OK, it is far past the time for me to re-evaluate everything that I know about Michigan Football.Last year, after we lost to Appy State I was shocked. But deep in my heart I knew that the 2007 team was a good team that was unprepared and paid for it. I was right. That team went on to win some big games (Penn State, MSU, Illinois, and Florida).
But today, after losing to a seemingly pathetic Toledo team -- I am at a complete and total loss for hope. I look at the schedule and I have no idea if we will win another game this season. The foundation that this program has been built upon appears to be crumbling before our very eyes. I am not yet to the point where I am calling for Rich Rodriguez's head, but I am starting to question many things I never thought that I would question before.
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I want to officially and openly apologize to all my Notre Dame friends that I laughed at last year. This sucks.
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20 comments:
So I was completely with you until #10.
Tradition is about the past, not the present.
Check out the Big Ten Network's special on Michigan Tradition for some healing.
I'm with you Andy, I have poured the Kool-aide down the drain and recognize that the cupboard is truly bare. And that RichRod may be a one-trick pony.
Great wallpaper--truly. The new stadium is supposed to be complete for the 2010 season. Maybe the team will be by then too???????
Those Who Stay WILL Be Champions
It's just a little market correction??
All in all an awful game. The one bright spot... Sam McGuffie. He's going to be awesome! That hit he took and he still held onto the ball.
Go Blue
I am staying away from sharp objects for a few days...
wv= nolffgs, does that mean "no laughing gas?"
No disrespect, but you need to step it up and be a source of strength for your program and stop all this pessimistic banter that only serves to fuel to fires of defeatism. We can turn this around and we will. A lot of those points you made were unfounded and rediculous. I was praying to be murdered last night, but there will be better days to come, lets keep our heads up and remember to think positive and see why there is hope.
1. The winning record streak is likely over, but that doesn't mean R2 will tank this program. I thought you knew that to make a good marine first you tear him down, then build him up as you need him to be. That's 101 stuff.
3. It's only not tough now because the team is struggling. Last year it was the coaches who tanked the Big House by not preparing the team the way they are charged to do so. This year is a massive reconstruction effort. The team will be back, and the stadium by the way, is going to be even better as well. Just wait till 2010 to see it. Both the team and stadium that year are going to be majestic so long as we stick to our guns and don't split and run!
4. This is primarily the fault of L2 in my opinion as he left the cupboards bare for R2 before handing him the keys. It's like returning the car on any empty tank and expecting the next guy to be able to drive it like you did. He can't until you refill it.
5. See Oregon last year! And that was not supposed to be a rebuilding effort... that was with all our senior leaders and an experienced over the hill head coach. R2 does not set precedent here.
6. Michigan has lost out on top recruits in state and out many times before. Ron John was lost under Carr, as was Nick Perry to USC. Several others as well left the state for FSU, LSU and others. It is bound to happen no matter where you go. Players don't all stay in state no matter what. OSU still hasn't locked us out of Ohio and never will and we will never lock up the state of Mich unless a law is passed. The argument is about the strength of the recruiting class and R2 did amazing last year in the short amount of time he had to gather up players for his system; yes he didn't get Pryor, but Tressel already had a lead as he had been recruiting him months before R2 started and some people just don't want to play for God's team anyway. Not everybody is meant to see the light. Don't forget to look at the current class as well with our needs actually being addressed and we already have two of the top WR prospects in the nation lined up for the 2010 class!
7. Both were scum. Who wants men like them representing you anyway. The best thing would have been to never have them in the maize and blue to begin with anyway. We all know the Boren story about how he was a whiner and didn't want to work that hard in practice. How he hated running to the LOS and putting in the necessary work to stop being soft like under Carr. He'll like OSU, look how soft they are in big games too. Look to MGoBlog for Mallet as well. Always getting drunk or high and not really giving a damn. He wasn't ready to be a Wolverine. Good riddens to his immatureness. Good riddens to both of them.
8. At least it's not a 1-AA team during a supposed National title contending year! That was inexcusable last year. A truly aggregious neglection of duties by L2 and his staff. They shamed the Michigan nation last year as will never be let down... haters still come up to me this day when they see UM apparel and say to me, "Appy state baby!" In ten years that will still be common, Toledo will be an afterthought. This year is still a rebuilding year and Toledo is at least D-1.
