Yelmonian

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 6:17 p.m.

Kubric, Why did he lose his bet? Oh yeah... because RR can't beat MSU!

St8rBoiInMN

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 5:35 p.m.

treeslalker: Yup... tough one coming up. Time to grow up and play with the big dogs. It will be interesting to see how these kids respond. Never forget... these are kids (20 - 21 years). But aren't they 20-21 year olds on the other side of the ball too? I think the whole "they're young" argument is woeful. The difference is coaching!

Kubrick66

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 3:05 p.m.

Yelmonian... Brady's T-Shirt... I think it's called losing a bet.

Kubrick66

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 3:04 p.m.

TheAnnouncerMan007... My Iowa statement was rhetorical. And based on their resume so far this season- rightfully so. And if Michigan should shred their defense everyone will just say they were overrated. Because that's the way it works here... Teams are good until they lose to Michigan then suddenly they stink... Yet a team beats a "bad" Michigan team and suddenly that team is a title contender. Think I've got it all figured out now.

Kubrick66

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 2:32 p.m.

Macabre... I never ask you to leave... I simply wonder what you hope to accomplish with your comments?

Chase

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 1:47 p.m.

Guy's every one is forgetting that Michigan did not have a quarterback with experince in the last two years. When Chad Henne left Ryan Mallet Transfered. That left Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan. Two pro style QB with no experince and slow. Then last year true freshmen. Plus we have lost so many defensive players to all kinds of things. Carvin Johnson, probably out a few weeks after suffering a sprained knee. The thin and young secondary had lost six other players in the past two years Troy Woolfolk (injury), Justin Turner (transfer), Demar Dorsey (not admitted for academics), Adrian Witty (not admitted for academics), Boubacar Cissoko (kicked off) and Donovan Warren (left early for NFL). Jared Van Slyke, a third-year sophomore who would miss the opener with a broken clavicle. Injuries hurt Michigan football team's linebacking corps, defensive end transfers, The Michigan football team lost two linebackers Saturday, one probably for the season and one for a few days. Backup Mike Jones broke a leg against Notre Dame and coach Rich Rodriguez said Monday that Jones will probably not play again this season. Brandon Herron sprained an ankle, Defensive end Anthony LaLota asked for and received his release from Michigan on Monday. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive end redshirted last season and had not played this year. No school could be good even MSU or Ohio State with all of these problems. You win with defense and a good experinced quarterback. That is what MSU has.

Yelmonian

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 1:29 p.m.

Man... look what RR's teams have reduced Tom Brady too... notice his T-Shirt! http://www.patriots.com/mediacenter/index.cfm?ac=VideoNewsdetail&pid=45170&pcid=82

Terry Star21

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 12:32 p.m.

@ Macabre....agree with your 2nd comment here, never thought I would, but with one exception - "It's year three, and Michigan still stinks to high heaven". Please Sir, you seem 'football knowledge worthy' on most of your statements, however, take a good look at that statement, and Michigan this year - you can only hurt your credibility when you react with anger such as this. It is true RichRod has not preformed well. He has had three years to build on offense, yet good only against weak teams, as michigan state proved, by making DRob (our offense) come to them. He has not shown us much on defense, and there are no excuses. They kicking game, I rest my case. His players continue to have attention and organization gaps on field and commit personal and other fouls at game changing paces. Anyone watching the game last Saturday with any knowledge of football can see without question, coaching made the difference. As sad as these statements may be - they are true. Despite the content listed here, I as a Michigan Faithful continue to 'Stand by our Man', and will continue my upmost support for the Coach and the Team.

Terry Star21

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 12:32 p.m.

@ Macabre....agree with your 2nd comment here, never thought I would, but with one exception - "It's year three, and Michigan still stinks to high heaven". Please Sir, you seem 'football knowledge worthy' on most of your statements, however, take a good look at that statement, and Michigan this year - you can only hurt your credibility when you react with anger such as this. It is true RichRod has not preformed well. He has had three years to build on offense, yet good only against weak teams, as michigan state proved, by making DRob (our offense) come to them. He has not shown us much on defense, and there are no excuses. They kicking game, I rest my case. His players continue to have attention and organization gaps on field and commit personal and other fouls at game changing paces. Anyone watching the game last Saturday with any knowledge of football can see without question, coaching made the difference. As sad as these statements may be - they are true. Despite the content listed here, I as a Michigan Faithful continue to 'Stand by our Man', and will continue my upmost support for the Coach and the Team.

truebluefan

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 12:14 p.m.

Iowa is essentially the #1 ranked defense in the country right now. Per the stats, they are much better than State. They are the prototypical stout B10 defense that will crush Michigan's finesse gimmicky offense. My question is, if Michigan beats Iowa on Saturday, will the RR naysayers admit that they were wrong?

Jay Allen

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 9:19 a.m.

@kubrick66: "As for Iowa's defense... They're so great based on what?" U-M's offense is great based on what? The exact same thing can be said about our offense. They ran the ball at will against JV teams and MSU exposed the offense for what it is. A GREAT QB with nothing else. The defense is deplorable. Iowa in a route.

heartbreakM

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 8:37 a.m.

Denard's stats last week were deceiving. He accounted for almost 300 yards of offense, which is great, but he also 3 INTs (bad). He ran for 86 or so yards, but ran it 21 times, for about 4 ypc (bad for a RB). If Vince Smith or Shaw did that, we would be saying they can't break tackles. DR is a gamechanger, no doubt. He has had a great first half, and hopefully will continue to improve this year and next. You have to account for him. But to rely on him to win games by himself is playing with fire. We must rely on our D to make stops, to get the ball back in his hands We must rely on the blockers to open holes and move the linebackers out of the way. We must rely on the receivers to continue their mostly excellent work of catching, running after the catch, and blocking downfield (take away the drops of last weekend, and they have been pretty good this year). But mostly, we must not deceive ourselves with first half results. Now the schedule gets tough, the weather turns cold, the ball gets harder, the body gets tired. Now we'll see who is champion. It starts this weekend and we will get some answers. (I hope for a win, but if Iowa plays D like they seem capable, we may be in for a long afternoon--reminds me of when Iowa slapped us at home about 7 years ago)

chiro19

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 8:25 a.m.

You hope as a michigan fan that Denard turns this game into his defining moment after last weeks mediocre (for him) game. He needs to be conscious that he does have to play well but he does not have to score on every drive. Keeping momentum and staying away from turnovers to keep that horrid defense off the field is very important. It is important for everyone to make sure they pick up there assignments on blocking because iowa had an extra week to prepare for denard and Im sure they are going to make him try and throw as much as possible. Madden Key to the game: Outscore the other team and you have a really good chance of winning the game!

ChelseaBob

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 7:11 a.m.

It will be an exciting first half, with Michigan leading by 3. Second half we fade, and lose the game by 11. This team is not prepared. They are buff, having spent plenty of time in weight room, but aerobically they are weak. MSU was much fresher in second half last week, and that will continue. That along with poor tackling form is coaching.

OSUbeBetter

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 3:56 a.m.

You dont stop dropping balls or making bad mistakes just because you want to. those are issues that should have been taken care of over the summer. Thats a byproduct of Rodriguez waiting until week 1 to announce a starting QB Shoelace sould have spent the summer prepairing these guys by hurlimg a thousand balls a day at them. Its almost humourous how these guys think a pep talk from DR and a resolve to "Get Better" is going to fix anything. I would have to ass-u-me that what we saw out there on saturday was their 100% effort, and to expect anything more would be foolish. I mean come on this was the Michigan State game, do you really think anyone held anything back?

Macabre Sunset

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 3:33 a.m.

Larry, Vegas based odds on what bettors believe. Michigan got a lot of hype for all the points it scored against mediocre competition. Hence the lower odds. The helmet is always worth a few dollars. Many experts believed Michigan would improve this season. The offense is better. But it seems the defense is even worse. So predictions haven't changed much. I was on the low end with my initial 4-8 because I didn't believe the 3-3-5 was a good idea. Obviously, they're better than I thought, and that's great. Kubrick, when the only real response to posts is telling another poster to leave the forum, that's kind of a cop-out.

Kubrick66

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 2:02 a.m.

Macabre... Where as I understand your frustrations with the present state of the program... Stating your contempt for RR here on a daily bases isn't going to change anything. You don't like the direction the program is headed... Try actually doing something to change it. Send your expertise to David Brandon, Mary Sue Coleman, members of the board of regents - Al Glick, or any other major donor. They are the powers-that-be... Not AA.com

Larry Weisenthal

Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 12:07 a.m.

Well, here's a curiosity. As of 10 PM EDT Oct 12, the Las Vegas odds of Michigan winning the BCS 2011 national championship game are 30-1. At the beginning of the year, they were 175-1. The odds of MSU winning the BCS championship are 75-1, down from 150-1, pre-season. http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/futures/ What did Vegas see in last Saturday's game which the rest of us missed? Just to make the game means winning out from here. Well, let's say that they do. tOSU is out. M has a shot with an 11-1 record. Alabama has already lost. The other SEC teams have to run their schedule gauntlet and make it through the SEC championship game. Oregon has to lose. So does Nebraska (also having to win out in the regular season and in the Big 12 Championship game. Boise State could lose to Nevada. So, perversely I see how it could happen. MSU loses a game and doesn't play tOSU and doesn't play in a league championship game. So M has a better chance of making it as a one loss team than does MSU. Wouldn't that be the college sports story of the third millenium, to date?

