Unverified Voracity Remembers Ufer
RIP Ufer. Via Dr. Sap, rembrances of Bob Ufer on Michigan replay, 1981:
Also Harbaugh on Ufer:
"When there was an away game, we'd just gather around the radio and listen to it. Roll around, jump around on the furniture," Harbaugh recalled Monday during his radio show. "And I had a record, too. I had a Bob Ufer record, a vinyl record. John, my brother, had a stereo and I would listen to that almost every night before I went to bed.
"His calls of the game were just so awesome."
Well, yeah. PFF on Jourdan Lewis:
Jourdan Lewis owns the top PFF cornerback grade at +15.9. Opposing quarterbacks have posted a quarterback rating of 36.1 when targeting Lewis. In addition, Lewis has allowed only 18 receptions on 51 targets and leads the nation in passes defensed with twelve (the second place CB has eight). Lewis passed a major test in this last week’s epic game against Connor Cook (+26.1) and the CFF fifth ranked passing offense, Michigan State Spartans (+47.5). Lewis was also just named as a finalist for the 2015 Jim Thorpe award which goes to the top defensive back in the county.
They also have a list of the best-performing wide receivers on their college home page; Lewis's foe in the epic one-on-one battle last Saturday is at the top of the list. MSU is an interesting combination of very good players and very bad ones.
Minnesota incoming. Jerry Kill was just forced to retire, of course, and now Gopher fans are like… uh… what now?
The good news: Tracy Claeys, the new interim head coach, and the coaching staff have been through this before -- sort of. Back in 2013 when Kill stepped aside midseason to deal with his health, Claeys took over as interim head coach and led the Gophers to four straight Big Ten wins. This situation is a bit different, as Claeys is no longer keeping the ship afloat until Kill returns -- Kill is not coming back. So the good news is that I don't expect Claeys to be in over his head. This staff has been together too long to fall apart now, and they're well versed in how to handle adversity.
The bad news: This final stretch of games is brutal. Injuries have ravaged the depth chart. You've got a roster of players who've now lost their head coach. The future of the coaching staff is uncertain. The cloud of a Title IX investigation and the search for an athletic director hang over the university. In what has been a disappointing season, this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. It is possible that the Gophers will play inspired football the rest of the season to honor their former head coach and pull off enough wins to become bowl eligible. But it is also possible that the Gophers' misfortunes continue with a streak of five more losses to end the season.
Unless Minnesota seriously outperforms expectations they will be facing a choice between promoting an interim on a team that didn't do so hot and trying to find a coach in one of the most competitive hiring markets in the history of college football without an athletic director. Hopefully they've got a Jim Hackett hanging around; more likely what that means is that Claeys is going to get the job even if that doesn't end up seeming like the best idea.
Mike Leach FTW. Leach on time of possession:
One stat a number of coaches have railed against for years is time of possession. Some still point to it, but many don’t anymore. With the rise in tempos, it becomes irrelevant.
“The biggest waste of time is time of possession,” Leach said. “What’s interesting to me is that was the national obsession for decades. Now, it’s viewed more of a waste of time. It probably took 50 years for that to happen.”
It's not quite dead yet. Leach also rails against the NCAA applying sacks against rushing attempts. Preach, Mike Leach. Preach and beat Stanford this weekend to throw the Pac-12 into complete chaos.
The new guy. The news has started using Tony Paul as their everything beat writer—equestrian is coming right up—and part of his gig led him to track down people who know recent 2017 basketball commit Jordan Poole:
“Yeah! If you have a coach who is just like, ‘If you’re open, shoot it,’ why not?” Poole said. “If the coach is telling me to shoot, he does not have to tell me twice.
“That’s what really caught my attention as a player.”
It's a fit.
Here is an 80 yard punt by Blake O'Neill. I clipped this for UFR and then forgot about it and frankly I'm just putting it here so that for next year's season preview when I go all rapture mode on John Baxter I can find it:
This has been "Brian puts something on the internet so he can Google it later." You're welcome.
Etc.: ESPN has comments? Pete Carroll is promoting a rugby-style tackle for all levels of football. Interesting adaptation. DJ Wilson speaks. Jarrod Wilson, pleasantly boring. Derrick Walton back. The Bentley treasure trove opens.
October 29th, 2015 at 2:59 PM ^
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October 29th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^
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October 29th, 2015 at 3:07 PM ^
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October 29th, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^
After looking at that video, is there any other way to tackle?
