The internet is always right... NOT!
Soo... been drinkin' a bit. Thought that I'd post another topic for us to chew one.
The internet is nothing if not opinionated. I've said in the past that I was against the Hoke hire, (12-0 at home, BCS win, embodiment of what's right in CFB), the switch from Tate to Denard, ('bouts to be the rushingest QB in history, smashing every other record too, infectious smile and genuine TEAM mentality), who the hell is Drew Dileo, and why are we recruiting him, (somehow always clutch) and Mr. Gibbons (Keith Stone, brunette girls, as many game winning FGs as anyone in Michigan history).
I present the following, not as flamebait, but as a testament that when things are darkest and we cannot seem to see the light at the end, pieces are coalescing that will rebuild what is broken. Also, I find it interesting and kind of funny.
MGoReaction to the Hoke hire:
(I searched 'Hoke hired' on the MGoSearch and these are among the first comments I found)
God help us: What I need now is to find my tums. This blows.
Please God no.
THE FUCK
NO NO NO!
please shoot me in the face
I'm hoping this isn't true. This would mean that both Harbaugh and Miles didn't want to come to Michigan.
What's up with that?
Just hearing this makes me want to Zoltan Mesko a puppy
I'd rather have Wayne Brady than Brady Hoke. Yeah he might make Bryant Gumble look like Malcolm X but he's got those hidden street smarts.
MGoEarlyOpinion of Denard:
(admittedly a much more mixed bag, I couldn't find more but remember a lot of panic towards having Denard step in as the starter)
Does anyone really think Denard's speed deserves all this hype after watching that video? Honestly, he looked quick, but he never took one to the house. Instead of cutting back to find a lane, he just goes out of bounds. I just think if you look at Jeremy Gallon's tape you won't be as impressed with Denard's. Just an observation, perhaps I'm alone in it.
I agree with Obes that it looks like Tate has more wiggle and avoids people better. Robinson, for all his speed didn't seem to do too much juking.
Can he catch the ball??? IMHO.... we need a reality check.. he will not, barring injury to Tate, see significant time at QB. The reality is.... he will take hand-offs, run, and also be used as receiver and return man... Book it, Danno.
MGoHelloDrew:
Another player who will never contribute and eats up a scholarship. We don't need another WR either.
Dileo is small, thin, undersized, and runs like Dan Quisenberry. He is not a major college WR or RB.
I really feel sorry for him, because someone is giving him some incredibly bad advice.
welker has three things this kid doesn't, speed, acceleration, and leg strength
MGoGibbonsCirca2010:
(honestly, probably warranted criticism)
(from our fearless leader)
So of course Brendan Gibbons wins the job. Gibbons made one of four field goals in the first four games last year and biffed an extra point, whereupon he was sat down until the Wisconsin game. He attempted one field goal the rest of the year, that in the Gator Bowl whitewashing. He missed.
The idea of Gibbons hitting the field again gives me hives. At least this time around there's another option, though it's an option that lost out to Brendan Gibbons. Guh.
I'm sure there is more, but I need to go to sleep now.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:25 AM ^
This is why we are message board nerds instead of football coaches.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:27 AM ^
You should drunkpost more often. You're better at it than most.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:32 AM ^
No joke. The first paragraph had me cringing, but this is pretty interesting.
It reminds me of some pieces I found from the Michigan Daily in 1997 vilifying Mattison before the Notre Dame game, since that was his first year at ND after leaving Michigan. I should probably upload them at some point.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:28 AM ^
If nothing else, you've got to give that one guy originality points for the "Runs like Dan Quisenberry" line.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:31 AM ^
You know it's going to be a good post when you start out with "Soo... been drinkin' a bit." haha.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^
it is. Good one.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:32 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 2:22 AM ^
The thing about Gibbons that people forgot is that placekickers often redshirt, because it's such a mentally/psychologically difficult position. He was thrown in there as a true freshman right off the bat and perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that he was a little overwhelmed. Rich Rod may not have done him any favors by publicly bemoaning the state of his placekicking, either.
Gibbons's high school career showed that he had the ability. Hoke believed in him and got him to regain his lost confidence, and the rest is history.
October 21st, 2012 at 8:34 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^
The 1/5 season was as a RS Frosh in 2010
October 21st, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^
Whoops, you are right. But the point stands. You can't write off a kicker because he happens to start slowly as a freshman. Gibbons attempted only five FGs that year, so that wasn't a large sample size to evaluate him with, either.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:32 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 1:38 AM ^
Corollary to "The Internet is always right": The Internet never Forgets.
We all have said and posted stupid things. Your post is a sobering reminder that all our predictions and angst are preserved for posterity. However, Brian has always been good about taking ownership for times he was wrong (including, for instance, about Brady Hoke.) Brian had this great front page article recalling a time when he was in the same room as Hoke. IIRC, Brian had the an irrational fear of being recognized by Brady. One of these days, Borges or Mattison are going to call out mgoblog.
