September 4th, 2015 at 12:41 AM ^
Michigan did not lose that game. Michigan beat Michigan. Utah is a top 25 team and are pretty darn good. With the absolute circus that has been M football over the last few years, can you not see that the this team is going to be better than it has been and order will be restored in AA? I am with JH and it is not coach speak...there were a lot of positives. Remember OSU got beat at home in the opener last year. How did that turn out?
September 4th, 2015 at 1:35 AM ^
...
...
God that was tasty.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:31 AM ^
Until we get Drake Johnson back, we are going to need to pass to set up the run, not the other way around. Rudcok actually looked good when he worked out of the shotgun on primarily passing drives. He can step up to this.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:42 AM ^
But the bigger question is whether this O line will be able to get it together. None of our backs are slouches, and they've had poor coaching for the past several years.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:31 AM ^
I see a lot of people blaming Perry for his route running on those picks (the first one was really bad) but Rudock all game make poor reads. The second throw to Williams was the right read and honestly the last pick was the wrong read as well. Isaac was wide open and would have easily picked up the first down.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:13 AM ^
Yeah a lot of hate for perry is misguided.
It goes both ways. Rudock needs to be a leader and get in his WRs ear if he sees an issue early
Peer made some nice plays for a true freshman
September 4th, 2015 at 12:34 AM ^
Saban lost to Louisiana Monroe in his first year. We lost by 7 on the road to one of the toughest teams on our schedule. Just beat Oregon State.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:12 AM ^
Sagan lost to ULM
Harbaugh lost to Utah
So we will probably make the NFL playoffs by year 4 by those standards
September 4th, 2015 at 12:33 AM ^
FIRE HARBAUGH
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:33 AM ^
we are who our players say we are and a HC can mean an extra couple wins or losses. We could have won this game when I thought it'd be worse, TBH. No back but Johnson has any vision JUST LIKE LAST YEAR, OL (especially Kalis) is frustratingly meh JUST LIKE LAST YEAR, Butt is our best receiving option JLLY and our defense can't keep up with teams that spread them out JLLY. Guys, 9 months doesn't transform slowish, run stopping, often a second late to react LBs into speed demons all the sudden. Peppers basically just played his third CFB game and we have an average QB that played pretty bad (at best). I've been trying to get this across but my bigger concern was a lot of what I'm seeing in threads where the new staff is basically being called the same as the last staff. They're not. This was NOT a one year fix, guys. The Summer of Harbaugh is over and reality is here. Reality is that we'd have been a 5 win team (tops) with Hoke & Co. A win tonight would have been an upset and hopefully more slow down and realize that. We're a 7 win team and were the day we hired Jim. AS FOR COACHING: Probably should have went for it on the missed FG, Green is my 5th HB (!) when Drake comes back, I don't think Jake should have been pulled but I'd stress that the job is still VERY open, we gotta get more that 2 yards when we have 7 OL on the field and.....ummm.......I'd prefer to see Taco lined up rush wide rather than inside. It looked very Hokeish but this game isn't close with that staff and we were a few bad throws and missed holes away from winning this thing, IMO. That's about all I got. Welcome to reality, accept that the fun is over and the foundation for the house isn't even finished yet. Preseason hype is over and I'm actually happy as it had people thinking crazy for a while.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:36 AM ^
I honestly had no problems with any of the playcalling, and I haven't felt that way since the 2008 Capital One Bowl.
For the offensive plays that didn't work, you could see that it was the correct idea even though it wasn't executed well. I liked how the O-Line seemed to get it together in the second half.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:42 AM ^
Exactly. I could definetly see an identity. Not once did we say "WTF?" With a play call. We also had almost no negative plays. Difference between forcing 1-3 yards a play is way better than a negative play every 4 plays with hoke
September 4th, 2015 at 1:24 AM ^
I could definetly see an identity.
Agree. The word that kept coming to my mind was "coherent."
September 4th, 2015 at 1:04 AM ^
Only play all I didn't understand was the 4th and 1 where we ran smith into Coles ass for a loss.
I know we should be able to get a yard in the ground, but we probably could've been more creative
September 4th, 2015 at 1:11 AM ^
I don't know that we have to go that far back, but I agree about the play calling.
Let's be cautious here: some of our opinions are naturally reactions against hard feelings from the failures of previous years.
