Selective Football Memory Going Into the Season
As I'm sure you all remember very well; Michigan has not stepped on the field since the closing moments of the first half, up 16 to 14 against Alabama on January 1, 2020 when all football activities were suddenly cancelled mid-game due to COVID-19.
Immediately afterwards, Don Brown gracefully retired after stating that utilizing mesh-concepts was unfair. Brown has since been replaced with Baltimore Ravens Linebacker-Guru, Mike Macdonald who seeks to bring more diversity to Michigan's defensive approach, mixing zone and man concepts, and making it more difficult to game-plan against with exotic passing down packages. He started off by addressing Michigan's recent DT roster deficiency, immediately signing multiple big bodies that will clog up the middle and let the linebackers run free. Michigan contemplated a hiring a defensive position coach that wouldn't show up for an entire season, or coach in any capacity, but ultimately decided against it.
Michigan returns stars Dax Hill, Hutchinson, Ronnie Bell, and Haskins.
McNamera is out in front in the QB room, but JJ McCarty is showing crazy potential!
Corum, Edwards, Wilson and Henning are pushing for skill position snaps!
The defensive line is prepped for a breakout year from Smith and Hinton ect ect : )
Hopefully this puts a smile on a few of your faces, and also causes us to think about how much of an aberration last year really was. We put a team on the field that literally barely practiced together. If last year had been cancelled completely as it initially was, we would be entering the next year with a completely different mindset.
Cheers and Go Blue!
Nordin decided to go pro after hitting that bomb, eh?
Late round pick to the Patriots. I heard someone else was successful that way once.
— ᗷᒪᑌᗴᑭᖇIᑎT ᒍᗩY (@BluePrintJay) August 10, 2021
A lot less of JH there. He's obviously much more serious this year about physical conditioning.
August 9th, 2021 at 10:22 PM ^
He's got the lean, can he bring back the mean?
Awesome! Thanks for the link!
August 9th, 2021 at 11:16 PM ^
I saw Erick All catch a ball. We’re gonna win the B1G
August 10th, 2021 at 12:11 AM ^
Henning catch was extremely impressive.
August 10th, 2021 at 9:54 AM ^
The video implies that it was from McCarthy as well although there is what video editors call a jump cut in there so who knows if that is just editing magic to pump up JJ.
I see what you’re trying to do, and I’m probably one of the biggest football cynics on this board, but every program in America took the field last year and barely got to practice with one another. MSU did that along with a brand new coaching staff and a decimated roster and still managed to come into Ann Arbor and punk Harbaugh’s ass. A week after being embarrassed by Rutgers.
COVID restrictions were not unique to Michigan. Michigan underachieved last year because of its own problems. Not because of COVID. Yes, there’s reason to assume this season will be better, but by how much is very much in question.
6-6 or 7-5 are both realistic possibilities at this juncture in time.
I understand that after watching or not watching last year that your cynicism may be warranted. When I look at that schedule though, I'm not seeing the 5 guaranteed losses you do. There is still a lot more talent on this year's team, than the majority of B1G teams can claim. If THE TEAM is able to defeat Washington (or even make the game competitive until the last 5 minutes), I think there is going to be a lot of hype going into the Wisconsin game. After the Wisconsin game, we'll know what the team is made of.
Where you see guaranteed losses against and I'm assuming Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State, I'm seeing four tossups. Give me two of those and we have nine wins.
August 9th, 2021 at 10:36 PM ^
See, it has never been the amount or quality of the talent, in my opinion, so much as what we seem to do with it, particularly in critical moments, whereas there are teams out there that seem to be able to do quite a bit - more sometimes, in fact - with less than what we have. That's the part that always gets me in these last several seasons. I think that, on the surface, we are far more talented than much of the Big Ten, but it needs to be more apparent that we are as well, if you get my drift.
August 10th, 2021 at 12:03 AM ^
Oh I catch your drift. Speaking of catching, Jeremy Gallon had the most receiving yards in a single season for Michigan 2013, and no receiver has scratched the top 10 since then... in receptions in a single game or season... receiving yards in a single game, season or career... or receiving touchdowns in a single game, season or career...
A few receivers come to mind that absolutely should have been "Go To" receivers when we absolutely needed a first down or big play... Yet when MSU for instance had Aaron Burbridge, they had no problem throwing the ball into extremely tight coverage vs J Lewis every other play because he was their "Go To" guy (and much less talented than DPJ and Nico fwiw).
August 9th, 2021 at 11:35 PM ^
I have seen this take for years now. I just don't understand the warranted optimism. I lived thru the Cooper years as a Buckeye fan. We wanted him gone years before we actually fired him. Some of you out there have lost all objectivity...
