This Battlestar Galactica Analogy Is Neither Tortured Nor Labored, Thank You
10/31/2020 – Michigan 24, Michigan State 27, 1-1
At some point over the weekend I was hungry and not in the mood to do something that required time, so I smeared some cream cheese on a heel of bread. When I bit into it, it was vastly more stale than I expected. But it is what I had signed up for. So I ate it.
It was unpleasant, but eventually it was over. And then I did something else. Silver lining: column theme.
I appear to be over it. This is not a decision I've undertaken, it's just what happened after the game: not much. I have become the popular internet meme.
We're at the Final Season Of Battlestar Galactica stage of Michigan football. (Spoilers for the aughts reboot of Battlestar Galactica follow.) Things really started to go off the rails for Battlestar when the season four finale dramatically revealed five main characters as secret Cylons without any setup, explanation, or plan. They just heard "The Joker and The Thief"—a song that does not exist in their society—and were suddenly activated. Then Starbuck blew up in a plane and mysteriously returned, again without explanation.
I kept watching, but my previous enthusiasm for the show waned. Eventually I was just watching out of habit and hoping against hope that somehow the people writing this suddenly absurd show could pull a rabbit out of their butt. Instead there's like a mystical piano(?) Starbuck plays that leads them to a prehistoric Earth. Then she pops out of existence. Literally! One minute she's talking to Edward James Olmos and then she says some sort of koan and disappears.
There were some poignant moments in there but when it was over I experienced relief that I didn't have to pay attention to it any more. I groaned "oh, come on!" on a weekly basis. This analogy is airtight.
--------------------------------
So the Black Pit Of Negative Expectations was ephemeral. Mad during game; as soon as it was over* apathy set in. This is for the best.
We're in year six of Jim Harbaugh, who has done well enough that no one would ever fire him lest the Curse of Frank Solich descend upon them as it has Nebraska. Harbaugh has done progressively worse against Ohio State, getting nuked the last two years, and is now set to go up against Justin Fields and a zillion five star receivers with one decent cornerback and four guys who run like Wario. He just lost to MSU as a more than three-touchdown favorite. Damning stats follow him around. This was a new one I saw this week: 1-9 in the final two games of the season.
People can talk about firing coordinators or even the head coach. The former won't matter; the latter won't happen. I picked the GIF version of the meme above because it repeats infinitely, one reset after another, an endless weary parade of going again.
*[Actually it turns out before it was over: I turned the game off after MSU recovered the onside kick because I thought Michigan had two timeouts and there were 37 seconds left. It turns out Michigan got bailed out of their initial timeout by the officials? This was not explained, and the chyron said two timeouts.]
[After THE JUMP: press cover defense with nobody who can run]
AWARDS
Known Friends and Trusted Agents Of The Week
you're the man now, dog
#1 Giles Jackson. Just 58 yards on his seven catches but had a lot of tough ones in their, none more than the third down conversion where he got lit up. Also had a kickoff return almost to midfield. Just eight targets. Established himself as a receiver in this one.
#2 Dax Hill. This isn't about Hill's statistical impact but the impact of Jayden Reed, who had one catch. Reed looked like MSU's most dangerous receiver by some distance against Rutgers, and the few times MSU tested Hill he was up to the task.
#3 Joe Milton. I guess? Milton had his issues but Michigan put it all on his plate when their run game checked in nonexistent; he was able to zip in a bunch of slants in tight windows and dealt with a lot of pressure.
Honorable mention: I had a hard time coming up with three. Roman Wilson, Kwity Paye, and Hassan Haskins poked their noses out.
KFaTAotW Standings. (Scoring: 8 points for first, 5 for second, 3 for third, 1 for HM. Points from ties adjudicated by an ankylosaur named Sharon.)
