Well I have been a bit dejected since the fiasco that was the 08 UM football season. Took a break from the blog and took time to reflect. I also got to dive into the basketball team. Something that excites me almost as much as the football team if not just as much. I was a huge Fab 5 fan back in the day. I have a 1989 UM NC t-shirt. This team has been a long time coming.

What John B has done in a year and half is nothing close to amaizeing... Yeah just like the blog. He turned Grady into a trust worthy PG and Manny Harris into a superstar who does it all. Most important got Manny to stop turning the ball over. He has a 6:1 dime to TO. That is off the charts for someone who had the most TO in the big ten last year. It will be interesting to see if he can play this good through the Big10 season. Shepperd looks like a basketball player for the first time ever in his four years at UM. He can thank Amaker for wasting the most his time here. I was lucky enough to go to the Duke vs UM game and met Coach Carr and a few of the players. Everyone was really cool. Manny even posed for me while i was taking a snap of him with my Phone. Carr was a class act even with a billion fans in his face.

Our $15 tickets were well worth it. Damn cheap and I have refed girls JV games where people pay $5 to see girls not play basketball but run around the court with their heads cut off. So great deal to see Duke and UM. Here our the pics.. Late but here.




























So thats all I got. I hope to get back to posting more. With Basketball in full swing I should. I think some things will change around here so there's a heads up.

Prior to the 2008 season, I read an article by a beat writer for Michigan basketball and it was just his prediction on how the season would go. I was shocked to find out that the prediction he had made projected the Wolverines at a lowly 4-8.

My thoughts were that this writer was clearly out of his element and that he should stick to his main focus (basketball), but… now that the season has almost concluded I cannot help but notice that he just may be right. I once again have that feeling that I had after the loss to Appalachian State (foot in mouth) so… my apologies do go out to the wise basketball guru for the maize and blue.

Honestly, I never saw this type of outcome….

The season is not over yet, though. The Wolverines now sit at 3-8 and have already clinched their all-time worst record in 129 years of football. Their last game is essentially their bowl game in Columbus this weekend and they can either fulfill the guru’s prediction OR finish as bad as Notre Dame last year (3-9). It is indeed realistic to believe that the Wolverines have heavy odds to overcome in order to pull off a win against the Buckeyes, but I never take anything for granted in the rivalry and I assume that fellow Buckeye fans feel the same way.

I have observed that the Wolverines have showed the capability of playing toe to toe with any team this season. However, with the exception of Minnesota, they have lacked the ability to put together a full game. There have been games in which the offense starts out smooth, but then it stalls or turns the ball over. I expected the offense to be erratic with mediocre QB play and a lack of leadership, BUT… the defense has also been inconsistent… more so than the offense in certain respects.

The defense has been the most disappointing factor this season because I thought the veteran leadership would be more opportunistic and cause turnovers. A dominating defense would help a young offense by creating a short field. Instead, there has been poor secondary play and a huge amount of blown assignments (poor tackling, out of position, lack of proper speed, being overly aggressive, etc.)

I believe the only way that Michigan has a chance in Columbus is if the defense is indeed opportunistic and causes turnovers. Stopping Pryor and Beanie Wells are also important factors and it is possible (see PSU), but … it is quite unlikely to eliminate both. If Boeckman was still the QB I would feel a bit more optimistic, but that is not the case.

The offense needs to have a solid plan and that must include running the ball effectively. That has been the main problem in the rivalry of recent. The Buckeyes have been winning on the ground (especially during the Hart years). If the Wolverines come out and run the ball like they did against Penn State then I will be very happy. All that would need to happen then is smart and consistent QB play and that’s where the doubt begins. With Threet being hurt recently and… Nick Sheridan seeming to be the best option… is great cause for being nervous. We have yet to see Feagin throw the ball so… you never know. He could be a wild card for coach Rodriguez.
This year’s game is no different than any other against the Buckeyes; I think the team will play inspired football. The only thing that I question is for how long they will do so….

