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I know it's petty, but it… I know it's petty, but it makes me smile and doesn't cost a cent. OSU - ohowihate (my phone gets it after two letters now) OSU former coach = Oscar OSU current coach = Nacho MSU = spurty PSU = peds PSU coach = Frames Janklin (thanx Brian, Seth) or heeeey it Franklin Iowa - gonna need sumthin for them and a couple of their new players
In the immediate aftermath…

In the immediate aftermath of the game I was livid with the coaching staff ... don't you train on grass? grumble, grumble. Why was JJ throwing short into pick sixes and not deep like every analyst and their brother was advising before the game. grumble, grumble.

After watching the game again about a month after the fact with my fully weaponized slo-mo I came to a totally different conclusion - basically that with - ummm trying to say this delicately - with more good options at RB and better run & pass fits at LB it would have been a very different game.

I'm not at your level, Space Coyote, but I did go thru all your tldr; here and hope to get to the film breakdown, but bottom line - I'm glad you have faith in the coaches, cuz I LOVE this coaching staff and hate myself for blaming them in my ignorance.

In the immediate aftermath…

Oops, wrong thread - nvm.

An Ohio kid, I remember all…

An Ohio kid, I remember all the talk about once he was here they'd beat that team down south. He may not have gotten on the field much (in football) but I got to believe his attitude had sumthin to do with the transformation.

Dude :) Did you read, "Bad…

Dude :) Did you read, "Bad Boys"? I read every book from the era I could get my hands on - Chuck Daly's book, "The Jordan Rules" (?) was just money in uncle Chuck's pocket IMO. Zeke's book, "Bad Boys" is one of my all-time favorite sports books from my all-time favorite athlete. His depiction of labeling and how you have to make it work for you or it will work against you - how you can use it to create an identity. That was the essence - the psychological essence of what laid the foundation for those teams IMO. When Isiah got sent packing by the owner for opening his mouth up at the wrong time - one of the most depressing sports events in my lifetime - I hated the Pistons for that up until like last year.

McCloskey's book - don't recall the name, but some good stuff in there, including an anecdote - Larry Bird n Zeke signing balls for people at some joint event - Isiah was still in championship acquisition mode and asked Bird some question - Bird looked at him, then ignored him. McCloskey made it sound like Isiah was getting too close to the championship secret bone and Bird was not about to give him anything to help him along. I've always thought to myself - if I ever run into Zeke - I just wanna ask him what it was he asked Bird. ;)

I hear that, Speed. This pep…

I hear that, Speed. This pep rally type environment before a hoops game I think is a little less serious than Chase putting himself out there in '18 (Tho it felt good to me at the time, I won't lie) and JJ about 6 weeks ago. I love JJ, he's the Meechigan QB I've been waiting for my whole life. But, I'm hoping his "Smash-fest vs the 3-3-5" comments fire him up and maybe in his meditative state that furnace builds a fire in him like it did with Isiah in the '87 NBA Conf. Finals series.

I look forward to the…

I look forward to the cognitive dissonance spreading like a cancer as Kirk continues to invest in his son and his new QB thinks this is the place to get rid of his "game manager" tag. :)

https://www.thegazette.com/iowa-football/why-cade-mcnamara-believes-he-can-help-iowas-offense-flip-the-script-in-2023/

I believe it was Klatt who…

I believe it was Klatt who suggested Oregon St. Which I thought was a good idea - back before him and his buddy All nuked the bridge on their way outta town. My immediate reaction when he chose Iowa - total lack of imagination and guts.

No shit, right? I want that…

No shit, right? I want that on my wall, "Who your head coach is don't got nothing to do with you getting put on your ass. " :D

It's hard to tell what's…

It's hard to tell what's going on here. I'm ambivalent about Neon Deion, but I definitely respect the way he unequivocally represents his side no matter who likes it. It seems like one more time when personal feelings clash with the infrastructure of the powers that be. And those things often look messy from the personal feelings side.

I like where you're going,…

I like where you're going, UMVA, especially with that CB prospect in the Portal.

I kinda like moving Mimi up (Mike Mo's big sis) if possible. No way JH does it IMO.

I think the biggest thing we miss if Weiss needs to go bye-bye is that Madden kid/stats guy thing - that's what i think really needs to get replaced.

The biggest flaw I see in…

The biggest flaw I see in our team is preparing for unfamiliar opponents - meh, what do I know. But our brilliance in halftime adjustments does back up that theory for me.

