If you have a Pitchfork I want to talk

Submitted by Ziff72 on

The anger is raging inside all of us.  The performance was dreadful, but as a beloved coach by all(sarcasm) once said,  the past is the past.  When you look at this program don't lump your anger from the OSU streak and The Horror and the Big Ten record all together with Sat. night.  We need to look forward.  Things have not changed for the future of the program.  For everyone that wants RR gone, I submit a short rebuttal.

 

1 Oregon 8 2488 2095 625 4583 7.3 572.9
2 Oklahoma State 8 1471 2747 615 4218 6.9 527.3
3 Nevada 8 2407 1754 584 4161 7.1 520.1
4 Michigan 8 2204 1943 563 4147 7.4 518.4
5 Boise State 7 1500 2111 473 3611 7.6 515.9

This team (could) return 22 of 24 starters next year.  The #4 offense in the country will return every skill position player except Martell Webb and the offensive line should improve even with losing S. Schilling.   The 2011 schedule is set up for a Big 10 Championship.   Rodriguez will finally have experience and depth at his disposal on offense.  No freshmen(even redshirt freshmen) save possibly Hart will see the field.  Don't you want to see what could become of this offense and the stars it could attract with stability up top?    If you broom RR then what?   If you bring in Harbaugh, Denard is either gone or a slot back.   I have no idea how much attrition you get but this offense has been molded by RR for 3 years,  it will not be as good.

I know you'll raise your pitchfork and say, but what about the "defense"?.  To that I have run out of rebuttal, but I will say with unshaking confidence we will be better.   To the people who like to fire people I'll give you a sacrificial Gerg, because that side can't get worse.  I don't care anymore.   Everyone who is worth a dam is coming back on d,  they will be better with or without Robinson.

My plea to you is that I am 40 years old and for my entire life the pleas from the stands has been to open up the offense and be aggressive.  RR has found a once in a generation type athlete in Denard and we are on the cusp of history.   Our leadership next year will be beyond reproach, Martin, Molk, Denard, Van Bergen.   Do not tear down what could be historic because we go to the Armed Forces Bowl instead of the Gator Bowl.  As long as we get our 15 practices I could give a shit who or where we play.   I have forseen 2011 as our return to greatness for 2 years and while I thought JT Turner and Boo Boo would be our corners in my NC scenario, I am not wavering, because I didn't see what the offense could become. 

Friends our offensive potential is great,  the only thing to slow us down is the negativity killing recruiting, because the defense will get there if we stick together.  Please put your forks down for all our sakes.  This team is so close to getting over the hump, it just needs a little push from us and recruiting and wins will just open up and come pouring down on us.   We truly have a chance at greatness here.  Let's not pull the cord too soon.  I may be wrong, but if Brandon pulls the lever at the end of this season, I will always wonder at what could have been. 

How many great things almost got flushed before it had a chance and was saved?   We are Seinfeld right now.  Seinfeld was almost cancelled before it got going.  It was almost cancelled several times in it's 1st 2 years.  Floundering in the ratings, few people believed, the masses wanted  it flushed, but there was a key few who saw something beyond the ratings.  They saw greatness and stuck their neck out for them.   They got over the hump and we were all rewarded.    

I feel like D. Brandon needs to be Clark and the family are the fans.  The family's justified in their stance they just need someone to lead them thru the pain.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GQSwMCHJNU

D. Brandon,  stay the course, dare to be great.

 

PS If we go 8-4 next year you can broom them all and light him on fire just put the shovels back for 1 more year please.  

