 9:24 PM ^

Which crap NYC UM bar did you go to? I gave up after suffering through some of the comments at Blondie's last week. With Time Warner apparently reaching an agreement with BTN, I doubt I'll ever go back to one for a game.

Joined: 10/18/2008

MGoPoints: 6

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 18th, 2008 at 9:36 PM ^

I couldn't agree more. I am sick of hearing the people that call into sports radio around the ann arbor area saying that RR was not the right hire and he needs to be fired. We need to be patient. And I can guarantee you that Threet was injured when RR put Sheridan in. Anyway good effort in the first half but it turned out to be what we expected it to be. Now it is time to turn our attention to "Our Little Brother" for next week.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

mth822

October 19th, 2008 at 3:57 AM ^

It is just a weird omen to see so many people hating. There's a lot of hatred surrounding this one. I mean look at the two coaches in the state of Indiana(Tiller+Holtz), if you let them characterize Rodriguez you'd get a Wizard dressed in typical German garb. Rosenberg has made it his life's vendetta to make sure Rich feels every nail. And Mayo(GR PRESS) has now jumped ship as well as Drew Sharp. I said at the beginning of this year that when I saw this staff and how they were responding that it could get ugly. I also said that if this scenario played out Michigan's media would jump ship and jump his shit. I was basically told two thing by this board:

1. For starters your an idiot.

2. It'll never happen.

To me it comes down to winning the national championship. I think RR is a heavy hitter. He can win the big ones where as Carr is your sure steady investment. RR is high risk high reward. Or as in investment, when he's kicking butt there's no stopping him but if he's down they are one of the worst investments. So I think the division, the real division for Michigan's fans starts there. They know RR can bring the NC and will overlook this dismal year. Because WHEN the turnaround happens they will be the ones yelling,"see it was that this team sucked." Or there will be many reasons to justify it.  The other side is basically saying what writers like Rosenberg, Mayo, and now Drew Sharp are saying. That is basically,"Hey Rich, they weren't that good but now listen, they weren't that bad either." People are attacking his ego and pinging on it left and right. That is troublesome.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

mth822

October 19th, 2008 at 3:35 PM ^

She sourced Norm Chow, that does not mean Chow approved it or wanted it though. Norm Chow is a fantastic football mind. Ask Jim Herrmann what he thought of Norm Chow and the USC offense? Her goal with that article was to try and compare two supposed offensive geniuses who are currently isolated at two different schools. And then say Chow is getting more out of less and doing better with the hand he was dealt. It's up to you, the reader to decide if its pulling facts to support a crappy argument or she's using facts the right way. In sports, it's usually all one sided as far as arguments go. The problem I have with it all is the frequency of articles hitting the main stage on this one. Like I said before it is troublesome.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

turbo cool

October 18th, 2008 at 10:11 PM ^

case, the hardest part about this season isn't the actual losses. as you pointed out, if you actually followed the team and saw who our starters were (and the ridiculous holes left in the squad) you would know that we wouldn't have a great year; even if LC were still coach.

 

the hardest part about this season is seeing so many of our fans showing their true colors. this is disgusting. i can't believe how many fair-weather and bandwagon fans we have. if you truly took the time to understand the situation RR is facing and where the program is you wouldn't be so quick to judge every facet of michigan football. as much as we'd like to think we have the best fans in college football, there's no way that's true. and it's sad to admit that.

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 977

BlockM

October 18th, 2008 at 10:22 PM ^

I've been trying to think of something to write in one of these diaries that hadn't already been said, but you just wrote everything I've been feeling all season. On the plus side, during the game they finally brought up the fact that RR's second seasons have been much better than his first seasons EVERYWHERE he's been. It's NEXT year that keeps me from walking away and finding something else to do during the last minutes of these games. Once this team returns to the glory that is Michigan Football, I'll know that I stuck by them no matter what.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 40711

Henne for Heis…

October 18th, 2008 at 10:27 PM ^

I think it's jumping the gun to assume we're going to BCS caliber in the next few years. Even saying we'll get 8 or 9 wins in the next two years could be a stretch, though possible. I just hate the 1st play we run every time we have a first down. Everytime = loss of yardage.

Joined: 09/20/2008

MGoPoints: 125

hat

October 18th, 2008 at 10:37 PM ^

Actually, today we were generally pretty good on first down, at least while Threet was playing QB. Minor is better at finding the correct hole than McGuffie and is better at running through traffic.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 15

joedafan

October 19th, 2008 at 12:04 AM ^

This post reminds me of the rhetoric over patriotism, whose flames were most recently fanned by Sarah Palin's comments about being in pro-America parts of the country (presumably as opposed to the anti-America parts of America). Is it patriotic to blindly support the president, or to openly oppose the president's decisions? Are both equally patriotic? I wonder, too, if caserm10's definition of being a true fan allows for people to have been critical of Lloyd Carr.