Macabre Sunset

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 11:27 p.m.

Well sure. Remember when Michigan stunk to high heaven in RR's first year? They said, "look at his record in year two." And so we looked. And remember when Michigan stunk to high heaven in RR's second year? They said, "but the cupboard was barren (it wasn't). Be patient, and you shall reap the rewards in year three." And so we were patient. Now it's year three. And Michigan still stinks to high heaven. And now we're told that it takes a fourth season to install whatever it is RR's doing on defense. They want us to remain patient, so we can have national championships overflowing our cups beginning next year. But I think we're done waiting. Let's get a coach in here who knows how to work with talented players. Someone who can use the more spread-oriented personnel RR has added, but can also look to the future and implement a decent defensive scheme.

Larry Weisenthal

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 11:22 p.m.

@mtm: No argument that MSU is the better team. They play ten times, MSU wins seven. But they don't win ten. My point is that M has a chance to win every game left on the schedule. I'm inferring that you'd say they are going to lose to Iowa, Wisc, and tOSU (toughest games left on the schedule). I'm saying that all those games will be interesting because they'll have a chance to win each of the three, just as they'll have a chance of getting blown out in each of the three. And they'll have an even better chance with the remaining games. With respect to MSU putting up 50, maybe yes. Maybe a fumble and an INT. That's the great thing about this sport. You actually have to play the games to know how the games come out.

MetricSU

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 10:07 p.m.

It's funny that a poster says 8-4 will "exceed expectations" when that same poster predicted at least 9-3 at the beginning of the year. (Of course, 9 was the minimum number of predicted wins the last two years, too.) And I'm not sure which pundits picked them 6-6. I'm not a pundit, but I picked 8-4 on one of these posts. That still seems about right, but 9-3 wouldn't surprise me. When at team is only a three point underdog it has a very good chance of winning. I'm not saying UM will win, but there's a pretty good chance.

azwolverine

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 9:48 p.m.

By the way, forget the "pundits." What was the expectation of RR's most ardent supporters for this season? What was the expectation for this past Saturday's MSU game? Did RR exceed YOUR expectations? I thought not...but it doesn't really matter, does it. You would all make excuses for him regardless of the ultimate cost to Michigan football, becasue your support is more for him than it is the program, it appears.

azwolverine

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 8:50 p.m.

Wow, so now the talk is that 8-4 is "exceeding expectations." That just shows how pathetic expectations have become in the last three seasons. Is going 0-3 against MSU under RR also "exceeding expectations?" I guess if you're a Spartan, it is. Is getting blown out by MSU on our home field also considered "exceeding expectations" this season? Whatever else happens this season, hearing MSU fans chant "Lit-tle Sis-ter!" at our house after their biggest margin of victory since 1967 was EMBARRASSING! Spin that into a positive, excuse makers.

Sevans68

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 8:50 p.m.

Larry Weisenthal - I completely agree with your post. Lloyd Carr may not have won the big ten but our teams wouldn't have been embarrasing the last 2 years. That's the biggest thing whether you loved Lloyd or hated him, he is not responsible for the past 2+ seasons. I think the Iowa game will be huge (win or lose0 just to see how the team responds. If they come out flat without emotion and fire and it will be a long day. Rich Rod completely ignores defense until people scream for his job and then he blames the D Coord. I will still root for the team but feel we will win in spite of him as he has no focus for Defense. I also don't hear the passion about losing games. When he talks about the rivalry games he says he gets it but I don't hear the passion or see him pulling out all the stops to win them. If he does that and gets some semblance of a defense the rest of the year I just may begin to believe.

3 And Out

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 7:33 p.m.

Kubrick... Donovan had a pick 6 last year at Iowa...so the offense really only scored 21 pts.

Jaxon5

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 7:07 p.m.

I see some predictions for a 4-4 Big 10 season. Now that would be meeting expectations because that just about matches Michigan's 5-year Big 10 record at around.500. And that would probably drop Michigan down to 6th in the Big 10 over the last 6 seasons. There is no distinction in mediocrity.

mtm1982

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 6:45 p.m.

