Mood = Apathetic
I ain't signing shit until I see what happens next week.
Not that we didn't get any advance warning and not that I don't get the "theme" here (and not even that it's unwarranted or unfunny...I enjoy it), but at some point, this turns from likable, helpful and part of the healing process to annoying (again, not necessarily to me, but to fans of other teams looking in).
Here's to the M fans keeping their heads up, at least for another week.
CAN YOU SAY LES MILES
What are the chances of any of the following being Lloyd's replacement?
1) Bill Cowher
2) Jon Gruden
3) Norm Chow
4) Mike Bellotti
5) Jimbo Fisher
I can say that Les Miles is slightly better recruiting version of Carr who allows pure, concentrated shit to fall out of his mouth at least once a season. If that dirty bastard is hired to be the next coach, I'm fucking done. At least Carr has the excuse of senility to explain away his coaching inadaquacies. What the fuck is Miles' excuse, Turrets?
Steve Sarkisian.
this almost happens every year, you can't say that you didn't see this coming. We always have a close win to a sub-par team at the start of each season...this one just got us. i think i'll have another beer now.
What sucks is that I have to take all of the shit being thrown at me. Before I could defend a loss to OSU or a loss in the Rose Bowl. Now, I have nothing but to just roll over and say "yeah, we suck". I won't give up on this year or the team, but I will sign the treaty.
@83tilinfinity:
What makes you think next week will be any different? The players we have on defense simply cannot defend against a mobile QB in a spread offense -- and Oregon showed on Saturday that they can run the shit out of that spread offense. I'm terrified.
Ooooh, Bill Cowher. That could be fun.
Seriously, what the hell do we even do now? I plan on going and cheering my ass off, but after that bullshit, how are we supposed to feel like anything we do matters? This is clearly an abusive relationship.
Jeff Tedford
Greg Schiano
Bo Pelini
Chris Petersen
Fuck that.
On 22 December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, Anthony Clement McAuliffe was acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division in charge of the defense of Bastogne, Belgium. The advancing German forces called on his garrison to surrender. The Americans were surrounded. Instead, Anthony McAuliffe wrote:
"To the German Commander: NUTS! The American Commander."
another quote:
"We're Surrounded ... That Simplifies Our Problems"
— Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller
We, as Michigan fans are surrounded. Surrounded by the pilers on. Surrounded by the fans of teams that we have designated "overrated", which we are guilty of.
Anyway, enough of the Animal House speeches, suck it up and drive on.
Not even sure I can imagine how you guys feel today... We at Purdue don't even hate UM the way those clowns in Columbus do. We'd only wish this on Notre Dame.
But yeah, Carr should be gone now. And it wouldn't be irrational in any way to boot his ass now.
Awesome post! So nice to have Brian on the anti-Carr bandwagon.
Scalz1 -- The greatest problem facing us right now is not that people are piling on. It's that Michigan is 0-1 and just lost at home to a 1-AA team. Defiantly pressing on is a solution to the former problem, not the latter. In fact, pressing on is what got us in this mess, so perhaps it behooves us to sit around and complain for a good, long while.
9/1 Appalachian State Functional DNP
ouch
Can't wait to drive 600 miles this week. God F'n damn it.
Anyone who says "I'm not surprised" or "you can't say you didn't see this coming" needs to FUCK OFF.
This WAS a shocking disaster and has changed the dynamic of being a MICHIGAN FOOTBALL fan (and everything it stand for) forever. From this time forward. This wound will hear,, but the scar will always be there.
Lloyd Carr must retire after the season.He should tell his team the night before the Ohio State game.
I'm trying to think of something, ANYTHING that restore some semblance of dignity to our program. This only thing I can think of is if we lay 60+ points on our next 3 opponents, beat Ohio State, and destroy our bowl opponent.
Don't hold your breath. I will watch this team with a new sense of detachment...
...and feel, so, so sorry that Mike Hart has to play for Michigan. He deserves better.
As someone who watched at least 90% of the snaps during Cowher's 15 year run as coach of the Steelers, I can tell you that we absolutely do not want him as the next UM coach. Cowher is Carr, believe me, just a much more animated version. He spits more and uses tired cliches about playing physical, but he is just as conservative a coach as Carr and could never adapt to what an opponent was doing. Like, ever. That list of games Brian posted, I could easily post one twice as long for Cohwer. Think Dave Wannstadt at Pitt, only without the awesome mustache. No thanks.
Whoever said Sarkisian - you win the prize. He passed on the Raiders job, presumably because he knows Carroll is out after this season and is next in line. If Carroll stays on, he may be tempted.
CAUP,
Don't be sorry that Mike Hart plays for Michigan. Be sorry that Mike Hart plays for fucking Lloyd Carr! If Carr cared about anything other than his "legacy," he would have retired last year and we wouldn't be in this situation right now. But, since Lloyd chose to put his feelings ahead of the good of the program, here we are. The only silver lining on this cloud is that at least we aren't going to be lamented the start of the Mike DeBord or Ron English era next year at this time. No, folks, we will have a real coach for the first time in a looooong time. That day can't come soon enough for me!
Brian, this post even out-did your kittens post!!! Great work, but I for one am quite interested in how both the team and the coaches respond to adversity. Do they blow out Oregon and then ND, or do they lay (lie?) down and die? Or do they find yet another way to lose??
My biggest frustration with the program representing a major research institution is that they are agonizingly behind the times both with regards to philosophy, which ultimately manifests itself in the game preparation and play calling. I am a 3-time graduate of U-M and have observed that this has been the case since Bo. Unfortunately we no longer have the massive advantage in talent that gave Michigan many easy wins with a predictable offense and oft times questionable special teams.
I only hope that the next coach is an external hire that will change the philosophy and bring moderninity to the program.
Brian can you also add
GIVING UP A MINIMUM OF 4 SCORES TO EVERY BOWL OPPONENT SINCE THE NC YEAR - 98 ROSE BOWL
Brian is right. Surrender now.
Couple things to consider about the Wolverines' next opponent.
a.) Oregon is bigger.
b.) Oregon is faster.
c.) Oregon's defense, while porous, is better than ASU's
d.) UO QB Dixon is faster, taller and more experienced than Ashanti Edwards
d.) Michigan's defensive coaches are mentally retarded goons when it comes to stopping spread offenses. Oregon runs multiple variations of the spread.
e.) Jonathan Steward (not from Comedy Central) and Jeremia Johnson (not the mountain man) are potential 1000 yard rushers and will have an excellent shot at slicing and dicing Michigan on the outside, while Dennis Dixon rips a page out of Jerry Moore's playbook and runs QB draws all afternoon.
Michigan's offense? Oh, they'll be too busy not scoring 40 pts/game and drinking gatorade on the sidelines.
I like this website because I get inside info, so stop the whining and get some inside info.
Specifically, I was in California for the game and watched it at a sports bar with no sound. I could not figure out why Hart sat quarters 2 and 3, dominated in the fourth quarter, and then when we needed to kill clock they put Minor back in. All I kept seeing was Hart on a damn bike on the sideline but he looked fine to me. What's the official line? Rumors? Something?
Just please beat Notre Dame. An 0-3 Charlie Weis would be something to see.
The Les Miles thing is interesting. Do people really think he'd take Michigan over LSU? Think about it-- there's no Harbaugh complaining about academic standards at LSU, Louisiana produces great football talent, there's only one other consistently good team in the SEC West (Auburn) and crayfish taste good.
I was at the game and none of us could figure out why Hart wasn't playing. He was walking fine on the sidelines and riding the bike. The official word is that he suffered a deep thigh bruise early in the game -- some say on the first run of the season. But then Hart ripped off a few nice runs during that first drive and even scored a touchdown, so who knows? The other weird thing is that when Hart came back in they passed the ball four straight times, and it seemed like Hart was only in there to block. It's really strange.
How in God's name are we going to beat Oregon?
The only hope there is to find is winning so we can say "Yeah, we lost to Appalachian St. but we beat you."
Not a lot of hope, I know...
Who's going to be Viceroy MacArthur? Hayden Fry?
***
Some teams get confused by their own success recruiting. Teams like Iowa and Wisconsin start guys who wouldn't make the two-deep at Michigan or OSU. That's because they don't recruit 20 4 and 5 star high school kids every year. Why, they even start guys who are walk-ons.
Football's still a game in which strategy, discipline and a few intangibles can occasionally trump incredible talent. So leadership does make a difference. I wish you would keep Carr around for another 20 years or so, quite frankly, but I suppose you'll go out and get a studly, smart coach and kick our walk-on butts, instead.
Or maybe you could hire Zooker? That would be good, yeah. Hire the Zooker, recruit 22 five-stars a year. Please.
Marquesio, after 9/1, who can pretend we kow ANYTHING? i mean, hell, we could come out and win big vs UO. i mean up is down, black is white. i'm even shocked vegas has a line on the UO game.
and honestly i don't know if i want them to beat UO. i mean, if they do, logic, common sense and the physical world just doesn't make sense anymore. the only reasonable explanation is that they just took that team/game on 9/1 for granted, and that might be a bigger indictment than if the lose to UO b/c of talent/recruiting/coaching style/skeme.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
I am mad.
