OSU wrap

The Game:

I am disappointed. I had hoped that Chad Henne would be healthy. He was not. While the first pass left me thinking he might be healthy, a bomb down the west sideline, the next floated pass as quickly proved he was not. The Game continued that way. When Chad threw the ball was high. It was also thrown with virtually no velocity. Chad has a great arm, but there was just no "pop" in the passes.

I am also disappointed that Jake, Henne, Hart, and mostly Lloyd couldn't go out with a win. I really wanted Lloyd to go out with a win. Really. Badly. He deserved it.

In the second half, Chad came out. Mallett came in. There was such a difference in the velocity of the passes, it was really amazing. Mallett has a strong arm, but no stronger then Henne when healthy. Of course, the coaching staff doesn't trust Mallett, nor did I, and I cheered with the rest of section 6 when Chad came back onto the field from the tunnel. (Speaking of tunnel did anyone notice the extended video of the lockerroom to tunnel to field before the game -- pretty cool). While I hoped that the cortizone would help, it didn't.

Of course, neither did superimmatureMario. But, despite superMario's failure's it is doubtful it would have made a difference. Henne's subpar health gave us really no chance. Michigan has been woefully bad at sustaining the run this season. With a gimpy Hart, that ineffectiveness was amplified.

The offensive and defensive lines crushed Michigan. I was a little surprised not to see more of Minor and Brown after it was clear that Hart wasn't 100%. But it would not have mattered without a passing attack. Our line simply couldn't effectively run block. Which is something that will certainly change next year once we abandon the zone blocking scheme. So, next year, I look forward to greater confidence in the run game, particularly short yardage running.

Said and done, the story of the game was told by the offensive and defensive lines. We were pounded. Our sole chance of success in light of that pounding was our passing and outside skill players. Chad wasn't up to the challenge, as you saw.

The Good

I give Ron and the D credit. While tofu blew up out defensive line on numerous occasion, we actually held tofu to a respectable yardage and point total. Some of that was due to conservative playcalling (2 passes) some due to the rain, and some due to the D. The only big play of the day was Wells run. A run that could have been stopped without a missed tackle (subject to my review of the replay, it looked like the backer should have had him, or at least slowed him down enough to allow help). So, Ron, I again spare you the spankboard. I also must mention the Englemon interception, which was a nice play and should have set up a score.

Zoltan the Inconceivable. I am buying a shirt for next season.

The Crowd. I stood (with the rest of my section) the ENTIRE game. While we stand a lot in section 6, it is typically only OSU for which we stand the entire game, and stand and clap and yell we did. Even the 3rd and 4th quarters, which all things considered for this game, was pretty damn good.

The Bad

Line play. Mike Hart. Mario Manningham. Carson Butler penalties. The weather. Uggh.

The Ugly.

Ghoston is ugly good. How did we let him get to Colombus. Not good. Oh yeah, and the twelve Buckeyes in the three rows either side of me, really ugly. One dude, who called Zoltan the Inconceivable a "European Gypsy" on 13 separate occasions during the game. Zoltan proceeded to kick a 70 yard punt inside the Buckeye 10 yard line. This guy was wearing 70's style white rimmed glasses with red tinted lenses -- LLLOOOOOOOSSSAAAHHHHH!!!

Observations.

The coaching staff does not trust Ryan Mallett. He got his head chewed off after the only series he played. By looking at Henne, you know that if they had any faith in Mallett, he would have played. They don't. He didn't. While I hope he can get his head out of his ass because it appears he has all the physical tools to become an exceptional quarterback, I doubt his mental and emotional ability match his physical skills. Steven Threet may be competition next year, which would truly be a shock considering the fanfare with which Mallett entered.

There is a realistic chance that tofu will be in the MNC. They are not that good. They are a shadow of an Oregon team with Dennis Dixon. That said, I would like to see our future coach kick some Buckeye ass in the MNC. Would be nice, wouldn't it.