11: Joe Milton (#1 Minnesota, #3 MSU)
8: Giles Jackson(#1 MSU)
5: Dax Hill (#2 MSU)
4: Kwity Paye(T2 Minnesota, HM MSU)
3: Aidan Hutchinson(T2 Minnesota), Michael Barrett(#3 Minnesota)
2: Hassan Haskins(HM Minnesota, HM MSU)
1: Ben Mason (HM Minnesota), Jaylen Mayfield (HM Minnesota), Ronnie Bell(HM Minnesota), Roman Wilson (HM MSU)
Who's Got It Better Than Us(?) Of The Week
Made pancakes before the game. Seriously, folks, Kenji Lopez-Alt's pancake recipe is the truth. Yes you gotta whisk the egg whites. I didn't do it, and then I did, and I was mad that he was right. You can skip that step. I did it for you. (Mostly: you can get away with soft peaks.)
Honorable mention: Michigan never led against a three-touchdown underdog. So no.
?MARCUS HALL EPIC DOUBLE BIRD OF THE WEEK.
A rich symphony to choose from but this space takes the deep bomb on a double move that Gray didn't even bite on.
Honorable mention: several other bombs on which Michigan could not contest. Several other passes, many of them into the sideline, on which their interference was undeniable.
OFFENSE
Fool's gold. A sense of foreboding descended as Maryland eviscerated Minnesota to the tune of 675 yards on Friday night. Maryland put up 3 points on Northwestern. They put up 45 on Minnesota and it should have been worse. And then.
Filiaga did not pass off his guy and also got knocked over by him
So much for the pickups. MSU repeatedly got pressure on basic DE/DT twists. These led to a discussion on the broadcast about how MSU was nerfing attempted Milton QB draws, but to my eye those were Milton bugging out because he got pressure immediately. He went up the middle, probably because those DE/DT twists were driving the guards back so far that exiting left or right was not an option.
This is a thing I have to sit down with in more detail before making a proclamation but this is likely to be a straight-up protection disaster.
Meanwhile on the ground Michigan was constantly blowing run IDs, doubling DEs who were plunging inside and allowing linebackers free reign. I'm at a loss. MSU being able to hold up better is one thing. Michigan being unprepared for the obvious response to their approach in week one is another.
Milton: limited. Joel Klatt was on point when he said that everything Milton throws is driven. That's why Michigan's offense is currently so slant-dependent. He's had two downfield attempts this year. Both were posts that were literally 10-20 yards off. He has not thrown a lofted fly route. There was a downfield zing to Wilson, but this too is driven:
Once MSU figured out he wasn't going to go downfield they started playing a compressed cover three that made his windows extremely tight. He was able to whistle it by a few linebackers, but all the easy stuff from last week was suddenly throwing into NFL level windows.
threading the needle
Unless Milton shows that he can hit the deep sideline that's going to be the rest of his year.
You have a wildcat quarterback, he is your quarterback. Michigan got too cute by half when they went wildcat on two goal-to-go snaps in the second quarter. The second was a throw that Antjuan Simmons got a hand on; Carter Selzer was open in the back of the endzone but Haskins threw it too flat. Because he's a running back.
Michigan did not run Joe Milton until a third of the game was gone, and I'm not sure they had more than one or two pure QB runs in the game. They played off the pin and pull by giving a touch pass to Mason going the other way and throwing slants off that action; they never actually ran Milton. You don't have to run pin and pull that they've prepped for, there are other things to do.
Haskins and Corum looked good, at least. Neither was given a ton of opportunities because of the blocking and Michigan's platooning but Corum dusted a guy on the edge—this was not repeated—and Haskins ran through some guys authoritatively.
The five minute drill! Michigan got the ball back down ten with 5 minutes left. They took over four of those scoring one (one) touchdown and were forced into an onside kick. Milton kept checking down. This was not entirely his fault because his protection was bad, but at some point you have to unleash the dragon, man. This more than anything else makes me think Milton is hesitant to throw deep because he keeps missing.
This continues a theme under Harbaugh: deeply incompetent clock management. They didn't screw it up last week against Minnesota, but I mean… we now know some more things about Minnesota.