My voice still hasn't recovered from trying to drwon out the ASU band (I heard it way to much).
Being in the end zone Saturday gave me a great look at what ASU was doing, and without a great middle linebacker to go with five starting caliber DB's, _____________(insert name) in the top 25 would have been beaten also.
We had our breakdowns, yes. Poor coaching, yes. Poor offensive scheme, yes. Lack of killer attitude, yes (since around 1996).
But this is still my team, there will be no whining, no excuses, no booing, and if I need to give up my voice again next weekend, they will have it.
I never hope that Michigan loses a game, and I will be screaming at the TV and cursing the heavens on Saturday, per usual. I hope Michigan runs the table the rest of the year and Carr announces his retirement before the bowl game. I know that's not very realistic at this point, but that's what I hope.
I'm tired of hearing about how we lost to a D I-AA team. While it is fact, it is also implying a certain level of subpar quality. Anyone who reads this blog knows that App St. is just as good or better than the vast majority of D I-A teams. Let's give them their props, take it with class and admit that we deserved our loss as we were not as well prepared. The second half of the game on Saturday gives me hope that we can and will contain Oregon enough to beat their spread attack. There is plenty to play for and I'm getting frustrated with people acting like there isn't.
Man up.
What's the worst that can happen? We have a 4 or 5 loss season and it forces some major changes to the coaching staff? Wouldn't that be refreshing? Let's just hope the right choices are made when that time comes.
As Michigan fans, let's stop this self pitty stuff and face the facts. I plan to support this team through it all.
Here's to hoping we can rebound with an attitude that leads us to an 11-1 season and a BCS victory. Would that not be an improvement from the last...oh I don't know, 6 years?!
Go Blue!
Don't forget the Ball State miscue last year. What got me was with about four minutes left, and a 4th and four at the ASU 30 yard line, Carr opts for a 47 yard FG try-subsequently blocked. You mean to tell me that with the friggin' game on the line, your high powered offense can't pick up four yards against Appalachian State??? This play "not to lose" mentality has to go.
I went back to the season preview to see what Brian rated this game as far as possible outcomes. "Functional DNP"
Yup, we functionally did not play.
Cheer up emo blogger. next satuday is another game.
Brian got himself a shout-out in the detroit news: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...308/1004/
SPORTS
scroll down to bottom. cheer up brian, everyone here needs you!
also, well said justin, well said.
ChicaGoBlue: My only hope is that this was as devastating to the players and coaches as it was to all of us. And that it was enough to get them to wake the hell up and show what they can do when punched in the face.
I am not saying they will stifle a high-powered spread offense any time soon. I am not expecting or even saying they will win the game. I am just hoping that they can do enough to get a victory when needed most. I would like my football season to last more than two weeks.
As good as my alma matter look against an insuperior (Mark May, what) Notre Dame team on Saturday, Michigan is and will remain my heart, and whatever else happens is secondary.
agree w/Don, well said Justin.
Are you kidding me?!? In that article Don linked to, http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...308/1004/
SPORTS , it said that we were very close to playing Hawaii for our season opener. Why did we give up on that?
We didn't learn from a loss to our arch-rival in the series' biggest game ever. We didn't learn from a loss to USC in a traditional high-profile bowl matchup. We had eight months to learn then, and jack shit happened. We've been complaining about the conservative offensive playcalling for a decade.
I agree that the only way to turn this season around -- and it is possible -- is a complete and total philosophical overhaul in the course of the next five days. But clearly that isn't going to happen. I, for one, am in an absolute panic.
I'm wondering what this does to the verbals we already have, and the ones we were in line for.
Justin makes a good point about Michigan's defensive performance in the second half. The safeties took better angles, although the DBs and LBs still seemed to overpursue on the draws and screens. But when the chips were down and Michigan absolutely needed a stop, the defense let ASU drive down the field for the game-winning field goal -- and, like in 2005, they had a knack for allowing those game-winning points with under a minute to play, thus ensuring Michigan's offense would have little chance of mounting its own game-winning drive.
I've noticed, too, that people haven't focused very much (at least not here) on Crable's mistake on the last play of the game. Lined up against two rushers, Crable sort of half-committed to the outside player and allowed the inside rusher to slide through untouched. (It should be noted that Crable whiffed on the outside man, too.) Crable played reasonably well in other aspects of the game, but for a fifth-year senior to make a mistake like that on the last play of the game is inexcusable.
What's the worst that can happen?
the worst already happened.
Anyone who reads this blog knows that App St. is just as good or better than the vast majority of D I-A teams.
i wish the coaches and players could have realized this before Sat.
and i'm not wishing them to lose. i'm just afraid that the implications of them winning will be akin to a logical paradox that my brain cannot compute. the result will be a complete dissection of any & all knowledege of the physical world. maybe i just need to accept the fact that chaos and the utter randomness of the Universe dominates logic & reason. much like the M defense was dominated in the 1st half on 9/1.
BTW, i hate complaining about coaching butttttt,
Donovan Warren did a good job replacing Sears in the 2nd half, I'm sure he was playing more on instincts than he was the last 30 days of coaching.
I'm worried about that too, Scalz1.....
Karl, Warren got the nod over Sears on this week's depth chart.
Norm Chow is in his 60s.
Michigan will recruit itself, what they need is a coach who will get the players to play to their potential and occasionally outcoach someone.
If Michigan had cnot blown 75% of those games Brian listed, they'd be a top-10 program right now. Thats how close they are to being truly Elite. When their is a new coach in here, it could end up like Florida did with Urban Meyey. The cupboard is not bare, by any stretch of the imagination.
I'm still not angry or depressed about Saturday. This loss was a LONG time coming (10-7 against Utah....24-21 against SDSU, etc.), it just happened on the most embarrassing stage possible due to ASU's 1-AA classification.
The only way I get angry, depressed, whatever is if LloydBord is coaching at Michigan in 2008.
At least none of you are dating a Florida fan. All I'm saying is, it's been a painful couple of years over here.
I have quite a few good friends who are UM grads and they're all pretty sure Carr should have been fired yesterday. I don't understand why he was not. That said, this week's loss by the Wolverines is something that won't be lived down this season, or ever.
That makes me even more sad that my Boilers will get beaten by two touchdowns by UM in Ann Arbor this season. All I'll be able to think about following that game is this loss.
You guys are very funny and I like your site...I'm honestly sad for the UM fans that this happened to you. I wish the worst for UND & tO$U, but not you guys.
Jeremy:
Yours is the best comment yet. We have not learned and will not learn. We do not adapt or play wacky football. I will give you Coach Carr's speech today -
"Men, I know Saturday was disappointing. It was disappointing to us all. While Appalachian State was a good team, we did not execute. If we execute our gameplan, we will win that game and will win every game on our schedule for the rest of the year. Football is not about clever, tricky plays and impassioned speeches. It is about execution.
"Let's go out against Oregon and execute our offense and block and tackle and make plays, men! And we will win."
That is the FULL EXTENT of change that this humiliation will bring.
what the defense did in the second half was ????? more blitzing i think. other than that, it was mistakes my the ASU qb. he basically fell apart in the 2nd half.
honestly, it was a tale of 2 halfs: the 1st when the D was godawful, and the 2nd, when the offense was sooooo terrible.
and ST re: crable....that was an obvious point, imo. i think the bigger question that no one addressed is the 2PT conversion question. why go for 2 in the 3rd QTR? there are so many more possesions left in the game!!!!!!! if they just kicked the FGs, they are in a tie situation. missing 2 2pt converts in a game we lost by 2 points is rediculous.
Okay, after reading SMQ's take and taking a look at the box score, I'm feeling a little better about Oregon. But just a little. ASU scored four touchdowns on their first five possessions, but then only got two FGs on their next nine. Also, the QB and Rb both averaged only 3 or so per carry, which isn't terrible. I realize that Oregon is a far cry from ASU (so was Michigan before Saturday), but it's still something.
Right?
Brian:
I sincerely hope that this is your last self-pitying bullshit post. I also hope that you retract this whiny dreck that you'll never say you're better than another program again. If you don't know why Michigan footbal remains the greatest program in college football, I'm not going to try to remind you. Cut the lace off your panties and stop being a little bitch. The kittens were funny, but now it's time for you to be a grown-up. You've reminded why emo is for 15-year olds.
That said, I am terrified of what will happen in the rest of the season. I went through my crisis this weekend, and I honestly questioned whether I should ever watch college football again. But now it's time for all of us to move on, wear your M jersey (esp. if it's No. 20) with pride, and hope that Carr can rekindle some Into Thin Air shit for the rest of the season. A Big Ten championship and a bowl win are still possible, even though things look grim at the moment. Then, we anxiously await as Bill Martin injects our (you're goddam right it's still) proud tradition with a shot of new blood from outside the program.
Speaking of which - and this might be a stupid idea to mention, as I know very little about him - but has anyone ever talked about Tenuta as a head coaching candidate?
"wear your M jersey" = "wear our M jerseys."
I'm not suggesting we all take a turn wearing Brian's jersey, as admittedly awesome as his blog is.
OT:
My friend's apartment complex in Chicago is dumping Comcast because of their shitty service. This complex is two 36-story buildings with 15 apartments on each floor. That's at least a thousand customers in one fell swoop. Fuck Comcast.
Resume panic.
You know, I visit this site because it’s highly entertaining and informative. But, today it is not. Fuck you Brian and the rest of you fucking quitters. Stick your atomic bomb blast and Hiroshima government building up your collective asses. I’m not signing anything and I’m not quitting. Does the future bode well for this season? No, it does not. However, I’m not throwing in the towel just because we sucked ass and weren’t prepared to play football last Saturday. If this is the impetus UM needs to make a change of Command in the football program, I’m glad. We’ve been cruising along for too long as a “good enough” team. LC has NEVER had the team prepared to play in the season opener. MD couldn’t use his imagination to draft an offensive game plan if his entire family’s life depended on it (Did he not call the SAME running play, on first down, for the ENTIRE FIRST HALF?!?!?). Now is the time to flush this staff and get someone that drinks blood for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For too long we’ve had the “let’s not embarrass our foe” mentality. I want to see a head coach that continues to use the starters when there’s five minutes left in the fourth quarter and we lead 70-0. We need someone that has a “count down clock” for OSU, MSU and ND. We need a staff that recruits and signs NATIONAL talent without ignoring local (Midwest) talent. It’s really too damn bad that I don’t donate millions to the University so I could have Bill Martin’s private number. I’d tell him that NOW is the time is for a head coach that wants to KILL opponents, public opinion be damned. UM needs to pull an “Alabama” by targeting someone and then getting them, regardless of cost. The University can afford it and the loyal fans deserve it.
I can taste the enamel burning as I grind my teeth while writing this. AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!
Brian didn't say he was giving up, he said he was curbing expectations until there is a real coaching staff in place. There is a big difference.
I took on this mentality immediately after the Alamo Bowl and its worked wonders for me. I still go to the games, cheer, and hope for the best, but I'm just not too surprised when things like this happen.
Michigan will be back in a big way when there is a new staff in place.
Okay, I'll accept on behalf of Ohio but you have to take Toledo back. We've been stuck with it ever since we lost the Ohio-Michigan border war.
Look at the bright side, people. At least there's no media coverage of this game. If there were, we'd have to be bombarded with it over and over.
Oh wait ..
how about Steve Spurrier? I'm in a SEC state and he's not that enamered with hi current job
You forgot about the recent Nebraska and Tennessee bowl losses. Second thought, no you didn't, you've pretty much listed enough.
I was at the Citrus Bowl for UT. That was pretty bad.
And, I had completely erased that Iowa punt fiasco. Thanks for dredging that one up.
The problem is.. we should use this negativity and adversity to really motivate the players and have a scheme in which Oregon is absolutely thumped this Sat..
But we won't.. Carr has blocked all the negativity around his players. He wants to SEE how his players respond to adversity.. WTH. It's your job to MAKE SURE they thump Oregon.
Go all out. Put Henne in Shotgun with Mario, Adrian, Greg, Toney and Junior in 5 wide.
Play against Oregon like how you played Vanderbilt.
Just fucking win.. please.
...you drop the bomb on me baby!
you drop the bomb on me.
I am demanding roast duck this weenkend. By the way! I'm on the LC has got to go bandwagon...
Lost in all the pearl-clutching and shirt-rending is the fact that, at least in the first half, Michigan showed some new offensive sets. They played out of the shotgun for most of the game, sent Hart wide on a few 4- and 5-wide sets, and generally mixed things up much more than normal. That's promising, on the one hand, but they also routinely telegraphed plays. For at least one drive, whenever Hart was in they were going to pass, and whenever Minor was in they were going to run. Like, every time this was true. I wasn't paying close enough attention to notice if this happened every play, but if I noticed it from the stands you'd better believe the ASU staff and players noticed it as well.
"Anyone who reads this blog knows that App St. is just as good or better than the vast majority of D I-A teams."
That is ridiculous.
"I hope Michigan runs the table the rest of the year and Carr announces his retirement before the bowl game."
[Jim Mora voice]
BOWL GAME?
[/Jim Mora Voice]
Bryan:
You mean to tell me you don't think App St. could beat the bottom half of the teams in most of the major conferences? I'm not even going to bother listing off all the examples. This whole saga isn't about how "bad" the team was we lost to (because they aren't). It's about how poorly prepared Michigan was.
Anyone who saw that team play last year in the playoffs should have known they don't play like a lower tier opponent. Especially Carr and associates. I've always been willing to step up and defend Carr, and it saddens me to say this, but it's time for him to go. Last year's come-to-work attitude clearly left with Hall, Harris, and Woodley. It wasn't a product of our coaching staff, but of our players, and they will be sorely, sorely, so so sorely missed.
The team looked flat, played slow and out of position, and didn't adjust soon enough. It was a total failure from the coaches' adjustments, to the player's execution, to the band director's leadership, to all the fans (STUDENTS!) that were so content to simply enjoy the sun on their neck. The true fans will be there next week. The true players will show what a "Michigan Man" is and bounce back. And no matter what happens, at the end of the season, I hope the coaches can do what's best and step down. All of them. It's time for new blood. Here's hoping that we give Oregon the worst spanking in the past 100 years.
I fear there is way more wrong with this team than is meeting the naked eye. Things I saw first-hand Saturday:
1. Wide receivers that were not the first option on passing plays jogging patterns or stopping when Henne had to scramble.
2. Manningham being used as a decoy until the last 30 seconds.
3. Very little enthusiasm on either side of the ball.
4. TD's scored and only a few teammates coming to celebrate.
5. A one-point lead, 3 minutes to play, 3rd and 5 and we line up in shotgun. What ever happened to Hart behind Long twice for 5 yards and a game-clinching first down?
6. A senior captain blocking out and leaving an inside gap open on a game-winning field goal.
7. A defense that over-pursued our stretch play all day, yet never once a reverse? Are we saving it?
8. A defensive coordinator that couldn't adjust to having both ILBs aligned outside and a QB running up the middle until halftime??? Weren't the phones working? And who thought this was a good idea to begin with?
9. A four-year starter at QB that IS NOT a Captain? What does that say?
I sense attitude problems, coaching communication problems, and a possible unraveling of an entire season. If not corrected quickly, how does 0-4 or 1-3 sound?
Well I roam thru columbus today wearing my Michigan colors, actually people are pretty kind. Guesss they already know the program sucks, just so they can confirm their thoughts.
Was at the game Sat. with my son and left just a disponded as everyone else.
Especially by what we saw. How about leaving the middle open all day so an athletic qb can take advantage/--done
not until the middle of 3rd qtr did it change, oh imagine that then we only gave up 3 points til the last 29 sec.
I take absolutely nothing away from App St. they came to play. Michigan showed up and that's all. Michigan dan called it right,Carr tells them to execute properly and they can't lose. Well execution is correct way to play but when there is NO PASSION in their play they pretty well suck!
There will be no more passion from my son and I until we have a passionate coach who wants to win not just hold on!!!!!!!!!
Regarding Hart's health: He limped off the field at halftime and limped back on after halftime and was not moving very well. The fact that he returned and played so well speaks to his ability to block out pain. The guy we saw limping across the field at the end of the 2nd quarter didn't look like he could go out there and make a cut.
NO LES MILES!!! He's worse than Lloyd. I like the suggestions of Bo Pelini and Steve Sarkisian.
I want Paul Johnson, Tom O'Brien, or Chris Peterson. We should have gotten Tommy O before he went with NC State.
\it said that we were very close to playing Hawaii for our season opener. Why did we give up on that?//
Colt Brennan.
I'm not sure if this has been discussed here, but did anyone catch Carr's press conference yesterday on ESPN News? Someone asked him why Carlos Brown showed up dressed at some point in the third quarter, and whether Michigan planned to use him and ultimately decided against it. Carr's reponse: he was unaware that Brown was even ON the sidelines until that question was asked, and he had no clue why Brown was dressed.
What the hell is going on here?
App St. is just as good or better than the vast majority of D I-A teams.
ROFL. last year, Ap St lost 23-10 to NC State, who managed to amass an incredible THREE AND NINE RECORD, which resulted in their coach getting fired.
ASU is better than some of the worst of the bottom feeders in the big boy conferences, and better than most CUSA and Sun Belt teams, but they ain't better than the vast majority of D1 football teams. prior to 9/1, they'd managed to beat a pathetic 1-10 Wake Forest once, though...
Brian, surrender?, never. Not to the little gnomes of Spartanville, not to the trucking driving poor white trash from Columbus and certianly not to the imbreading bubbas from the SEC.
Is this now a more accurate prediction of the season to come?
OOC
9/1 Appalachian State - L 32-34!?!?!
9/8 Oregon - Probable Loss
9/15 Notre Dame - Probable Loss
10/6 Eastern Michigan - Tossup
Conference
9/22 Penn State - Probable Loss
9/29 @ Northwestern - Tossup
10/13 Purdue - Probable Loss
10/20 @ Illinois - Tossup
10/27 Minnesota - Tossup
11/3 @ Michigan State - Probable Loss
11/10 @ Wisconsin - Auto-loss
11/17 Ohio State - Auto-loss
Best case 4-8; Worst 0-12; Likely 3-9
At least we can't lose to USC in the Rose Bowl...