Syyk

November 1st, 2010 at 11:18 AM ^

I'm with you for the most part.  I think that we're so close to getting over the hump and into the place where everyone is griping about 2-3 loss seasons again.  The offense is amazing and will only get better next year.  I also don't see how the defense isn't going to improve.  Woolfolk will be back, all those freshmen and sophomores will be a year older and we'll have more depth with the incoming recruiting class.  Moreoever, we lose almost no one.  Whether or not Gerg should be the coordinator, I can't really say.  I don't know if it's a coaching issue or simply one of skill and experience.  What I do know is that we came close the past three games and probably would have won if only we had a mediocre defense. 

jmblue

November 1st, 2010 at 7:11 PM ^

If we fire the coach that brought us the #4 offense with Denard's best, more experienced years ahead of him and nearly 2 dozen returning starters, we deserve to be ND.
 
I haven't seen anyone say that Calvin Magee, Rod Smith, Greg Frey and Tony Dews need to be fired.  Hiring a new HC who retains all or most of the offensive staff might be the best of both worlds.

arod

November 1st, 2010 at 11:24 AM ^

WE ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO WINNING A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT YEAR!

 

We are a team struggle to get 6 fucking wins.  The defense getting one year of experience, which consists largely of standing around watching the other team score touchdowns, is not going to make them 100 times better.   They will, improve, no doubt, but not enough to win a national championship. The same goes for special teams, which are still terrible. I'm not sure we'll even be in contention for a conference title next year, let alone a MNC. 

Ask yourself this:  If this team had a 70th ranked defense, would they be better than OSU or Wisconsin?    Clearly you think so, but I don't see it.

arod

November 1st, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^

8-5 while playing in the SEC with the 68th best defense in the country (22nd in passs defense). Also, quoth wikipedia, "several BCS participating computer rating systems such as Sagarin (#22), Massey (#22) , Peter Wolfe (#25), Howell (#24), David Wilson (#21), Team Rankings (#18) and the FACT Foundation (#21) included the Tigers in their final top 25 rankings."  

 

I clearly see the obvious parallels with the current Michigan team, which is going 7-5 at best with  a defense that is ranked  ESPN's top 150, which really good, right?

 

*edit* Actually my sarcasm was misplaced.  2009 Auburn does have something in common with RR coached Michigan teams:  Auburn only beat one Big Ten opponent in the  2009 season.  So there are some parallels.  Very telling ones.

His Dudeness

November 1st, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

That's counting the bowl win.

There are more positives to this team than negatives. The defense is a glorified high school team. A new DC isn't changing that. And if you have neither the patience nor the foresight to look at the positives and stop being an armchair coach than you can go over to East Lansing and cheer them on. Hey they are actually winning this year!  It is fans like you that are putting pressure on people to make poor decisions. The funny thing about Michigan Football is we don't need you. It's been 3 years. The majority of RRs recruits have been here for 2 years. They are true sophomores. Give it another season and we will see what happens. Don't try to bring down the ship because you have no idea what you are talking about. Just shut up and enjoy the ride.

arod

November 1st, 2010 at 12:20 PM ^

I wasn't trying to imply that your 7-5 comment was incorrect.  Sorry.

 

As for the rest of your post, it's just the classic bullshit that puked up on here about why RR needs 10 more seasons to really really get his team in place and how I'm not a Michigan fan because I don't think a team that will have to fight like crazy to scrape its way into a bowl game is going to with a national title.  Piss on that.  I did both the my undergraduate and graduate degrees at Michigan, so fuck you if you think I'm not a real fan of the University.  I've gladly paid for the privilege to spend the better part of 7 years at it.  I was a fan  when Lloyd was the coach, we actually won games, and assholes like you bitched because he wasn't winning by enough points.  Now a new coach has come in, one who won't be .500 even if he wins every remaining game this season, and you've decided he's Jesus Christ and anyone who dares to question him is not a fan.

 

You're right about this:  A new DC won't fix everything.  And that's exactly why this team isn't going to suddenly contend for a national title.   It's sad, but the transition into ND has almost become complete, as now Michigan fans predict that a mediocre team will become a national power next year through some miracle of coaching change.

His Dudeness

November 1st, 2010 at 12:31 PM ^

I did both the my undergraduate and graduate degrees at Michigan, so fuck you if you think I'm not a real fan of the University. 

