Member for

10 years 4 months
Points
8924.00

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
Logged in to ditto this. 
 

Logged in to ditto this. 
 

I’ve been a transactional (real estate & business) attorney for almost 15 years. I’ve NEVER told a client straight-up, “No, you can’t do that.” I am not a deal killer. What I 100% do though, is make sure my clients 100% understand the various risks associated with their choices. I do this in writing—“papering the file”—of course, because if they say, “duly noted, full speed ahead” & things subsequently blow up in their face, they can’t plausibly wheel around & accuse me of not giving them sufficient warning. 
 

TL;DR version of this:

Don’t blame the lawyers, as most aren’t the ones with ultimate decision making authority. Their main job is to highlight the associated risks with various courses of action, and then it’s the job of their clients to incorporate that information into their decision making process. If the client is risk tolerant enough, it should be VERY easy for them to say, “duly noted,” and then do the thing anyway. 

Maybe, but over time that…

Maybe, but over time that potential disadvantage SHOULD erode significantly. (At least for proven transfer players & very confident high school recruits.)

Why?

Growing datasets that point to clear precedents, which I presume aren’t REQUIRED to be confidential.
 

So over time, you’ve got either a recruiting coordinator at Schembechler Hall (if it’s allowed) or a centralized contact within the NIL constellations who can quickly pull data & create an easy to read 1 or 2 page PDF/brochure outlining NIL scenarios that are tailored to each recruits profile (position, seniority, % of snaps played, academic honors, PFF grade, performance level—starter vs 2nd team conference vs all conference vs 2nd team all American, etc.)  Because presumably, a kids NIL cash won’t come from ONE source, it’ll be an aggregate of several sources. Maybe $X just for being on the roster that all kids get, $Y because an NIL fund gives a stipend to everyone in the position group, $Z because he’s an all BigTen caliber player, etc )  So when a kid visits, they get an NIL info sheet w easily digestible tables & graphs—hell, maybe even an app or online calculator—that takes into account his position & then games out a few different hypotheticals to show the historic NIL outcomes based on what variables he toggles.

 

It ain’t a guarantee, but it’s a robust enough model using real life data that it’s pretty dang close to one. An analogous situation might be kids looking at rookie contracts in the NFL draft. Yes, the numbers change year to year a bit & there’s no guarantee a kid will go #1 overall, #20 overall, #40 overall, etc. But if a kid is reasonably confident about the range in which he’ll go in the draft, he’ll have a pretty good idea of what his contract will look like, simply based on recent comps. 

100% This. 
 

The 2021…

100% This. 
 

  • The 2021 Wisconsin game. Specifically, when I saw the team embracing the “Jump Around” thing they do at Camp Randall as if it were for THEM. It was clear they figured out how to use some psychological jujitsu to overcome challenging road environments. 
     
  • The 2021 OSU game was a thrill of course, but for me the thing that let me know the PROGRAM had reached another level was that 2022 over the Buckeyes. It was IN Columbus, with a new young QB, and there was NO way Ohio State was going to take a win for granted this time around after their loss in 2021. And yet we still won. THAT’S when it was clear: the program is not only at a different level now….it’s SUSTAINABLE. 
Can we please get the meta…

Can we please get the meta tag “100% pure Colombian awesome” on this post please?

 

BECAUSE IT IS!!!!

GO BLUE, BABY!!!!

 

This is the way. 

This is the way. 

To save money, we are basing…

To save money, we are basing everything out of Austin. (Flying in on Sunday evening & flying out Tuesday afternoon; Staying at the Austin airport Marriott both Sunday & Monday nights.) The general plan is to rent a car in Austin & make it a LONG day trip by driving to Houston sometime Monday, attending the game, and (pretty much) immediately driving back to Austin. We know we wont get back until the wee hours of Tuesday morning, but figure we’ll be wired & won’t be able to get to sleep anyway regardless of game outcome. Hopefully we can get late check out, still get ~6-7 hours of sleep, and catch our 2pm home bound flight out of Austin. 
 

We have two general options:

A) Get on the road ASAP & spend as much time Monday in Houston before the game; or

B) Spend Monday morning in Austin as much as possible & head to Houston later with the goal of going straight to NRG Stadium, only leaving some extra time for contingency/traffic purposes to make sure we’re there at kickoff. 
 