Mike Leach! Who wouldn't want to see 500 yards passing in the Big House?
I don't know which is more fun at this point in the young college season - the collective mass surrender/suicide on the part of Mee-chi-gan fans, or that the 'Domers got prison gang raped by GTech.
Just be careful what you wish for in replacing Carr. In this era of schollie parity it's been tricky for a few once proud programs in replacing an insider coach with an outside hire - see Nebraska and 'Bama.
The only thing that's bothering me is this self-infatuated ego we had prior to this debacle. The Michigan Men will always be around, but the Michigan Way needs reform.
For one, this conservative play-calling BS has to go when DeBord and Carr are sawed off next season. It's not a revelation: We're making an absolute killing with the WR and QB recruits, while struggling to get some guys to play in the trenches. The Spread, or something like it, HAS to make it's way to Michigan next season. Whether it be with Chris Peterson or Jeff Tedford or whomever, Michigan HAS to show the slightest bit of creativity on offense for the first time in forever. We can't rest on our "we're Michigan" laurels anymore - there are better teams who have had much more success than us lately. You've got 18 million 4 star WRs....FUCKING USE THEM. We can do whatever these gimmicky teams like Hawaii/Boise State are doing, except on a much higher scale of talent. This isn't a hurried reaction to what happened Saturday - it's just common sense, looking at this roster of ours.
This primadonna syndrome we have was exposed. Again. But this time, there's no way to sugarcoat it. We were beaten by a bunch of guys who couldn't get offers from a single Div 1 program(and it's true, these guys ARE better than most D1 teams...but that fact remains). The insufferable arrogance of the "Michigan way" has come back to bite us in the ass one last time. Sweeping changes must be made next year. And I hope Chris Peterson is leading the way.
I see the season shaking out more like this:
OOC
9/1 Appalachian State - L 32-34!?!?!
9/8 Oregon - Close win
9/15 Notre Dame - Less-close win
10/6 Eastern Michigan - Win
Conference
9/22 Penn State - Win
9/29 @ Northwestern - Win
10/13 Purdue - Possible loss
10/20 @ Illinois - Possible loss
10/27 Minnesota - Win
11/3 @ Michigan State - Win
11/10 @ Wisconsin - Loss
11/17 Ohio State - Win
The bigger outrage about Crable's mised block is this:
Why the fuck was he even OUT THERE??!!
Why don't the coaches have a back-up LT or fullback or TE out there. Those position players have had it ingrained in the skulls since POP-fucking-Warner that your first step
is in inside. INSIDE! INSIDE!
The coaches putting a goddamn LB on the FG blocking unit is fucking IDIOTIC!
Also, also!... gee D. Warren was one of our 1st string CBs by the 2nd half of GAME #1!!! So just to confirm.... all of those dumb fucking asshole kids who chose to go stew on the bench at USC or Texas or WHEREVER THE FUCK THEY ARE really are that goddamn stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(brown paper bag. inhale.exhale....)
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
DeBord said it all prior to last season after being re-appointed to OC - "We are Michigan, this is what we do. Try and stop it."
EVERYONE knows what plays are coming now, Mike. To show how bad it has gotten, Brandstatter and Beckman were chuckling "Hey look, XXXX is in, this must be a pass play!" on the broadcast Saturday. By way of comparison, it took those guys over a quarter to realize Mike Hart hadn't been playing.....
So..yeah.
Get through this season as best you can, then Carr retires in the offseason. If he doesn't do so voluntarily, Martin needs to pull the trigger and can him. Michigan is woefully behind the times in most every phase of the program now. The game planning is wretched, the S&C program is even worse and the list goes on.
The Schembechler era was very good, but it's past time to start over now.
go blue.
hopefully carr revenges all his demons from his past this year (especially oregon and osu), then he can retire with that.
In article in the Freep today really scared me: basically it said Martin couldn't can Carr even if he wanted to, even if this season is a complete disaster. So, do we have our own Joe Paterno thing going on?
Lloyd, please just go away after this year. Seriously. Please? Because despite all of my rantings here, I don't actually hate you as a person.
Yet.
Huss:
Fantastic post.
A bit of historic revisionism:
1997: C-Wood shows the world that he is the greatest college DB of all-time by leading (with a little help from Griese and an excellent LB corps) Michigan to a National Championship and winning the Heisman IN SPITE of the Michigan coaching staff. Also the last time Carr & Co. showed any creativity by using C-Wood in all 3 phases of the game.
1998-1999: Nuked early in '98 by McNabb, but Tom Brady and his indomitable will to win keep things rolling for the most part, especially with his classic effort in the Orange Bowl win over 'Bama
2000: Wheels begin to come off. Look at our 3 losses that year. Any DC other than Hermann would've gunked up the opposing offenses in those games and M would have run the table.
2001: More puzzling losses, but much of the blame is focused on the somewhat inexperienced John Navarre at QB. Tressel makes good on his promise. Total meltdown and embarrassment against Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl.
2002: Escaped Washington and Utah at home. Frustrating ND loss, meltdown and embarrassment at Iowa. Brutal offensive showing at tOSU. Bowl win over hated SEC foe Florida silences most doubters.
2003: Stomped a mudhole in ND, then gave away the Oregon game with the usual crap preparation, motivation, and game planning. Iowa gets another one over on us. Beat tOSU to silence doubters. Lost Rose Bowl to reborn, loaded USC team. Surprising it was only by 2 TD.
2004: Escaped SDSU at home. D lets unknown ND tailback run wild in loss at South Bend. The Troy Smith legend begins at tOSU. Blew 10 point lead in final quarter of Rose Bowl to become a footnote in the Vince Young legend.
2005: Disaster all around. Lowlights are the 61 yard TD run at Minny and looking out-of-shape and getting outcoached in the Alamo Bowl. Troy Smith legend gets another notch.
2006: Great season...stomped a mudhole in ND...managed to escape prophetic trap game with Ball State...and then we couldn't get it done for Bo due to the usual crap gameplanning and adjustments. In Japan this would be cause for the leadership to commit seppuku. Hang around for the first half of the Rose Bowl against USC, then proceed to embarrass ourselves by not adjusting in the second half. Oops.
2007: Michigan football at a crossroads after ASU loss at home. We can either 1) limp through the season, hire a new "Michigan Man" at the end, and continue with the same staid planning and prep, 2) fade away and see if we can join the Ivy League to play other former powerhouses like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc., 3) rebuild bigger and better by starting a new era with a completely fresh coaching staff and philosophy.
83tilinfinity: "I ain't signing shit until I see what happens next week."
Unlike you, most fans saw rock bottom last Saturday. It was a long time coming.
It's amazing how many so called knowledgable football fans can be so delusional to think Michigan's defense can just wake up next week and stop Oregon and go on and dominate the Big Ten the rest of the season.
Chris Graham could be the worst LB I have ever seen in a Michigan uniform, some guys named Ferrara and Banks are getting serious minutes on the Dline, the secondary is absolutely atrocious with not 1 single NFL calibur prospect.
This is a piss poor defense and anybody that thought them capable of making the National Championship Game or BCS Bowl was engaging in wishful thinking.
Not to be picky but you left out scoring 51 points and still finding a way to lose.
Granted, it happened in 2000 but it is one of those unforgettable moments. I think ESPN called it an "Instant Classic."
Surrender?....
Surrender to Spartantards?
Surrender to Columbus trash?
Surrender to a lil faggot green leprachaun?
PPPPFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTttttttt!.
Sac up, and bring it.
See you saturday.
\it said that we were very close to playing Hawaii for our season opener. Why did we give up on that?//
Colt Brennan.
Johnny Sideburns | Homepage | 09.04.07 - 12:38 pm | #
Maybe we would have lost worse to Hawaii, I don't know -- Colt Brennan wouldn't have had the rushing yards that Edwards did. But at least our loss would have been to Hawaii.
Justin,
This statement is absurd: "App St. is just as good or better than the vast majority of D I-A teams"
You have no idea what you're talking about.
To say that they are a quality team is to live in a fantasy world where UM didn't flat out stone cold lay down and die in front of their opponent. The complete lack of effort, guts and heart it takes to lose to a team at ASU's level when you are Michigan REGARDLESS of scheme is amazing.
Last year a wretched 3-9 NC State team beat App State 23-10. Here is their record vs. Div I-A teams over the past few years.
2006 vs. NC State (10-23) - L
2005 vs. LSU (0-24) - L
2005 vs. Kansas (8-36) - L
2004 vs. Wyoming (10-42) - L
2003 vs. Hawaii (17-40) - L
2002 vs. Marshall (17-50) - L
Kansas blew those jokers out. Frigging Kansas.
To say that ASU is absurd. The only teams they could consistently beat would be Sun Belt level programs and Army.
PWD
Lance:
All those bad defensive players are light years better than anything ASU had. So how does that happen? How did ASU, with short guys, walk-ons and rejects, effectively shut down one of the top rated offensives in the country at home?
The defensive personnel may not be up to snuff, but the coaching is not up to snuff. What would Michigan have done Saturday if they fielded ASU's players?
With the exception of #20, the most heartless, gutless performance I have ever seen.
