Gary Danielson says Michigan will be overrated in '12
Gary Danielson continues his long held tradition of Michigan bashing. I'm not positive when he sold his soul to the SEC, but I'm pretty sure it was right around 2006.
January 12th, 2012 at 11:56 AM ^
How awesome would it be if we beat Bama?
January 12th, 2012 at 1:25 PM ^
No really i wanna know. Well you know what god bless 'em because we WILL beat Bama. This is Michigan!...FERGODSAKES!!!!!
January 12th, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^
You've been overrated for years...
January 12th, 2012 at 12:00 PM ^
This just in, Gary Danielson urges all SEC programs to drink more pineapple juice and avoid asparagus, for reasons unknown...
January 12th, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
I think you're insinuating that the dude drinks something
hahaha. well done sir
January 12th, 2012 at 12:52 PM ^
Go to google and type in "drink pineapple juice and avoid asparagus".
January 12th, 2012 at 4:38 PM ^
January 12th, 2012 at 11:59 AM ^
Well, if anyone would know about being overrated, it would be Gary Danielson
January 12th, 2012 at 12:49 PM ^
I'm embarrassed that he's an alumnus of my high school. I don't care if he won us a state championship during his time...he's a douche.
January 12th, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^
perfect sense. Obviously Bo didnt think he was any good so Bo passed on him. Gary was forced to play for second-rate Purdue. This anger is quite common. There are many, many players (and students for that matter) that wanted to come to Michigan but got turned down. It is an anger that is carried for a lifetime. See Lil Bro.
January 13th, 2012 at 12:15 PM ^
January 13th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
January 12th, 2012 at 1:25 PM ^
To summarize, here are the three possible effects this column will have on a “rater” of football teams:
- Rater will hear Danielson’s comments, agree, and stop overrating Michigan.
- Rater will hear Danielson’s comments, disagree, and continue to overrate Michigan.
- Rater will not hear Danielson’s comments.
And here are the corresponding possible outcomes as they relate to Danielson:
- Danielson’s prediction is incorrect.
- Listeners consider Danielson’s opinion invalid.
- Danielson's target audience does not listen to him.
Conclusion: Do not predict to a national audience that a team “will be overrated.” This can only make you look silly. Instead, hypothesize that they are “currently overrated,” or predict that they will “lose some games.”
January 12th, 2012 at 12:01 PM ^
Everyone's saying the schedule will be tougher, and that important players are graduating, both of which are obvious. He's saying nothing new.
I don't necessarily think he's bashing Michigan.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:24 PM ^
Depth as well. We look good on paper next year, but one or two injuries on either line and we'll likely tail off. We're basically a couple ACL issues away from starting true freshman on the lines and that is never good.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:52 PM ^
Most folks believe we can start and will start True freshman on both lines in 2012. I trust the coaches to get the best players on the field. I'd rather have a true freshman on the field blowing an assignment now and then than an upper classman who just can't get the job done. We'll see tho
January 12th, 2012 at 1:18 PM ^
Those folks will also be shocked when senior 3* DT absolutely mauls a freshman guard. Solely because the DT has 4 years worth of physical (and techinque) development the 18 year old guard lacks. I can't do much more them.
Using a true freshman for platooning isn't the end of the world, but when he's a starter the other team is going after him all day and bad things tend to happen.
January 12th, 2012 at 1:34 PM ^
If the freshman guard is not ready to play he won;t be out there now will he. That's why they have practices to guage who is the most ready to play on saturday. Breathe in a paper bag and trust that the coaches will have the best players on the field come time to visit Jerryworld.
I honestly think our O line will be better next year as a whole
January 12th, 2012 at 5:08 PM ^
Did you miss the part about injuries? The issue is not ready to play. The issue is no depth. A couple of ACLs go out and we're either sticking out walkons or true freshmen out, because everyone who is ready to play is injured.
January 13th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^
We where 2 ACL injuries away from putting walk ons out there last year so i dont see your concern.
January 13th, 2012 at 3:42 PM ^
If Molk does down in Week 4 instead of 10 minutes before the Sugar Bowl, this season is a lot different. We also had more quality depth this year in the sense that we had a non freshmen backup tackle. Next year the only two true (non freshman) tackles on the roster are Lewan and Schofield. Depth this year was bad, depth next year is worse.