9. You mean like L2 and the prevent D. Those were great. Just remember down 19-0 at half, and the greatest comeback in Big House history. We are young and still learning. I thought that game was lost too, but it still represents hope and our players will continue to draw strength from that win for the rest of this season and into the next.
10. Right on T9. Tradition is about the whole story, and ours is arguably better than anyone else's. Go Blue.
i'd have to agree w/ Shorty to a large extent. i'm not very happy about this and i still have a lot of questions about the coaching so far, but "firerod.com"? someone needs to get a grip.
you can't take a program that's been atrophying for a decade and change it w/out strain & pain. it's perfectly normal to be upset about a losing season. it's something different to fall apart.
where's our vaunted arrogance when we need it most?
good one SiC.
"vaunted arrogance"
TO THE IVORY TOWER!!!!
right you are sir
Yeah, this is way over the top. Other than the stark realization that the bowl streak is very likely over, I don't buy into any of this.
IMHO, the Wisconsin win may have done more harm than good from a fan perspective. It gave a false expectation to many that we were turning the corner.
I don't see any way to predict how many wins are left on the schedule. Toledo was a MAC featherweight, but Wisconsin played tosu tough. Minnesota just put down Illinois, does that mean they beat us by 50? MSU could hammer us or fall to Little Brother Syndrome. PSU hasn't beaten us in something like 10 years, but they should kill us, shouldn't they?
All I know for sure is a long season looks even longer.
ok...
positivity???
We AREN'T the Lions
Just when I think that football in Michigan is dead -- the LIONS show some life. They lead at Minnesota in the 3rd quarter.
As I was typing the word verification the Vikings went 85 for a touchdown. Lions still lead, but it is not 10-9.
Lions playing not to lose right now.....
as a wise friend has said, "this will end badly"
old joke- what did the man who fell off the 10 story building say for the first 9 floors? so far, so good.
or, similarly, it's not the fall that hurts. it's the sudden stop.
this, folks, is the sudden stop. we've been in an accelerating slide for the decade. we kept telling ourselves "it's not so bad". there were just enough positives to let us believe it wasn't so bad (yet). we wanted to believe it would "bounce" back up (see vaunted arrogance reference).
however, if you were to graph our football performance from 2000 onward, on almost every metric, it's a steady, downward trend line (our last outright conference championship was 2003- where'd this decade go???). this has been a long slide and we have reached the bottom.
no where to go but up.
I'm so disgusted by what's going on, I almost started blogging again last night.
Folks, there is NO EXCUSE for what you see wearing the winged helmets this season. None. Zip. Zero.
Oh, and one unsurprising side note.
A while back, I switched the Comments setting on the mothballed MZone to allow/disallow each one individually because I quickly discovered that apparently drug rehab centers love to fish for folks on long-dormant cfb blogs.
Well, last night, after the loss, there was one comment left on the site. Old MZone poster Ohio_Guy stopped by a blog that closed shop 4+ months ago to leave a dick comment. So typical. Because that was my first thought after OSU got ass-raped by SC -- "Must go leave comment on shuttered Buckeye blog that no longer even accepts comments to feel good about myself."
Great work on the site, everyone.
Your old pal,
Yost
You KNOW it's bad when Yost posts from retirement on Mauritius.
Hugs and big love to Papa Bear!!!
I'm sure that I speak for Andy (and the rest of the SpawnNation) when I say that your blogging efforts are completely welcome for posting here.
anyday.
anytime.
always.
just let us know.
On the lighter side:
The conference is getting a face-lift. The teams being fawned over are Penn St. and Michigan St. Minnesota is getting some props also. tOSU is now a dark horse. It's not the BIG 2 this year.
Maybe something good will emerge from this season yet.
wv = xnshwa (isn't that a town in Wisconsin?)
thank you whettie for not piling on.
btw, I think we are definitely going to need to send a health and wellness search out for Andy given Michigan's performance, the Lions' loss, and now the Phillies are down to LA 6-1 in the 3rd......
ouch
*sigh* My one hope to not break our bowl game streak is basically dead (unless we have some miracle). I am speechless. I keep reading everything I can get my hands on to help wrap my mind around this epic season, all to no avail. I honestly don't see this turning around next year. It is what it is, at this point my concern is to be supportive of the players.
Nice to see you Yost!
given all of the factors for this year, it's not a surprise that Michigan is doing so poorly.
anywho....
First the Michigan Football Team
Financial Sector rotting
and cough cough most likely Obama as President
THE WORLD IS ENDING!
or just beginning fresh again.....
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