But I remember being mad about play calls from the beginning of the Borges era. And that never really ceased in the Hoke era, with the results to back that up.
All that said, I had zero complaints about the way the game was called. At no time did one feel that the team was leaving yards on the table; of course, they called frequent quick passes to the receivers that turned into yards, which we've felt is a big deal. Also, it didn't seem like the calls were asking too much of the players, the way Borges would. Yeah, the plays sometimes failed, but that's football.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:37 AM ^
This wasn't watching 3 hours of nothing, like the past 2 years. We were a couple plays from walking out of there with a win.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:42 AM ^
Outside of the QB position, Utah was not superior to us. Wilson made plays, Rudock did not.
Both teams made a lot of mistakes, but the O and D lines on both teams played physical and were hard to handle.
If we had a QB as good as Wilson, we win the game by three TDs.
Hopefully, this was a one off for Rudock. He is not going to be as athletic as a Wilson, but if he can reduce TOs and hit the deep ball, we will be fine. If not we are 5-7 or 6-6. Bust that simple.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:51 AM ^
I wouldn't necessarily say "if we had a QB as good as Wilson", simply because Ruddock was just a couple of throws from us thumping them. That's the frustrating part: we had them so many times, but you have to finish every play. I do think that the team will get the timing down and it will be a different story.
Edit: I see that you did actually insinuate that. Sorry for being redundant.
September 4th, 2015 at 2:30 AM ^
Qb is the most important position on the field...and our coach (a former QB realizes it). And we didn't even need a great qb tonight. We need a decent one. We didn't get that. Rudock made maybe one great throw and 5 terrible ones.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:44 AM ^
Except for the picks and the outcome, I enjoyed the game for the most part. I was over-optimistic regarding the progress the team could make since Jim Harbaugh arrived in A^2 but then I'm a Wolverine.
Our immediate goal is to win the B1G. We're on track.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:02 AM ^
Well I wouldn't agree with that last part. MSU and OSU probably wreak that team.
Just saying
September 4th, 2015 at 8:05 AM ^
Especially on offense. I don't know that you'll be ready by the MSU game, but I expect by the time we get to Ann Arbor we won't see the number of opportunities Utah got. PSU is also late in the season. I wouldn't write off winning the B1G just yet. I wouldn't write it down you will win it, with a Sharpie, either.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:36 AM ^
This board has gone to shit. Can't even speak your opinion without people taking offense. I guess it is our super sensitive society in general.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:01 AM ^
Nobody even knows what you said bruh. There are 125 post in this thread. Votes don't mean anything anyway.
Basically, shut up
September 4th, 2015 at 9:54 AM ^
Both of you shut up.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:39 AM ^
Honestly just great to watch football again. We got a long way to go, but we definitely saw some progress tonight. Go blue
September 4th, 2015 at 12:40 AM ^
Coaching and misc stuff, right?
1. The uniforms look great.
2. Jabrill's kick return was oh-so-close to going, impressive for coming all the way across the field. He needs to see snaps on offense.
3. That early punt, with the second delay, was outstanding--our special teams look noticeably better, as they should.
4. First time in a long time that watching Michigan on the road hasn't felt like watching a team trapped in some horror movie, reacting with jitters to every bad event. They were comfortable, and while they lost, they were able to play well.
5. The 2-minute drill is a tease, but it gives a lot of hope.
6. I believe in Jim Harbaugh. The running game is going to improve significantly over the season. That will help the passing game.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:59 AM ^
I agree about the jitters thing. Only play that we looked "shook" on was the dropped pass by smith in the flat. Felt like funchess last season once he stopped caring. Didn't like it, but it was isolated. I trust it won't happen again. Was more of a lack of focus than lack of effort but some would argue that those are the same thing
September 4th, 2015 at 12:42 AM ^
Coaching was adequate. Good, even.
On the other hand, you are what your record says you are, and tonight we lost.