DEFENSE
You run a press man defense and haven't recruited corners who can run for three years. 80% of the loss right there. Michigan's corner recruiting has been abominable and Michigan just reaped the whirlwind. Selected highlights from the recruiting profiles of folks in the conversation this offseason:
- VINCENT GRAY: "Gray's ability to run is in some question. Upward mobility in the rankings was all but impossible after a 4.76 40 at an Opening regional last April."
- JALEN PERRY: "UGA wouldn't let Perry enroll early and wanted him to play safety … Lacks top-end speed and agility to be a cover CB at the next level." (There were a couple of more positive takes from earlier in his recruitment cycle; the overall picture was not "unquestioned burner.")
- SAMMY FAUSTIN: "… doesn’t have great makeup speed. He doesn’t seem to be a difference-maker from an athletic perspective at the next level … He is not the most explosive kid and can work on his flexibility"
- DJ TURNER: "ESPN's listed combine numbers for him are solidly in the "meh" department, with a 4.63 40 and several other numbers that were middling for cornerbacks .. Even [his] top 20 SPARQ at the Opening didn't see Turner get out of the 4.6s in his 40."
The one exception? Gemon Green:
… makes up ground in a hurry and plays the ball well. … Because he is so athletic, he's been known to overreact and overcommit to well-run routes .. He can also get on the hip and stay with the fast receivers on long routes.
Green got hit with one bomb but on that play he got a hand in on the ball. Gray… did not. And nobody else on the roster is likely to be better except for Andre Seldon. Darion Green-Warren is a top 200 corner who also has a bunch of people dumping on his athleticism.
Jeff Hecklinski, the Hoke-era WR coach infamous for saying "speed can be taught", may as well have put together the corner room.
So they grabbed. Klatt spent much of the game questioning the calls Michigan was picking up in the secondary. He is correct that Michigan is very grabby and that normally they get away with a lot of it. He was incorrect that the kind of grabbing Michigan was doing against MSU was similar to the grabbing they've done in previous seasons. There are grabs you can get away with, like Delano Hill against BYU:
subtle, crafty [Bryan Fuller]
Michigan's penalty issues in this game came because they were making arms-extended yanks that are not shielded from view. They were not tools being deployed by a craftsman who knows how to get an extra edge. Most were full-on panic. Green reached over the shoulder of a WR and pulled him back in full view of a side judge. At one point Gray attempted to yank a WR's arm out of the socket on a ball that sailed.
(No, it wasn't uncatchable enough to be ruled uncatchable. If there's a chance the Charles Woodson MSU interception might happen they don't call it uncatchable. That ball lands inbounds.)
My reaction to almost all penalties was outrage, replay, "ah, shit."*
The one outrage on the day was on Mike Sainristil, who got mugged on third down without a call. That was neither subtle nor crafty, but it didn't get called. Ah, shit.
*[Entertaining subplot: when I tweeted something about none of the calls being borderline some of the internet's best and brightest told me I should stop complaining about the officials.]
The 3-3-5 still doesn't work as a run defense. The Florida game where Michigan first broke out the 3-3-5 was the first game of the 2017 season. Don Brown has had three full seasons to observe the performance of his 3-3-5 on standard downs and is still running it out there. Here a converted fullback gets his blitz picked up and gets ejected across the formation:
This didn't work last year when your SAM was Josh Uche and the DT situation was much more dire. Continuing now is stubbornness completely unconnected from hundreds of snaps of reality.
Meanwhile in pickups. On the other side of the stunt pickups: Michigan barely got through against a team down its starting center and, eventually, a guard. Michigan's DEs went from supermen against Minnesota to anonymous. I have not seen a clear hold on either, just a lot of borderline stuff that almost never gets called.
Much of the rest of the stuff that happened in this game is extremely disappointing but at least makes sense. We knew corner was an issue; we knew there were a lot of new starters on the OL; we knew Milton was going to have some issues. Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson getting shut off by Michigan State's OL is bizarre. Absurd. Despicable. I'm going full Jackie Chiles about it.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Well? Giles Jackson had a 38-yard kick return and a 32-yard punt return? Caveat: that 32-yard punt return was fielded at the two, briefly entered the endzone, and was almost down at the three. Good job, never do that again.