If Penn State gets taken ahead of us after losing to us and to little brother, there is something seriously wrong. I will boycott the Outback Steakhouse or Capital One if that happens. In the case of Outback, I would actually be kind of bummed because their sirloin, filet, and tuna appetizer are all very good. As for Capital One, not so muc . . . . Wait! I mean I control millions of billions of dollars, capital one. Yeah, and sure, they happen to all be stuck with a foreign bank in Nigeria, but I have a way to get that out if you can just send me a check. Not that San Antonio is all bad -- they really cook some fabulous food down there. And, hey, the odds in are in our favor this time if we need our tight end to do anything other than run out of bounds on the last play of the game. On second thought, our tight end is Caron Butler.

Bye Guys. Beat OSU v7

Thankyou.

I am heading to the game this afternoon, and this will be my last post til post game. The season comes down to this game. A victory will mean another successful season and a Rose Bowl bid. A loss, well, I'm not going to talk about it. After 3 seasons having lost to the Tofu, the seniors need to pull this one out for themselves, for Lloyd, and for Michigan.

Prediction: Mike Hart and Chad Henne play all four quarters. Carlos and Brandon Minor both get some time, but Hart rushes for 150-160 yards on 25 carries. Chad for 300 yards on 25 completions. Michigan scores 3 touchdowns and 2 field goals for 27 points.

This is scary b/c to only score 27 means that our D must play well. Play well they do. Beanie Wells runs for 80 yards in the first half and is shut down the remainder of the game from his injury (come on, it's time our opponent suffered from some injuries). In an inspired outing the D line sacks Boekman 7 times, and gives 190 passing yards. Tofu scores 2 first half touchdowns on the ground, but manages only 2 more field goals the remainder of the game. Boekman and the bucks have the ball with 5 minutes left on their own 30 to try to make it a 3 point game. Boekman is drowned out by the crowd and forced to call his last timeout on 3rd and 10 with 2:30 left. Sack. On 4th and 17 incompete across the middle.

M wins one for Lloyd and sends him out with a 27-17 victory and Rose Bowl berth, where Michigan meets Arizona State.

Cheese Curds are Gross

In a losing effort we learned some very important things about this team. First, Chad Henne is not only a great quarterback, he's also a great team leader. Anyone who watched the game Saturday on TV saw Henne out there coaching, and encouraging the players on the field, and especially Mallet. I was disappointed that he didn't play, but he's obviously hurting.

This game had "Beat Ohio State" written all over it. Carr thought Henne was ready to go. He sounded genuinely surprised post game that he wasn't. But, if this had been the osu game, you know he wouldn't have left the field. He looked to be saving the shoulder for The Game. Hart never saw the field, even though he lobbied to get in the game. You know Lloyd was saving Hart for The Game.

Wisconsin looked like a game (contrary to what I believed going in) that the coaches and team said, we're going to give our best effort, but regardless of this game, our first priority is to beat the Buckeyes and go to the Rose Bowl. And, while I would like to have seen them gut it out, and play Henne and Hart to get the win, if they beat osu this weekend with Hart and Henne playing, I'll be happy. You know one thing, Hart won't sit out the OSU game. And, if Henne can play through pain to beat Sparty, he's going to play vs. osu.

The fact that these guys didn't play tells me two things. First, that the players are desparate for a win knowing they're 0-3 vs. osu, and are focusing on osu ahead of the game to put an end to that streak. Second, that Lloyd is already focusing on osu. He wants to get the sweater vest monkey off his back, and beat osu in his final game at Michigan Stadium. At this point, I'd rather see Lloyd back next year than not. But it's my bet he's not. There would be no better way to go out than beating osu, winning the big ten outright, and winning the Rose Bowl. Lloyd would be happy, and Bo would be smiling.

So, I'm going to take this loss with a grain of salt.

We probably win the game by two touchdowns had Henne played. As it was, we coulda shoulda. If Mallet doesn't throw that ball up for grabs, we have a hell of a shot to go up by two little or no time on the clock. Mallet looked like a freshman who hadn't played before. It's his first real road game (I'm not counting NW), so perhaps that's not too surprising. But he looked awful. Anyone who booed Henne or asked for Mallet earlier this season should be forced to put the tape of this game in their dvd player and watch that performance before they are permitted to open their mouth about any quarterback at Michigan. Will Mallet be good down the road? Maybe. He certainly is not what Henne was as a freshman.