Joined: 10/17/2008

MGoPoints: 1579

mth822

October 19th, 2008 at 3:26 PM ^

  1. Some writers just feel the need to sell more papers and controversy is good for business. When I said Drew jumped ship I was implying publicly. And to clarify even that, I mean he is showing how far his scales are tipped and where he's leaning as far as Rich goes. Not everyone who reads the sports section knows the in's and out's of college football. So these guys bias is huge as far as how many minds they can reach with it. 
  2. The demonization of RR has to stop though. It's become really heartless and soulless. HOWEVER COMMA I do think there is something bad, beyond the x's and o's and wins and losses that is definitely resonating from within the fanbase on this one. Sometimes it can get so bad within an organization that people begin to NOT care to wait for that,"Magic Moment," when all the chess pieces are in place and all is puuurfect magical. But, I still think if you want a National Champion in Ann Arbor, you're going to have to deal with this and just bitch. Because if the chess pieces are someday perfect, Rich is your guy. 
  3. The Michigan Media is starting to scare me some and at the same time I am amazed by their bravado. They are really feisty. But I think Rich kind of underestimated the potential blowback of a season and fanbase gone awol. I mean the fans boo, the writers boo, you're losing to Toledo and so on. All in all that dude will need to do some soul searching this off season because if you think this year is tough, wait until next year. If Michigan falls apart mentally next year this media version, and the alumni and fans will be even uglier. Michigan is a tough place to coach.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

ShockFX

October 19th, 2008 at 1:59 PM ^

I can't believe so many idiots don't understand what "spread offense" means. It typically just means 3+ WRs spread across the field. We beat Florida with a spread. You can run power football out of a spread. Texas and Oklahoma run a spread. Pat White is not a prototypical "spread" qb, he's a prototypical wishbone or veer option QB maybe. Spread only refers to the WR vs FB/TE counts nominally.

Joined: 07/16/2008

MGoPoints: 4073

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 19th, 2008 at 2:21 PM ^

It's Sunday, October 19th. And you can kiss your season goodbye. Good luck with that new coach.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

hat

October 19th, 2008 at 4:19 PM ^

Unless these articles actually cause our recruiting to fall off (the only real long-term danger from this season), there's nothing "troubling" about them. They're just a bunch of journalists blowing hot air.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 15

mth822

October 19th, 2008 at 8:09 PM ^

I think there is a duality to it. And yeah on one hand if there no attrition or recruiting fall off then no harm no foul. But I also think there is a huge,"reveal," here being played or or carried out through many mediums that deal with Michigan Football. And if you walk it or go forwards from within this current moment, all of the things that plague Michigan as a program(including fanbase) are being revealed. Even on here, I've seen reason shredded in the preseason and in the coping mechanisms once the losses started. The slide started(as pointed out by numerous individuals on here) with attrition and ended with a finger pointing contest. The status quo was abruptly ended, the swagger lost, and the newborn is now out, kicking and screaming. The knowledge acquired though in these moments can bring about new knowledge which can one be harnessed and harvested. You just have to keep believing and plugging away. Demonizing a coach and booing made me think twice about Michigan's fan-base. If you like the Winged Helmet just because you have a superiority complex and then subsequently bail on them when they lose, please go. I have been apart of the rebuilding process. Each year a team peaks and each year a team starts anew. Rarely do you just reload and knock fools out. Michigan's retooling process will yield a massive upswing. But only if the guys take the mental game up a notch as well. You want to blame the coach then fine but it's so far from being ALL coaching on this one. So if blaming the coach and living the lie is good medicine for you, well, once again, go. The truth is always better and the truth is they need time. 

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 19th, 2008 at 6:18 PM ^

Please stop using triple exclamation points and all-caps in your posts, it makes you look like a girl.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 19th, 2008 at 6:52 PM ^

Ok, you can't use RichRod's turnarounds to blind yourself from his total and undeniable failure this year. Am I ready to fire him? Not at all, he deserves three seasons, but the fact that things could (and hopefully will) turn around is not a reason to ignore how poorly Rich Rod has led the team thus far.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

Anonymous Coward (not verified)

October 19th, 2008 at 7:42 PM ^

yes, but i think people make a fair point when they say we should never go 3-9. never. there is a dichotomy i think that for some reason people fail to point out that you can be pissed about the season and still be a "true fan." i watch every minute of every game and support the team. i dont boo or whatver your hot button pet peeve is that means to you that people dont support the team. but i am mad they are no good and i am mad that we lost to toledo (ok, psu was way better than us). trying is good, but its not enough. it's a start. RR should not be fired. i agree to some extent that he has been the victim of bad circumstances. but it also doesnt mean he gets a free pass for toledo, and it doesnt mean i am super happy about a crappy year. i still love michigan football ,and always will. but dont expect me to be thrilled to death about 2-5, whatever the circumstances might be.

Joined: 12/12/2017

MGoPoints: 0

exmtroj

October 24th, 2008 at 12:12 AM ^

I go to school in the NYC area, where's this UM bar at? It kills me that I never have anyone to watch the games with and I had to watch the glorious Wisconsin game comeback by myself.

Joined: 10/24/2008

MGoPoints: 3318