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

SalvatoreQuattro

October 29th, 2016 at 8:54 PM ^

Oh, I am insulted by a person with the first recorded negative IQ test.

How amusing.

Look, I know you are slow, but even a dimwit like you should know that UM with the superior talented ought to have to stymied MSU's run game even with MSU's OL playing the game of their lives.



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michfn2

October 30th, 2016 at 1:27 AM ^

Well Ronnie Kaye, I guess a penalty or no-call has never in the history of football affected a game in any way, shape, or form.

The only Bush league thing here is you, but that's why your shadow banned is it not?



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Z_Wolverista

October 30th, 2016 at 11:16 AM ^

it took a shake-up to get us playing hard.

I used to appreciate your comments, and couldn't understand what had gotten into you.

This comment explains it: your dismissal of the role of emotion, especially in young people, is utterly irrational. As someone else said, you usually make logical arguments. Only this time, relying only on logic, as if players were robots who perform per their capacity each & every time, has taken you down an utterly irrational path.

Yes, we all want Michigan to be excellent.

Every time.

But you need to put things in (human) perspective.

Step away from the keyboard / phone, take a walk somewhere nice, and extend a hand of graciousness to yourself / your kids / friends / loved ones, 'kay?

We did well enough to win.

We will do so again.

We can get better, sure.

People get better with awareness, realism, *and* encouragement, due credit, and celebration of winning.

We won.

It's time to celebrate.

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SalvatoreQuattro

October 29th, 2016 at 8:42 PM ^

People are getting riled up because I am saying things they do not want to read.

They want to wallow in UM's greatness without discussing concerns.

UM gave up 400 yards to a bad football team. The game remained in doubt much longer then it should have. I find those two things to be valid concerns.



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dieseljr32

October 29th, 2016 at 8:46 PM ^

It feels like you're trying to bring up your concerns while also attacking the other posters though. Which is why you're getting alot of push back. Not because you're saying things you claim people don't want to hear. I wanted the blowout, but I'm happy for the W. Losing streak dead. All of the teams goals are still there.

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stephenrjking

October 29th, 2016 at 8:04 PM ^

Reappraise it to... what? We will be #1 or #2 in major statistical rankings this week. Perhaps it's not as good as Alabama, but then we already secretly knew that, right?

This is, seriously, the only game we have not held a team significantly below its normal production this year. The only game. Disappointing? Sure. Sky is falling? No.

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Maynard

October 29th, 2016 at 10:35 PM ^

When we're either national champions or runner-up to Alabama, I think everyone on here can agree we don't want to hear a fucking peep out of you on here. It could be that you're just wrong and the vast majority of everyone else is right but it's obvious you just can't help yourself. Fine, you have a different opinion. Nothing wrong with that. But no one said anything about this being the raging death machine and nobody would give a fuck if we were #1 historically on defense or just somewhere in the middle of the pack as long as we win against the competition we are currently up against. Your act is tiresome and your attitude is shit every game day.

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Optimism Attache

October 29th, 2016 at 8:33 PM ^

What do you mean "what we think it is"? What metric are you using? It can't be an "eyeball test" because then you can just talk around it. 

By all the objective measures we have at our disposal--you know, using numbers and stuff--this team is in fact one of the top 3 if not #1 defenses in the country. 

So get concrete about your standards and maybe you can more effectively argue with people. If in general you are talking about the level of defense only seen once a decade or something, then that should be quantifiable. 

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SalvatoreQuattro

October 29th, 2016 at 8:46 PM ^

My metric is watching college football.

Stats lie. They do not always tell the story and that is where the eyeball test is a more accurate metric.

UM's pass defense has largely been excellent. Today's late game problem I chalk up to a lack of intensity more than anything.

But that Rush defense is a valid concern. Huge yardage given up vs UCF and MSU. Illinois had a couple of long gainers. That to me is a very real concern considering who UM plays in the coming weeks.



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Serial MGO Lurker

October 29th, 2016 at 11:29 PM ^

So does this brilliant "stats do lie" maxim supercede the equally brilliant "400yds w/ 200rushyrds=not elite D" maxim your entire tantrum is based? or are you just drunk? Either way you are a douchenozzle.

oohoohooh now do me Salvatore, I want a turn. Tell me the ways I'm a douchenozzle who needs to reevaluate his life, or how I'm just drunk, then sarcastically call me brilliant and point out my typos. Please Pleas Please.

Another poster hit the nail when he pointed out you're mirroring. Isn't there a meeting at the Broflovski house you should be at?

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Logan

October 29th, 2016 at 11:36 PM ^

By your standard then, what is a truly elite defense? Was Michigan's 97 defense elite? Because that defense got gashed by a 1-2 Notre Dame team (and we barely won) that ended up at .500 over the regular season and lost to some pretty bad teams. Who exactly is your "eyeball test" comparing our current defense too? Or are they just not elite based on some global standard no one else is aware of?

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FreddieMercuryHayes

October 29th, 2016 at 8:10 PM ^

No, we did not know that. That's the point. The offense is only good enough to win a championship if the D is better than Alabama's. And why shouldn't it be? Like everyone is an upperclassman and should play in the NFL. That's why people are so upset. This game crushes dreams of a championship. Championship D's don't play like UM's did.



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XiX

October 29th, 2016 at 8:31 PM ^

It surely wasn't the performance I thought I'd see but, having had time to reflect, I'm not surprised. You can't discount the affect that recent history has had on both teams.

While UM is the better and more talented team, MSU had the benefit of confidence from nearly the last decade. It's amazing how much difference that kind of confidence can have on a team. It was 2 years ago that they thoroughly dominated UM in their house so, no matter who else they may have lost to this year, they still had that mental edge. On the flip side, it seemed like the UM defense was playing very tight all game long.

It was evident in all of the missed tackles and not getting off of blocks. Aside from the holding, which I don't give much credit to as it happens every game, they didn't play with the edge that we've seen all season. And as much as the team tried to downplay last season's result, it seems that it was still in the back of their heads. MSU played way over their heads and UM played tight.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing how they play the rest of the season and, hopefully, this will prepare them to play better Nov 26. That's the other monkey that needs to get dropped of of the team's back...

tldr; The defense played way too tight and MSU played with a ton of confidence.

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