6-0 start: Once every five years (& Content request)
Apparently we are only able to get a 6-0 start once every five years since the advent of this blog: 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021. As this is a bye week, maybe we could make a comprehensive comparison among this team and the three 6-0 teams of yesteryears by position group? Something speculative like this:
QB: Henne (2006) > Robinson, Gardner (2011) > McNamara & McCarthy (2021) >= Speight (2016)
RB: Hart, Grady, Minor (2006) > Haskins, Corum (2021) >= D. Smith, Evans, Isaac (2016) >= Toussaint, Smith (2011)
Rationally, I also don't see any position group of this year's team being a notch above the 2006 one - except maybe the special team.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:28 PM ^
Once in a while, I'd like to actually go 6 - 0 in our last six games, just to know what it feels like.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
Strange critique since UofM only started 6-0 once in the 15 years before 2006, and even Bo only did it three times in his last 15 years.
Most important difference, imo, is the leadership and team chemistry in 2021 are at a 25 year high.
The team (3x)
October 11th, 2021 at 1:48 PM ^
2016.... if Drake Johnson wasn't run over by a forklift..... things would have been different.
October 11th, 2021 at 4:18 PM ^
I have pulled the seasonal stats for the 2006, 2011, 2016, and so far for 2021 using this site
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/michigan/2021.html
And made them into nice table to compare by position.
It is also interesting that this site notes which players made it to the NFL (but I think there are some accuracy issues but not sure what the sites criteria is).
I did QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DL, LB, Secondary, Kicking, and Return Game....
I will attempt to write my first Diary tonight and include each of the tables. Some of the comments already highlight what most know already (ie the 2016 defense was VERY good and VERY talented....). But there are a few surprises as well. Here is an example of one position I did....
October 11th, 2021 at 4:38 PM ^
I don't think Gardner got many snaps at all in 2011, right? The Henne Robinson comparison is tough - I'd put them as equal. That 2011 offense, with Molk as the anchor of it, was GOOD. The 2006 O was no slouch, and yes Hart was better thatn Fitz, but Denard and the OL were probably even with Henne and Jake Long's crew. Receivers and RBs were better in '06, for sure. Overall tho, the 2011 O was at least as good as 2006.
and that 2016 D was solid against everyone. I think Florida State is the only team that really looked like their O was better than our D.
So as a whole, I'd say, for O: 2006 = 2011 > 2021 >> 2016. For D: 2016 > 2006 > 2011 = 2021, and the 2021s are obviously TBD.
I cant remember enough for STs, I remember thinking we were pretty solid in 2016, and being surprised by the creepy kicker who won't be named from 2011 who didn't look that good in 2010. I cant remember 2006 STs at all. Up until Ball State, nobody was anywhere close to us for it to matter, if I remember right.
October 12th, 2021 at 8:41 AM ^
That 2011 offense, with Molk as the anchor of it, was GOOD.
Disagree. It was talented, but really held back by year 1 Borges/Hoke crap. Both the losses were due to bad offense, and the Sugar Bowl really should have been a 3rd loss for the same reason (less than 200 yards of offense).
2011 is the year Hoke decided the most electric running QB of his era should be under center handing off in the I formation because that’s how Michigan Men play football. Forcing Denard to try to be Tom Brady in an East Lansing trash tornado cost Michigan Paul Bunyan and a B1G championship.
October 11th, 2021 at 5:34 PM ^
You won't find anyone who loves Mike Hart more than I do. He is a Michigan HOFer.
That being said, Haskins runs with more power than Hart did (if nothing else just due to his size), and Corum has game-breaking ability that Hart never possessed. Our backfield this year feels better to me than it has since the monster backfields we had in the late 80's early 90's.
October 11th, 2021 at 5:42 PM ^
Oh, and the 2006 team was clearly Lloyd's 2nd best team of his career and had a superior offense to the '97 team. They would have been in the national title game had they played Ohio State at home. Or if Crable had just laid off on that hit......
If we had had a 4-team playoff back then I bet we would have been in.October 12th, 2021 at 8:43 AM ^
Definitely, on that last point. There was semi serious talk of making the BCS championship game a rematch. Of course, both teams got beat in their bowl games. But yeah, would have made a good 4 team playoff.
October 11th, 2021 at 6:47 PM ^
While I see the point with many of the comparisons on these threads of comments, I think we are using our nostalgia about these good/great teams a little bit to make comparisons….those teams had some issues too.
2006 I do think had the best overall offensive skill talent, the best single linemen in Jake Long, and the best overall front 7, but the DB’s were pretty thin after Leon Hall.
2011 was the worst overall with the benefit of not playing Russell Wilson, a mediocre Fickell OSU, a bad overall BiG10, a miracle win over Notre Dame where they played really good for about 8 minutes, and a whole lot of “try hard” as there were a lot of positive vibes around the Hoke era every game up until the 2012 Alabama slaughter when we were all brought way back down to earth. But we had Denard!!! and a few late era Carr recruits that finally played close their ceiling in Martin, Van Bergen and Hemingway.
2016 was the best overall defense (LB’s overall were just good and not quite to the level of 2006 or it would probably be best front 7 too) and had a good and efficient offense with both top WR’s and Butt all playing up to their potential, and a good stable of BiG10 caliber backs.
2021 I think the jury is still out on all accounts but I believe as posted earlier the defense is at least better skill wise across the board than 2011….and I don’t think we played any QB as dynamic as Martinez in 2011 (we had that QB). But I can say for almost for certain that our 2021 RB’s and Oline are better than all those units, again, jury is still out on several other positions mainly WR, LB, CB, and interior Dline which all seem to be improving week to week (corners may have hit ceiling, we will see).