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JH is limiting access to practices. Media will be limited to a few times a week. Highly unlikely that there will be open practice times for videos. Past traditions of an open practice for the public and donor invitations are lookng like they have been scrapped as well. It's going to be all work and focus during this camp.
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It looks like JH is cutting access to the players during this camp. It could be a brutal camp for some. I am envisioning a Bear Bryant type of camp this year where only the toughest are left standing. Let OSU do their thing. Let it go to their heads. I hope VT neats them right out of the gate.
old clips from the spring and fluff interviews from players after practice?
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No distractions, all business and team building. Everything will be earned. No hotel this year for camp either. Players are moving into the South Quad on thursday.
I'm not making a comparison, but I think a new reboot always needs to weed out the garbage habits or thought processes. Players will learn to buy in if they haven't and they will be condintioned to partipicate with "enthusiasm unknown to mankind!"
This is where the "hard work" stories about JH when he was at San Fran come to play. He drove those guys hard, nothing new, and it will be result in something great.
I don't think it's going to be "brutal" in any way that'll get dudebros salivating. It's football, not SEAL training, and while Harbaugh is crazy, I don't think he's a sadist.
What I expect to see is expectation. One thing I thought Hoke was particularly wishy-washy about was what he expected from the players. At times he talked about toughness but then he treats QB more like a rite of passage than a competition.
Here's the thing -- Harbaugh wants to know who wants to play footbaww. He doesn't need to crack the whip to find that out. He just needs to make it clear that the players' effort will decide who plays, and from there it'll be clear enough who really wants to be out there. How? Well, for starters, he added like a half a dozen QBs to the roster. Harbaugh doesn't need to lift a finger to get Shane Morris to try. Starting this week, that's what Jake Rudock will be doing.
August 3rd, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
I appreciate this perspective. Fall camp won't be a new Junction Boys. But as we saw with Heitzman, no special status will be afforded to any player.
I am envisioning a Bo Schembechler type of camp this year where only the toughest are left standing.
Fixed it.
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:12 AM ^
Much better!
Once it hits August, all the silliness stops.
It's time.
They should start tomorrow!
There are 31 days
So you speak Canadian, eh?
I believe he's referring to the poster's poor grammar: There is...
Edit: Never mind - I actually just saw the "Month" added after AC's picture. All is well.
August 3rd, 2015 at 11:19 AM ^
Well, it is a teeny "month" as compared to the rest if the image.
Something I am excited for is having competent special teams. That can really be a game-changer.
Almost a third of the game is Special Teams and Baxter will make a difference.
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
August 3rd, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
Out of curiosity, I counted up the number of special teams plays in last season's M-Maryland game. Michigan had 59 offensive plays, Maryland had 69 offensive plays, and there were 26 ST plays total (punts, kickoffs, FGs, extra points.) That's about 17%, or 1/6 of the total number of plays. I'm sure that varies considerably from game to game, but I'd guess it's closer to 1/6 than 1/3 over the course of a typical season.
EDIT: OSU game - 29 ST plays out of 163 for 17.8%. Granted, 10 of those were XPs which should be automatic, but they are "scoring plays" so they are still important.
EDIT2: MOON game - 23 ST plays out of 166, or 13.9%. I thought that would have more with all the punting, but scoring plays give you two ST plays (XP and kickoff) and there was no scoring in that game. NU did run 84 plays to our 59. Let's just move on...
with your username, you just typed those from memory. True?
looked up "boxscore" and all my old boxscore diary links popped up. The MGoBlue.com website doesn't have the old boxscores in a prominent location, so it's a good thing (for me, at least, and everybody who cares about old boxscores) that I have links through this site.
My feeling is that we are 3-1 coming out of non-conference play. I can see 4-0 with a win over Utah. If we get momentum, watch out!
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August 3rd, 2015 at 10:21 AM ^
August 3rd, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^
August 3rd, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:37 AM ^
Our first four opponents went 9-4, 5-7, 2-11, and 8-5 in 2014...against pretty weak competition (IMO). If Michigan is even marginally improved over last year, they should go 4-0. The question really is how quickly can they improve. It's unfortunate that the toughest game of this bunch is week 1, so they really need to hit the ground running. I see 3-1 as the floor in the OOC slate.
August 3rd, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^
I'm sure someone' here is going to take this the wrong way, but they may not be improved from last year. Not for any reason other than the coaches are flipping the whole team upside down and rattling them like a bag of shake n' bake. Baxter in particular is on record saying he's completely breaking down ST and re-building from the ground up. Which, mind you, is a VERY BADLY NEEDED overhaul, but FFS he didn't even let the kickers kick field goals during spring practice. Drevno is probably ditching IZ and converting to a gap-blocking scheme which throws the OL back a couple years. We're doubling down on press coverage but with Peppers' move to FS (which is -- to reiterate -- a great move) there's like one proven guy on the roster who can execute that (though I'm hoping Watson gives us two). We're recruiting CBs like crazy but they won't be available this season.
The pattern I'm emphasizing here is that I'm ecstatic about all the changes the coaches are making, even as I'm aware most of them will set the team back until it adjusts. I think this team will be more fun to watch than last season's. That said, I expect it to start out raw.
I mean, if they win 10+ games I'll be right there with everyone dancing in the street (or more likely posting here with a silly grin on my face), but my excitement for this team isn't in the results but the changes. I'm willing to put up with some ARGH ARGH moments in September, but at least they'll be playing to win instead of looking like they're trying.
August 3rd, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
^THIS^ a bajillion times over.
August 3rd, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
August 3rd, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^
Well said. There will be gaffes, mistakes, blown plays, etc., this season. I just think that the difference will be attitude and week-by-week improvement. I said this before: back-up QB ready to go in (with helmet on) on five seconds notice; the right 11 men on the field at all times; no stupid penalties -- these are improvements I expect to see immediately. The rest of the things, missed blocks, a blown coverage, are going to happen.
As long as Harbaugh and co. are safely between "clap clap clap" and Brian Kelly's purpling, with kids responding and helping each other, we will develop into a dangerous team by year end.
I don't think there's a team on the schedule that can afford to overlook Michigan or Harbaugh will make them pay.
But in terms of what will do Michigan in, I'm not quite sure what to expect. The coaches said they're trying not to overwhelm the players, so it's not like they'll have their own 300-play playbook to start the season. But simplicity means predictability, so it'll be tough to balance growth with consistency.
So all bets are off, but I'd guess what we'll see in this team is growing pains. Some days it'll look like they're executing but there aren't enough weapons. Other days they'll botch the play. Overall, the team just won't be able to do it all right away.
The one thing I expect WON'T happen is for Michigan State to just march into Ann Arbor and punch this team in the mouth. Goddamn I'm so sick of seeing that. They're still the heavy favorite, but this is what Harbaugh does to teams that overlook his players:
August 3rd, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
August 3rd, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
So begins the longest month of the year.
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
Eh. Not for me. August goes pretty quickly, I think. We finally have at least summer practice to talk/read about and NFL fake season starts on Sunday.
August 3rd, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^
NFL fake season is the worst thing in all of sports, just meaningless play disguised as pro football. Just a money grab by the NFL, wish they would cut it to 2 games max.
It seems like we've waited for to get to even this point forever, but in reality it hasn't been all that long. I actually like the idea of media access to the practices being limited - they really don't need that distraction right now. It will make the speculation that much more rampant, but personally I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised by who gets the most playing time and where in some instances.
You can almost see football from here, folks. Not much longer now.