24 hours is up. Time to get back to being a True Blue Fan.Let's man up and circle the wagons.
We've gone thru some of Kubler-Ross' stages of grief, and so it's time now to move towards ACCEPTANCE and find our way forward.
We need to back away from the ledge, put down the forks hovering before our eyeballs, suck it up and walk on.....
Time to set some new goals for this season.
Here are my suggestions for improvements, filed under NSS......
1) Fewer turnovers with each successive game. Given that we live at about 3-5 per gam
e this should be totally do-able and would completely help the offense....2) Shore up the pass defense. The D is holding opponents to 2.8 average yards/rush however, the passing D is allowing a whopping 12.1 yards/catch (3.8 of which is YAC). Baby steps here. At least decrease the YAC. Playing tight and tackling hard could feed right into #4. Leading to my next point...
3) Ratchet up the pressure on their QB. We have only 8 sacks in 6 games. Pin back your ears boys and lay some slobberknockers up front!!! Don't let their QB sit there all darned day! I wanna see more "hurries" at least.
4) More takeaways. A total of 5 INTs and 6 fumble recoveries in 6 games. Meh. We can do better that. It means intensity on the line up front, and concentration in the secondary.
5) Improved 3rd down percentage. We live at a mere 27% for 3rd down conversions. BUT, the O is averaging 4.5 yards per play overall, with 7 passing TDs, a 71% conversion rate on 4th down, and a 69% scoring rate from the red zone. Bring the 3rd down conversions up even to 35% (like we've given our opponents) and we'll see the difference. Gar-on-teed!
6) Better QB performance. I left this for last cuz it may be a complete pipedream. But this one is on the COACHES. Call plays that allow Threet/Sheridan to succeed. Have them practice throwing on the run this week to get their mechanics better--Tacopants is not our sole receiver! Practice short spot and timing throws with the receivers to get everyone in a rhythm together. Heck go up to North Campus and put them in the CAVE. Even Tom Brady liked it and it may have been the secret to his success???
I don't relish this iteration of our team, but it is what it is.Reality bites but improving in any one of the categories above will at least make things more palatable.
Statistical improvements in the remainder of the season will make me happy. Leaving the O-line as is to let the kids gel (and dare-I-say improve) will be a victory. Shafer getting the damned defensive scheme together would be a bonus too.
There may be no bowl this year. There may be no more wins--although now if we simply beat Purdue I'll consider this year a raging success...... But, no matter how pissed off I get, I will always say,
"It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine"
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4 comments:
Atta' Girl!
that's the attitude we need. we may lose the bowl streak but let's not lose our dignity. and for the love of gawd, let's not all go to pieces in front of all of our "
enemies".
besides, what's the worst that could happen on Saturday? we get beat badly by a top 5 ranked team? we've had worse.
as the man said:
And worse I may be yet: the worst is not, So long as we can say, This is the worst.
the best part of hitting bottom is no where to go but up.
"the best part of hitting bottom is no where to go but up."
Unless you brought a shovel with you in the hole.
when dealing w/ a contentious issue, particularly one in which you find yourself debating opposite people whose opinions and judgment you typically respect, one of the best barometers is to stop and assess just who agrees w/ you, and just who doesn't.
in his latest column, http://www.freep.com/article/20081012/SPORTS06/810120500/1054/SPORTS06;
the Ass Hat declares that the loss to Toledo is worse than App St; that its the coaching staff's fault; and that there's some real question as to who should start @ QB.
so, if you have any question as to which side of the fence to jump off of when casting blame, let this guide you:)
I would agree with him that the loss to Toledo is worse given that the MAC is a known quantity and Appy State isn't.
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