MORE THAN 8 YEARS IN THE NFL IS A LONG TIME

Boom: chart! by LSA on how long an NFL draftee is expected to last.

The blip is explainable by what's been going on with NFL rookie contracts. The maximum contract for a  rookie used to be seven years (hence the peak), but since 2011 every rookie contract has been four years with a team option for a fifth on 1st rounders.

Click for big

That CBA made rookie contracts way less complicated and appreciably more team-friendly. An unintended side effect of this has been teams trying to rid themselves of those pre-2011 agreements while holding onto more recent draftees longer than they would otherwise.

Since the rough years in Ann Arbor have now stretched longer than what's typical for any NFL career, the Michigan guys still playing are particularly old. I remember making all-Michigan teams in early Playstation versions of Madden. Try that now and you can squeeze together a one-deep plus Henne, Fitz, Will Campbell, and Cam Gordon on the bench (I 'm using Mundy for now but if you figure Stevie Brown will sign somewhere you can swap them out).

SMART FOOTBALL ON HARBAUGH

It's scheme month on the Solid Verbal Podcast so Smart Football (Chris Brown) has been on. This already is relevant to your interests. But this week's show was on Harbaugh so…

Go to the 47 minute mark to get to the Harbaugh. Dnak at the link provided the bullets for "Bo Schembechler football with Jon Gruden's playbook." Dnak also questioned the suggestion that Fisch is going to be running the offense, a prospect Chris is down on. I do think Jedd's "passing game coordinator" title is legit but Drevno is calling plays, as he did well enough in San Diego, and it's still Harbaugh's scheme and Harbaugh's plans, and Harbaugh's metaphorical nose in the huddle.

Earlier they're talking about Mariota vs. Winston and Chris is asked "In 2015 what's a Pro Style offense and what's a Spread?" and he just rips apart the labels, before using them anyway because we still don't have better to describe two slider setting extremities.

Speaking to what you do with a quarterback, until you've got a Tom Brady/Peyton Manning who in Chris's words is "seeing the Matrix", you design a passing game you can teach and your quarterback can operate. Dials include footwork (shotgun, 3-, 5- and 7-step drops), pre-snap reads, post-snap decision trees, and of course whether his feet are going to be part of the offense. Start with the knobs he's good at, and slowly turn up others as the QB adjusts.

The biggest point is "it all works" as long as your offense puts stress on the defense. The classic example of exactly what you shouldn't do then hangs in the air like a wet Borges fart. It is annoying that Brown excitedly brings up our two chief rivals as examples of cutting edge while the commentary on Michigan's offense is "this stuff may be old but it still works." May it kick ass so the smart coach-y people have to explain why.

[After jump: Austin Davis, night games and the Freekbass Quotient of invitees, why we're all A's fans now]

MICHIGAN IS STILL IN PLAY IN OAKLAND

Harbaugh posted this:

S/O to Billy Butler...Today's A's Jungle Lion. 3 Run Shot in the 5th!! Will send 3 Stickers 4 the Helmet pic.twitter.com/YjgvYFF9qr

— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) April 14, 2015

One of our readers is friends with Billy Butler, via him:

Oakland A's use Michigan Helmet for Player of the Game Award

I am actually a close friend of Billy's and he knows my obsession for everything UM.  Following that post, he sent me a pic of the helmet in his locker.

He explained that this looks to be a season long tradition for the A's and the Winged Helmet will be the "award" for Oakland's Player of the Game.  The player will be entrusted with the helmet until it is re-awarded to the next POG.

Anyway, thought that was worth sharing, and something that Michigan can hang their hat/helmet on!

AUSTIN DAVIS REACT: GO SLOW ON BIGS

Beilein sees big things in those ears. [Freep]

I'm exactly nobody's idea of a basketball recruiting expert, so the day I start questioning John Beilein's scouting is the day after I start telling NASA scientists they're wrong about their jet propulsion.

One thing I know from personal experience is what a major growth spurt does to a teenager's body. When I got out of driver's ed I didn't have to change the seat from where my mom (5'3) kept it; when I got my license six months later (the last year that didn't have to take a road exam by the way) I had to put the seat as far back as the Honda designers would let it go. I was on the ski team, and in the course of that season went from pushing the upperclassmen for a middle flight (six guys race) to carrying coats, because that's what happens to bodies when they jump eight inches in as many lunar cycles.

Bigs take a long time to develop because they went from kids clothes to having to shop in specialty stores in less time than it takes to get a college degree. Only then can they add muscle, and then learn to use those muscles, and then give those muscles memory so they can react without conscious thought.

I have no idea how Beilein or any basketball coach looks at someone with a learner's permit and thinks "man, when this guy's 21…" Probably things like when Austin Davis's family went to Florida the recruit spent the whole trip running up and down the beach because Beilein suggested he get better at running the floor.

As for using precious 2016 scholarship space on another post, my guess is after one bit of Horford family wisdom and the most insane NCAA ruling ever wrought a November of NJIT/EMU, developing consistent depth down low became paramount. As for badly needed backcourt players, it seems the staff that can raid Penn State's class and turn up a Naismith winner is going to put faith in this ability. When your worst late deadline scramble can still come up Spike Albrecht, gather ye Jordan Morgans when ye may.

TO NIGHT NIGHT, OR NOT TO NIGHT GAME? specifically for MSU, was discussed on WTKA yesterday, and the discussion bled onto the board.

Points for:

• Fun to tailgate all day and scream at night
• Can't deny the atmosphere has been excellent every time
• Players love it.

Points against:

• Tradition
• Ann Arbor would probably survive an actual zombie attack better than an army of drunken Sparty brahs walking around at 1 a.m., especially given the state of the State rivalry these days.

It's worked in the past because Michigan-like (read: remarkably placid for college football fans) Penn State and Notre Dame were the guests. Even after we played Nicest State in the Union™ Minnesota last year these guys…

…were pounding on the windows of Ashleys yelling "We got ur jugs!".

This is not Minnesota's fault: having a Guy Who Thinks He's Freekbass Quotient of lower than the critical 0.05% is extremely rare for any major university. We liked Notre Dame because to get a Freekbass Notre Dame fan they literally had to pay Freekbass to pretend to be a Notre Dame fan. Obligatory:

Virginia Tech started doing night games early because they were a non-traditional program trying to be more than the place Mike Vick made good that one time, and caught lightning. I prefer we make these rare—one every four years against a likeable non-conference foe to prop up a non-MSU/OSU season, so every player who comes and graduates gets to do it at least once. Going beyond that is forcing, and undermines the perception that a regular noon Michigan game is special in its own right.

M00N REMEMBERED

I made this for HTTV's Northwestern preview:

Click gets you a background-sized version. Here's the png (again, it links to a full-sized) if you want to apply it to whatever:

ETC. Michigan last played in a non-bowl Thursday game in 1905, until which it was traditional to play in Chicago on Thanksgiving. Wallpaper by jonvalk would have made a perfect lead for the HTTV article Chris Brown didn't write on Harbaughffense. "Metal-chewing wolverine attacks state of New Jersey, thousands flee". Dantonio is offended.

Your Moment of Zen: