Texas at Michigan 9/7/24

Before the Game

It is a newsworthy event.

This version won't give up.  They have become mean, what with trying to make it in the profession according to Coach.

If they lose, blame it on Jim Harbaugh, who not only left in a selfish way, but he gutted the place on his way out and the stigma of sanctions and who is involved remains.  Last week against Fresno State the receivers, including Donovan Edwards and excluding Colston Loveland, had 35 yards.  Alex Orji is, at this time and in a game this big, not a passer.  Michigan needs a quarterback to run--and I do mean run--the entire offense and Davis Warren is a fill-in or journeyman.  

Priebe, Barham, and Zvada, the three key Michigan transfers in, all did so under Harbaugh.  Sherrone Moore has not added significantly to the roster (and the 2024 recruiting class, despite a national championship, is weak by historical standards). 

Michigan should also be favored at home.  If they lose, blame it on Harbaugh.

 

After the Game

The post-game news conference:  We need to execute better.

Texas took Sherrone Moore and Michigan to school.  Wink Martindale, over 40 years, didn't stop it either.

If only they had shown a little humility and some responsibility.  It is reminiscent of the Brady Hoke years.  These things take a lot of time.  Remember Juwan Howard?  Moore was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.  He is the wrong person for the job.  Same goes for Davis Warren.

While Harbaugh is a disgusting pig (see below and above) Moore is not nearly the coach Harbaugh is.  Harbaugh got Rudock, Patterson, and McCarthy as well as the transfers in the lineup this year.  "This is Sherrone Moore calling" obviously doesn't have the same impact as Harbaugh.  While it was over-the-top NFL baiting, Harbaugh has a network and respect.  Normally a new coach brings this.  Same goes for building a staff because we all know there is only one person in charge and he, she, or they is as powerful as the athletic director.  Sherrone Moore does not have the same pull and he is not establishing it.  Right now he is another Howard-like failure in waiting; Harbaugh is thankfully gone and he is forced to recruit and rely on the portal to rebuild because this kind of performance is not going to cut it in the new Big Ten.  The cat is out of the bag.  Think baseball:  Everyone can see the hitter's weaknesses.

This is one of the worst losses in years and it will not be forgotten soon or easily.

Everyone could see it right from the start.  Texas passed at will.  On the first offensive series Donovan Edwards ran twice into the middle of the line for nothing.  Then Davis threw poorly to a covered (Loveland) receiver.  Game, season over.  You could almost say they didn't even try.

Top QB recruit, senior against a walk-on who has never played or shown it?  Who are you trying to fool, Coach Moore.  You are not going to out-talent or out-tough Texas; then, add Coach Sark who gave the whole world a lesson in offense management.  Even the announcers repeated what we already know--great teams win shootouts and 13-10 battles in the trenches and this Michigan team has neither.

It is disrespectful to fans who paid to show up and the rest of us too.  

Donovan Edwards has held his head up, deserving so; they other players who are left too.  Harbaugh and Moore let them down.  They can deny it all they want.  They both look greedy, selfish or incapable, and all-around awful.

Coach Moore is in a bad place.  He better wake up and stop the denial, the avoidance, and the delusion or he is going to lose the team too.  He is a sitting duck and stuck in the mud too.  We've seen the second string.  It is going to happen again this season.

Where was Will Johnson.  Or LaDarius Henderson.  Or T.J. Guy?  Brilliant game plan, Sark.

[Insert YouTube post-game video here. Goddamnit, you need to put your players in a position to succeed and only one person can do that.]

Not to rub it in, but it is best to be honest.  

More about Jim Harbaugh and others after the break.

Michigan 30 Fresno State 10

After watching the whole game without the distractions of live streaming, my reactions are more positive.

Davis Warren is a capable passer with pocket presence.  Orji is an interesting wrinkle.  I don't even know what year they are or what each has in eligibility.  That is exactly the point.  Both quarterbacks have been around for at least a couple of years.  I wonder how much each is paid.  Whether successful on the field or not, both are professionals inasmuch as it is their career.  Orgi is 20 and Warren is 22.  Can Orji learn to pass?  Now is the time to refine it, not learn how to do it, so probably not and Michigan's offensive is pro.  Warren is not going to become a runner or scrambler and without it his game is limited.  Tuttle and freshman Davis, pros too, were not in the cards.

What if Michigan with Edwards and Mullings and Orji had run all over Fresno State from the start?  It would not have mattered.  That alone is not going to win in the Big Ten.  The receivers showed some energy and Loveland is a beast.  Edwards is the wildcard; Warren has to make strides.

Earlier I watched Iowa and Cade McNamara.  It is back to those short passes until or unless.  Mullings showed flashes too and maybe he could be another Hassan Haskins.  The offensive line appears stable, i.e., unproven potential.

On defense the Wolverines have a lot of experience in Paige, Will Johnson, Quinton Johnson, Hausmann, newcomer Barham, Rolder and new starter Jyaire Hill; Ja'Den McBurroughs and TJ Guy, not so much.

Todd Blackledge is one of my favorite announcers and the game makes for easy listening in the background.  There was one stretch when Michigan players looked nasty, mean and dirty.  Things were not going well and it was too close for comfort; spoilt. Then things improved on the field.  Coach Moore was featured on camera picking his nose.  To his credit, he is composed and well-spoken when he realizes.

I almost forgot:

 

 

The other team in last year's championship, Washington, is not ranked.  Michigan has a lot left; the offseason was not especially productive in terms new faces on the field (Priebe and Barham are important fill-ins and the kicker despite two new starters and K Zvada proved excellent).  Sherrone Moore will be tested--this week, for starters--and they are going to need leadership.  On the field, the need is a) running back(s) and b) one quarterback.

 

Opening Day 2024

I'm watching a replay of Sean Bell commenting on Times Radio (YouTube) about the war in Ukraine.  "On reflection I think this is a masterstroke.  Warfare is all about momentum, it's about initiative, and my goodness..."

Let's all stand up and invite him back.  They had all that; it was almost Danantonio-esque, us against the world, plus a virtual record of talented, experienced and now hungry players.

Tom Mars, Jim Harbaugh, FBI raids, and who knows what else on an almost weekly basis.  You're damn right the national championship is tainted--Harbaugh was suspended for half the regular season games--even though it is unequivocal on the football field. 

Thankfully Harbaugh is gone because he takes most of the healing and appropriate allocation with him.  He pulled a Pete Carroll and the university and the rest of us are left to deal with the sanctions, embarrassments, and still-continuing scandals, investigations, and sanctions.  A four-year show cause is on the level of Dave Bliss, or Meyer and Tressel violations.  We're still hearing the same effete arguments that "I didn't know."  That is the whole point.  He flat-out negotiated with Michigan to not be held responsible for violations, and this after flirting with the NFL, coming back, and doing it again for years.

I'm a marginal supporter of Sherrone Moore.  Give him a chance.  But he was trained and he flourished it under the 'go to the line and then over it' management philosophy and he is in it up to his eyeballs.  Time will tell and there will be plenty of big, publicized tests, on the field and off.  

J.J. McCarthy, I don't care  I will remember Blake Corum fondly.

When Harbaugh was named honorary captain and accepted (then backed-out) I decided, for the first time in quite a while, not to watch the game.  Michigan isn't and will never be the underdog and I don't like this us against them, they were only minor violations attitude.  Glorifying Harbaugh shows this mentality is still alive.

Fresno State looks to be a nice little school (21,000 undergraduates) in the great California State University system.  It will be a perfect Fall college football atmosphere.  I'll look at the stats and no doubt catch the replay.  The University of Michigan will live on.  And eventually the next generation will take over just like they are supposed to.

Fall of the Atlanta Braves Part 3

Updated August 16 22, 2024.   

Alex Anthropoulos is his name.

When I went looking for this one little article this popped up:

Jan 12, 2024 — The Atlanta Braves extended the contract of president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos through the 2031 season on ...

 

That explains even more.   The fall of this great team is not nearly as complicated as that of Michigan.  Nor is it fun, in the long term, to watch.  Sherrone Moore will be tested; Oh, will he be tested.  Harbaugh, in his life of football, figured-out how to rig or at least control the system.  Even in abstentia--missing half the regular-season games--he built a team so strong that only made them better.

Now, with the predictions for the 12-team playoffs all over the place, Michigan is not in them.  From 4-team two years in a row to nothing.  Of course they are just predictions.

 

But I digress.  I want to get this out of the way.  AA as he is called on the Braves' blogs, knows the business.  There are many sources of income.  They'll survive and he'll get paid regardless.

 

The Braves are stuck with long-term contracts to underperforming players and a neglected farm system.  The product on the field is below expectations in terms of the customers.  Management does not have humility or where-with-all to fix it.  There was only one way to fix the problems when they arose.  If Spencer Strider goes down for the season you need to replace him with another 20-game winner.  Ronald Acuna', Jr. out for the season means you need a different .300/40-homer leadoff man.  The season has been nauseating watching the line-up of fill-ins and also-rans AA has put together.  He is a failure as long as he fails to listen to his customers.  Overall, they tend to compete every other day and that is not a championship team and it won't be any different next year.

 

 

With all those extra games at the end of the year Michigan fans have been spoiled.  The above, Joel Klatt, he has been supportive of Michigan and I agree.  There is a lot there.  

But what happens when you stop going over that line--the one of rules, ethics, and long-term good will?  Or, worse yet, you get caught again.

It will be something to watch, the coming of age of Sherrone Moore.  

 

This season is going to depend on the eye test.  How close the games are, i.e., the discipline.  Still, 15-0 to anything less than 8-4 will not look good.

 

I'll be looking for the integrity.

P.S.  The Braves won tonight, two out of three against the Phillies.  There is something about these teams that know how to win.  Michigan and Sherrone Moore know how to win. 

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Who the F is Zack Short?

Uh oh, This Event is in Weather Delay.  Wait, it is 10:13 AM here in Colorado.  I'm watching a replay of the game.  It is about the 5th inning and I didn't even notice they aren't playing.

In the back of my head I'm thinking there is going to be this conversation sometime somewhere in college football:

Player:  "Coach, where's my NIL money?"

Coach:  "How many touchdowns did you have last year?"

As communication goes, it is brief.  What does it mean?  Perhaps the guy is a placekicker.  Or he was injured.  Maybe the coach just doesn't give a damn.

Zack Short is the third baseman for the 100-time NL East Champion Atlanta Braves.  They're the same team that got off to a start this season as the best team in baseball with their customary place atop the division.  Last time I looked they were 7 games back to the Phils.

They are getting ready to start the game again.  It is tough to fast-forward on the MLB Replays site.  Thirty-minute rain delay.  3-1 PGH (I don't like the hats either) and the 5th inning has ended.