I see plenty of reason for concern if a tackle goes down. Mealer also has not looked very good as a guard, so if we lose a guard we're in trouble. Note how when we lost Barnum we slipped Schofield (a sophmore in) instead of Mealer (a junior). Basically this year we had one solid backup (Schofield), next year we have to hope Bryant or Mealer is a stud backup if a tackle goes down or send out a true freshman.
January 13th, 2012 at 4:33 PM ^
I agree with you in the sense that it is somewhat concerning, but I also don't really think it's going to be an issue. Kalis is considered to be college-ready and he can backup the guards if need be. Pretty much every OL recruit we have this year played OT in high school. If one of the other four or five recruits steps up, we have a backup. Now, if Lewan gets seriously injured, we're fucked six ways to sunday no matter who the backup is, just like Molk going down this year.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^
True, but he's still a d-bag that deserves to be bashed.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:01 PM ^
Fvck Gary Danielson. Go Blue.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
He has a serious issue, needs to seek professional help and only a proctologist will do.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:04 PM ^
January 12th, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
He said the spread was dead too. Why are we posting his opinion?
January 12th, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
He could be right. I could easliy see us being ranked in the top 5 in the preseason polls, which would be overrating us IMO.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^
I think top 10-15 would still be overrating us. We're losing our two best players and our schedule is much more difficult. He's a douche, but this isn't anything analogous to something as egregious as the "spread is dead" meme.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^
Robinson was not in our top 2 players ?
January 12th, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
Right, right.. so 'top 3'. Point is, Martin and Molk will not be easily replaced. I'm not optimistic about the defense next year.
January 12th, 2012 at 1:24 PM ^
Someone will step up unexpectedly and be all world, but probably not to the extent we need for improved D-line play. We were very lucky this year in that the injury bug that normally plagues us left us very much alone. To go another year without at least one major injury would surprise me. I would love us to parallel what we did this year but won't be surprised if we don't.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:31 PM ^
at the end of the year? That's what preseason rankings are trying to get at.
Losing MM, RVB, Molk and Jr. will hurt. But we lose fewer starters than most of the teams we play. And everyone returning will have another full year in the system. Bolden and Pipkens will shore up the defense.
I see Michigan going 10-3, finishing around #12. And I agree with Danielson that it won't mean we took a step back.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^
I'm just cautious about the hype. The defense was porous when Martin would take breathers and I'm a bit skeptical that a true freshman DT could help to solidify a defense. Come to think of it, when was the last time any true freshman DT had an impact in the Big Ten?
January 12th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^
I think top 10-15 would still be overrating us. We're losing our two best players and our schedule is much more difficult. He's a douche, but this isn't anything analogous to something as egregious as the "spread is dead" meme.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
Um....exactly what part of his comments do you guys disagree with:
"They won that bowl game, they won 11 games, everybody is excited, everybody believes Big Blue is back," he says in the video. "I think there are still a lot of holes on defense. I think this is a team that is going to travel to Nebraska next year, to Ohio State, which is going to have Urban Meyer as their head coach."
We will have holes on Defense and our schedule is brutal. I'm certainly no Danielson fan but lets not shoot the messanger here guys......
January 12th, 2012 at 12:15 PM ^
3 things stick out without even thinking about it much:
1. He called us Big Blue. Fail #1.
2. Travel at Nebraska, a team we blew out by 28 points that lost its 3 best defensive players? "Brutal." Fail #2.
3. Travel to OSU which was 6-7, lost 6 offensive starters. Returns the defense we scored 40 on. "Brutal." Fail #3.
Didn't even click the link. Dude is clueless.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
Playing them in Lincoln will be very different than playing them in Ann Arbor. I know they lost to NW there, but that was a let-down game for the Huskers IMO. They won't have a let-down against Michigan (or Kentucky if they're playing "Big Blue").
January 12th, 2012 at 5:31 PM ^
that you do not understand the Big Ten.