Go Blue! Beat the Buckeyes!

Yanks at it again, a local idiot over at the scout board.

I have been one of the biggest advocates of putting Feagin in from the beginning, and everyone kept on bashing me and continues to. They cant admit that they were wrong, so they use that he only had 35 yds and then 6 carries for 15 yards. The problem with saying that is that the offensive line didnt block at all today. Most of the yards on the ground were because of the big plays by Minor, Shaw and Feagin. If the o line actually blocked today, Feagin would have probably had 70-80 yards, seeing how bad Minnesota was when the guys got through the defensive line.
People bash you because of the things you have said about Nick Sheridan....you know...that guy who won the football game today? Are you ready to "admit you are wrong"?

---------------------------------------------


You called Nick Sheridan childish names and then you come out and try to lecture people about saying how right you are. Look at how wrong you are, Nick played the best of any QB this season who you bashed. You said the oline played awful, that is so wrong it's not even funny. They pushed the Minn line around all day, even dumb ass Pam Ward saw that and commented on it. When the team has a big day on the ground it isn't because the line sucked... They had their best game of the season.

The Whole Justin thing is dumb too.. Dominated? Are you serious? He came in and had a few nice runs. Juice Williams dominated us, when you throw for 300 yards and run for 100 yards and a handful of TDs. Justin came in and played well for about 6 snaps? No one owns you anything. You're contradicting yourself all the time. Instead of this dumb thread you should have made one about how wrong you were about Nick Sheridan.

Keep digging that hole Justin. I hope you eat yourself to the 2nd unit. You will be lucky if that happens when you come to AA in 09.

The Michigan Wolverines have slipped into a horrendous 2-6 record here in 2008 and things are a bit upside down in the world I know as college football. The past two weeks were quite disappointing, but as the losing streak goes along… one tends to be desensitized to a certain degree. Numb or comatose could also fairly describe the postgame feelings of a Michigan football fan ever since the win over the Wisconsin Badgers back on Sept. 27th.

I would say that this season has been long due to the losing, but I would be lying. The truth is that the 2008 season has been too fast in general and believe me- that's fucking great! I would rather a season such as this go by as quickly as possible. I'm still rooting heavily for the maize and blue as always, but the loss to MSU last week was a will breaker to say the least because I know that the Wolverines are most likely not heading to a bowl game. The PSU loss was expected I guess, but still a disappointment and yes… the same ole shit.

Same ole shit consists of:

1. Teams inability to put a complete game together.
2. Lack of consistency on offense.
3. Failure to score more than 7 points in a 2nd half.
4. Erratic QB play
5. Turnovers
6. Poor tackling by a supposed veteran defense.
7. Horrendous secondary play (worst I've seen ever)
8. Stevie Brown
9. Stevie Brown
10. Lack of solid leadership.

I guess that the best thing that we fans can hope for is a BIG win to end the season and I don't even have to say who that opponent is. Let's just say that it would be the equivalent to a Super Bowl victory. However, I'm somewhat of a realist so hopefully the Wolverines at least keep that little ugly jug in Ann Arbor. Umm… wait… I'm looking ahead past Purdue this weekend and I shouldn’t, especially since the Toledo debacle.

Go Blue! Beat Purdue!

This a new thing I am gonna do. I may catch alot of heat for this.. I may catch none. I hang around the UM message boards alot. I see idiocy everyday on UM Boards. Some of the things people say amaze me.. Alot of times they leave me speechless.

I will post a few threads and posts of down right "are you for realz?" posts from Scout/UmGoBlue and Mlive(the worst message board).

How about running a 2 quarterback system?

Have Threet/Cone and Feagin split time. Feagin would be a great change of pace, and would keep the defense off balance and confused. I am one of the posters on here that believe Feagin should start, but since others and the coaches don't seem to agree, I am proposing a 2 QB system.