The only other thing of note was a big gap in raw average between the punters. Bryce Baringer averaged 54 yards a kick; Michigan split duties between Hart and Robbins, apparently using the latter as a pooch punter, and got about 40 total. Robbins (and Jake McCurry) did drop one at the two.
MISCELLANEOUS
Some weird decisions in this one. This game was one play—a review of that third down conversion or a missed 51-yard field goal—from being in overtime, or even a Michigan win, and at that point several bizarre decisions by Mel Tucker get a lot more scrutiny: setting up a fourth and two by running on third and six and then attempting a 40 yard field goal, which missed. Doing that a second time. Running on third and long when Michigan's corners are a walking PI/holding flag.
The signals were disconcerting. The "MOVE" gambit from the Army game last year got flagged. You can hear McGrone bark something very close to "HUT" as Michigan's line shifts:
Michigan is clearly hoping this happens—there is immediate we-got-em clapping. McGrone tries to play it off; the intent is clear, and that's a flag.
Blindside block calls are out of control. This MSU screen got called back because the WR blocking down on Ross catches him unaware and puts him on the ground:
LB #12 to top
That's a good block. It's not the WR's fault that Ross's awareness is poor on this play. This isn't the kind of violent cheapshot that this rule was initially supposed to address. Those feature two guys running full bore, usually on special teams. This is a WR hitting a stationary linebacker.
Michigan was the beneficiary of a similarly iffy call against Minnesota. I understand the intent of the rule but it's expanded past protecting players from dangerous hits.
ELSEWHERE
As is tradition after crushing losses I haven't been on the internet, so we'll try to wrap some links into UV tomorrow.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:40 PM ^
I thought I heard/read Brian's comments on saying "Fire so-and-so" but I couldn't find it anywhere. IIRC it's something along the lines of a pointless venture that could do more harm (limit blog's access to program) than good (have any influence on events).
When you read Brian's points, it sure seems like he is saying fire Brown/Harbaugh without actually saying it though.
Brian/Seth/Ace seemed to all have moved on pretty quickly. As did I. Isn't that an indictment right there? We aren't even phased by losing a game where we were 24 pt favorites anymore. He's outlining the inefficiencies in recruiting. He said on the podcast, that there is obviously something wrong with a program that loses 4 LBs in an offseason, completely decimating the 2-deep.Constantly complains that the OSU game is trending the wrong way and outlook for improvements look bleak.
He's outlining the reasons the coaches should be fired, but wants the reader to draw the conclusion. Maybe that's too passivist of a stance? It doesn't bother me at all. YMMV.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
Yeah, that’s what seems odd to me too. Michigan just got punched in the mouth and dong kicked by a rival that was 3 TD dog and it seems the blog’s reaction is just ‘meh’. It just seems silly to me to list out every reason why this happened (of which 99% fall back on Harbaugh) and then shoulder shrug. I guess the part that gets me is the extremely strong line this blog took against DB but with Harbaugh it’s ‘meh’ and move on.
November 2nd, 2020 at 5:55 PM ^
If this program isn't willing to do the dirty work it takes to compete with osu and bama, then just keep Harbaugh. Start fucking paying recruits or shut up and be happy with 8-4 and losing to 90% of the quality opponents we face.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:20 PM ^
Because bloggers' opinions in coaching changes don't matter. Big money donors' do.
Although it's interesting that the de-amateurization of college football has seemingly touched everything except head coach turnover. (As Mel Tucker just amply demonstrated, recruiting handicaps caused by non-ideal timing can be overcome.)
We are locked into Harbaugh for life, unless Johnson or Spanos come calling at Christmas. In the interim, let's just enjoy it...
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:32 PM ^
putting aside my own thoughts on harbaugh's performance as head coach, i don't know why you care if the purveyors of this blog do or do not say "fire harbaugh."
