11 Warriors excerpt from Brandon's Lasting Lessons
On the 11W site about The Game 2013
Got some pretty frank quotes out of Gardner. Is it me, or is he talking in maybe not the highest terms about Borges? My thoughts on the article were generally "gaaahhhhal;djfoeiBORGESjfaldjjflaev" or something along those lines. Oh well. It's in the past as they say.
August 26th, 2015 at 10:41 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 9:49 AM ^
I dont know if i hate the team or the fan base more. God, I hate the Buckeyes.....
Im feeling the same towards Sparty too lately...It was cute at first but now...ahhhhhh.
August 26th, 2015 at 9:52 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 9:54 AM ^
Hey Ramzy. Any idea of why Bacon sent the book to you and not the more prolific DJ Byrnes?
August 26th, 2015 at 9:57 AM ^
On behalf of many here, we grudgingly respect your work on 11W. Your pieces are always well-written, even if simultaneously sometimes hard (as a Michigan fan) to read.
August 26th, 2015 at 9:52 AM ^
Denard comes in we're running, Devin comes in we're passing.
Unfuckingbelievable, and we still should have won that game simply because Denard was a transcendent athlete who could make up for Borges bullshit.
August 26th, 2015 at 10:08 AM ^
the previous year was a bigger blunder. We scored 21 points off those dicks and then NOTHING the 2nd half...we quit attacking the edge with Denard and tried running Pro-Style offense from 1998. That game was bad one too....hell, Hoke could easily have been 3-1 vs OSU if he wasn't so inept...we were even in last years game too...
August 26th, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
I hate saying I'm happy we lost to OSU, but if Hoke went 3-1 vs some admittedly great OSU teams, there's no way in hell he's fired right now. He'd probably be on another contract extension by now.
August 26th, 2015 at 10:17 AM ^
Judging by how well our defense played in that second half, had Hoke and Borges stuck with Denard and what was clearly working, we could've very easily won that game.
And then 2013....Borges was brilliant for 99% of that game, but he failed miserably the one play where it really mattered. He was predictable, and OSU knew exactly what was coming. And sadly, that's all that matters. People won't remember Devin's heroics and him playing like an All-American that day. They will remember that we lost. Again.
Hoke and Borges cost us wins two years in a row against OSU. I'm glad they're both gone.
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August 26th, 2015 at 10:38 AM ^
If I ever meet Devin I would love to shake his hand and tell him that what he gave to this school and this program was noticed by many and will never be forgotten.
Hopefully if V. Smith happens to read this he can relay that to him.
He had every right to complain and he never did once.
You want to burn my redshirt in a game we won by 40 pts? sure. You want me to play receiver? sure. You want to play Bellomy over me in a huge road game even though it looks like he's never played QB in his life? sure.
August 26th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
Because no one remembers how incredible DG was in that game. I barely remember it anymore.
If we had won, that goes down as one of the all time great performances of a Michigan QB vs Ohio State - maybe one of the best single game performances ever ala Biakabatuka's 313. Not a soul will remember it now. Sad.
Look at this!:
32/45 451 YDS 4 TD 0 INT, 1 RUSH TD
He's the only reason the final score was 42-41 and not 42-14
August 26th, 2015 at 2:21 PM ^
As an Ohio State fan I remember it quite well. SImply put, he was fantastic. If I had to pick a favorite Wolverine *throws up in mouth a little bit* it would be Gardner by a mile.
Gets shit kicked out of him for 2 years running, has his entire career mishandled, and never complains once. Classy dude.
August 26th, 2015 at 9:53 AM ^
Poor, dear Devin.
August 26th, 2015 at 10:01 AM ^
We broke him.
*sigh*
August 26th, 2015 at 10:14 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 10:15 AM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
Just went back to watch that 2 point conversion on youtube. Beautiful play. It would be almost impossible to defend if the strongside LB didn't know exactly what was coming. I'll never understand Borges. Why not run that when it counts?
August 26th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 10:29 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 10:32 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^
And then Borges saves a beautiful 2 point play the very next game, against Kansas State, at the end of a blowout.
August 26th, 2015 at 10:39 AM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
There's no place for your logic here.
August 26th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 10:48 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 10:46 AM ^
I'm still not over it. I was pissed watching the end of that game in real time, pissed while talking about it on this board a year later, pissed reading the link above that confirmed what we all knew about that 2 point play. Goddam it Al! Urban just looked at your formation and called a time out. Call a different fucking play than the one Urban just set up to defend. Why is that not obvious? The people here reminding us that Hoke was complicit too, nailed it. You're the goddam head coach, Brady. Exert some influence--ie, be a head coach! Gah!!!!! I need a hug.
August 26th, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 11:07 AM ^
Yes, please. I'll take either. Anything to get me out of this curled-up fetal position on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
August 26th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
I'll give you something stiff. My blue balls are afire as well.
August 26th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
It's actually unpleasantly pleasant.
August 26th, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
Sometimes I don't think coaches and coordinators are the brightest mammals in the world. Often decisions that seem very obvious are not made. However, I hump inanimate objects, so its not like my decision making is spectacular either.
August 26th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
I don't have time to be upset about this. I'm still getting over the Crable late hit.
August 26th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
Amen to that
August 26th, 2015 at 11:42 AM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 11:57 AM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
August 26th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
Shockingly, Al Borges was kinda terrible as an OC.
August 26th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
will always remain as one my sympathic Wolverines. Never seen a player put in more situations to fail by a bunch of inept coaches as him.
August 26th, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
"I'm pretty sure the only person who didn't know they knew was Al Borges." Wasn't it Borges' fucking job to know something like that?
About sums up our 2013 offense right there. When you get called out by multiple teams about how predictable you are and how they know exactly what play you're going to call, you've got problems. When you get outcoached by the likes of Bo Pelini and Kirk Ferentz, you've got a BIG. DAMN. PROBLEM.
I don't care that Borges called a great gameplan for 99% of the 2013 OSU game. He failed miserably in the moment that really mattered. He reverted to his old self, and he single-handedly cost Michigan what would've likely been the biggest upset in the history of the rivalry.
Gardner played like a warrior that day. Like an All-American. I will always have the utmost respect for how he's conducted himself on and off the field. He endured a lot of criticism that he didn't deserve. Bottom line: his coach(s) failed him. They failed the whole team.
August 26th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
The problem is now I feel like stabbing someone.
August 26th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^
You're telling me....
The fact that Hoke and Borges didn't know they were digging their own graves by not adjusting the playcall, but the players did, continues to speak volumes about the ineptitude of those two men as football coaches.
Gardner knew he was heading into a buzzsaw and he couldn't do anything about it. I'll say it again: his coaches failed him.
August 26th, 2015 at 1:11 PM ^
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August 26th, 2015 at 1:55 PM ^