1) Big Blue is a name that outsiders call us. We may not like it but I have heard it before. Maybe you are only 22 and have not been out of your town but Big Blue is a commonly used name for us. You are probably not a student/alum so I forgive you. It is a term of endearment by those fans that do not follow us on a daily basis. FAIL
2) Have you ever been to a game in Lincoln? Do you know what type of crowd they bring in? Nebraska will probably be our Number 2 rival once things get going. So you need to gather knowledge before you underestimate Nebraska. Fail
3) This is the point where you must be 10 years old. Do you know why they call it the "GAME"? Do you know how many times in the series that the under dog has won the game? Maybe you dont know this but there was a game in November 1969. ohio had the number 1 team in the country, some still say today that it was best NCAAFB team ever assembled.
There was this little fellow named Glenn who was the coach of the underdogs. That team did not have a chance to win. However, this little known coach fired up his team with a wonderful speech. Some say the players were crying. This no name coach named Glenn was known for firing up his team. He gave one of the memorable speeches in 1983. Obviously you have never heard of it. It is called The Team, The Team, The Team. You sir, are what we dont need. We can NEVER take ohio for granted. We must always respect them (although we can still hate them).
Oh and did I mention that ohio hired a new coach? This new coach may or may not know what he is doing depending on who you talk to. The new coach reminds me so much of that other new coach in 1969. Triple FAIL
All that I ask is that you please understand the Big Ten and its history before you embarrass yourself anymore.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:16 PM ^
I disagree with the use of "Big Blue". It's not being a blind optimist to say that we could win the same amount of games next year. Everyone expected 8-9 wins this season.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
Granted, his simplistic and unoriginal assessment of Michigan's prospects next season may be accurate. However, since he is a CBS sports analyst, who never does Big 10 games, I don't know why he's giving his opinion at all. All I hear is a CBS sports guy, who has a vested interest in marketing the SEC as the premier college football conference, running down a Big 10 program that looks to be highly ranked preseason. He should just go back to telling us how great Alabama is going to be in 2012 and shut his yap about programs he knows little about.
January 12th, 2012 at 3:13 PM ^
The SEC is way overrated. Did you hear how their conference champion got shut out on their bowl game this year?
January 12th, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
I really hate the argument of "Team X is overrated or should be ranked lower because look at how tough their schedule is."
How does a team's schedule matter in how good the team is? Would our team be better next year if we played different teams?
January 12th, 2012 at 12:19 PM ^
Ultimately, wins and losses drive the perception of how good you are. Michigan fans can look at the Iowa game, and see how close they came to winning, but in the record books it goes down as a loss. Wisconsin was 2 plays away from an undefeated regular season, but in the rankings they looked like any other 2-loss team.
So in that respect, Danielson is entirely correct. It will be harder for Michigan to go 11-2 again, and to most people, anything less than that will seem like a step backward.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:24 PM ^
Well, it might have helped Wisconsin if they played a non-conference schedule. So, I'd say strength of schedule actually played a role there.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
This is one of my biggest pet peeves in college sports. Worse, I think some voters drop teams with tough schedules in their early rankings (since they figure they'll finish with some losses). That means those teams get hit twice - worse initial rankings and a harder schedule once the season begins.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
I have no idea where to rank Michigan going into next season.
I think we'll end up with a top 10 ranking because of our opening day match-up and I'm not sure if it isn't deserved.
We were 11-2 this year and we return a lot of guys who have multiple seasons of experience. For the first time in a long time we have a full idea of who are QB/RB combo is. Our linebackers/secondary are finally deep and experienced. We have some significant losses (DL, TE, Hemingway), but the latter of those two should be replaceable and improvements in other areas of the defense should offset the loss of RVB and MM.
If a preseason ranking is where you think a team will end up, I think Michigan could make its way back into the top 10 again.
Beat Alabama and it could be a very special year.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^
If I were suspicious or just plain paranoid, I'd be convinced that every time I hear ESPN/Mediocre QB, it is going to be another SECFest.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
Because of the camerawork on the piece, it was impossible to tell if the kneepads Danielson was wearing at the time have "SEC" written on them with a Sharpie, which is what I've heard is the case.
January 12th, 2012 at 12:15 PM ^
Well I heard that urbanachiever says Gary Danielson will be overrated in 2012