October 21st, 2012 at 3:05 PM ^
I didn't see it posted, but here is the "Hoke React, No Swearing" thread from back in the day.
http://mgoblog.com/content/hoke-react-no-swearing
I still remember the phrases that were thrown around in some of the comments, like "total capitulation", "perennial 8-4 seasons", and several others, up to and including some people who seemed ready to check out as fans altogether. People criticized the hire, of course, as well as the process that got us to it.
One thing that has made the Hoke era of Michigan football especially gratifying to date is watching this man, who many termed "a Plan C hire", transform a program with a leadership style that seems to inspire athletes and staff alike to be their best. He built a staff that has gone 16-4 in about 1.5 seasons now, and Hoke and that staff have begun building what looks like a solid, competitive foundation for the foreseeable future in the program.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:37 AM ^
I always knew Hoke was going to poop gold (tugs at collar) ya ya ya*
October 21st, 2012 at 1:37 AM ^
This is why it's very important for the regulars here to enforce uniformity of opinion by posting gifs of snowflakes on any threads suggesting discussion of views that might not be shared by that portion of the blog's demographic that thinks "butthurt" is a legitimate adjective. It's like in football, where if you're going to be wrong, you want to commit to it quickly. Here at MGoBlog, when the groupthink is going to be wrong, you want everybody to commit. Makes perfect sense to me.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:53 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 9:03 AM ^
Everyone knows that it is butt-hurt.
December 4th, 2012 at 10:28 PM ^
redacted
October 21st, 2012 at 1:42 AM ^
Is this thread title from 1992?
October 21st, 2012 at 1:45 AM ^
back then it would have included a nod to some guy named Al Gore and some website named Prodigy
October 21st, 2012 at 1:48 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 7:10 AM ^
I can think of at least one blogger who seems to always be right
.
yes
.
October 21st, 2012 at 1:52 AM ^
Kind of a "cool story bro" but I went to the University of Toledo, and my roommate was a cousin of Brady Hoke. It was during his tenure at Ball State, and I often made fun of his "outdated coaching philosophy", which now, makes me a sad panda.
October 21st, 2012 at 9:55 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 2:37 AM ^
Dileo got a lot of hate just because he was a RR recruit and wasn't a 4 star recruit ( anyone remember OMG ANOTHER 3 STAR?).
October 21st, 2012 at 2:52 AM ^
I will honestly say that I was guilty of questioning the Brady Hoke hire. Honestly, I was more angered by the process that Dave Brandon took more than the hire. But I guess alls well that ends well.
I was a fan of the Drew Dileo signing. I had complete faith in RR's ability to evalute slot WR talent. That offense doesn't work w/o slot ninjas, and so RR definitely knew what to look for, given the success he'd had in the past.
I was ready to give up on Gibbons. It can be brutal to get your confidence back as a kicker. I thought a new guy would give us a better chance. But all credit to him, he fucking pulled it together. I even started a thread in his honor today. He's turned into a very reliable kicker with a knack for a clutch play. He's won me over.
October 21st, 2012 at 8:47 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 3:11 AM ^
Heck, we don't even have to go back that far. Just look at all the doom and gloom and Denard sucks posts on the gameday thread - pretty pathetic.
BTW, have we had another player that made such dramatic turnaround as Gibbons from first year to following? He wasn't just bad, he was horrific in his freshman year, but now he is a Mr. Clutch. Boy, I didn't see that one coming...
October 21st, 2012 at 8:44 AM ^
Denard against good defenses or better = OMG
You people need to realize that
#1 just because us fans talk about how bad Denard is and how he blows the game for us many times does NOT mean we dislike him in any way as a person or want him tarred and feathered
#2 - denard IS horrible against bad defenses, i repeat god-awful! Times where i truly truly beleive that someone like bellomy with no experience givesus a better chance to win the game. All of denard's PRAISE and CRITICISM is well deserved at the respected times.
October 21st, 2012 at 9:53 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 10:19 AM ^
To be fair, he didn't completely miss Gallon. That ball should have been caught. There was a safety(?) and an official in front of the route, so I think Denard just overcompensated a bit. Coulda been a better throw. Shoulda been a catch.
October 21st, 2012 at 4:11 AM ^
The only thing I took from this is Dan Quisenberry.
October 21st, 2012 at 4:27 AM ^
Do you wonder why every pass to Dileo was right on the mark, and why these two players - who would not have been recruited- during the Carr or Hoke regime, along with Jake, we might as well throw him in there too inasmuch as the play-by-play men said Hoke had turned him down at SDSU, played as important role as they did? No, me neither. Find I do a lot more accepting today, and far lesser pondering.
Count me as one who questioned the Brady hiring, but also one that isn't blind to see what's happening before their very eyes. Face it, by any measure, we've had the first or second best back-to-back recruiting classes since theyve really kept track. Bo, and he had an almost limitless supply to work with, simply worked on the FIFO basis, and did a hell of a job each year in replacing the obvious and upcoming losses. I'm not sure, and I highly doubt that Jim H. could have worked any two classes as well as Hoke has. Additionally, and I'm certain those that were around during the first Mattison DC regime, realize that the man has really grown since his first stint here at UM. He's got to be among the top five DCs in cfb today.
