Unverified Voracity Pokes The Bear
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No mercy. I'm completely fine with John O'Korn throwing garbage-time bombs into the endzone with Michigan up multiple scores:
The @RunRalphieRun uniform combination is ... the exact same as it was on 9/24/94. #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/fbyjoWX3P5
— Colorado Buffaloes (@cubuffs) September 12, 2016
This is poking the bear. Colorado, consider the bears poked.
Meanwhile, the bear. PFF's early-season take on Michigan is off-the-charts optimistic. Notes from a meaty piece:
- Michigan is their top defense so far. The competition has not been great, obviously.
- The OL is second(!) in pass protection.
- Kyle Kalis was one of PFF's worst returning guards nationally. (I wonder what PFF would have thought about Michigan's 2013 line if Kalis's shaky 2015 was that bad in their eyes.) He's up to seventh nationally(!!!) in their grading. That's sure to slide backwards as Michigan's schedule gets tougher, but as I mentioned UCF actually has a player or two on their DL. If Kalis manages to hang onto a top 30 spot it's time to buy Tim Drevno an above-ground outdoor pool.
- Newsome's been great as a pass protector and okay on the ground; I'm seeing more or less the same thing. Newsome's having some mental issues on plays to the edge and he has a tendency to pull so deep that he runs himself out of any chance to block someone.
- Speight is well ahead of Early Season Jake Rudock, which is 1) not a surprise and 2) faint praise. OTOH, PFF has him accurate on 28 of 36 opportunities from the last game and I think they're grading as harshly as possible there—I wouldn't knock Speight for that attempted dumpoff to Evans that Evans couldn't get out on, for one.
- Speight's efficiency has gone through the floor when he gets pressure.
- In a separate article on their top 25 they note that Ryan Glasgow has posted bonkers 86 and 84 grades so far; they rank Glasgow as one of their top five NFL draft risers: “Glasgow’s consistently defeated one-on one blocks, and opponents haven’t been able to move him off the line of scrimmage on double teams. In addition to his dominant run play, he’s averaging a pressure once every seven pass rushes, an impressive ratio for a nose tackle.”
All of that is very positive, especially Kalis. In the season preview I mentioned that he was the one returning player on the line who could take a major step forward. Early indications are that he has, and again since so many of his problems last year were mental the kind of improvements he's made are ones that translate to tougher competition.
I'm not sure there's much to read into Speight's issues against pressure yet. I'd expect that he remains iffy in that department because he's not that mobile; eight attempts is not a sample size worth getting exercised over.
I'm over it. I'm mostly over it. Speight on the fading days of the Hoke era:
"When I came in during the winter (of 2014) and redshirted that season, I didn't know what was going on that year and not many people did. It was kind of a messy year, it didn't end well at all," Speight says. "I just kind of skated through that year without much discipline (with) football. It was kind of a rude awakening when (the new staff) came.
"I realized I needed to change some things."
While he tried to soften it…
Speight wants to make it clear. Brady Hoke -- the coach who recruited him to Michigan -- and his staff gave him plenty of coaching in 2014. He says he just wasn't in the mood to listen.
…I mean come on. It wasn't just Speight who wasn't in the mood to listen. It was team-wide. A couple weeks ago Kalis said something wistful about how he wished that he'd had five years under Drevno instead of two.
I'm a little surprised that guys are throwing the old staff under the bus in press conferences, but also… not surprised. I was there, and bitter. I can't imagine how bitter I'd be about the Hoke chaos if it was eating through my eligibility with nothing to show for it.
Anyway, Speight's starting now and good at throwing balls.
ALSO IN WILTON SPEIGHT TALKING.
“There was one UCF player who was trying to talk smack at me, and I just started dying laughing, because we heard him from the huddle. And there were other times that we’d be up on the line of scrimmage and I’d think something was funny.”
Speculation on what this laughter-inducing smack was:
- "Got my crampons on, gonna scale your ass"
- "I am going to camp out halfway up your surface."