Love the comment that if the UM kicks the field goal and scores two more touchdowns it's a tie. Nice, and if they only played the first and fourth quarters they win. Good thing coach D does have a heart. If State had not shut down the offense with twenty minutes left they would have dropped 50 on you. Don't kid yourself. The sign hanging over the south side of the stadium after the game said it all. And for you that don't know, it's not the scoreboard I'm talking about.

Larry Weisenthal

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 6:44 p.m.

Thanks for the comments, Lorain. Speaking of Bo, I just ran across a 10 min youtube highlights clip of the 1971 M-OSU game (not televised; assembled from scout footage) of Tom Slade running the wishbone. Very much worth the time it takes to view; really brings back memories. 11-0 in the regular season, that year. Alas, not so good in the Rose Bowl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqOfmRUGxys&feature=youtube_gdata

Jaxon5

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 6:08 p.m.

Beating Iowa would absolutely be an upset, contrary to one poster's opinion. Iowa has consistently performed better, yes better, than Michigan over the last 2 years. In fact, it's not even a close comparison. Iowa is 11-5 in Big 10 play during 2008 and 2009. Michign is 3-13.

Lorain Steelmen

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 5:58 p.m.

Several interesting posts here......First, Bo emphasized 'defense' in an era when he and Woody could 'stockpile' talent. While I will always be a BO fan, it must be said, that Bo was a poor offensive coach. Moeller brought in the pro-style offense, and did more to bring UM into the modern era than Bo did. But because Mo got 'out of control' one night, he has banished by the 'Blue Bloods'. I would have kept MO on, as Head coach, personally. So they made LC an 'interim' head coach. (Oh boy!) I always supported LC, but to be honest, UM won inspite of Lloyd, not because of Lloyd. He did a terrible job of recruitng, his last couple of years, and left his successor with virtually nothing to work with. By the way, LC's defenses were like sieves the last few years of his term. I go back to 1965, and the Bump 'country club' years. LC always reminded me of that Bump culture...country club. Now we have, in my opinion, an excellent coach, with very inexperienced players. Obviously, he is an offensive coach first, and delegates the defense to others. I'm OK with that. He will succeed, IF, he continues to recruit defensive players. It will take time, but he can do it. People who don't like RR, do so, because they look down their arrogant noses at him. (He's from West'By God'Virginia, you know!) People need to get over themselves, around here, and give this team, and coaches, a chance to prove themselves. I have a hunch they will win several games the rest of the way, because they have character and focus. The biggest problem, IMO, will be injuries. If they can limit injuries, they will be in every game...EVERY game. Only time will tell. A year from now, when the defense has matured a bit, this program will be scary good! To the 'real' UM fans, I would say, stay the course. To the phonies, and front runners, just admit you support MSU/OSU, and get it overwith. By the way, MSU WILL stumble, at least once, and probaly several times, during the remainder of the season.

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 5:29 p.m.

johnnya2... True. Thanks for paying attention.

johnnya2

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 4:58 p.m.

Michigan's offense did not put up 28 on Iowa last year it was 21. The first touchdown was scored by the defense

Larry Weisenthal

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 4:22 p.m.

Modern (post-Bump Elliott) era began with Bo, who put the best athletes on defense. As a result, Michigan was in virtually every game in the Bo era, until at least late in the 4th quarter. There were very, very few true blowouts. The biggest knocks on Bo was that he didn't like to pass and had trouble in bowl games. But he had a great run. What I liked about Lloyd was that he brought more balance to the offense, although the defense wasn't as good as under Bo. It was terrific the way he made Michigan into a destination school for would-be pro quarterbacks. Does anyone think that Lloyd wouldn't have had winning seasons and bowl games in 2008 and 2009? And two wins in the 4 games with MSU and OSU? OK, now that I've established my anti-RR bona fides, I have to say that the MSU game last weekend wasn't the blowout humiliation that it's being made out to be. Take away the drops and a couple INTs and a blocked kick and you've got a tie game. Take away that first drive INT in the end zone (a rhythm/confidence killer for a young QB) and you've arguably got a whole different game. As for the talk of shutting down DRobinson, he ended up with 86 yards on the ground and 215 in the air -- an off day, for sure, but 300+ yards in self-generated offense is a good game for most QBs. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady both have games worse than that, including the INTs. I'm just saying that the season isn't over and I'm really looking forward to this Saturday, and I'll be looking forward to the rest of the season, no matter how Saturday turns out. This is not a championship team, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a team with the ability to upset anyone on the schedule, including tOSU.

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 3:40 p.m.

heartbreakM... I never referred to the Michigan offense as "awesome." I simply said that they put up 28 on IA last year on the road so I don't think matching that is too much to ask.

heartbreakM

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 3:03 p.m.

Mr. Kubrick: I agree with what you say about Iowa, and can't respond about their D (except history is on their side about being a tough fundamentally sound D and tough to move the ball on, for years). Using your logic, though, I would say that Michigan has done nothing to earn offensive respect, because they have moved the ball on low ranked NCAA defenses, and has not proven a thing. Using history, I would say for the last 2 years, M's offense has really sputtered in Big Ten play and in colder weather. Therefore, using your logic, Iowa should just kill Michigan (because MIchigan's defense has been clearly shown to be poor, the worst in Div I just about). Of course, the games have to be played and DR could blow up the Hawkeyes D stats with 2 big runs, but if they play their lanes like MSU did, he won't get out in space. And I'd bet that Iowa knows that. It'll be a tough game. But you can't say that Iowa has done nothing to deserve their ranking, and then say our offense is awesome, when the one decent D we have faced, they have only gained 377 yards.

81wolverine

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 3:03 p.m.

Despite having a tough game last week and Iowa having a bye week, this game may be a tough battle. And don't be all that surprised if Michigan wins a close one. I think Michigan will play much better on offense and reduce the mistakes. We can't afford to drop sure-touchdown passes and expect to win this one. Running into the middle of Iowa's defense is going to be very difficult. I think Robinson will have much better luck getting yards outside. And I hope they use Stephen Hopkins more in this game,as Iowa's d-line is going to stuff Vincent Smith pretty much. But I do think Iowa's defense can be exploited by the pass. How well Denard throws the ball in this one will be decisive I think. Go Blue!

Scouter

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 3:02 p.m.

RR Only Played Denard against Iowa last year because Tate Forcier was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the 4th quarter. RR had no intention of playing Denard and would not have if Forcier had not been hurt. Denard got his yardage and TD during garbage time long after the game was no longer in doubt. Now that said, based on what Denard has done this year, he should have started more games last year, but now I am living in the past.

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 2:29 p.m.

Tru2Blu76... I think you're reading way too much into RR's use of "I guess."

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 1:58 p.m.

Scouter... Of course I want Denard to play. Last years game he rushed 9 times for 49 yards and a TD. While completing 3-4 passes for 30 yard. RR had such confidence in him on that day that they gave him the ball on the last possession with a chance to win the game with a FG... He did end up throwing a game deciding INT (ouch) but the point is he was moving the ball against the Iowa defense on the road as a true Freshman. He will be better prepared this year. As for Iowa's defense... They're so great based on what? Holding a horrible PSU offense to 3 points? A PSU offense that could only manage 24 points against Kent St. And 22 points against Temple. Iowa has shown nothing to this point.

Scouter

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 1:40 p.m.

Kubrick-Last I looked last year was 2009. Denard did not start that game, nor did he play as the team leader. I take it from your comment you do not want Denard to play. I see UM fan is still living in the past. It is 2010 now, and your starting QB has never faced an Iowa defense this tough. Their D is tougher than MSU and we all know how well that turned out. He along with the rest of the team will have to man-up. Otherwize, Iowa wins this in a laugher.

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 1:35 p.m.

I wouldn't consider beating Iowa an upset. They have done nothing this year to justify their ranking.

A2D2

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 1:28 p.m.

Iowa is just a good, solid Big 10-style team. Nothing too fancy, nothing too wild. Just tough.. It could get ugly.

Kubrick66

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 1:20 p.m.

The 09 Wolverines managed 28 points on the road in Iowa City... Don't see why they won't be able to at least match that this year.

P U MSU

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 12:59 p.m.

By all means I would never try to take anything away from Iowa's defense, BUT they have yet to face a team this year that is committed to the run. So their rushing yards against numbers are a little misleading. I think this will be a prety close game. Iowa's offense is not explosive and if they give up a couple of big plays that Michigan is more than capable of pulling off they will be in trouble. I feel an upset looming.

trigg7

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 12:57 p.m.

UM going to have to beat Iowa with the pass if they want a chance! That isn't going to hapen. Iowa 38 UM 10 those who stay will..get a butt kicken.

treestalker

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 12:26 p.m.

Yup... tough one coming up. Time to grow up and play with the big dogs. It will be interesting to see how these kids respond. Never forget... these are kids (20 - 21 years).

Macabre Sunset

Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 12:08 p.m.

Michigan State was the first mid-range Big Ten defense they faced. Iowa and Ohio State are the elite defenses. I would be very pleasantly surprised if the Wolverines put up anywhere near the 37 points they have averaged this season.