I am Michigan.

Dear Coach Rodriguez:

You talk about "we" interchangeably between your staff and Michigan. How Tiller brought the spread to the Big 10, but how "we" have been running it a long time. And, while I see tremendous hope in the offense when Brandon Minor could not be stopped despite a horrendous offensive line, it frustrates beyond no end that you cannot beat the worst team in the conference, which started a quarterback who has never started a college game. Who played running back last week.

And, while "you" brought your "program" here; you are not "we". Your staff is not Michigan. Michigan is not your staff. You are no doubt hurting. But, you are not Michigan. You have no idea. My neighbor in Section 6 is Michigan. My fellow alumni down the street is Michigan. Together, me, my fellow season ticket holder, my fellow alumus, my neighbor are I.

And I am Michigan.

And I am upset. And, while I can live with losses in well a played game, I am frustrated at coaching errors. I am frustrated by coaches who play freshmen who fumble punts. I am upset by poor clock management. I am bewildered by a secondary who has regressed so far since last year. And, while I know that this loss is merely one, it is one of at least seven and what looks like ten. It is one that I will never forget because it marks your place in my history. I know that not even Bump or Mo, with all of his delay of game penalties, could match this mark. I know that this loss was better played than most this year. But, I believe that Les Miles, or Greg Schiano, or Ron English, or Brady Hoke or god forbid Mike DeBord would not have resulted in this depth defying nosedive.

Still, I want to believe.

But, Rod, your lips move, and I can't hear what you're sayin'.

I can't explain. You would not understand. This is not how I am.

Pressers!

I Am Disturbed

Best comment I've heard from Rodriguez all fall.

"The number of big plays was really disturbing".

He sounded upset. I've got to say, that this might have been the best example of a genuine statement from this staff that they realize they have failed in coaching. Finally. Hey, I can accept the fact that you tried to come up with a scheme, tried to get the players to learn the plays, but couldn't do it. This is significant progress from the continued mantra about how well the team is improving in practice, and how the offensive staff has THE gameplan and preparation, but execution failed. I'm actually glad hear this self critique, which seemed genuine, even if directed at the defensive staff. After all, Rodriguez knows he's responsible for the D ultimately.

On the other hand, the clip may also be one of the best examples of poor coaching and strategy. On a critical 3rd and 3, State is offsides, but the call isn't made. The left side of the line doesn't move. Threet throw downfield to Matthews incomplete, as the offense apparently tries something of a trick play. The same thing happened in a game between Tulsa on Sunday night, only the penalty was called. Shaun King was doing color on the game. He explained that the play is called the Freeze Play. The idea is to emphasize the off sides. But, why? If its offsides, run the play with all 11 players.

"We tell them assume the penalty won't be called."

Then why would you handicap yourself by throwing the ball away on a 1 receiver route? If the penalty isn't called, then you've got more than one option by not runnig the "freeze". And if it is, it's a Free Play, not a freeze.

I like Steven Threet. I think he's been tough. From watching only 8/12ths of my first season of this Spread thingymajigg Rodriguez keeps talking about, it's clear to me that he has improved, and that he can run the ball to a degree. He is light years beyond the 2nd string quarterback in abilty, if not decision making. But, in the comment for the video above, there was a reference about Rodriguez knowing what has to be done to win.

And if there wasn't any question to what he was referring, it should be clear here when he may as well have said "We expect Tate Forcier to compete and start":

"Some of the needs will be addressed in recruiting, which is obvious".

We've Got To Get More Athletic on Defense

A Wide Angle View.

There are a lot of things that aren't clear from watching tv. You can watch all of the replays from Musberger and Spielman, and even watch twice, but not understand what really happened on any given play. The pesrpective of watching the o-line protect and the pass receivers run routes is something that just can't get unless you watch the game from the stadium.

So, what did I see against State?

Positives:

The defensive line. Obviously. Brandon Graham and Terrance Taylor player particularly well. Brandon Graham was a terror. TT had several outstanding plays and had pretty good penetration for most of the game. And, although I have said this before, I will say again that the Bawis Ginsu Ninja Warrior training techniques appear to be paying off for these guys, because they do not look tired on the field, not even in the 4th quarter.

Now, you would think this stamina would be paying off on the field, yes? No. It isn't. It may next year.

The defensive backs. Ok. You're going to call me nuts. And that's fine. But, it is very clear that our dbs are talented and fast, and hit hard. This was not expected coming into the season. Morgan Trent played well last year, and D. Warren was solid for a freshman. Both of these guys showed glimpses of their former selves Saturday, despite the carnage.

Offensive line. This isn't an actual positive. It is a relative positive. I expected worse. They played relatively well, and there was less backfield penetration on running plays than I expected. Pass protection could have been better, especially in the 4th quarter, but all in all, not as bad as I had anticipated.

Running backs. Brandon Minor played ok. He played tough. We need a second option. Carlos Brown anyone?

Wide receiver blocking. A Michigan tradition has been maintained. The receivers more often than not got a head on a man and made decent blocks. On a couple of bubble screens, the blocks were maintained well.

Field Goal Defense. Awesome. They were in on the kicker each kick. Tremendous rush from the left side of the line.