I thought Harbaugh and co. had them ready enough to win in all phases except quarterback play. And the QB woes might not be the fault of coaching - probably are not, given Harbaugh's record. Unfortunately that means that despite good coaching, Jake (and his receivers) stil gave the ball away 3 times. That's not a sign that points to a happy season ahead.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:45 AM ^
It's the first game, everything is new for Jake. He will be fine. Zero running game doesn't help him. Perry's route running will improve. For what we have, I thought there were good things to build off. Team will be good and improve each week.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:56 AM ^
Running game struggled because of the lack of a passing game. It works hand in hand. You need balance.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:02 AM ^
Somewhat, the RB's missed several holes. Passing game was decent, we just don't have great RB's and our oline got beat by their dline
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September 4th, 2015 at 1:09 AM ^
I cannot disagree with any of that
September 4th, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^
Let's not kid ourselves; it struggled because the OL wasn't playing that well. No push & few holes. And the passing game DID take advantage of Utah stuffing the box with those quick passes to the wideouts that kept getting yards.
A dynamite passing game does loosen things up but a good running game just plain gets yards, and Michigan did not.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:09 AM ^
I agree, we lacked a push and didn't not open enough holes. But I was trying to explain why it was such a struggle to do those things.
Definitely want to see us get to a point where we simply "get yards" but I'm afraid that will not happen anytime soon. I would strive for balance at the moment and work from there.
Fwfw, I was happy with most of what we saw and I think improvement will come
September 4th, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^
The five poor throws really, really hurt though.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:06 AM ^
It wasn't bad, but we didn't pose a deep threat to take the safeties out of the box.
The screens were also an attempt to spread them out but they can only do so much w/o a vertical threat
It will come though
September 4th, 2015 at 8:50 AM ^
Exactly. I was saying this all game.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:46 AM ^
Is that the only QB we have? Hope he improves or this year is lost.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:48 AM ^
This was better than any loss from last season. The team looks like it's coming together, not falling apart.
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September 4th, 2015 at 12:55 AM ^
I agree. Big difference in that regard. It felt like we kissed opporrunities that we will take advantage of in the future, instead of continuing to piss down our own leg
September 4th, 2015 at 12:48 AM ^
If Minnesota had a QB that could throw, they'd have beaten TCU (file this under miscellaneous).
September 4th, 2015 at 12:50 AM ^
We were the more disciplined and better coached team. I haven't said that in a while. Only 3 penalties. Utah had two PFs on two of our scoring drives, they looked poorly coached and undisciplined.
Rudock was bad. Iowa fans were screaming that he cannot throw the deep ball. Still, he shows heart and if he can clean it up we will win 8+ games.
September 4th, 2015 at 12:58 AM ^
The players, mainly on offense, choked a little on the road. However, the coaching did not. Big positive diff to me. Rudock, i mean obviously, but some poor receiver adjustments as well. This game did NOT feel like last year's game, but Harbaugh has lots of work to accomplish. i think he has good film to assist in the turnaround i expect next saturday. Also, there was no quit in this team, even though on the road and down 14 late in the 2nd half...that's something to build upon. I will venture 3 wins in a row to follow....
September 4th, 2015 at 1:01 AM ^
What is with the signs we used to communicate signals? We were holding up giant posters with Chicago Bears helmets and green pieces of cardboard and the letter 'B.' I loved it but heck if I understood it.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^
It is clear that most of you have no idea what you are talking about and know nothing about football. This team was so much better prepared and coached for this game, there is almost no similarity to last year. Period. Harbaugh has already done a great job. Period. In addition, Utah is a very good team (they beat UCLA and USC last year) and has a very good QB and runnng back. We were in this game when we really shouldn't have been at all. Utah is a legit team and Michigan will win a lot this year. Those of you who think otherwise should honestly take up another hobby.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:06 AM ^
Room for improvement but we have the right coach to do it! Agree, we'll get better each week
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September 4th, 2015 at 1:08 AM ^
You're right, but I'm in a bad mood. Collect your participation trophy somewhere else.
September 4th, 2015 at 1:18 AM ^
If I'd never watched a down of Michigan football since 2007 I'd probably buy what you are selling. However things have happened since then, most of them bad and most of them started out in similar fashion to this. No run game, turnover prone QBs, defenses that spend too much time on the field and predictible one dimensional offenses. We blow or first game or have an underwhelming performance against a cupcake and people come out of the woodwork to proclaim how X coach is going to get it turned around and we are all overreacting. All that bullshit never lasted past our first trip to the B1G woodshed and guys like you were bitching right along with the rest of us.