lawrencelaundry

Thu, Oct 7, 2010 : 1:09 p.m.

Yeah I can agree about the NFL THING with Carrs teams, but Cards teams could not score like this with a bunch of soph and jrs. IF u win they will come. Kubrick66 does have good points. LIKE the the defense is embarrassing. Can u imagine if the D was decent and Denard got the ball twice as much in a game. His stats would be through the roof. The talent is there on D but no talent in coaches. Rich needs to let Gerg do what he knows best, and that's old fashioned D stacking the box putting pressure on QB. Did u guys know that Very never has run a 3-3-5 D before in his life. GEE, I wonder if that's the problem. DAVION Rogers one of the fastest players on the team, u mean to tell me u can't coach him up. And quit giving 10-15 yrd cushion. That's a problem, start jamming them and the players will get better at it. Will cambell is another, had he been playing from the start he be wipped into shape by now and that would free up Martin on just one on one and he would wreak havoc on Qbs. Go Blue!!

Kubrick66

Thu, Oct 7, 2010 : 12:17 p.m.

TheAnnouncerMan007... Thank you for proving my point.

lawrencelaundry

Thu, Oct 7, 2010 : 2:41 a.m.

Uconn defense is about equal to michigan states. The only difference will be State knows Denard is coming and what he's about. I don't why everyone says we haven't faced a defense like state. Uconn and notre dame have better linebackers then State. Mante teo leads the nation in tackles. MICHIGAN BY 10 pts cause the weather is going to be beautiful and it wont slow us down and State will be chasing Drob all day. Our D to improve this week cause we will stack the box, I hope.

Kubrick66

Wed, Oct 6, 2010 : 11:31 a.m.

TheAnnouncerMan007... Using the word Kool-Aid to describe someone else invalidates everything you say.

Jay Allen

Wed, Oct 6, 2010 : 9:18 a.m.

@forever21: "The Angry Michigan-Defensive-Back-Hating-Gods have a lot to do with this. As for all of the "wait until D-Rob faces a real defense" argument, no defense looks like a "real defense" when they face Robinson. He spends 3 hours every saturday making defenses look stupid. " Kool-Aid & Crow coming right up. Iowa, PSU, OSU and Wisconsin. If you think he'll run through them like he has with the JV teams U of M has played this year, please stop wasting bandwidth.

Jay Allen

Wed, Oct 6, 2010 : 8:57 a.m.

@Win: So folks who critique are not fans? You do not personally know ANY of us. You do not know our involvement or our roles. Thus I would strongly urge you to keep personal hyperbole to a minimum as you are a Kool-Aid drinker looking through rose colored glasses. Giving up 500+ yards (read that again) 500+ yards to INDIANA did not happen when Randal El was there. @tater. You crack me up. "If Michigan beats MSU this weekend, all of a sudden Illinois, Purdue, Wiscy, and PSU look a lot easier to win. That would be a total of ten before a bowl game, even with a loss to OSU. Wiscy is the wild card here; did MSU beat a very good Wiscy team or did they beat a very bad Wiscy team? This weekend will give us a good idea. " 1. How is beating MSU going to make beating Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and PSU easier? That is a ludicrous statement. PSU and Purdue are road games and if you understand anything about Big-10 football, a ROAD game is tough no matter who you play. And just because you beat "X" does not mean that beating "Y" is "easier"! LOL 2. 10 wins? Really? That is called counting your chickens before they are hatched. 3. How does beating MSU tell us anything about Wisconsin? Wisconsin had 4 turn overs to MSU's 3. MSU had field position advantages all game long and they turned their opportunities into touchdown's vs field goals. In a cold, damp enviornment, you should know that a running game is critical. MSU outran Wisconsin. This weekend is supposed to be mild, dry, and wind free. Pretty hard to compare much just on conditions alone. For a person who thinks they know a lot about football, you just look at the final score. I bet you read the front cover to the book and the rear cover and then wrote your report. There is a TON more that goes into scouting than just looking at the final score and who beat who. I bet you are the champion in your "fantasy" football league.

gwrock

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 8:23 p.m.

Last year we took MSU, on the road, without this year's version of Denard, into overtime. Question: Which team has improved more in the last year? I'd say Michigan.