Like Michigan sports for some of us, it is difficult to turn away.  It is a nice distraction from more important things.  While the news about Michigan football never goes away, it is completely dependent in these times on immediate gratification.  I'm actually grateful for the moribund announcers on the Pirates channel.  I don't really want to watch it anyway.  I'll catch the gist, file it away, blends into the background.

The mighty Braves, with their flawless, fail-safe everyday lineup suck.  Acuna and Albies at the top are now just average; Ozuna, moved up in the order, is still hitting .300 and plays 4-5 times a game (DH) with an edge because he is in a contract year.  Jeez, Zack Short just got HBP.  Steady, RBI machine Olsen is nothing but; Harris, Arcia, and Kelenic are nowhere close to the hype, the flashes, and the their million dollar contracts.  Who is left.  Tromp?  

Sean Murphy doesn't play for the team anymore--yesterday, today, tomorrow, that is.  And this is not the first time he has sat out with first injury when the team needed him.  Right now, Short plays instead of Austin Riley, who normally is dependable.  Right, best lineup in baseball--Short is hitting .140.

The formerly-genius general manager has no answers.  Strider and all kind of pitchers are out too.  Wo why not replace Strider?  Or how about Murphy.  Why not just cut him and find someone to play?  I mean, go to the damn portal?

Now in the (taped) game Johnson, the reliever, is back from the disabled list and the Pirates are treating the bases like turnstyles.  Why not give him another $14.25 million contact? 

I'm so glad Murphy is hitting home runs and saying he is feeling great in the minors.  

The roster changes virtually every day.  Players, especially pitchers, are called up and go down just to make an appearance.  Occasionally someone performs for a while if it is just the right role.  The Braves signed someone with no (recent) history starting for $30 million (3 years) and another (known only as) 40-year old Charlie Morton for $20 million and one year.  

Motivation can only go so far with players like Tromp and Short.  The free agent market is no help because the good ones are signed and in a trade you have to give something up.  Who is going to be traded from the fragile everyday lineup?  For instance, it certainly isn't going to be Ronald Acuna, who is still under an 8-year $100 million contract.

Maybe there is some kind of training or motivation or "science" issue and/or the players should be more responsible.  (RE sports science, that was one of Sherrone Moore's first hires.  While I'm on that subject, this year still there will be players who become stars and those who step up as future stars.)

Perhaps the Braves can still make a wildcard or play-in game.  They are not going to make up seven games to the Phillies because that team has the edge the Braves once had.  Bryce Harper is their Ronald Acuna and they have got a few Spencer Striders.  The wow value in watching the Braves this year is gone and all the free agent relief and utility players on the market are not going to save it.

Fall of the Atlanta Braves Part 2

But I'll open with M sports.  "Harbaugh Wanted to Stay" was the nonsense headline perfectly appropriate for the subject matter.  Sure, if only 3 more people, names to follow, had kissed his ass.  He gone.

To Sherrone Moore, the spotlight is not going to be as bright for the stars if the team doesn't win.  Some are left.  It wasn't the kind of push of players coming along with a new coach, either in the portal or in recruiting, that usually happens with new coaches.  The question will  be a decent but not really one-hit wonder or a diamond in the rough?  So far, all we really know is they needed secondary help and probably they found enough.  There have been a few, very few, recruits trickling in from the pipeline.  Michigan is/was something like 37th in the recruiting rankings.  Experience says that will come back to haunt and over-reliance on the portal is not a long-term solution.  

Quick first look at schedule:  WTF!  Eight out of 12 games are at home; the first 5 are at home.  Finally in October Michigan goes to Seattle.  Oregon, USC, Texas, and Ohio State and Michigan State in addition.  Illinois and Northwestern are sometimes decent and Minnesota usually is.  To me it looks like Fresno State is good too, about in the category of Michigan, and that is an suggestion that Michigan will be nowhere near as good as last year.  Finally, I have never heard of an Arkansas Red Wolf and I don't even remember what is going on at Indiana.  The latter though is in the Big 18.

I do recall Texas was really good last year and they still have coaches and players in tact.  Ohio State had probably the best one offseason talent grab in history.  Michigan State hired a hot coach and his tag-alongs as did Washington. 

It is a fascinating schedule--the best, i.e. hardest and most exciting, probably in Michigan football history; gone is that four or more game cupcake, find the players and plays that will work, start to the season.    At home, but what if they turn out to be rotten, with a quarterback who can't throw and running backs who cannot chew up yards and sustain drives?  Michigan has very little in the way of a proven offensive line and passing game.  Who knows about depth and facing that schedule, but the defense and stadium should be able to keep them in games.  Then again, some of these teams and coaches can really dial it up.  No matter what happens Coach Moore is going to look ten years older afterward.

Everyone and their brother is going to want a shot at the defending national champion.

It could be five or six losses.  Frankly, that is what I predict.  

I wanted to provide an update about how the Atlanta Braves are, this time (now), a bunch of injured weenies.  But this is a Michigan blog and I got going.  It is Memorial Day and nothing more to do until Labor Day.  Dusty May earns an A in terms of meaningless clean-up rebuilding offseason efforts.  There is no 'but he is new' sympathy here.  Sherrone Moore gets a C.  He has held it together.  There hasn't  been what you could call a full-fledged scandal.  Is the count 2?  There have been arrests and probably more turmoil--and player turnover--than positives.