Sounds like every other Michigan Grad student I have come accross in my day...

 and assholes like you bitched because he wasn't winning by enough points.

I did? I don't remember doing that...

and you've decided he's Jesus Christ and anyone who dares to question him is not a fan.

Certainly not, but demanding he be fired and questioning his hires at DC are not the same thing. I just wish we would focus on the positives and have the foresight to see what we could do next year with a little more matured defense. The schedule looks great.

bouje

November 1st, 2010 at 1:28 PM ^

You're just an LC apologist. Do you remember recruiting Panter who was a juco? Lloyd knew the problems and knew we were fucked on defense.
<br>
<br>Attrition has hampered this defense and if you can't see that and realize that it's not all on RR and he hasn't had enough time to fix it with just sophomores you don't deserve degrees from Michigan and I pray that they weren't in anything that involves analysis because your "analysis" is dog shit.
<br>
<br>No offense.

jmblue

November 1st, 2010 at 7:17 PM ^

I have a hard time buying the "Lloyd left us a mess" argument given that he coached 13 years  - several recruiting cycles - and never did worse than 7-5 and 5-3 in conference.  His recruits consistently came through for us.  If RR's staff was unable to get Carr's kids to buy in, that's not Carr's fault. 

Ziff72

November 1st, 2010 at 11:39 AM ^

I posted above the same thing.  Look at the schedule next year and give me a little bit of optimism and say the defense is ranked 65th next year.   If the offense improves, you can't see a little opening to be 10-0?

Woolfolk, Martin, RVB, Demens,  20frosh and sophs battling for p.t.   

MSU is going to win 10-11 games with a decent team witha pass defense that was worse than ours last year and now they are top 20 in pass efficiency on d, because they stayed the course and had a perfect schedule set up.

jmblue

November 1st, 2010 at 7:21 PM ^

It's easier to stay the course when your coach goes  3-5, 6-2 and 4-4 in conference play his first three years, goes to three consecutive bowls, and goes 5-4 in rivalry games (U-M, ND, PSU) his first three years.

RR has gone 2-6, 1-7 and 1-3 in conference play, has yet to go to a bowl, and is 2-6 in rivalry games (OSU, ND, MSU). 

Ziff72

November 1st, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^

I know history has it's place, but using the 1st 2 years of RR''s tenure against him I think is unfair.  Dantonio had Hoyer and Ringer his 1st year..Sheridan and every running back hurt is a little different.   Let's look at now and the future.

Right now offense is awesome and we return most everybody it should remain awsome.  Right now defense is terrible and returns everyone it should get better.

witless chum

November 2nd, 2010 at 9:39 AM ^

Dantonio inhereited a team much more suited for his preferred system in his first year than Rodriguez did. Suprising, given that we were making a fairly opposite transition, but true. John L. Smith apparently had a pretty good power-running, balanced offense team that he didn't make use of.

MSU 2007 had a decent QB, two very good backs including Jehuu Caulcrick who was almost unstoppable inside the five, a disruptive, experienced d-line and an offensive line that had something like seven guys with starting experience, including four 5th-year seniors. Plus, Devin Thomas emerged from the middle of John L's depth chart as an excellent reciever and Kellen Davis was a very good TE.

He had to do a lot with the D, staring at least three freshman, but they all turned into four-year starters.

Overall, a lot easier than trying to run the Rodspread with Threet and Sheridan.

Tater

November 1st, 2010 at 11:28 AM ^

With any other defense in the BT, Michigan may be 8-1.  But with any other offense in the BT, they may be 1-8.  I think any talk of firing RR is ludicrous, and the result of spoiled, complacent fans who want to average 9-3 every year while having no real chance at winning the National Championship, which is pretty much what happened at Michigan after Carr's one great year.

