Unverifie-- YEEAAAAAGH HORRIBLE BOR-INFANT

I was going to update the recruiting board but a computer crash ate it. So: #$*((#$. Delay.

Tickets. Have received several emails about the best ticket strategy for the Frozen Four, so: I'm not an expert since I've only gone to one, that in Buffalo in 2003, but that experience leads me to believe that tickets will be available in abundance. In Buffalo you couldn't throw a rock without hitting someone hawking 4 tickets; some guys were carrying around enormous packets.

We ended up buying lower-bowl seats right behind the net where Jason Ryznar's goal was waved off (woo!) for face value; when the immense depression of that game's OT loss combined with the lethal carnie strip of "attractions" on the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls border to force us home ASAP we left our (stupidly, arrogantly purchased) tickets for the final with my brother, who ended up selling them for just over half of face.

With both Colorado schools bombing out in the regionals (thanks, MSU and Wisconsin!) the situation in Denver is likely to be similar. BC is half a continent away and Notre Dame fans barely know they have a hockey program. The other ND and Michigan figure to bring large contingents, but Buffalo was much closer to participating programs and the aforementioned scenario played out.

So given all that, I'm pretty comfortable with the idea of heading out there with the intention of buying tickets on the street. Unfortunately, this year the second semi ends within an hour of the first one and there is a single ticket for both. In previous years there had been separate tickets. This scuttles the post-semi dump wherein fans of the losing team sell tickets to the second semi.

We're going to print out a Pepsi center seating chart and go for the gusto. IIRC, the athletic department tickets were lower-bowl but in the corners in Buffalo.

What? Notre Dame is selling your standard a "woo frozen four shirt" on their official site. But apparently they got theirs from a mirror universe:

Yeah, ND's in the Frozen Four. So are Miami(?), Colorado College(??), and Northeastern(?!?!?!?!?!).

This seemed like an easy opportunity to make fun, but on closer inspection it's just weird. Michigan goes out in the first round to Northeastern, which didn't even make the tournament. Northeastern then plays Wisconsin, which beat UMass -- also not in the tournament. In fact, every first-round game is wrong and the only thing the shirt got right was a second-round matchup between ND and State going to ND. So that's... bizarre. It's as if they said "hey, no one's going to believe ND is in the Frozen Four anyway, let's just go all the way with this."

Movin' on up. I previously speculated that Brandon Minor might be headed elsewhere because of the shift in offensive philosophy; initial returns on that are as good as "Porter is a creation of Hensick":

Junior running back Brandon Minor and senior cornerback Morgan Trent have become early vocal leaders of the team, Rodriguez said.

That's a week or two old. This is new:

Defensive standouts: Rodriguez listed fifth-year senior John Thompson, redshirt sophomore Obi Ezeh and junior Stevie Brown as the defensive players who have stood out in the spring.

Thompson is trying to take the starting middle linebacker job from Ezeh, who was a Freshman All-American last year. Redshirt sophomore Jonas Mouton and sophomore Marell Evans appear to be leading the way at the outside spots. Rodriguez said the linebacker corps was one of the deepest units on the team.

How are these items related? Evans and Minor both attended Varina High in Virginia. Minor was generally well regarded -- a mid four-star, IIRC, though some sites rated him as fullback -- while Evans was virtually ignored. How ignored? He's the first two-star Michigan prospect (kickers excluded) since Andre Criswell two years before, and Criswell was a last-second edition. Michigan can get a commit from the most obscure Estonian and Rivals will give Argpan Ekerbajain a third star if given a couple weeks to re-evaluate him. Evans, not so much. Michigan recruited Evans specifically because Brandon Minor told them he outworked Brandon Minor; I probably should have given him more credit.

I find the leaders at linebacker interesting for these reasons:

• Jonas Mouton was just a redshirt freshman last year but I'm going to be pretty ticked if he has a good to excellent debut season; last year he was stuck behind a mediocre to bad Chris Graham. Since the coaches were willing to boot Graham to the bench in 2007 I think he got something less than the full-on Massey treatment and Mouton might have a year like Ezeh in 2008: "promising" but pretty meh.
• Johnny Thompson and Obi Ezeh both impressing and Evans being the leader at strongside linebacker. Ezeh was a SAM until the dire situation at MLB forced him over. Presumably either he or Thompson could shift back. So if Evans does get to start he's beaten out either a returning starter or (more likely) a fifth year senior with spot starts to date.

