Back to reality (football)

Denial's a bitch and i've been sleeping with her for the last couple of weeks. I honestly thought Michigan was going to beat the Spartans. They didn't seem to have much of a passing game before then, i guess i was wrong. I thought the wolverines might beat Purdue because they were desperate to keep their bowl hopes alive, but i was wrong there too, because i didn't account on the defense not showing up.

To say that this football season has been a disappointment would be a gross understatement, it is an unprecedented (i'll explain later) catastrophe that could (fingers crossed that it won't) have very bad long term consequences for the program i loved as a boy and taught me what it felt like to win in a world where i always felt like i was going to lose.

I grew up with two truly great loves as far as sports were concerned, Detroit Tigers baseball and Michigan football, i loved the Red Wings but there was a lull in that love due to the strike. I never stopped loving Michigan or the Tigers. With all of the turmoil the Tigers went through under Randy Smith as general manager i got used to the feeling of the Tigers being a perennial losing team. The Wolverines however create something different for me, one of the first memories for me as far as football is concerned was the Remy Hamilton game, which i watched at my grandma's house just over a month after my grandfather had died.



For some reason the winged helmets that Michigan had just spoke to me in a way that Notre Dame's plain golden domes didn't. Secondly i liked the sound of a name like Biakabatuka. But they kept winning after that game and Frank Beckman was consistently the voice of both the Tigers on TV and the Wolverines on the radio, so as a kid with aspirations to be an announcer i felt very close to both. And the way i felt about both was understandable, the Wolverines were the rock pillars of winning and consistency and all that was good in the world, the Tigers were the lovable losers whom i knew.

But now that has all changed and it may not get better. What is happening at Michigan, an outsider taking over at head coach and having a losing season right out of the get go, after a good coach steps down, is unprecedented in the 129 years of Michigan football. However i can think of a relevant comparison that makes me shudder to think it might be true, but unfortunately it may be. John Cooper.



Cooper was hired one year after both the death of Woody Hayes and the firing of Earle Bruce. Michigan fans are all familiar with his record of futility against them. On top of that he also was part although he did not start or finish the downfall of academics in the college football program, something Michigan has prided themselves on in the past.

On the latter part i don't think there is too much to be worried about, but on the former, i am deeply troubled. If he doesn't beat Ohio State in a season this bad it would be the greatest failure of a season in the living memory since before Bo came to town.

It's not the problem of the spread not working anymore, the wolverines have the skill players what they don't have is the tools to defend it. Not enough emphasis is put on defense in the current system right now, if HRG had put an emphasis on the defensive backs and getting them to do better in defending against the pass Michigan would not be in this position. If anybody is on the chopping block right now it's either him or defensive backs coach Tony Gibson.


stay tuned for happy days when i write about Michigan hockey.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

I guess he wasn't blonde enough

It really must suck to be a starting Michigan defenseman this year. First captain Mark Mitera takes a skate to the knee, now a fellow political science major Steve Kampfer has been allegedly bodyslammed out of the season just in time for the Northern Michigan game. And that's not all, as i'm sure everybody who's read the Daily or MGoblog now knows the alleged assailant was a football walk on (undoubtedly a third or fourth string fullback) and ex-wrestler Mike Milano.

If Milano did assault Kampfer at 2 in the morning on sunday i'm curious to know why. Maybe he was frustrated that Kampfer's team was winning and his wasn't. Maybe they had different political views, or maybe Kampfer just wasn't frickin blonde enough.



ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

Relief from the frozen front at Yost.

One of the greatest goals in Michigan history was scored by Aaron Palushaj this past weekend. I was in the stand watching it instead of looking at it from a media perspective as i could have been but i saw it nonetheless and it was glorious. Taking on three defenders is dangerous in hockey and he got mugged on the way to the goal, so much so that the ref was going to call a penalty before the puck went into the net, by which time he had waved it off. It could be a season changing moment for the winged helmets on ice.

After Fridays game there were undoubtedly a group of bloggers who would be willing to write off Michigan as unable to compete without Mark Mitera in a tougher more physical CCHA compared to years past. However the St. Lawrence Saints came out with the same game plan that NMU came into Yost with last year and got out played at their own game by the maize and blue. Palushaj's goal aside this game was determined in the corners, by the hits who was tough who could endure more of the beating, clearly by the end of the game the answer was overwhelmingly clear. This year's Michigan hockey team is incredibly well conditioned and is ready for a hard hitting season this year.

Goaltending looked good, the team as a whole was imperfect, but perfection is a hard thing to ask for, especially so early in the season. The first line looked good with Hagelin, Rust and Palushaj. It seems clear to me that Carl Hagelin has been lifting some weights this past summer because he was not merely toughing it out in the corners and in front of the net, he was giving it back to the opposing defenders. Watching this team play last weekend makes one wonder if the hockey conditioning coach could work with Barwis on the football team.