1) Which option should we choose? I’ve heard generally Austin is a better city to experience than Houston. OTOH, will there be certain areas or events in Houston specifically designed for Michigan fans or the CFP NC game generally on Monday for pre game festivities such that we shouldn’t try to get “too cute by half” by trying to explore Austin on Monday morning?

 

2) Regardless of your answer in #1, what activities/areas would you recommend we explore with the 6-7 hours we’ll hopefully have on Monday pre-game?

 

Let’s hope Bama is suffering…

Let’s hope Bama is suffering from Dunning-Kruger Effect & is atop “Mount Stupid”/“Mount Hubris” at kickoff….

First thing I thought too…

First thing I thought too. After The Game, Marvin Harrison Jr said Michigan’s coverage scheme was the most complex he’d ever seen. 
 

So either:

1) MHJr wasn’t ever exposed to particularly complex defenses his entire career, or

2) Georgia is VERY complex such that it’s even notably tougher than Michigan’s already very complex defense, or

3) Alabama doesn’t grasp the full complexity of our defense such that it seems simpler & effectively disguises just how complicated it really is until it’s too late. 
 

Let’s hope it’s door #3, Bob!

Yeah, gotta admit. Aubrey…

Yeah, gotta admit. Aubrey Solomon is the first name that popped into my head too.

(Not to mention the COMMENT…

(Not to mention the COMMENT itself— “At the end of the day, it’s just a football game.”)

(No subject)

Old news. So the question is…

Old news. So the question is: "Why rehash it now?"  My WAG:

Is this stuff about "milk" Venmo payments on Twitter/X starting to get traction? i.e., Are some OSU types worried it'll break out to more mainstream media soon, and rediscovering this talking point is a way for them to get ahead of the news now that it might be useful in defending the Buckeyes?

Also remember the fact that…

Also remember the fact that Ryan Day handed TCU our signs ahead of our Semifinal game with them & we ended up barely losing to them. 
 

Can you IMAGINE if Ohio State hadn’t shanked that last second field goal & found themselves playing TCU for the National Championship?

Georgia absolutely hole-pounded TCU. It’s not unreasonable to assume Ohio State would’ve beaten TCU too. In which case, not only would Ryan Day sharing signs with TCU have screwed Michigan out of the NC game….it would have basically delivered the National Championship to his own Ohio State Buckeyes too. 
 

 

But here's the thing…

But here's the thing....

That isn't necessarily the case at all, at least not in THIS case.

Michigan could be VERY confident that NO additional coaches were involved, NO additional big skeletons will be coming out of the closet on this issue, etc. And in a normal situation with a responsible commissioner, that'd be good enough for Michigan to stand firm in it's position. The problem is, we aren't dealing w/ a normal commissioner. We're dealing with a total whack-job & a pack of unhinged jackals.

In *THIS* situation, in order for Michigan to avoid getting thunder-fucked *even more* by Petitti & The Jackals this season, the default threshhold is *100% perfection* over the next month or so. If the *smallest* insignificant additional detail came out that a 3rd string janitor at Schembechler Hall was involved in this CS scheme over the next month there is a *good* chance that Petitti & the Jackals would pounce on it & rationalize more sanctions. Perhaps just suspending Harbaugh for the BTCG, but possibly even trying to prevent Michigan from competing in the BTCG and/or lobbying hard to keep Michigan out of the CFP.  It's totally moronic, but that's the situation we found ourselves. And at that point, the question for Michigan & their attorneys was, "EXACTLY how confident are you in your own internal investigation?"

Confident enough to know no "countable coaches" were involved at all?

Sure.

Confident enough to gamble *the best opportunity at a National Championship in decades" on TOTAL PERFECTION & LITERALLY ZERO ADDITIONAL INFO COMING OUT IN THE NEXT MONTH?

Uh.....no.