But hell, I don't even know how the playoffs will work and I'm not likely to pay a lot of attention if Michigan is not in it.  Probably what will happen is two or three teams will rise to the top of the league standings.  At least that is what I hope happens, because a bunch of .500 teams is going be dull and those shouldn't be in a playoff anyway.  The bowls, whatever is left of them, will be even more worthless than they were before.   I think the cream of the former Pac 12 and Ohio State will occupy those top positions in the standings because they are going to beat those former Big Ten also-rans that teams like Michigan cleaned-up on and they're going to beat Michigan and Ohio State too.  Not every year, but... and put Penn State in that mix too.

The hard to realize because it isn't there thing about Michigan's schedule is Rutgers and Maryland and others from the B1G West--the easy wins--are gone.  One could also count Iowa, Wisconsin, and more-so Minnesota in recent years and predicted wins.  There will be commentary  from Ann Arbor or elsewhere about how Moore is new and injuries and a tough schedule are why the season is over after twelve games.  Suppose Donovan Edwards or depth on the D-line is unlike the past.  There are probably some Michigan fans and followers younger than me who are best described as spoilt.  Harbaugh can tattoo it on his forehead--15-0 means less to me than an extended season and wins against the rest of the top teams.  There was and will remain nothing illegitimate about the championship, but the turmoil and changes in the team and program are nothing to be proud of at this point.

No one makes a coaching change unless they have to.  And no one goes after transfers unless they need them.

I am thinking (see post above) there will be a pause and probably even a pullback in the pace and substance of goings-on.  All those people sitting on the committees that make the rules aren't stupid and they weren't born yesterday.  They'll follow the money for sure, but...  The prime example is, Colorado football is not successful.  Or, look a little closer to home in East Lansing.

For now, however, it is still the Wild West.  The portal can definitely help an already-good team and if you if you want to roll the dice on a total rebuild you are free to do so.  Brady Hoke was a capable coach--almost certainly an above-average one in the right position at the right place.  He even built a good team which Harbaugh took over.  He was excellent at filling roster holes and keeping it fairly in-tact.  Sherrone Moore calling vs. Jim Harbaugh calling is not the same thing.  

Before I stop what is becoming a rant, there is an adage in college football that you cannot win championships without 5-stars.  That is true in terms of Michigan and last season.  For Moore it is still a grace period.  We haven't even seen the team yet.  But we haven't seen any 5-stars either.

 

the Spring Game/Fall of the Braves Part 1

Ronald Acuña Jr. has a really good eye at the plate.  His OBP is something he has improved.  He just walked.  Bottom of the 8th and the Braves are leading 5-2.  It is tough to eat or go to bed until the game is over.

This was really fun--listening and then watching. The Spring Game videos look like someone recorded them on a cellphone from another cellphone.  I can't comment on the volume because I haven't heard any of it, which is just fine.

The names Lick and Bounds are foreign to me, as are probably half of the names on the Michigan players' backs.  A few, like Etta and Guy are ones I have heard but have not seen.  I'll add another reason for the Spring Game to those listed below:  to let a lot of guys play who will never see the field again.

Orji is the best quarterback:  he brings an excellent running game and okay passing, plus the most experience and poise (save for Tuttle).  Freshman Davis is an incomplete, cannot tell, probably not this year.  Davis Warren, I don't see it; he is perhaps a passable back-up.  He is not a runner or mobile, he doesn't even move his feet in the pocket.  Denegal looks like a guy who will be remembered mostly as a Michigan (away) transfer.

Kalel Mullings is back and the same as last year which is a good thing.  Edwards together with Orji and Mullings will be formidable or at least decent.  I didn't see other runners who showed explosiveness or immediate promise.

Wide receivers are not dominant and neither is the passing game. Michigan has a couple-few slot receivers playing as wideouts and that's it.

Braves 5 Rangers 2 final.

This is backwards.  The first part, listening to the audio of the Spring Game, is after the jump.

Leaves from the Coaching Trees

I am not excited about Sherrone Moore as head football coach.

On the basketball side of things, it is going to be a long time, if at all, until the basketball team is respectable.

---

Start with basketball.  For me, respectable means when I start to watch the games and really follow the team again.  

I gave up on following the incoming portal players with Olivier Nkamhoua and Nimari Burnett.  At the time of their free agent signing Michigan had already lost out on the best players available.  Neither of these guys were the kind of solid student who didn't get a D1 offer who comes from the Ivy League or a lesser conference.  They weren't graduate transfers who have already fulfilled their original commitment and goals.  They were and are just fillers--young men just seeking to prolong their basketball careers.

Now, with four players left and a few others who will test the waters and maybe come back, Dusty May has no choice but to play the role of barker on the sidewalk.  Just to rehash, one player left is Juwan Howard's son Jett, another is Burnett, glory be Will Tschetter decided to do the right thing and stay in the best place he can, and the other I think is George Washington III who chickened-out of the portal.  For May it is an impossible task.  He is supposed to piece together a team from unknowns and expect them to play together as a team and win in the Big Ten?  Everyone in the portal is out for himself.  No one could turn a new roster of such pickings into a winning team.

The whole exercise has nothing to do with the best players and young college students developing.  When the team stinks that is the process that holds the whole thing together.  Undesirable as it may be, you may as well watch or go to an NBA or developmental league game.

To make things worse, Dusty May has no connection to Michigan and he has no particular experience doing this.  He doesn't know how Michigan athletics (or admissions or NIL) work and he doesn't know what sells.  And unlike say John Calipari or Rick Petino--not that either would be a good choice for Michigan--he has no experience piecing together a top-notch roster.  He does not have a record of rebuilding programs, plural, or quick-fixing, e.g., a top recruiting class.

