An optimistic hunch
So I was listening to 97.1 on my way to UM hospital to visit my mother, who is battling NHL courageously.
One of the gravelly-voiced radio commentators (Dan Leach or Dennis Fithian, love them both, but I confuse them with each other) took a call from a guy who raised a valid point about Mark Dantonio and Sparty never showing their hand before the Michigan game and then BOOM. Against us, they always seem to rattle off a few scripted drives that are both brilliant and creative.
It had me thinking....
Could Jim be doing the same thing? It SUCKS losing to Notre Dame. They ARE a rival, but not to the level of MSU or OSU. Perhaps Jim is developing and saving all of the good stuff for 2 games on the calender? This strategy always seems to work for Mork....
If Jim consistently churns out 8, 9, and 10 win seasons but beats our 2 main rivals on a consistent basis (think Bo) due to operating with a reduced playbook all season, would we all be happy with that? It would most likely mean no undefeated 1997-esque seasons with national championships, but I think I would be willing to sacrifice that.
Humorous side story: Nurse came in to take my mom’s blood pressure during the game last night and mentioned it was a little higher than usual. My mom remarked: “Well no shit! Are you not watching this game!?”
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:42 PM ^
No. Fuck no, in fact.
I mean goddamn, it’s 24 hours after the first game and this justification and trying to understand shit has gone WAY off the rails.
The defense was woefully underprepared for Notre Dame, they really miss Mo Hurst, and the lack of an even remotely semi-functional flea market brand knockoff pair of offensive tackles is absolutely crippling to this offense. And there’s no hope anytime this season or the next that the OL is going to be anything close to approaching respectable against teams with a pulse. So buckle up, kids.
That’s all. It’s really that simple.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:54 PM ^
Question tho...
If Michigan scores 52 in that game, wouldn’t we have a different narrative about the defense so far? Don Brown did his thing, the first 2 Irish drives were well scripted and helped by penalties. After that, the boys really settled down and dug in.
That helmet to helmet hit on McKeon is still pissing me off.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:07 AM ^
Doesn’t really matter. If you play that game 100 times, Michigan isn’t scoring 52 in any of them. I’m pretty confident Michigan isn’t scoring 50+ in any game this season.
The problem is that everyone knew the offense would be a weak spot and work in progress. The defense needed to hold strong and be prepared while the offense figured itself out and they absolutely shit the bed in every way possible in that first half. And because of that, the game was over before it ever really started.
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:44 AM ^
I’ll bet you they hit 50 Saturday.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:38 AM ^
No way. That would mean Western scores 51... yes my opinion is that there are 0 sure wins this year. Our OL is horrible. Bredeson is the only one I saw consistently holding out his man while all others were a funnel to the backfield. This offense couldn’t score 50 against a HS team. Please team... Prove me wrong!
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:43 AM ^
Yeah, I'm with you. I'm going to this game with my son. I think this will be a huge confidence booster for this offense. They're going to score touchdowns.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:54 AM ^
If it takes the like of WMU and SMU to build confidence in this team there is a much deeper rooted problem than any of us here thinks. If by chance they hang 50 I can see all the homers saying "see told you so" all the while discounting the level of competition. Exact same thing people here were ripping MSU and PSU for their "lackluster" wins against that same level of competition. Ugh!!!
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:40 AM ^
That hit made me mad in the moment. More mad that the play wasn't reviewed and even replayed by NBC (expected), but after watching it 50+ times today. It was clean, just devastatingly hard though. It was shoulder to shoulder/chest.
I'm more disappointed that we can still eject people who hit a guy in the head when he's falling to the ground ala Metellus. It seems like these refs think the players are playing in slow motion and can control themselves in an instance immediately.
September 3rd, 2018 at 6:29 AM ^
I hate it as much as anyone, but the refs called is right. It is the rule that is the dumbest fucking thing ever. The circumstance does not matter unfortunately. If Metellus wants to stay in the game I guess he just needs to not hit the guy. Like I keep saying, they are taking football out of football. We will be wearing flags eventually.
September 3rd, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
The whole point of the rules and the equipment is to keep players safe. You need the threat of a penalty hurting the whole team's chances at winning to make players think twice about blasting a dude in the head with the crown of your helmet.
I'm bummed Metellus was ejected, but if you think the sporting, manly thing to do is decapitate a dude rather than giving up a first down catch you need to reevaluate some things.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:14 AM ^
You give up 24 points you should still win the game. Defense was far from perfect but once again a Harbaugh offense looked like clowns getting out of a car.
