Post Thanksgiving mortem

After watching the Michigan football team die in the second half against that school in Columbus. I tried to think of a way to not be negative about Rich Rodriguez's tenure here at the University so far. The most common saying thrown my way has been, all of his previous teams did really bad in their first seasons and they improved exponentially after that, i didn't accept that because this is Michigan and play like that is still unacceptable under any circumstances.

The conclusion i came to was that if the players who stay stick together they will be able to accomplish a better season next year. The biggest thing for this team in the off season is to preach teamwork and the ability to pick up for another's mistake, that means going after fumbles like you've never gone after fumbles before, block like your life depends on it not just your team's success. Together the Wolverines must stand or divided they will fail.

This season had promise in it, when they beat Wisconsin it seemed like everything was going to go right for this team, and the exact opposite happened. Threet got hurt and was never the same, the offensive line lost its sense of purpose and the secondary could not execute for some reason, except in the Minnesota. It seemed like every winged helmets worse nightmare come true and the problem was the team was not together it seemed like everybody out there was trying to take care of number one before busting their butt for the team.

In this case i want to single out two individuals for two very different reasons. Charles Stewart the strong safety has played like an embarrassment to all people named Charles especially Woodson and myself. His failed attempt at getting an interception against Illinois was the turning point in the game and quite possibly in the season because by playing the ball and not the man he allowed the big play to be made and exposed the world to the secondary's great weakness. Then, in the Ohio State he gets into it with one of the coaches for no reason that's been revealed so far. That is not only unacceptable behavior for a Michigan Wolverine it's unacceptable for any college football player to mouth off at a coach on national television especially if you're the one who's been screwing up lately. I'm glad he's graduating and i hope he finds something other than football to work in because he's been an abomination on the field.

Brandon Minor should be saluted for the following postgame quote:

You can’t really blame Rich Rod because everybody on the team did not buy in like they’re supposed to. We have a couple of guys not going hard,” he said. “We’ll correct that most definitely. That ain’t going to happen on my watch as a senior.

This is truly one of the most positive things that could happen to this team all season when Minor acknowledged this. He told the fans, we are taking the brunt of this season on ourselves as well as the responsibility of making it better next year. If there is anybody who should become the next great leader on the Wolverines for next season it's him.

Two things that Rich Rod will have to work on in the off season are:

1.) Teach the offensive line how to run block for your scheme and run these plays over and over again until you can get them to block correctly.

2.) Get the secondary to learn when to go for the interception, how not to get beat and how to break up passes.

Also i've been watching the Pittsburgh Steelers have some success with the type of defense HRG wants to run, their reason:

THEY ARE DEEPER AT LINEBACKER.

If Rich Rod wants to be successful on both sides of the ball he will have to load up on recruiting linebackers as well as recruiting running backs and linemen.

P.S.: It's not summer so i have to be able to post on all major sports individually now.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

Michigan metaphorical rivalry essays part 2: Ohio State

Remember when i said that i would post a metaphorical essay for each of Michigan's major rivals? Well here's the second edition.

Ohio Stat is like the neighborhood redneck bully. You know the one who lives with his cat lady mom, who tries to beat you at everything because you're the most unique person around. He hates you because you're both smart and good at sports, the latter is the only thing he's good at. He's frustrated with his life so he's taken out his frustration on you the past four years by pounding you.

It's not that you haven't fought back, it's just that the last couple of years he's had some help from his wine cooler drinking friend Mr. Rogers. Who thinks he's helping the kid when he's really just making him more aggressive.

He seems to be taking some kind of rage inducers that help him pound you on the football field, although it's also possible he's making up for 1988-2000.

But there is hope of him not kicking your ass this week, you challenged him to a basketball game which you won. And he was eating his heart out over that, but you and i know that that redneck bully lives for one thing, beating your ass especially on the football field.

P.S. If the state of Michigan looks like a hand then doesn't the state of Ohio look like a pair of tighty whiteys?

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

c-ya

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

Forget Terrelle Pryor, we have Justin Feagin

As everybody knows now Pryor has committed to Ohio State. Now everybody is either saying either good riddance or we shouldn't have driven him to that school in Columbus. I personally take the former position, because we have a top level recruit at quarterback in our own right in Justin Feagin.

I recently found a video of Justin Feagin's highlights in the Florida high school football playoffs posted on youtube by the Michigan Sports Center blog. Once i get my computer fixed i'll post it on my site. The most remarkable thing that i saw on the video was that he made a 60 yard touchdown run, and a 60 yard touchdown pass in the same game!!! 45 of those yards on the TD pass were him, the other 15 was YAC.

Now i know he's an incoming freshman and expecting him to be able to do something like that would be completely unreasonable right now. But once he gets some experience and starts getting some experience eluding these big ten defenses that he's gonna be dealing with. Other schools are gonna be wondering why they didn't get this guy. This guy has gotta be one of the most underrated QB's of this recruiting class just judging from the video.

Personally i'll be surprised if the Pryor hype machine lives up to its expectations. Stuff this over hyped rarely ever does, anybody remember Kelly Baraka, look him up, you'll see what i mean.

And for those of you who doubt a Florida kid's ability to measure up in the midwestern cold, just remember these two Michigan greats, Anthony Carter and Brian Griese. Both came out of the sunshine state they both had great careers in the maize and blue, and they both had long pro football careers, case closed.