Kevin Koger. He is the real deal. We may not have tight end of his caliber since Jerame Tuman.

Negatives:

Everything else? That would be a copout, so . . .

Defensive Backs. How can you list them as a positive and negative? Easily. Although there is talant at the corner position, the coaching staff has wasted it. The defensive backs positioning is poor. As a unit, they look and play confused. This = points. I am very concerned. The level of confusion is astonishing for 8 games into the season. I'd think about a play by play analysis, but there were just so many I can't pick. Boubacar has some speed, but his lapse cost a touchdown against Sparty. Unlikely Morgan Trent makes that mistake.

Quarterback. I've given the nod to S. Threet this year. And, frankly, he's played close to the level of Chad Henne is his first year. Threet obviously has a lot less talent at receiver to throw to, and a line far worse than Henne had. Henne also benefited from a pro style passing game which has utterly escaped this staff -- more on that later. But Threet threw too many interceptions, and missed some passes that should have been made. On Stonum's drop in the end zone, the ball should have been thrown about a second earlier. It ended up late, and slightly off target. And, whether by design of the coaching staff or Threet's mistakes, he throws too many balls down the sideline which should have been passed in the middle of the field, including a missed post pattern on the Brandon Minor touchdown/nontouchdown.

Wide Receivers. When will Daryl Stonum learn to catch? Same for Matevious Odoms. A couple of big drops by these guys really hurt.

Clock Management. Please, please, please someone consider hiring an assitant coach to tell the offensive staff that when you're going 3 and out, in your own end, at the end of half you might want to consider moving away from the hurry up offense? With 3 minutes left, Michigan runs the hurry up, 3 and out, and punts the ball away to State with too much time on the clock and after having used no timeouts. With the timouts remaining, State had the option to run the ball, and immediately scored. Maybe it happens anyway, and Michigan did go down the field before haltime and score after State was up 14-7, but this just has to stop. It is pure stupidity. I could actually understand this to a point, if 3 and out wasn't the norm. But it is.

Uuugh. There is a serious lack of improvement on Saturdays from the offense. Rod says we just can't see all those wonderful strides made in practice -- he said it again in the press conference. I don't believe it. I believe he is simply too stubborn to be able to adapt to a downfield passing game, which is what the personnel on this team is better suited for than a quarterback lead running game. In fact, it is just damn depressing to watch our pass patterns becuase it is clear that there is nothing even remotely resembling a sophisticated pass offense.

Sidewayz Yards. And I suppose that we knew this coming from the run game, but on Saturday it looked like every Brandon Minor carry was a sweep running sideways. I trust Rodriguez on this one, and assume this was at least in part because the Threet running option was minimized in an effort to keep him healthy throughout the duration of the game.

Hail to the Victors Valiant . . . .

Alex Hunt Kills It.




Alex Hunt and the Michigan Wolverines Volleyball team kicked the Hoosiers in Bloomington Saturday. Hunt had 16 kills and 4 blocks in a phenomenal effort versus Indiana.

Game Recap here. Michigan stats:

   Michigan               |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  Rood, Veronica......  3|  5   3  11  .182|  1|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  1  1|  0|   5.5
2  Karpiak, Beth.......  3| 12   3  25  .360|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  4  0|  0|  14.0
6  Bruck, Karlee.......  3|  6   1   9  .556|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  4  0|  0|   8.0
8  Hunt, Alex..........  3| 16   3  32  .406|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  1  0|  0|  16.5
17 Zimmerman, Lexi.....  3|  3   2   8  .125| 51|  0   1|  0|  8| 0  6  0|  1|   6.0
18 Paz, Juliana........  3| 13   5  34  .235|  0|  2   1|  0| 13| 0  2  0|  0|  16.0
3  Donhoff, Sloane.....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   2|  2| 11| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
5  Bower, Megan........  3|  5   2  12  .250|  1|  0   0|  1|  7| 0  0  0|  0|   5.0
12 Busch, Maggie.......  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
16 Hance, Kerry........  3|  1   0   3  .333|  1|  1   1|  0|  6| 0  0  0|  0|   2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals..............  3| 61  19 134  .313| 56|  3   6|  3| 51| 0 18  1|  1|  73.0

Michigan plays Iowa, at home at Cliff Keen arena Friday at 7pm. Get out and support the Wolverines. Go Blue! I look forward to singing Hail to the Victors in a winning effort (or least a competetive one).


Being John Beilein.

Mark Snyder of the Free Press relates his starring role. An interesting look into the game day prep at Crisler.

Slurs from the Peanut Gallery.

Lou Holtz puts his ass in his mouth in criticsm of Rich Rod, and ineffectively explains his comment.

Note to Rod Smith.

I Am Available Saturday. If Steven Threet can't go on Saturday, I am willing, and I can't do any worse than Nick Sheridan. If I get hurt, the season ticket holder to my left could also fill in at the same level as Nick. Please give me a call, we want to help.

And, as long as I'm on the subject of how to keep Steve Threet a little bit healthier, here's Rod Smith's comment from the Detroit News:

Smith said maybe the coaches consider running Threet less -- he had 14 carries for 50 yards in the game -- but the injury came on a pass play.