- "Ed Davis got a sixth year"
- "I may be the size of a flying squirrel but sir, I propose to embark on a climbing expedition lo these many months. And yea, I will harvest your acorns. Mark these words. Acorns. Harvested. Eventually."
Now in something other than Speight talking. Rich Eisen talking:
Full 5-minute @richeisen speech to @UMichFootball after last Friday's practice with @CoachJim4UM kneeling in awe. pic.twitter.com/2RovePxmuC
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) September 12, 2016
Injuries. As near as I can tell:
- Probably back Saturday: David Long.
- Could be back Saturday, could be another week or two. Taco Charlton, Jourdan Lewis. Lewis's injury was described by Harbaugh as a "muscle strain" unrelated to the issue that kept him out of the opener. He "did some things" and ran around on Monday. Charlton had a slight limp after getting his ankle rolled. Michigan could keep both guys on the bench in a game they expect to win.
- Definitely another few weeks: Bryan Mone.
- Unknown but doesn't look great: Noah Furbush and Drake Johnson. Radio silence on Furbush's issue probably isn't good. Johnson has similarly been out of uniform without much in the way of explanation.
Etc.: Ross Fulton on OSU's early offensive struggles against Tulsa: didn't want to get the QB hit and Tulsa banked on this. Won't apply for M. Chase Winovich on his first start. Matt Godin on his last go-around. NCAA removes events from North Carolina. Colorado plays fast and has a good secondary. When you have two quarterbacks and one of them is a Purdue transfer, you have zero quarterbacks. Possibly negative one quarterbacks. Urban Meyer on his brain and how he fixed it.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^
BTN (Fox) loves them some ESPN retreads.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
I'm not sure what that could even be based on. The pass protection was excellent in 2015 and with 4 returning starters, there has been hardly any pressure on Speight through two games. It's like he literally just made it up because he had nothing else to talk about (?)
September 13th, 2016 at 3:20 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 4:47 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 6:54 PM ^
Without any evidence to substantiate his position, we can currently chalk it up as a delusional hawt taek.
September 14th, 2016 at 10:33 AM ^
To be fair....we haven't played anybody either. I don't take results achieved against cupckes and extrapolate over the entire season. I'm cautiously optimistic but still have my doubts.
September 13th, 2016 at 1:17 PM ^
That speech by Eisen was awesome. I want to go hit somebody!
September 13th, 2016 at 1:20 PM ^
I usually don't watch celebrity pep talks, but I am glad I watched this one. It made me stand up and clap.
September 13th, 2016 at 4:28 PM ^
Makes you want to track down Scott Frost...
September 14th, 2016 at 9:09 AM ^
the pre sex-tape Paris Hilton pep talk was EPIC!
September 13th, 2016 at 1:17 PM ^
the exact same as it was on 9/24/94."
Well...the Michigan uniform combination is the same as it was on 9/13/97.
Good luck, Buffaloes.
September 13th, 2016 at 1:18 PM ^
He really whiffed on a block on our first drive vs UCF... the play near the goal line where Ty Isaac could have gotten into the endzone. I was so surprised I had to look up who #67 was... smh
September 13th, 2016 at 1:19 PM ^
It's sounding like Furbush may be gone for the year or at least a long period of time.
Who fills the bigger LB role in place of Peppers when we come up against the non-spread teams?
September 13th, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^
Peppers in a fat suit.
September 13th, 2016 at 5:57 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 1:19 PM ^
Week 3 when I was a freshman in college:
- 2 wins by 38 and 47 points
- Top 5/10 ranking depending who you ask
"Undefeated top 15 Notre Dame is SOOOOO boned this weekend!"
Week 3 when I am 31 and lived through 2007-2016:
- 2 wins by 60 and 37 points
- Top 5/10 ranking depending who you ask
"Colorado went 4-9 last year and Michigan is favored by 20, I'm just strangely nervous, anything could happen!"
Man THIS SUCKS, I hope I get over it soon.
