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Learned Helplessness (Martin…

Learned Helplessness (Martin Seligman)

The ONE thing that you do NOT have to worry about with Shaw . .

is unlike Hoke, Rodriguez and yes, even Carr, he WILL not hesitate to ensure that his staff is made of QUALITY coaches over those with whom he may be friends or have some historical attachment to the program.  To me, THAT has been THE defining problem with Michigan and is a big reason we have struggled for so long.

What do people think about Butch Jones as a possible . . .

candidate?  He's not yet proven himself at Tennessee, but has a good track record elsewhere.  Tennessee is NOT the equivalent of some of the big boys in the SEC, so assuming Brandon would write the check, do we think he'd be a possible fit?

Outstanding. Devin Gardner as emoji.

Genius.



I've about had with Michigan and its tendency to cite its past.  They have done NOTHING lately and are teetering on becoming a regional program.  They have become the General Motors of the CFB world.

Well, you know . . . clap,

Well, you know . . . clap, clap, clap.

Jeebus. This Offensive Line Stuff is Starting to be Alarming

SOMETHING seems wrong with the process - it seems like either poor talent evaluation, poor development, poor coaching, or some combination of those three.  Is it time to start pointing fingers at Funk?  I honestly don't know.  I know that learning the offensive line position is difficult, but for the love of god, it's not like we're trying to teach these kids quantum physics, is it?!  :-/

And just like that, the recruiting momentum goes bye-bye.

We need a DE, another DB, RB and an OL, right?

Recruiting is getting stepped up these days in the B1G, it . . .

would seem.  Michigan (or any other team, for that matter) is going to find it harder and harder to rely on taking the field with better talent for wins.  MSU has become more of a player nationally and Wisconsin has been very stable at a fairly high level over the last 10 years.  Franklin's staff still has to develop the talent and win on the field, for sure, but I think we might be seeing the beginnings of a new dynamic in the conference.

If changes aren't made,

If changes aren't made, Brandon and Hoke will confirm themselves to be the dumbasses that they appear to be.  It's really THAT simple.

George Campbell "likes" this

George Campbell "likes" this post.

Exceptionally well played,

Exceptionally well played, sir.

Good.  Now let's DEVELOP the

Good.  Now let's DEVELOP the damn talent!  No excuses in 2014.

In the short time I have been

In the short time I have been on this site, I have not seen a more incisive summarizing quote than this one when it comes to my problems with Michigan Football:



"It's not good that the only major school still willing to hire Michigan coaches is Michigan."

Maybe you're right, but I am

Maybe you're right, but I am underwhelmed.  Michigan hasn't had a truly dominant defensive line in forever (they have had players, but not a whole line of wreckers), so you'll have to forgive me if I am a little incredulous when it comes to believing that Michigan has the ability to consistently develop underrated talent along the DL.

Is the thought that the staff

Is the thought that the staff is trying to build a relationship with a Florida school and thus made this offer?  Considering how Mattison wants to use the DL in his defense, it seems like kind of an offer to a kid that will likely never start.

Can someone give me a rundown

Can someone give me a rundown on the story with Pallente?  I missed his commitment and haven't heard a thing about him.  Rivals has him rated a 2-star, so I am assuming there must be some story there.

Stanford vs. MSU is a very

Stanford vs. MSU is a very intriguing matchup to me.  The MSU defense DARES you to throw deep with the style of play it uses.  Interestingly, Kevin Hogan, the Stanford QB throws deep exceptionally well.  If his line can give him the time, he will complete some passes.  Where Hogan struggles is with the short to medium passes when pressured.  If MSU can constantly hurry Hogan and get in his head, Stanford will struggle against MSU.



I got my RB tickets day before yesterday and can't wait to be there.  Go Card!

Puzzled by why it took the

Puzzled by why it took the staff this long to offer Settle (given the other offers he has racked up) and depressed by the Sills offer likely meaning that Borges will really STILL be here next year.  Sigh.

Was definitely fired from

Was definitely fired from Auburn, however.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

is the question that needs answering.  I suspect you will hear crickets.

Thanks.  Just as I hit post,

Thanks.  Just as I hit post, I discovered a link to said abbreviations, but I appreciate your help and your restraint in not hazing me for the noob that I am. ;-)

As a relative noob to this

As a relative noob to this place and as I have not been able to ferret out a FAQ sheet, can someone give me a primer to the various abbreviations such as "UFR" that are commonly used here?