I'm just liking what I'm seeing. No judging, at times perhaps second guessing play calling, but that's as deep as it gets. Strongly believe if we just ride along with Brandon's vision, that being Hoke leading us, we'll probably all have an experience similar to M fan's during the 70s. And for those that get to do it twice, pretty damn cool.
October 21st, 2012 at 6:44 AM ^
The alternative is to say that every coaching hire and every recruit is fantastic and is guaranteed to work out, so that you'll never be wrong.
Of course, someone will then create a thread about how wrong you were when there is a flameout. (Rmemeber the Peanut Butter Jelly dance when RR was hired?)
You win some, you lose some. 'Ya pays your money, 'Ya takes your chances.
October 21st, 2012 at 7:15 AM ^
I didn't intend the post to come off as an I-told-you-so type thing. I think we are free to express our opinions, and would much rather hear them than have us all chorus that everyone is great and we should always be happy.
The purpose of the post was just to show people in hindsight that not everything we perceive pans out the way we expect.
October 21st, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
The alternative is to say that every coaching hire and every recruit is fantastic and is guaranteed to work out, so that you'll never be wrong.Actually, the alternative is to simply give them a chance. There was a reason we hired Hoke. There was a reason we recruited Dileo. There were reasons we started Denard and Gibbons. When a personnel decision happens that you don't understand, instead of lashing out at the guy, have the patience to let it play out.
October 21st, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^
There was also a reason we hired Rodriguez. And a reason we recruited Antonio Kinard, Greg Brown, DJ Williamson, Isaiah Bell, etc.
October 21st, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
Obviously, there's a "glass is half-full/half-empty" thing here, but in general, I don't think it's too productive to take the latter approach. If recruits read what Michigan fans have to say about them and some of them are saying "This guy isn't worth a scholarship," how does that help the program?
October 21st, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
It doesn't help the program. That type of stuff doesn't need to be said. But I think it's fair to offer honest assessments, too.
October 21st, 2012 at 6:44 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 7:49 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 9:17 AM ^
We're all guilty. He had a losing record as a head coach. What we didn't know though, was that Greg Mattison would work a miracle. I sort of see why he didn't win Defensive Coach of the year, but what he did (and continues to do) is absolutely outstanding. Yesterday, while watching the game, we actually got a 3 and out when we needed it (several times). Even if we lost, the defense did an excellent job yesterday. Jake Ryan was making plays everywhere. I'm rambling now...
October 21st, 2012 at 9:55 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 11:44 AM ^
There were actually a lot of people in the football community who loved Hoke long before he came here. He was a candidate for the Auburn job before Chizik got it, and Minnesota wanted him before it hired Kill as well. Remember that when we hired him, there was a huge outpouring of well-wishers praising him, including a lot of former Michigan players like Brady and Woodson. Really, it was just here and on a couple of other websites that people criticized the hire.
October 21st, 2012 at 2:24 PM ^
Two things I would like to share with you...
1. A few months after coach Hoke was hired I attended a function and he was in attendance. I happened to be standing by myself in the "pre dinner gathering area" and he walked up to me, shook my hand and said Hi, I'm Brady Hoke. I said, I know and introduced my self and then my spouse came over and bailed me out (because I was somewhat awe struck).
2. This is a second hand story, one that my spouse told me. We were at a noon skate session at Yost. One of the regulars is a retired barber who cut Bo's hair. One day Bo was sitting in the chair and said (and I am probably not getting the words spot on but the meaning is the same) ...There goes a hell of a coach...and the barber looked out the window and it was Brady Hoke.
October 21st, 2012 at 8:51 AM ^
Since the internet always has discussion on both sides of any issue, someone with a lot of time to, uh, donate, could just as easily go back and find quotes from those who were optimistic.
The entire point of a forum is to have discussion and divergent opinions. There have always been plenty of both on mgoblog. Sometimes you turn our right, sometimes you turn out wrong, but mostly it's somewere in the middle.
As Yogi Berra said, "Predictions are hard, especially about the future."
October 21st, 2012 at 9:30 AM ^
To be fair, most of those assessments were pretty fair given the information available at the time. Tate looked like the better QB option coming in, as he was a much better passer and could still move around. And for all of Denard's speed, there were always questions about if he was a straight-line runner or a real juker.
As for Hoke, I love the guy, but he hired a great DC in Mattison that really helped the transition. And he inherited a far more talented offense in a better situation than RR. So he's had an easier transition, and hasn't stubbed his toe. But a guy who was sub-.500 after years of coaching is not going to be welcomed as a conquering hero.
But yeah, the Internet is full of anonymous whiners, man.
October 21st, 2012 at 10:09 AM ^
October 21st, 2012 at 10:25 AM ^
I will agree that MGoBlog sort of prides itself on being a bit snarkier and refined than any other blog site out there, which is just a microcosm of Michigan as a whole. That said, save the sweeping generalizations about the site. No need to go out of your way to come here and bitch about how things work. That's like moving to Alaska just so you can bitch about the snow.