Varsity Blue has some video from spring practice. Remember that year in NCAA when 1) John Navarre was Michigan's quarterback and 2) the option was unstoppable anyway? Yeah, watching David Cone run a triple option brings back the memories:



There's another set of clips at VB. I watched them, for what little value that provided. Main impression: holy God, Jason Kates still blocks out the sun.

I usually don't go in for the predictable photoshopped baby in the aftermath of someone bailing or complaining or something, but good freakin' lord this is creepy:

Mmm, that's good nightmare fuel. Image you'll see in your sleep tonight prompted by this Matt Hayes article in which he checks out Michigan practice and finds a distinct lack of blood orgies.

Etc.: MVictors actually cased Saline High's football field in an effort to scout out spots from which you, the frenzied, BTN-less Michigan nut, can espy Michigan's spring game. The internet at its best.

Attn, NFL: Justin Boren Is A Quitter Who Could Not Handle The System

Since every email I've gotten in the last few days is titled "Boren" or "Justin Boren"...

Not really. Well, maybe. I don't know, really. But certain things become clear as Borens continue to talk to people in the paper. One: dad isn't that bright.

“We wanted to have this go away quietly..."

This is best accomplished by publicly bemoaning the erosion of family values in the program. (Insiders indicate that Rodriguez had an odd policy where a player could not practice unless he brought a used, preferably fur-covered condom to Oosterban.)

Two: they're looking out for number one.

"...but we didn’t want people to think he’s a quitter or couldn’t handle the system.”

So there you go. Sell out the program because you're worried about the public perception. Congratulations. The public perception has changed from "that's weird and disturbing" to "oh, they're just assholes." (Perception, mind you. I have no evidence to suggest that Justin Boren is an asshole except for the fact that he's enormous and plays football. His dad, on the other hand... I think it's clear that all the stuff in the media is the product of the supposed adult; Justin probably just wants to go somewhere and play.)

It sucks that Boren hated the new staff so much he wanted to transfer, and that's his prerogative. A multi-day campaign of offense against the University when the only statement it issued on the matter was a factual "Boren has left the program" is grounds for excommunication. Stone the witches!

The difference. This, from a Notre Dame blog, is too perfect:

Clearly, Rich Rodriguez is an Unmitigated Jerk

Why else would people keep leaving the Micigan (sucks!) program?

I’m enjoying the tears with an Allagash White. Join us, wont you?

In three brief lines they've encapsulated everything about internet Notre Dame fandom that is hilarious and deranged. You've got the juvenile name alteration, the "I am drinking, this is what I am drinking, I am so cool" name drop, and, of course, the walleyed inability to perceive anything wrong with a 3-9 program. Clearly, one player who bothered to stay for spring practice deciding he's going to leave is unshakable evidence. It's way better evidence than, say, four midseason transfers of kids you recruited during your third year with the program. Keep on reachin' for the stars.

There is one point incidentally made here that troubles: the looming specter of Weis-like incompetence hovers over the departure, blotting out the sun. True sophomore starting guards do not generally transfer away from what one presumes is a short jaunt to the NFL.

What Rodriguez has that Weis does not is a track record of head coaching excellence spanning seven years at West Virginia in which his used, preferably furry condom policy turned a bunch of overlooked recruits into a two-BCS-bowl winning juggernaut of confusion, speed, and knives. Until such time as Rodriguez has failed to reproduce that success at Michigan he has scoreboard against all critics that predict his failure.

There is obviously a chance that Michigan has chosen... poorly and that Rodriguez will see his coaching career end in a brief, damp squeak. This is a nonzero risk, especially with the culture shock he is bringing to the program. There is always a nonzero risk. Michigan has minimized that as much as possible by acquiring a wildly successful college coach.

This is not his first rodeo.

Ohio State, 2001. This was Jim Tressel's first year, during which they went 7-5, and only got to 7-5 because John Navarre turned in the worst half of football by a Michigan quarterback since... uh... probably 1984 or something. Since them, Tressel has had some modicum of success.

Something good. Brief excerpts from a few different "Boren" titled emails:

Please tell me things are going to get better for UM football.

Can you please write a post about some good news?

Needless to say, I'm terrified. What if Michigan only wins like 3 games next year, a la Weis-e-coyote? The horror (as you would say).