That's the threshhold that Michigan was dealing with here. And if eating a crap sandwhich now WRT suspending Harbaugh thru Ohio State gets Petitti & the Jackals to back off by not going after Michigan this season--either *entirely* or at least not unless info comes out about "countable coaches" (which Michigan COULD be very confident of 100% perfection)--then from Michigan's perspective it might be a viable option.  Still is a crappy situation, but in Michigan's view, they'd be reallocating risk. Namely, but boosting marginal risk that Michigan loses The Game in exchange for radically reducing the risk that the remainder of the season is totally derailed by an unhinged Petitti & Jackals hell bent on further thunder-fucking Michigan b/c an additional scrap of evidence came out about an additional intern or GA being aware of what CS was up to that wasn't previously disclosed.

“Jesus Christ Cannit

“Jesus Christ Cannot Swim!”

~Ancient Roman Empire Newspaper, probably

bet.

bet.

He’s like the professional…

He’s like the professional journalist version of David Portnoy. 

Ditto this. Last week I made…

Ditto this. Last week I made a post suggesting we reject the phrase “sign stealing” altogether & call it “code cracking.”

Language matters when it comes to shaping public opinion. Don’t believe? Look at what the true PR & spin master pros do in the world of politics. Don’t want to derail this thread w partisan politics so I’ll use an older example here:

As soon as the term “estate tax” was widely dumped in favor of the term “death tax”, the popularity of that policy measure dropped precipitously. You can find more recent examples on both sides of the political aisle, but my broader point remains:

Michigan needs to do what the true PR pros do when shaping narratives. NEVER allow terms or phrases that are *inherently biased* against your position to become the widespread terms everyone uses by default. 
 

“Code Cracking”

”Code Breaking”

”Sign Deciphering”

 

NOT

 

”Sign Stealing”
 

 

Now now…. Let’s give Hole …

Now now…. Let’s give Hole *SOME* credit for this excellent update…..

 

What you call “an hour too early”, others in the world of journalism might call, “a perfectly timed scoop.”

 

I know this is old news…

I know this is old news generally & I'm not looking to derail the thread, but can anyone tell me exactly what Weiss was accused of doing that would get the FBI's attention? 

When that info came out awhile ago, every source I read was very vague about exactly what the substantive issue was that he was doing w/ the computer. I know the general thing was he had hacked into another person's university account, or was posing as some else by emailing others via that person's email account or something. But I don't recall ever reading what the substantive topic was about that caused him to be basically turbo fired & then investigated by the FBI.

 

I am 100% stealing that line…

I am 100% stealing that line for the rest of this season. 

You may be right, but FWIW,…

You may be right, but FWIW, both Penn State & Ohio State had key injuries that game. PSU had two key DEs leave the game early—Robinson & Vanover, and I’m pretty sure OSU was playing without one of their top RBs, CBS, and a solid WR.
 

Might not have changed the outcome at all. And if those players are too injured to play against Michigan in 3 & 5 weeks respectively it won’t matter either. 
 

But there’s a good chance that enough of those injured players from each team WILL play against Michigan when the time comes. So whatever insights everyone might have about how it’ll go when Michigan plays each squad after watching that PSU-OSU game yesterday, it’s important to factor in key personnel differences that might exist into the mix too. 

Those exact words were…

Those exact words were uttered so quickly and effortlessly when that happened, I have little doubt that he proactively decided to use that exact phrase if given the opportunity. 

Brady Hoke sighting in that…

Brady Hoke sighting in that clip too!

Wasn’t a good HC for Michigan when the time came, but the dude certainly has maintained Michigan Man status despite that. 

Go Blue!

I agree on all of your…

I agree on all of your points, especially the growing concern RE: pass protection. I'm of two minds on this.

On one hand, this didn't come out of thin air. It was flagged as a potential liability during the excellent season preview content Brian & Co. cranked out in August. Just like there's a little bit of concern growing that Junior Colson is still making bad decisions/filling the wrong gaps, etc. some of this was already baked into the expectations going into this season. OTOH, when it was flagged as a potential issue, it was mostly in the context of the physical ability of our OT's. Although not great, if that's all it was, that can at least be shored up w/ assistance from the TEs, a 6th OL package, etc.

What concerns me *more* is that I'm seeing stuff I don't think the season preview content discussed much (if at all): our seemingly new inconsistency at either IDing and/or picking up blitzes, stunts, etc. 