"The thing is, Steve didn't get hurt on a run, he got hurt when he was throwing," Smith said. "He got hit on a sack, on a play-action, the kid came from the back side, and that's when he hurt it. He ran the ball well. He likes doing that once in a while."

The drop-off at quarterback is the issue now. Sheridan, who started the season opener, entered with the game tied and took a safety, giving Penn State its first lead. He was 3-of-9 for 5 yards and clearly struggled, as did the entire offense.

"We've got to find some plays somehow once Steve goes out," Smith said. "I thought Steve did some good things. We've got to get someone to step up and get ready to fill his shoes if he's not in there."

R0d, just because I couldn't perform any worse than Nick Sheridan doesn't mean we'd have any better chance to win, so let me help you out.. Could you consider running spread offense with 4 wideouts and quick passes from Threet to the wideouts, or is that just too complicated an adjustment? Maybe mention that to Ricardo, huh. And, in case you haven't scouted your opponent for Saturday yet, their dbs, are shall we say, suspect.

This Is A Clock. It Keeps Time.

Time is Important in Football.

Three minutes left in the first half. Michigan's ball on the 16 yard line (or so).

Ricardo: "ok, guys let's go out there and run the hurry up as fast as we can, line it up, snap it, and go 3 and out. We want to use as little clock as possible."

Fred Jackson: "Coach, I really think maybe we should try to use that 40 second clock some, force some timouts and punt."

Ricardo: "You must be crazy! We have a program. We have an attitude. We never use more than 15 seconds between players regardless of the situation. Clock management, we don't use them big words in Appalachia, Freddy"

Fred Jackson: "You know, I've coached a long time, and I really learned a lot about the will to win, about game strategy, and about clock management while I was on Coach Carr's staff, Rich, and I just think you're dead wrong. Heck, Lloyd once told me we that game we lost down in Columbus in '06 that we just didn't use enought clock on offense. We just left the defense left out there by themselves."

Ricardo: Aw, shucks, Fred, you know that we ain't never worried about clock management! I once heard some guy named Miles talk about it, but he didn't seem to know what he was sayin'"

Fred Jackson: "No, he didn't. I do, though."

. . . . . .

Meanwhile, Michigan runs a no huddle on first and second down for 2 yards, after which Penn State calls timout. And, yes, you guessed it, results in one of a long line of 3 and outs. And, instead of giving Penn State the ball with no timeouts and less than 1:30, we give it up with 2 minutes and 1 timeout.

. . . . . .

With about 20 seconds on the clock -- about 40 seconds after time would have run out had Michigan forced a timeout after first down or refused to run a hurry up offense up by 10 points in the 1st half, Penn State scores a touchdown. Had that nasty Michigan tradition of clock management been employed, best case scenario is a Penn State field goal.

. . . . . .

Fast Forward 30 minutes

. . . . .


After 39 straight points, Penn State beats the 24.5 point spread. Unbelievable. I saw the single worst half of Michigan football in my life. Michigan loses 46-17. And, Darrin Clark, Penn State's quarterback is interviewed after the game:

Stupid Reporter: "Darrin, what was said at halftime?"

Darrin Clark: "Not much, really. The last drive of the first half really gave us a lot of confidence, and we knew we could come back out in the second half and play our game."

. . . . .

Of course, there were many more problems. Of course, any time that Nick Sheridan takes a snap and Michigan is not up by at least 40 points with 10 minutes or less left in the game should be chalked up as a likely loss. Of course, the offense in the second half had problems under both Threet and Sheridan.

Yet, really, the difference in the game, the point where we knew Michigan was done, the point that singlehandedly guarenteed that the Good Guys would lose their first of 10 meetings against Penn State was Penn State's touchdown at the end of the first half due to Ricardo's clock management. Sorry, I mean lack of it. It is a sad day, indeed, when the opposing quarterback calls out Michigan's head coach as the confidence inspiring source of its 39-0 comeback.

Oh; and No, I don't really believe we lost the game becuase of this. As soon as Nick Sheridan walked the field, the game was lost for good. What is amazing is that Threet came back in and played after he had been sat for injury. Begs the question, yes? Is he hurt, or did he sit? I assume he was injured. I assume that Ricardo's statement that he would play both regardless was horsecrap. If it wasn't -- Wow. As we, and anyone who has watched Michigan this year knows -- Nick Sheridan might be able to start at quarterback for a large high school team. Other than that, not so much.

But, if you don't believe me already, which you should after the Illinois first half, The Clock, will guarantee games are lost that should not be with Ricardo until something changes. This year. Next year. And yes, even in that year when we might be playing for a big ten championship. And that is simply unacceptable.

Where Can I Return My Defective Rodriguez?

I was angry. For about 6 minutes (instead of 6 weeks). Which may be the most telling of signs about how far and how fast Michigan has fallen.

We were forgiving, almost as an entire fanbase. We have chastised fumbles, and pointed out poor strategy decisions by Rodriguez, but here, and most everywhere, the Michigan fanbase has treated Rodriguez with kid gloves during this "rebuilding" period. We have trusted that the "rebuilding" was a necessary evil to institute this spread thing which Rodriguez brought with him.

