Perspective, anyone?
When it comes to sports in general, admittedly, I have tunnel vision. I love my wolverines, a few professional teams, and that's about it. For the sake of perspective, with the exception of outright scandals, is there a similar implosion that comes to mind? I have seen teams slowly erode into mediocrity (which we have already done); but, this team, THIS STAFF, seems to have spiraled into complete chaos in very short order.
Maybe I'm looking for an inspirational story...
September 28th, 2014 at 1:21 AM ^
Same stuff at the end of his tenure: baffling special teams errors, poor game decisions, players that didn't look like they cared, arrogant and defiant statements from the coach, complete lack of fire despite there clearly being talent. Rivers was making mistakes largely because he was pressing himself as a leader to make up for other deficiencies on the team.
Tomorrow I will watch my Chargers control the shit out of the ball and roll over a bottom feeder two weeks after they beat the crap out of the Seahawks. Last year they made the playoffs in inspiring fashion, winning games they should have lost instead of losing games they should have won with almost the same team as the year before. We're not the most talented team and won't win every game, but I have every confidence they are a well-coached team, and that's nice. Guys will make plays on them and outrun them, but they won't shoot themselves in the foot.
There is hope.
September 28th, 2014 at 1:22 AM ^
Today's Morris incident was horrible and will result in Brady losing his job. I hope he broke his contract too.
Brandon will be gone soon enough.
September 28th, 2014 at 2:46 AM ^
Other teams' suffering is no consolation to me.
September 28th, 2014 at 8:08 AM ^
Bump's '62 team made this team look like Superbowl champs. Four shutouts. 2-7.
The '63 squad wasn't a whole lot better.
'64 team was a 1 point loss to the Bob Griese-led Boilermakers from an undefeated season, Big 10 and Rose Bowl champs, #4 in AP/UPI. And if you count national championships like the Sparties up the road do, you'd add 1964 to Michigan's list of national titles, per the Dunkel Rankings.
This too shall pass.
September 28th, 2014 at 8:39 AM ^
And Bump was replaced.
The rate this team turns the ball over, we may match that 4 shutout record.
And furthermore, is that what we've come to? We go back 50 f'ing years to find an offense as bad as this one and just sit back and say "oh well."?
EDIT:
MSU and OSU will shut us out. That's a total of 3 shutouts. So yeah, we just might match Bump's four shutout team.
September 28th, 2014 at 10:11 AM ^
To me this is the worst part of the whole Hoke regime, In the last four years this team's turnover ratio has gone up not down..
September 28th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
Bump wasn't replaced after '62. He kept on coaching another six seasons before finally calling it a day after the '68 Game.
September 28th, 2014 at 9:00 AM ^
September 28th, 2014 at 10:00 AM ^
I'll give you some perspective: Even Rich Rod never lost the goddamn Jug.
September 28th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
To be fair he only faced them once. Hoke had been 3-0 against them until yesterday.
At any rate, I don't care to compare the two least-successful coaches here in the last 45 years. Neither performed to our standards.
September 28th, 2014 at 10:13 AM ^
When Rodriguez got here, we buried him before he started. I wanted him fired after year two, but even I didn't hate him when he took the job. Then, in year two/three, we had the whole stay/go argument. Now we are here with Hike, and have been since last Fall.
My stance is this: The SEC, Texas, USC, and others have teams with short down periods and returns to the top ten because they do not accept losing. One losing season and you're gone. Mac Brown won a national title and was shown the door because 8-4 every year wasn't good enough.
I know, "we are too good to be ess eee see". I agree, but our administration is too academic to ever let our institutional integrity fall like that. I'm saying, as a fan base, just vote with your wallet. Stop going, make them see a loss of money and set a win or else mentality.
September 28th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
I think there is a fester in the football program from AD down that is now a lazy culture of "do as little as it takes".
I see no accountablity, leadership from anyone associated with this program and yes that does include the players. Why do you think you have no captians? How many times did I see to sluggish OL stand around looking at the QB or runner getting tackled?
I would clean house top to bottom every trainer, coach, staff hire a strong-willed coach to build from ground up he can dump as many people as he wants including players.
September 28th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
September 28th, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
I was born in Columbus and come from a long-time Buckeye family. We did move to Ann Arbor when I was young (in the 1960s) and I attended John Allen Elementary and Scarlett Jr. High. I attended many UM football games. I even wore an OSU tshirt to the first summer football clinic Bo put on in Michgan Stadium (noticed by Bo but I lived to tell the tale). I was at the '69 game.
The OSU-UM game was always the highlight of the schedule and usually determined the Big Ten Champion. Beating UM was always a thrill because they were great teams - it meant something. It gave you a good feeling that carried over all year until the next Game. Being a Buckeye in Ann Arbor was never easy, but it was fun. Woody vs. Bo.
Things have changed since that time. The UM program seems to have lost its way. In his post-game interview Coach Hoke seemed lost, unfocused, unsure what to do. Dysfunction in the athletic department. The Coke ticket debacle. I have read that many former UM lettermen have weighed in that AD Dave Brandon needs to go.
Michigan recruits great players year after year. Sure, that the program has not turned around starts with the coaches. But I can’t help feel that the problem goes deeper than the coaches and is more systemic - meaning the Athletic Department as a whole. That starts with Dave Brandon.
It is my sincere hope that UM gets some new blood in the Athletic Department and turns things around. I would like nothing better than beating a UM team that is top notch. Meyer vs. Harbaugh, Meyer vs. Miles - kind of has a nice ring, doesn’t it?
September 28th, 2014 at 10:46 PM ^
I have a bit of history hear as I was a child when I first was introduced to football. I was coming in the early 70's with my parents to Michigan stadium. They always seemed to win and they had the greatest band and fight song. I was hooked but it wasn't just the winning. It was the way they did it. It was with integrity, hard work and this crazy guy saying... the team, the team, the team.
I don't think people realize what booing the team reflects on everyone. For shame to those who do know better. Lets pick it up and encourage the team. Stop this course language and back bitting. Lets be different, we all know that change is a constant. Parity has come to college football. No longer do teams have 100 scholarships or are the only team that is on TV.
Consistency, effort, faith and enouragement are needed more than ever. Lets be different, the Michigan difference. Lets have class and show what type of character exists at Michigan and its fan base.
Change will occur if we do not have the right leaders but lets support them and not make it harder. Perhaps I'm a throwback, but I think high principles win in the end.