"fire coach x" is the least nuanced take to have almost anwhere else. it's even less useful here, because, in the absence of malfeasance or multiple losing seasons it ain't gonna happen anytime soon.
i'm guessing that brian et al aren't writing it today because writing it today is well and truly pointless, no matter how infuriating this particular loss was.
November 2nd, 2020 at 5:19 PM ^
Well I think there are some political implications and they are trying to stay as neutral as possible. This is a well known blog that is frequented by players, staff, and heralded alumni. Throw in the sponsorship dollars and donors and I’m sure they have reason to tread carefully. The days of uncensored hot takes on this blog are likely a thing of the past.
November 2nd, 2020 at 3:48 PM ^
Brian was towards the last of the Fire RichRod crowd.
November 2nd, 2020 at 9:35 PM ^
Besides Harbaugh being much better than Hoke, Brian wanted Rich Rod to get another year. Who gives a shit if he explicitly says Harbaugh should fired. You think Warde is making his decisions based on this blog? You think it'll light a fire under this team?
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:34 PM ^
We played like ass but it is inexcusable for a replay system, put in place to prevent just such errors, to not even take a look at that "completion." People lose jobs over shit calls like this.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:44 PM ^
People lose jobs over shit calls like this.
Not Michigan coaches though!
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
I missed the entire 4th quarter. Is there video of these misses?
November 2nd, 2020 at 3:28 PM ^
I am trying to figure out why. Why would they not review it? Why can't someone buzz Jim and say, call a TO that ball popped out.\
Why? Does the league hate Harbaugh, is this a way for them to say F U? I don't know, just curious as to why we can't get a review there. Why did we get a half ass review when JT was short? Just want to know why.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:35 PM ^
In the words of Bart Simpson when he had no idea what to say, "woozle wuzzle?"
On another note, Michigan lost to MSU but the Bengals beat the Titans?! What a country!
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:42 PM ^
I thought those blindside blocks had to be when you are coming backwards toward the line of scrimmage. That indeed was a terrible call we benefited from.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:42 PM ^
Makes me want to try that pancake recipe.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:45 PM ^
Do it. Whenever I want to cook something good, I google the name of the food and Kenji. I hardly make recipes by anyone else anymore.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:44 PM ^
As gross as the CB play was, holding MSU to 27 should be a win. No question this team is destined to get lit up by OSU and 100 is actually not totally out of the question if OSU wants it, but there's no excuse for not having a plan that can put 40 on MSU and win this game comfortably on the scoreboard while at the same time reminding us of the upcoming boat racing by OSU.
November 2nd, 2020 at 4:13 PM ^
I sometimes think the coaching staff reads the commentary and buys into the hype.
In 2018 everyone thought M would paste OSU because they'd had a lot of troubles that season, especially with their LBs. So did the coaching staff implement any special game plans to pick on OSU's perpetually confused LB corps? No, they called the same game they had all season, because it must be great because everyone said M was better that year and should be favored. Meyer was totally ready for it, he had a plan.
Last Saturday's game looked like they did the same, M is so much better than MSU, so let's just do the same power stuff Harbaugh loves and keep doing it no matter what. You had a very average coach with a barely average team that was totally ready for it and had a plan. Everyone knows how to game plan for Harbaugh, once they see the personnel deficiencies and what small concessions he seems to be willing to make every season.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:44 PM ^
I don't really care what they do w/ Harbaugh because that's where I'm at these days but...