I fully believe that Feagin should start already. Hopefully, he starts on Saturday for the game against little brother

By yanks26ngoin

Now Yanks has 730 post and you would figure have some sort of wits about him. Threet/Cone? This almost seems like one big joke. For 1. We have Threet who is the best QB on our roster. 2. Sheridan won the third string job over Cone last season on Carrs team(that says something). 3.These coach's know these player inside and out. Watch them Practice everyday. Believe it or not, they know who got the goods. 4.Cone is a DII player at best and Justin so so wet behind the ears he standing in a puddle.

Now you think we are losing now, wait tell this high octane combo hits the field. We will have more 3 and outs then rushing yards. INT will double. Cone and Feagin combo? Are you serious? For real?

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=162&f=2019&t=3234621

Sheridan

GTFO. he is the worst player ive ever seen play qb. he's a joke, and i seriously hate him. who let him on this team? he sucks.

By wolvs05

Another high post count of almost 4000. Now I will agree that Nick is bad and should be no where near a D1 playing field. With that said he was put into this playing situation By Mallett transfer and many QB recruits who didn't sign on to UM last year, forcing RR to take the "not ready" Justin Feagin. yanks26ngoin responds with another award winning post...

"ho do you think? our very own coach, the guy who most people love to death, Rich Rodriguez"

Wrong wrong and wrong. Nick walked on under Carr. He was added to the team to be a practice player. That was supposed to be his role. Due to the things mentioned above he was thrown into a playing role.

I am sure Nick knows he doesn't belong out there. He knew when he walked onto the team. It's not his fault. He plays with the tools he has. Those Tools are DII tools. He does what he can. Now again on the topic of hating on players. They are not getting paid, in Nicks case he never intended to play. When you say you hate him.. I mean you sound like you need more to do outside Michigan football. How can you hate someone you never met or someone who knows they are over there head? If RR had a choice or better QBs he wouldn't be playing.

A Great post from Skeletor on this topic.

"Sheridan deserves our sympathy, circumstance pushed him into a situation that he can't handle. It's not his fault, he's a better football player than most of us here and yet he comes short at that level. Also, he is very inexperienced and that is a valid excuse.

But also don't forget that all but a very few players will eventually get to a level where they come short, Sheridan made it further than a lot of kids. He does not need to be ridiculed or hated for the fact he probably isn't good enough to be Michigan's QB.

I am saying this because it is not right if the frustration and disgust of our fanbase is directed towards that kid, that's a very nasty thing and it's not just that he's a collegiate athlete, it's that this is a kid for whom Michigan isn't some stop on the route to the NFL, a stint in the minors, this is it for that guy. There's no need for that guy to walk around the rest of his life with that tag "Sheridan that QB who was effin terrible"

Skeletor says it way better then I could. Hits it on the head. Stop hating on college kids.. This College kid came to college to get an education.. Not to play football.

Wolvs05 ends with another classy post...

"yeah well its his fault he blows."

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=162&f=2019&t=3225816

Isn't UM a "private" college?

This one comes from the UMGoBLUE board. I am not welcomed there and do not post. I do lurk and I found this.

"I just read something saying it's a public school??? I always thought it was private. Now I'm confused "

Poster Fonzie has over 500 post. He's a big fan. Just a dumb question.. I mean we all ask them but I just found this one funny. Here are a few responses.

"Michigan, UCLA, and Cal-Berkeley are usually considered the top public universities in the country. "

"There is a reason that it's called the University of Michigan and not Ann Arbor College."
This was posted by a buckeye fan and is very flawed and is wrong.

"I'm confused...what does any of this have to do with football? "

from the worst UM board.. MLive...

I believe Michigan Football

is headed (almost there) for the Big 10 basement and will stay there for several years, RR has the talent e.g. (1st half of PSU game) but they team quit e.g. (2nd half of PSU game) The only fix I see is to rid ourselves of Bill M. and Lloyd C and RR and staff and beg Les to reconsider.

