Grant Newsome Injury Derailed the program
The Grant Newsome injury absolutely derailed this program. I really feel like that does not get mentioned enough, or the impact is atleast understated. I think we all saw tonight that QB was not our main problem last year. We plugged in a top of the line QB and nothing changed, the OT play killed every drive still.
Think about how well Newsome was playing when he got hurt. We had finally found our next great LT and he was just a true sophomore.
Now the reality is, with his prototypical size and the way he was playing he probably would have left for the NFL after last year. But that still would have given us 2016 and 2017 to develop a replacement behind him.
Also recruits watching him play so well for those 2 years would have taken notice. I guarantee we would have gotten atleast 1 elite OT prospect over those 2 years if not 2.
You don't think recruits think that way? Look at how terrible our WRs production was last year and then go look at our WR commits for 18 and 19. Contrast that with RB. Running game really came on last year, couple 200 yard games for Higdon, 1600 yds between him and Evans and now we have 2 stud RB commits for 19.
Big time OT recruits look at our OT play and think no, I'm going to go somewhere where I see my position play well.
So not only did we lose 2 years of good LT play, we lost the lasting effects that would have had for years after.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:38 AM ^
This blog is in full metltdown. Calm down, we lost by one score to a good team on the road. Maybe we will have a good year, maybe not. But it wasn’t decided tonight.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:40 AM ^
It's the MSU game I am worried. This game may prepare them well on the tough road game. The refs will be much worse in that gaem. So WRs please make some tough catches.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:23 AM ^
Not to jinx anything, but the refs couldn't have a much bigger impact on that game than they did tonight. Referee decisions led to 17 ND points tonight.
September 2nd, 2018 at 6:32 AM ^
Get out of here with that BS!
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:40 AM ^
So you are saying the offense has not been screwed since Newsomes injury?
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:01 AM ^
If the O and program's fate turns on 1 OT recruit from harbaughs first year then they're in big trouble.
Why not go back to missing on 6 OL recruits in 2013 or whatever year? Sure Newsome was a big loss but come on
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:47 AM ^
+1 inciteful. Hope that helps get you out of Bolivia
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:44 AM ^
At this point, Bolivia had better shut down her airport or she’s gonna get slammed.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:48 AM ^
"Good team"
ND will finish the season ranked around 23-24.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:47 AM ^
As usual. It seems every year brings the comment that our losses simply indicate the opponent is virtually unbeatable.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:27 AM ^
Yeah I’m the only ones who’s not melting down lol
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:30 AM ^
I don’t care what the final on the scoreboard said, that was not a one score game.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:11 AM ^
I agree. But there's no doubt the OT play was shit and annoying
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:58 AM ^
Bingo!!!! You hit it right on the head. I don't know exactly how good ND is but they are certainly a top 20 team. That's a tough season opener for any team. OSU is a perfect example in how bad they lost at home to a 5 loss VaTech team at home no less, then dominating in the playoffs.
The only bad thing moving forward is i think harbaugh has underachieved big time in recruiting. He should be getting at least 5 can't miss recruits every year because of his NFL success alone.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:38 AM ^
2006-2008 derailed this program. No man is bigger than the team. And the team has been derailed for over a decade.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:02 AM ^
This might be right.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:29 AM ^
I spent the last couple days watching Carr-era highlights from the ND series, as well as other various documentaries and season recaps from the early 2000s. What struck me was that there was a fragility at the end, but a stable program that had everyone on board, a strong record of sustained success, and an atmosphere of relative unity went a long way on the field. You could sense it. You could feel it. You knew it was there.
The Horror may have been a blip, not a red flag. Maybe we all misread the tea leaves. Instead, Michigan torched the Bo dynasty with RR and ran Lloyd and the rest of the family out on a rail in the process, botched trying to instantly revive it with scraps under Brady Hoke, and now is trying to do the same thing with Harbaugh.
You can't do it. You can't reinvent and revive 40 years of tradition and stability 3 times over in 10 years. You can't go home again. Now we live in the wilderness. And there's no clear answer on what comes next, so into the dark we go.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:56 AM ^
I don’t think I or many other fans appreciated Carr nearly enough. He didn’t deserve the mountain of shit people heaped on him for only winning conference titles and not Rose Bowls.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:31 AM ^
Unfortunately as under appreciated as he was while he coached, he is as much to blame for the last decade of mediocrity as hoke, Brandon, or Rodriguez.
Was he replaced prematurely? Probably.
Did he turn his back on the program when it needed him most? Definitely.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:49 AM ^
Not sure you're giving Brandon enough credit for blowing up the entire AD. Otherwise, I agree... But I'll put most of the blame squarely on Brandon. Yeah, Carr turned his back on the program - especially on RR. And Bill Martin did nothing to help with that God-awful coaching 'search'. But Brandon poured on the coal and burned it all out...
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:55 AM ^
Right. I lumped him in with the Hoke botch job by osmosis, but yes. Policies started under Martin and thrown into overdrive under Brandon, particularly when it comes to the stadium experience, relationships with alumni and donors, the general tenor of the Athletic Department, the emphasis on marketing and capital over relationships and loyalty, etc. are the overlooked undercurrent throughout.
September 2nd, 2018 at 8:22 AM ^
RichRod could have won 11 games just as easily as hoke did running Denard Robinson in the ground in 2011. You gotta give a new coach and system 4 years minimum, but with Carr's influence with the big donors and alums he turned them against RR from the day he was hired. I have a friend/former customer's father was one of those influential donors. RR's declaration that he guarteed that he had Terrel Pryor in his back pocket, really burned himself with that. I think tressel and Pryor did that on purpose. Say what you want but Pryor would have been perfect in RR's system. That really turned the "Old Guard" against him. That part is on RichRod imo. Oh and by the way my friends father used to play golf with Bo and Woody.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:50 AM ^
Uh sorry Monsignor King but Calrissian is dead on balls accurate. No might about it.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:40 AM ^
Where are the two top OLinemen in the state going next year, not Michigan, and another one is going to LSU, need to get those guys.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:51 AM ^
No. Harbaugh needs to get the f#ck out of recruiting the state and get better kids from better areas. High school football in Michigan is complete garbage.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:06 PM ^
These three guys are GREAT players regardless of the Michigan HS competition and they're all going elsewhere. You HAVE to get the top two or three linemen in your state because history has shown that those guys from Michigan can play at any level.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:44 AM ^
That’s an exaggeration, but I take your point. Newsome’s injury hurts a lot given the recruiting failures at that position.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:45 AM ^
Poor offensive line recruiting/coaching/play for an extended period time may be what did us in. His injury was bad and did not help but things weren't very good even before it happened.
Also there are plenty of squads (better than us right now) that make it work through development of under the radar or even unranked offensive line guys. If we had a better coach he might scour the lower ranks of college football/high school coaching and find a guy who knows what he's doing and what the future looks like for the position.Seems like even ND did something similar for their OC and DCs. Our guy will just hire is friend though...=/....
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:47 AM ^
Can you believe it. a team that suffers an injury to the oline. Are you fucking kidding me? when your depth is that paper thin your a shitty ass program. Harbaugh cant produce an oline period. The guy is overrated why is that so hard to comprehend. Im willing to wait until the end of the year but a loss to MSU and OSU he should be gone. Its hard but thats the way it should be. NO COACH IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN THE TEAM! We can hire someone else and try again. Unfortuntely thats the only way to fix the program. Hes overpaid and its laughable right now.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:19 AM ^
Could it be that David Shaw was the straw that stirred the drink while Harbs was at Stanford? Was the OC for his time there and now successful as HC at Stanford.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:48 AM ^
Michigan didn’t have the years 2016/2017 to develop players?
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:52 AM ^
We have had a couple of years now since Newsome. There should have been backups and others ready to step up by now.
Also, Patterson was not a top QB. He was a decent QB with athletic ability and a questionable TD to INT ratio. People act like we stole Tom Brady from the patriots.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:27 AM ^
Patterson was a 5 star recruit, so in that sense he was a top QB. Ole Miss seemed to do fine without him today.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:17 AM ^
McCaffrey was a 5-star recruit as well.
September 2nd, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^
McCaffrey was a four-star recruit, outside the top 100, to 247, Rivals, and ESPN.
Peters was actually ranked higher than McCaffrey, though was also not a five-star.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
Just checked, he didn't finish as a 5-star, but he was ranked as a 5-star for a bit.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:15 AM ^
Here is a thought. Maybe these recruiting rankings that some of us like to jack off over are not as infallible as we make them out to be.
Maybe, just maybe, it is possible for a coaching staff to help a player improve between the ages of 18 and 22.
Patterson's recruiting ranking was from what three years ago? Check out the 5 stars from years gone by. A 5-star ranking is no guarantee of collegiate success. If any school should know that is it is Michigan.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:45 AM ^
We lost that good tackle recruit from GA to UG. He would have been starting this season!
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:54 AM ^
well. Many teams lost their players. We know the problem dating back to RR's 1 OL recruiting class. This is on Harbaugh's recruiting. We missed too many good OL targets in the past few years, and could not recover. We don't have enough good bodies. Every single year, we struggle to look for even 5 starters. That tells us how bad the recruiting has been. The coaching I think they will improve later, but the ceiling for some of these sensor and junior players are limited. we should play for the future and have the freshmen and red shirt freshmen to get ready. Otherwise, we will run into the same cycle every year.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:59 AM ^
Holy shit, that was 2 years ago. Stop blaming one injured tackle for bad coaching decisions two years later.
September 2nd, 2018 at 12:59 AM ^
Bill Martin derailed this program. And Lloyd was part of it. How do you not groom a successor? Hell, Jimmy could have come in at that time.
This season is not over but I'm so frustrated with Jimmy and Pep at this point.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:46 AM ^
I think if Michigan would have hired Les instead of Rod, things would have been much better by now.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:04 AM ^
Its more than that injury. We have had ample time to replace that injury through recruiting. Honingford was a flier, Stueber was a flier. Filiaga is more of an inside guy. We got rid of Swenson. We let Hamilton get away. We also shoot ourselves in the foot too many times. The Winovich penalty and the missed hold cost us 7 points and then you have a tied game. We are huddling with 3 minutes left and we run pass pro from the 2. The bowl game was the same way.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:04 AM ^
It's a blow. But a program that depended upon any one player remaining healthy was not a healthy program.
People read too much into this whole "program" business. The people are all different from the RR and Hoke regimes, except for Greg Mattison whose work has been vitally important. Bad things happen.
It's more accurate to say that the failure to either recruit or develop good tackles rendered Newsome's injury catastrophic.
You can handle getting a small leak in your boat. But if the pump doesn't work and the motor is broken and you have no way to contact the shore, then you've got a problem.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:05 AM ^
Stop drinking and go to bed.
September 2nd, 2018 at 1:16 AM ^
The loss of any one player doesn’t unhinge an entire program. Top teams have depth for this reason. That Michigan has failed to recruit and develop a crop of linemen is the problem.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:02 AM ^
Gotta love how Newsome was some magical All American unicorn in hindsight and losing him was a disaster. He wasn't Jake Long and we've had plenty of time to replace him.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:43 AM ^
This place has definitely devolved to **HOT TAKE International Airport** - with almost constant new arrivals and departures.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:44 AM ^
This is a gross oversimplification.