Applauding RR's integrity and courage for suspending Hagerup for OSU
Comrades,
As much as our special teams suffered for losing Hagerup, I have to admire RR for suspending him even though it had a huge negative impact on the game and given that RR is under fire professionally. RR knows that if he lets Hagerup play in that situation, he'll never be able to enforce team rules again. That is a guy who is trying to build a program, and whatever you think of RR, I respect him for that.
I wonder if we'll ever find out what Hagerup actually did.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:04 PM ^
Yeah, I'm not sure Hagerup was the difference. Pretty sure RR knew that. Unless he was planning on unleashing him at safety.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
Maybe in a way he could've helped. That ensuing drive after they returned the kick for the TD was, I believe, the tipping point in the game. We had that 20 yard pass to Stonum called back because Jeremy Jackson was still moving at the snap, then we stalled, then had to punt and only punted it to our own 35, which of course lead to another OSU TD. Would Hagerup have punted better than that? Probably, at least giving OSU a much longer field than 35 yds. Would it have made a difference in the game? You never know. Pryor could've thrown a pick, something, because of the longer field. But, whatever. Just pointing out that it could've possibly had a significant impact.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:02 PM ^
November 27th, 2010 at 8:11 PM ^
...that first 18 yard punt was a KILLER. Argh. Still, kudos to RR for doing the right thing.
Rules are rules. No exceptions.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:11 PM ^
Was a big momentum shift in the game, so I would say it did matter.
Also, RR didn't know that it wouldn't matter when he suspended him.
November 27th, 2010 at 9:05 PM ^
November 27th, 2010 at 10:02 PM ^
True, but the point stands. RR didn't know how the game would unfold when he suspended the punter and RR deserves credit for doing the right thing when his career is on the line.
November 27th, 2010 at 10:41 PM ^
November 27th, 2010 at 7:08 PM ^
Probably should have had Tate do more punts or quick kicks instead of Broek...
November 27th, 2010 at 7:11 PM ^
For applauding our coach, on this day. Ballsy.
November 27th, 2010 at 11:23 PM ^
This is what our program has become. Applauding the coach for suspending the punter after getting blowing out by Ohio State. I wish I was old enough to experience Michigan football under Bo.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^
I'm with you. I thought it took courage for Rich to suspend him and even more courage for you to salute him for it.
BTW - the news that Haggerup was out today was reported on Mgoblog first waaaaay before anyone had it. This board is amazing.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:57 PM ^
Though I would humbly say that my job isn't on the line for pointing out RR's good deeds.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:26 PM ^
But your points sure are.
November 27th, 2010 at 9:17 PM ^
I honestly don't know how I accumulate most of my points, and that's fine by me. I just try to present my opinion honestly and respectfully, and try to contribute something to the discussion. If people want to neg me for that, that's their choice. It's a free country (until the Communists are in charge).
November 27th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^
He needs to be here one more year. We are a sophomore team, the top teams in the big 10 Wisconsin and OSU, MSU and Iowa are all senior teams. Wisonsin loses 24 seniors this year. Our defense has improved during this year our offense of course has improved much from last year. We will be strong next year. I have been an avid fan since the 1970's I myself used to complain about our vanilla offense (so did a lot of long time fans when we would get close but never win the big one, the complaint was no vision in the offense). Well we went in the complete opposite direction with the spread, and if the people who hired RR didn't realize it would take 3-4 hard years at best to convert then that is a problem. The team will be fine next year, I think RR will be back and should, I think he IS successful thi syear when you look at all the shit people have thrown at him since he left WVU. He got here and really hasn't been fully supported from the beginning, I have lived long enough to know, no boss gets the job done with so many people going against him. He finally has the team on his side and still has to deal with the media and some fans.
November 27th, 2010 at 10:35 PM ^
This is a very well written post.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:20 PM ^
Same kind of integrity that kept Denard out against Illinois when he was showing concussion symptoms.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:22 PM ^
The problem is you only get to beat the integrity drum when you win, because anyone can do things the right way and lose.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^
Completely agree - and it cost us in the game. Stand-up move by RR.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
It didn't cost you the game.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:58 PM ^
Try that sentence again, slower. Reading comprehension is fun!
[ETA: The post I was responding to was deleted, making it seem as though I'm responding to the preceding post. Not the case]
November 27th, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^
but that didn't cost us the game. Nobody is (or should) criticize RR's integrity, concern for his players, or the importance he places on education/ discipline. Period.
He has always made the right call regarding players and has always made admirable decisions.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:53 PM ^
and it cost us in the game
November 27th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
of poor records and the 10 years prior to those 10 years wasn't that good either. BO came in and created the success that we are all used to now. We need to be patient with RR right now because 2 things- 1) the team is getting better each week and is VERY YOUNG and 2) if they change him out now there will be another 3 years of poor seasons with lost recruiting, new coaches and possibly schemes. He needs one more year and I think he gets it. I think with a bowl win they finish 8-5 this year and next year 10-3. Improvement every year.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
the team is getting better each week
If only this were true.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:47 PM ^
If only your posting improved as well, you have had a Tom Hagan type 2nd half of posting:)
November 27th, 2010 at 10:37 PM ^
Dude, that's one harsh indictment there.