It doesn't seem to be caused by lack of physical ability, but some combination of no/slow recognition and/or (hopefully not) a lack of "want to" by some individuals.  I've seen several times where the protection schemes seem off & our OLs are double-teaming a guy while letting a blitzer (or sometimes two) come thru totally untouched. There's been several times when Donovan Edwards is standing right next to JJ watching an unblocked rusher coming *straight* at his QB, but he either whiffs on the block or doesn't even bother & releases/leaks into the flat anyway. I'm not an X's & O's guy, so can someone w/ better insight share what they think the specific issues might be?

Is Nugent the one responsible for setting protections/calling out blitzes? If so, is this the (understandable) drop-off we're seeing from trying to replace Olu with an incoming transfer that didn't do spring ball with the team? 

Or....

Is JJ the one who's supposed to set the protections/call out blitzes & he's not getting them quite right for some reason this year. vs. last year? (Or maybe he didn't have that responsibility last year & it's something new on his plate this year?)

Or...

Is there a lack of recognition/understanding from Donovan Edwards b/c the RBs are now being tasked w/ doing some of the blitz ID/pick-up decisions on their own vs. relying on Olu or someone else to give them specific assignments? Or (hopefully not) a lack of "want to" from Edwards & maybe some other WRs?

Or....

Is it more of a concerted strategy this year to let one of the blitzers go by & trust JJ to evade the first guy on his own? (It would explain Edwards not blocking & leaking out to become available for a dump-off pass for JJ.)  And perhaps JJ hasn't fully adjusted to the strategy yet & is holding onto the ball too long? And/or perhaps the culprit is that the passing routes they're running are taking too long to develop in those blitz/pass rush scenarios & they need to give JJ more short/quick options to ID ASAP?


I'm sure the ultimate answer is, "it's a combo of 2-3 things." What I'd like to hear from people smarter than me is:

1) What are those 2-3 things?

And, just as importantly...

2) What are the chances those 2-3 things can get fixed/mitigated reasonably well by the time we play Penn State @ Happy Valley on Nov. 11th?  

It might’ve LOOKED like a…

It might’ve LOOKED like a typical Michigan score, but it was hardly a dominant performance. During the 2nd half in which they “rallied”, they scored on 5 drives. Two were legit TD drives where they had to go the full length of the field. But the other three scores came from drives of 33 yards (FG) 17 yards (TD), and 27 yards (FG).

Combine that w the defensive TD they got from the pick 6, and the entire 20 point margin of victory came from either non-offensive plays, or from super short fields.

 

I’ve got an Edwards question…

I’ve got an Edwards question I’ve asked a few times this season but so far no one’s answered it:

What’s his deal with pass protection/blitz pickups? There’s been a few times already this season where there’s a free rusher coming STRAIGHT at him gunning for JJ, yet he’s stepped aside to release for a potential pass downfield.

Each time it was responsible for either a sack or JJ being flushed out of the pocket early, etc.

Is that on Edwards to ID on his own & step in to pick it up?
 

Or is this a Nugent job to ID everything, set protection schemes/blitz pickup responsibilities, etc & Edwards is just “doing what he’s told” & is therefore caught flat footed when Nugent sometimes mess up assignments?

 

Don’t think it was mentioned…

Don’t think it was mentioned in the podcast, but Edwards (and to a lesser degree Corum), really seemed to struggle in pass protection/blitz pick up this game. The one big JJ sack that killed our chance to score at the end of the 1st half & also the 3rd JJ INT both seemed to be directly attributable to Edwards releasing downfield instead of picking up an obvious blitzer. 
 

I’m not an X’s & Os guy, so can somebody who is please chime in on two aspects:

1) Is this something new we’re asking him to do? If not, then is this something that’s always been an issue w Edwards? Or was this an uncharacteristically bad blitz pickup game for him?

2) I don’t know the responsibility breakdowns in this offense. Is it the RB’s direct responsibility to not only pick up the blitz, but to RECOGNIZE it ahead of time on their own too? (In which case Edwards needs to be more aware.) Or is it someone else’s job (QB, Center, etc) to call out a blitz, assign protection responsibilities, etc. pre-snap? (In which case maybe more of the issue is with either Nugent or JJ on the awareness/communication side of things.)  If it IS someone else’s job to alert the RBs about a potential blitz pre-snap so the RB isn’t caught unaware, then who is that on our team? Nugent? JJ?