The kid gloves are off. Our trust has ended.

In one half season, with the most difficult part of the season left, Rodriguez has managed:

1. to lose as many games as Lloyd Carr ever did in a regular season;
2. to lose to a Mid-American Conference team for the first time ever;
3. to accumulate the worst record through 6 games since Bump Elliot's 1967 team, which went 1-5 and finished 4-6.
4. to amass one of the worst performing offenses in the nation: 109 of 119 (Offensive Genius??)
5. to be dead last in fumbles lost (the ncaa doesn't track fumbles not lost but is there any doubt Michigan would be last there as well?)

Some have compared the transition we're seeing to Bo's start in '69. We've heard about swearing by coaches, and we reminded that Bo was no angel. We're reminded about how the practices under Bo and Rod have both been tough. We're told that the players run, run, run in practice, all of the time under Rod, and that Bo also had his team running crazily during practice. We've heard that players quit between 68 and 69 because practices were so tough, and see the comparison to the players who left early or transferred.

But, Rodriguez doesn't appear to be anything like Bo. Not even Bo's first year as Michigan head coach did Michigan get blown out as badly at home as they did by Illinois. In 1969, Bo's squad lost by 23 to Missouri in Ann Arbor. The score was 17 - 40. But, Missouri was also damn good, ending as co-champions of the Big Eight and going on to an Orange Bowl berth. Illinois will not be a champion of any type this year.

The Missouri loss was a turning point for Bo. After being crushed at home by Missouri on October 4, 1969, Bo's teams went on to win every home game played until November 22, 1975. 41 games. 6 years. 72 months. 2,240 days. Michigan won 4 big ten championships and finished in the top 10 every year. It took Rodriguez all of 6 days to lose his next game.

When Bo's team next lost at home, they lost to Ohio State, which was ranked 4th in the nation coming into the game, won the big ten, and was ranked number one in the country at 11-0 until they lost in the Rose Bowl to UCLA. Rogriguez lost to Toledo. The first ever Michigan loss to a MAC team. And a team which will likely finish in the bottom half of its mediocre conference.

There may still be Rodriguez apologists after today. Those who claim that Michigan lacks offensive talent. That we don't have the players to fit the system of this offensive genius.

I suppose apologists could argue that fumbling is merely random and that players fumbling have nothing to do with coaching. Some have. They are wrong. Fundamentals are taught. Holding onto the ball is emphasized. You won't hear me or anyone else say coaches can prevent fumbles altogether, but when that frequency of fumbling is so far above the average over six games, there is clearly a coaching issue. But, hey, it does take a player to fumble.

But, it doesn't take a player to botch clock management. Against Wisconsin, Michigan ran a hurry up offense on it's 10 yard line with about 2 minutes left in the half. They could have run, huddled, and ran the clock out. Instead, Rod runs a hurry up offense which forces a punt.

Or woefully fail to see clear audibles. Versus Illinois, in the third quarter, Michigan was on the goal line, going into score. The Illinois defense lined up with nobody over center. Threet took the playcall from the sideline. Instead of the coaches noticing the obvious qb snea which looked like it would have ended with Threet running clear until Section 8 row 7, Rod calls a pitch sweep which started 6 or 7 yards deep.

Or to call an atrocious game. In Michigan's last drive against Toledo, Sheridan led Michigan to the 10 yard line with about 40 seconds left. After a 9 yard gain on first down, it was 2 and 1 on the 10. The next to playcalls were passes. Why not run the ball and get a first down. There was pleny of time left. There was no reason to hurry up to kick a game tying field goal. Take advatage of time and the situation and the downs. Michigan likely would have won the game had it run the ball once or twice in that last 40 seconds, picked up a first down and managed the clock.

Toledo. Wow.

So. . . . how'd that volleyball team do?

The Preparation and The Plan Is All There?

With due respect, Coach, you may want to reconsider

Rod's Riddler

This didn't start with Batman. Or the Riddler. In fact, I started with a listen to Rod's phone conference with the Big 10 today. This not only covers the theme of the day, but also one of my favorite tv shows growing up:



And on to Rod's Riddles we go ---

How Can a Coach Avoid Fumbles?

Rod had a question and answer about the Notre Dame game. The audio link from Mlive is here. Basically, Rod spent a few minutes saying this:

--Brandon Minor's "fumble" was supposed to be a forward pass.
--We have to coach it up on the kick receiving team, although they caught it "pretty well" in practice.
--The unforced turnovers have got to be corrected (no kidding!)
--Brandon Graham has played "pretty well". But he is still learning the new scheme and terminology, which has slowed him down.
--ND executed deep ball well and handled conditions well.
--ND handled the ball better than we did.

I would have added something like this: We will not start a true freshman at kick returner in the first road game of the year. We will not start a true freshman at kick returner in the first road game of the year. We will not start a true freshman at kick returner in the first road game of the year.

There's One In Every Group.

At the end of the session, Jeff Rabjohns, an Indianapolis Star reporter, asked whether there are more missed field goals in college are a result of the wider hashmarks in college as compared to the pro game, and whether college should adopt the pro hashes.