Maybe JH will get someone on staff who is really good at preparing for unfamiliar opponents thru this new media of tape - I donno, I'm just guessing. :/

I watched the Peyton & Eli…

I watched the Peyton & Eli show for the first time in my life last night. I started in with them some time after I heard Troy "Mr. Cowpie" Aikman or his partner jinx the GOAT in the first red zone trip. They were fun and a huge break from the constant stream of Aikman, Collinsworth and Herbstreit we are normally subjected to.

I love how they glibly entertain opposing POV's - like they did with Teddy Bruschi and the MCDC segment was absolutely priceless - I mean I can never get enough Dan Campbell & just a still of him in a Tiger cap is better than listening to Aikman FFS. But those questions they asked him ... Good God Almighty those southern boys got some good producers or sumthin.

When good ol' Teabag Peyton started in on his notions of the importance of halftime adjustments - I took it in the spirit it was given - lighthearted good ol' boys sharing a little down home wisdom that may or may not have real value. But the more I hear coaches here and even Oscar with DiNardo in that BTN clip - I think good ol' Peyton is probably just living his most entitled life and talking about what was real for him - which probably has not a whole lot in common with most football players. Or maybe i need to watch a few more hours of the tea-bagger and his little brother before most of my resentment of them wears off. I really liked their dad - seeing him run around in circles back in the day at Ole miss was some of my favorite QB memories of my youth.

Some make things happen,…

Some make things happen, some watch things happen and then there are people like Warde who must be wondering WTH just happened. :/

He is very accurate when…

He is very accurate when conditions are perfect. I totally expect him to flame out in the NFL just like every-damn-one of his Ohowihate QB predecessors.

But, definitely not in that…

But, definitely not in that order. :)

I have not seen anyone…

I have not seen anyone mention my biggest negative for those guys on Hartline moving up - recruiting. In most systems the Coordinators lessen their recruiting responsibilities when they move into those positions and that is what Hartline is bona fide great at.

It would not surprise me a bit to see Nacho Day finally recognize a problem and shoot himself in the foot trying to fix it.

I have long been fascinated…

I have long been fascinated by NDE's, probably since studying Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in school. One of the mysteries in life and the after-life that give us a clue to keep us running thru this maze.

2. Super Bowl I'll take…

2. Super Bowl I'll take chalk. Mahomy beats Hurts. Welcome to the SB, rookie. ;)

SF beats SEA by two TD's

Herbert loses close to Lawrence

Buffalo buries Miami

Minny by 7 over NYG

Cincy by two TD's over the other Harbaugh

Dallas loses to Brady

The Juice sounded very…

The Juice sounded very impartial to me there.

Did you see us getting good…

Did you see us getting good success against them throwing short? Did you see Georgia get good success throwing short?

I saw two pick sixes throwing short, before the game had a chance to get settled in. That's on the QB somewhat, moreso it's on scouting and game plan.

That team was destroyed throwing deep and running at the edges.

OK, true, but - UGA nipped…

OK, true, but - UGA nipped them at the edges - especially early. UGA just running a simple zone read gave them lots of problems early. They had an actual plan to attack the 3-3-5. A plan that agreed with what Brian, Seth, Sam and all his experts (Borges, DG, etc) put forth in their previews (mess with those LB's heads) and we ran at them like cavemen just learning the game.

That is the problem IMO and it is a problem.

OK, that's fair. But we…

OK, that's fair. But we return JJ and we've obviously got their number (that team in C-bus) and they (THEY - the media, whoever) doggedly believe that 5*'s are the way, the truth, the life. I can understand media types with their echo chamber backing the 5* types that they, themselves, create. We beat them on their field by 22 - it means nothing to the media types, fine. But it means nothing to the money guys?

JH, you are a brilliant program builder - I can't believe this model you pulled out of thin air:

1. Build the trenches.

2. Get players with high ceilings from HS recruiting who WANT to be here and compete for the jobs.

3. Fill in with the portal.

But, for the love of all things holy - if you don't know how to prep for unfamiliar opponents (maybe because you were raised by Bo?) assign someone that task, please. It's the one thing we are still lacking, in my estimation.

I love our coaches, all of…

I love our coaches, all of em. But, somewhere between the stodgy Meechigan way of doing things and something in the Harbaugh DNA we just don't prep well for unfamiliar opponents. I'm hoping the embarassment of seeing what happened to that Cinderella team at the ball last night will inspire them to take their jobs seriously. If not, I guess JJ, Blake & Dono will have to lead the charge.