August 9th, 2021 at 11:53 PM ^
Of course, everything works out for a reason. Don't know if Tressell would have taken the job back then. Unlike a lot of people on this board, there is an up and coming coach in waiting out there who can change this program. Your administration does not have the balls to do it! 7 years? Come on, it is more than obvious he is a flake, cannot recruit, and lost his ability to coach. Cannot believe he has lasted this long. Hope he stays forever! Lol
August 10th, 2021 at 12:53 AM ^
Let me put it this way. Jim led Michigan to 10 win seasons 3 times in a 4 year span. The last time that happened was 1997-1999 plus or minus a year... even if you expand the criteria for 3 out of 5 years.
The four team College Football Playoff created a talent monopoly. Yeah, since you are a fan of one of the 4 to 5 teams that benefitted from that, you can easily say that a team could just go out and "find a coach that will lead your team to greatness." If the CFP had been implemented in 1998 instead of 2014, our scenarios could be the opposite. The CFP didn't just negatively affect Michigan, but other historically great teams such as USC, Florida State, Texas, more recently even Oregon... the list could go on... It's honestly easier to reference the schools that DID benefit, Alabama, Clemson, OSU, Oklahoma...
August 10th, 2021 at 1:39 AM ^
Yeah, just ignore the fact that we play an extra game now compared to 1999! This guy gets it!
August 10th, 2021 at 2:04 AM ^
Yup, we could add a bonus obvious 10th win against say Penn State in the 2000 season when we lost to Northwestern and Purdue, or perhaps the 2004 season when we took 3 OTs to beat a 5-7 MSU.
Edit: We definitely beat Penn State in 2000. I'm going to quit drinking and go to bed lol. Regardless, our recent 10 win seasons are nothing to sneer at.
August 10th, 2021 at 1:57 AM ^
They didn't have a 12 game season until 2006. It would have been done in 2003, 2004, and 2006 with the traditional 12th game tomato can.
August 10th, 2021 at 2:37 AM ^
No matter the amount of games, just try winning your conference and not losing? I don't care if it is 8 or 12, getting to the playoff by expanding mediocrity is like those two poor women that were admitted to the Army Ranger School that could not do half what the men were required. The politicians told the management that they HAD to pass them for political reasons. Could they actually compete? Or did they feel better because they were invited? Expanding the playoff to teams that cannot even win their own conference is a waste of time. "Yeah!" We made the "playoffs!"...... Then go out and get obliterated. Does everyone get a trophy to help their self esteem also?
August 10th, 2021 at 9:03 AM ^
The CFP has nothing to do with why those schools cant win...they hire bad coaches.
Also why are you citing Oregon? Oregon made the first CFP and damn near made it in 2019. FSU also made the first one.
August 10th, 2021 at 9:37 AM ^
And what exactly has Michigan been able to do with that talent?
If results were determined solely by stockpiling and just having talent, as you're implying, Michigan would be no worse than 2nd or 3rd in the conference every single year. But having talent hasn't stopped teams like Wisconsin from running Michigan the f--k over the last two seasons, and likely won't stop them this year, either. Wisconsin has nowhere near the level of pure, raw talent across the board that Michigan has. It hasn't stopped Dantonio and Tucker from out-coaching Michigan and winning games they both had no business winning. It hasn't stopped Rutgers from taking Michigan to 3OT, from a hapless, winless PSU team to beat Michigan by double digits.
Michigan does well at bringing talent in, but coaching them up to their fullest potential and being able to deliver in crunch time, they've failed miserably. There are countless teams out there who accomplish far more than Michigan with less resources and less talent at their disposal, because they can coach and develop the hell out of the players that they do get.
I do agree in that OSU is the only bona fide, 100% guaranteed loss next season, but c'mon man. For all intents and purposes, Wisconsin is a loss. Michigan will not be able to stop the run game, and hasn't won in Madison in two decades. I don't trust Michigan to win on the road at Penn State, in what could very likely be another night game. I don't know how good Washington is, but they return all five OL and that's bad news going against a DL with no proven depth. MSU is a toss-up, too. You think Tucker and his cohort are even remotely intimidated by Michigan after what happened last year? They'll be jacked up getting to play this game at home.
Hell man, I don't even trust this team against Nebraska. At home, I probably would. But they're going on the road, with Scott Frost likely coaching for his job. Michigan hasn't shown the ability to execute and play well on the road in over a decade, and its hard to believe that this is finally the year they turn that around. To me, OSU, Washington, Wisconsin, PSU, Nebraska, Indiana, Northwestern, MSU, those are all very losable games right now.
I wouldn't even sleep on Rutgers. You can bet your ass Schiano has had this game circled in red ink since last season. His team will be dying for payback, and while he's never going to have that team win the Big Ten, he will have them be a thorn in everyone's side for as long as he's around.