I'm tired of being on the receiving end of this. There aren't words.
First things first, Lloyd Carr is an idiot. Now that I got that off my chest, I can continue. Being a true Michigan fan, I questioned almost every decision that Lloyd made in that game and many previous games(don’t we all?). I know that people have brought up the point about going for the 2-point conversion that early, but I haven’t seen a good reason why. Here is the reason: Lloyd was playing for overtime. That is the only logical reason that he would go for 2 there. He figured that his offense would only be able to muster a field goal in the 4th quarter, which we know is wrong, but I cannot logically think of another reason for doing it.
Point 2: Michigan was extremely fortunate that they even had a chance at the end of that game. The dropped pass at the goal line by one of the many Mountaineer WR’s that were wide open and the fact that App State opted to kick a field goal on 1st and goal and not run the clock down were reason enough that Michigan should have been put out of its misery earlier than they did.
Point 3: I can only assume that because of the lack of preparedness of the Wolverines for App State that they were looking ahead to Oregon. Even had they not once prepared for App State during spring training and the weeks leading up to this game, and were instead looking ahead to Oregon, the D should not have looked absolutely clueless when App State lined up in the spread offense (which Oregon runs). It really makes me wonder what they were doing all off season.
Point 4: Ron English is a moron. Why, in the second half were LB’s still covering wideouts? Everyone that has ever played an NCAA Football video game, knows that 5 wide sets get covered best with a dime formation. The extra DB can spy the QB in case he decides to take off. App State is not a big team so the size issue of DB’s tackling RB’s/WR’s should not even have come across as a problem. Match speed with speed. Simple.
My brother, who goes to MSU saw a t-shirt that said it best “Lloyd Carr, your team deserves better”.
I am going to cheer my heart out for UofM to win every game for the rest of the season. But no matter the outcome, I will be cheering harder to remove Lloyd and his coaching staff from power at UofM at seasons end.
Thanks to another disappointing year Lloyd, at least we didn’t have to wait till November for a team to expose the coaching fraud you are.
To all people ripping on Brian for not providing enough "inside information": SHUT THE HELL UP.
This fucking game has been covered by every media outlet on the planet. Go to them if you want to read for the 600th time that Appalachian State is a I-AA team.
Beautiful. Absolutely, positively, B-E-A-U-tiful! I don't believe I've ever in the past read every last word of 98 posts on any board, and I know I've never enjoyed so many so thoroughly. Thanks for the therapy. I feel much better now. Go Irish!
And when UM decimates 'ol domer U, where does that leave your team, 1842 ?
You should look no further than your backyard if you want to see misery.
1842?
Was that the last time ND won a bowl game?
Dan
In no way did I mean to downplay the utter incompetence of Ron English and the coaching staff in recruiting, teaching, developing, and playcalling the defense.
I agree with everything you said, I'm just addressing those who think that somehow English or Carr will magically awake sometime this week with the knowledge on how to stop a modern offense and be able shut down every team the rest of the season.
This team does not have the defensive personnel to be a Title contender even if it was carried by a great offense not led by 4th year freshman Chad Henne.
Lance, I agree with all that.
Consider this silver lining in the cloud: perhaps the last three games have exposed Ron English as a not-too-good coach. That is good considering the noise level just a 10 months ago annointing him the successor.
Why has Michigan never developed a defensive strategy to use against spread offenses? If they don't want to use a spread offense, fine. But that decision, stupid as it may be, does not mean that other teams will follow their course. What are they thinking? Are they thinking?
A few people have mentioned Tedford's name as a possible successor...
After 7 years of having M season tickets, I'm now living in Berkeley, so I went to the Cal-Tennessee game on Saturday. Two observations from that game:
1. I've never taken the experience of a Michigan football game for granted, but DAMN do I appreciate it more now. Going to a game at Cal was like culture shock. They don't sing the fight song when they score? The band only plays at halftime? They announce cheers over the loudspeaker? They run TV commercials in the stadium? And those uniforms! *shudder*
2. In all the years I've watched Michigan play, I can't think of a time when we haven't looked shaky in the first game of the season. (This year provides the ultimate, but not only, example.) I always just assumed this was a natural thing, that every team needs time to get going, that a few missed assignments or bad routes are to be expected.
Then I watched Cal play. They came out and played like they've been playing for 6 weeks now. And suddenly I began to wonder if maybe it isn't natural for every team to start slow. Maybe it's just us.
If Michigan were to bring in Tedford, we could look forward not only to a modern and productive offense, but also to a team that's ready to play from the first game. Imagine what that would be like.
Appalachian State lost to NC State last year. I dont want to hear this shit about them being able to compete. Its a fucking god damn fucking embarassment to lose at home to a team who lost by 2 TD's to NC State, who was so bad last year that they got 3 wins in the ACC, which was an awful conference, and fired their head coach. And guess what? ASU won the 1AA title last year.
Max, we're with you, buddy.
Brian has the right of it. This WAS...IS a nuclear bomb gone off on this program.
Re: ASU's past record against D-IA
For the record, Armanti Edwards did not play against NC State, except in the very late going. He was a freshman last year and not around for the other games (Kansas, LSU, etc.) mentioned here. Ditto for CoCo Hillary (gotta love the name) and several others who were instrumental in the victory/debacle. Kevin Richardson, the walk-on RB really came into his own after the NCSU game as well, so you're talking about a much different team.
Lance, how can there not be a single NFL prospect in the def secondary when Jamar Adams was listed as a 2nd-team preseason All-American (Phil Steele)?
Also, is Donovan Warren not an NFL prospect?
The one good thing is I will not have to spend every Saturday on the edge of my seat watching Michigan squeak out another one.
If you have given up... go away posers.
As far as ND, -8 yards rushing looks futile. Enjoy PSU's defense.
The preseason hype surrounding Jamar Adams is a bit of a mystery to me. The guy has been solid at best during his career and doesn't possess any outstanding measureables.
In reality NFL scouts do not use pre-season college football magazines to evaluate draft picks and like we saw with Ernest Shazor there can be a pretty big disconnect between college hype and NFL potential.
The jury is out on Warren of course, after 4 years of UM coaching he could be the next Leon Hall or instead the next Markus Curry it's too early to tell.
listen, ASU has very little talent. but they do have a few D1A schollarship players. 3-5 at most? one DL was a transfer from LSU. so no, they don't have much talent compared to most D1A teams. but they are a better team, iow, the sum is greater than the parts. I have no doubt that ASU would be a middle fo the road MAC/Sunbelt team. or that they would be a decent indiana/ole Miss/Stanford.
this is really like losing to IU, or Utah, or Houston or EMU. it's just that there's the 1AA label that no one can get past.
the EMUs/IUs/Ball sts are talentless teams who are bad at what they do.
ASU is a talentless team that is really good at what they do.
Calm down, first of all. This isn't the end of the world. We've been sucker punched and we've come close to falling to teams like these. It's nothing new and you had to expect it to happen.
It's a bad loss, however, to look to next week and go, "I really hope we lose just so we can see a coaching change," is sickening and you can now revoke your Michigan fandom. That's not what it means to be a fan and that's the kind of attitude that will only drop the program off. Stop rooting for my team if you're going to wish anything of the like on it, because frankly that's just not what it's about. I don't want to stand next to a fan who wishes dismay on my team and I won't listen to gibberish about, "Let's lose, let's be in denial, let's keep sinking lower and lower." You can let people believe we're not a top twenty-five team or you can act like every game is November against the Buckeyes and believe your team has every right and every shot to win any game.
Love the ND fan hatred. It's going to make it so much sweeter when we wax them again. Weis is saying that Claussen will start next week because now he is recovered from surgery (which ND originally denied he had in the first place), but he didn't start last week because he wasn't healthy yet. So from Saturday to Tuesday he has magically healed? Awesome.
Appprof:
You make your point and our point. Your point is that this ASU team is more talented. Our point is that we lost to walk-ons and no star recruits. We're both right - your team IS good, but not that good and we did lose to players that we have no right losing to.
Congrats, by the way.
Brian, hang in there man! At least they have an immediate chance to redeem themselves.
On the other hand, I wonder how it feels to know that you as a measly fan seems to have done far more to prepare yourself (and all of us who read here) for this season than the actual team you are watching. I don't imagine that feels very good. It does make the A-bomb/surrender thing make a lot of sense though.
Anyway, my wife thought the cats were hilarious, and I did too.
I wont have to spend all day not working reading about how awesome Michigan should have been, but now isn't and won't be.
No piling on here. As an SEC fan (Georgia) my first reaction to your game was "Thank God it wasn't us." It's going to happen more and more in college football. My prediction: Michigan rallies, and while they don't make the NCG, there will be plenty of "best team at the end of the season" comments from the pundits.
Gruden.
Please fucking call Gruden.
He immediately brings bad-ass, hard-working, tough, nfl success, recruit-like-a-god coolness to our coaching position.
GRUDEN fools. Gruden.
