Effing Pumped About Michigan Football Right Now
Is anyone else wildly optimistic? I look at the secondary, the linebackers, the d-line--and I'm pumped. I look at our QB, our newly-dedicated (and highly touted) RBs, and I'm pumped. I see wide receivers with big time talent, and I'm nearly bursting. I see a schedule that should be relatively easy on the O-line (ND's line is pretty young), giving them time to mature until things get nasty, and I just can't wait anymore. I'm thinking 9 wins, at least. I'm thinking this year Michigan beats Ohio. I'm thinking that if we had State at home, I'd guarantee a win.
I am pumped up.
The light is darkest just before the dawn
Wow. My sympathies. I agree the disappointment has been almost too much to bear since Bo passed. Still, I cannot compare this period of UM fandom to any period of Lions fandom. Every glimmer of hope that I ever had for the Lions was built on naive assumptions about the roster, coaches and organization that weren't valid, and likely still aren't.
UM has been playing well below its "level" lately (far too long), but still has the foundation to reach that level again, and hopefully push beyond it. The Lions "level" is what it has been for decades.
I mean, everything you said about the Lions, the naive assumptions about the roster, coaches, and organization, could also be said about the UM program for about the last decade, which is the extent of my devoted following of UM sports since I first attended UM.
Lions never won a Sugar Bowl by bouncing pass off a helmet to the longsnapper.
I understand your perspective if your devotion started in the last 10 years. I would view UM more like the Vikings than the Lions. Historical success, though, even then not ultimate success (except '97), and recent hardships.
There's really nothing in the Lion's last 55 years that offers hope. There's a lot of reason to believe UM will get back to where they were in the 90s.
"A long battle of endurance than excitement" is a perfect way to describe last season.
Seriously. UM won't win the B1G championship most years realistically, but damn, I want UM to get back to the level where UM is considered a contender every damn year going into the season. When is the last time OSU wasn't a contender? Even after they fired Tressell and everything was in upheval, OSU was still a favorite to win the B1G.
Well, it's hard to be pumped when you've barely slept (storms do that for me, as I live with their aftermath here), but I would say that I am at least optimistic that this year will begin an upward trend both in record and in the technical aspects as well. Actually, if the transition to inside zone goes as well as some have predicted, then between that and the switch to a 4-3 Over (which I think puts some players in a better position to succeed given the talent we have), I think there's reason to be optimistic definitely.
What off-season reports have you seen on the o-line? I'm on this site every day and have never heard anyone mention reports from the summer that says that the o-line is useless. There have been no reports at all as far as I can tell.
with insider information like Anison and Dotman. I'm not going to sit here and argure with you anymore, if you want to sit here and accuse me of lying so that you can preserve your apologist perceptions of this season for yet a little while longer, go ahead, accuse me of lying. It's foolish and immature to do so while I could so easily sit here and ask for evidence for this proposed optimism that you see in this season. Where are your articles? Where are your sources that suggest the O Line will significantly improve? That the WRs will be gamebreakers? That Gardner will improve his play recognition?
I can criticize your sources and anecdotal evidence just as quickly as you can criticize my character.
You said the O-line can't even play with BASIC technique. Are you walking that back?
Despite my cynical nature, I too am pumped AND optimistic about Michigan football this year. I'm going to beat a dead horse here, but Al Borges was single-handedly sinking our offense since Hoke first showed up in Ann Arbor. His gameplans were wildly inconsistent, and we later found out he was asking young players to learn/perform way too much. I think a simpler approach is going to help the young OL immensely, and we have some fantastic skills players that will shine if given a reasonable amount of time.
It's our time.
I agree with the OP, I think this team has the makings of being a 9+ win team. There is just too much talent coupled with quality coaching for Michigan to have back-to-back disastrous seasons.The only thing keeping me from being 100% optimistic is the o-line/running game. Defense should be really good though, especially the back 7.
...been reading a lot though it seems? Like that avatar...
Started out on Scout (stadium and main) then kinda got sucked into this blog. I love it lol
I agree with the OP, I think this team has the makings of being a 9+ win team. There is just too much talent coupled with quality coaching for Michigan to have back-to-back disastrous seasons.The only thing keeping me from being 100% optimistic is the o-line/running game. Defense should be really good though, especially the back 7.