August 12th, 2021 at 3:37 AM ^
Can you have a little bit of faith? If UM can go out and best Wisky at home? That means that you football team now has some balls, character, and a will to win! It also means that the coaching staff has instilled that. To me, that is UM's put up, or shut up game. They get blown out at Wisky, the rest of your season will go down hill. Especially if it is no BS physical ass beating. There is no better way to destroy a team if they get physically whooped. Speaking from expeperince here....
August 10th, 2021 at 8:26 PM ^
I understand your optimism -- I just don't share it.
Guaranteed losses -- OSU, at Wisconsin, at PSU (night game, white out).
Toss-up games -- Washington, Indiana, at MSU, Rutgers
Trip-up / Trap game -- at Maryland.
Getting through Maryland and going 2-2 in toss-ups puts us at 7-5. I see 7-5 / 6-6 as our most likely records.
Commentary -- We will not beat a jacked-up PSU in their house at night. Indiana returns an excellent QB and is scheduled horribly, in-between MSU and PSU. MSU under Tucker has shown they are willing to overlook a game (Rutgers last year) to have extra emphasis on our game. We should have lost to Rutgers last year, and they are improving. They will have our game circled as a season-defining game. Going on the road to Maryland in-between PSU and OSU is not good.
This team has so many things to fix that it will certainly be a struggle. As I have maintained all along, I am looking towards 2022 for significant improvement.
August 10th, 2021 at 1:53 AM ^
We lost our best offensive skill player and cornerback because of COVID/late start to the season. And "what if" Dylan stays on the team for the 2020 season before transferring? Outside of the Wisconsin debacle, their presence could've swung every other loss on the schedule into the win column.
August 10th, 2021 at 5:49 AM ^
This is true, but there was more to it than that. An almost totally new OL, opt-outs, injuries, literally missing an on-field coach. Michigan did things differently because of COVID and I doubt all programs changed things the same way. IIRC, Warriner talked about how they didn't even practice the starting OL together because they were worried about COVID taking them all out at the same time. Navy didn't have contact basically all offseason to help avoid COVID spreading, which it seemed to do, and then they couldn't tackle for shit during the season.
August 10th, 2021 at 10:14 AM ^
I hated losing to MSU last year, but maybe it was just a weird year. MSU only beat us and 1 other team and totally sucked. The other team they beat-Northwestern, who was 6-1 in the B10, lost by only 10 to OSU in the B10 championship game, and beat Auburn on their bowl game, finishing ranked 14th at the end of the year.
"We put a team out there that barely practiced together"
As opposed to the teams we faced who faced no Covid interruptions and practiced as they would normally?
Common man.
I get that you disagree with his point, but was it really necessary to call him common?
August 9th, 2021 at 10:09 PM ^
I was raised in the Chicago area hahaha.
MGrowOld, I see your point. I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, but I think it could be argued that Michigan may have taken more COVID precautions than some other teams. I really couldn't say, and I don't have any statistics to compare the number of close proximity, in-pad practice hours different teams had. All I know is that Michigan had a lot of opt-outs, and looked far less prepared than usual.
I'm willing to throw the year out, see what happens, and enjoy the season.
August 9th, 2021 at 10:54 PM ^
How can you figure Michigan had taken more covid precautions yet had 2 games cancelled because enough guys got it?
August 9th, 2021 at 11:19 PM ^
Because taking extra precautions doesn’t guarantee that someone won’t get it. And shit spreads fast in a team environment.
August 9th, 2021 at 10:48 PM ^
We were one of the youngest teams in D1 last year. COVID absolutely had a bigger impact on teams that were comparatively younger or less experienced than their older counterparts. This isn't a difficult concept to grok.
August 9th, 2021 at 11:06 PM ^
Beat me too it. Obviously I should read all the way through before responding.
August 10th, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
Youth is a disadvantage. But what continues to eat away at my soul is not just the losing but how we make bad teams look like well oiled machines.
I think we can agree that Wisconsin wasn't good last year. They crapped the bed in three straight games after pounding us. And yet, going into our game, they had been off for a little over two weeks because of several positive covid cases. It didn't stop them from being up on us 21-0 before you could blink three times. That game was an utter disaster beginning to end.
We saw what a trainwreck MSU was in game one when they lost to Rutgers and they ended up winning just one more game the rest of the season. Against us, they had only one game plan. Keep throwing up bombs against our secondary over and over and over and it worked.
Rutgers QB went full Alabama on our defense. He had nowhere near the success in passing yards and touchdowns against everyone else like he did against Michigan. Not even close. Also, this game is notable for the fact that we had momentum for the first time since game one. We had a 12 point lead with 4:30 left in the 4th quarter and we STILL couldn't win in regulation. We had to survive in double overtime.
Penn State...I'm getting numb at this point. They were winless at 0-5. They were up on us 7-0 on their first (second?) scoring drive. That was all it took to let the wind out of our sails.
It was so frustrating how often we made horrible teams look so damn good. I never wanted to return to that RichRod feeling again and yet, here we are.
August 12th, 2021 at 12:45 AM ^
You're right, we looked like trash last year. That's why I was suggesting that we put last year behind us and move forward with what we have. In my opinion, I think we're going to see a far different team take the field this year than last last. A lot of what you're describing is incompetent and inexcusable defense. The defensive coordinator is gone. The safeties coach that didn't do anything or even come to work is also gone. We've brought in a young defensive coaching staff that hopefully will connect with the players and get them pumped up. The quarterback that was not successful in those games, also gone.
There's a lot of young talent on this team. Yes, there are a lot of holes, but it's college football, that happens. I expect a top 30 defense to take the football field this year. Last year was an aberration and not a trend. I think that last year's defense being as terrible as it was may have been a blessing in disguise as Brown's schemes weren't going to get us by against a competent quarterback, even when we have 2 high quality corners.
I was right there with you... extremely frustrated, but I think the future looks bright.
Go Blue!
August 9th, 2021 at 11:04 PM ^
Out of 130 teams, Michigan ranked 125th returning production. This is conjecture and you could certainly show me numbers to prove me wrong, but I suspect that the trials of last season impacted teams with less experienced players more. Further, there appeared to be significant disjunction on our coaching staff last season. While that is Harbaugh’s ultimate responsibility and not a valid excuse, it is nonetheless a reason that covid impacted the team more. Finally, the team had many key injuries, disrupting most notably the offensive line, but impacting the team in other ways. Once again, the challenges Covid presented could certainly have exacerbated integrating replacement players. All conjecture, but I think reasonable (but unverified) hypothesis.
August 9th, 2021 at 11:40 PM ^
Thanks for all the responses guys! While in my opinion Covid definitely had a huge impact on the team, it's correct that the coaching staff cannot get a full pass. When I tuned in, I saw a team that lacked preparation, and frankly looked like they would rather not be there. Obviously some of this is being addressed with a coaching shakeup on the defensive side of the ball that probably needed to happen anyways. I definitely expect to see a much more motivated team this year, and I believe that running out and tapping the banner with 100 thousand fans in the stadium the way it's supposed to be, is going to start the year off right!
August 10th, 2021 at 12:52 AM ^
The coaching staff does not get a pass. Exhibit 1: unwavering loyalty to Joe Milton when Cade McNamara proved to be the better in-game QB.
August 10th, 2021 at 1:11 AM ^
I get it, Jim has his flaws, and one of them may be sticking with QBs too long. I want the team to win as much as you do, but don't forget that he got us 10 win seasons in 3 of the 5 full seasons he coached here. 2019 had 9 wins as well... The grass is always greener, but it's possible that the Covid year may end up being a blessing in disguise, as it prompted a Defensive coaching changeup that could be beneficial. I'm excited for this season so we can see what happens!
August 10th, 2021 at 10:15 AM ^
It's funny. I would've always described Harbaugh as a gamer in his playing days, and yet he doesn't seem able to recognize the very same traits in his own QB room.
August 9th, 2021 at 10:25 PM ^
I’m in Canada for an extended stay and I can confirm I’m smoking the same thing notrandy is.
#wevegotbigdreams
August 9th, 2021 at 11:27 PM ^
Hail Yeah!
Go Blue!
August 9th, 2021 at 10:27 PM ^
Thanks Randy
August 9th, 2021 at 11:41 PM ^
I appreciate your "thanks!"
August 9th, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
I understand what you are saying but
August 10th, 2021 at 12:32 AM ^
Men in Blue?
August 10th, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^
Going into the 1997 season, I was not very enthusiastic about our chances to win the B1G. I knew we had a top notch defense but I thought the offense was not going to be good enough to win more than 8 games. To me it was looking to be another 8-4 season! Boy was I surprised by how the season unfolded!
August 10th, 2021 at 10:45 AM ^
I have zero doubt that Michigan actually followed virus protocols last season when many other schools did not. If anything Michigan probably followed more strict protocols to make things even more difficult because that is what Michigan does. I remember Wariner said something in a interview if a player had the sniffles you wouldn’t see him for 2 weeks. Personally I don’t think it will make much of a difference this season. Harbaugh and Gattis are still here and there is zero sense of urgency on the offensive side of the ball. I predicted 3-9 and I am sticking with it.
August 10th, 2021 at 11:52 AM ^
There is "no sense of urgency"? Where are you getting this from? How do you gauge sense of urgency for the offense when you aren't even present at the practices or meetings? Sounds like you just make something up that cannot be proven or disproven and then hang your hat on it with a stupid "prove me wrong" banner in front of you.