Uhh. Let me think about that. . . .

Not The World's Hardest Riddle, but . . .

The answer to Rabjohn's Riddle is actually a little closer than you might think. Here's the World's Hardest Riddle:

I turn polar bears white
and I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
and girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
and normal people look like celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
and make your champane bubble.
If you squeeze me, I'll pop.
If you look at me, you'll pop.
Can you guess the riddle?

Think about this one. It might take a couple minutes.

Rabjohns' Riddle.

Rod actually nailed the answer and the reason to Rabjohns' question. The reason: No dumbass, there are more made field goals in the pros than college becauase they are pros. Incidentally, Jeff, there are also more field goals in college than high school despite wider goal posts and the use of tees. Huh, go figure.

You know I really wanted to make fun of Rabjohns. Rip him up a little. Not like Drew Sharp or Terry Foster ripping, that wouldn't be warranted. Maybe something more like this:





But, I actually took some time to read some of his articles. Here's an example of a good one, which is yet another riddle: How young is too young? I don't know if Jeff would like Detroit or not, but we can certainly make room for you, Jeff. If you like Ann Arbor, Jim Carty needs to get out of town. Or, if you'd like the big city paper you could replace Rob Parker, Drew Sharp, and Terry Foster together, and save the papers some payroll expense.

And the answer to the World's Hardest Riddle Is . . .





No.

Responsibility Noted

Now Get It Fixed.

Before you go all random stats, bad luck, and the obvious effect of the state's poor economy on Michigan's turnover margin Saturday, please take a minute to realize that a significant portion of these turnovers came in the first half, without weather -- or at least not weather of the Hurricane Ike variety. And, that rule numero uno for any kick return team is to catch the ball, first.

I've also had a chance to step back, breathe deeply, and let the effects of a few adult beverages wear off. The result: I apologize to Rod and the remainder of the staff for accusing them of being 75% responsible for the kickoff fumbles which put Michigan in such a hole. They were only 50% at fault.

Rod did accept responsibility for his share of the miscues Saturday, and vowed to work on the kick returners ability to catch the ball:

Video: 'The sky is not falling,' says Rich Rodriguez

I Can See Russia From My House!

No this doesn't really relate to Michigan football, exept that Michael Phelps was on. But, I've got a soft spot for Tina Fey, and if you haven't see this yet, it's pretty funny, regardless of whether you support a milf or a boner shrinker:

And, Now For A Few Parting Words . .. .

Who Wants To Start The Insanity?

It is truly depressing that you will hear how Michigan didn't get to practice in rain, blah bla blah bla blah bla, but that there ain't no excuse Jim. And the players won't offer excuses. I hope Rod accepts the responsibility for this loss himself. You cannot. Ever. Spot anyone, much less the domers, 14 points in 5 minutes.

I am Speechless (almost).

But there was still opportunity to keep the whale beached. Alas, with 6 turnovers (at least -- I stopped counting after all the fumbles -- Sheridan might actually have made it 7) it is impossible to win a game. And, while you can blame the players (and you need to -- at least a little bit) it could not be more obvious that the turnover epidemic (half of which occurred without crazy weather) is 75% coaching. This cannot last.

I am Costanza, Lord of the Idiots.

As the last example of the mindlessness of the coaching staff, after Sheridan gives away any last glimmer of hope, they reinsert our now clear starting quarterback for the last 2 minutes. Hello. Newmannnn!

Could his Head be Bigger than his Gut?

Be Nice to Weises.

Charlie is feeling picked on. He can't understand why Michigan would use his comments from this summer as chalkboard material.





He says any real Michigan fan would understand the significance to "To Hell with Michigan" as harkening back to the days of Bo. He is right about Bo's "To Hell with Notre Dame". But the Whale has again shown his extraordinary arrogance -- especially for a guy who has woefully underperformed, and may find himself coaching South Bend High next year.

It's not the "To Hell with Michigan", its the presumption that Michigan would come in whining about all of our inexperience, etc, and use it as an excuse for a loss at South Bend. No such luck you Arrogant Whale. In fairness Michigan should come in whining. But it's not. Stevie Brown:

When Charlie, Coach Weis, used to recruit me, he kind of had an arrogance about him, so I figured it’s just him being him. I didn’t think too much of it. We’re just going to go in there with no excuses, and we’re just going to play hard and try to win the game.”

Not So Fast, My Friend.

What nobody has really said in the press is that even more arrogant than predicting Michigan's excuses is his backhanded cut at Rod. Charlie's statement wasn't directed to remind Michigan fans about Bo. We already know. It was directed to remind us, and Rich Rodriguez that he Rodriguez didn't know. The Whale's purpose wasn't to remind us of Bo, it was to cut and make fun of Rod for using Bo's saying as Michigan bulletin board material.




O yee Ginamourous Blob o' jelly, thou shouldst think carefully before trespassing upon the Destroyer of the Stairmaster. Thou shalt suffer the wrath of the Wizard.

R2 Legal Setback

The federal district judge assigned to the WVU vs. Rodriguez case has ruled the federal court does not have diversity jurisdiction over the case. This was based upon a four factor test. The most meaningful factors being that the prospect of money is a benefit to the state, not just WVU, and that WVU is not autonomous from the state of West Virginia (more fodder for the continuation of Governor jokes) .

