Emil Ekiyor on the verge of decommitting
October 25th, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 1:31 PM ^
As if every other fan base out there doesn't get upset when the team doesn't live up to expectations. Have you heard of TWIS?
October 25th, 2017 at 1:35 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 1:36 PM ^
can you name a single rational person who had expectations better than 8-4 this season?
October 25th, 2017 at 1:47 PM ^
who gets to define rational? In fact the very founder of this blog told us that 8-4 was the worst case scenario for this season. So is Brian not a rational person?
http://mgoblog.com/content/preview-2017-heuristics-and-stupid-prediction
Plenty of "rational" fans thought we'd destroy MSU and PSU going into the season and well that didn't happen.
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/athlon-um-game-game-predictions
October 25th, 2017 at 2:23 PM ^
8-4 still looks like worst case scenario.
October 25th, 2017 at 3:05 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 3:26 PM ^
Kinda the exact same thing we said about Hoke year 3. RRod didn't leave enough talent. At some point somebody needs to coach up the talent we do have and win some rivalry games and games against top 25 teams on the road.
October 25th, 2017 at 4:49 PM ^
very near worst-case scenario territory? QB injured, top WR injured, defensive weaknesses identified and exploited, no answer at RT, monsoon shortens a game in which we got off to a slow start. Pretty much all the things that could have gone wrong, went wrong.
Brian was slightly optimistic, so his worst-case of 8-4 was probably more like a 10th percentile event, but even with all the problems we've had, we're still likely hitting that 8-4 record, mayyyyybe 7-5 if we can't get the job done at Maryland. And 7-5 would be and was from the beginning probably a 3rd percentile event which could have more reasonably considered worst-case.
Also, zero rational fans thought we'd destroy PSU. That was a topic almost weekly in the offseason and it was an easy indicator of irrational thinking when anyone clung to the fact that we beat them badly last year, yet ignored all the many, many data points between now and then (how much better they became, how many players we lost, where the game was located) and declared absurdly that we'd destroy PSU.
October 25th, 2017 at 4:52 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^
The only way this team beats OSU this year is if they can convince themselves that they are going to be ruthless one game out of the year and finally beat the shit out of someone. If they can get fired up enough and keep the momentum the whole game, they'll actually be using some small doses of adrenaline. I'm not a medical doctor but if you don't believe me, then maybe sit your know it all ass down for a few minutes and watch the replay from last saturday. Yeah kids, that was adrenaline from the Penn State players. To come out swinging like that and withstand the Michigan retaliation, takes an extra gear of some kind. Jim said it best in the post game interview. Penn State was hitting on all cylinders. That's motivation creating and releasing adrenaline for maximum focus and poise. Motivation and swag baby. Who's got it? Not the Michigan offensive line, that's for damn sure.
October 25th, 2017 at 5:01 PM ^
I do think that we are at worse case scenario after losing a starting QB and WR. However I didn't say that fans who predicted better than 8-4 weren't "rational".
October 25th, 2017 at 6:19 PM ^
9-3 was a perfectly rational prediction. 10-2 certainly optimistic but still not irrational, 11-1 or 12-0, and you'd have had to be smoking something.
October 25th, 2017 at 10:29 PM ^
If Nick Saban ever lost three games in a year, the Alabama fan base would literally start asking if he lost it/should retire. Especially if they lose to Auburn. Everything vitriolic and unfair with Michigan fans is ramped up by 10x by Bama.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:39 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 12:40 PM ^
He's a guard, so one of the few positions we can afford to lose out on. Reese will probably decommit as well, but we're also pretty stocked at LB for the near future luckily.
2019 recruiting is going to have to make up for the 2018 class big time.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
Keep pushing it out another year.......
October 25th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^
That's not what I'm doing. 2018 is the year for on the field success. If Michigan doesn't get to the B1G title game next year, we got big problems.
