What I've learned the last three years
I'm just going bullet point this because I really don't have the energy or desire to weave this into four or five paragraphs
- For all the data mgoblog has analyzed, we've been very wrong at times with using models to extrapolate what the future might look like. I feel at times we've fallen in love with the data, that it somehow puts us above the Freep/MLive/97.1 crowd. But here's the thing - it doesn't matter. You could make a decent arguement that Rich is unlucky, that the outcome would have been different with a competent defense..again though, it doesn't really matter at this point. It's over.
- Same goes for recruiting. The community has very strong feelings towards counting recruiting stars. Yes, there is measurable correlation between highly ranked recruits and program success, but it is not as strong as people perceive it to be. Look at the performance of non-aq teams this bowl season.
- I've very worried was to whether Michigan, as an institution, would be willing to pay 3 to 4 (5?) million/year for a head coach. Michigan has been notoriously cheap with how it pays coordinators/personnel. Well, it's time to open up the wallet. We will see if they are willing to pay market prices to get who they want.
May you live in interesting times. Go Blue
January 1st, 2011 at 10:48 PM ^
+ Lloyd started this whole collapse. To see the way that he and many of his former players supported the new coach was shameful, and totally contrary to "the team, the team, the team" tradition of Coach Schembechler. He turned over the keys to The Rivalry and made Jim Tressel.
+ It is NEVER great to be away from the Big House - even on the worst day.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:02 PM ^
The really weird thing is, the offense became boring. Today, at the presser, MSU players were commenting on how "predictable" and "one-dimensional" M's offense was.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:07 PM ^
we didn't have any running game - we saw our typical hand it off to Vincent Smith for one yard on 1st down. Also, some of the formations probably clue the defense into what we're doing, especially on QB run plays.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:30 PM ^
That, and the fact that our OL can't get a push against big defensive fronts.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:22 PM ^
At least Michigan got to go back to Ann Arbor after the game. MSU had to go back to Starkville.
Ever been to Mississippi? It's a lot like Indiana, only everyone talks as if they had a mouth full of marbles.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:22 PM ^
At one point in the first quarter (when the offense was doing WELL mind you) I noted that people not named Denard had 7 rushes for no yards for Michigan, and Denard had 3 runs for 50 yards. Eventually defenses adjust and defend the QB run and make you beat them with something else. Quite simply, we have not been able to do that this season against halfway decent teams.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:06 PM ^
January 1st, 2011 at 10:29 PM ^
Especially when those offensive improvements never seem to manifest themselves against good teams. Against the five best defensive teams we faced (OSU, Iowa, Miss State, MSU, Wisconsin), we averaged 18.8 points per game.
January 2nd, 2011 at 2:02 AM ^
it's typical for DC not to hire his own guys. It's up to the DC to be on the same page as the position coaches(basically work together as one, instead of divided like Shaffer incident) as well teach the position coaches on what he wants and expects them to do when they teach players on how to run his scheme.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:08 PM ^
no matter how many different IPA's I've had, I still want to try ALL the rest of them.
January 2nd, 2011 at 12:31 AM ^
Yet at the end of the day, all of said IPA's make you want Bell's Two Hearted more.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
You never know how a head coach you hire will turn out at your school no matter what his success at his previous posts looks like.
The fit of the coach and his assistants in terms of personality and methods and history and what not and how he is accepted by the U of M community is way more important than we thought.
Sue Coleman and Martin screwed up the coaching search and Lloyd replacement in 2007, thought they had saved themselves by hiring RR, but saw the resume and forgot about culture and fit. Both RR and we have paid the price.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:42 PM ^
Guys like Leon Hall and Marlin Jackson were surrounded by good talent. Their DL's could force pressure so opposing QB's to make errant throws. Put any of those guys on this team and give a QB 8 seconds to throw and we'd have the same result.
By the time they leave I think Gordon, Avery, Mrob, Roh and Vinopal wil all be 1st 2nd or 3rd team all big ten.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:43 PM ^
This whole experience reminds me of a passage from Bo's Lasting Lessons. After the 6-6 1984 campaign, Bo was a little unsure of himself, wondering if his philosophy was still the right one. He attended a coaching convention where one of the guests of honor was a coach whose team had set some offensive records. Bo listened to the guy talk about all his different formations/schemes, and was impressed with their complexity. But then someone asked him why his team ranked so poorly defensively. The coach mumbled something about how his defense didn't tackle that well. Eureka! Bo realized that he was getting it right after all, with his focus on the fundamentals, blocking and tackling. That was what won games. His confidence renewed, he went on to coach the 1985 team to a 10-1-1 record and #2 final ranking.
RR is like the coach Bo listened to. He's got the schemes down. But the fundamentals elude him. We don't control the line of scrimmage. We don't get a good push on 3rd and short. We don't stay in our lanes. We don't tackle by the book. We play football like it's a video game, where we just have to call the play that the other guy doesn't expect. The game isn't really about that. It's about being physical on both sides. You can run all the fancy crap you want, but if you let your team get pushed around physically, you'll lose.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:51 PM ^
Holy crap!! You must have been reading my mind because this is dead on. Nice!
January 1st, 2011 at 10:54 PM ^
there were more than a few times this season that passage crossed my mind.
January 1st, 2011 at 11:20 PM ^
Do you think that because they were installing new scheme's they lacked the time to spend on fundamentals?
One of the most painful things watching today was seeing the continued lack of fundamentals.
January 1st, 2011 at 11:22 PM ^
I don't know, but after three years I really don't care what the specific reason is. Even with 15 practices to prepare for this team, we looked like a scout team out there at times.
January 1st, 2011 at 11:14 PM ^
I learned that you should never take the good times for granted.
I learned that I owe Lloyd Carr many apologies (and at least I admit it).
January 2nd, 2011 at 12:02 AM ^
And is man enough to admit when it's time to apologize. Nice post.
January 1st, 2011 at 11:29 PM ^
I've become intimately familiar with the phrase: fml
January 2nd, 2011 at 12:43 AM ^
Two things:
+I've figured out why so many people hate Michigan fans.
+I've really started to hate a lot of other team's fans.
These years have put hatred in my heart.
In other news, the OP A. demonstrates a less than solid grasp of statistics and B. clearly hates the mgoblog community.
The point about the university actually bothering to get off its high horse and pay a coaching staff is well taken.
January 2nd, 2011 at 1:26 AM ^
I hate running back by committee.
I also would like to apologize to Jim Herrmann. His soft zone defense, used to drive me crazy with rage. I used to wish for him to be gone... now I wish he had never left.