I record the M games and put em on DVD and after watching the UGA game last year over and over it was so very clear how unprepared we were. Their coaches cooked up this little unbalanced line thing and Bowers coming off to the left side for an easy TD (IIRC) and they broke from the huddle so quickly we had no chance to react to it. We did that train formation thing a few years ago - against Indiana(?) a preseason game(?) Jowja does it in the CFP.

Stuff like that is why Vegas has us out of the top four on odds to get it done next year. They got USC in front of us - are you fucking kidding? They are responsible for millions of dollars and they judge our program that harshly?

I couldn't believe…

I couldn't believe Collinsworth was mystified about Goff' slow start last night - with all the games Collinsworth lost to the Steel Curtain in his playing days in the cold in Pittsburgh he couldn't see Goff was adjusting to throwing in the cold early?

I'm thinking a high quality…

I'm thinking a high quality CB may be the highest priority.

I listened to Sam talking…

I listened to Sam talking about how the Lions need to tank last season to make sure they'd get Hutch ... and old feelings started waking up in me that had lied dormant for decades. OK, they fooled me a few times - when I still lived in the area I got a mini-season package one year cuz I believed Matt Millen was the answer ... um Hi, my name is MDude and I'm a SOL addict.

But I hung in with Sam, listened to him bitch about Okudah cuz he came from Ohowihate (and much worse was coached by Coombs) as always respect Sam's knowledge but take some of his more passionate takes with a grain of salt.

I could talk about all the times growing up in Rochester we'd have to travel up I-75 to a rest area with our little TV in our camper to watch the Lions (whose home games were blacked out if it wasn't a sellout back in the day) just to watch the Lions get crushed by the purple people eaters or the Packers or whoever. Then watch them upset the Raidas of Thanksgiving day - total Lions experience - lose the important games and win upsets that did them no good - but I'll save all those things for a slower day.

So, I waited with baited breath on last year's draft - believing that what hutch did for my Wolverines maybe he could do for the SOL's - if anyone could. We got him!!! Yes!!!!! And I was saying We again for the SOL's (?)

So I dug in and found out what I'd gotten myself into - I have had a theory for years that the Ford family (and their very peculiar history) was mostly to blame for the SOL stuff. So I knew that was a problem to be solved. First step - I like Sheila - still connected to the Fords, but a bit of the right kinda distance. And I really LOVED my man, Chris Spielman connected to her office as like some sorta special advisor to the CEO(?) - I just call him "The Ford whisperer", the best thing to ever come out of Columbus, Ohio, for my money.

I dug in further. I loved the coach and the GM and parts of the roster. I felt like Goff could hang in there til they could maybe draft JJ. I discovered "Pride of the Lions" website and podcast and went back a full year with the guys and their podcast - it really bugged me that they seemed to universally hate Hutch and most of these idiots wanted to draft Malik whatever from Liberty at the no.2 pick - it really made me doubt their intelligence but I hung in and listened to their emotion after each game of the season and their evaluation of the team and the roster.

I watched the Lions on "Hard Knocks" got me a Hutch and a "Rodrigo" jersey. I thoroughly enjoyed the season - the first game i got to record was the Dallas game and saw a lot of potential in the D - especially Odukah. He had a very good game IMO.

Anyway - how bout Hutch, huh? Only the fourth player in NFL history to get 9.5 sacks and 3 Int's in the same season. Joining HoF types Otis wilson, Lawrence Taylor & Richard Dent. Not famous other #97's like the Watt bros or the Fucking Bosa Brothers.

Anyway - I love this team's future - so much to look forward to there and I love their coaching staff almost as much as I love Meechigan's.

Yes, they are. But I prefer…

Yes, they are. But I prefer to chase the leader. That's how this climb thing goes, in general, IMO. You see it more in the NBA than here - CFB is so much more random than what the NBA is - great laboratory for dynasties there.

Plus, our DNA seems to only prepare well for teams we know well. Remember a couple years ago when most of us thought it was impossible for us to ever beat Thee Ohowihate University?

JJ's arm is looking great -…

JJ's arm is looking great - imagine how much better he'll be with time to figure everything out this off-season and none of the major competitors bringing QB's back. The whole offense is gonna be great and the defense too.