- He hasn't been the QB guru we thought
- He's not running the crazy effective manball O we saw at Stanford
- He's no longer the firey guy on the sideline
- Recruiting from a rankings perspective are pretty much on par for UM (meaning anyone could do it)
- There seem to be some significant depth concerns at multiple positions in year 6
- And there doesn't appear to be any payoff in grabbing someone who "understands the rivalry"
Like I opened with, I don't care because it's not my choice, but what exactly IS the benefit of JH versus a refresh? It used to be to avoid another setback a la Carr > RR, but this is a very bad loss. Not sure you can make that argument anymore.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:59 PM ^
I totally agree but would say it differently: There is absolutely no evidence that Harbaugh intends to or is willing to change his approach. He's been stubborn since he returned to U-M, not in and for itself a bad thing, but despite hiring Gattis to update and upgrade his offense this game showed that he's still willing to repeatedly slam the ball between the tackles when it's obviously not working. There's little doubt that was Harbaugh's doing, not Gattis' preference, and it's emblematic of how Harbaugh coaches this team. 6 years in and it is what it is. Time to move on...but at the same time we have to accept that when we do so it will be ugly until we regain our footing. It's not clear that we can realistically compete with OSU every year but we should beat them once every few years and otherwise we shouldn't know that we're in for a nuking even before the game is played. Now as for who we should hire....I have no idea and I doubt anyone else has any brilliant ideas either. Anyone we choose is a big risk, period. When that happens, buckle up and focus on your breathing. Not much else we can do.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:29 PM ^
There is absolutely no evidence that Harbaugh intends to or is willing to change his approach.
Except for firing his buddies, handing Gattis full control of offense, and hiring an outsider to coach defense, sure, he's done nothing to change.
I think the biggest revelations about Harbaugh are that he's not the QB whisperer we thought he was, and that his CEO chops aren't that impressive either. He seems to be great at finding people who are good at what they do, which is important. But he's not so good at managing an org chart and identifying needs. Bringing in more offensive minds than needed, screwing up the O-line coaching, and nowadays we don't seem to have enough recruiters. There will always be coaching turnover but coaching is a brutal career; there's always hungry talent out there.
November 2nd, 2020 at 2:08 PM ^
"There's little doubt that was Harbaugh's doing, not Gattis' preference"
There is literally zero evidence available that Jim Harbaugh is overruling Josh Gattis in playcalling.
November 2nd, 2020 at 2:33 PM ^
We ran the read option with Ben Mason against Wisconsin last year. A week removed from playing DT. You think that was a Josh Gattis call?
Harbaugh's hands are all over this offense. We still trot out 2 out of 3: a fullback and/or 2 TE's on half of our snaps. Gattis didn't bring that over from Alabama. This is Jim Harbaugh's offense and game plan just like it was when Drevno and Pep were here.
November 2nd, 2020 at 4:45 PM ^
Spent some time searching, can't find any articles/rosters showing Bama had a fullback in 2018 (or in the years immediately prior or after). Although if you have a guy like Ben Mason on the team, makes sense to use him in the way he's best suited.
But when you have guys like Chris Evans and Blake Corum, does it make sense to run them into stacked lines? That's what totally has me stumped, and that kind of thing pre-dated Gattis as well.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:46 PM ^
Our defense is going to be torched all year long. They are very limited with now clearly exposed weaknesses. Just the beginning here folks, going to be a helluva ride.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
I don’t know where this fits in your BSG analogy, but showrunner Ronald D. Moore basically admitted that, unlike the Cylons, they didn’t have a plan after year two since they understandably assumed they wouldn’t make it past two seasons as with most shows. So they were - again by his tacit admission- throwing shit at the hull to see what would stick.
You can say that is an apt metaphor for... well, pick anything.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:21 PM ^
Sounds like the last season or two of Lost.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:53 PM ^
At this point I am fine with moving on from Harbaugh. Good coach, but too many bad decisions and bizarrely inept games like Saturday. The numbers are atrocious.
I just don’t know if there is a sure fire candidate out there.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:30 PM ^
There isn't, but then again Harbaugh was a sure fire candidate and look how that has turned out. Michigan's best hope is to hit on a Dabo type. And if that includes bending the rules a bit, well I'm ok with it. No sense playing with one hand tied behind our backs.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:40 PM ^
I think this is it... it doesn't matter who they hire if the institution is opposed to bagging for recruits. People keep telling me that the Alabama/Clemson/OSU/Georgia echelon of teams is bound to come back to earth, but I don't think that's reasonable in the current landscape of recruiting if they continue to be allowed to buy top-3 classes every cycle. OSU just survived a coaching change moving away from a HOF coach to a young guy most didn't know much about, and their recruiting has gotten arguably better. They have a structure in place to treat it like the business it is, rather than trying to win over the living room like Michigan seems to do.
