"Sad Saturday" Pep Talk
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:38 PM ^
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December 3rd, 2016 at 2:39 PM ^
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December 3rd, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^
Hopefully Harbaugh learns some things from this season as well. The 2 losses this year just felt downright Lloyd Carr-esque. All we heard about Harbaugh was how aggressive he is as a coach, so to see him go conservative at the end of those games and have it cost us was disappointing. There's no doubt the talent will continue to get better, hopefully the coaches do as well.
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:46 PM ^
I felt the same way about MSU last year. We were clearly better than them and had them on the ropes the whole game but went super conservative with runs up the middle in the second half. We destroyed them this year and I'm hopeful we do the same to OSU next year, at home. Players under Harbaugh for 3 years will be better than players under him for 2, regardless of seniority.
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:44 PM ^
to be MSU now?
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:51 PM ^
Agreed to a point. The big difference is this offensive line can't lean on quality defenses in obvious running situations and actually grab yards.
Teams play us and know this. They can actually gain an advantage in pass defense as a result. PInch the li
Harbaugh's playcalling is strangled by the reality of this offensive line. A lot of the success the quarterback has had against good defenses is due to his improvisational skills buying time. The line just isn't a big time outfit currently.
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^
I agree, the line hamstrung him. But it still felt like there was more we could've done offensively when we were struggling. Find a way to get Peppers the ball and not as a wildcat QB. What happened to all the jet sweeps? Seems like they went by the wayside after MSU. It just felt like in late game situations we trimmed the playbook down significantly in an effort to run clock more than anything else, and it bit us in the ass twice. Fact is we're gonna be in close games every year, hopefully Harbaugh learns from his mistakes this year and puts us in a better position to win those games.
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:27 PM ^
They needed One 1st Down vs. Iowa or OSU and could not get it. Most of that was on the OL and Wiltons injury too, but the playcalling sucked as well.
December 3rd, 2016 at 6:00 PM ^
Was it the playcall that got Darboh open for a first down on a 3rd and 4 that sucked? Or was it that Speight threw it behind him and Michigan had to punt that sucked?
Was it the playcall that set up Higdon for a long gain and a first down that sucked? Or was it that he didn't make the cut and got tackeld for no gain that sucked?
December 3rd, 2016 at 10:20 PM ^
Is your point that the playcalling as a whole, generally speaking (which is the point being made) was acceptable? I disagree.
Or did you just try to find two plays that can't be bitched about to move the conversation there? I agree with you on this one. I'm sure in several weeks when everything dies down and the post mordems are hashed out, Wilton Speight will be discussed at length.
Genuinely curious.
December 3rd, 2016 at 10:56 PM ^
My point is this: People keep saying the following things:
Our playcalling was conservative in the 4th quarter and that's why we lost! Harbaugh turned into Lloyd!
We needed to pass more on first down in the 4th quarter!
All we needed was one more first down and we would have won the game!
None of this is true (except for the third and it can't be blamed on the playcalling because the playcalls were there to get that first down).
If you didn't like the playcalls that were made after the game was 17-14, what was your issue with them? Had the players just executed two plays correctly, Michigan gets their first downs and wins the game. I only bring them up because they were the most glaring.
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:14 PM ^
The 2 losses this year just felt downright Lloyd Carr-esque. All we heard about Harbaugh was how aggressive he is as a coach, so to see him go conservative at the end of those games and have it cost us was disappointing.
Did he really?
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:24 PM ^
What about when OSU cut it to 17-14? Or when we got the ball back after OSU had missed that FG, needing any sort of scoring drive to salt it away? I get that the talent on the offensive side of the ball isn't championship caliber, but Harbaugh and co. were able to mask those talent deficiencies and produce a fairly potent offense for most of the year, but in close, late game situations it seems like he tried to rely too much on the talent that wasn't there.
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:31 PM ^
Every offensive play we ran in regulation after we went up 17-7 is catalogued in that post.
The only time we went run-run-pass was on the last possession, after the missed FG. There we ran twice and picked up six yards (which is OK - it set up a manageable 3rd down) and then called the slant where Darboh got open, but the pass was a bit behind and he didn't haul it in. I don't think that series was necessarily badly called. We should have converted that 3rd down.
December 3rd, 2016 at 5:58 PM ^
I didn't see that snarling wolverine had already gotten to this when I made my post below, but you should listen to him because he's right. You're allowing the result to dictate your feelings toward the playcalling.
December 3rd, 2016 at 4:00 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 10:38 PM ^
And I think Wilton Speight will (rightfully) be the most talked player going into next season. His final numbers are pretty good at first glance.
183-293 for 2375, 62.5% completion percentage, 17 TDs, 6 picks
12.98 yards/completion, 8.11 yards/attempt.
But in the perfectly subjective "eye test" when watching other QBs both nationally and in the Big 10, how he stacks up is pretty debatable, though hushed lately because of how badly most thought O'Korn played against Indiana.
