Monday Morning Michigan Football (or Michigan vs. OSU) Snowflakes Thread
Let's go ahead and try and get ahead of this before it gets out of hand with all of the hot takes.
For your reference...
DurkinWatch Thread: http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/durkinwatch-baltimore-sun-reports-md-interview-multiple-candidates-monday
Bowl Game Predictions: http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/bowl-game-predictions-how-does-yesterdays-lossrudocks-injury-affect-us
"WAAAY Too Early" '16-'17 Depth Chart: http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/annual-waaay-too-early-depth-chart-16-17
November 30th, 2015 at 9:10 AM ^
We lost The Game, but the future looks great! Remember where we were a year ago.
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November 30th, 2015 at 9:16 AM ^
From 5-7 to 9-3 is a great improvement, and while losing to OSU sours it a bit the future is bright and we have our guy. Overall a good season, and hopefully one of the worst Harbaugh will ever have here.
If you told me 9-3 at the beginning of the year I would've gladly taken it.
Was really, really disheartened by the roughing the punter call. I have no evidence that that was a game-changing moment and to my (slightly intoxicated) eyes it didn't look like a penalty at all, or at worst it was running in to the kicker as his plant leg was not touched (still would've been 4th down after the 5 yard penalty).
November 30th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
Nobody should be whining for one second about that penalty—if you make contact with the punter you're going to get flagged 95 times out of 100.
Trying for the punt block in that situation was one of the stupidest fucking coaching decisions I've seen in a long time out of Michigan. Stopping one of the most potent offenses in the country inside the five was a big emotional plus at the time, and we were guaranteed to get the ball no worse than mid-field. There was absolutely no necessity to block that kick at that point in the game. As soon as we stopped them on 3rd down I said out loud in the bar to nobody in particular "Now don't do anything stupid like trying to block the goddamn punt—just get the fucking ball on the fifty and go to work." Instead, the predictable happened. That's on the coaching staff.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
I agree with you. But it's hard to imagine that would have changed the outcome of the game. It may have been closer, but the way OSU was running the ball, there were going to put points on the board.
Say we score after getting ball in the 50 and OSU scores one less TD. Still puts the game at 35-20.
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November 30th, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^
But in combination with the decision to send gunners on the final punt against MSU even though the Spartans had no intent on trying to return the kick, I'm scratching my head about some of Baxter's decisions.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
Yeah I was hoping that O'Neill was going to catch the snap and then pass it out to one of the gunners for a quick first down and possibly game sealing TD. Guess we will never know.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
He said afterward that it was not going to be a pass.
November 30th, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
I have said this in at least three threads now. Baxter should not be employed at Michigan next year. Terrible job.
November 30th, 2015 at 1:24 PM ^
Our special teams were 100.8 percent better this year than last year.
One or two boneheads by an individual player do not equal fire Baxter.
I was thrilled with special teams this year compared to last year's utter tire fire.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:55 AM ^
I believe that really changed the pace of the game... They went and scored on that drive. If they don't, and we do, we're in the lead, their game planning changes a little... Just my personal opinion.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
Harbaugh is ultra-competitive. There was no guarantee that Michigan getting the ball on the 50 was going to produce points. Harbaugh went for a game-changer and it went the wrong way. As it turns out, Michigan was just outmanned on Saturday.
If the occasional "stupid" decision backfires, I'll gladly accept it as part of having Jim Harbaugh as coach. Y'know why? Because everyone would have been calling Harbaugh a "genius" if the punt had been blocked.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:12 AM ^
I heard Maryland is interviewing Jordan Elliot for Head Coach.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:20 AM ^
But he committed to us like three times!
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November 30th, 2015 at 9:39 AM ^
If you wait till later today, it will be a fourth time!
November 30th, 2015 at 9:14 AM ^
Harbaugh!
Seriously. I'd rather him at the helm than anyone else.
It's now about talent acquisition and development. From that, good things follow.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:14 AM ^
Dino Babers could have called a better defensive scheme, and that's pretty much written in stone!
November 30th, 2015 at 9:31 AM ^
I am just praying we stay within 3 TDs of Dino Babers Fighting UCFers because he is a walking god and Harbaugh = Hoke.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:14 AM ^
Will be posting a diary later titled: 10 Reasons Why I Would've Gotten Laid Had that Roughing the Punter Penalty Not Been Called
November 30th, 2015 at 9:17 AM ^
The offseason is coming at the right time. Let's take a few months and think about what we've done. And by "Let's" and "we've" I mean actually us, not "us" in the sense of the Michigan Football players/coaches.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:19 AM ^
Sorry but my opinion is too important to be confined to one thread. I think I will create more for every shower thought I have.
/s
November 30th, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^
been much better had you let it stand without the /s!
November 30th, 2015 at 9:19 AM ^
If anyone on here or in real life says something like "Harbaugh didn't get the team ready" or "Hoke would've done better" just take them through the simple exercise of thinking about what would have happened if Hoke was still our coach. Not only did Harbaugh take this team from 5-7 to 9-3, Hoke probably would have had this team at 3-9.
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November 30th, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^
To look at things in the big picture of things Harbaugh did a great job at what he had with this roster. What's next for Michigan to get better is get an great RB to start right away, more playmakers on the WR core, more depth on the LIne, Athletic LBs and mainly just get more depth on the team.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^
If it's true that Durkin went on a job interview during the week before The Game, he should be fired. Especially after that defensive shitshow he orchestrated.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:27 AM ^
If it's true that you watched another team before the game on Saturday you should be fired.