Dear Blindly Loyal fans: I am guessing Saturday was probably the straw that broke the camels back for most of you former Carr apologists. As for me, every game Brian referenced, I remember clearly, and I remember at the time thinking "wow, we are a really poorly coached football team." I will not go out of my way to support this team anymore until Carr is gone, because it should have happened a long time ago. We knew Carr was gone last Friday, we know he's gone today. Whatever happens the rest of the season means nothing in terms of his fate. He's not going to be fired, as he should have been 5 years ago, he will be allowed to gracefully retire, even though he has so ungracefully embarassed our beloved football program this entire fucking decade and sent us into a decline that we can only hope our next coach will bring us out of.
I am not a fairweather fan, and hate the implication. I guarantee you there is nobody who takes this more seriously than me, not to say that there aren't a lot of people who take it as seriously, but I can't put myself through watching another season when I already know the script. How many of you would have dared to sit in the middle of the OSU student section last year, fully decked out, yelling at the top of your lungs the entire game? Don't believe me? Check out the HBO documentary on the rivalry coming up, I am pretty sure I am on it. As always, go blue, but it's long past time for Carr to be gone, and it's sad that it took the most embarassing loss in the history of college football to make a lot of you realize that.
Mgoblog is latin for Genius!
Without commenting, I would just like to add some facts here:
_ Appalachian State is No. 38 in the Sagarin ratings, a more empirical measure of a team's worth than how it played in one game against Kansas. (Michigan is, um, 40th.)
_ Appalachian state was 53rd after last season.
None of these facts should be construed as making this any less painful. It's like debating whether the blast was 31 kilotons or 32.
I'm starting to think U-M may have a plan in place with Kirk Ferentz taking over after this season.
I know Bo really liked him, there's the Mary Sue Coleman connection, and I find it odd that in his Free Press article today Rosenberg specifically mentioned KF as a hire Carr would approve.
Hmm......
What we witnessed on Saturday is an indication that we're in the final, terminal stage of Schembechlerism, a religious approach to football which, stripped of its positive qualities now that Bo is gone, has become a stale creed kept in place by rote observance and ritualistic repetition. Lloyd Carr has been an extremely loyal adherent to this philosophy, having learned at the foot of the master himself. However, like most acolytes in such positions, he's lacking in the founder's personal dynamism or charisma that can make up for the practical deficiencies in the ideology.
Schembechlerism asserts:
• It is never necessary to make a hard, realistic assessment of your own strengths and weaknesses as compared to your opponent's. This relieves you of the burden of developing game plans tailored to your opponent. We are Michigan, after all, and all we need to do is execute properly what we want to do anyhow. Of course, this also relieves the opponent of the necessity of preparing for anything that they haven't seen on tape or film already, but the element of surprise is very overrated and probably gay anyhow. It doesn't matter that we've averaged under 12 points per game against USC in Rose Bowls since 1970; we know each and every time we play them that we don't need to do a damn thing different than what we've done all season long. Why? We're Michigan, dammit.
• Speaking of unmanly things, anything smacking of subterfuge, trickery, or sleight-of-hand is also unholy and probably gay. Although the observation of this unspoken rule has in truth been spotty at times, it is only resorted to in extremis, like when we're down by 17 points in the fourth quarter at Minnesota. This is why Michigan will not use play action as part of the base offense. Just because an initial fake to Mike Hart will induce the entire defense to converge on his tiny person is no reason to use it. (Besides, according to Father Andy Mignery, using play action creates pass blocking problems. No word on how teams as diverse as USC and Boise State, not to mention the entire NFL, manage to solve that religious conundrum, but remember: we're Michigan. We don't need to look at what other teams do. Why? Because we're Michigan).
• Never, never hire a Special Teams coach with a recognized talent for that arcane part of the game. It is far better to have already overworked position coaches, or better yet, grad students, take control. Just because ST is one-third of the game is no reason to go crazy. This means you can do fine with LBs—as opposed to players with actual blocking experience—for critical blocking assignments. It also means you can refuse to double up gunners aiming for Steve Breaston's femurs. Kicking to Rocket twice is fine, too. To refuse to kick to him again is ever-so-slightly poofy. Having punts blocked is also good.
• Whenever possible, make sure your defensive backs line up at least 10 yards off the receiver and backpedal furiously at the snap.
How dare HaloScan edit the Book of Schembechler?
• Whenever possible, make sure your defensive backs line up at least 10 yards off the receiver and backpedal furiously at the snap. It is far better to yield the entire middle of the field than to have even the slightest possibility you'll get beat on a long bomb, which is unmanly. This is especially critical when the opponent needs to go 70 yards with less than two minutes to play. Besides, the repeated stabbings of 8-yard passes to wide-open TEs and RBs in the middle of the field stimulate the appearance of stigmata on the foreheads of duly reverent UM fans. This served us well in the Rose Bowl back on January 1, 1972 against the Stanford Harbaughs, and has worked beautifully many times since then.
• Beware of recruiting speed on the defensive side of the ball: it is the seductive siren of the spiritually dirty. In a morally pure world their RBs wouldn't be faster than our hulking LBs, and we shouldn't abandon our principles merely for the sake of adequate coverage on 3rd and 7. Just as important, ensure that Saint Gittelson is unquestioned. Squats are for pansies.
• On first down, run, do not pass, regardless of the number of defenders crowding the LOS. On third-and-eight, throw a five-yard pass, regardless of the absence of blockers. If our RBs and wideouts are pure of heart, they will find a way.
• Always, always, always run a sweep to the short side of the field, regardless of circumstances. The Book of Schembechlerism says that the sideline functions as an additional blocker. Those who assert that the close presence of the sideline gives the advantage to the defense are impure and very probably unmanly.
• Lastly, it is critically important that all major staffing decisions be made with the goal of maintaining Schembechlerism at all costs. Therefore, whenever a coordinator position needs to be filled, it is imperative to not look far and wide for the most qualified coach; the on-staff assistant or trusted personal friend are the only permissible options. We must not let the filthiness of other football religions and philosophies enter the hallowed meeting rooms of Fort Schembechler. Remember: all those vermin outside are enemies of the Panicky Deep Safety Drop, the Short-Side Sweep, the First-Down Off-Tackle Run, the Lead-Footed Short-Armed Linebacker, and the Five-Yard Pass on Third-and-Eight. Vigilance is necessary and permanent.
Max, i more than understand your thoughts, and i agree, but to say we give, and will sign.. ...
Naah.. i'm not down with that.
ESPN has 3 articles on the front page right now blasting Michigan. I get that this is the biggest upset in the history of history and all, but give it a rest.
Bravo Brian, bravo, bravo, bravo. Bravissimo.
Now, about all this "self pitying" crap, what is "self pitying" about the kinds of sentiments that have been expressed in the last 72 hours? What is it, mates? Where's the self pity? Wherein doth it reside, all you stiff-upper-lippers?
What I am is sick and fucking tired. Repeat it after me: Sick and Fucking Tired. Let's call it SAFT in the interest of being cool and digital. I am SAFT of losing one-point games on fucked last-second field goal attempts by dodgy kickers; I am SAFT of blowing 10 -point leads in fewer minutes because of muddled minds; I am SAFT of avoidable September losses to inferior teams; I am SAFT of losing Bowl games; I am SAFT of being forced eternally to look upon 3rd and 4 or 10; I am SAFT of being forced eternally to look upon 3rd and 15 and witness 5-yard passes from quaterbacks who momentarily can't throw to tight ends who perennially can't catch and can't run; I'm SAFT of being elated when we win nailbiters that should have been easy wins.
I'm SAFT and I'm proud, because I'm a Michigan fan. Always have been and always will be. Nothing self-pitying about that.
Now, can we just get through the fucking season and then tranfuse some new and perhaps healthy blood into this program?
And please, spare me the desperate boosterisms. On the basis of what transpired last week, Oregon should thrash us like a wagonload of raw corn. I could be way wrong; I usually am about Michigan football. Chalk it up to a defect in character. We'll talk about it Saturday night if I happen to get in enough rum before the deluge.
I understand how horrible this must be. Many of us look at your game and think "there but for the grace of Woody go I". It could have happened to anybody. However, think twice before canning Carr. He is a true Michigan guy who understands Michigan. I can tell you from experience (John Cooper) that it means a lot.
I would also like to point out that Buckeye fans are not the ones rubbing UM faces in this loss...it's those classless Irish pukes.
Write the book, Don. Write the fucking book. Or at least a 5,000-word NY Review of Books type essay. Don't listen to the voices, Don. Write. In a world of darkness we need the word. I'll be there to read it. Thanks for some joy in a time of need.
Don,
A stroke of genius. That's the Michigan Arrogance(tm)! We're Michigan! We don't have to adjust. They adjust to us! Of course, if/when we go to hire a new coach, that same arrogance will get us again. The names that everyone seems to want are mostly pipe dreams. We're not getting Gruden. We're not getting Cowher. We'd be damn lucky if we could get Steve Sarkisian to consider leaving his OC job at USC for us. Ohio State and Notre Dame thought they'd have people lining up for their job only to be rebuked by their top choices (Glen Mason(?!), Urban Meyer). Granted, OSU's fifth fallback choice kind of worked out and all...
I'm babbling. This team has reduced me to a babbling idiot. But hey, everyone, thanks for the therapy. I need it.
To: U. of Michigan A.D.