This is a blow to Rodriguez because, in the unlikely event of a trial by jury, the jury will be comprised of Morgantown yocals absent a change in the venue county arising from the potential inability to pick an impartial jury. More importantly for R2, this result will most certainly play a role in whatever offer to settle the case comes nex, and the subsequent negotiation. There should be no mistake that this procedural issue will have a significant impact on the result of the case.

Perhaps Rod should break out his Tiller Snake Oil and magic hat and lace the yocals with the same spell he cast upon Roundtree.

Just Because Recruiting Is Creepy . . . Sort of Like Clowns

My wife's favorite superbowl commercial. Creepy.



Seemed appropriate given tomorrow's signing day. Oh, and according to those in the know, at 12:05 tomorrow, Terrelle Pryor is a Wolverine. Link courtesy of Brian at Mgoblog.

Bullshit Coutersuit

The fact that Rod and his lawyers admit that he did not comply with 90 day notice period in his counterclaim is pretty strong evidence that the countersuit will be dismissed if WVU brings the appropriate motion. On the other hand, the allegations do have merit regarding to the extent that they focus on material breaches by WVU during the contract. If WVU did materially breach before Rod quit, they do not have the ability to enforce the buyout clause. DetNews blurp about countersuit, here.

WVU Meltdown -- The Australian Waters Syndrome

The Charleston Gazette reported that the WVA athletic department has accused Rich Rod of destroying school and personal player records with his video editor after returning to WVA from Michigan after his formal introduction in A2 as Michigan's head coach. A couple of the more poignant quotes from the Gazette:

West Virginia officials are wondering if assistant coaches aren’t all that Rich Rodriguez took with him to Michigan. They believe he may also have destroyed all or most of the paperwork files relating to every player on the current Mountaineer roster and virtually all of the activities conducted by the program over the past seven years.

Let's consider that statement, for the mere time it might take Charlie Weis to scarf down a bucket of Spot's wings. West Virgina officials actually thinking is quite an endeavor for them, especially if the reporter is actually referring to ol' Eddy Pastilong. Second, they "believe" R2 "may have" destroyed all or "most of the paperwork files". What!? To believe is not fact. It is simply a thought, with or without merit, mind all of you, that something occurred. Further qualified by the "may" as in, well you know we kind of think that someone might have destroyed files. You are kidding right? These WVA officials "went public" with something they think might have happened, but aren't so sure? And why the reference to "paperwork files". Is this a tacit admission that they still have all of the "electronic version files" of the same documents?

Let's consider this story even further:

Most disturbing, though, is the absence of all of the players’ personal files, which included, among other things, contact information, scholarship money awarded, class attendance records and records on personal conduct and community service, be it positive or negative.

Mr. Pastilong, you unnamed source you, cannot be serious. Does WVA really, truly, honest abe, actually expect anyone to believe that the only records for a Div 1A program's athletes scholarships, class attendance, and disciplinary records are contained in the private office files of its head coach? Does WVA have a compliance coordinator? Maybe not. You can actually apply for the position here.

As an example of what other schools do, here is link to the Maryland Athletic Department compliance staff, which actually contains descriptions of duties and responsibilities for various aspects of compliance. Just in case you couldn't write your own, Ed.

Mike Brown is R2's agent. He issued a nonresponse response this afternoon. The Freep and Jim Carty picked that up. There was also a follow up by Angelique here. Interesting quote from a phone converation between Angelique:

"I have to question the source of this information, or may I put it more correctly, misinformation," Brown said Tuesday night in a telephone interview. "This is a continued effort of misinformation and statements that are untrue made by people involved at West Virginia University since Rich left."

And, or course,

Rodriguez will not comment on the legal proceedings, Brown said. Brown, however, said aspects of the suit will be publicly discussed at the appropriate time

Update:

ESPN is reporting more than mere misinformation, which is what Mike Brown mentioned to Angelique. Brown states that many of the statements are downright false. This is good. Quote from Brown:

"The head coach and each assistant coach received hard copies of the strength progress," he said. "So I would think coach [Bill] Stewart and others would have those, too."

And, each assistant coach received copies of all player performance files, so Bill There a Still in My Backyard Stewart would have copies of the information allegedly taken.

Brown does implicitly acknowledge, however, that some personal files were taken by R2 from his office:

"The head coach and each assistant coach received hard copies of the strength progress," he said. "So I would think coach [Bill] Stewart and others would have those, too."

This, or course, is not surprising or unusual. It is not illegal. And, it is maybe, or maybe not, a violation of that employment contract we keep hearing about. It will be interesting if the information taken, if any, by R2 relates to his position that WVU did not perform its obligtions under his employment contract. He may intend to use this information in connection with the suit.

Update Number 2:

Mlive has significantly more than ESPN last night in its story today. Mike Brown did specifically point out WVU serious compliance issues in his phone remarks last night, going as far as to say that if the Gazette story was true it was indicative of "serious institutional control" issues. Well, yeah, and as of October they didn't even have a compliance director for day to day operations, leaving that activity to two assistant A.D's. Ooops. WVU looks worse everytime "Unnamed Source" Pastilong opens his mouth.

