Inexcusable
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36 CommentsI don’t care about rebuilding, injuries, or the transition to a new offense; there is absolutely no excuse for losing to a 1-4 Toledo team. Michigan as a whole is just a terrible team right now, and after what I’ve seen so far this season, I highly doubt things will get any better. The offense still sucks, and although the defense didn’t give up a touchdown, they let Toledo successfully run the same plays over and over without making any adjustments. And don’t even get me started on how bad the coaching was in this game. It’s not so much the struggles of the offense or the lack of adjustments by the defense, but there were just so many little things that could have prevented this embarrassment from happening.
For example, the clock management in the final minute of the game was terrible. The team should have been lined up and ready to run a play or spike the ball when the clock was set to start running, yet they were still trying to get a play called. That took precious time off the clock, and on top of that, why Michigan didn’t try to put the ball in the middle of the field is beyond me. When there were 18 seconds left, Michigan could have run a play that would have moved the ball to the middle of the field. Some may say that there is a risk of letting the clock run out, but 18 seconds is more than enough time to run a play and spike the ball. It may not have made a difference considering how bad K.C. Lopata has been lately, but it would have made the kick much easier.
I think it’s safe to say that this season is officially over. Michigan will not win enough games to go to a bowl considering they probably won’t win any more games this season. That is how bad this team looks right now, and as stated already, nothing I have seen leads me to believe things will get better. I guess right now the goal should be to salvage whatever they can and to start to getting players ready for the future. Quitting on a season is never a good thing, but sometimes you just have to be realistic, and right now that’s all I’m doing.
I completely AGREE with your statement! I know we have give Rodriguez a chance and hopefully his recurits coming in will bring Michigan back to being a power-house, but 1-year re-building is all he gets!
I agree. Michigan looks terrible in all aspects of the game which might be somewhat excusable for the offense, but inexcusable for the defense. Does Shaffer know what he’s doing? This defense was supposed to be dominating, but play like they couldn’t stop a high school team. Michigan isn’t soft, they’re just plain bad!
And as much as I can still understand the offensive struggles and period of adjustment, etc., I am disappointed that there seems to be no improvement. Thus far, Barwis, seems to be the only one on the coaching staff who has delivered the goods.
I don’t care how “not ready” Justin Feagin is, He should be playing QB. Threat and Sheridan are awful. Every pass they throw makes me wince. At least just put Matthews back there and don’t pass anymore. Anything would be better then what we have been trying to use. This loss is much worse then the App. State loss.
The players are beyond soft. Other than Zoltan, nobody deserves their scholarship right now.
Everyone needs to calm down. We lost a ton of NFL calibur starters last season and we all knew what we were in for in 2008. Rich Rodriguez has been successful everywhere he’s been. It’s ridiculous to think he won’t be successful with all of the talent that Michigan recruits. The bottom line is that we have a bunch of true and redshirt freshman that not only made the team, but are playing meaningful roles. That is a classic recipe for mistakes. Give them a chance – they’re a really young team. A one-year rebuild?
Yeah, right – see Notre Dame.
Anyone who expected anything other than a very difficult year was only kidding themselves. If you’ve spent your life around football, you saw this coming the day they went to the spread with Coach Rod. It’s going to take time – and don’t jump off a cliff quite yet – but we’ve probably got 2 more seasons (after this one) of similar frustrations. We’ll win some and we’ll lose many. But once this spread offense is established with the players Coach Rod wants to bring in, look out. Unfortunately, in this win-now-at-all-cost society, waiting until 2010/2011 is going to be a long long voyage. I’ll still be traveling from Southern California to Ann Arbor for the Michigan State game. If we can only win one more game this year, PLEASE let it be Michigan State!!!
Yeah, we lost starters, on offense. The defense has NO excuse for playing this poorly.
Who cares if we lost players, it’s fucking Toledo.
This is a reaching theory, but one that may have some legs.
The coaches allow the team to struggle, really struggle this year, providing a foundation for the coaches to instill a blue collar mentality. Most of these upperclassmen are accustomed to having some challenge, but in the end having a winning season and generally feeling good about their performance. Let them loss every game this year, to feel that agony of each lose. Imbed that into the soul and use it as motivation during the offseason.
Rod is changing the mindset of this program. It?s not pretty, but will pay off in the years to come!
I’m not bailing. I knew it was going to be a ruff year. I love Coach Rod and am excited about the future. All that I am saying is give Feagan a chance. Can’t hurt anything at this point.
Sorry, Todd, but that is bit too much of a reach….
The players have to take a lot of blame for this. I don’t care what system you play in or how much of a rookie you are: it’s up to the player to hang to the ball when it’s in his hands. It’s up to the player to tackle the guy in front of him when he gets the chance.
Todd, that may be the dumbest thing I have EVER read.
Yeah, I have high hopes for RR too. I do like the aggressive play-calling, as ineffective as it’s been. The offense could, and will be, potent and exciting to watch.
I’m just not so sure that Shaffer has the chops.
It could be worse. At least Barwis knows what he’s doing. The team might suck, but they are great shape. (They can struggle for a full four quarters without fatigue!) That’s something. Not much….but something.
Some of the comments on this board do not reflect well on the reputation of UM grads.
One more year?
Fire Coach Rod?
You can’t be serious.
We have a new coach, a brand-new system and a ton of young players – on both sides of the ball!
It can take 3-4 years for that to become embedded at UM.
To disrespect one’s opponent is to set yourself up for failure. Some of the arrogance on this board is quite shocking, to tell the truth.
Patience is a virtue, Wolverine Nation. We are the winningest program in the history of college football and we will be back – just not right away.
One word dude: Toledo
I agree that some comments are out there, but we just lost to Toledo.
My only question is how is Ohio State doing it? They bring in young plays all the time and seem to keep on trunkin’. Hopefully after RR works out the kinks we’ll be in the same state or higher from a playing perspective then Ohio State.
Why bash the defense? Toledo only scored 13 points and 7 were off a pick-6. That means we held them to 2 FG’s on offense
I cannot understand why we have so much trouble recruiting decent field goal kickers. As long as I can remember, our kicking game has been suspect.
Our offense blew chunks today, but Sheridan did get us well into field goal range on that last drive and we need to convert that FG. Still, Toledo. Fudge. At least App State was a repeat division national champ…
Time for beer. Lots of it. Need to forget.
How come, “Wolverine Nation,” there’s always some sanctimonious schmuck who feels he has to weigh in on the comments and “correct” people on what they should be writing or thinking?
Why bash the defense? Because despite getting only 2 field goals, Toledo seemed to move the ball pretty effectively. How come in the last two games both quarterbacks had the games of their careers? It’s not the Wheaties they’re eating, it’s our defense that’s giving it to them.
The defense was responsible for giving up only one field goal. The touch down and the other field goal was a direct result of the offensive turn over.
…and how many of you have real coaching experience at the college level Anonymous? Dumbest thing I have ever read? You must not read a lot!
When you take over as an outside coach coming into a storied tradition, you as a coach must assess the attitude of the team. Why would the new coaching staff continue to build game plans around the basics of a no huddle spread when it?s clear the offense isn?t capable of effectively running it this year. How can you disagree with the notion that facing adversity through the year helps to build character and determination. I find it hard to believe that games are lost only due to the players inability to do anything. Let?s just say Rod comes in and begins to establish his philosophy but doesn?t see the kind of buy in that he believes the program needs to be successful. Coaches work with players to install the new offense, keep Barwis on the players to work hard?all the while knowing it will be difficult for the team to have the same success it?s accustom to. So, they keep preaching and working to convert the mindset of the younger kids. Go on ? dismiss this based on media reports. Coaches at this level would have no problem learning and installing aspects of the pro set to help the players within the transition. So, why didn?t he? I bet my money on the fact that there is more to this year than you realize. Rod wants the program to have success, hear me clearly, I believe Rod wants to win more than most of you that comment here. I don?t have any affiliations with this program, so my opinions are just that. That Said, I see many similarities to some experiences I have had. You allow the players to struggle when you could make the transition easier. While coaches don?t want to see a team fail, having some adversity and facing challenges helps a team find character, allows the coaches to assess the players commitment and attitude while finding its way through this year.
I couldn’t agree more. We in PSU land know what this is like. It’s sad, and unfortunate anyone else has to be subjected to this kind of gut-wrenching horror. Not to mention that everyone will be calling for the Big Ten to drop football after this… especially those toothless SEC whackjobs.
Toledo is the best team from Ohio based on this victory! OSU is going down!
Ouch. Let’s hope for some ’spoiler’ moments…
we seem to be regressing, that’s on the coaching
I don’t care how good we get, enduring a season like this isn’t worth it. I wish we had a coach that gave a rats ass about tradition and adjusted to win some games to keep the bowl streak, winning seasons streak, and beating the MAC streak alive. I fully expect many more first times since… this season. Next week will be the first time we’ve been shut out since the mid eighties.
Well…I am ready for the year to be over! Let’s not get down on the team though – this was expected. We will forget this year like we forgot App. State (kind of). To add insult to injury…Toledo was paid $500,000 to come play us. OUCH!
I hope you pansies don’t get another win this year. You will be the lil bro. As for you all thinking you can beat any State team you are dreaming. So keep arrogant and keep the whining up. M go BOOHOO
There’s “rebuilding” and then there’s “rebuilding at Michigan”. Michigan is not any old program. It’s freakin Michigan. There is no excuse for losing to Toledo. I said it last week and I’ll say it again. Something just makes me feel uneasy about RichRod. With the lawsuit, the “family values” episode, terrible play, and just overall bad publicity…I just don’t feel that warm and fuzzy about him and his program. He is still not a Michigan man to me.
There hasn’t been a whole lot of positives to take from the season as a whole this year. Mcguffie is going to be good, give him another year with some added bulk, a more experienced line, and a “true” dual threat QB next year to actually be able to pose a threat running to make the defense play honest. I honestly would like to see Newsome recommit as he is the most ready physically of the QB’s were recruiting. The defense could get a big boost if Cambell recommits as well with Roh and Lalota in the mix. Just keeping the fingers crossed we pull some miracles come national signing day – Jenkins and/or Randle. We all knew this year would be tough and let’s be honest – Threet and Sheridan neither need to be on a D1 football field. They can still don the winged helmets, just at Delaware not Michigan. The defense is on the field way too much and its evident in the number of 3rd down conversions they give up. Here’s hoping to 2009!
Threet is the only QB that has a chance at running the system. He got hurt in the first half. That was essentially the end of the offense. Sheridan has no arm strength. LoPata has sucked his entire career. He’ll make a 50 yarder every year, but he has always been inconsistant. So we lose on a 100 yard int. return and a missed 26 yard field goal. Don’t burn down the house yet.
Who cares if State takes third in the Big Ten this year? What does that mean? it won’t change the fact that they have beat Michigan twice in my lifetime, or that they have the third worst record in the big ten in the last ten years. That’s great that they have a good running back that can carry there team. Have fun this year. Maybe we can have a rivalry again and not just automatic win game number three.
I have a friend who went through this at Notre Dame. When we hired Coach Rod, he told me the fans wouldn’t have the patience for the transition to the spread and that we’d run Coach Rod out of town.
We’re only 6 games into the Coach Rod era and already you can hear the whining little brats screaming on this board. I hope, for Coach Rod’s sake, that if the student body turns on him, he leaves UM in his dust. Why give your heart to someone who is too self-centered to appreciate it? Why work 15 hour days if the school you represent loses patience after 6 games? There are people who will complain no matter what. I hope the comments in this section are dominated by the few who will never be happy. To expect more than 5 or 6 wins this year would have been irrational to say the least.
Expecting Michigan to win at least 5 games is not irrational. And regardless you don’t lose to Toledo. That is just ridiculous.
Ok, point taken on the last 2 QB’s having career days, however, we held them to 13 point regardless.
I do wonder how Carr would have fared this season. Freshman offense, rebuilding defense. I don’t know what Carr would have been able to accomplish. These kids are 18-19 years old after all and this is their first year in the bigger leagues.
Give them time. We’ll start that bowl streak over and break it again.
If Carr was here we probably would be undefeated. Mallett likely would still be here, as would Boren and maybe even Mario and Adrian. But that really doesn’t mean much because the year following Carr’s retirement would be bad regardless.