We saw stuff in that game…

We saw stuff in that game from JJ we haven't seen all year. He threw those two pick sixes, but I think a lot of that (not all of it) is on game prep and play-calling. I heard a whole lot of game analysis from all the MGo stuff to Sam to national stuff and I never heard anyone say anything remotely like the best way to attack that defense would be to throw out routes at those CB's. Once he gave up on that and threw it downfield I was quite amazed at what he could do.

We've got pieces, JJ is a big one. The run game too, The defense. The transfer portal. Recruiting guys who want to be here. The preparation for the foes we do know. Where are we lacking?

The only thing I'm concerned with is prepping for the foes we don't know, and of course, playing on grass.

God willing n the creek don…

God willing n the creek don't rise - wasn't that the name of the podcast he did with his dad a few years ago?

Well, as that famous philosopher (Dana Carvey as the Church Lady) often said "How conveeeeenient"

Someone was in there at FB…

Someone was in there at FB semi-often and I'm pretty sure it was Bredeson. I do not recall seeing him as more of an H-back or TE tho.

Good stuff, Seth.

Last year…

Good stuff, Seth.

Last year I was tempted to believe it was about competition (IOW Meechigan being forced to fight with one hand behind their back, NIL, transfers, etc.) this time around I don't really buy those arguments so much. My big thing was keeping this coaching staff together.

Here we go again. I love JH's vision, there is absolutely nobody I'd trust to set up the program the way he has. But ... something about time management in game and preparation for those big games at the end of the year with opponents we are unfamiliar with - and my big one of the past couple days - our record on grass vs. turf and our preparation for that - I feel like maybe it's time for a change, maybe someone else could do these things better - or at least eliminate an excuse.

JH is a great guy - I believe in him. I love him. I did not have the patience to directly tolerate the RichRod/Hoke years - but since JH has been back I've been totally all in since day 1.

He has set us up great - do what you gotta do, bud. Go on and work your legacy elsewhere if that's what you need to do. Pick a successor from this bunch - Mike Hart, Sherrone Moore - whoever you like for the job.

But, if you do stay, is it too much to ask that you seriously address the time management and grass vs. turf issues?

OK, I'll go.

Good stuff, as…

OK, I'll go.

Good stuff, as usual, Brian. This time of year is never easy.

There's just one thing that is really nagging at me about this game - our record on grass vs. turf.

Last two years (sorry anecdotal, but it does sound right) - Turf: 24-0 Grass: 1-3. With the one win falling heavily on the shoulders of a couple of future Iowa Hawkeyes.

OK, so you've got that and you add in the fact that TCU plays their home games on grass (like many Southern teams?) and we, evidently, do not put a lot of emphasis on practicing on grass.

Could this be a big part of our failure in bowl games? Could it be why the OL looked like they were playing on the surface of the moon?

It seems like there's something to this to me. I hope the staff takes this sort of thing seriously.

JJ is a very nice and…

JJ is a very nice and agreeable kinda guy. How many football players go around with smiley faces drawn on their hands, meditating under the goalposts and smiling almost every time you see them? Lat alone finding all these qualities in one player?

When JH said that Rudock is cheaper than a $2 steak - especially after that big hit he took in (Minnesota?) everyone can see that. When Cade never smiles - like ever - and does his best to quietly chase away the new 5* QB after his job. Well, to me if someone said these guys had gravel in their guts (a term JH often uses) I'd have no argument.

Like I said, JJ is the Meechigan QB I've been waiting for all my life and I loooove the calm demeanor he showed in coming back - even (according to the ESPN announcer mouthing to his dad in the stands - we are gonna win this) but JJ has certain Pollyanna type tendencies that I think adverse situations like this are the universe's way of perfecting all of us - like when my Isiah threw the ball into Laimbeer in Boston in game 5(?) in 1987 and Bird stole it and kept home court advantage for the damn Celtics. Stuff like that ...

So, I'm hoping that by this time next year this adversity will, I donno, maybe keep him from going on the Rich Eisen show and talking about how he's chasing Tom Brady, that's his legacy. And that he hopes TCU stays in their 3-3-5 because we'll introduce them to B1G smashfest football.

Yuno - the kinda gravel in the gut that keeps you from motivating the little brothers of the world, like the horny toads.

Watching the game - I never…

Watching the game - I never give up during an event. But it was a slow dawning that this was not going well and plenty of experience with these things in the past to back up that feeling.

One thing very different - a Meechigan QB handling adversity like this young guy. JH talking about how proud he was of JJ afterward gave me good hope we're on the right track.