By NColbert

Just wow.. I don't even know where to start. First off, we have the talent? Scroll down the blog and check out where our 05 Senior class has gone. The team did not quit. Threet got hurt and our back up is over his head. PSU is that good too IMO. Get rid of Carr? Ahh.. You do know he is not the football coach right? Carr gave his soul to this university. I hate to break it to you but he's our "Bo" now. With adding Carr into you're idiot post you lost you're right to even be listen to. I got news for you, RR isn't going anywhere. You will be cheering UM when things turn around and it's so sad.

A few Responses

"The difference between the first half of the State Penn game and second half was the QB play you idiot. Threet in the game = Michigan scoring. Sheridan in the game = Michigan not scoring.

I know that you're just a troll and making outlandish statements is your thing but I felt the need to call you out anyhow."

"young team and they're gonna be inconsistent. Also, psu didn't play their best half of football either. Sheridan's horrible and when he had to come in, it was over. Sorry you feel this way. Don't break an ankle jumping off the bandwagon. "

"congratulations, you just won the award for "MORON of the day"."

Well that it for the idiocy of the day. I hope to have more next week.

A poster named OrionWolverine over at scout.com UM board posted the 05 class. Just more evidence for "you" people on why this team is so bad. Our best players from this class are Taylor and Zoltan... A DT and a freaking punter! I don't care who the coach is that is tough to win with. Not to mention the lack of leadership with so few seniors.


McKinney - Gone
Germany - Gone
Criswell - ....crickets chirping...
Richards - Gone
Slocum - Gone
Bass - *sigh*
Moosman - Played in 7 games before this season
Logan - Has played sparingly
Brandon Harrison - Finally a contributor, unfortunately not very good
Zirbel - Hurt this season
Ortmann - Played in 13 games before this seaon, only two starts
Forcier - Gone
Butler - Very good at holding and jumping before the snap
Taylor - A great DT
McAvoy - 7 games, only 1 start before this season
McLaurin - Gone
Mesko - A great player, unfortunately he's just a punter
Simpson - Gone
Sears - Gone
Savoy - Had he ever done anything?
Manningham - Gone to the NFL
Schifano - Gone
Kevin Grady - Lookin like a bust

This is football physics "you" people! You can't win with it.

The Michigan football team took quite a blow after losing their fourth game of the season against Toledo last Saturday. As a result, many fans, including myself, were not very happy with the outcome. Yes, this type of season was somewhat expected, but… losing to a MAC team for the first time in 25 attempts and being 2-4 tends to leave an impression or feeling that us Michigan fans are unfamiliar with.

The feeling that I refer to is in regards to coping with a possible losing season and not seeing the Wolverines in a bowl game for the first time in 30 plus years. It is indeed a tough pill to swallow because throughout my years of being a fan of the maize and blue- I have only endured 7-5 and 8-4 records. Well, this season seems to be heading for something like 5-7… maybe 6-6 at best. Am I disappointed? Certainly! Who isn’t??? My generation has not been accustomed to seeing a Wolverine football team play so inconsistent and flat, but perhaps we have been too spoiled and our expectations demand immediate results that are just not feasible during this time of transition.

















*insert "picture says a thousand words" cliche' here*

I believe it is quite irrational for fans to call for Rodriguez’ head after only six games because it is clear that he is equally as frustrated with the teams lack of ability and execution on Saturdays. One must look at the facts before they criticize and solely blame Rodriguez for this down season. The truth is that no offense can be consistent with a majority of freshmen playing at all the skill positions. Also, Rodriguez is doing the best he can with an apparent makeshift offensive line that changes from week to week. It was already made clear before the season started that the QB position and offensive line were areas of concern. Rodriguez also said on numerous occasions that the offense wasn’t quite where it needed to be. The things that he said way back in the spring still hold true now, so… at least he was being honest.