 

 

Logged in to upvote this…

Logged in to upvote this reply. Not so much for the sentiment, but for the humorous tone in which it was written. 
 

PS: Hodges Harbrace FTW.

This 100%.
 

There's really…

This 100%.
 

There's really two general scenarios here, and it seems like some us are conflating the two.


Scenario #1:  A starter is "dinged" a little but could play if needed. There's a marginal net utility in letting him rest for a few games during non-conference play vs. whatever benefit he'd see getting some "live fire" reps under his belt. (Even for the experienced, there's always *a little* rust physically & mentally that accumulates between seasons.)

Although disappointing for fans who want to see a full-throttle bloodbath that includes a defensive shutout, this is fine. In fact, if you quinted hard enough, you could even argue it's *good* b/c it's about boosting the team's upside potential. It forces the younger guys to get live game reps during non-garbage time (something the coaches might not normally do otherwise) with basically zero risk to the team. Put differently, the "getting the new guys seasoned" will be more potent, which might reap benefits in terms of better quality depth later on in the season.


OR


Scenario #2: A starter is "injured" to the point where he can't (or *really* shouldn't) play. It's either practically impossible for him to play or if he did, it'd definitely be a net negative at this point in the season. He'd be very limited and/or risking reaggrivation & increasing the time it'd take to fully recover, but with almost zero upside. In which case, potentially worrisome, as it's more about minimizing downside risk or mitigating a legitimate issue this early in the season. Hopefully not the case here. But if it is, we've at least got an ideal schedule (super soft first half) & roster (very good if not excellent in every other position group) to handle the situation. 

 

It's probably more complex in reality b/c it'll depend on which specific starter we're talking about.

(Which is probably why some folks seem to be conflating the two scenarios in their thread responses.)

FWIW, this is a really fun…

FWIW, this is a really fun game to play. Takes 3 minutes to register & if you want, just 30 seconds to play each day.

Logged in just to upvote…

Logged in just to upvote this. 
 

Northwestern he had 9 assists & 0 turnovers. It’s only one game, but when you look at the others Denard in Space mentioned, it’s looking like a clear “true freshmen figuring things out” trend. 
 

Hopefully that banana peel graphic can get removed in another game or two. 
 

Especially if both attend Camp Sanderson this summer, Dug & Bufkin could be the best backcourt in the BigTen next year, if not one of the better ones in the country. How much that matters for the team overall will depend on our front court situation next year of course. But there’s solid evidence that this really is a “growing pains” year & next year will be notably better.

What’s that term Brian coined a few months ago to replace BPONE? The “Gray Plateau of Reasonable Expectations” or something similar? 

My WAG is that it’s a…

My WAG is that it’s a jealous lover situation. 
 

Exams ended 12/19. 
 

My bet is Schembechler Hall has a TON of personnel working there, but that most of them go home for break along w the rest of the university. Only the top staff & a skeleton crew of admin stay behind for bowl prep & logistics. 

Maybe he was having an affair with one of the support/admin staffers & he’s the jealous type. People do crazy things when infatuated.

She leaves for break & leaves her work email open, he’s working late on bowl prep & takes the opportunity of the deserted office to peak at her email. Maybe he sends emails from her account to some other person, maybe he doesn’t. 
 

Winter Term starts 1/4. 
 

The lover returns from break & either independently discovers he was poking around in her email, or maybe he confronts her with info he got from her emails. Either way, a huge argument ensues. She gets royally pissed about the violation of privacy & decides to report it to campus safety. 
 

Boom. 
 

Again, just my WAG but the timeline & motivations would all fit the circumstances thus far. 

My wife is an awesome…

My wife is an awesome Michigan fan. 
 