September 13th, 2016 at 1:32 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 1:46 PM ^
So much truth in this. I was honestly a tiny bit nervous before both the Hawaii and UCF game. Worried that last year was an aberration. In Harbaugh I trust, but so many memories of miserable games against the likes of Akron, Toledo, Maryland, Rutgers, etc... Thankfully those days are in the past. We are going to crush Colorado.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:24 PM ^
"The last two regimes"
did NOT lose to App St, get embarrased by Oregon and other spread teams, have no answer when usc shelved the run entirely and passed on 21 of 23 downs (with 2 QB runs mixed in) in '07 Rose, allow Tressel to completely take over what had been a lopsided series in our favor for better than 2 decades!!!
So, yeah - there is blame to pass around for our fall from lofty heights, and it did not begin when Lloyd retired...
My thoughts when watching the CFU game were:
Under Lloyd this game might have been uncomfortably close, under RR or Hoke we may have even lost! So Damn Good to not have those fears even enter the mind any more.
Now, here comes a spread to pass team in the Texas Tech mold, I would have been a nervous wreck all week for the better part of this millennium. I'm calm now.........
September 13th, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 1:49 PM ^
Oh it's on now bitches
September 13th, 2016 at 2:14 PM ^
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September 13th, 2016 at 1:52 PM ^
If Drake Johnson does not play this year, he may be a good candidate to get a 6th year. As it is he hasn't played 2 of his 4 years due to redshirt and then ACL. I think someone who only played 2 seasons out of 5 due to injury is likely to get approved for a 6th.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:09 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 2:24 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^
What matters is whether you miss two seasons due to injury. he missed his sophomore year and this year would be his second.
September 13th, 2016 at 7:05 PM ^
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September 13th, 2016 at 9:47 PM ^
You don't have to miss entire years to be eligible a sixth year. Just enough to qualify for two medical redshirts.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:03 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 3:02 PM ^
"Old farts" might be overdoing it. If you're in your 30s you probably remember that game.
But yeah, the players may not dwell that much on it.
September 13th, 2016 at 5:06 PM ^
Speaking as one of those old farts, I still remember it.
And I still hate Kordell Stewart.
September 13th, 2016 at 9:42 PM ^
I was there--in the opposite end zone of the Hail Mary. I don't have any anger about that day--just a lot of disappointment. My memory is that Michigan was in position to put the game away in the fourth quarter, and I was thinking that was the year for a championship. A couple of lousy plays later, I see Westbrook moving toward a tipped ball, and then the crowd's reaction told me what happened.
It was a quiet walk to the car. The only noise I heard was the celebrating of two female Colorado fans who were carrying oranges. It was the first wild ending I'd experienced in Michigan Stadium, and it's one of the main reasons I won't leave a game early.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:10 PM ^
Does Harbaugh pronounce the noun "graduate" like the verb "graduate"?
September 13th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^
I noticed this too. It made me cringe the same way I do when someone pronounces "Wash" as "WARsh".
September 13th, 2016 at 2:15 PM ^
...kalis and speight at least have a chance to resurrect their careers.
my heart goes out to old 98, who had a possible nfl career flushed down the toilet by incompetent nitwits. if ever someone had a legitimate reason to burn the place down as he left, it was that guy.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:27 PM ^
truth
September 13th, 2016 at 2:19 PM ^
Beating Colorado in 1996 and 1997 was nice but not nearly enough payback for 1994.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^
He was so tormented he couldn't sleep and that was even before Hernandez was caught kiling people. After he covered for him for three years in florida, how does he sleep now?
How i'd love to see how many 3 loss seasons it takes for suckeye nation to run ol'urban liar back into a medically necessary retirement.
September 13th, 2016 at 3:26 PM ^
September 14th, 2016 at 9:19 AM ^
thanks mr brain surgeon.
September 13th, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^
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September 13th, 2016 at 2:46 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 3:51 PM ^
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September 13th, 2016 at 9:26 PM ^
September 13th, 2016 at 9:54 PM ^
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September 13th, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
I think Speight is just covering for the fact that Mason Cole farted on his hand.
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