Hell of a season

Submitted by GoBlueBill on

I know, the season didnt end up the way we all wanted it to. But we are so  much better off now than under Hoke and Rich Rod .

We lost 3 games by a total of 5 points .

Look at the whole season , dont just look at the last part .

Dont complain and cry because we didnt win every game .

I consider this season a  success and I hope it is leading to better things .

I hope everyone enjoys the off season for Football and I'll see you all next Fall .

 

GO BLUE

lilpenny1316

December 31st, 2016 at 12:42 AM ^

If there's no hole to run through, it makes their job almost impossible.  Also, the WRs are better than you're giving them credit for being.  Think of all the acrobatic catches that Darboh, Chesson and Butt have made to bail out Speight this year.  Go back to the MSU game and you'll see Darboh bail out Speight a few times.  If our QB was more accurate, their numbers would've been even more impressive.

OSU showed this year how unimportant seniors are.  I think we'll be fine next year as long as we don't lose any key guys to transfers or other creative ways of exiting the program.

Squash34

December 31st, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^

They got helped out by blatent non calls in a few of their wins. I think fsu is actually a pretty good example of how senors are not needed. They had a team with like 4 senors, or something, and bounced back from a bad start.
I am sure there are other teams that don't have a bunch of senors either and did well despite it. Osu 2 years ago comes to mind, and I think bama, Clemson and Washington don't have a crazy number either.
Senor leadership is important, but not the end all be all.

M-Dog

December 31st, 2016 at 1:27 AM ^

That's where I get confused on how to view the season.  Did we waste a huge opportunity based on our historically good defense, or did we over-achieve based on the holes we had on offense that we knew we had in August?

Did the coaching staff fall short based on the defensive talent they had, or did they do a masterful job hiding their lack of offensive talent? 

I go back and forth on what to think.

Magnum P.I.

December 31st, 2016 at 1:57 AM ^

Defense was generational. 

Offense had the best TE in program history, two All-Big-Ten wideouts (Chesson first-team last year, Darboh second-team this year), and four All-Big-Ten offensive linemen (Mags first-team, Cole, Kalis, Braden second-team, all this year).

That arrangment will not happen again soon.    

Bodogblog

December 31st, 2016 at 2:18 AM ^

You're working much too hard to make yourself miserable.  Chesson was not nearly All-B1G this year, Darboh was fine, Butt was good but not exceptional, and the O-line was poor all year.  Couldn't run the ball, couldn't get a first down when needed on the ground, Speight was on the run against any good team, how many critical plays did someone come through unblocked?  

You're letting your emotion over this loss consume your reason. 

Magnum P.I.

December 31st, 2016 at 9:40 AM ^

Not being emotional at all really, just assessing the facts about our team. We had All-Americans at LB, CB, and TE  in Peppers, Lewis, and Butt, each of whom was in the top 3 to ever play their position at Michigan.

On defense, three of four defensive linemen were 1st or 2nd team All-Big Ten; two of three linebackers were 1st or 2nd team All-Big Ten; three of four members of the secondary were 1st or 2nd team All-Big Ten. So 73% of our starting defense was All-Big Ten 1st or 2nd team, and the guys who weren't--Hurst, Thomas, and McCray--were no slouches.

On offense, four offensive linemen were 1st or 2nd team All-Big Ten, whether you think they deserved it or not. Of our receiving targets, two of three--Butt and Darboh--were 1st or 2nd team All-Big Ten, and the other was 1st team last year. There's no spot on the all-conference team for fullback, but Hill would likely be 1st or 2nd team. So, basically, about three-quarters of our offense are All-Big Ten players, too. 

On special teams, our returner and punter were 1st and 2nd team All-Big Ten. 

About three-quarters of our team was among the top one or two at their position in the conference, and several of them were the best at their position in the country. As far as I can tell no other Michigan team at least in the past 20 years can claim that--even the 1997 and 2006 team didn't have as many All-Big Team 1st and 2nd teamers. 

 

Jasper

December 31st, 2016 at 7:42 AM ^

Magnum, I generally like your posts, but .....

"Defense was generational."

If you restrict the view to the defensive line, I agree. Maybe add one CB (Lewis, obviously). But, our linebackers and safeties were vulnerable in coverage all year.

I mean, it *was* very good, and on a generational scale it's certainly up there (arguably second-best after '97), but it had weak spots.

"Offense had the best TE in program history ....."

He's a very good jumbo wide receiver. How much does it mean to be the best TE in Michigan history? We're not exactly "Tight End U."