Shit happens.  It has happened to every program but this one in the last forty years.  Now, it is happening in Ann Arbor.  I would rather be going through these growing pains than going through the aughts again.  After 1997, it could be said that the team underachieved almost every year.  Even 2006 crashed terribly with a loss to OSU and yet another blowout by USC.

I want Michigan to take a team to the NC game, or go to a Rose Bowl against USC and know that they can actually win the game.  MIchigan hasn't won a Rose Bowl since 1998.  In the aughts, they were 0-3.  To me, it was more heartbreaking to watch teams filled with NFL talent find a way to lose too many games every year than it is to watch this team grow, struggle, and eventually find its way. 

I'm willing to put up with it for another two years to get a glimpse of what RR can do with an experienced team filled with his own people.

 

M-Wolverine

November 1st, 2010 at 3:35 PM ^

We look like we're so much more on the path to a National Championship than we were way back in 2006. The evidence piling up is extraordinary. I mean, lots of teams win National Championships with high school defenses.

switch26

November 1st, 2010 at 11:36 AM ^

This is exactly what that former WVU player said about michigan fans recently.  We need to stop crying and whining like little babies..

He will win..  We change everything out after 3 short years, then this program is indeed a joke just like every non Michigan fan already says.

 

We may need to tweak some coaches within the system, but throwing RR out is not the answer

Rufus X

November 1st, 2010 at 11:36 AM ^

I was a believer in the hire.  I was willing to wait and be patient while we tolerated the attrition and acquired the right personnel to run this offense.  RR has proven that this offense is what everyone hoped it could be – phenomenal, overpowering, once-in-a-generation, breathtaking.  The development of the offense is ahead of schedule.

But here is the bottom line:

  • Defense wins championships, offense sells jerseys. 
  • There is no hope for this defense going forward. 

Who do you want to be, the 1993 Denver Nuggets or the Chicago Bulls?  The 1987 Cleveland Indians or the Detroit Tigers?   With no hope for the defense going forward, there is no hope for any championships going forward, either.

Consider:

  • We have had 4 schemes and 3 coaches on defense in 4 years, and next year it will be a new DC and a new scheme.  Why would a 5 star defensive player ever come here?
  • After a bye week our defense allowed a walk-on QB led offense to torch us for 250 yards passing, 10/16 on 3rddown, and 2/2 on 4thdown.   
  • RR has shown a nearly complete disinterest in the defensive side of the ball, sacrificing his first DC and overriding his second DC with a gimmicky scheme that belongs in the USFL.  Why would a real DC come here next year?
  • GR is a dead man walking right now.  The defensive staff is almost certainly polishing their resumes as we speak.  Do you think we are going to get any improvement out of that defense for the next 4 games when there is only marginal amounts of coaching going on?  Recruiting any real defensive talent is completely out of the question in this unsettled environment.

And finally, if our expectations have sunk to “As long as we get our 15 practices I could give a shit less who or where we play,” then we have become Indiana.   How does that feel?  Yes a new head coach willbe a very painful experience, but I'd rather start the pain now, because the pain will come.  The pain will come.

Ziff72

November 1st, 2010 at 11:46 AM ^

Oregon and Auburn would like to talk to you.  

Please back away from the ledge.   It's easy to go overboard after that debacle, but I submit to you that if you can't even give a defense that returns every starter minus a mediocre LB and actually gets a senior starter back from injury the slightest chance that they will improve you need to take an optimism pill, because you are one bitter dude.

Please see the MSU secondary last year. they were actually worse than us and they have been pretty good this year.

funkywolve

November 1st, 2010 at 12:00 PM ^

Oregon:  17th ranked scoring defense - 17.88 pts/game , 35th ranked total defense - 337 yds/game

Auburn:  59th ranked scoring defense - 24.33 pts/game , 57th ranked total defense - 358 yds/game

For comparison's sake, here's UM: 89th ranked scoring defense - 30 pts/game, 106th ranked total defense - 440 yds/game

 

Oregon's rankings are pretty good  - especially pts/game.  Auburn's okay but way better then UM.