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 6:36 p.m.

Yelmonian... "RR didn't even try. He said bag it, I'll give up 40 years of bowl games... because I'm not willing to change for even a year." That's exactly what he did, and that is the root of all the hatred. Was it the right move? To early to tell. But I can certainly understand why he did it. Why delay the inevitable? He was hired to do what he does. Martin knew exactly what he was all about when he hired him. If he doesn't install his system from the beginning, then when? He had young backs, receivers, OL... Was he suppose to delay the process and attempt to run a completely different offense? In other words coach against his strengths. Doubt that would've work out very well. RR is a specialists, not a general practitioner. And slowly, everyone he plays is learning what that means.

Yelmonian

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 6:19 p.m.

Kubrick, You summed up my reasoning for MSU having a better coaching staff. As you stated eloquently... RR didn't even try. He said bag it, I'll give up 40 years of bowl games... because I'm not willing to change for even a year. Sorry... didn't realize that 2 stats were going to put you over the edge. Not really meant to be used as hard core justification... just to show that MSU's offense is actually pretty good.... and UM's defense is really that bad. I can't wait until Saturday!

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 5:38 p.m.

Yelmonian... It's time to put the whole "RR can't adapt to his players" to rest. Guess what, he didn't even try to and doesn't apologize for it. RR came here to build HIS program and that's why so many Michigan fans hate him. He sacrificed wins in order to install his system, not to adapt to what he had. Painful? Yes. And some fans will never forgive him for sacrificing so much tradition in the process. But now we're starting to see what a RR offense is capable of and it's only going to get better. And for the time being, for better or worse, the defense will continue to struggle and wins will be left up to the offense. If RR survives this transition... The offense will be nearly unstoppable in a year or two and at that point just an average defense will be enough. His system, this program - will be on a whole other level of greatness. He just has to make it through this season.

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 5:19 p.m.

Yelmonian... I thought we agreed that stats really don't matter much in this rivalry game? And yet your entire argument centers around MSU's advantage in three out of four categories- based solely on stats. Like I said before, you can throw them all out the window. Now do I think Michigan's offense is that much better, good enough to overcome all it's other deficiencies? At home, in a rivalry game, against MSU... Yes, just barely.

Yelmonian

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 4:41 p.m.

Kubrick, My confidence comes down to this... As I have stated, UM has the more explosive offense. I'm not even going to argue this. They have Robinson. MSU has a very good offense. They can score points, and they can burn clock while scoring points. MSU's offense is very effective. They rack up 460 yards per game. This is not a bunch of hacks, and I think UM fans tend to forget this because of what UM has in Robinsion. MSU has (2) running backs that statiscally are in the top 30 rushing in the nation, and a QB that is statistically in the top 30 passing. MSU has a defense that is in the top third statistically in allowed defensive yards per game in the country. I won't say they are great, but they aren't horrible either. The give up close to 100 yards less a game than UM's defense. Which leads me to UM's defense. They are horrible. And if you want to argue that, statistically they are ranked #102 in the country. I just don't see UM being able to stop MSU's offense. UMASS put up more points against UM, then any other UMASS opponent. That defense gives me confidence. MSU's special teams appears to be stronger than UM's. UM's field goal unit is awful. MSU hasn't missed a field goal yet. I don't recall if UM has run back a punt yet, but MSU's got the special teams honor this week because they ran a punt return back. Also... and this is just opinion... but I think Dantonio is a better all around coach. I think he can adapt as evidenced by taking over a 3-9 program and going to three straight bowl games, and the game plan he had last year that kept MSU in the game against Texas Tech (yes... MSU was missing 11 players due to the "incident"). I have not seen RR be able to modify his system to fit the players he did have. He could only wait helplessly until his players came of age. That's where my confidence comes from. My opnion... MSU is stronger in 3 of 4 areas, and the 4th area MSU is pretty darn good (not UM good...but good). Also... I really want to know how MSU was in that much better of a place than UM last year? MSU had a young QB that hadn't started any games prior to last year (he was a true sophmore) and we started (2) Freshmen Running Backs. MSU had lost 70% of their offense from the year before. Our best defensive line players had graduated the year before. MSU was starting from scratch when Dantonio took over... the only difference is Dantonio has been the coach one year longer than RR. And I find that logic curious... why did UM struggle with MSU Carr's last year as coach? It took late until the 4th quarter for UM to beat MSU... even though it was Dantonio's first year as a coach (from a 3-9 year, starting a new QB Hoyer)... and UM had Henne, Hart, etc.... I don't see previous outcomes as having an influence on this game. I don't think I have guaranteed victory, but I would be willing to bet my $10 bucks that MSU wins by 10. How's that? So I'm just curious... do you think UM's offense is that much better than MSU's (and MSU has a decent offense0... that it will outweigh the other three facets of the game?

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 3:43 p.m.

Yelmonian... Not sure where your confidence level is coming from outside of the fact that Michigan has a horrible defense. Maybe a case of "positive thinking?" The facts say that Michigan's defense has had plenty of issues, three, four years running. Even so... MSU struggled to beat a horribly young, inexperienced, often inept Michigan team the past two seasons. Now that same team is growing up on offense... Has depth at OL, WR, RB-- and though none are clearly dominate on an individual basis, as a whole they are steady and productive. Which leads to the QB position. And that position speaks for itself. Now where as I'm not brimming with confidence... The fact that Michigan is at home, has lost two close games to Sparty in a row, and fields a offense with unlimited potential and the ability to score at anytime, from any place on the field... Even with a horrible defense... I like our chances.

Yelmonian

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 3:15 p.m.

Kubrick, I whole heartedly agree, the rivalry plays into it... and that is a factor that nobody can calculate. What I'm chucking about... is the times have turned a tad bit. In past years, I have always been bombarded with stats, talent levels, etc. by Wolverine fans. This year... Wolverine fans don't want to hear any of that. Just keep throwing DR out there. And as I have stated in other posts... DR is the one factor that scares Spartan fans... and creates that "X" factor. And I 100% agree, rivalry games can turn out weird sometimes. This year... I have more confidence in my team than others! I'm looking forward to the game! Spartans by 10!

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 2:48 p.m.

Yelmonian... With all due respect those stats mean nothing in a rivalry game. Ranked, unranked, undefeated, winless - best offense, worst defense... It means nothing. A fan of either team should already know that. And anyone trying to use previous game stats to prove their point is engaging in a desperate attempt to convince them self that they know the outcome of the game. My prediction... One team will score more points than the other... and that team will win the game. And that my friend- I'm sure of.

Tally10

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 2:38 p.m.

College football is changing but one thing remains the same, it's all about the X's and the O's. IU's OC used it's strength ( the pass ) and attacked M's weakness ( young secondary ).He forced M to stay in the 3-3-5 most of the game by going with an empty backfield, trips to one side and twins on the other side of the formation and spreading them out, this was a new look for most of these kids, they looked lost most times but overall did well considering being out on the field for 98 plays, that's equivalent to about a game and a half...GOOD ENDURANCE! Great experience as they continue to grow and they DID NOT LOSE THE GAME. To the DC's on this site that wanted GROB to use more 4man fronts in this game, with IU going with 5 Rec's, where were you going to take an extra player from, the DB's or the LB's? Right. Also, what do you think would have happened if our CB's came up? Right, I would bet IU's OC was trying to bate M into that. It's a lot easier coaching from our computers after the game than it is on the field, so let's leave the X's and the O's to the coaches. GOOD GAME D, keep improving...GO BLUE!

MikeB

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 12:50 p.m.

This is an interesting article - current fans might find it entertaining, both for the subject and the differences in journalism in a time long past. This was published about 5 weeks before I was born. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,779413,00.html

Yelmonian

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 12:31 p.m.

Oli, I have one question for you. Next week you are required to bet your weeks paycheck against the following game... Alabama versus Oregon. Who do you bet on? I'm betting on Alabama. And last I checked... they employed STRONG DEFENSE and that old boring offense!

oli

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 12:17 p.m.

Did any of you Rich Rod haters watch the Oregon Stanford game on Saturday night? If we keep Rich Rod we will be just as good if not better than Oregon is right now. The spread option is the future of college football. Stop living in the past and embrace the excitement. Or we could fire Rich Rod and hire a good Michigan man Jim Harbaugh and and get our asses handed to us by all the mobile QB's in the country. Do you people not remember how we were always getting torched by mobile QB's in the past? This is absolutely ridiculous! The defense will get better. In year 5 of the Rich Rod era we will be competing for a national title.

