Can we stop panicking now?

Submitted by Michigan_Mike on

I have seen many people on the MGoBoard in full blown panic mode because we did not blow out our opposition. Many of them are writing off our defense as a mirage and I just don't see it the same way. No team is going to ruthlessly destroy every opponent with exacting precision. 

Alabama struggled to put away a very pedestrian Ole Miss team earlier this season. Just today we have had Louisville struggle with Virginia, Washington need a punt return to beat Utah, Ohio State in a dog fight with Northwestern and Baylor is in a one possession game in the 4th quarter with Texas.

Today's game featured Michigan State put together one complete drive primarily on the back of their one legitimate NFL talent, LJ Scott. After that they struggled to put together a real drive until they were down 20 deep in the 4th quarter. During this time we had the Lewis pick leading to a FG for us, the 7 plays inside the 10 yard line stuffed and a whole lot of nothing from the guys in Green. Once they were well behind they put together two very fluky drives aided by some very iffy penalties that allowed them to "make it close." Remember this was not a one possession game at any point in the second half until there was only one second remaining. Our team is still very good and our defense dominated Michigan State with the exception of their first drive and garbage time. I am very happy with the way our guys performed and am excited to see them take on the rest of our schedule.

MGoBoard

MonkeyMan

October 29th, 2016 at 10:13 PM ^

On CFB fan blogs, like Mgoblog, its pretty much mob mentality. People either are in full "sunshine" mode or full "disaster" mode- there is no "in between" allowed. Salvy is saying pass defense was good- run defense wasn't. That view is totally unnacceptable here- we are in full sunshine mode and any cloud will be massively downvoted by the mob. 

Sports fan blogs are the purist form of totalitarian thinking- its frightening how many are complete Nazis or Reds under the cover of an annonymous screen name.

And they have absolutely no shame about it.

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Z_Wolverista

October 30th, 2016 at 11:31 AM ^

"People either are in full "sunshine" mode or full "disaster" mode- there is no "in between" allowed."

Agreed.

This is the definition of mental & emotional immaturity.

While "Salvy's" argument may be as you say, he is presenting it in full disaster mode, rather than balanced.

This is why he's getting pushback.

Joined: 01/19/2014

MGoPoints: 2673

michigandune

October 29th, 2016 at 7:47 PM ^

hit 3 field goals today with his longest being a 45 yarder.  It was good to see him return to form.

We are 8-0, let's enjoy that for the rest of the night.   

 

Joined: 03/10/2011

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maize-blue

October 29th, 2016 at 7:48 PM ^

I think we are expecting perfection. That's probably not fair or realistic but dammit that's where the bar should be at.

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SugarShane

October 29th, 2016 at 7:48 PM ^

Are people really panicking? This is one of those games that you throw the stats and records out. Michigan gave osu a game in 2014, how did that turn out for both sides?



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DavidP814

October 29th, 2016 at 8:02 PM ^

That--actually--is a fabulous point.  One close game against a previously poorly-performing rival is not the only data point we have.  In both 2013 and 2014, Michigan was (obviously) bad, yet both years came close to beating Ohio State.  The close game in 14 did not, as it turns out, indicate weakness for Ohio State.

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jdon

October 29th, 2016 at 7:50 PM ^

Idk. This is a hard defense to peg down. They can bully weaker opponents and play with talented teams but we had all of what one, maybe two sacks today?
I think we will run the table until OSU and then who knows? But we are not elite, or at least I don't see anything SPECIAL... now you can argue no one except Alabama is elite this year and I think you'd have a good point, but I was disappointed both in the Colorado game until their quarterback was hurt and in the fourth quarter today.



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Reader71

October 29th, 2016 at 9:00 PM ^

Salvatore, you must realize that games are determined by points, no? That coaches coach to outscore the opponent? That players play to score and stop the other from scoring? This was not a great defensive performance. It did not have to be. To expect that the three phases of the game have no effect on each other is misguided. It is also one data point, the totality of which suggests that this is a top defense.

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SalvatoreQuattro

October 29th, 2016 at 9:08 PM ^

The power rushing game is what kills me.

Can you explain to me why UM defended it so badly today?

I understand somewhat the UCF performance and even the CU game. But today mystifies me. Nothing about MSU should have been that hard to defend. I have seen UM mauled better version of it for the majority of my life.



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Reader71

October 29th, 2016 at 9:42 PM ^

Very quick observations based on only the one viewing: 99 played poorly, 33 played worse than his usual level, 8 missed 5-6 tackles that led to about 70 yards or more. 8 had his worst game in a few seasons. Here's the thing, though. You suggest that the MSU offense isn't hard to defend. I disagree. All offenses are hard to defend. You have to get off blocks and tackle. A missed assignment here, a missed tackle there, and you're looking at a bad day. Defenses are at a disadvantage, which is why the average offense gets something like 350 yards of offense at the best defenses average something like 250 against. Today was not a great performance. That does not mean anything going forward, just as the Wisconsin performance didn't mean much in this game, even though we thought it portended well. If you are interested in my opinion, I would suggest a simple takeaway: do not look for a narrative in a game or a season or an era. A football game is nothing but the sum of 22 independent trials per play, some 130 plays a game. There is no greater meaning. Everything you see, good and bad, is on film. A good player is one who does well much more often then he does poorly. Same for a unit as a whole, and same for a team. This defense has thus far shown a great deal more good than bad.

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