Update Number 3:

The WVU admissions office denies the forever lost story put out there by Eddy Unnamed Source Pastilong here.

University spokeswoman Amy Neil said the WVU Office of Admissions and Records maintains grade and attendance records in a separate location, so no student-athlete's academic career is at risk.

"We're not sure what records are missing, but all student records, including those of the football team, are kept within the Office of Admissions and Records," she said. "Those records are secure."

Neil said she believes it would not be unusual for the head coach to have copies of his own records to ensure players are maintaining their required grade-point averages or meeting scholarship requirements.

Mike Brown, Rodriguez's agent, has said Moutaineers head coach Bill Stewart, as a former assistant, should have copies of each players' strength and conditioning tests because multiple copies were made. He also said the university should have any records involving the finances of the summer camps it ran.

And, though the article is a bit stale from the days after Rich Rodriguez was hired, the substance of the quotes of at least one major donor seem very appropriate in light of this week's shananigans:

Earl G. ‘‘Ken’’ Kendrick Jr., part owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks and significant financial donor to the university, are demanding accountability for what former employees have termed ‘‘a very, very unappealing work environment.’’

‘‘That environment is directly related to those (people) leaving,’’ Kendrick said. ‘‘As of (Wednesday) when I spoke out, I’ve begun to get e-mails from former employees (of the WVU athletic department). They said, ‘Thank you, finally somebody sees our pain.’ ”

‘‘One side shouldn’t be the only side the public hears,’’ Kendrick said. ‘‘If there is more than one side — in this case I think there is — it should be told. I am not embarrassed about shining a light on this area.

‘‘It’s very clear to some of us, there’s a lack of institutional control and good management practices within the athletic department. The institution needs to move forward. Do we want to leave that in the same hands?”

Here are some of the points it made, according to Kendrick:

There’s no business plan; no tactical plan; the department doesn’t give any reviews of its employees, meaning there’s little opportunity for advancement as he sees it; there are no staff meetings; it doesn’t have a human resources function; it doesn’t do any employee training; and it doesn’t allow employees to go to off-site training facilities.

‘‘They came away with some very, very strong recommendations,’’ Kendrick said. ‘‘If the university can do anything with something like this, it needs change.

Wow. Does that explanation, given on December 20 accurately foreshadow the shred-gate? I think so.

This meltdown, which some might call the China Syndrome, may actually burn beyond the center of the earth, past the gravity point, and straight to the Australian Waters of the Indian Ocean.

WOLV TV: Great job guys. They interviewed R2 on their "show". Favorite movie: Gladiator. Really guys, nice work.

New Weight Room

Mark Snyder has a good article in today's freep here on Barwis. Barwis sounds intense. Word of warning, don't be late to practice:

"Our previous strength and conditioning coach didn't do half of what Barwis did. I don't want to say it was a joke, but with that coach before, if we were late for a workout by a few minutes, we'd have to do 10 up-downs. If we were half a minute late for a Barwis workout, we'd have to do a tire workout, extra conditioning and put on heavy vests and run the stadium steps for as long as he wanted.

Michigan replaced all of the existing equipment, as you've heard. And, apparently Barwis is hard enough on players that some have left the WVU program. He hopes that doesn't happen here, and says the players are dedicated enough to make that realistic.

"In the past, people have moved away from the program because, historically, maybe it was a little too difficult for them or the workload was a little bit more than they wanted," Barwis said. "I hope that doesn't happen here. We've got tremendous athletes with great attitudes, and I don't think it's going to happen. If it does and it's too much for them, then the program comes first and the success of the program is what's important.

But, you can bet that there will be some attrition. Oh, and there will apparently be many that find the equipment pictured above useful:

"He would kill us all throughout the year," Serena said. "I would say, over the summer, that probably hurt you the most. You'd come back from home, and he would start the hypertrophy, the opposite of atrophy. It was very high reps and very little rest time. For us, it was the bench press for tight ends and linemen, four sets of 12. You'd get off the bench after one, do 10 clap push-ups, have about a minute rest, then go again.

"He'd strategically place garbage cans throughout weight rooms, because guys like myself would puke in them. It shocks your muscles into getting used to what's coming."

More Terrelle Pryor

Now that Ryan Mallett is gone, the door now open to Terrelle Pryor to compete with Threet for the starting position next year, or at the likely minimum to platoon time with Threet. As of yesterday, Terrelle Pryor is supposedly down to Florida, Oregon, Tosu, Michigan (and Duke). Of the teams that actually run a spread (or version of it) that he would be comfortable in, the contenders get smaller: Michigan, Oregon and maybe Florida. Michigan was added, as you know, when it hired RRod.

On Dec. 16, the day that Rodriguez accepted the Wolverines' position, Pryor was driving to the local mall when he received a phone call from Rodriguez. "He showed me a lot of respect by saying I want you to know this before you see it on the news," says Pryor, who will play in the U.S. Army All-American game in San Antonio on Sunday. "I immediately considered Michigan again because of his [spread] offense."