Last year we blitzed down & back to Indy the same day because she had work shifts at the hospital both Saturday until 3pm & Sunday starting at 9am. This year my 79 year old dad happens to be visiting us this week. Despite my daughter dancing in the Nutcracker tonight, my wife turned to me before The Game & said “If we win, you should take your dad to the BTCG in Indy as a surprise. (He’s a huge M fan & hasn’t been to a game since COVID). 
 

So after making a big breakfast for the family, I’ll be driving w my dad down from Chicagoland to Indy. This time we’ve got a hotel & tomorrow morning we’ll drive back & watch my daughter in her Sunday matinee performance. 

To be fair, that’s true of…

To be fair, that’s true of Rhode Island too.
 

You just have to make a crap-ton of consecrated left or right hand turns. 
 

/s

My daughter is 8 years old.

My daughter is 8 years old.

Since last year, me & my wife (also a Michigan fan) decided part of our brainwashing program for our daughter is to pay a modest amount of money for recognizing & calling out certain events if she's in the room while we're watching a Michigan game. ($X for a field goal, $Y for a touchdown, etc.).  We don't force her to watch the game, nor does she even have to be in the room. But, the opportunity is available if she's interested.

Typically she's in the room for 25-40% of the game, but she isn't actually watching. Instead, she's focused on her Nintendo Switch. (We shamelessly allow unlimited screen time as bribery for letting us watch Michigan games in relative peace.) The clever girl simply looks up when Mom & Dad hoot & holler loudly to determine what happened, calls it out, tells us the new score & point differential to to earn her cash, and immediately returns to the Nintendo Switch. She'll flit in & out of the room for the entirety of the game with no interest in whether Michigan wins the game, let alone the ebb & flow of the game, individual plays, the personalities playing the game, etc. Although not ideal, we're at peace w/ the dynamic. Even if her interest never becomes genuine, it at least teaches her the basics of the game, an understanding & acceptance that people she loves in her life are passionate about watching certain teams/sporting events, etc.  

But Saturday was different.

It wasn't a wholesale change, but there were perceptible shifts in her behavior. She stuck around for ~70% of the game, including 100% of the 4th quarter. She referenced JJ McCarthy by his name ("JJ"), despite neither of us ever teaching her the names of our players. As the 2nd Half progressed, she asked us a few different times whether we were going to win. We told her we still didn't know & that OSU could score in the blink of an eye & still win it. After she processed our answer for a beat, she didn't leave the room. She didn't shrug & return her attention to her video game. Instead, she started watching the game clock counting down towards 00:00.

The Nintendo Switch sat several feet away, ignored.

 

 

 

  

 


 

 

Logged in specifically to…

Logged in specifically to upvote this.

Damned near had a heart attack when I read that phrase before fully processing the entire sentence.

I heard rumblings that a few…

I heard rumblings that a few players came down with the flu or COVID. Another few were dinged up but held out so they could heal up a bit more for the home stretch. But, all of that is unconfirmed. 
 

The verbatim quote from an insider was, “nothing anybody should worry about,” but they didn’t get any more specific about that. 
 

Pretty sure that relates to all the “new” players that were out for this game & not people like McNamara, Hill-Green, etc. Also wouldn’t include anyone who may have been injured this game like Schoonmaker, Keegan, or Edwards since the insider quote happened in the 4th quarter or immediately after the game unchanged that I doubt any in game injury news would’ve gotten out by then. 

I’m not one for whining…

I’m not one for whining about officiating normally, but……

 

How does Maryland go from being one of the LEAST disciplined teams in FBS penalty wise (averaging 10 per game this season & 15 last week) to literally not getting a penalty until the end of the 4th Quarter?

Answer: they probably don’t. 

I could be wrong, but the two Maryland OTs—#74 RT most egregiously, but also the LT—seemed like they were holding on nearly EVERY pass play. Yet, the officials seemed to swallow their whistles. More than once during the broadcast the announcers are exclaiming “I don’t understand it, Michigan just can’t get a pass rush going!”……literally as the slow-mo replay is showing #74 doing his best backpack impression, if not outright tackling one of our edge rushers. 

I searched the site & unless…

I searched the site & unless like I really messed up that search, it looks like there hasn't been any updates since June 22nd when Seth he "hoped" to have some more clarity by "tomorrow" (i.e., June 23rd).    It's understandable if he didn't get an update ASAP since he's been spread so thin of course. But it's now been almost a month later, so I figure it's worth another ping....