Yelmonian

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 11:53 a.m.

Let me correct my last post.... in my vigor, I punched the wrong data base at USA Today... it makes it only worse for Indiana.... Defenses MSU faced... #25 Wisconsin, 301 yds per game #69 Western Michigan, 367 yds per game #74 Florida Atlantic, 371 yds per game #89 Notre Dame, 401 yds per game Defenses Indiana faced #102 Michigan, 433 yds per game #109 Western Kentucky, 441 yds per game #113 Akron, 462 yds per game Again... MSU's offense has outperformed all of their opponents defenses. Indiana's offense basically played to the defense they faced. Thosewhostay appears to be basing his discussion on emotion, and not fact. MSU by 10!

Yelmonian

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 11:37 a.m.

Those who stay, You are aware that MSU's offense rolls up 460 yards a game, right? They are the 23rd ranked offense in the country. UM's high powered offense only averages 100 yds a game more... 25 per quarter. That's not a huge difference. MSU's offense rolls up more yards per game than UM's defense gives up to inferior offensive opponents. Just wanted to make sure you are understanding correctly. MSU's offense is not a slouch offense. And they do that while controlling the clock. And that high powered Indiana offense you are mentioning... it averages 5 yards a game less than MSU's. Oh yeah, and Indiana's offense... has played Towsen State, Western Kentucky(#107 Defense), and Akron (#117 Defense), Michigan (#102 Defense)... MSU's "less powerful" offense included Notre Dame (#48 Defense), Wisconsin (#27 Defense), Western Michigan (#79 Defense), Florida Atlantic (#101 Defense), and Northern Colorado. MSU's worse defensive (Div I) team they played against Florida Atlantic is still statistically better than Indiana's best statistical defense (Michigan). HERE COME THE SPARTANS! State by 10!

chiro19

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 11:34 a.m.

I have said this a couple of times already. There have been several plays in each of michigans close games that made it look closer than it was! ND blown coverage twice on a tight end that shouldnt happen (should have been 28-17). Umass weird ending with the punt thing (should have been 42-24). IU the fumble at the 1 and the touchdown at the end of the 1st half (should have been 49-21). This teams defense is being exploited through the air one because they are being passed on 64 times by IU (thats like three games versus any other balanced team). 44 times by notre dame. I think these huge passing games by these teams need to be put in perspective,and that is michigans d secondary is running goofy schemes, they are out there a ton, and being thrown on a ton, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that teams have to throw to stay in the game. If michigan eliminates a couple of bad plays a game they win big in all their games. Now its a matter of making it happen! Maybe bringing some different blitz packages to have the qb make quicker decisions or playing more press coverage. The more I watch some of these games the more I see learning lessons for these young players and hopefully they are learning and not getting frustrated since we are winning.

ThoseWhoStayUofM

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 11:12 a.m.

"This will not be like playing IUs soft overmatched defense." MSU's offense is no pistol-formation passing extravaganza either. It's a two way street. Will Michigan's offense be a little less productive against MSU? YES. Will MSU's offense be a little less productive than IU's? No, it will be A LOT less productive. "this is probably the first legitimately decent defense that we have faced this season" ND's defense is just as good as MSU's and Denard gashed them for 502 yards. MSU barely beat ND at home (in overtime). I still think this game is going to be a close one because MSU's offense has improved since the ND game, and Michigan's defense certainly doesn't appear to have. What Michigan has going for it is, in an overtime scenario or last minute drive, Michigan will have the upper-hand for sure... especially at home. "Good defense is a hallmark of Michigan football" One year (1997) doesn't constitute as a hallmark of Michigan football. Michigan hasn't had a consistently good defense in my entire life (21 years). "This is not Michigan football" Are you watching the same games as me? I'm pretty sure it's Michigan... and it's football. "Live by the sword, eventually you die by it" This doesn't apply to Michigan at all. It simply means that if you continuously pick fights with people, eventually you are going to get beat. How is that relevant to anything? It isn't. "Flair = finesse and that is not Michigan football" CHANGE! I DON'T LIKE CHANGE! What happened to the 1950s? This isn't a TV! It's in color! True TV is in black and white! Electric vehicles with zero emissions?! That's not a real car! Civil Rights?! Equallity?! Why are there woman in those voting booths?! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE WORLD?!!!!!!

lawrencelaundry

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 10:52 a.m.