Rufus X

November 1st, 2010 at 12:15 PM ^

You mean the one's that have respectable defenses?  The one's who shut out the baby seals on their schedule instead of allowing UMass and UConn and Seton Hall and Providence to stay in the game with them?

I don't want to talk to Oregon or Auburn, but I'd love for Brandon to talk to their coaches.

M-Wolverine

November 1st, 2010 at 3:41 PM ^

Haven't won anything, yet.
<br>
<br>People talked Oregon, how they were going to wax boring Ohio State, and, Uhm, yeah...
<br>
<br>And I don't know that Auburn is going to get by defensive minded Alabama, no more win it all.
<br>
<br>And has been pointed out, their defenses are not bad. Having both is nice, and necessary. Florida has put out awesome offenses when winning titles...but great defenses too. Last year the best defenses were Alabama, OSU, Florida, Penn State...all big Bowl winners.

dahblue

November 1st, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^

Are you crossing your fingers, closing your eyes, throwing some salt over your shoulder and clicking your heels?  Otherwise, you need to face the reality that the coach is responsible for the entire team.  I'm tired of folks here complaining that criticism of the team is the problem:

the only thing to slow us down is the negativity killing recruiting, because the defense will get there if we stick together.

A truly wise voice does not call for RR to be retained, to be fired or for his contract to be extended (as was laughably argued in another thread).  The wise voice says to allow the season to play out.  The coach and his players are responsible for that end result; the fans are not.

It's certainly fair to consider whether a new coach would make us better.  You worry that a new coach wouldn't field as good an offense.  That's fair.  Maybe we score 28/game, but the key is what the defense allows under that new coach.  Our defense under RR won't improve like magic.  We will still be young.  We will still be inexperienced.

I think you hit a strong issue with this statement:

for my entire life the pleas from the stands has been to open up the offense and be aggressive

To me (and most rational alums) that means we wanted coaches like Carr to call play like he did against Tebow's Florida.  We had unstoppable talent (as we now see in the NFL every Sunday), but conservative play calling.  We didn't necessarily need an entirely new playbook.  Most certainly no one was saying, "we need to loosen up the defense and get run over".  Alas, that's what we now have.  So, RR deserves to play out the season.  Let's see where we end up...but don't blame the fans if the coach doesn't get it done.

HHW

November 1st, 2010 at 11:46 AM ^

I have lit my torch and am actively looking for a good deal on a pitchfork.  I am all in for RR, but if he doesn't take his own pitchfork to GERG and the defensive staff after this season, i'm going to be sharpening the tines by Spring practice.

funkywolve

November 1st, 2010 at 11:48 AM ^

hearing how great this offense is.  It's good, but it hasn't exactly been a jugernaut lately.  They had 10 points on the board heading into the 4th quarter of the MSU game.  They had 7 points on the board heading into the 4th quarter of the Iowa, and 10 points at halftime against PSU.  In the last 3 games UM's offense hasn't really done much until the opponent had built a comfortable lead.

Mitch Cumstein

November 1st, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^

I'm all for giving a coach a fair shake, and waiting until he has his players or whatever, but there is literally not a shred of evidence that suggests we'll be better next year.  Sure, you can tell me how young we are, but we were young last year.  Great, we've brought in some decent recruits and our offense can gain a lot of yards, but somehow we always seem to be gaining these yards down 3 TDs in the 4th quarter of games.  Nothing has actually been done on the field of play to make me think Rich Rod will ever right this ship.  All I hear around here is "its not his fault" and "wait until next year".  OK fine, so what if it isn't his fault?  That has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not he is the right guy to bring us back, and so far all signs point to no.  I just feel like you guys are holding onto hope that isn't there b/c you realize if you were wrong all along about RR then things might never get better.  