I wonder if Brady thinks

I wonder if Brady thinks Jabrill Peppers is being "fickle" too, now that it appears that he wants to take visits?

Indeed, you do.  As a

Indeed, you do.  As a Michigan graduate and a Stanford graduate that lives a stone's throw from Stanford Stadium, I can tell you that being a Stanford fan is wonderful.  

The crap that is Michigan football, i.e. coaches that care more about cronyism and history than excellence and accountability and an athletic department that is insular and arrogant, etc. is simply not part of the program at Stanford.

Seeing those kids (true scholar-athletes) take the field and play well fills me with a sense of pride and a feeling that "anything" is possible in a way that Michigan cannot.  

When Stanford loses, I at least know that it loses because it "got beat," and I have NO fear that it lost because it is being led by substandard coaches with job security.  Losses hurt, but they hurt a HELL OF A LOT LESS when you are sure that the whole machine is working well and is doing everything it can to prevent losing through the pursuit of excellence.  I haven't felt that way about Michigan football in 25 years.

So coaching consistency

So coaching consistency "isn't difficult" according to Brady?  That would seem to say that essentially, the kids we have are uncoachable.  If coaching consistency ISN'T difficult, why then is it so elusive, coach?  

Either the kids you have brought in are not capable of learning (calling into question your judgment about them in the recruting process), OR your coaches just haven't figured out how to teach them (calling into question the quality of your staff).



The "youth" argument has some validity, but the dumpster fire of an offensive line that we have had for the WHOLE SEASON and the lack of improvement there speaks to coaching.

I should have been more

I should have been more specific.  



This OFFENSIVE staff has not shown me anything.  You cite Funchess as a developed player, but his blocking is suspect and the jury is still out on his hands, in my opinion.  He is good because he is a mismatch, not because he has developed. What role they use him in in the future remains to be seen.  Will they try to "develop" him as a tight end, or use him as a very large wide receiver.  Either way, I don't think his development is that great (perhaps it can be, but I'm not convinced YET).

As for an "Urban Meyer caliber" coach, I would have liked to have seen us pony up the money for a coach that had a PROVEN record at a bigger school than San Diego State.  Pinkel comes to mind as a possibility, though admittedly, he's not a flashy name in the same vein as Meyer.  

A better way to state my point is that it's been my impression that historically (since Bo), Michigan  seems very timid about "going outside the family" because the alumni want a "Michigan Man."  In the case of Rich Rod, while he definitely created a good portion of his own problems, a fractured alumni support base was most certainly a contributor in his demise.  

The problem I have is that since Lloyd took over the program, we have not exactly developed any coaches that have gone on to succesful head coaching gigs at name schools.  Contrast that with the plethora of names that worked for Bo and went on to successful post-Michigan careers.



So, on the one hand, the alumni want a "Michigan Man," but on the other, those that meet that litmus test haven't exactly lit up the coaching world.  



It's going to take an AD with REAL backbone to put up the money to hire someone from outside the family and give him the resources to succeed.  Is Brandon that man?  I don't know.



 

Perfect post.

nfm

Really good post.  The scary

Really good post.  The scary and accurate thing about your musings is revealed in two points:



1.  This staff has shown NO ability to develop players.

2.  Your observation about no one of Urban Meyer's caliber wanting the Michigan job last time. 

Mediocrity and a dysfunctional culture have become part of Michigan's DNA, spookily mirroring the collapse of the auto industry and the state's economy.

Not sure if already posted, but . . .

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/11/25/5143098/florida-foo…

To which a not insignificant

To which a not insignificant portion of the Stanford Football team replied, "F#ck that."  "Leaders and Best," my ass.

PART (not all) of the reason

PART (not all) of the reason that not getting Hand hurts for me is that I have absolutely NO FAITH in this staff's ability to develop the lesser rated players it has into something special.  



In fact, if I am honest with myself, I would say that my fear about player development stretches well back into the Carr years and that my "gut" level belief about this program is that it is broken. Couple that with a belief that the powers that be are so caught up in the "Michigan Way" that they cannot see what many of us see and my only hope for ever being elite in football lies in our ability to recuit players that are so naturally gifted that even they cannot be screwed up by this program.