Its funny. If u all remember last yr, UM defense sucked last yr as did MSU. Some how our D is worse but MSU D Is now better. Plus, we have the same coordinator from last yr so u would think UM D would improve too. NOPE! Either Rich is sticking his nose into the D and not allowing GERG TO DO his job, or GERG IS just terrible coach. ANYONE that says there's no talent has no clue what their talking about and has never played the game in their life. Coaching, coaching, coaching is about 75% of the game. Just ask App State, tcu, utah, tulsa, umass, etc etc etc. IM sure those schools had recruiting classes in the top 20 the last 50 yrs like Michigan. Here's food for thought, GERG is known to be a terrible recruiter and does not travel to get kids. SO why would he care about his D if he puts no ambition to recruit, then he does not motivate and give players ambition to excell to be better. Like father like son. U ever here that before. I hope they keep Rich, but the whole Defense staff has to go and be replaced with motivated and energetic staff with some recent success in Defense.

Richard

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 8:28 a.m.

The Team was ranked last year when they were 4-1. they became 5-1 when beat Delaware State. After that, they couldn't win anything. They came close but still lost every game. They need to beat Michigan State to be 6-0; an if they can beat Iowa, then the heat might come off the Coach. I can't believe there are so many coaches, but if they can get that defense working, then the heat will come off.

Fan

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 8:17 a.m.

@ Tater: You make some very good points. Most are thinking Wisconsin of past years; I didn't see that ole power- could be presently overrated. From my perspective, I think the 3-3-5 defense will adjust and will click on all 11 cylinders this week. I saw some really tough smash mouth gang tackling and an exceptional interception(s). The real problem with the defense is being out of position and that is being remedied with coaching. I predict a hungry defense will exceed expectations this week in front of the entire nation and world. This FAN asks the Michigan coaching staff to encourage Denard (as appropriate) free opportunity to talk directly to and inspire his offense, defense, and special team PEERS during the game. One team, one enthusiasm and one collective extraordinary effort; again and again. I am personally inspired by a picture from the Bowling Green game where Denard is being ESCORTED into the end zone flanked by Kevin Koger, Vincent Smith and Martell Webb. The expression on each of their faces tells the real story- the FUN IS BACK!!

Forever27

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 8:17 a.m.

The Angry Michigan-Defensive-Back-Hating-Gods have a lot to do with this. As for all of the "wait until D-Rob faces a real defense" argument, no defense looks like a "real defense" when they face Robinson. He spends 3 hours every saturday making defenses look stupid.

ChelseaBob

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 8:02 a.m.

I love D-rob and I certainly like winning, but this looks like last year. This was the point where Tate was so beat up it affected his play. MSU will be the toughest team we play. Look for them to unload on D-rob every play. We'll probably see some personal fouls too. By the second half, D-rob will be looking less like superman. Then we'll find out if we have a team, or a one man show.

GoblueinNE_PA

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 7:57 a.m.

Theo Theres a problem with your list. There is no Speed on the defense. The team is constantly being outrun by the likes of 1-AA talent at RB and a lumbering TE from ND. There also doesn't seem to be much speed on the offense other than DRob. Most of the RB's, including Vincent Smith, run like their dragging anchors behind them. As for this weekends game, I personally think we'll be exposed as a bit of a fraud. I think MSU's defense will contain DRob, who has been just ridiculous this season, and the balanced offense from MSU will pound the defense into submission. However, if we do win, then believe it or not, I agree w/Tater. If we win this game, then even I'll admit the chances are good of winning 9+ games this season. Iowa and OSU are probably the only roadblocks after that. I still won't back off RR in any case, because I think he's a one dimensional hack, but he'll probably save his job.

tulsatom

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 7:12 a.m.