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November 30th, 2015 at 9:29 AM ^
of analogy is that? It doesn't even make sense.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:37 AM ^
You don't fire a guy based off of nothing.
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November 30th, 2015 at 10:15 AM ^
during the time that you should be spending every waking moment preparing for the most important game of the year is just a bad look. It tells me that Durkin was more concerned about his future prospects than getting ready for the game.
I'll put it another way. Let's say I have a big project due at work this Saturday. This is the most important project of the year for my company and can make or break our immediate future and can have a significant impact on the company's future performance.
What does is say about me as an employee if instead of working overtime on the project, I'm going on job interviews instead?
Especially when Saturday comes around and my portion of the project consists of pictures of different kinds of shit taped to the walls of the conference room.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^
You are at two different ends of the spectrum here. You say that Durkin out out a bad gameplan, which he did. But you also complain as if he interviewed every day of the week and sat around on thanksgiving rubbing his belly. The interview might have been a 15 minute phone conversation. You don't fire a guy after one bad performance without getting all the details. If Michigan had lost by 3 holding them to 17 would you be calling for his head?
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November 30th, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^
You missed a few points in Mad Hatters post:
1. He only said to fire him if he went on an interview during the week leading up to the game. while you say "get all the details," his firing comment was only if Durkin did actually interview during the week fo the game. If so;
2. He didn't say to fire him for thie shit defensive performance. He said to fire him because we put in a shit defensive performance and he spent time during the week leading up to the game on an interview with Maryland.
I am totaly with Hatter on this one. This is our biggest game of the year - I would expect everyone who has involvement with the team - players, coaches, assistants, trainers, etc. - to be singularly consumed with winning the game for the 6-day period between our Penn State win and kickoff. If he is taking even 15 minutes to conduct an interview (and by the way, I am sure that he would also spend time talking to his agent if he is interviewing, as well as others such as his wife and family) than he isn't singularly focused on winning the game.
I understand that the following analogy involves an area totally different from football, but I think that it applies. I am a litigator, and I conduct fairly high-value, intensive trials. While I have several cases on my plate at any given time, when I have a big case going to trial, during the two weeks before the trial, all of my other cases are put off to the side (or handled day to day by those working for me or one of my partners), and I am careful to schedule my trials for times in which I will not be distracted by personal obligations (for example, I never schedule trials shortly after my kdis birthdays or during June because my kids have end of the year shows). The point is that in the lead up to my trials, I am singularly focused on poring over every bit of information available to allow me to be better prepared than my adversary. And, for larger cases, my clients expect nothing else. I, personally, would expect that the D coordinator at Michigan, who is responsible for coming up with the defensive gameplan, would be similarly obsessive and not wasting his time interviewing with Maryland!
November 30th, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
I still disagree but I see where you guys are coming from.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:48 AM ^
Nevermind, michgoblue said it better than I did.
November 30th, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
I still disagree but I see where you guys are coming from.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^
If you don't get analogies, you should be fired.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:30 AM ^
or it was something handled by phone or through his agent. Coaching searches feel slightly less murky than SEC recruiting, so it's hard to know who's telling the truth.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:32 AM ^
If he did interview do you really think he did it without the AD and Harbaugh's blessing?
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November 30th, 2015 at 9:33 AM ^
We should probably fire Hackett and Harbaugh as well then.
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November 30th, 2015 at 9:36 AM ^
Would Gruden be available?
November 30th, 2015 at 9:52 AM ^
My predictions:
Les Miles - AD
Jon Gruden - HC
Dino Babers - OC
Bud Foster - DC
Lee Haney - S&C (why the hell not)
November 30th, 2015 at 9:58 AM ^
Les Miles will be the DC.
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November 30th, 2015 at 12:13 PM ^
Matt Millen for recruiting coordinator.
November 30th, 2015 at 10:14 AM ^
I'm in favor of firing Harbaugh for the sake of good front page, offseason coaching search content.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:32 AM ^
This take. It's too hot. Must get oven mitts.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:27 AM ^
just ensures Harbaugh will be coaching Michigan for a longer time period. No way he'll fail on his quest to bring UM Football back to the top. Now is when alumni, students, players, coaches & fans need to be on the same page in terms of supporting this great university. In the interim, be happy that no matter how well UM's athletic teams perform, Michigan is and always will be known worldwide for its academic excellence first. Slam me for being on my high horse, but that is something to be very proud of.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:31 AM ^
battle in what will be a long war. Everything is about positioning. Michigan can now measure it's worth against the most talented team in the Big Ten. Michigan's worth is far less right now and that's okay because Michigan beat who they should have and was a play away from beating MSU. Depth and talent is needed to beat Ohio State. This could take a few years, but keep in mind next year is Urban Meyers 5th in Columbus. Ohio State loses a lot of experience and will no doubt reload, but Michigan returns a lot of experience and this loss will burn the fire at a higher temperature going into the offseason.
November 30th, 2015 at 9:33 AM ^
I for one am still sick to my stomach about Saturday on almost every level.
I am very appreciative of our development and current record vs prior.
But I always and I mean always expect us to fight Ohio State. Don't come to Michigan if you are not ready for that.
We flat out got our asses spanked and it makes me sick.
I love everything Michigan. But I was shocked at this game in every aspect and how we didn't perform.
How do we go punch for punch with MSU but not OSU? At home!!
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November 30th, 2015 at 9:39 AM ^
Because OSU at their best is a much better team than MSU and us not having our full DL exposed the weakness of our defense.
November 30th, 2015 at 12:15 PM ^
Also, we match up better with MSU's offense than OSU's.