Our defense made a walkon QB at Penn State look like John Elway in his first start.  And our offense wasn't good enough to keep up.  That actually did happen.  Everything in the OP is speculative.  Its looking like we might go 6-6 this year, in which case the only difference from last year is that Purdue is absolutely pitiful.  It really doesn't reflect any improvement on our part. 

"D. Brandon,  stay the course, dare to be great."  I could just as easily say, "D. Brandon, stop this circus before we embarrass ourselves any more. Dare to win a b10 game."

PurpleStuff

November 1st, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^

I will bet you a million dollars we are better next year if Rodriguez returns.  Virtually our entire offensive and defensive two deep return next season.

If I hear the "walk-on" QB meme any more I am going to fucking barf.  Do we not have a walk-on underclassmen on our defense?  And the rest of the group ain't much better, especially with Martin out.  No defense with that many underclassmen on the two-deep is any good.  The next person to show me one that is will be the fucking first.

Our fans are proving themselves to be extremely dumb and whiney.  Thankfully Dave Brandon isn't going to listen to any of you.

Mitch Cumstein

November 1st, 2010 at 12:16 PM ^

Its funny that in the Penn State prediction threads thats all anyone wanted to talk about.  Now after he shredded us you don't think its a big deal?  Honestly, do you think we are better as a team than we were last year?  I just don't see it, but maybe I'm dumb and whiney like you said.  I guess you're hoping Dave Brandon sees it?

PurpleStuff

November 1st, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^

Our offense is much better than last year.  Our defense (already bad because they were dealing with a massive black hole at the safety position) lost 4 of its 5 best players (Warren, Woolfolk, Graham and Brown). 

"Everyone" is not me.  "Everyone" tends to be pretty dumb.  Penn State playing a walk-on QB was an advantage for us.  Michigan playing the most inexperienced defensive roster I've ever seen in major college football is a pretty big advantage for them.  Michigan lining up Floyd and Rogers at CB is a major advantage for them.  Michigan playing a sophomore MLB in his second start is a major advantage for them.  Michigan losing their best defensive player and the anchor of the defensive line to injury is a major advantage for them.

They had one inexperienced (quite possibly crappy) guy handing off to the leading rusher in PSU history.  How many guys (of both those varieties) can you spot on our defense?

 

tf

November 1st, 2010 at 11:59 AM ^

I'll see your 40-years and raise you a year (I'm 41).  Like you, before Rich Rod came along I knew no coach other than Bo or one of his disciples.  I agree the typical Michigan fan looked around at the flashy spread offenses and wondered how amazing Michigan could be if they gave it a whirl.   I appreciate your optimism.  I'd just quibble with a few pieces of your argument.

Michigan certainly is #4 in yards per game, but while moving the ball between the 20s is great, I think we can all agree that putting points on the board is the offense's ultimate goal.  While the other teams you listed certainly get the job done (Oregeon #1 in scoring offense, OK St #3, Nevada #7, and Boise State #2) Michigan falls to #19 when you rank scoring offense.  

The offense has improved -- the 2009 offense ranked #41 in scoring offense, and the 2010 offense is scoring almost 6 ppg more.  However, I think it's likely we see our scoring average dip in the remaining four games, and even if it doesn't, if the offense improves by the same margin (~ 6ppg) from 2010 to 2011 as it has to date from 2009 to 2010, we still wouldn't be scoring as many ppg as Oregon, OK St, Nevada, or Boise State are now.  So, while I agree the offense is improved and exciting and fun to watch, I don't buy into the argument that it's an elite offense (not sure the OP was even making that argument, but it's a fairly common theme around here).

I admire your unshaking confidence that the defense will be better, but I question the source of that confidence.  The 2008 defense was abominable, allowing 28.92 PPG to finish 84th in FBS.  The 2009 defense was expected to be a big improvement and instead saw marginal improvement, allowing 27.5 PPG and finishing 77th nationally.  We all said 2010 would definitely see an improvement, and instead we're allowing 30 PPG, good for 89th nationally and worse than either 2009 or 2008.  I certainly understand injury and attrition in the secondary, but being shredded by a very meek Penn State offense starting a virtual Nick Sheridan clone after a Michigan bye week makes me think -- and maybe I'm wrong -- the problems on defense go beyond what can be explained away so easily.

