BLUE
...the joy and despair of being a Wolverines fan.
September 9, 2007
GOOD NEWS IN MICHIGAN FOOTBALL
There is very good news in the current Michigan Football disaster. Very good indeed.
- While I am not entirely convinced that the defensive ineptitude can be laid at the feet of Ron English, the last four games have delivered us from perhaps several years of Ellerbe-like pain, rather than from just one horrific year. Consider the scenario we all expected: a strong year this year, perhaps a Rose Bowl berth featuring double digit wins. On the heels of such a year, many projected Ron English as the heir apparent to Lloyd. Perhaps this naively ignores some coaching calculus that is beyond my grasp, but Ron English used to be hot, hot, hot, when in reality it was Woodley, Branch, Harris and Hall that were hot, hot, hot.
- Another benefit is the decline of Lloyd Carr as an influential part of the post-Carr coaching paradigm. Regardless of the 11-0 start last year or the 1997 championship year, Lloyd Carr has always fielded a football style that I find boring at best and galactically painful at worst. A prominent Lloyd Carr retiring on the laurels of a successful 2007 campaign would cast a pall over the next generation of Michigan coaching, and it is unlikely that he would have embraced an innovative coach with an unpredictable, attacking style.
- Yet another dividend from the 2007 season so far is the elevated importance and expanded scope of Bill Martin’s search for a replacement. The idea of a “Michigan Man” is no longer relevant or even appealing to the Michigan faithful. Michigan Football is now synonymous with two conflicting images: on one hand, the winningest football program with a deep tradition; on the other, a dinosaur pathetically standing in the football tar pit as mammals cavort around the edges.
- Finally, I value one thing more than any other this year: beating Ohio State. For Hart, Meathead Henne, Long and other seniors, this year, which once was about a national championship, is now about one thing and one thing only – beating Ohio State. Oh, a Big 10 championship may be possible, but they have one of those. It’s all about Ohio State this year; Lloyd will announce his retirement before the game and OSU, while possessing scary running backs, may be manageable for a defense that will eventually have to mature a little (won’t they?).
Why has Carr’s house of cards collapsed so utterly? Even in 2005, Carr’s abysmally predictable scheme has always kept Michigan competitive. Why has the end come so harshly and to a team with many great players? Very simply, the book is out on Michigan. College football today is loaded with innovative coaches and game plans that emphasis speed in space – which is Kryptonite to Michigan. Due to a refusal to stockpile personnel that can cope with the new age of college football, Michigan is simply unable to defense the spread. In 2006, extraordinary frontline athletes kept things together until meeting their match at the end of the season. In 2007, a perfect storm of defensive shortcomings and opposition strength has laid Michigan and the Precambrian Carr to waste. I expect the team to compete quite well from here on out only because the Big 10, by and large, still features prehistoric offenses.
So, my fellow sufferers, take hope. Without these symptoms that have revealed the extent of the disease, we may have missed out on the cure altogether and suffered in agonizing football pain for years. Now, all realize that a radical Carrectomy is necessary, and the prognosis for a complete cure is bright.
Posted by Meeechigan Dan | Permalink | |