The only things in the immediate future that i am regretful of is that Michigan's next two games will not be televised from Marquette, and that WOLV will not be able to present anything to you hockey related until November.

Stay tuned for a preview of Northern Michigan.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

Two Agonizing Saturdays, and one trashed apartment

As a lifelong Michigan football fan it is hard to imagine a Wolverine team that has no idea to either defend against the pass in the secondary, nor block for the run on the line.

When one grows up watching Charles Woodson, Marlin Jackson, Cato June, Leon Hall, and Earnest Shazor break up passes, make interceptions and punish recievers trying to get yards after the catch. It is hard to watch this year's team play these last two weeks.

When one grows up watching Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, Jake Long, and Ron Payne create huge holes for Anthony Thomas, Mike Hart and Tshimanga Biakabatuka (i refuse to call him Tim) to pick up yards through. It is hard for one to see running backs as talented as Brandon Minor and Sam McGuffie struggle to get past the line of scrimmage due to missed assignments.

A few weeks ago, no one would talk about these problems because the problem of holding onto the football was too glaring. Turnovers still hurt, and by the lord the amount of turnovers committed early in this first half of the season are appalling enough to cause Bo Schembecler to turn in his grave. However even a back who knows how to hold onto the football as well as McGuffie can't do anything without some room to run with.

I understand the amount of youth at receiver and with the depth the winged helmets have at running back i see no reason to change the run-first strategy Rich Rod has in place, however he has got to work on run blocking. These players didn't do too much run blocking under Carr because he depended more on bigger stronger players to hold off the pass rush. Now the emphasis is more on the faster stronger players who can get out of the blocks like a sprinter and drive defensive linemen into the ground like air under the feet of Usain Bolt. Nobody on the line seems to be capable of doing this and since teamwork is essential on the offensive line more than any other area of the field it is essential that somebody start doing it and doing it now.

Brendan Harrison will be sorely missed after his graduation after this season. Donavan Warren has shown amazing amounts of moxie in his two years here so far and has shown calm under pressure, his absence last Saturday undoubtedly caused the regrettable fall of a record last Saturday. Morgan Trent is fast, he can jump and break up passes, and he still is not a great tackler, i'm not asking for him to be Charles Woodson but at least get a hold of the guy. If Charles Stewart misses another potential interception on a play that results in a touchdown he will be run out of town on a rail.

My rage not only led me to write this cliche ridden piece of crap article it also led me to throw stuff all over my already fairly dirty off campus apartment in the face of exams this week. A loss to Toledo is just plain unacceptable on any level for any era at Michigan, even a transitional one.

In spite of that i am not one of those who believe that Rich Rod should be fired immediately. I think that he should seriously re-evaluate where he recruits for in the future and try to keep his players more disciplined in the future.

Is this season a lost cause, technically no because if Michigan beats Penn State they have a winning record in conference play. However with an abomination of a secondary the wolverines looked like they might be having the wings from their helmets clipped by Joe Pa before he dies, i'm just curious if i'll have the stomach to watch it without snapping.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

BEST SATURDAY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If i had gone to bed early enough the previous night to watch the 90s cartoons it could've been better, other than that it went beyond my wildest dreams.

Okay i'll admit it just like everybody else, and i know that every other blogger and their mother's written about it, but the first half offense sucked. More specifically the offensive line sucked, i was personally offended by how badly they were missing their assignments in the zone read allowing the tackles a free hand at the running back. Of course not all of the blame can be placed on the men up front. Steve Threet seemed to not be sure whether to hand off, throw it, try to run away or scream ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! They're chasing me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Wisconsin defensive line must have been thinking, "'cha those guys are too lazy, we can take 'em." While the Badgers thought the Wolverines were lazy turns out they were just resting. The first scoring drive was done mostly in the air, with a gutsy 4th and 1 call to Kevin Grady, who held onto the ball for five yards. In all honesty the pass Steve Threet threw to Kevin Koger looked like it should have been over his head, Koger made the best catch i've ever seen a true freshman collegiate tight end make in a spread option system. On top of that he knocked the safety down on the play.

After that the winged helmets really started to show how much they could fly, especially Brandon Minor, picking up the first down catch right before darting into the end zone. Thompson's interception was a surprise to everyone in the student section, being on the opposite side of the field i really didn't expect that the Badgers would start throwing the ball like crazy, but they did, and they paid for it.