"..... two All-Big-Ten wideouts (Chesson first-team last year, Darboh second-team this year) ..."

As noted in other posts (which rightly involved Speight), neither of whom -- this year, anyway -- could easily get separation from DBs. Neither one is an elite talent.

"... and four All-Big-Ten offensive linemen (Mags first-team, Cole, Kalis, Braden second-team, all this year)."

Really? Most of those awards amount to (college) life-achievement awards. They all seem like great guys, but (Cole aside) there's not a pro-level guy in the group. They weren't good run blockers. They'll go down in history as a slightly better-than-average line.

 

randyfloyd

December 31st, 2016 at 8:19 AM ^

I agree. Even in this game we saw some positives for the future. Evans was the best RB, Hurst was our second best DL, Bunting had a nice game, Crawford was wide open but Spieght "didn't have his timing down".

Squash34

December 31st, 2016 at 11:15 AM ^

To me, it looked like he started to slow down in the hole of the defense then turned his head around. The ball had already been in the air for a while before he did this.
I think any of the more experienced wrs on the roster would have turned their head back well before he did and realized speight was expecting him to continue at full speed.
Speight can be blamed for many of his early passes. However, I personally think that was on the young wr.

BassDude138

December 31st, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^

I honestly think it qualifies as both, missed opportunity and over-achieving slightly. When Harbaugh took over a 5-7, not many rational people thought they should be a NC type team in year two, especially when you looked at some of the holes on the roster. That being said, a lot of things fell into place this season that they really should have made the playoff, but missed the opportunity.

In the end, the biggest questions heading into the season ended up being the undoing; average at best OL, and lack of at least one game-changing playmaker. Every team in the playoff, and the rest of the top teams just outside of the playoff such as FSU, have at least one guy on offense who is a homerun threat and can be leaned on to make a play when needed late in games. Who was that player for Michigan this year?

I usually don't agree with much that Herbstreit says, but he was spot on with his assesment that this was the least talented roster Harbaugh will have at Michigan. Very exerienced, but outside of DL and possibly secondary, this team will but much more talented going forward.

randyfloyd

December 31st, 2016 at 8:12 AM ^

to play more. I felt like he would have turned many of those plays that Higdon and to a lesser degree Smith couldn't gain on into gains. When he finally came back into the game and did what he did I screamed at the TV, "see, I told you". It was a very frustrating game personnel wise. Speight was off for almost the entire game, Higdon had no vision and wasn't quick enough to do anything, the O-line was a joke and Peppers was sorely missed. The way it started, I was happy we only lost by one and that is sad...

BassDude138

December 31st, 2016 at 12:19 PM ^

Agree, or to at least have been used correctly prior to the last 5 minutes of the game. Everytime Evans touched the ball in the first three quarters, it was running between the tackles. Meanwhile, they kept running Smith on sweeps when he doesn't have the speed to get the edge.

gustave ferbert

December 31st, 2016 at 6:23 AM ^

and a first year qb that wasn't even recruited by JH.  And to think we were 2 points and 6 inches from a perfect season with Sparty and OSU on the road. 

 

Lots of people were thinking 10-3 or 11-2 to begin the season.  Once I heard Peppers wasn't playing last night, especially after practicing all week.  I thougth for sure we were going to lose. 

backusduo

December 31st, 2016 at 12:29 AM ^

Not a hell of a season, literally a HELL Season. A bunch of games that were foregone conclusion wins and close losses to any team that showed up to play.

I have a 12 year old daughter who lived through the awful years. Never remembers us relevant and I got to see her burst into tears 3 times this year as our amazing defense couldn't make one last stand. HELL season. Good riddance.

Squash34

December 31st, 2016 at 11:31 AM ^

??? Come on now.
This team had almost every break go against them all year. When we caused a fumble it almost always bounced right back to the guy fumbling -- who was typically the one guy that knew there was a fumble on their team, while Michigan had several guys charging. I mean, the miffed punt was the only time all year I remember Michigan getting a favorable bounce in those situations. I'm sure that there may have been a couple more. But when there is a play where it is tipped and it is deflected right to a guy, or the fumble situation I just talked about, it has almost always gone against Michigan.
I don't think you can legitimately expect to have an exceptional season when this happens. You need to catch some breaks where the ball bounces right to you on a fumble or a tipped pass.

UMxWolverines

December 31st, 2016 at 12:05 AM ^

This was not a good season. Last season we started out bad and improved as the season went on. This season was a total opposite. Not acceptable. Like I said in the coaching snowflakes thread...the most disappointing team in Michigan history.