Mario Manningham needs to grow up. The bickering with Mallet (even if justified) on the sideline was riduculous. It is spartyesque. Yes, Mallet played horribly. But, Mario, encourage the freshman. Act like the leader you're supposed to be. Hell, you're the second best player in that huddle after Jake with Hart and Henne out, lead. Don't bitch about not getting the ball. I understand that Mallet has an attitude and confidence which doesn't match his play. I understand he doesn't always listen real well. But, Mario, you're supposed to be above that crap, and a team player. Take a lesson from Long or Henne. Grow up.

Most concerning, what in the hell is Ron English teaching our linebackers. Crable blew contain on a couple of big plays, and we couldn't stop the run game between the tackles. Some of that is because we couldnt keep our offense on the field, and the D got worn down. But, some of it is on English shoulders. In the end, though, the badgers had 23 points with about 7 minutes left in the game, which our offense should be able to overcome. With Mallet, though, the D needed to play its best game of the season, and it didn't. While the defense didn't play well, the performance is mitigated somewhat by the inability of our offense to stay on the field, so I spare English from adding this game to spankboard.

Yet, with the bucks loss to Illinois, we've got a shot to take the Big 10 outright and have a great season. Lloyd deserves at least on Honorable Mention for that after ASseD and ODD. This game was not in the class of those first two debacles. Michigan plays osu for all the marbles again. And, we've got a chance to be 10-3. In this crazy season of college football, I'd take that.

Oh, and by the way, is Andre Ware not the single worst color commentator in all of college football? That guy should take his complete lack of insight (and, in fact, blatently wrong statements) and go back to Houston where he belongs. What a tool. The only thing I can say in favor of Ware is that of the two worst draft choices in Lions football history, he's probably 2nd behind Charles Rogers.

Sparty Gameday

I arrived in East Lansing at about 11:30, after a late start Saturday morning, my tailgating partners significantly ahead of me. I heard that Munn was mostly full. I was still a good half hour from East Lansing, on any day, much less a day that the Spartans had been counting down since hiring the the successor to the Crazed One. I was worried that with traffic and parking I might not get to the tailgate before 1pm. I did find parking at the corner of Harrison and Michigan with no problem at all. And, for only $15. There are many reasons to dislike Michigan State, both in general, and on football Saturdays. The price to park your car gameday is not one of them.

I proceeded directly to meet my cronies, about one half Michigan faithful, and the other Sparties. Nice spread, lots of food. Great beer -- I recommend a growler stop at Michigan Brewing Company on your way past Webberville. Even Sparty fans can appreciate a good brew (not something which can be said for Penn State fans). Try the Imperial IPA, or the High Seas. Excellent choices.

Both Wolverines and Sparties were in good spirits before the game. Sparty not optomistic, but still believing in the Great Dream. The one moment that would make the year. Every Sparty we encountered during the tailgate, and on the way to the stadium was reasonably behaved -- keep in mind this was a 3:30 game with lots of partying going on before kickoff, not that it would have mattered since partying would have started at 7:30 for a 1pm kickoff.

It had been a few years since my last trip to spartan stadium. My last trip was Chris Perry's domination of the Spartan defense.



It's easy to forget how poorly that stadium is designed. For those who complain about the time to enter or exit Michigan Stadium, the time to get to the concession stand, or for that matter most anything at all about the game experience involving the stadium itself, make a visit to East Lansing.

Entering the stadium resulted in a herd of traffic in the bowels of the stadium that can best be described as pigs being blindly herded to the slaughterhouse. Literally, I could not extend my arm from my elbow in this mass of humanity. There were quite a few Michigan fans in this mass, though. While there were a few ASseD (Appy State) comments, we fired back with the "Let's Go Lakers" chant -- about half of Sparty got it -- really, only half. The remainder just had that dazed John L. look on their face. Maybe its the water.