Seth--any updates/clarifications on the status of HTTV 2022? If not, do you have a more confident ETA as to when an update is forthcoming? If yes, what's the scoop?

 

 

 

 

Apologies: Mods, please…

Apologies: Mods, please delete. Looks like another thread was already created.

In your last paragraph, you…

In your last paragraph, you correctly mention the importance of Michigan taking an early lead or at least keeping it a tight game. However, aside from 'Michigan has experience in close games', I think there's a more critical reason that you might have implied but didn't explicitly state:

We need to plausibly keep 100% of the playbook available to us as much as possible. That includes not only getting a lead early or keeping it a tight game, but also staying on schedule when it comes to down & distance within drives.

This defense is freakishly athletic & strong. So, whatever soft areas that are exposed are only going to be that way for a few moments before they slam those windows of opportunity shut. So in an overall sense, we need to be able to make them overthink & therefore hesitate by a few beats such that whatever few soft spots *do* exist are easier to exploit.

Now, maybe these guys are so athletic and/or so smart that it just doesn't matter & as such, we won't be able to buy any extra time by forcing these guys to over-think. However, I think it's unclear based on their season schedule.  As you rightly point out, aside from the Clemson (1st game of the season) & Alabama games, this Georgia D has spent *very* little time facing offenses with anything less than a 2 score lead in their back pockets.

As you mention, some of that goes to the general question of, "do these guys know how to play in tight games from an anxiety/clear thinking perspective?" However, that same issue can also lead to a more tangible one. Specifically, it's possible that a certain % of the players on the UGA defense combine to become a live-game team version of how some individual linebackers can be "practice warriors" but then underperform in live games b/c rather than knowing the offensive cues intimately, he now suddenly has to think & react on the fly, which perhaps he's not nearly as good at doing. In the same vein, could the Georgia D be so far ahead so frequently (either on the scoreboard or in down/distance schedule) such that a good % of their snaps are happening when they *know* that the opposing team is operating from a very limited playbook on that snap? If the answer is, 'yes', then the natural follow up question is: "how much of a benefit is that to them?" If some of these guys are like the 'practice warrior' linebacker example, it's possible that some of their individual performances decline significantly when they need to read keys & be ready for 100% of a team's playbook rather than just 50% of their playbook.

 

"...slink in..."?

Michigan…

"...slink in..."?

Michigan isn't like a shady snake, therefore I don't think we "slink."

I much prefer to think that we, "swooped in," like a bold and confident falcon or eagle.

At least they had a 100%…

At least they had a 100% free throw percentage???

Of course! We do this with…

Of course! We do this with basketball to balance out what we say for the football team. Specifically:

“Any team Harbaugh defeats-no matter how good they were perceived to be prior to the game-is by definition a terrible team the nanosecond we defeat them.”

 

My greatest hope for this…

My greatest hope for this feature is that the "3 down" will become increasingly nitpicky as the season goes on.

I don't know if it was…

I don't know if it was Trente Jones wearing #80, but I half-heard an announcer say something about Trente Jones slipping on a different # jersey to play as a jumbo TE on a few plays on Saturday. I've definitely been hearing some good things about him lately.

Respectfully disagree on the…

Respectfully disagree on the spicy BBQ sauce.

Even though nobody got a 2nd personal technical foul, it felt like Segu was instigating a lot of stuff under the radar. There were at least a few times after the whistle he was shoving or otherwise bumping into Michigan players in an aggressive manner, but it wasn't called. 

I could be wrong, but I was definitely getting Brad Davidson vibes from that kid all night.

FWIW, I like my Michigan…

FWIW, I like my Michigan games just how MGoBlog likes their safeties: boring.

A season of 15 "boring" games in a row where our victory is never really in doubt? I'll take a couple of those seasons right about now.

Would we eventually get tired of "so much winning"? Possibly, but I'm willing to take that risk for a few seasons to find out.....  

Meta Tag says “Northwestern”…

Meta Tag says “Northwestern” but we played Indiana. 
 

Unless that was intended to be a meta commentary on how we felt about this game?