From: Johnson and Wales Culinary School.
r.e.: Scheduling.
We at Johnson and Wales would like to submit our fine institution for your consideration to play some football. We don't actually have a football team right now, but are in the process of recruiting some players. So far, we have a saucier, a pastry chef, and three excellent wine stewards. We are hoping to add a few more candidates from our freshman cheese-making class.
I think our proposal will certainly be attractive to you as we are willing to travel to Ann Arbor. As far as compensation, we understand the going rate is around $400,000 U.S. dollars.
Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
George Dumont, Head Chef and volunteer A.D.
Johnson and Wales
Miami, FL
I am a Michigan man to the end. I hate the current situation, and change is needed, but it's time for the fans to stay loyal and for the team to prove the Pat Fordes of the sports world how wrong they are. Michigan must move ahead.
It hardly needs to be said that there was a tremendous amount of good in Schembechlerism, and that it far outweighed the bad. However, it is a fact that plenty of us sitting in the stands way back in the early-to-mid 70s grumbled openly about various aspects of Michigan football under Bo, especially on Jan. 1. Many of these things have continued in one form or another all the way up to the present day.
It's too bad that Carr—who is a damn good man and a better coach than it appears—is now permanently tarred with this epochal loss; the hammering he's getting in the national media is unmerciful. Frankly, it's the inevitable convergence of a number of self-destructive things that have been present in the program for along time, and as the head man he's ultimately responsible.
Most religions or philosophies that are successful see ossification and a crippling insularity setting in sooner or later. We're there now.
What I wonder is whether there's enough pride in the program and affection for Lloyd on the part of the players and assistants to at least put together a more inspired performance next week. There is no reason to hope for a revolution in strategic or tactical thinking, though. If it occurs, then something truly miraculous has happened.
Don:
That's an absolute classic--so good I had to post it on my blog, with a link to you in the comments box.
And you're right about the good of Schembechlerism--it brought Michigan back from the dead. I also like Carr as a man running a clean program. But when the same failures keep cropping up....
Just to lighten things up and completely OT, the funniest thing I ever heard at a UM game was in 1979, fairly early in the season. Leach had graduated the previous year, and B.J. Dickey was the heir-apparent. BJ was a classic option quarterback with basically no passing skills, and it was painful watching him try to get the ball to this skinny kid from Florida named Carter. On several occasions Bo put in a QB from Royal Oak Shrine named Wangler, and from the get-go he seemed to have a rapport with Carter and could get the ball to him reliably.
The trouble was, Bo was committed to Dickey and kept yanking Wangler to give BJ another chance, with the same results. It was obvious what needed to happen, but Bo wasn't seeing it yet. It got so frustrating for us fans that someone started the following chant that was picked up immediately by the entire section:
"Take out the Dick! Put in the Wang!"
The rest was history.
Meeechigan Dan:
Agree on talent levels. No question that this is an upset. I noticed that at the coin toss, your guys' backs were to me and I couldn't even see the Apps. Looked like the UM team blotted out the sun. Reminded me of when we played UNC in basketball and they brought 3 7-footers off the bench! I would add, though, that I don't think the FCS gets quite the respect it deserves in some quarters. It's not always about blue chip recruits and brute strength. Since I've enjoyed this so much today, let me also say that to a person, everyone I've spoken with has complimented UM fans on their decorum and their graciousness in defeat. Maybe not what you want to hear right now, but believe me, we dig your style.
Don,
"Most religions or philosophies that are successful see ossification and a crippling insularity setting in sooner or later"? Yowza!! THAT'S not going to help dispell Ann Arbor's "snooty" reputation any! Congrats!! I think you've just posted the most poly-syllabic words in a sentence on a message board!!
;-)
Just kidding, of course: I DO know what you're saying, (with some help from dictionary.com....just kidding again)
Matt,
I know I'll catch HELL for this, but my philosopy, (which - perhaps based on its relative lack of success - has experienced very little in the way of ossification), has always been this:
My team gets my support...WHEN THEY DESERVE IT!! Far, FAR too often, fan support is seen as a given, an obligation, and a one-way-street. See our local "professional" football team for proof.
Brian's post can easily be extended further back in time if you consider the following:
■ Blowing a 30-13 4th quarter lead at home against Miami (FL) in 1988.
■ In 1989, kicking the ball to Rocket Ismael. Again.
■ Getting carved up on the ground by much-vaunted Irish QB Kevin McDougall (Kevin McDougall?) in 1993. Proof that this problem with running QB's ain't a new problem.
■Blowing a 16-0 4th quarter lead in Evanston in 1996 to lose 17-16 to the Wildcats.
■Defend your '97 national championship by starting 1998 0-2 by a) pushing Notre Dame all over the field during the 1st half, but with only 6 points to show for it, eventually melting down and b) spotting Syracuse and Donavan McNabb 38 points before even scoring. Another running quarterback debacle.
■Blow a 27-7 halftime lead and lose 35-29 to Illinois in 1999.
■Blow a 28-10 halftime lead to Purdue in 2000 to lose 32-31.
(note the minimal 2nd half scoring in the above 2 games as we sat on leads and played conservative offense and defense)
■Blow a 28-10 lead against Northwestern and lose 54-51 (WTF?)
And the infamous Colorado debacle of 1994 gets very special mention:
■ Blowing a 26-14-point 4th quarter lead in one of the most memorable final play meltdowns in history.
■fumbling 1st and goal when we were about to add to our 12-point lead ■false start turns 3rd and 3 into 3rd and 8. Despite the change in distance, we apparently don't change the play -- we didn't get the first down that would've allowed us to run out the clock.
■We went for two way too early in the game, missed it, had to go for two again and missed it (sound familiar?). Kick those points and you've got 28 -- then you force the Buffs to decide whether to go for the tie or the win (no OT in 1994).
And if you wanna really get old school, there's the season opening loss to Wisconsin in 1981 (we were preseason #1), and undefeated seasons tanked by November losses to unranked Purdue and Minnesota in 1976 and 1986 respectively. (Losses to Purdue and Minnesota were *really* embarrassing back on those days). I think there was on October loss in '77 to Minnesota as well that ended an undefeated run.
1.) No Michigan president, including Mary Sue Coleman, is going to get involved in a coaches' search. This isn't Florida and she isn't Bernie Machen. Maybe on some ineffable platonic level she'd enter Kirk Ferentz's mind, but, absent NCAA investigations, the administration doesn't get involved. 2.) Similarly, doubtful that W/L issues are going to lead to a firing. Ellerbe and Amaker festered for years before the trigger was pulled. If the program's clean and profitable but goes 4-8, it's hard (though not inconceivable) to imagine heads rolling. 3.) If anything, I sense that today's Rosenberg column actually understateds Carr's security and the lack of concern at the top. Weirder things have happened, but the "Carr is definitely gone" line of thought doesn't align with how Michigan has governed itself or the Athletic Department. 4.) These wish lists for new coaches are cute. People at Bama, Nebraska and Notre Dame ("But our school is special!") probably thought they'd have their first picks, and were probably startled when they ended up with fifth-choice guys, drawn-out searches, and laughingstock status as elite head-coach prospects declined to work for programs with unrealistic expectations. Bob Davie and Rick Neuheisel are probably available, though, so let's cross our fingers. 5.) The idea that new coaches arrive with magic fairy dust and reverse program decline is cute. Aside from Tressel and Carrol, one of whom is dirty and the other of whom gets all the recruiting and media advantages of coaching LA's de facto NFL franchise, these house-cleaning efforts generally seem to have triggered instability, mediocrity and stasis. But we only went 10-2 last year and just got embarrassed by App. State, so burning the village and hiring Tom Brady's cutting-edge new baby (don't worry, Norm Chow will be offensive coordinator) sounds like a sweet plan.
I do believe Stevie Brown has down's syndrome.
Brian, this is the first thing to make me smile since Saturday; and then I started to cry because I realize that you are right on the money. I am old school, really old school, so old that I would have added kicking off directly to some ND speedster kick returner (who shall not be named) because "We are Michigan and we don't kick away from anyone" (I love and miss you Bo)only to have his TWO returns for TD be the difference in that SEPTEMBER game. Give me the surrender papers I give up, I hoped this was the year. All I want is one more NC, ass kicking year before I croak; I would settle for nine in a row over State Penn, a win over OSU, and of course a complete azz kicking of Cow College.
Greg,
As a UM graduate, I see it as my duty to exemplify and whenever possible amplify UM's poly-syllabic snootiness. There are standards to uphold.
As for new coach searching, I agree with CrimeNotes that Lloyd's not going to be fired. In spite of the obvious problems with the program, it has yet to truly decline to a real state of awfulness. That might in fact right down the road, but I also would not be surprised if we finished at the 9-3 I predicted before this AppState clusterfuck happened. Right now, this team is a greasy riddle wrapped within a thin taco shell of an enigma, and it's impossible to make sense of the drippings just yet.
Kirk Ferentz will never be the coach here, unless he leave Ioway for the NFL first. I think a reasonable way to go is to look at Schembechler-like candidates at somewhat smaller or less-prestigious schools who have proven they can coach their asses off. I don't know much about Peterson at Boise State, but that kind of guy might be very gettable.