One thing about every Sparty game I've been to -- you can always count on one or two middle aged angry Spartan fans to get all scary and stuff. Only one of these knuckleheads actually gave us a threatening look. He couldn't have shown his fists had he wanted to among this herd.

Upon entering Section 19, we went up. Farther up than I expected given our seats in row 45. We were in our seats about 10 minutes before kickoff. It was truly amazing how few people were in their seats at that point. Even after kickoff, there were empty seats throughout our section. Not until the end of the first quarter were all of the seats filled. This was really suprising. I can't remember a Michigan home game against a MSU, OSU, ND or even PSU where every seat near me wasn't occupied shortly after kickoff.

We led right away, and the guy in the seat next to me (who, incidentally brought the MBC beer and had quite a few) was feeling pretty confident. Sparty did not like this confidence. There were shouts from above. Something about ASseD again. My friend reminded Sparty about the Lakers which bred silence, and then rubbed it in a little more when he duly noted the bad call by the refs that prevented the Lakers from winning in regulation.

Michigan, somewhat predictably, got conservative and did nothing in the second quarter. Sadly, the game was uneventful until halftime. At halftime, Sparty trotted a dog onto the field. I assumed this dog was some marvel from the school of veterinary medicine -- something about Jake the party dog who could shotgun a beer whist standing on his tail. Our neighbors in the row above were kind enough to steer us in the right direction. It turns out that this animal is not a veterinary marvel, rather he is Jake Jr., or Jake III, or something like that. Anyway, Jake is supposed to catch frisbies. it looks like Jake is not under the tutelage of veterinary medicine students because he is not very good. Like Sparty, Jake should practice catching more often. [correction, thanks to comment board and hometown sparties, it's zeke III -- and he is the receivers coach for sparty]

After halftime, State scored. Then they scored again, and yet again. This is not good. Especially considering the way JayHooooo was running right over us. I was concerned.

That is until, we stopped overthrowing open bombs, and started hitting the 10 to 15 yard out pattern at will. Even before scoring that first touchdown, I knew we were going to come back. I actually told the Sparty in front of me, who had sniped comments here and there after taking the lead, that we were going to win the game. He didn't believe me, at first. But, there was no question in my mind. And, after we scored to make it 21 - 24, I tapped him on the shoulder to remind him that we were going to win -- he mumbled something about only wanting to win one game a year. At that point, I think everyone sitting around me, Sparty or Wolverine, believed Michigan would win the game. The Sparty d had no answer for the short to mid out patterns, and couldn't get to Henne. If you watched it on tv, you probably didn't see the cushion the Michigan receivers were given -- you could fit 10 each of Monte Clark and George Perles' (or a mere baker's dozen of Charlie) between Mario and the nearest defender.

Henne was great during these last 7 minutes. He made good reads, and threw on target. The pass to Mario was a thing of beauty. It was right in our corner, and it was a perfect pass. Keep in mind that Henne had not thrown a ball all week to his receivers. As Lloyd said: "If you want to define courage, one way to do it is mention Chad Henne,".

Going into the game, I thought 3o points would win it, and we were still 2 points short, so I was a little nervous with all that time on the clock. But, the D came through, and we sang the Victors with our Michigan brethren among the frustrated middle aged angry spartans. Ahhh, sweet victory. We watched the Michigan band until it played Temptation and the Hawaiian War Chant, because, as you know, you can't have one without the other, and then headed back to the tailgate.

Go Blue!

Awards, Sweets, Early Returns, 4 Year Olds and Bubblin' Crude

The Heisman Hype Has Begun

Chad Henne wins the first award of his senior campaign (err, the other senior campaign). Congratulations, Chad, on the College Big School Player of the Year award. Does this foreshadow a more well known award given to the best "big school college player of the year" for Chad? Mini me says . . . Yes.


SCCHHHHWWWEEEEEEET!