I was always taught (I'm 32) to hit with the shoulder into the hip, head to the side and drive through... what else is there?
October 29th, 2015 at 4:23 PM ^
I still think a rugby tackle is better - sure you give up a few more yards but it's more effective in the open field, and there's no question it's safer on the head and neck. Football players still need helmets because of blocking I think, and rugby players don't have to contest blocks while tackling. But especially if a successful NFL and college coach is promoting this tackling, it should be the standard.
October 29th, 2015 at 4:33 PM ^
>As a freshman in M rugby
soiled meat and sand!
October 29th, 2015 at 6:43 PM ^
October 29th, 2015 at 4:31 PM ^
Never played football, but I've played rugby for about a decade now. The big things we try to tell football players are...
1. you MUST wrap. Not only is it the rule, but it's the only way to ensure that you are going to stop the runner. Relying on mass is a very poor way to tackle, especially if you're playing somebody who has good balance.
2. Head positioning--football players tend to put their heads in front of/inside the runner, rather than behind/outside. When you have a helmet, you don't need to worry about getting kneed in the face.
3. In rugby, giving up a yard to make a solid tackle is nearly always the right move. So, you let the attacker fall forward to ensure you get a very solid wrap and bring them down--which also helps make it harder for the attacking team to secure the ball in a ruck. In football, that might get you chewed out by your coach for giving up yards after contact.
October 29th, 2015 at 3:10 PM ^
It's a tactic--a means to an end. So is going fast.
I mean, if you keep your offense on the field a lot, you keep your defense off the field and limit the opposing team's chances to score. But you also limit your own. By contrast, trying to score fast and quick increases both your and your opponents' chances to score.
So I don't mind when teams, like ours, go the slow route--provided it fits the personnel and is deployed tactically, rather than as a default. When it's just a default, regardless of circumstance, or when people say dumb crap like "the team that wins ToP wins the game," I roll my eyes.
October 29th, 2015 at 3:20 PM ^
I think it's a matter of managing variance. If you think you're the better team, more possessions for everyone means the shit happens stuff that goes against you don't matter as much and you have ample opportunity to overcome them by just grinding. If you think you're the worse team and you need to make your shots count, you want to limit possessions so that you get your points off of whatever luck/trickery you can and don't give your opponent a chance to respond.
October 29th, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
I get similarly bugged when its viewed as the 'Next Big Thing!'. 'You Can't Win Without 'X' (whether X is tempo or ball control or...).
So much of this game is strategy and matchups. But then a new philosophy comes along that people haven't seen or gamplanned for in awhile and it seems like the wonder weapon of the modern age until its countered. The Run & Shoot. The Zone Blitz. The Spread. The I. Whatever.
The Harbaughffense doesn't work because he always has superior players, or because its inherently superior. When its working it does because the coach himself works to put his players in the best positions and to work around the other teams strengths. He has a way he prefers to do it (Power) but he's not a ZealotTrueBeliever. He will adjust.
I think all good coaches will do that.
October 29th, 2015 at 3:17 PM ^
My personal Mt Rushmore of announcers includes Ufer, Harry Caray, Ernie Harwell, and Vin Scully. Ufer is the best of the four. Bruce Martyn was pretty good, too, but who would you take off to put him on?
October 29th, 2015 at 3:22 PM ^
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October 29th, 2015 at 3:34 PM ^
The son and grandson may have been better at actually conveying information, but Harry was far more entertaining. Did you know that MGoGrendel spelled backwards is LednergOgM?
October 29th, 2015 at 4:15 PM ^
but I never understood why people liked him so much to begin with.
Plus, Bruce Martyn is my #1. My dad would let me stay up late on winter nights listening to him call the latest 3-0 loss to the Habs. I grew up in a time when the playoffs werent like death and taxes for the Wings.
October 29th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^
-Caray, +Keith Jackson. Sorry Harry.
October 29th, 2015 at 3:18 PM ^
With all the Ufer history and videos being passed around, does anyone have a copy of the "Salute to Bo" roast that was televised (I believe on ABC) in 1990 after he retired? Speakers included Bobby Knight, Bo Derek, Keith Jackson, tons of former players, etc... It was absolutely a fantastic "roast/toast", and I am pissed that I can't find it on the internets (my google skills may need some work). Wolverine Historian possibly?
