B1G Media Days (Day 2): Harbaugh Agrees With Analysts That UM Is Best Team To Win Conference In 2019
Harbaugh interview just finished.
Overall questions were fairly pedestrian with no real "big" questions or answers.
Harbaugh seemed pretty relaxed compared to the last couple of years. He said he feels really good about the team this year and the coaching staff. Side note that Oliver Martin transfer was a surprise as he was doing great in school and was at the top of the depth chart coming out of spring.
The biggest takeaway I thought was that when asked what he thought about sports writers and analysts all agreeing that Michigan is the favorite to win the B1G this year, Harbaugh agreed with the assessment and said that's where he would put his team as well.
Will this be viewed similar to players giving "guarantees" on wins? Do you think this public and outward show of confidence in his team bodes well for this season? I don't think I've ever seen Harbaugh seem this confident about the team.
"Just win baby"
-Al Davis
Oakland is still in play.
Was he wearing sweatshirt, khakis and cleats again, or did he dress up this time?
Suit and tie with his traditional "old school" UM hat.
Harbaugh has a little Ben Mason in his delivery to start the segment.
He is working that nicotine gum.
I get it. I am too.
I work mine in between puffs
Harbaugh use to chew, glad he gave up that habit.
My idiot brother-in-law made fun of Jim for weeks after he wore cleats to media day. The idiot kept calling “sling blade”. I hate OSU fans, and it bothers me they think Jim is a moron. I know he’s smart like Rain Man. Piss on Ohio
I've often used the jockey allegory to describe Harbaugh's coaching tenure.
He finally has some thoroughbreds to run with the big boys, perfect time to apply a little extra whip.
His team in 2016 that lost to OSU in OT was loaded.
His team that lost last year lost a TON of talent to the NFL.
I'm not buying this analogy. He needs to get it done, period.
Let me clarify, "finally has the talent AGAIN (like '16) to whip up expectations AGAIN" and this time hopefully he has the talent to reach all the goals!
Yeah, let's look at that.
'16&'17 draft picks
Defense lost
4 DL and 4 from the secondary (two 1st rounders, two 3rd)
and it barely skipped a beat in '17
Offense
1 OL, top 3 receivers and it's best QB in decades, half as many than offense and none better than 3rd round.
and it went to straight shit in '17.
Simple fact is it's far easier to reload defense, especially with the talent UofM brought in the last 2 classes. And while they have lost a lot of talent on the defense side the last two years, only 1OL and 1 TE were drafted from the offense.
O yeah, what did OSU lose from their Offense the last 2 years:
1QB (the best they've EVER had, plus they lost JT aka "shorty")
4 (FOUR!) OL
2 WRs (both 3rd round)
New head coach, QB only been there 6 months, and replacing all that talent ........OK, Fab, GoBlue!
He didn't guarantee anything. And that was not how it went at all. He was asked if he likes being the perceived favorite or if he'd prefer to fly under the radar. He completely dodged the question and flatly said, "That's where I'd pick us".
I assume every coach would say the same thing in July. Even Chris Ash. They'd be garbage football coaches if they admitted otherwise.
I never said he guaranteed anything. Read the post.
I simply asked the question "would it be viewed SIMILARLY to a player giving a guarantee?"
That doesn’t seem to be the case, at least on Twitter right now. Pretty much a standard response in my opinion. There’s a couple trolls that are saying “over promise, under perform” but that’s no surprise.
You totally misrepresented the question and answer and then asked the board if Harbaugh agreeing with the media's prediction (which he didn't necessarily do because that's not what he was asked) should be perceived as a "guarantee".
I read what you wrote. It wasn't very good.
How on earth did I misrepresent the question?? I literally stated what occurred. I asked if it could be interpreted similarly to player guarantees because that's a legit possibility and therefore a valid question.
And for the record, he DID agree with the media's prediction that Michigan is the best team to win the conference. He literally said "That [being the best team to win the conference] is where I'd put us."
How on earth can you possibly interpret that any other way than agreeing with the media's assessment which comes to the exact same conclusion??
Here's what you wrote (paraphrased because copy/paste isnt working on my phone)
"When asked what he thought about sports writers all agreeing that Michigan was the favorite to win the Big Ten this year..."
The actual question:
"Do you prefer to be the favorite or fly under the radar?"
And you're asking me "how on earth" you misrepresented the question?
*points up emphatically*
If you ask me if pizza is my favorite food, I'll answer "I really love pizza", that's a hell of a lot different than:
Are you losing weight? "I really love pizza"
Yeah, I love pizza. But saying the same thing changes the greater meaning of my answer depending on the question I'm answering.
Harbaugh was not confirming the media poll, he was blowing off a *feelings* question.
I love pizza. Harbaugh thinks he's got a good football team. Shocking news, I know! He didn't say what you're framing his comment to say.
Asked if hed rather be a frontrunner or come from behind, he said hed pick himself first, which in context is simply saying he'd prefer to be a frontrunner.
Take care.
You're literally splitting hairs.
It's 6 to one and a half-dozen to the other. But it's still the same thing. Goodness, what is your problem?