I can't shake the belief that underachieving has become part of the DNA at Michigan.

There's no way I'd change my

There's no way I'd change my mind over ONE loss either.

I wish there were a way to

I wish there were a way to "like," oh, hell, "LOVE" this post.  It's so META.

But remember:  Mallory is a

But remember:  Mallory is a Michigan Man, and that's ALL that matters (tongue firmly in cheek).

+1

+1

A valid point, BUT Peat also

A valid point, BUT Peat also played well LAST year as a freshman.  This year he's STARTING and having a fantastic season.  That's not all due to the other players on the line.  I think you might be able to say that success as a young person playing on the line at positions less critical than center or left tackle is largely attributable to the seniorty elsewhere on the line, but not at left tackle or center.  I guess what I am saying is that it is alarming that not ONE of the newbies on the line seems to be "getting it" this year and that leads me to think that we (Michigan) are not developing our linemen well.

Can someone point to which

Can someone point to which thread it is?

^^This^^

I'd also invite you to look out West and see the job that SOPHOMORE Andrus Peat is doing as Stanford's STARTING LEFT TACKLE.  On balance, it's definitely fair to say that it takes time for even highly regarded talent to really "get it" on the offensive line, but we seem to be whiffing big time in our estimation of the kids we are recruiting.

My concerns (albeit NOT

My concerns (albeit NOT backed up by data or knowledge of the internal workings of the program) are that Hoke has recruited a group of players whose resistence to injury is less than stellar, i.e. "big guys who aren't athletic enough for the modern game" and that the S&C program isn't very sophisticated from an injury prevention perspective.



Your remark about "doing the same thing for decades" is precisely what I fear.  I have a bad hangover from both the (later) Lloyd Carr and RichRod years when it comes to having faith in the head coach to put program quality as job number one, especially if it means unearthing things about the program and the staff that may force a difficult decision.

ACL Injuries

Nasty to lose YET ANOTHER kid to an ACL injury.  Anyone in the know know what kind of regimen Michigan uses to minimize this sort of thing?  I know when Barwis was around, he used the term "prehab" as a description of his injury prevention conditioning.  I just read a really cool piece written by one of my former students on Stanford Strength and Conditioning:



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1739903-how-to-build-a-bully-inside-…

We (Michigan) seem to have a little more than our fair share of these types of injuries, but I'm the first to admit that I don't have the national numbers in front of me to justify that claim and that I could be suffering from attention bias.

Your final point is EXACTLY

Your final point is EXACTLY the problem with what happened on Saturday.

What a joke.

Until this assclown is given his walking papers, Brandon, Hoke, etc. are a bunch of mealy-mouthed liars.  "Leaders and best" at what?  Ensuring that the incompetent ALWAYS have a job?



It started with Lloyd refusing to get rid of DeBord and Herrman.  It continued with Rodriguez foisting the 3-3-5 on to Scot Schaefer in order that his buddy Tony Gibson would have a semblance of a clue as to what to do when coaching.  It's continuing AGAIN with Hoke.



Denial is perhaps THE MOST powerful force operating in the state of Michigan.  It took YEARS for the car companies to admit to themselves how they were screwing up.  Michigan Football has become a microcosm of that.



I follow two teams closely: Michigan and Stanford.  Look at where Stanford's coordinators end up.  They get head coaching gigs or end up moving up to the NFL.  Then, the next man up steps in and does a great job.  There's no "chicken-littling" over "what will we do when so-and-so leaves" because the next man up is QUALIFIED and excellent.  When was the last time Michigan could say the same thing about its staff?



Dump Borges.  Open the freakin' check book and go get Loeffler.  That way, you can have your precious "Michigan Man" waiting in the wings to become the next coach.  Next, exploit your NFL connections and find someone that can coach the offensive line.



I feel no pity for a program that keeps shooting itself in the foot.  The only people for whom i feel sorry are the kids that bust their asses playing for these clowns.  They deserve better.  It's only a matter of time before this repeated behavior becomes part of Michigan's DNA and it starts to affect recruiting.

We still have the Borges

We still have the Borges presser to bear.  That will complete the feeling of utter futility and hopelessness because according to Brady, "We've already got a great OL coach and OC."



In my best, "As seen on TV" voice: "NOW how much would you pay?!"



New tagline for Michigan Football:  "Prioritizing cronyism over competency for nearly 20 years."