Yes, Martin is a beast, and with him out, our D Line play suffered tremendously.  The question is, why -- in the third year of this regime -- do we not have somebody backing Martin up who at least looks like a legitimate Big Ten player?  Some people suggest canning GERG.  I'm not necessarily opposed to that, but is the defense still "certain" to be improved next year with a new DC (the 4th in 5 years)?  Are the position coaches to problem?  If so, is Rod willing to allow some of his close friends to be axed?  And if he is, is the defense still definitely going to be better if there's a new staff and a new scheme?  I think the defense may be better, and I certainly hope there are, but I think there are way too many questions for anyone to be certain 2011 will bring better days defensively.

Around here we've been telling ourselves -- sometimes putting together elaborate posts with impressive statistics -- that 2010 is not a repeat of 2009.  Yet, at this point, that's almost exactly what it looks like.  Believe me, I don't like admitting it, and I haven't given up, but I'm having a very hard time seeing this Michigan team -- deplorable on defense and reduced to a one-man-show on offense -- beating Illinois, Wisconsin, or OSU, and even Purdue is iffy.  I hope I'm wrong, but nobody will convince me of that now unless and until we beat a decent Big 10 team.  I was *convinced* Michigan was going to take PSU to the woodshed.  I'm glad I'm not a gambling man, since if I was, I would have bet the house on it.

Obviously I don't have the answers.  I don't think anybody posting to MGoBlog has them, and I fear Dave Brandon doesn't have them.  To me, it seems like a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation right now.  I'm fine with Rich Rod getting more chances.  I think I'm even OK with GERG getting another chance.  Like I said, I don't know how to fix this, and really, I just want this team to start winning again.  The whole point, I guess, was simply that (a) the offense does not appear to me to be the juggernaut that some of us make it out to be and (b) the defense has somehow managed to get worse since 2008 and 2009, and I'm not convinced that another off-season and any associated changes are guaranteed to improve things for 2011.

Yeah, I know, TLDR.  Oh well, at least I feel a bit better.

KBLOW

November 1st, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

Although I felt differently during the game, the only thing a new HC and staff would bring us next season is an another year of a shitty defense that we could excuse them for.  RR still deserves one more year to figure out that you don't run Smith on 3rd and short.

Tha Quiet Storm

November 1st, 2010 at 12:12 PM ^

I feel just as deflated as anyone, but I'm still optimistic for the future.  Not only will we have virtually everyone of consequence back next year, but it will be the first year since RR has been here where he will actually have a team that is upperclassmen-heavy, not to mention a senior class larger than 10-12 guys, which is what we've had for the past 3 seasons. 

I've been of the midset that Gerg cannot yet be fairly judged because of the excessive amount of youth on the D, but I've become pretty much ambivalent about the situation.  If RR wants to go out and get Casteel if he becomes available, then go for it.  If he wants to keep Gerg and see how it pans out, whatever.  Whoever the DC is next season, he will not have to experience an instance in which each of the 4 or 5 players in the secondary are freshmen.  (I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure that for a few plays on Saturday, our secondary looked like this: Vinopal, Christian, Talbott, C. Gordon, T. Gordon/Johnson).

Like the OP said, if we underachieve next year (don't challenge for a conference titile), then a change should probably be made.  If we make a change after this year, I just feel that we would be pulling the rug out from under the team and killing the chance for a very successful 2011. 

swdude12

November 1st, 2010 at 12:13 PM ^

This just proves everything.  Defense wins championships and Special teams is 1/3 of the game.  We are dreadful on 2/3 phases of the game.  Im not sure how much input RR has on the defense, but I do not see Gerg returning.  This defense is totally regressing.