Threet's run was also a huge surprise to everyone, gutsy move, but let's not give the credit to his feet, but more to his brain. Steve sold the fake to the Badger defense so well that seven men collapsed to the side of the field where Minor was going, Threet breaks a tackle and the safety had to chase him down. If Threet could run the play would've ended in the end zone. Michigan should be glad it didn't, because not only did it give them time to run down some clock it also gave Sam McGuffie the chance to make the world say a refrain that we'll be hearing for some time, wham bam thank you Sam.

The Michigan defensive line played one of the best games i've ever seen. They stopped the run, their pass rush was incredibly potent and didn't allow much time for Allan Evridge to throw the ball. Brandon Graham is a certifiable all-american and i were an NFL scout i would probably try and take a good look at this guy. The secondary improved substantially in their ability to cover a team passing out of desperation.

The secondary will be tested substantially by Illinois dual threat quarterback Juice Williams. A lot of people regard Juice Williams as simply a running quarterback who doesn't pass much, however, that was last year when the Illini had Rashard Mendenhall at tailback and they had a running game so potent, they didn't need to throw the ball that much. I'm not saying that Juice is one of the greatest passers ever, but he can throw the ball downfield and use his weapons as good as any quarterback in the big ten. Juice's abilities on offense are Illinois primary strength, their primary weakness is their defense.

The Fighting Illini defense has given up at least 17 points in every single game they've played in so far. Chase Daniels made them look like fools in the first game of the season against Mizzou. Eastern Illinois managed to score 21 points on them and they're a middle of the road I-AA team and this past weekend lapses in judgment absolutely killed Illinois against Joe Pa.

So, should we expect a Michigan victory, not so fast. They need to figure out a way to stop Juice Williams, which is easier said than done. They need to be able to cover an attack that is pretty similar to what was being run by Utah at the beginning of the season, and they need to stop them from scoring on as many possessions as possible. The latter can be accomplished by the offense not turning the ball over, keeping it on the ground, not missing their blocking assignments and not making any stupid mistakes.

Michigan will need this win to prove that the comeback was not merely a fluke but a statement that the winged helmets are not going anywhere away from the upper echelon of the college football scene. They also need to prove that their helmets are actually going to make them fly.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

And now for something completely different.

HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, a little overboard with the caps and exclamation points, but still. Season starts in a few weeks, TV schedule comes out next week and WOLV overtime will have interviews that week as well. Not only that, the hockey team releaseda temporary depth chart. With a major shocker.

Now i know that Brian at mgoblog and the house that yost built have probably already talked about this, but Chris Summers moves to forward and Scooter Vaughn is now a starting defenseman. Woo hoo!! Way to go Scoots.

I think moving Summers to forward is a suitable move because he is definitely a much more offensive minded player than a normal defenseman should be. Which is also why i think Scooter is a great choice as a starting defenseman. How many breakaways or two on ones did he break up this past year, by hanging back and reading the forward's stick daring him to shoot the puck right into him? How many times have we seen him go to extreme lengths to get the steal and get the puck out of the zone make the extra stretch, the extra nudge?

I think Scooter Vaughn, while he may not be the most talented or skilled defenseman on the team, he makes up for it with sheer determination, which is all you can ask for out of a player like him.

And just to get you further in the mood.



Blatant rip off, eh Mister Cost?

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

A cooling off week

Only Michael Phelps could've saved Michigan in that pool in South Bend, that much is certain. The ball was wet, the ref gave a couple of questionable calls to the Irish, and if Rich Rod doesn't go Coach Boone on the guys about fumbles then team will have a lot of problems.



He probably already broke his foot off in Kevin Grady's hind parts in fall two a days, but unfortunately his foot must've come out Grady's hand when he was about to get tackled on that play.

We got a lot of at leasts in that game. At least we now know for certain that Steve Threet is the quarterback and can throw the ball effectively. At least we know Sam McGuffie can handle whatever a defense throws at him and still get positive yards.

Unfortunately this game also raised a lot of questions about the defense, can they stop the physical old school style of smash mouth football or do they just specialize in stopping speed? Is our secondary ANY good at all? And last but certainly not least, what the hell happened to the age old concept of getting pressure on the quarterback? Because it seemed like Jimmah Sunshine had a cruise ship load of time to get his passes off.

Now Michigan faces the Wisconsin Badgers and PJ Hill and Travis Beckum. For the latter i would expect that Rich Rod would keep disgraced Tight End and my fellow Phoenix alum Carson Butler on the team simply for practice. Throw the ball to him in practice a lot, and try to stop him. He's probably more athletic than Beckum, but because of poor decision making and the fact that Rich Rod's system doesn't utilize Tight Ends often he doesn't get much credit. They need to use him in practice because last year neither the maize and blue secondary or linebackers could stop the man.

Wisconsin believes they have an edge in the Big Ten because they do not run the spread. Michigan wants to start winning now to silence their critics.

Stay tuned for a preview of Wolverines vs. Badgers.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya