Chill the Hell Out

Submitted by Decatur Jack on

Guys, I know it sucks that we are 5-2, but seriously, everybody just needs to take a deep breath.

No one is getting fired. This is a very good staff that has tried to make it work with some broken pieces this year. How many people here predicted 8-4 before the season? A lot.

Does no one remember how bad things were during the Rodriguez years? Stop calling this the worst you've ever seen.

Seriously, calm the fuck down.

I will concede this: if Chris Balas was right about Brandon Peters (that he's proven to be a massive bust), then we're fucked. Otherwise, relax.

Dylan

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^

So you’re saying I should view expectations and results the same way with Jim MF Harbaugh as I did with Rich Rod and Hoke. Oh, ok...

Yabadabablue

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:43 AM ^

Expectations should be an extremely young team (17 new starters) and back up QB playing in a night game against a very experienced team with tons of talent and a future heisman winner. It is too early for to reload each year. This is not RR or Hoke.

BigBlue02

October 22nd, 2017 at 12:17 PM ^

MSU played horribly with all those young players. I fully expect them to get killed by PSU and OSU. Youth isn’t an excuse, it’s the reality of this team. Using MSU is an awful example considering they have played like trash with those young players, we just happened to play shittier against them

Crootin

October 22nd, 2017 at 6:08 PM ^

They did look bad vs us in some ways.  But another way of looking at it was this: they had a game plan to put up points before the monsoon.  Creative packages and playcalls, mostly stout defense (helped by our fumble).  then in the second half they had the right plan.  Load the box and let us self destruct.  Take no chances on offense.  I'd say overall their plan worked perfectly, while we looked like fools.  Give credit where credit is due.

buddha

October 22nd, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^

Buddy...I'm a fan of what you are smoking but this program does not exist in a vacuum. OSU is reloading every year and Franklin is building a machine at PSU. We are staring down the barrel of second and third-place finishes for the foreseeable future ( with the most expensive staff in the country).

GomezBlue

October 22nd, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^

I think, more than losing to PSU, the loss to Sparty is what bothers most.  They were a younger team (yes, check the starting rosters) who was a tire fire last year.  We thought that sad chapter of losing to them was behind us.  We win that game, and last night's game was an aberration. 

 

BroadneckBlue21

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^

Come on, the youth excuse is only going so far, especially when the coaching staff is supposed to be top tier. If Urban Meyer can win a NC with a very young squad, with Cardale Jones at QB, then a team lead by a handpicked fifth year senior QB turned backup, then UM should be able to compete in these games against PSU, not go backwards. The coaching was atrocious in its inconsistency, once again. That doesn’t mean I want Harbaugh gone, but I want his DC and his playcalling to evolve. O’Korn played better, but where did the run game go? This team can not find balance, and the coaches consistently make stupid calls at key times. Why is there play action on 4th and 11? How does O’Korn not recognize blitzes?

Why do we start every game with run, run, run, punt. Run, screen pass, run draw, punt. Run, run, pass. Pass, pass, pass, pas, pass, pass, after going down?

Quite simple: let’s start a game off on offense in a new formation! Let’s use more shot gun. Penn State won the game because they used a spread option read system. The coaches have not been worth their salary, and I’m not going to blame kids. Kids make mistakes, like drop passes, but there is accountability when you lose to MSU in two weeks off, then get thrashed by Penn State.

Next year, this team should be dominant, but not unless we get a new QB to gain experience. Not if we cannot figure out how to counter coaching moves that create obvious mismatches like LBs on dynamic RBs out wide.

snarling wolverine

October 22nd, 2017 at 12:56 PM ^

Do you really want to go pass-first with this QB, pass protection and WR corps?

You can criticize some of the coaching last night for sure (why play action on 4th and 11?), but I  don't think there are any easy answers to this team's problems.  It's not that good of a team in general.  I do think it will be better in a year's time, when the guys are more experienced, we get Black back, etc., but for now we have to just scrape by.

PSU has a good offensive system, but they didn't just win because of scheming.  They're a better team, period.  Having the best player in the country at RB and a QB with pinpoint accuracy on 30-yard passes makes life much easier.

 

 

SeattleWolverine

October 22nd, 2017 at 12:09 PM ^

One thing that is hilarious about this Board is that there were a lot of people saying before the season that the # of starters gone was as overblown stat because new starters were in the rotation last year and got snaps. And that had some truth in it. But now those same people are citing the # of starters gone as an excuse for the performance now that it has turned sour. I mean, I get it, lots of rah rah support the team types. But pick a position and stick to it rather than flipping your argument when the outcome doesnt support your original perspective. 

HailHail47

October 22nd, 2017 at 2:48 PM ^

Not really hilarious, just logical. We all make a lot of hypotheses on here. Every game is new evidence. When one hypothesis is disproven, it's valid to change your hypothesis. It's the "scientific" method. We are really trying to take an educated guess as to how good we are as a program and where problems may lie.

growler4

October 22nd, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^

Well, a lot of fans exhibit no patience and that is particularly so, I suspect, with fans active on a site such as this.

The anger exhibited after every loss ... Are we expected to be perenially undefeated? Some people on here need to get a grip.

This is a young, inexperienced team - playing its backup QB - with some holes, that has struggled in every game this season. They will likely continue to do so as they grow and mature and as they continue to win a few more games.

Anyone who has really watched our games this year was delusional if they thought that this is a championship/playoff caliber team. The defense, up until this game, has played really well against somewhat typical average college offenses. Yet, this was the first time this season that they played against a really talented diversified offense that was not so predictable.

Hopefully, the team will improve as the season progresses. I plan to watch and enjoy it, unburdened with anger resulting from lack of fulfillment of (my) unrealistic expectations.

They played a great team in Penn State. Give them some credit. They have talent and experience and were well prepared and well coached. Congratulations to them.

Now, time to regroup, get better, and to continue to recruit well.

Blue Velvet

October 22nd, 2017 at 4:45 PM ^

When i was 9 years old I listened to Ufer call a missed FG hat would’ve kept us undefeated in week 9 or 10. Ar Purdue I think. It hurt the rest of the weekend. Then I grew up and realized that no matter how ridiculous I may behave during a game, it’s just a game and you need to get some perspective. Demanding that a football team or coach or QB perform to your level of satisfaction is a recipe for resentment and unhappiness. Watch the game, root for your team, then return to real life. It’s really not that big of a deal.

Cali Wolverine

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:08 AM ^

have been celebrated on the board back in the dark ages. A Harbaugh team that lost its QB1, WR1, and already was an extremely young team is more of a disappointment than a let’s fire the whole coaching staff, let’s find couches to burn reaction so many seem to have. The same people asking for coaches’ and players’ heads are going to sing the praises of Harbaugh when next year’s more experienced team goes 11-2 or 12-1.

SeattleWolverine

October 22nd, 2017 at 12:16 PM ^

You think that a team with a first year starter at QB, a freshman LT, a freshman C making line calls, JBB at RT, no Mo Hurst etc is going to have 1 or 2 losses against a schedule with @OSU, @ND, @MSU, WI, PSU plus 8 other games to avoid an upset in? That was plausible before the season when we thought we'd have a 5th year Speight going from servicable to good and that ND/MSU were programs in trouble. It's an exceedingly optimistic take at this point. 

SeattleWolverine

October 22nd, 2017 at 2:44 PM ^

Those are two differnent things. Yeah, the team will be better overall, sure. But that's not what you said, you said 1 or 2 losses next year. So you take what projects to be an 8-4 team this year, flips MSU/OSU to road games, and get WI/PSU at home. Add Nebraska and @NW which should still be wins. And you substitute a mediocre FL team on a neutral site to @ND. So we're better, but with a tougher schedule. Are they are going to win every single home game and 1 or 2 out of @MSU, @ND and @OSU. Possible, but unlikely. Pretty long history of not doing that well under 1st year QBs.  

SeattleWolverine

October 22nd, 2017 at 4:16 PM ^

Lol. OK. Let's see:

1)We still had 3 losses

2)Lentz, Stenavich, Baas, and Long were all 1st or 2nd team all B1G. Versus a line for 2018 of something like....Filiaga-Bredeson-Ruiz-Onwenu-JBB. 

2)Avant, Breaston, and Braylon as returning proven junior/senior WRs. Shit, they probably had 2000 yards combined in 2003 from returing starters. Also, Massaquoi. Mike Hart.

3)Chad Henne was a top 10 recruit nationally. If Peters were as good as freshman Henne he'd be playing in front of O'Korn already. 

4)PSU, OSU and MSU were all down at that time and finished .500 or worse in the conference that year. The ND team we lost to went 6-6. The schedule will be harder in 2018.

 

Again, we are talking about seasons with 1 or 2 losses as you've said. In the last 30 years, we've not returned our primary starting QB in 13 of 30 seasons. The # of times we had fewer than 3 losses: 0 for 13. In the seasons where we returned our starter the # of seasons with fewer than 3 losses: 8 of 17. I don't know what else to tell you except that the history of first year QBs not resulting in CFP/BCS/NY6 type seasons is pretty clear.