RR said: For as many problems as weve had, I dont want to belabor the fact and, you know, lower our head. The main thing is to win. Weve won, he said. Yes, the 5-0 record is all that matters. I can understand not belaboring the defensive woes because, as a coach, you do not want to destroy them psychologically and you want them to keep gaining confidence and getting better. I agree with Kubrick66 on Roh. Let's have a 4-man front with Roh and Van Bergen as the defensive ends, Martin and either Banks or Campbell as the other tackle (rotate them in if necessary) and be in a better position to stop the run and pressure the QB. Also, forget the zone. Go man-to-man and let our d-backs play more aggresively and play to their strengths instead of trying to outsmart the offense with the zone. It isn't working.

No27in1969

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 6:41 a.m.

Such is the legacy of the RichRod era. The so called old school Michigan "faithful" who want so badly for RR to fail so they can put his head on a pike and find themselves a "Michigan Man" to coach the team. Are you kidding me? That's what has taken this process longer than it should. The change in style from the old style drop back passing, larger than life (but sometimes slow) linemen and a grinding running game have been replaced. That took time, that woudl be expected. Lloyd tooled the offense to fit his style and RR was different. Not to mention the old staff didn't exactly leave the a huge surplus of talent, take a few away and what do you really expect? But why complicate it even more by trying to undermine the current coach? He's winning at times in spite of the lack of support from all sides. The offense is showing what it can really be and don't think for a minute that if DRob goes down that they're sunk. They may slow down half a step, but Tate, despite his short comings at the start of the season is a very good QB and one many teams would love to start. And Devon has a skill set more like Robinson - he's got a big arm and he's fleet of foot and bigger, he's further along in passing than Robinson was last year, but definitely not quite as refined as Tate. Defense? Yeah, getting run ragged at times, but they're on the field a lot and they are learning. The injury to Woolfolk definitely hurts them, it takes away some experience in the backfield and some leadership on the field. Look at the sheer number freshmen - TRUE freshmen who haven't had the benefit of a redshirt on the field playing for them on defense, I'd say they're doing OK. It will look a lot different next year when they have a better feel for things and it should improve some throughout the season, but it could be a rough one. But live by the sword die by the sword? Aside from how fast the offense can cram the ball in the endzone, these two are independent. If the D sharpens up it will give the offense the ball more often and they'll generate leads which will pressure opposing teams into trying to stretch out the field and play catch up and make them more prone to making mistakes. Look at how scared Indiana was, what WASN'T 4 down territory for them, they knew if they didn't keep pace they were done. I don't know if the defense brings it up to speed like that this year, but the future isn't that bleak for them. And to imply that by winning some early recruiting battles we'd be losing more now...? Based on what...? You have no idea how those guys would play in this system, perhaps they would flourish as well. I know Pryor would do better in this stle offense than in OSU's. He (Pryor) wanted to be groomed as a drop back passer for NFL potential, but he's probably not going to get there as a QB, he would actually have been fine in RR's system (and again, probably not looked at as a bonafide Pro QB).

MikeB

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 6:02 a.m.

3 and Pout, Please do us all a favor, apply for the Michigan Coaching job and be done with it. By definition this is Michigan football. Why? it is the style of football the University Michigan is playing. See Pout, if you look back in history you will see that football is constantly changing. For example in 1947 Michigan had the "Mad Magicians" who brought specialization to football under Fritz Crisler. I can imagine your ancestor (2 and pout?) decrying the changes and saying it wasn't Michigan football, because those lazy SOB's only played one way. I am not trying to whitewash this, the defense needs a lot of work and they (in my opinion) also need to add some ball control so they can close out games but overall the offense is damned exciting and fun, as fun in a quarter as the the old pro style was in a game. Pout, please calm down and enjoy the wins and take your hate for the coach somewhere else, by rooting against him you root against the team, can't you figure that out?

Robert

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 5:38 a.m.

Just dont understand why people are complaining about the last game our defense is fine what people fail to realize is that IU had 64 pass attempts so of course he is gonna have a field day no matter what team he played against

nathan

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 3:58 a.m.