I love JJ - he is the Meechigan QB I've always been waiting for. But, he can be a bit of a Pollyanna. He needs some gravel in his gut - maybe this will help. He is a rather attentive young man, I believe it will.

So lots of stuff conspired to make this a devastating upset. But, there is one really great theory I have only heard as a conspiracy theory you might say - attributed to someone close to the program in a M football FB message group that my son is a member of this "groundskeeper type person" allegedly said that the team only got to practice on grass 2 times before the games because of weather, while none back at home. While TCU plays on grass at home. Furthermore (I have not checked the veracity but it seems right) we are 24-0 on turf the last two years and 1-3 on grass (spurty, UGA, TCU and barely beat PSU) I donno - this seems like the one common denominator to me. Why is nobody in official circles discussing this elephant in the room - gambling sites talk about this sorta stuff in general all the time.

This "groundskeeper type person" went on to say that the team was slipping in pregame and that it may have been a big factor in why Dono was caught from behind on the first play.

I'd really like to see this practicing on grass thing addressed in the future myself.

Well ... let me apologize in…

Well ... let me apologize in advance for the length of this post. It's right in my wheelhouse tho.

I have a niece who graduated from U of M, but that's the only direct connection I've got. But I've bled Maize n Blue since long before that. I grew up in Rochester, had a couple tours in the USAF that took me to the Puget Sound area and watching all those Rose bowl games when Bo's teams got regularly obliterated, I sometimes wanted to get a blood transfusion. But I made it thru somehow - even managed to laugh at jokes like this: Ya know why Bo eats his Wheaties straight outta the box? Cuz if you put em in a bowl he'd lose em. Ya, my dad (MSU grad) remembers the Tom Harmon days - but I've only known occasional joy interrupted by way too much misery. I guess most CFB fanbases could say the same.

One of my kids caught the Maize n Blue disease with me - he's been off n on about JH since he got here, I have always been on JH's side - I started fanatically watching, recording, re-watching and devouring content on what, I was sure, would be the resurrection of Meechigan football since ... before Bob Ufer's time?

Today is the day I had to give up on that. I love U of M. I love Ann Arbor. I love JH. Pretty much in that order. But there is this attitude that pervades A2 - this genteel, nice guy, pure class sort of attitude that isn't exactly the type of petri dish you want your football team to culture in, know what i mean, Vern? Bo had the perfect attitude to counteract that, I'm not sure JH does. He is inextricable from the program ... I mean IMHO ... he's got to leave on his own terms somewhat, how do you get rid of someone unceremoniously like him? So what can he be? The second most famous M QB from the NFL in charge of European vacations for the team? Maybe. Hopefully sumthin like that. He's got class and he's got Meechigan DNA ... he can't just be sent away ... but damn, we've seen our ceiling, it ain't getting better.

Long live that other JH, I still believe in Juwan Howard.

From my first movie I was…

From my first movie I was old enough to watch by myself at the theater, "Thunderball" in the mid-sixties all the way through his long and glorious career, nobody like him. Connery, Sean Connery.

I had a nice lady print my…

I had a nice lady print my boarding pass yesterday morning at Metro - returning from Houghton Lake to see my newest grandson back to Portlandia (btw don't drink the red kool-aid coming from the WH you can even go down to ground zero of the protests damn near anytime and never fear for your safety) and the poor thing - she had a spurty face mask. I really tried to think of something nice to say to her - "brave choice", "you are a true fan"?? I mean, what can you say? My gramma would be proud, I said nuthin.

So, if a QB only throws down…

So, if a QB only throws down the middle, in traffic, late in The Game, after the ref's have been allowing ohowihate's secondary to do whatever they want the whole game - does it still count as a drop?

 

Somebody pinch me. Is that…

Somebody pinch me. Is that IT, FOR REAL?

Aaargh, it's ok double play!…

Aaargh, it's ok double play!

 

Now I got a fever for more…

Now I got a fever for more strikes, on the corner! One down!

 

C'mon guys 3 outs, throw…

C'mon guys 3 outs, throw strikes!

Yes!! Moar runs!

Yes!! Moar runs!

I've got a fever and the…

I've got a fever and the only cure ...

I've got an itch and the…

I've got an itch and the only thing that'll scratch it is moar runs!

Outta the inning!

 

Outta the inning!

 

They'll get em next time. 

They'll get em next time. 

That pitcher's corner man…

That pitcher's corner man needs to throw in the towel.