November 27th, 2010 at 10:45 PM ^
I like how neither of you even bothered to debate the objection I raised. Sorry folks, but we've passed the point at which it makes sense to blindly believe in this staff.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
I'm sorry, but I'm sick of platitudes like "the team is getting better each week." No, it's not. The last two years the team started off strong, and looked worse as the year went on. In what way has our offense "gotten better" over the last seven games than it was in the first five games? Our special teams? Our defense?
There's an argument for Rich Rodriguez, but the team's week-to-week improvement ain't it.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:16 PM ^
There's no question that the team regressed later in the season, but if you're looking for week-to-week improvement, that's not the nature of college football. Programs improve/decline over years, not weeks, and progress will be defined not by whether we got better between playing two top 10 teams, but whether the program is better off now than it was in 2009, and will it continue to get better in 2011.
November 27th, 2010 at 10:39 PM ^
You say regression...I say better competition.
As an aside, god damned UConn will be paying in the Fiesta Bowl if they win next week...so apparently we were beating BCS teams to start the season...
November 27th, 2010 at 10:52 PM ^
WTF????
Programs improve/decline over years
Uhhhhh, except for Michigan's 40/32 year consecutive winning seasons/bowl streak.
progress will be defined not by whether we got better between playing two top 10 teams,
I'm sorry but that's complete baloney. Progress is measured by beating up on Delaware State and Blowling Green from year to year but getting blown out by tUoOS, for example? Uhhhhh, top 10 teams *DO* matter... that's where Rose Bowl trips are earned. That's where championships are won.
"What you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
November 27th, 2010 at 8:18 PM ^
Michigan was not dominant before Bo got here, but the '68 team was 8-2 and the '64 team was probably one play away from a national championship. Michigan's only loss that year was to Bob Griese's Purdue team, 21-20. Bob Timberlake tried a two-point conversion for the win and was stopped. If he makes that play, Michigan finishes unbeaten and caps the season with a 34-7 Rose Bowl victory.
If we're going to go the history route, it may be relevant to note that today Rodriguez became the first Michigan coach to lose three straight at the same time to OSU and MSU.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:45 PM ^
There were some very bad years (like 1962) but Bump Elliott won the Rose Bowl in the 1964-65 season and went 8-2 in 1968. All of the players on Bo's first team at Michigan in 1969 were Elliott's recruits, too. Freshman weren't eligible to play, so none of Bo's recruits saw the field until 1970.
November 27th, 2010 at 11:20 PM ^
The 1968 team hardly sucked. It had a record of 8-2, came in second in the Big Ten. Ended up ranked 12th in the AP, and 15th in the coaches (UPI) poll. See http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1968fbt.htmThere were a lot of reasons why Bump Elliott stepped down as coach, though he was not forced out of the position. The 50-14 loss to Ohio State was no doubt one of the reasons he chose not to stay on as head coash. He was offered the Associate Athletic Director position by Don Canham and took it for a couple of years. Bo and the whole team acknowledged him following the 1969 win over OSU by giving him the game ball. The guy was well-liked, and was not forced out, let alone because he had fielded a poor team in 1968.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^
Aye, cheers.
<br>
November 27th, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^
November 27th, 2010 at 8:10 PM ^
100% endorse.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^
about where your original ["ignorant"] perception came from.
I don't think that I'd be so hard on you, calling you "ignorant." "Misinformed" is not quite the same thing as "ignorant." So where did that come from? Would you say that it was an accumulation of things? The way that the buyout litigation was covered, including rumors from West Virginia? Boren and "family values"? The NCAA saga? The innumerable other little things, each getting repeated in the echo-chamber of sportstalk radio, where everybody is reading the same newpapers and listening to the same guys?
November 27th, 2010 at 10:35 PM ^
probably more accurate. It started with me before he took the job. His patented offense and flirtation with the Alabama job in 06 gave him a huckster reputation nationally, and I bought in. His recruitment of Pryor and messy exit from WV didn't help things at the beginning. My opinion of the man has changed a lot since he took the job, not coincidentally as my dependence for information shifted to the blogosphere. His actions, when allowed to shine through the clouded media picture, have proven him to be a good, principled man. After these three years I see a guy with good intentions for the program and the kids, and anybody who still clings to the used-car-salesman image that I did those years ago is indeed badly misinformed.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^
I agree - it was a classy move. That said, I'd expect it from any Michigan coach.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
Rodriquez did what he had to do, I'm glad he did but he was meeting expectations, not exceeding them with the move.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:49 PM ^
Clap Clap Clap.
Seriously it takes a man with a lot of integrity to not take a starter especially when playing OSU.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:53 PM ^
I applaud you for continuing to post statistical projections. They're really useful.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:14 PM ^
Hopefully Denard's dislocated fingers are serviceable by the bowl game.
November 27th, 2010 at 7:54 PM ^
I'm sure Mark Dantonio would make the same decision aren't you?
November 27th, 2010 at 8:03 PM ^
That's why Mark Dantonio doesn't coach at Michigan.
Mega-kudos to Rodriguez for doing the right thing. Hopefully Hagerup will learn from this and be a model citizen from now on.
November 27th, 2010 at 8:05 PM ^
and then that would absolutely, positively, be it.