If Harbaugh says "I'd pick us to win the conference", and the media also says "we pick Michigan to win the conference", then Harbaugh by his own words, agrees with the media's assessment. Why on earth you're trying to create an argument is beyond me.
Because you misrepresented what took place?
Omg people. No I didn't.
What on earth was the context of the question "Do you prefer to be the favorite or fly under the radar?"
Answer: The media picking Michigan to be the favorite to win the conference.
And what did Harbaugh say?
Answer: "That's where I would pick us"
So his personal pick matches/agrees/concurs/equates to the media's pick. Ie. Harbaugh agrees with the media's assessment that Michigan is the favorite to win the B1G. This is literally just a straight up fact. It happened. On live tv for all to see.
Just stop replying. They do this sometimes.
Almost nobody reading your original post is interpreting it the way they are presenting it.
Nah, you tried to play a pretty innocuous exchange as more incendiary that it was. To get clicks. Own it. You didn't break any laws--it just wasn't terribly subtle. The criticisms were right-sized.
To get back to your post, you asked:
Will this be viewed similar to players giving "guarantees" on wins?
Answer: No, it will not be viewed as a "guarantee." It will, however, be used by media pundits to say "Look, same old Michigan. Big talk, no results. Can't win the big one. Yadayada."
To that, I say [Giant Fart Noise].
I do think that I am somewhat surprised as to the amount of love that Michigan is getting pre-season this year. Love the QB, love the WR, really like the OL. Running back is a bit of a question mark, and we are replacing several All-Americans on defense and really only have one proven corner on the roster.
Very good BIG team? Sure. Playoff contender? Gonna need to see a few things first. Will this post get irrationally and even insanely labeled as "concern trolling?" 100% Yes.
Coach looks confident to me though. I did not see that from him really the last couple of years, IMO.
I thought he seemed quite confident as well. Gattis must have the offense firing on all cylinders which would mean that most if not all of the playbook is probably installed and the players have a solid grasp of it. That would be a fantastic job of coaching if true to get it all in so quickly.
There are a couple of good variables this year that bode well. We have all of our rivals at home. Wisconsin projects somewhat pedestrian. We have bye weeks before the BIG schedule begins (at Wisconsin) and before the three game stretch of MSU, IU, and OSU. He also has a good returning QB that he seemingly has complete faith in for the first time, really. First year coach for OSU as well.
On the negative side, any schedule that includes Army, Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Indiana on the road before The Game gives me heartburn. I have heartburn right now.
They were playoff contenders in 2016 and 18, 50% of Harbaugh's tenure. They obviously haven't made it but they're very close to breaking through
In both of those seasons, we were getting nearly all big time defensive contributors back. This is a season where we are losing most of them. That is the distinction I think. I like the team, like it a lot actually. I am just going to have to see what the defense looks like first before I get too excited.
I agree with this. But then again we did not know much about the '17 defense and they turned out really good. A big difference is this year we should be able to outscore people when we need to--and we will likely need to once or twice.
I think he has known the teams he's had.
'15&'16 were teams with experience and talent peaking, but they were short on time, so they needed to be whipped into a frenzy = OMG shirtless Harbaugh.
'17&'18, the talent was young and the experienced weren't that good = keep expectations in check
'19, the most talented they've had with 100% Harbaugh dudes and experience peaking, plus a cutting edge offense philosophy = time to win the CFP!
That's absurd. I seriously doubt every coach would say the same thing in July.
If it went the way you're saying, it seems like Harbaugh went out of his way to say that he considers his team the favorite this year. He made the claim despite the fact he was being asked a different question.
Chris Ash would be laughed out of the room if he implied that his team were the Big Ten favorites.
Very common for coaches to say they don't think their teams are elite, especially when they are elite, e.g., Calipari has done that. It's a typical motivating statement.
Jimmy is confident
Confidence is great
Beat Ohio St
We have the best quarterback in the conference, that is usually worth a lot.
When was the last time we could say that was true? Maybe 2007, when Henne was healthy?
At least. It's been a long time for sure.
Nebraska may debate that
They might but they won't.
"Arm Punt Martinez" looks pretty good.
I wonder if he hits hard. (Insert Scott Frost's Mom Joke Here)
Nothing wrong with being confident in your team's abilities. Just go and make it happen on the field. If nothing else, go and make it happen on the last Saturday in November.
Please, for the love of god, even if we went 8-4 but one of those wins was against OSU, I'd be satisfied.
I'd take 8-4 with a win over OSU too. Gotta get that monkey off our back.
Side note that Oliver Martin transfer was a surprise as he was doing great in school and was at the top of the depth chart coming out of spring.
Is Harbaugh lying, or was everyone who thought replacing Martin with an underscouted freshman homers?
I mean he seems to be a good fit for Gattis-ball. But when Iowa is calling, that’s a call you gotta take.
I'm sure I'm missing the sarcasm in the second sentence of this post?
Wasn’t Martin a big Iowa lean before UM offered? Maybe the kid got homesick and regretted not playing for Iowa.
Yes.
A la Asiasi.
Remember that DPJ and Nico were out for spring.