Recruiting wise, we can afford a blip in 2018. Just need to make sure 2019 is gangbusters.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^
We're in a division with OSU, PSU, and MSU. No, they cannot afford a blip. Just like they couldn't afford to lose Devery Hamilton, and Isaiah Wilson, and now Emil Ekiyor. But no one wanted to hear that at the time.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 1:00 PM ^
It's a small class. You can rant all you want on MGoBlog, it doesn't change the fact that 2018 is just not going so well on the elite prospects front.
Tyler Friday and a couple WRs are the only ones we're in on. It sucks b/c OSU is killing it on an annual basis and now PSU is rising up the ranks with hype.
It is what it is for 2018.
It just makes it that much more important to be competitive on primetime when all the eyes are on the program.
October 25th, 2017 at 1:02 PM ^
It's not a small class. Webb says he expects it to go to 22. That is an average sized class. In fact OSU signed the #2 class in the country last year with 21 commits.
October 25th, 2017 at 1:08 PM ^
2018 is a clunker for Michigan.
It is what it is. Idk what more you want.
I would love to get a top 10/5 class this year., but it's not looking likely.
Frankly, it's just tiring at this point to be fretting over all the problems with this team every single day.
Just accept it and root for the team to improve. Improvement is the only way to revert the program issues in recruiting and perception.
October 25th, 2017 at 1:32 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^
What would you like to be done about it? And how should we do it? I will be the first to admit that I am not happy about the turn of this season, and I am not happy that our current recruiting class isn't wowing me. I am not making any excuses, is this what you want to hear? If so, did that do anything to benefit the program? If not, what more would you want?
I feel like our staff and our players are working as hard if not harder than any group in the country. Effort doesn't always equal results, but there is literally nothing else that can be done about it. If things aren't going well for the program which transitions down to us as fans, that certainly sucks, but some random guys on a message board "not giving a pass from criticism" is doing absolutely nothing positive to benefit our program.
October 25th, 2017 at 1:59 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 8:05 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 10:52 PM ^
He didn't turn those games off in the third quarter because by halftime he was mowing the lawn.
October 25th, 2017 at 2:18 PM ^
There's a reason why Tarik Black was ahead of the other WRs. He played in a pro-style offense. He knew and understood route trees. That's also why Grant Perry is an asset. If we still had Chesson and/or Darboh, we would be fine on offense. But we are trying to teach young WRs on the fly, which is hard to do. That's why DPJ is running more routes now and should be vastly improved by bowl season. That's why Nico is finally seeing the field. It takes time at that position.
October 25th, 2017 at 7:02 PM ^
October 26th, 2017 at 8:48 AM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 1:21 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 1:26 PM ^
OSU is on their way to another stellar class with 5 fucking 5 stars already committed. Fuck them. I know, I know, stars aren't everything, redshirts, wait until harbaugh gets 11 redshirt seniors on each side of the ball, yada yada yada etc.
October 25th, 2017 at 4:47 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 4:57 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 8:10 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 8:35 PM ^
Looks like you got it all figured out.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^
Next year's next year continues to be "the year".
October 25th, 2017 at 2:31 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 6:58 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
Last I checked, 2018 National Signing Day isn't here yet, so we can still make some noise with this class.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 1:18 PM ^
Tyler Friday, Josh Jobe?
October 25th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^
Have you seen the OL play? Michigan can't afford to lose any highly ranked OL at this point. And with Bredeson and Onwenu already going to juniors next year, it's important to bring a highly ranked interior player in this class to get them ready for when they leave. You bring in as much talent as possible every year and let the kids sort it out on the field. Having the attitude of "oh we don't really need so and so" is a recipe for disaster.
October 25th, 2017 at 1:06 PM ^
October 25th, 2017 at 2:48 PM ^
These days.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^
But will be a good class, probably end up top 20. It's not like we are going to drop off to Hoke's last year level. If this kid really doesn't want to play here then lets recruit lineman who want to play here.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:47 PM ^
Hoke's 2014 class that is part of the problem now was ranked #20.
With OSU and PSU going to sign top 5 classes, this isn't good enough.
October 25th, 2017 at 12:47 PM ^