The Home Stretch

Everybody is lining up this week to stand at the buttocks of the Michigan coaching staff and get their noses just a little bit brown, already declaring the current season a resounding success. The Wolverines just grabbed their 8th win of the season, a somewhat decisive victory on the road against a team that 1) squeaked out a 17-14 victory over Western Michigan, 2) is coached by Ron Zook and 3) Had lost three consecutive games while scoring a TOTAL of 28 points. It's a celebration! If you watched that game, you know it was one of the poorest excuses for a football game ever played. The only team in the country that played worse than Michigan on Saturday was Illinois. Michigan would have lost to pretty much anybody else that day. Missed opportunities, turnovers, an embarrassing red-zone offense, and a rotating pair of quarterbacks that are both mediocre at best with regards to passing. I'd like to also add that I think Denard has been pulled a couple times this season, Saturday being one of them, under the guise of injury...when in fact he was not injured. I feel like his injuries have come all too coincidentally after very poor interceptions.

And somehow, holding Illinois (the 78th ranked scoring defense in the nation) to 14 points was the defining moment for the Michigan defense. In fact, depending on who you ask, it turned them into an actual Michigan defense. Listen, they played very well against the run, and as I said last week, Michigan's turnaround on D from last year to this year borders on the miraculous, and it is a testament to just how bad Greg Robinson was, how bad Schafer was before him, and how poor the general defensive direction and communication was in the previous regime. It is also a testament to the quality of opponent we've played, as the Big Ten is worlds worse, team by team, than it was last year. Also, I cannot say enough about how bad Ron Zook's gameplan was. Illinois scored their first touchdown in the third quarter to make it 17-7 on a drive that was all passes, basically a series of completions and pass interference penalties. I thought they had us. I thought they figured it out. Yes, despite JT Floyd being anointed the next Charles Woodson by the blogosphere this week, Michigan is still vulnerable to the deep ball. Throwing deep against us will get you large chunks of yards and/or draw penalties. It's a nearly foolproof plan. And after Michigan countered the Illinois's TD with a three-and-out, I was convinced the Illini were about to make it a three point game. But they went back to running and a sideline to sideline passing game, never throwing the ball more than 5-yards past the line of scrimmage. That got them nowhere. JT jumped a short route and got an interception that set up Devin Gardner to put the game away. 8 wins for the first time since 2007. Bury the demons? A little bit. Still concerned about the future from both a "right now" and "5-years from now" perspective? Most definitely.

I'm worried about the last two games. I'm concerned that Nebraska's line will show us the kind of manball we saw at Iowa and MSU. I'm concerned that OSU will find a way to put it all together for that last Saturday in November. But beyond this season, I'm still worried about where we are going. We are going back to building a Big Ten champion, and in the short term that's going to make us feel better because we've endured so much pain in the last 3 seasons. We can very easily dominate this conference. So could the 7th best team in the SEC. As Ohio State has shown in the past several years, dominating the Big Ten does not translate nationally. And ready or not, we are headed to the big stage, because after these two games, our next two games are (likely) January 2nd against an SEC team that we have no business playing...and then Alabama on September 1st.

Brady Hoke is well on his way to being the Michigan Man we needed. He is certainly "as advertised." I just want him to be more than that. Even in these rebuilding times, when victory is so much more appreciated, I want to see Michigan moving past being Michigan. I know Brady will get us back to where we were, and I hope he proves me wrong and gets us to where we've never been.

Something

Me on Wednesday...

A 3rd down stop or two would suffice, or a decent kick return, or even a field goal.  Show me something that keeps the fire lit.

We got all of those things.  We will play 13 games this year.  We will not be home for Christmas.

And once again, winning fixes everything, if only for 7 days.

Pictures from the Thanksgiving Themed Tailgate...

The Big Fade

Fandom is predicated on emotion. And these swings are just too much. From knocking on death's door to being back in the hunt, and back again. Five wins in a row followed by three losses. It's taking it's toll on the fanbase, it's taking a toll on me, and it certainly must be taking a toll on these kids that bleed for us each Saturday. Their words say everything is fine, that they're not phased, that they are still going to turn it around, but no matter how you slice it, we're about as close to turmoil and anarchy as we can get. Until proven otherwise, we are safe to assume that this season is the same as the last. Penn State was but another nail in the coffin, and I am just being honest when I say I am still not over the initial nail that was Michigan State. They say that this next game is a must win. They said that about the last game. They'll say it about the next one too. But we're running out of must wins, and are coming dangerously close to having to do what is seemingly impossible...beat the Badgers or the Buckeyes.

What is our hope?  What is our end result?  Grab that elusive 6th victory and go to Detroit? or Dallas?  Hope to win there, snag an extra 15 practices, and move on to installing a new defensive coordinator with a new system and a new excuse as to why we can't stop anybody.

Or worse, lose out.  Suffer the embarrassment of two Big Ten wins in two years, lose the Coach that turned the worst offense in the Big Ten into the best offense in the Big Ten, and ride out a regime change that could set us back another three years.  We're a hair away from becoming Notre Dame.

There are no good outcomes remaining for the 2010 Wolverines...unless you believe in miracles.  Like winning the next two, and stealing one of the last two.  That's the dream scenario.  That's what we've come to, dreaming of beating the likes of Illinois and Purdue.  Praying to be competitive against Wisconsin and Ohio State, hoping that one of them will make enough mistakes so that we might steal a victory.

This is in no way, shape, or form Michigan Football.  And there's no way out.  There's no good solution.  I've become indifferent to the future, to Coach Rodriguez.  I so badly want him to turn this around, and yet I don't see how it is in his hands.  Worse yet, I'm not sure he could do anything about it if it was in his hands.  I'm just not sure about anything...outside of my loyalty.  I will be there when they take the field.  I will be there to watch them fight the good fight.  I will hope for that dream scenario.

On Saturday I just want to see something positive, some kind of progress, something that says we're moving forward.  A 3rd down stop or two would suffice, or a decent kick return, or even a field goal.  Show me something that keeps the fire lit.

Sims Goes Cold, Big Ten Run Ends at 3

DeShawn Sims was 3-14 from the floor, and had only 2 rebounds in Michigan's 66-51 loss to the Fighting Illini.  Copperyale was the only player in double figures (20), and 7-26 from 3-point is not going to get in done on most nights for a John Beilein squad.  Add in our inability to stop the biggest 7 foot dork in the Big Ten, and well, you find only disappointment.  Box score here.

It's tough to break two decade-plus-long losing streaks in one year.  We found a way to win at one Assembly Hall, but fell short at the other Assembly Hall in Champaign-Urbana.  Would have been a huge win, but it's not exactly a backbreaking loss.  We need to hold serve at home, and steal a couple on the road.  Given their record of 15-2, splitting the home-at-home with Illinois is not the end of the world, especially playing them twice in just 10 days.

Yes, I have decided to make excuses for every loss...and praise with great optimism every win.  That's what 2009 is all about.

Basketball against Ohio State...the return of the 1989 National Champions at halftime...and a chance to see Coach Beilein's 500th win.  Just your average Saturday in Ann Arbor.  Coupled with Illinois beating Michigan State, it could be a banner day.  See you at Crisler.

Go to bed.

This Kid Will Kick Your Ass, Alex

After the home-bed-pooping performance against Wisconsin, all the air was let out of my "let's watch basketball" balloon.  I wondered if this team, which from what we've seen is able to compete with the ACC and the PAC-10, is ready for Big Ten style play.  It's a worry, especially in these transitional times, where we not quite sharp enough for the full Beilein gameplan, and not quite big and tough enough to bang the boards against Big Ten foes on your average Wednesday evening.  Now, bare in mind that a single game does not a conference season make.  But the Wolverines showed a little something that my man Jerry Reed (East Bound and Down) would call "intestinal fortitude."  They didn't back down from Illinois.  They didn't crack under the pressure of what could be construed as the earliest "must win" game in conference history.  They didn't falter when their three-pointer lifeboat left the game after taking an elbow to the eye from the double turncoat turned Fighting Illini Alex Legion.

They played bigger than they are.

Davis, 6-9, was driving and looked to be going for the dunk when Harris, 6-5, jumped and met him in the air.

And if they continue to do that, they CAN compete in this league.  They CAN make a run for postseason play.

Michigan wins, 74-64, on 40% 3-point shooting against the nation's 3rd best 3-pointer defense (25%), ending Illinois 7-game winning streak.  Of note, LLP got the start and poured in 13 and had 5 assists.  Also, big Zack Gibson hit double digits in scoring (10), and Kelvin put up 9, including a nail-in-the-coffin layup in traffic in the waning moments.  Michigan's schedule will allow Novak to avenge his 6 stitches when they play at Illinois on 1/14, after this week's games at Indiana (Wed) and home against Iowa (Sun).

GO BLUE!