In a previous post, I offered a new fight song for our AA boys, ("Dueling Banjos").
In a continuing effort to become a worthy contributing member of this venerable virtual community, I'd like now to complete the tandem by offering our new mascot, and here he is:
http://img.photobucket.com/
album...pyTheBuddha.jpg
(Note that school colors may need to change.)
"Nobody came here. Those Appalachian State losers, I think their repeated frequent lies are bringing them down very rapidly.... Ann Arbor is secure, is safe."
Whenever we attack, they retreat. When we pound them with passes and heavy defense, they retreat even deeper. But when we stopped pounding, they pushed to the end zone for propaganda purposes."
Appalachian State learned a lesson last Saturday they will never forget. We slaughtered them and will continue to slaughter them."
Michigan sucks!
I've gone through all the emotions, debating whether to laugh or cry at your misfortune (I'm a Buckeye), but this point has become abundantly clear:
Keep your damn hands off Bo Pelini!!! Take Les Miles, please (we Ohio State fans that saw Oklahoma State's game plan in the 2004 Alamo Bowl want you to take Les Miles, as we all snicker and giggle)! Just don't touch Pelini, the real brains at LSU.
Come on, you've already poached one Bo -- that actually knew what he was doing -- from Ohio, you don't need another.
Does your surrender mean that you PROMISE not to beat tOSU this year, and that I can go to Vegas and bet major bucks (not Buckeyes) on the game?
Brian,
Loved the kittens - it was, perhaps the only possible response to the debacle that was Saturday's loss.
But, I do not love the surrender talk. We are Michigan - we do not surrender just because we are going through something of a rough patch. We need places like this blog to show strong suppor for our program during its time of dire need. I urge you to, rather than encourage mass panic, rally the faithful to come out strong in support this week and in the coming weeks of what looks to be a difficult season.
Don't under-estimate the influence that your blog has upon its many readers. We neeed a voice of reason, not one of doom and gloom.
Brian - you have what is easily the finest (and funniest) blog related to college football. And your humor disarms your possible critics. We recall the arrogance and nastiness of Michigan's fans during the Dark Ages (when Cooper coached the Buckeyes.) But some of us Bucks know that the B11 needs a competitive Michigan program in order to have national respect for any B11 team. I hope your drive to get a successor to LLLLLLoyd succeeds. In the meantime, I enjoy your blog and the whining comments of your many admirers.
This is Brian as B-Rabbit coming back to beat Papa Doc in the finals, after choking in the first round, by jumping a step ahead of the competition and using all their ammo.
Now everybody from the 3-1-3, put your motherfuckin' hands up and follow me.
What I hope for:
- 11-1 (yes, I still hope for it)
- Seven magic letters: T E D F O R D.
Say it with me: Tedford. Tedford! TEDFORD!
I know this is risky that I ask this just before his team takes on one in the top ten (Texas) but what do the readers think of Gary Patterson of TCU as a possibility for our next coach? I know his offense has a tendency to be conservative as well, but his defenses have been nasty (with not the best recruits in the country). Cal has be accused of being "soft" at times, and no one has thrown that sort of thing in the direction of the Horned Frogs. Particularly the strength and conditioning program attracts my attention to the way Patterson has run his team. I don't know that he would be a great choice; I just wondered if anyone else has thought of his name.
Anyone who says they aren't going to watch the rest of the season is not a true fan, and is a discredit to the Michigan football tradition. "Does UM deserve my fandom?" No, they deserve better, pantywaist. Y'all are the same assholes who are quiet as mice at the Big House when UM is behind, and only cheer when good things are happening. Seriously - go fucking cheer for USC. You can enjoy the largely empty Coliseum with other front-running pussies, and you can touch yourself when national columnists like Pat Forde and Steward Mandel heap praise on you (THE MEDIA'S APPROVAL MAKES MY BALLS TINGLE, OH!) I beg you: please leave. Quit making the rest of us look like whiny bitches by association.
Lloyd Carr has done a hell of a job over the course of his tenure at UM, but I agree that it seems his grip on the program has slipped of late. It's probably about time for him to go, and I think he knows it. There should be some new blood brought in, but I hope we'll always retain a certain amount of the classic Bo arrogance - it's who we are. Not the "no play action" kind of arrogance, but definitely the "we are not a spread offense" type of arrogance (seriously, to paraphrase Don, the spread is pretty damn foofy, not to mention the fact that running a pro-set offense is helpful in recruiting.)
UM CAUP - I think you said it best. Between that, the kittens, the crying girls and now the unconditional surrender, everything will be fine. It'll suck for another year, but it'll be fine in the end.
Think of what it must have been like for Alabama after Bryant left. Or Texas after Darryl Royal. You've got the same thing only the meltdown happened before the coach left.
As a Buckeye fan but also a Big Ten fan and therefore someone who takes a very limited pleasure from your total annihilation last Saturday, the ending of which I watched on the BTN network live after coming home early from Ohio Stadium in total disbelief, it should be pointed out that a characteristic of Carr is that he often loses one game Michigan has no business losing.
Unfortunately the stink of your destruction has rubbed off on us, partly because one cannot think of Michigan without thinking of Ohio State and conversely and we too played a fucking Div 1-AA team. Shame on Tressel for scheduling that ridiculous excuse for an opponent.
I think Michigan needs to lose all the rest of its games so this becomes a pure Michigan story rather than a Big Ten story, as it is now. It would be a noble sacrifice.
The problem is that we took a shot at every big time high school LB and DB for the last several years with very little to show for it. Also, didn't anybody tell Lloyd that Garret Rivas was graduating. There is no excuse for not having a place kicker. Also, there is no excuse for a team starting the season with guys out of shape. The Ap State QB said they were gassed early on in the game. This coaching staff is mired in the distant past. You can't play footbal with Amos Alonzo Staggs playbook and be successful and there is no Excuse for poor conditioning.
It also looked to me like conditioning was a factor. Guys were bent over with their hands on their knees, and everyone just seemed a step slow. I wish I could blame it on the heat but ASU played under the same conditions we did, and they didn't seem to have any conditioning problems (unless you count the LB who got run down by the kicker). Knowing how much emphasis was put on conditioning in the off season last season, and seeing how much that paid off, I can't understand why the players seemed so slow and out of shape.
It's a shame as a buckeye fan I look forward to the Mich vs. ND game as it's the 2 teams I hate the most, but alas this year it's worthless since they are both TERRIBLE!(Steven A. Smith style)
Ferebtz isn't going to leave Iowa, but he should be approached. Ditto for Schiano at Rutgers.
Peterson at Boise State is a possible, but the number one guy, once the ink is dry on Lloyd's retirement letter has got to be Les Miles.
A Michigan man to the core, but not part of the current program. What's not to like ?
Well, heck,looking at some of the comments here, my man Les is less than beloved. I like Tedford, there are certainly some parrallels between Cal and M in terms of culture, and I love Boise State, but why not make a play for a former Wolverine, who's coaching a contender? He's gotta be considered.
don-
Like all religions, the followers deviate from the founder's intent - Schembechler is unfairly implicated in your analysis. One tenet of true schembechlerism is that defense wins. Bo focused on defense and the numbers don't lie - his teams surrendered an average of 11 points per game. His offense only needed to score twenty to win, and this is what he did (much more often than not). Oddly enough, he blew teams out much more frequently as well, even with a simple offensive scheme. His followers have lost this approach and now run a staid offense with no defense, which is mistaken for Schembechlerism. Lloyd's teams surrender an average of 18 ponts per game. Lloyd's teams have given up over 200 points in 10 of 12 seasons (guess which year was his best?). Bo's teams gave up over 200 points in 3 of 21 seasons (even if normalized between 11 and 12 games - its not even close).
Don't trash Bo's name with the current situation. Also to note, Bo retired when the game passed him by (his worst defensive years were his last few), maybe Lloyd will do the same.
Keep in mind, we have not won since Bo passed away - blog carefully.
get off schembecklers nuts
Bo was a great coach for his era. A truly great coach.
Very few teams had sophisticated offenses, the spread offense was not even really thought of yet (some teams ran something called the 'run and shoot' but it wasn't REALLY a spread offense), and the scholarship limit was over 100.
Parity did not really exist, so just line up and run over people and play tough defense. And Bo knew how to coach that type of system.
The adjustment to the modern era at M has only come 1/2 way so far IMHO. M throws the ball as much as most teams do (2006 was an exception), and there has been a recruiting priority on speed for a while now, but the WR routes and philosophy are still somewhat behind the times. But not nearly as much as some people think.
Defensively, M has recently struck out on top cornerback recruits (Macho Harris, Ronald Johnson, Jai Eugene) and that is really starting to be a factor now. Warren should be a stud though, but the secondary right now appears lost. It will get better...Bedford is too good a coach for it not to. As for the LBs - Ezeh and Thompson are probably never going to be even close to being as good as David Harris. And Chris Graham's competition, Jonas Mouton, appears to be out of service right now.
So it is what it is. On paper the talent definitely exists to have a respectable defense THIS YEAR. It is up to the coaches to scheme and motivate Michigan back from this abyss.
Hey we DID hire Rodriguez. Time to rip that treaty in half, MFer!!
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