The women's hoops assistant coach from Grand Valley won a national championship last year. Not sure how that escaped me. Anyway, B-Bo and she go way back, and she is totally in love with B-Bo. Let's call her P-Bo. Oops, sorry, can't do that. How about Coach Sweet? That'll work. By the way, that's two national championships among the hoops coaches, one for B-Bo and one for Sweets.


Early Times and Early Returns

Kelvin Grady not only stays committed, but offers the scoop that his big brother may not be as badly injured as previously reported. Given his comments to the Daily, it's conceivable KG will be back this year:

But Grady’s brother, Kelvin, told the Michigan Daily that Kevin had torn his left ACL and that the injury wasn’t as serious as everyone originally thought.

“He should be recovering more quickly than they expected,” Grady said during a phone interview.

4 Year Olds

You've heard, no doubt, of the terrible twos. From my experience the terrible twos happen (at least to my daughters) after they turned 3 and before age 4. But my four year old daughter will tell me she wants go outside and play and 30 seconds later is crying because she can't stay inside and play with Itty Baby. She asks to drink milk with her cookies, and changes her mind -- juice please (she is polite!) She wakes up and wants to play soccer, but will cry when its time to leave. Fortunately, she will grow out of this in another 6-10 months. At least her 6 year old sister did. What you ask, does this have to with this Blog? Good question. The answer, of course, is that some people, especially those coddled and sucked up to their entire lives never outgrow this nasty trait; e.g. Alex Legion. Recall that he committed to Michigan. Then he opened up his recruiting again. He again committed to Michigan several months later. He then asked to be released from his LOI because Amaker departed. Now he is apparently considering us again and intends to visit Michigan on April 28.

What the #*$?!

Why do you need to take yet another VISIT? How many have you had? How many times have you gone to a game not counted as a visit? How many times have you talked to the coaches (Amaker and Beilein)? Now, I know this kid is only 18. But, c'mon!

Why can't you just make a decision? (throat clearing -- Tim Green). Which brings us to the:


Bubblin' Crude


Sing that tune to the following lyrics and you have the Allen Academy fight song as written and directed by Tim Green "Backs":

Come and listen to a story 'bout kid Leg-ion
A poor kid from Inkster, with only mama 'Nette
Then one day Al was shootin' up some hoop
When came Tim Green with the promise of a fool.

AAU hoop that is, influence and cash.

Old Tim, don't you know, was just a lyin' cheat,
He told young Al to move away from here
Said UCLA is the place you ought to be
They'll pay, both me and the Acad-emy

Hansomely, that is.
Wads of cash and strippers.

Time for Al to go and for Green to take his cash,
But ole' mama 'Nette, she finally smells the rat
She quick calls Keener and Beilein to do some droppin' in
Now Al's again thinking 'bout this locality
But without heapin' helpin' loads of Green's hospitality.

'Til next time that is. When he'll be back. AAU style. "Can't get rid of me now, y'hear?"

As I mentioned last night, the "AAU game" is slimy. It's also significant. Legion is obviously seriously affected by his AAU coach/guardian, whatever and whoever he is. Mom confirms the Green factor in an interview with Freep. While I can, with a straight face, compare Legion to my four year old daughter, Alex apparently does not have the luxury of people that actually care about his best interests surrounding him. Alex Legion's mother told the Freep:

"I want to make it clear, Tim Green is not part of this process," Williams said Tuesday. "I'm tired of him trying to persuade my son against the University of Michigan and his family."

Green, principal of Allen Academy in Detroit, refused comment Tuesday.

"I've been quiet for four years, but Tim Green does not speak for my son, and I'm tired of him trying to make decisions for my son," Williams said. "Mr. Green wants my son to go to Connecticut or UCLA, but my son will go to neither institution."

"I really like what I'm hearing about Beilein," she said. "I really want to thank coach Keener, who has talked very positively about my son to coach Beilein. We just needed to get rid of Tim Green."

Legion's coach at Oak Hill (named Keener) appears to be straight. Beilein has met with him. Keener had this to say. From the Freep:

"Even after Alex's departure [from Oak Hill Academy], I still have a good relationship with him and the family," Keener told the Free Press. "It wasn't that he left on bad terms or anything. When this whole thing with Michigan started to unravel, I knew Annette didn't have the support system she needed, and I've been through the recruiting wars and she could bounce things off me."