If DR gos wild against MSU people will still say wait till he plays a real defense, MSU's defense was overrated or some thing along those lines.No one would complain if we where winning games 14-10.Our defense isnt great we all can see that, but they have at least made plays when they needed it and we actually are winning the turnover battle this year.I say over 95 plays on 13 drives and only giving up 5 td's.....it could have been worse.Just saying the kids are playing there tails off no matter what people think or say on these boards.Be a fan or dont turn on the tv if its all your gonna do is complain every chance you get.

barnyard

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 2:20 a.m.

The defense has been horrific for at least 5 or 6 years now. GROB has to go, why would we hire a coach who when he was at syracuse for 3 years won maybe 4 games total?? Michigan can get good coaches and we need to do it after this year! Our db's consistently play 8 or 9 yds off the ball every snap. Ray charles can go out there throw the pigskin if he has that kind of cushion every play. For all you people that say the defense is fine and were young maybe your the wrong kind of michigan fans because at the GREATEST college football program ever you expect to have the best and right now there is none of that on the d! Wersch you might need to watch last sat's game again when you say maintain long drives and the defense gets a few 3 and outs. look at the time of possesion and total first downs then get back to me and that was from a team that has beat the likes of towson akron. Skipit you tard records dont win championships victories win championships and the only records were breaking is that for the worse coached defense of all time!

Skipit3

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 2:19 a.m.

"More Perspective: If Shavodrick Beaver and the kid who went to Penn State don't decommitt....then RR is not forced to pick up D Rob at the last minute of his recruiting class...." Very smart perspective from a very bright Analyst! Now that the team is finding success, our favorite expert is coming up with some "If...then" statements. Very original indeed! Some people's logic makes you wonder!

Skipit3

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 2:12 a.m.

"You... people will have find somewhere else to troll. Because you won't have the guts to come on here and say you were wrong..." Win, I bet you they will keep coming to this site. They will either change their names or change their tones, but I'm afraid they won't go away any time soon. By the way, Theo is ok; he is a genuine fan. I don't know about the other guy.

Skipit3

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 2:04 a.m.

"I think it will be a close game but Sparty is tough and very physical on both sides of the ball. This will not be like playing IUs soft overmatched defense..." Similar arguments were made before we played UConn & Notre Dame! Beware of the Naysayers for they complain and make predictions based on FEAR not FACTS!

Skipit3

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 1:55 a.m.

"Flair = finesse and that is not Michigan football" I guess breaking records after records is not Michigan football either. Some people's logic makes you wonder.

wersch213

Tue, Oct 5, 2010 : 12:35 a.m.

Who has sparty played on the road this year?? oh wait, FAU at Ford Field. Michigan has two solid road victories and FAU isn't one of them. Michigan is going to play sound offensive football maintaining long drives and the defense will get a couple three and outs and/or 1 turnover. That is all that is needed for the Michigan win 45-24...GO BLUE!

lawrencelaundry

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 11:27 p.m.

Its funny. If u all remember last yr, UM defense sucked last yr as did MSU. Some how our D is worse but MSU D Is now better. Plus, we have the same coordinator from last yr so u would think UM D would improve too. NOPE! Either Rich is sticking his nose into the D and not allowing GERG TO DO his job, or GERG IS just terrible coach. ANYONE that says there's no talent has no clue what their talking about and has never played the game in their life. Coaching, coaching, coaching is about 75% of the game. Just ask App State, tcu, utah, tulsa, umass, etc etc etc. IM sure those schools had recruiting classes in the top 20 the last 50 yrs like Michigan. Here's food for thought, GERG is known to be a terrible recruiter and does not travel to get kids. SO why would he care about his D if he puts no ambition to recruit, then he does not motivate and give players ambition to excell to be better. Like father like son. U ever here that before. I hope they keep Rich, but the whole Defense staff has to go and be replaced with motivated and energetic staff with some recent success in Defense.

BlueAlaska

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 10:23 p.m.

If Warren hadn't graduated early, and Boubacar didn't get stupid, and Woolfolk didn't get hurt, and Dorsey was admitted to UM, and the other guy (forgot his name) didn't transfer, where would we be? I know every team loses guys, but UM has been hit particularly hard by personnel losses in the secondary. If we still had a couple of these guys, our D would be a lot more solid. We're still a VERY YOUNG team, and doing real well. We normally start about maybe 4 seniors combined on O&D!!! I think RRod is building this thing right!