I'm optimistic, but not pumped. The talent is there, but as Gus Malzahn and Dantonio/Narduzzi have taught the world, it's mostly about coaching. Our offense was completely owned by MSU last year, and our defense was completely owned by OSU last year. Yes, the talent is there, but I am wary of the question mark that is how Nuss will perform without the Alabama machine and Saban supporting him, and how Hoke and Mattison plan on not being owned by Miller and Urbz.
I'm thinking losses to MSU/OSU, a loss to either ND/NW (since road), and then one random trap game. Thinking 8-4 or 9-3 slightly leaning toward 8-4.
The nice thing about tempered expectations is increased likelihood of being pleasantly surprised rather than slightly disappointed.
Mostly about coaching? If anything the data says the opposite of that. Both are necessary but more often than not it's talent that matters more (from an odds standpoint) if you truly want to be elite. MSU just happens to be an outlier.
http://mgoblog.com/diaries/stars-do-matter-over-achievers-and-under-achievers
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/21641769
All I know is, if Michigan does have a superb season, 11-1 or something, and especially if they beat Staee, I will be tuning in to Valenti & Foster a lot this year.
this is sparty's thing
I've seen it on this here blog numerous times
Agreed. It's not a "Sparty" thing by any means; just played out. They adopted it from here I'd like to think.
they actually do this "yes, yes, yes" crap in the locker room as a team. They even did it at the Breslin Center this winter among the crowd.
Its a sparty thing now.
Still unnerved by the fact that Hoke's never beaten a top 20 team on the road in his career and we'll have 3 of those games this year.
Don't get too excited about the "relatively easy" early part of the schedule. Remember how we were supposed to beat up on UConn last year? UConn was not a surprisingly talented, underrated team. We were sloppy, disorganized, out of sync, made mistakes, and the fact that the opponent was one of the worst teams in FBS didn't make up for all of that. They had us beat.
This year, we face ND in South Bend in the last game of the series. I would expect their defensive line to show up for the game; whether or not our offensive line does remains to be seen. And we face Utah, another lowly team we should beat, although this lowly team beat Stanford last year, lost to ASU by one point and to UCLA by one touchdown. Don't look past that one.
Like an earlier poster said, I'm pumped but not overly optimistic. 9 wins is within the realm of possibility but by no means is it the floor, it's more likely the ceiling for this team. And that would be a good record and a step in the right direction.
UConn was not a surprisingly talented underrated team . They were horrid. They lost to TOWNSON TIGERS at home 33-18 a few weeks before UM showed up! They lost to Buffalo the next week 41-12!
Exactly. That's what I said. Not surprisingly talented. Not underrated. One of the worst in FBS. And we almost lost to them.
I'm definitely getting a sense of things coming together a bit. Key guys that were injured are expected back, we're hearing reports of things "clicking" for a few of the younger guys that seemed a bit lost last year, we have a shiny new OC who hopefully knows how to play to our strengths and opponents weaknesses, etc.
I really think injuries hurt us last year more than we realized because it was lost in the noise of the OL issues (I think some nagging injuries played a factor there as well). Just watching UTL II on BTN a couple nights ago, we just seemed to have so much more pop in our steps at the beginning of the season, particularly Gardner. He really was just a shell of himself by the end of the year.
On the other hand, I still think it's a big up-hill climb for a couple positions, specifically OL and TE. More experience, more time in the weight room, and a more coherent scheme will help, but it's probably unrealistic to expect them to make a 180 turnaround in one year, particalurly with two NFL departures.
I think we'll win the games we're supposed to win in more convincing fashion this year and show improvements in consistency throughout, but still struggle with teams at the top, which unfortunately at the moment includes all 3 of our rivals.
^^ x 1000!
I agree with you 100% on this one. People who want to see doom and gloom for the Michigan program, and for the OL in particular, may be discounting the role of chemistry. I think, as you aptly pointed out, that Lewan (although gifted physcially) might have been a detrimental factor in the development of the younger less experienced OLinemen, and his absense will actually HELP them.
Have Magnuson, Kalis, Bosch, and Braden bought a pig together?
If the O-line figures it out, the season could turn out to a good one. I simply don't allow myself to be wildly optimistic anymore. The last seven or eight seasons have driven a stake into my heart too many times. I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.