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:29 AM ^
I was at the game, and yes, we lost control of the rush lanes. Chase seemed to go too deep and that gave Winbush an easy out of the pocket. That was likely planned as they know how aggressive Chase is. But it also could have been scheme, so the blitz package had a lane too.
Also ND loaded up on our inexperienced O tackles. They often had DE, LB (or 2) on the line of scrimmage right outside out tackles ... and changed who was coming. Very tough to pickup ... and a good scheme by ND. They attacked our weak spot. I really wonder sometimes if Michigan does this ? We're a great overall defense, but do we ever attack the weakness on another team ?
Go Blue!
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:56 AM ^
Gary and Winovich are great pass rushers, but they need a little more Taco and Wormley in their games. By 2016 Taco was an outstanding run defender while also getting the push needed to effectively pressure the QB. The first two drives Sat night were eerily similar to Penn State last season where the offense knew what was coming and used it to their advatange. We just can’t have that anymore. The offense can not afford to be down 14 in the 1st Quarter. I know Don Brown solves problems with aggression, but can we please be smart about it? They both have to incorporate that skill set to be top picks in next year’s draft. That ability to pass rush and contain the run is a big reason why Taco shot up draft boards IMO. Let Kwity Paye and Josh Uche rush the passer with reckless abandon on obvious pass downs with QBs who aren’t looking to beat us with their feet. Gary and Winovich have to be more effective against the run.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:53 AM ^
ND was playing their first half of football, too. Didn’t seem to bother them.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:43 AM ^
Nah. Everyone overreacts to everything. The most recent datapoint is always irrationally salient.
When things are good, they're never as good as they seem, and when things are bad, they are never as bad as they seem.
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:56 AM ^
You are so, so right.
What you are seeing is the "14-0" prediction posters trying desperately to reconcile reality (we aren't very good) with their optimism.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:09 AM ^
You really think that there is no hope that the OL approaches anything near respectable against teams with a pulse this year or next? That seems pretty pessimistic.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:26 AM ^
I don't think the O-line will be good enough to give the team a reasonable chance to compete for the division. Don't know why anybody should believe that they will be besides blind optimism.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:37 AM ^
You said "not good enough to reasonably compete for a division championship" there could be a fair amount of distance between that and "not any where near respectable".
To me a "respectable" OL would be somewhere around average. Not being any where near respectable would therefore be something like 10th percentile.
Not sure what it takes for the OL to be "good enough to compete for division championships", but I'd guess somewhere around 70th percentile.
Further poster said this year or next. So no hope that the OL is better than 10th percentile through next year?
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:52 AM ^
Pessimistic and Realistic, two totally different outlooks. With recent history against winning teams don't you think MGrowOld is being realistic. The competition the next two weeks should provide a smokescreen for the optimistic to hang their hopes on all the while not being realistic. History shows that there will be disappointment. Until that history reverses itself, I will remain realistic. Still waiting for those results to prove me wrong.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:01 AM ^
I think it is realistic to say the OL does not approach respectibility now and the likely outcome is that doesn't improve much.
I think it is pessimistic to say there is no hope that they can approach respectability (note: not be respectable but approach respectability) over the course of this year and next.
I think it would be optimistic to say the line play will definitely improve markedly.
To say there is no hope that the line's play could be elevated, is the equivalent of saying that none of the following could happen:
1) Hudson or someone else develops.
2) Technique improves through coaching.
3) weaknesses are de-emphasized through game plan/play calling
4) line comes together as a unit over time.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:58 PM ^
You make valid points no doubt, the one glaring problem though is the current coaching staff. None whatsoever progress or evidence of it.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:13 AM ^
Or, maybe ND is really under rated (It seems like the only place in the universe they could be under rated is on this board) and are an elite team this year on both lines.
And Michigan continues to improve.
It's not like PSU and MSU had stellar first games.
By MSU and OSU everyone will have a clear idea of where we really are. Until then, based on one game of data, it's wild speculation intermixed with fury, panic, and tantrum.
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
First off, i hope your mother is getting better and hope she has a full recovery. Nothing is more important than family and health.
Imo, you don't hold back anything in the playbook against a traditional top ten rival on the road. Don't forget your starting QB is in the beginning of his first year @ a new program, not a big difference from a freshman starting in his first year aside from his physical development. You go vanilla in games against OOC cupcakes preceding a top 10 opponent but not a #10 Notre Dame on the road. I've thought the same thing before only to be dissapointed not seeing anything different in november.
In fall practice the first week is all about fundamentals, then they add more plays and formations. Most college offenses probably only have 10-12 different plays, but you just keep adding more formations and motions but you are just running the same plays disguising them with different looks and personnel.
In the 3 game playoff run OSU had with Cardale Jones, Tom Herman simplified the passing game for him where he only had to read half the field and the running game (the zone read is really just 3 plays, inside & outside zones & the jet sweep, with different formations & motions) OSU'S offensive line and Dline is what won those games and lack of tape on Jones.
Its all about controlling the line of scrimmage. Bama players didn't take Jones's running ability & OSU seriously enough, that was a factor as well. If not for Bama's punter and many errors by OSU that game would have been more like 56-21, more like the championship game against Oregon. I'll can say is Coach Warinner will have your OLine playing better week to week, he's a great position coach, but a very average recruiter imo.
September 3rd, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
ND features a mobile quarterback who struggles with accuracy.
The Michigan defensive game plan on the first two drives was to play man defense (requires defenders to turn their backs to the LOS), bring pressure wide, and seemingly abandon the middle.
The job of a coach is to put players in positions to succeed. While the early game plan did exactly the opposite for the most part, there were times where players needed to make plays and didn't.
I just don't think Don Brown gave them too much of a chance at the start. It was beyond frustrating to watch.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:46 PM ^
ummm, no
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:48 PM ^
I don't think so. If Jim had something up his sleeve to score more points he would have busted it out last night... Huge primetime game with a chance to set the tone for the rest of the season. There's no way he would be stupid enough to "save" something for OSU when it could possibly beat ND with most of the college football world watching.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:50 PM ^
First off, sounds like mom is a fighter, good for her. Secondly, Harbaugh isn’t saving crap for later. This team is seriously deficient at a main fundamental - offensive line blocking. At this point it is what it is, gonna be a long season.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:26 AM ^
Yeah...I remember in fall camp there was some buzz that the frosh tackles were pushing the seniors for playing time, I thought “well shit, that can’t be a good thing...”
September 3rd, 2018 at 5:20 AM ^
I agree with you completely, but I’m not ruling out this coaching staff to figure out the OL!
September 3rd, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
Maybe Warriner can figure it out but the other coaches haven't and they've been doing this for about 4 years now....
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:52 PM ^
Hope your Mom can recover and least get to go back home. May be ND is much better than I had thought before the season but I did not think we had to do anything special to win this game. The team just has to stop making mistakes both on offense and defense. I was surprised ND could put 21 points on our D during the first half. The offense moved the ball there were just a few break downs on the OL and keeping an empty back field when ND put 6 men on the line. The linebackers should have prevented wombash from running the way he did. Oh well, hopefully the team will improve by the time we reach our conference schedule. I still have hopes we can win 9 or 10 wins and beat some of the higher ranked B1G teams we play.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:53 PM ^
FFS pull your head out.
If you watched MSUs game, Mork was desperate and had to pull out the Lewarke option package against Utah St.
Im sure Mork didn’t want that on film, but he knew he needed to win the game.
No coach will take a loss to keep things off film.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:42 AM ^
I pray Mork wants to run option against us. The only caveat being the DBush is healthy.
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:48 AM ^
Because Nd wasn’t just pretty successful doing some? I’ve been pretty positive about things but Michigan never stops the option and I’m already worried about it.
September 3rd, 2018 at 8:24 AM ^
And now Herman Moore, whose AZ State devils just decimated UTSA, has that film footage, and will be ready for it next Saturday as well.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
You mean Herm Edwards?
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:31 AM ^
Herman Boone?
September 3rd, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^
Herman Munster?
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:54 PM ^
After seeing how they used Jabrill on offense in 2016 and then telling myself “they’re waiting to open the playbook” after Cincy and Air Force in 2017, I fail to believe this is the case. We just have a bad offense now. We should get used to it.
I hope things get better with your mother though! I know it isn’t easy and I will be thinking of you guys. Next month marks my one year in remission from Hodgkins Lymphoma.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:14 AM ^
Thank you and congrats!
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:02 AM ^
shitpost
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:20 AM ^
Why thank you
September 3rd, 2018 at 6:31 AM ^
shittier response
September 3rd, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^
So kind of you.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:04 AM ^
Non-sense
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^
Harbaugh's creativity on offense is comically overrated around here.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:46 AM ^
It was pretty creative in 2016 before Speight got hurt. And the 2017 OSU game plan would have won us that game with a serviceable OB.
That said, he's going to have to pull a rabbit out of his ass until we replace the turnstile at LT with a P5 athlete.
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:27 AM ^
By the time we get a proper LT we will have holes at OG... We don't allow JUCO transfers to plug holes. Even Bama (they of the ten 5-stars per cycle) plug holes with JUCOs. We just can't compete with our self-made handicaps.