Where I do wholeheartedly agree with you is that Harbaugh's done enough to earn the benefit of the doubt, but one big disagreement I had with him and his staff this season was in the running backs rotation. As a player and coach, I always preferred to have a guy who was the workhorse, who was given a chance to get into the flow of the game. Timings with O-linemen change from game to game depending on opponent, and I'm not entirely sure if this is something Harbaugh will do down the road in the future as he gets more of "his guys" on the roster.
It's easy for me to say what should have been done, but I'm not convinced that UM had an "every down" back in that stable. Higdon showed some potential, but his lasting image of this season is his big missed run at OSU (though apologists would ask if he'd have made that mistake with more than 68 carries on the season), Evans has the big play ability, but few would argue he could have handled 20+ carries/game. Smith is the best short yardage back they have, but I've wondered for awhile if that's really all he is, and Isaac does a lot of things "well" but couldn't fully earn Harbaugh's trust.
December 3rd, 2016 at 5:55 PM ^
Why?
Against Iowa, Speight couldn't hit a damn thing after the safety, so what was Harbaugh supposed to do? The receivers were open, he just couldn't get them the ball. And when he did get them fairly difficult catches, both Chesson and Darboh did not make a play.
Against OSU, the silliest notion is that we "Lloydballed" the game away. After Ohio State made it 17-14, Michigan passed on three first downs and ran on one first down. The only drive where they went run, run, pass, Speight had a wide open Darboh on 3rd and 4 and he missed him (and again, Darboh had the opportunity for a play and didn't make it).
People have already made the point about the offensive line having a ceiling, so I won't go into that. But the idea that playcalling somehow cost us these two games is absurd.
December 3rd, 2016 at 10:40 PM ^
You've made a very good point, but it's become really nothing more than a tautology. Just because they passed more on first down than ran in the given timeframe of the game in question doesn't equate to "good play calling."
All you've proven (though well) is that Michigan threw more on first down in this selected series of plays than they ran. That, unfortunately, is not synonymous with "good play calling."
December 3rd, 2016 at 10:58 PM ^
The entirety of your argument is based on the result and you know it.
December 4th, 2016 at 12:00 AM ^
Not true. I both questioned and criticized during the games, while Michigan was in the lead against both teams to whom they lost.
You've created an argument that Michigan's play-calling was fine, and you've cited only if the playcall was a pass or a run. The play action pass against OSU that resulted in a pick 6 was a risky play call, and an unnecessary risk given the play of the defense and the flow of the game at that point.
Yet, seemingly by your metric it would have counted as a net positive because it was a pass and you're not taking anything else into account except run/pass. I'll agree with you that Michigan's play calling criticisms that they abandoned the passing game are easily and rightfully rebuked. But the criticism of the play calling goes a whole lot deeper than run or pass on first down.
I have no problem with you doubling down on it; it's an opinion issue that can/should be discussed and debated. I just find your abandoning of it to try to dismiss not even a counterargument, but a criticism of your evaluation to be laughably juvenile.
December 4th, 2016 at 12:04 AM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^
Preach.
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
On December freaking 30th.
Worst gut-punch end to a 10-2 season ever.
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^
Yeah, and the playoffs are the next day.
You rather go to the Outback Bowl on January 2nd, sunshine?
Give me a break. The Orange Bowl is the second-oldest bowl game that has always been a January 1st bowl before the playoff system ruined everything.
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:18 PM ^
Where did I say I wouldn't?
But for me, even with the playoffs on NYE, a bowl game on December 30th is not great. "Elite" bowl games are meant for January 1st (or 2nd, in this year's case with the 1st on a Sunday). The new system sucks.
December 3rd, 2016 at 4:09 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 4:51 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 10:42 PM ^
I normally don't like ad hominem attacks, but it's warranted here. It's not "borderline idiotic" but full blown idiotic.
By his logic, the Rose Bowl isn't the same quality because it's on January 2nd this year.
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:43 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 6:47 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 6:54 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^
Well, because you asked nicely, we'll bump this one back to the top later today and then again tomorrow so you get maximum enjoyment out of it.
In all seriousness, I get that many might find this season - particularly the manner in which it ended - a bit anticlimactic, but there's no need to dissuade other users from seeing the bright side.
December 3rd, 2016 at 6:32 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:53 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:44 PM ^
This is a great point oh so close to playing Bama in the playoffs. What a game it could be or could've been. Not over yet but Clemson should handle VaTech. Yall should check out the blue network guy on facebook and youtube. Says there is a big fish committing this monday or early this week. I follow him a lot. He's pretty fun listening to.
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
Go Hokies!! UM backdoor CFP! The committee knows Michigan beat PSU by 39 and they are a top 4 team.
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 2:57 PM ^
December 3rd, 2016 at 3:06 PM ^
Seriously. At least thow in some Kate Upton beewbs or something.