Perhaps you read the quote a week or so ago that he didn't know who to trust, as in whether teams would really play the spread offense or not. Obviously he was referring to Tosu and to a lesser extent Florida. But he actually has come right out and expressed concern about Tosu in the past:

“That concerns me about Ohio State because they’ve never run an offense like the one we run at my high school or that they run at West Virginia, Florida, Oregon or other places. I’d like to see them run it first so I could believe they’ll change it but I’m obviously not going to get to see that so it creates doubt.”

the Rock of Journalistic Integrity as you may know it, the NYT Quad Blog, also notes the discrepancy between his addition of Oregon lately, where it did not appear only a couple weeks ago. Perhaps Oregon has simply taken WVU's spot. Or perhaps he's really down to Florida and Michigan. Either way, Oregon has been percolating on Pryor's list for some time. How seriously is anyone's guess -- though he has not visited (The only school which he has formally visited in Tosu).

This is taken from a Rivals board, and appears courtesy of mvn.com. In an old December 11 article in SI, he says:

"Oregon is now on my list," said the 6-foot-6, 235-pounder. "I spoke with coach Mike Bellotti this week when he came out to visit. I think he was in New York with Dennis Dixon for some award anyhow, but they've been recruiting me hard for a long time and I really like the offense. They run pretty much the same stuff that we do. I'm thinking about taking an official visit out there."

And, while Pryor doesn't expect to start August 30, 2008, he is interested, real surprise huh, in early playing time. Re Oregon:

"The quarterback situation out there looks pretty good as well. I don't believe anyone who tells me I'll play from snap one, that's just not the way it works but coach Bellotti never told me that, he was honest and up front."

He also says he's not going to announce until signing day:

"I don't have a leader right now, I'm staying open and I'm not going to decide until Signing Day. I still have some other visits to schedule. I might trip out to Oregon, I am looking at Florida and Tennessee and I've seen Penn State a lot so I'm just focusing on finishing our season undefeated."

Which he did. And here are some highlights, and an interview. The highlights are choppy, but there is a good touchdown catch by Pryor shown. The interview alone is worth the time. I won't spoil the youtube for you, but will say that I like the Jeanette Jayhawk offensive philosophy.



Crazy. A high school senior with his own football card.

Ricky Hollywood

Twenty Questions. Who would say this? The Man in Black. But who is this man in black:

"I was naive and reckless," he said. "I took some missteps that didn't need to be taken. . . . I was out there probably too flamboyant, too in-your-face, and if you get down to the core of it, probably insecure about going up against the guys like the Mack Browns and Tom Osbornes and John Mackovics -- the illustrious longtimers that had cut their teeth long before I'd gotten into the business. "I just didn't want anybody to think I was scared. I was going 100 mph. I just didn't want to look like I was going to back down. I just went too fast. . . . There was a time where, OK, they gave me the keys to the car and I'm going to drive it fast, instead of checking to make sure everything was in order." He said he began to get more comfortable in the job, however, and was a more mature -- and secure -- as the years passed.

Is it a male: yes. Is it someone related to football: yes. Is it a football player for a college team: well, surprisingly -- no. Well, sure, it must be pacman jones. Not so much.

While he sounds like an 19-23 year old kid, its actually a 46 year old coach. Who?




The guy UCLA just named its head man. Maybe that's good. Maybe not. Depends who you are. UCLA alumni, maybe so with the excitement of a new coach. UCLA administration, well maybe as excited as Michigan's administration would have been had Les Miles been hired here -- not at all. What about recruits? Probably not so much, at least if you're the father of an already somewhat immature 19 year old 6'7" quarterback named Ryan Mallett. Former quarterback named head coach = pretty good. Fomer cheater, gambler, and generally sleazy dude after going to Michigan where your coach is a pillar of society = uuugggh (Ryan, you're not serious, are you?)

Mallett and Loeffler to UCLA. . .

Not So Fast My Friend.

As I've said before, Mallett and Loeffler don't exactly see eye to eye (well, sure, figuratively and literally, Mallett being 6'7" and Loeffler 6'1" or so). The rumors of Mallett to UCLA with Ricky Hollywood from the Toledo Blade (only rumor here, no facts) seem plausible enough. Except that Loeffler has also been mentioned. In fact, the Loeffler rumor appears to have actual fact attached to it.

So, if there's any truth to the rumblings that Loeffler and Mallett aren't getting along, Mallett may not be transferring to UCLA. I hope not. I'd like to see him playing a Glenville State style Rodriguez "spread". You know, the kind that Henne just played against Florida.



The one that looks like Ryan Mallett's high school team:



Either way, look for Steven Threet to give Pryor and/or Mallett a run for the starter/platoon position. I look for RM to stay through spring ball and figure whether he can cut it. Of course, that would require some maturation on his part -- which according to Lloyd he may be starting to find. As Lloyd has so often said, 18 year olds will make mistakes. And Mallett, if you're reading this, you and you're dad should really look at the above youtube, while remembering that crazy scramble for TD this year vs. the JoPa Lions. Don't make the mistake to go play out west with Ricky Hollywood. Well, unless, you can't run an offense prolific at Glenville State.