Keener said Legion is "a good young man. He's had some poor counsel and misguidance from AAU people in his past."

Hmm. I wonder if Green has a commitment from UCLA and Connecticut for donations to his AAU Hurricanes and the Allen Academy?

Spring Practice Musings Part I (QB's and RB's)

I could not attend the spring scrimmage. I have read quite a bit. There are several links from which I've pulled this information and the links are listed at the bottom of this post. As we all know, and as the coaching staff reiterates, even this week, the expectation is not for the player but the position. I'll endeavor to update the comments and performance by position. In a glowing report of the individuals, Lloyd gave a typical response of the group effort. While comments of this type are made by every coach, and in every year, I suspect there is genuine sincerity in this comment:

I like the attitude of this team, they've worked as hard as any team we've had. Practices have been very physical."

Physical, yes. Is nice? No. In fact, there are so many injuries, it makes more sense to list them by position. Fortunately, only a hand full are likely still unresolved by August.

Quarterbacks: Not surprisingly, this is one position that, even with Forcier's transfer, we're doing well. In fact, so well that I doubt there is another team with as good a returning senior, with a bona fide (albeit young) player to jump right in behind him. This is reminiscent Tom Brady's time at UM when Henson came in, except, Henne is better at this point that was Brady.
Chad Henne took the Meyer Morton Award for the player who shows the greatest development and promise as a result of spring practice. Greatest development? Since when? If since last year that's really quite an accomplishment. Let's hope the line can give him 2.5 to 3.2 to get the ball out of there. David Cone was said to have made "progress". That was the only comment. Don't expect Cone to make any contribution soon. Lloyd had glowing things to say about Ryan Mallett. While no quotes, Loeffler thinks Mallett may be the most advanced of any quarterback coming in. Lloyd had these comments about Mallett:

He's a very bright guy. He's really picked up the things that we've asked him to do as far as in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. He's got a lot of poise, and they'll see a guy with a great arm. He's a guy that has such great physical stature in terms of his height and size, he's able to see down the field, and when he lets it go, it's a strong throw.

"(He) picked things up very well, and he got a lot of repetitions throughout the spring, I think his development is continuing. He's a talented guy, a very bright guy.

I think what he has done might not be as noticeable to a fan, but certainly to a coach. Now he still has a lot to learn, but I think he's made a lot of progress. He's done some things that's going to enable him this fall to come into training camp with confidence, knowledge, ability and his understanding of what we're trying to get done."

Running Backs: Mike Hart didn't' practice, so no real word on Number 20. It's hard to tell from the comments whether Minor or Grady would have been second string this spring. With Grady's injury, there's no question that come the fall Brandon Minor will assume the backup role to Hart. Lloyd said of Grady:

The disappointment, of course, is Kevin Grady. Kevin was having an outstanding spring, and he was developing the patience it takes to play at that position.

I think Kevin will have surgery on [April 16th], and I don't know what the future for him regarding next year is. But the good news for Kevin is that he's got such a great work ethic and he's still a very very young guy. So I don't think there's any question that he'll be able to return. The disappointment for us: he was having a great spring. He just had gone to another level, so certainly that's a disappointment for all of us.

Brandon Minor had a very nice freshman year. That should only get better:

'"Brandon Minor has had an excellent spring," Carr said. "He's much more confident because he's been around, and he got a lot of work.

In the long run, Carlos Brown will be happy he stuck with it. If he's as talented and fast as it sounded out of high school he should get playing time before he leaves. It's likely that will include this fall, including in the opener September 1. Run Carlos Run, we can use your speed!

While there was reported enthusiasm about former walk-on Mark Moundros at fullback, enough so to claim he is competing for the starting spot, it's hard to believe that he'll beat out a tight end transferring to fullback, much less Vince Helmuth. Oh, that's right, we haven't a tight end to move. To end the suspense, I announce here that the starter will be . . . Helmuth.