October 29th, 2015 at 8:52 PM ^
October 30th, 2015 at 9:01 AM ^
+1 to you my friend. Sent you an email - thanks a ton!
October 29th, 2015 at 3:19 PM ^
Speaking of "rugby style" Would a rugby style "place the ball on the ground for a try" be a way to avoid all of this garbage "did he cross the line, does he have possession, did he fumble?" we have in football? I had this in my head a couple days ago and thought it might work. I hate the "replay everything" way football is going. It really makes the game boring.
October 29th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
This reminds me of how much I hate the pile up determining a fumble. Sometimes you see a guy clearly fall directly on the ball, maintaining possession and being down, but the other team dogpiles 5 guys on him (legally) and rips it away. The refs spend 30 seconds ripping everybody off the pile, and who knows what happens under it. Other team gets it somehow, cameras can't see what happened, boom possession changes. On review you could definitively show the first guy had the ball, but that doesn't matter??
October 29th, 2015 at 3:56 PM ^
After 4 years of college football, I know what happens under those fumble piles. . . Terrible, unspeakable things happen. . .
October 29th, 2015 at 4:46 PM ^
In rugby they just made it part of the game. :D
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01595/england_1595194c.jpg
October 29th, 2015 at 4:15 PM ^
Over-reliance on TMO and replay is becoming an increasing problem in rugby. It really only replaces the problems you already have with things like:
--Is the person across the line?
--is the ball downed or is it knocked on (fumbled)
--is a defenders hand under the ball?
--was the scoring player illegally makign a 'second motion'?
And this is ignoring the fact that in rugby you get your "one motion" to either score the try or set the ruck. In football, you're just down, so you'd still have a huge issue with replay so you can tell whether soembody is down before they were able to ground the ball.
October 29th, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
There was nothing better than hearing the Bo "George Patton" Schembechler scoring horn after a Michigan touchdown.
October 29th, 2015 at 3:39 PM ^
in the Bently articles. Lost in the discussion
Q:"In what specialties have you played a leading part?"
A:"Passing-Kicking (I Hope)"
HA! Passing was special teams play!
Also, whats up with the caps, then the caps & lowercase, then the cursive!
October 29th, 2015 at 3:50 PM ^
"MSU is an interesting combination of very good players and very bad ones."
Ah yes, the ol' "Stars and Scrubs", often seen in fantasy baseball auction league rosters.
October 29th, 2015 at 4:07 PM ^
I really miss Ufer. I'll never forget how amped up he got me for The Game, like I needed it, when he lost him mind when osu torn down the M Banner. That and Dr. Strangehayes.
One of a kind.
October 29th, 2015 at 4:21 PM ^
The thing about rugby tackles is that they're not only safer, they're more likely to bring somebody to ground--especially when there's a big size or strength difference. It's not so easy to just run over or through somebody when they've got their arms latched around your thighs. I mean, Kovaks wasn't the biggest guy and he pretty much made his daily bread on quality wrap tackles.
We've all seen somebody go flying in for a shoulder tackle only to have the runner stay on his feet, right? I mean, this is not a TD if either OSU defender wraps Robinson up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr-mT-fvRTc
October 29th, 2015 at 4:19 PM ^
Bob Ufer....what a wonderful Saturday with him on the radio and the TV turned down...The news of his loss broken my heart...I loved listening to him and I still do....Bought the original 33 Albums and wore them out....one of a kind
October 29th, 2015 at 4:27 PM ^
October 29th, 2015 at 4:31 PM ^
As someone who broke down the final MSU punt formation and execution a zillion times, that 80-yarder video proves M's final punt protection was good. Never would've gotten blocked.
(sigh)
Sorry, I know that's a dead horse. I need new football, bad.
October 29th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
I love Ufer, even if he was before my time - listening to the replays of his old broadcasts during the bye weeks is always cool. I also think Frank Beckmann was a great play-by-play guy. He doesn't get quite the same appreciation but he ended up working almost as long and made many memorable calls - "Woodson down the sideline! Polish off the Heisman!" and "Denard Robinson, shoelaces flopping in the wind" come to mind.
We haven't really replaced Beckmann. I like Brandstatter's enthusiasm but he really should be a color guy.
October 30th, 2015 at 1:38 AM ^
October 29th, 2015 at 4:53 PM ^
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October 29th, 2015 at 5:46 PM ^
Minnesota as a reasonable place for Brady Hoke to end up.
October 30th, 2015 at 6:39 AM ^
He could lose the Jug there too.