The bottom line is that Michigan football fans wanted a change and now we have it. However, it just so happens that a rough transition accompanies this change. If the spread offense is the future of football then we must be patient and hope it develops in the near future. I would expect for Rodriguez to have things clicking properly by the 2010 season because all of HIS players should be well adapted by then. Next season will be an improvement and there could be a great chance of seeing flashes of what Rodriguez’ offense is more capable of doing, but …2010 seems to be the season for ultimate results.

In the meantime, I shall invest in some Snickers bars because I’m not going anywhere nor am I giving up on this team. Coaches like Bob Stoops, Pete Carroll, Jim Tressel, and Nick Saban all struggled in their first seasons. Rodriguez also had his times of adversity in the early stages at West Virginia and eventually the Mountaineers achieved success, so I am willing to be patient for a couple of years as opposed to being pissed and done with a coach that hasn’t even completed a whole season.

I guess if there is one positive observation to make… the Wolverines are still only 1-1 in the conference and perhaps they will make a late charge, however it is quite unlikely. It doesn’t matter, though. They can play spoiler or lose out and I would still be a fan of the maize and blue. I suggest that the anti-Rodriguez crowd look toward Morgantown, WV this season for an indication of how much of a difference his presence made as the head coach. The Mountaineers are struggling with a once highly ranked team with experience to boot.

Give Rodriguez the necessary time needed and take the future into consideration.

Go Blue!

I am talking about "you" Michigan people, you people who freak out when we lose to Toledo and call for coach's head after "six".... yes Six games! "you" people might wanna think about a few of these aspects of this team.

-Two Freshmen QBs play like crap
-Oline that would have a hard time with GVSU
-New System
-Bad QB play
-Lost every skill guy to the NFL
-Jr & SR RBs who have have sticks of butter for fingers
-A Defense that is playing in a new system
-Injuries to some key players
-A awful 05 class
-Players built for Pro Style in a spread
-Bad QB play
-Bad QB play

Get over it people! it's gonna be a process. I knew that. After seeing the UTAH game I knew this team could lose to anyone. I was at the Toledo game and wasn't shocked at all. I felt it is what it is.. All that crap I listed adds up to a bad team.

Change to adapt
Yes change and set this team back another year. You go changing the offense around and this team would be set back yet again. Ask Auburn how well that worked. You must stay the course. It will get better but you gotta hang on. The spread will start to form starting sometime next year(IMO). You will start to see the upside of 2010 starting next year. We are in the spread and it's staying that way. Deal with it!

Fire the "Rod"
If you are on this boat then you must be bat shit crazy... Do you know what a firing of coach after 6 games would do to the program? It would turn us into Nebraska today. Recruits would see how unstable our team is everyone of our commits would de-commite. No coach wants to go to a school and be threaten to be fired after 6 games. We would fall to the levels of our basketball program. "You" people need to think before you start flapping your big fat heads. I had a few run in with idiots at the game who were chanting to fire RR after the game, I gave them a big F you, God for bide that Michigan has a year of transition.

"You" People in 2 years
I know these same people who are calling for change after 6 games will be right there cheering UM on when the wins start rolling in. That makes me sick. Support the team through the thick and thin. Bo would tell all you to go to hell if he saw the way "you" people have acted. If in year 4 and the team looks the same as it did last week then fair game, act like a ass and call for change. Six games in? Sit down, support and shut the hell up because I know in two years you will be there chanting "go blue" when Tate Forcier runs in a 35 yard TD in the spread.

It's not the end of the world... We are not doomed. It's the Life of change. Deal with it and...
Those who stay will be Champions... Remember that "you" people.

Well it sucked UM lost to the Rockets(crappy mascot huh?). I will talk more about that tomorrow. Today I share pictures. It was maybe the craziest tailgate yet, that included a pair of dancing Mexicans named Jose and a tailgate party that got moved to a car pool outside Lansing. I got some great shots from row 2, so I was happy. Enjoy.

Before the game

The Game

After the game

After Party in a random Car pool lot

Well Thats it.. Crazy day at the Big House. Those pictures might make you never come back again..