3 And Out

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 9:39 p.m.

More Perspective: If Shavodrick Beaver and the kid who went to Penn State don't decommitt....then RR is not forced to pick up D Rob at the last minute of his recruiting class.... and we would be 2 wins 3 losses right now... fine line between winning barely and being an absolute joke looking for a new job

Kubrick66

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 9:38 p.m.

"In game adjustment?" How's this for an adjustment... Stop wasting Craig Roh. He lines up near the LOS, threatening to blitz on almost every play only to drop back into coverage and wander around underneath doing almost nothing. It's a complete waste while the QB sits back with no pressure going through his entire progressions. He had five tackles, no sacks, no hurries, no TFL, and he's our best pure pass rusher. He should be the fourth man rushing the QB on 80% of the snaps, heck 90%- not loitering in no man's land during most of the game. Don't believe me? Re-watch the game. There are at least two or three players on every down just standing around protecting grass. Frustrating.

win

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 8:38 p.m.

theo212 and 3 and out, I'm tired of the complaining and sarcasm coming from two guys who probably want this team to fail so RR can be fired. You are not fans or supporters of MICHIGAN, so stop talking like you really care about this program succeeding. We are 5-0, playing with an explosive offense. An offense unlike any in the country. I'll bet we shatter records by the end of this season, Michigan records, Big Ten Records. The "tradition" you mention on defense. What tradition. You mean the tradition of getting outplayed by team after team over the past decade? Since 97, the defense at Michigan has been average at best. That's not saying this defense is great, but remember, they are playing many sophomores and freshman out there. And just like the offense made great strides this year. The defense will make great strides next year. This team won't win the big ten, but I can't wait to hear all the haters when we do go 8-4 or 9-3 and play on new years day. You miserable people will have find somewhere else to troll. Because you won't have the guts to come on here and say you were wrong.

Engineer

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 8:28 p.m.

Would like to see comparison on scoring against us per time of possesion for the other team. Defense has been less than stellar but offense has scored so quickly that the defense has been on the field an awfully long time. We may need 2 starting quality defensive squads to last long enough when we score most of the time in 2 minutes or less.

Daniel

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 8:13 p.m.

I know we were not ready to strike fear into many teams with our D, but don't forget that this team could have potentially had Troy Woolfolk (injury) and DeMar Dorsey (admission BS) on it. regardless it's still GO BLUE... ALL DAY...EVERYDAY

3 And Out

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 7:54 p.m.

sag... D Rob is favored by 4. I think it will be a close game but Sparty is tough and very physical on both sides of the ball. This will not be like playing IUs soft overmatched defense...and offensively if we allow Bell to get running down hill and Cousins to hit some of those passes to some decent WRs it will be a long day. This Saturday will be the first TRUE measure of how far Rich Rod has brought this team...with or without D Rob... now D Rob may go off again and be amazing and carry this team...but that will be tougher to do as this is probably the first legitimately decent defense that we have faced this season.

saginaw

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 7:50 p.m.

Yes, all of this, and yet, we are 4.5 point favorites to beat the Spartans.

azwolverine

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 7:47 p.m.

5-0 is nice, but over three years, the defense has gotten continuously worse, not better. To argue that Michigan is improving is only 50% correct. Unless this trend improves (which it hasn't over three years), I can't see championships of any kind (other than state titles against MSU) in the foreseeable future. It will certainly be hard to beat the likes of Nebraska, Iowa, and OSU twice to win B10 titles. I don't see it.

Papabear151

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 7:43 p.m.

The level of our defense is just absolutely unacceptable. This isn't like "weak defense lacking a few fantastic players" This is absolutely terrible, rubbish, garbage defense lacking all football fundamentals, play knowledge, and coaching required to even be considered a 3rd string michigan defense. Zone = fail, missed takling = fail, a defense heavy on its weakest position = fail. I dont think that GROB and the boys on the D side of the ball quite understand that they are being absolutely carried by DROB right now.

3 And Out

Mon, Oct 4, 2010 : 6:54 p.m.

Good defense is a hallmark of Michigan football. This is not Michigan football. Live by the sword, eventually you die by it. Flair = finesse and that is not Michigan football.