I have been looking every day:  what is his plan and what is he doing?  Raiding one's old employer (a la Harbaugh) will not impress me in the least.  I appreciate a lack of rash choices, but you want to show progress even if they are baby steps.  Nothing is still nothing.

UPDATE.  No transfer is perfect but Danny Wolf is about as close as you can get.  A 7' center with a couple of years left, Ivy League, from nearby Illinois, is someone to build around.  Justin Pippen and Rubin look to be fine pick-ups too.  Mea culpa.

Bye Bye, Juwan

He inherited a decent team and then got lucky with Franz Wagner.  Then he got even luckier with Hunter Dickinson.  The rest was failure.

There really is a list, and not to overly punish the gone, it is a long one.

Red lines that you aren't supposed to cross are sympathetic warnings; cross them and everyone looks bad.  If I have it right, he went after his own son in the Jon Sanderson scandal.  It was easy to predict that he couldn't handle the terrible team and would pop again at some point.  He as much admitted it in the famous quote about how things were handled in South Chicago.  There were never really signs of change.

Then there is the unforgivable selfishness of putting both sons on the team.  It seems to me that the biggest benefit of being a scholarship athlete is you get to choose your own course.  Let them grow up.  And don't use the school and team as your own benefactor.  Howard just did it as a matter of course.  One son/player was a total prima donna, i.e., a selfish and lazy teammate , and not very good, particularly in the won-loss columns, to boot.  The other is in his fourth year and did not exactly help the woeful team.  As if either of them ever had a choice.

Third, there's the unforgettable year with the faux recruiting class.  Who even remembers their names they were in and out so quickly--one was from France and the another from Houston.  Sorry, bad joke.  The departure to another college team by Dickinson was the climax of that story.

From there it has just been going through the motions and getting worse every year.  Juwan Howard was terrible in recruiting and in the portal; many recruits never made it to campus and he never seemed to learn how to succeed within the system.  It meant apathy for those of us who usually pay attention.  I can think of one name:  Nimari Burnett.  Who the hell is he and what is he doing on Michigan's basketball team?  When I looked at box scores I saw an awful lot of 2-10, 1-7, and the like.  I mean, what is the point?  Is he supposed to be someone to build around or succeed with?  There was no real team or prospect(s) for a future.   The staff is or was worn out.  Phil Martinellii?  Give me a break.  On the court the team was awful.  Hanging over all of it was an unproven coach and unstable man.

Halfway through the season it had to be inevitable.  Everyone hung on for a bit of a dignified exit.

Now it is completely starting from scratch.  It has already started--the team will scatter and recruiting has to start over.  It is a necessary thing; they are all infected.  A few might remain and even prosper.

There is no sign of a head coach.  There is nothing there.

Fab Failure is apt.

Jim Harbaugh is a (nice) Pig

I'm watching.

We're all watching.

Yesterday it was two NFL games.  I can't even tell you what teams played.  One was Baltimore, and San Francisco, and Houston or Texas.  The second one the announcers kept saying it is exciting and a great game; it that were true you don't have to say it.  In the first game particularly, the two marquee announcers, and I have never heard such self-promotion.  If we all didn't already know that they are paid by the team and the league, we sure do now.

What a spectacle.  As always it included a lot of players who are the best in the league.  Each and all the coordinators are stars too and head coaches in waiting.  The injured or carted-off players are obligatory too.  I have always thought of John Harbaugh as a dictator; the games featured a big dose of him as the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Brother Jim was on-hand also.

The self-flagellating announcers know all.  Jim Harbaugh is going to be in the NFL soon.

It doesn't take much to imagine the conversations around games that are always on somewhere.  

"Jim, why are you still dealing with those kids and rules?"  

Man, the NFL is cushy.  In the NFL the head coach is in total charge.  And for Jim Harbaugh, if he wants another chance as he clearly does, now is the time.

I cannot believe what a waste the NFL is.  But today I'll put it on in the background while I type again.  My deceased father loved the Lions.

The parade--I need to find a picture of the parade.  The undisputed, you-won-them-all championship is amazing.  There are those people who traveled to the game and the fanatics in paint and gear.  Michigan followers also include alumni, employees, and just about everyone raised or living in the state.  For many of us the whole thing was fun to watch but sure to fade away rapidly:  most of the team and probably the coach would chose to leave.

I'm now in my sixties and I cannot change the place where I earned my first college degree.

Now I remember, the loudmouth announcers also knew for a fact that Ambry Thomas scored 10 points for the opposing team.  He left quickly and early from Michigan; Covid was perhaps a good reason.  Anyway, I didn't shake an eyelash.

Graduating and perhaps sticking around and maybe improving some football skills are exceptions (I've never heard anyone say they are doing it for a masters degree).  When you are gone you are gone.

Let the justifying and rationalizing begin.  Americans don't like dynasties and the Harbaughs were getting to be too much.  Everyone is replaceable.  It'll be fun to watch the players who are left mature.  Harbaugh was gone in spirit anyway, as evidenced by a lack of results from the portal and in recruiting.  He will be remembered as the who left the cupboard bare.

If I were Michigan I wouldn't give him the contract he reportedly wants.  I need to find that link--I think it is 11 Warriors that called them "delusional."  Actually, I believe it is a sticky issue in contract law in that you cannot have a contract which grants immunity for an illegal or unallowed action; the contract or clause would be void and you are guilty.  I'd call it a "Mel Tucker clause."