November 2nd, 2020 at 5:26 PM ^
You’re talking about pretty high aspiration to reach those ranks, even if we bag we may never get there given our academic standards and geographic location.
I’ll settle for consistently beating teams that recruit worse than us. Is that too much to ask?
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
After Minnesota I was thinking Gattis might be the type of coaching mind/leader/personality that could lead to be an improvement on Harbaugh.
After this week, not so much.
Who are the great coordinators out there that are stuck behind legendary coaches though?
November 2nd, 2020 at 2:28 PM ^
Idk, I still think Gattis might be that. The game plan and calls in the MSU game seemed awfully familiar, had Harbaugh finger prints all over it. No way I can prove it.
November 2nd, 2020 at 3:08 PM ^
i am for trying to get partridge back as DC. hopefully, that could be the big shot in the arm that our recruiting needs on that side of the ball. i think the O will be fine next year and beyond. plenty of talent there and we have a new QB and 4 new OL this year.
then if gattis and/or partridge prove out well, one of them can take over in a few years. if not, then blow it all up.
i'm not yet there to throw it all away and start over.
November 2nd, 2020 at 9:04 PM ^
All our current defensive players were recruited by Partridge...and can he coach ?
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:53 PM ^
"People can talk about firing coordinators or even the head coach. The former won't matter; the latter won't happen."
So... what do we do? What's the answer? I can't imagine that anyone would be satisfied with Harbaugh going 9-3, plus or minus a win, every season for the next decade. Do we have to resign ourselves to accepting an Iowa With Cool Helmets fate?
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:51 PM ^
Highly optimistic of you to even think this team will be back to a 9-3 season (once normalcy comes back). Sooo many glaring weaknesses on Saturday that it appears UM will need to have multiple seasons in order to regain any semblance of a team like we’ve had under the Harbaugh era.
November 2nd, 2020 at 4:51 PM ^
So... what do we do?
Simple: other things. I'm not going out of my way to watch any more M games this fall. Plenty of stuff around the house that needs to be done.
Unless you're someone that writes big checks to M, you have no say, so might as well live your life doing things for which you do have some influence.
November 2nd, 2020 at 6:42 PM ^
Michigan went 9-3 plus/minus a win like every year from 1980 onward with two exceptions, man
why does everyone think our baseline is being as good as we were in the 40s in spite of all evidence. You've never seen Michigan be a buzzsaw and neither have I.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
McCurry/Robbins should have gotten honorable mention.
Also, I made this argument in the preseason when we already knew that CB depth would be a problem: why not call some of the WR in DB support? WR, even those not in the two-deep, have speed and height - everything else can be taught. This doesn't mean a full time call-up, but it could be better than what we just saw.
A CB just needs to be able to stay close enough to the ball to touch it but not necessarily catch it - which is what most poor WR can already do.
November 2nd, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
Clearly good DTs are not as rare as Don Brown's recruiting may make it seem, if MSU's own DT is literally 10x the player any of our defensive linemen are. How we are unable to at least grab competent DT transfers from other schools is beyond me.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:07 PM ^
Everything in that game seemingly went in a way for massive piss off factor if you're a UM fan. From the way they played obviously, the bad coaching and then the fact that Michigan State's winning score came on a drive that should have ended at the 15 if the replay officials did their damn job. No call on Sainrestil was also infuriating. Unfortunately refs in the Big Ten are piss poor and have been for years and even playing an average game would have been enough to overcome it. As someone else said that doesn't excuse the replay official from missing such a crucial play though.
But yeah I am right with Brian generally pissed during games still, but afterwards just complete apathy. It is inexcusable for UM to be lacking so much in athleticism at corner, even considering the loss of Thomas. The fact that they can not find two good DT's is also baffling. And then the real head scratcher in this game was the o-line, we thought they were a competent group and they just looked lost.
I am currently in the camp that the Harbaugh era is a failure based on initial expectations and coming so close to the playoff in year 2, but at the same who else better is out there, barring choices that you have to sell your soul as a program for? And a hot name doesn't guarantee anything, Rich Rod was also a hot name.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:10 PM ^
We need an explanation on the Shoop situation. The guy was supposed to come in and give us someone who used a lot of zone concepts as a DC. Now he's been gone for 2 months and this is the first we are hearing about it? Michigan coaches and players got baited into thinking they were a top 10 team by beating a bad Minn team on the road, and thinking MSU wasn't going to win a game all season. They got fooled, and were lackadaisical, unpreparred, and flat.
Also Milton really reverted when things started going poorly. He was put in terrible situations by the o line, the drops, and the constant 3rd and long.
Stop the 3-3-5 nonsense. Maybe your DTs aren't great but they should be able to beat MSU's oline. Also play Perry, Turner, Green-Warren, and Seldon. I know Brian just said they are all slow, but Gray was having a bad day, you gotta change it up somehow. (And before everyone says "Gray wasnt having a bad day, he's just bad," we've seen him have good games against teams better than this version of MSU).
Where are GJ3 and Dennis? Those guys are supposed to be fast. Put them out there and tell them to follow a guy around, they dont have to have mastered technique or the playbook. They will at least keep up with MSU receivers and put some doubt into Lombardi's head to dissuade throws.
Can Seth or someone with X and O knowledge address what the hell has happened to Don Brown? He held Heisman winner Jamies Winston to 20 pts at BC with players that were slower than Gray and worse at DT than Kemp and Jeter.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:15 PM ^
I've been done with Brown for a couple of years now. Now I'm done with Harbaugh too. Sorry, can't do it anymore.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:16 PM ^
"Fools gold." That pretty accurately describes the whole Harbaugh era.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:17 PM ^
Usually in these situations, the “hot take” is to fire everyone.
This situation has deteriorated so much that now the “hot take” is not to fire everyone.
This is every bit as bad as RR and Hoke.
Worse, because when RR left, Denard was still here. When Hoke left, there was a top level defense still here.
If JH left, what exactly is in the cupboard for his successor?
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:26 PM ^
Ok, fire Harbaugh debate aside saying this team doesn't have talent to pass on is asinine. Milton is a young guy with tons of physical talent, Mcnamara was also a 4 star as well, you got a 5 star coming in next year if he stays committed, RB position has alot of talent, young talent at receiver and on the o-line, defense certainly has holes but it is not devoid of young talent either. A new coach would have quite a bit to work with.
I think you are being overly generous with your stating of what was left by Hoke. Defense had alot of inherited talent, but the offense certainly did not have the same level of inherited talent.
November 2nd, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
Agreed the offense Hoke left behind was terrible.
But next year what will be here?
Mayfield, Paye, Hutchinson and McGrone will probably all go to the NFL. If Hayes shows out, maybe him too.
There’s gonna be transfers from the RB and WR rooms because of playing time issues because we have excess there.
November 2nd, 2020 at 3:25 PM ^
Wtf...Hoke left behind Darboh, Chesson, and Butt....two All Big Ten and one All American.
All three of those have been the most productive receivers Harbaugh has had BY FAR.
Deveon Smith was not bad and we had Chris Evans as well.
November 2nd, 2020 at 5:32 PM ^
Defense is pretty devoid of young talent actually. How long do you think Dax will stick around?
Milton is what he always has been, a pile of potential. He’s a junior so he has pretty much run out of time barring some sort of awakening that no M qb has seen under Harbaugh. If McNamara was competent we’d be seeing him by now given Miltons inaccuracy. RBs have a lot of talent, though it continues to be squandered by our coaching.
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