Naw, he won't coach in the Big Ten again.
October 29th, 2015 at 5:50 PM ^
Ufer Insurance and the new company that acquired it have several tailgate parties at AAGO each year.
The tent is filled with loud sounds of Bob's broadcast performances, generally in games in which we beat OSU, that make the day just magnificent. I take my food and stand as close as possible to the speakers. Listening to that stuff is much better than socializing with live people.
I also have the two CD's of his greatest broadcasts. Listen to those bad boys if you ever want to get fired up.
BTW..........all of his children, who are in their 60's, are just the nicest people in the world. They don't get better than Ufer bloodlines.
October 29th, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^
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October 29th, 2015 at 6:20 PM ^
that was rough, I loved listening to the radio but because I had to.
October 29th, 2015 at 6:22 PM ^
there was maybe one or two games on the TV each saturday. That was it. Bill Flemming used to host a highlight show on Sundays so you could see highlights for most of the Top 25 teams games on Saturday.
October 29th, 2015 at 8:25 PM ^
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October 30th, 2015 at 6:09 PM ^
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October 30th, 2015 at 6:37 AM ^
No TV = no commercial timeouts.
Kickoff at 1 PM.
We throw 15 passes in a game, possess the ball and run the clock.
Game over at 3:20 PM
October 29th, 2015 at 6:19 PM ^
they went and got burritos when they met, true romance right there!!!
October 29th, 2015 at 8:50 PM ^
It was right before Christmas day and my mom let me open one gift early. At this stage, I was becoming the lifelong, diehard Michigan fan that I am today, growing up just outside of East Lansing, no less. I had been obssessed since 2nd/3rd grade and this was the Christmas of 7th grade I believe. Anyway, I open the gift and it's a cd of Michigan football classics, including a bunch of radio calls from Ufer. I didn't know who Bob Ufer was before cracking open that cd, but you better believe I cried when I listened to that cd. This man understood this crazy fandom I was going through and made sense of it through his radio calls. I will always remember that day quite fondly and will always remember who Bob Ufer was and what he continues to mean for Meeechigan football. RIP Bob Ufer.
October 29th, 2015 at 10:47 PM ^
Not just in his tone, but the characterizations. Even when we were not listening to him, it was impossible to see a player run into the end zone without feeling him pass the 20, the 10, the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I couldn't think of Earl Bruce without Darth Vader coming to mind.
And the tone was much more than excited yelling. I remember distinctly from my youth being down late to Arizona in an early season game in 1978. Ufer's voice made it clear that getting that last yard to score and take the lead was going to be the most important thing in the world. Similar thing with with the revenge game against State in 1979.
Am I the only one who sees the connection between Ufer's calls and this blog? None of us can see an overthrown pass without knowing it was intended for Tacopants. Or see Jim Tressel without focusing on his sweater-vest (and what were obviously cheaty pants). And we all register the desperate need to win on a scale of 1 to 10.
In my humble opinion, Brian has been the Bob Ufer of the internet age. We are blessed to have had them both.
October 29th, 2015 at 11:34 PM ^
on away gamedays... I'd take a radio outside and turn up the volume while raking leaves in my parents' yard. Bob Ufer was a personality who made me happy to be alive. He was the real deal, as someone said above, one of a kind.
Home games in the 70s were also a totally different animal. TV and refs rarely interfered with the game; you would hear this mutter among fans in the stands: "What's going on? Oh..... commercial." We have some solid rules in place now for player safety, and I welcome these developments but as it turns out, the best intentioned rules also have a downside that we have started to witness.
October 30th, 2015 at 12:05 AM ^
the other classic call that I remember from Ufer was the Harry Oliver-ND game in 1980 (although the '74 Lantry FG against OSU is also classic...I wasn't listening to UM football then.)
October 30th, 2015 at 6:34 AM ^
Last Saturday, because of the bye, they replayed Ufer's broadcast of us stomping Wisconsin in the mid-70's. You forget how Ufer talked at 100 MPH... and almopst never stopped talking while themike was on.
They had Don Lund in the booth on as his color man. I felt sorry for Lund because Ufer would go on and on for 5 minutes straight and then, probably to get a sip of water, would throw it back at Lund without any warning.
"Isn't that right, Lundo?"
Dead air followed by Lund mumbling, "... uhhh. mmm... that's right Bob."
And then Ufer jumped back in and started right back up and never missed a beat.
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