The contract rumors and the delay while he interviews is more proof.  Good riddance.

I guarantee you, Jim Harbaugh, you will be forgotten.  And you cannot come back, even though you are doing it in a very nice way of wanting to go to the NFL.

Point Counterpoint

This was a stab at another, the other, perspective.  Never delete or edit because a blog is a record!  It was my effort at saying it is all going to be over soon anyway.  My actual prediction was pretty close.

As for the game, I think Kalen DeBoer blew it and he is a terrible hire for Alabama.  Coach had his running back and QB injured but he kept them in with his bully-pulpit rhetoric.  Alabama's stars will not tolerate that.  DeBoer made several other bad decisions that could have cost them the game.  His offense performed better than anyone all season against Michigan; he should have taken the ball to start the game.  He misjudged Michigan's defense.  Another mistake was a fourth down attempt.  I think there was one or more mistake too.  Oh, and he lied before the game saying RB Johnson was fine.  He could have been severely injured. 

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Washington could not ask for a better culmination.  They conquered the Pac-12 on the way out in undefeated style.  We need to beat the biggest and the best to complete it.  And we will do it.

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2024/michigan-washington-college-football-championship-1234761480/

There is no bigger Goliath.

Michigan recruits players who want the limelight.  Scratch that.  They're all NFL.  And they think they're NFL.  They can't get their minds off the NFL.

Washington thinks they're the best in college football.

Here's how they have proved it all season long.

Who ever heard of bonding over getting caught?  

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It is great while it lasts.  At this moment, 11AM mountain time there are about 10 hours left.  

Revenue sharing with players?  How about less revenue!

It has become worse every year with transfers, NIL, realignment, mock drafts and teen recruiting rankings, social media and videos.  College football is not a job or career.  I get it, most of the players look at it that way but Jim Harbaugh lives that way.  

Who really cares about PFF?.  It is not pro football!

It is natural.  It is human nature.  If Jim Harbaugh doesn't want us we don't want him.  And it does not matter a lick what happens in tonight's game.

Things...  Jesse Minter's father was the head coach at Cincinnati for quite a few years.  He comes from a football family.  I don't know, Sioux Falls and little education to $2 million as an OC...  Eastern Michigan?  I lost a lot of respect for Harbaugh when I learned at a young age his son plays.  It is not enough that son "Jaybaugh" is addicted.  Kaleb DeBoer seems like Ryan Day:  too consumed.

It is like brainwashing.  Or gaslighting.  You are ignoring the rest of the data, i.e., the world.  Harbaugh, the leader is the best spokesperson, football coach, and motivator the University could possibly have.  But he is just a football coach.

I cannot fathom the logic of, "If I win this game it is my last."  It is one game and one season.

The rest of us will still be here.

CFP Championship Michigan vs. Washington Preview

I want Michigan to win.  I think they will, and I'll explain why.

Watching and actually paying attention to the whole Washington-Texas game was tedious but worth it.  This perspective is from someone used to watching the Big Ten.

I never really noticed whether teams huddle or not and Washington did it sometimes.  What was weird was no offensive motion or defensive stunting or moving around at all.  No one ran downfield or to a tackle to help a teammate off the ground.  There was the same kind of self congratulating after a play that everyone does, but it was not for and including the rest of the team.  It wasn't the same kind of energy.  It was different. 

With a few exceptions, Michael Penix had all day to pass; I don't know why Texas wasn't doing anything on defense to stop him and many quarterbacks will prosper in such a situation.  Some or quite a few of the throws were perfect, the kind a defense will dare an opponent to complete.  The receivers?  Ohio State's are better and running backs and tight ends--variation--were nonexistent  Texas dbs seemed to not play the ball and just crash into the receivers.  Washington has very little in the running game (i.e., pass heavy) and Dillon Johnson injured compounds that (more below).  

On defense, Washington allowed Texas to gash them in running and to then complete long, easy passes in the second half.  QB Ewers was stationary and with a couple of exceptions (e.g., the game's last play) Washington did nothing.  The running backs had not just holes, but open space.  Tackling was below that of teams such as Penn State or Iowa.  The dbs?  They didn't stop Texas when they had to pass.

Michigan probably found a left-handed quarterback to practice against.  Michigan should be able to get to Penix and rattle him.  Some of the passes may lead to interceptions or fumbles.  Michigan will go after the ball, the receivers, and especially Penix.  RB Johnson, count him out regardless of what they say and there was no backup when it mattered.

In summary, they'll complete (quite) a few passes but I think Michigan's D will control or stifle Penix and the Washington passing attack; that is the jugular.  They are the Joe Moore Award winners with only 11 sacks and it will not be easy but the pass rush, the whole d-line, the experienced linebackers, and the athletic, ball-hawking dbs will be too much.  They'll find a way.  No one has stopped them so far this longest-possible season.

On offense, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards will have field days.  The rest of the o-line and the tight ends and Max Bredeson (who has finally made a name for himself) will conspire to do even better than with Zac Zinter.  We've seen it before:  Why do anything else when you don't have to?  Passing will do just enough and people will question or criticize it.

Texas had some huge players, mostly in the bench area, or maybe it was the too tight, poorly fitting uniforms.  Michigan is way bigger and more physical than Washington and seemingly Texas too.  

Things like this stick in your brain.  What I remember most about the game is Dillon Johnson struggling in extreme pain to walk off the field.  I and millions of others also saw him doing the same the same thing on the sideline.  It was cruel, stupid, and sadistic to put him back in for every meaningless carry at the end.

Then there was the ostentatious, crazy multiple lateral failed pass.  Ditto the one to your franchise quarterback,  Penix seemed to be taking it really easy.  Kalen DeBoer, who I had seen earlier smiling and he seemed like an all-around good guy, looked more like a sleep-deprived Ryan Day on the warpath for someone to yell at.  Coach showed he is prone to bad decisions.

To summarize again, Washington showed an awful lot of swagger that may not be there after the championship game against Michigan.  I think the game will be like the B1G Championship with Iowa--deal with their good defense, in this case Washington's passing attack--and the game may go on but it will be decided right from the start.  Michigan did that all year.

There is a piece below that talks about Michigan's motivation.  I think they're going to show up for the game like the 1985-86 Michigan basketball team in the great book about Bobby Knight, A Season on the Brink by John Feinstein.  In the climax of the book the team led by Roy Tarpley, Richard Rellford, Gary Grant and others took control from the second they ran onto the floor.  They had fire in their eyes.  At that point, for the terror-like season for the Hoosiers (Steve Alford especially) forced to ride on that tiny plane with the devil himself, the Big Ten championship was lost. 

I remember Michael Penix from the B1G.  Poor Tom Allen, the optimist, who was fired.

If I am a little riled up, you can imagine what it feels like for the football team.  

Michigan 38 Washington 17.

Rose Bowl -- Michigan 27 Alabama 20

The one thing I had to go back and check was why Michigan's offense was so bad in the third quarter.  The reason is a throw through Semaj Morgan's arms and one off the body to Tyler Morris.  Plus, the tight end were covered.  Probably Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson were having a tough time too (as decoys) or they wouldn't have included the younger receivers as much.  Similarly, Donovan Edwards was not thrown to much.

The whole thing is similar to Ohio State, before, during, and after.  I was oh so tempted to write this beforehand:  there is a good chance Michigan will rattle Jalen Milroe as they have every other quarterback this year.  No he is not (yet/now) the greatest pro-style passer, but he is pretty darn all-around good.  I read Alabama blogs afterward and, just like Ohio State, writers and commenters are ready to run him out of town.

The other things I recall reading are 'I thought J.J. McCarthy was overrated but I don't think that anymore.'  Another is Blake Corum isn't so great.  Finally, there was much to-do about how Nick Saban was outcoached by Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore.

All of them were or still are wrong.  It just goes to show that armchair writers, bloggers, and video talking heads are not better or smarter than the rest of us.  Most are just loud.  It was a close game and both teams had chances.  It is not Saban's best team and Michigan simply made the plays at the end.

I think the MVP is Blake Corum.  The Fox announcers analyzed it at one point--he gets low, he spins and pushes, and sometimes he breaks it for more.  Four-plus yards per carry in this one is excellent, and it included some big runs and receptions.  Texas had 6.2 yards per run against Washington.  Corum does not bode well for the Huskies in the championship.

Michigan wasn't paralyzed on offense.  They had the plays and opportunities in the third quarter.  

Elsewhere in terms of the who's and why's LaDarius Henderson was bad but the rest of the Michigan cast did great across the board.  Like Brian Cook, I cheated and peeked.  Too me, Braiden McGregor makes up for the lower-than-others score with height and terror--when he lines up at the end of the big DTs it just looks imposing.  Like Mason Graham he is is not always squeaky clean.  He has become effective and valuable in this his 5th year.

You can't always usually tell with stats, predictions, or pundits.  They do it as a team, particularly the sacks.  Enjoy now while you can, because they are almost all upperclassmen and next year will be different personnel.  The list is posted elsewhere--who would have believed after all those mistakes?  It is a talented, deep, and well-coached team.  The scheme and the leader (quarterback) works.  It is a world away from when Michigan played Alabama  in prime time under Brady Hoke and whatshisname athletic director.

One more task and post to come.  I need to watch the Huskies on nfl-video.com.  I love the school, the team, and the whole dang city.  In college football and Michigan athletics this is as good as it gets.

 (The writer, yours truly, is from Michigan but has lived in Colorado for quite a while.)

Blogging on New Year's Day

Happy New Year!

Football-wise it started with trying to finish watching Iowa-Michigan in the B1G championship.  Iowa played Michigan very tough; in the first half the only real difference was the Semaj Morgan punt return.  So what happened in the last quarter and a half?  I still cannot answer that.

Michigan/Corum wasn't gaining much on the ground.  The tight ends were contributing, but that is too familiar for Iowa.  Instead, they went to a possession game with Cornelius Johnson and it worked.  McCarthy had more pass attempts than usual.

Iowa surrendered three fumbles, which was a bonus.  The game was won and lost relatively early on:  without mistakes, turnovers, or a fluke play, Iowa was not going to score.

OMG, Cade McNamara sighting!  Of today's early games, Iowa-Tennessee was the one I most wanted to watch.  For Wisconsin-LSU the ESPN banner taking up a quarter of the screen was too much; thank God for Fox.  Wow!  LSU won despite trailing by about two touchdowns most of the game.  And I was just getting ready to write Brian Kelly has to regret leaving Notre Dame.  He did have a Heisman winner.

Iowa is going to lose very badly--worse than against Michigan.  Liberty could not hold up against Oregon.

Just an hour left.  The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl doesn't have that huge distraction of unwanted promotions at the bottom.  What the hell is wrong with Disney, ESPN, and ABC?  

Michigan is the better team.  The offense is multifaceted and the defense is vicious.  They had the better season. Alabama has had championship teams in the past.  

I don't like this word or the phrase:  Michigan is being disrespected.  

Rose Bowl Michigan-Alabama Prediction

History dictates that I make a prediction.  It is bizarre that Michigan football is still playing and for a national championship when the whole athletic department and system is a downer.  But I have followed the team and feel obliged to put it down if for no other reason than posterity.

At this moment (Saturday afternoon) Penn State is losing to Ole Miss.  Ohio State already lost to Missouri.  At the same time Minnesota, Rutgers, and Maryland, teams Michigan beat handily, won bowl games.  The games do have meaning, or are at least worthwhile, but it shows how meaningless they are in the final rankings.

Does 5-star automatically mean prima donna?  That is what will be decided.  Alabama is stacked; supposedly their whole secondary is entering the NFL.  They have been at or near the top in recruiting for a decade.  But so has Ohio State, and Georgia is not in the playoff this year either.

Jim Harbaugh is an iconoclast, or at least an individualist.  He has to do it his way and that is who this Michigan team is.  The whole Michigan vs. the world mantra is a perfect storm of collective motivation.  Too bad the team's future--coach(es) and roster--hinges on this one game.  

Win or lose, Michigan fans will then be treated to a long offseason (sans basketball) and its version of the opt out.  There is a lot riding on it--sadness or euphoria for at least one more week. 

It is an extremely difficult game to predict.  I have to go with the betting line--Michigan by 1.5 points, which borders on cowardice in terms of logic.  Michigan will win.  It might be because of pressure on Jalen Milroe; it could be because of a few long, unstoppable drives led by Corum and McCarthy.  All season I have been asking myself why Michigan has almost always led and nobody could catch up and the reason is they adapt.  Primarily, they have their way, but they adapt until they get there.  This one is about adapting to win, not destroy.*  A very good team with extra motivation > a very good team.  I cannot predict the score.  It is unlikely Michigan will run up and down the field as they did against Ohio State and Penn State, but you never know.  It is likely under Harbaugh's onfileld direction that Michigan will capitalize on its opportunities and make fewer mistakes than Alabama.  But really, who knows?  Nick Saban is a an even more accomplished coach.  This year, with all its instability, Michigan has more riding on it and that may show-up in a positive way.  

Of course it could be the complete opposite. 

Key players for Michigan:  J.J. McCarthy and Donovan Edwards (both 5-star recruits).  Blake Corum will get his--yards or offensive balance--regardless.  On defense, turnovers (Sainristil and Johnson) will be key for both teams.  The game is unlikely to be decided by one or two points but it will be close by virtue of each team's explosiveness.

P.S.  McCarthy's "clunker" of a game (3 interceptions against Bowling Green) was while Harbaugh was watching on TV.

Update:  Interestingly, Brian on MgoBlog made two strong recommendations in his Rose Bowl preview:  Michigan quarterbacks run 15 times and pressure instead of spying Milroe.  These would be bold, unprecedented adaptations.  

Ohio State and Iowa, 2023

Who knows what Jim Harbaugh is up to.  After resurfacing he mostly talked about paying players.  A more distasteful, unlikely, and unwanted topic is hard to imagine.

But the team keeps winning.  Ryan Day looked really stressed, particularly in the beginning of the game.  That has to be the major motivation in winning.  These people are just too obsessed.  

What I remember most is reading 11 Warriors after the game.  I did so beforehand too and it was mostly about SCUM and cheaters.  Afterward it was no confidence and extremely critical.  "Honda" McCord is unfit and Ryan day (56-7) needs to go too.  Of course you cannot trust loudmouths and dominant characters, but very few cast a reasonable vote.  It was really curious behavior among supposed fans.

Some folks on the site did mention Ohio State playing not to lose--timidness to the point of being afraid.  That I agree with.

Overall it was a bit like Penn State in terms of, why did Ohio State lose?  In the second half they comfortably marched down the field running every play.  At other times they did it with passing (i.e., receivers) who Michigan could not stop.  Ohio State won in terms of total yards and first downs.

The loss and the Michigan win, however, was no fluke.  Michigan had the mojo--made the plays--when Ohio State did not and could not.  Those included a few big pass plays, Corum touchdowns, a couple of scrambles, a sack, and two interceptions.  Just like against Penn State, Michigan did it.  

Forget the off the field nonsense--Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, and 12-0 is an incredible season and the best thing about it is more games.  Next up is Iowa on a cold, dark winter night.  Michigan-Ohio State will continue, but this is the last hurrah for a team like Iowa.  No longer will they cruise through a cupcake Big Ten schedule.  In the future it will truly be the two best teams in an empirically-chosen, all-inclusive way and such a lopsided game will not happen.  Iowa is going to get killed again.

It can hardly be enjoyable for Hawkeye fans.  Cade and Erick All are lucky to be sitting it out.  The Michigan defense will smother the Iowa offense: Deacon Hill was 11 for 28 and 94 yards against Nebraska and the rushing attack is not going to outrun Michigan defenders.  But Iowa has a good defense!  History, like the 2021 game, has shown Michigan's athletes will break through there too.

Time to put the distractions aside.  For Michigan and its fans the Big Ten Championship is the perfect warmup for the real test.  It is Tuesday 11//28/23.  Four more days and there probably won't be another scandal or suspension.

Enjoy it while you can.  Reading the NFL mock drafts, J.J. McCarthy is a first round pick; the rule is, if first round, you go.  There will still be experience next year, but most of the stars will be gone.