A reader to the rescue:

Hey Brian,

I just wanted to say something about the whole Justin Boren situation. Now I understand that a lot of "Michigan Men" are freaking out about this, or have turned bitter towards this kid, but let me explain how getting rid of these kids that aren't committed to the "new" Michigan regime will benefit us in the long run.

From 2004-2007 I worked for the BYU football team. Gary Crowton was the head coach at BYU when I started working there. Gary Crowton is a really nice guy and a pretty good offensive coach, but he wasn't a very good head coach. His problem was that he was too much of a "player's coach" meaning that he let the kids run the team. The offense loafed around during practice and didn't work hard. Crowton's DC was a young guy named Bronco Mendenhal who believe that you can compensate for lesser talent by working harder than your opponent. So the team was split, the offensive players were lazy, while the defense was hard working and intense. Not only did the defense work harder, they cared a lot more about the game and team.

After the season ended Gary Crowton was fired and BYU hired Bronco Mendenhal as the new head coach. Within a week of announcing Mendenhal as head coach, a handful of players decided to transfer because they didn't like Bronco's "style". Bronco worked his players harder in the offseason than they had ever worked before. When spring practices began 15 players had either transfered or quit the team...15!!!!! Once again they didn't like how Bronco was working them too hard. Bronco's intent was to get rid of all the players that didn't want to be there. He needed and wanted players who would commit 100% to the program and the system. Once he got rid of those players, the team quickly came together and fought for each other. They all knew that everyone was working just as hard as everyone else.

Now I do understant that there is a huge talent disparity between BYU and Michigan, but the results for BYU has been better than expecte. They have gone 11-2 each of the past two years. I attribute their success to Bronco's hard nosed no-nonsense approach with his players. He did not lose any sleep crying over the transfer of the #1 QB prospect in America Ben Olson (UCLA), but focused on his team and prepared his team no matter who was playing. I see RR doing the exact same thing. Michigan needs players who are going to work hard and be 100% committed to his system and work ethic. This transition has been relatively smooth compaired to other coaching changes around the country. We must remember that Michigan hasn't gone through this process for almost 40 years and we all know how that turned out. Go Blue!!

Scott Springer

Carr, for all his positives, had started checking out the past few years. You could tell. More of the burden of leadership fell to the coordinators, one of whom had already proven he can take an above average MAC program and turn it into a zombie gerbil apocalypse. The results were obvious on the field, and off of it. 2008 is going to be a detox year, but things will improve.

Data

Data. Data. Data. Data.

Data: This is a scam. There are a great number of things detailed in the Ann Arbor News article that are questionable and few that are anything more, but this is a scam:

Hagen set up independent study courses for two Michigan football players with just more than a month remaining in a semester. Rueben Riley and Gabe Watson dropped other classes and enrolled in an independent study course with Hagen on March 18, 2005.

Sucking a kid into an independent study with a month to go in the semester and then lobbing four B+ credits at Gabe Watson for writing a single twelve page paper that probably says “FEED ME SO HUNGRY WANT PORK CHOP” on at least six of those pages is something close to academic fraud. The university protests “this isn't Auburn” at one juncture in the article, but on the academic integrity continuum that extends from Vanderbilt on one end to Auburn on the other, that's a lot closer to Auburn.

Michigan is systematically funneling kids at risk of losing their eligibility into independent study courses of questionable content, and will in extreme cases fob some credits at players for four weeks of work in a 15 week semester. The Ann Arbor News establishes that.

---------------------------------

Data: Mr. Bancroft, one of my history teachers in high school, was an odd bird, an elderly bald man with wild eyes and tattered ideals prone to grandiose pronouncements and strong opinions. A small but hopefully telling indicator: most people just called him “Bancroft,” even his students. Though he was naturally drawn to athletes, when the Quiz Bowl team – yrs truly a member, natch – needed a damn fool to drive us to Washington DC and be our chaperon so we could go about .500, eke into the single-elimination rounds, and get crushed by that goddamn Virginia magnet school, he volunteered. He was a nice guy.

When you are in a van for ten hours you naturally get to talking about various topics, and the subject of Theron Wilson came up during various debates. I don't remember why. But I do remember what Mr. Bancroft said.

Theron was a black kid from Detroit that Bancroft somehow had stumbled across – how was never explained – and kinda sorta taken in for a couple years. Theron was six foot eight. He was also a prop 48, ineligible to play as a freshman. He was the center on the inexplicably great Eastern Michigan teams featuring Earl Boykins. When the Eagles beat Duke in 1996, he had five blocks. A few months later he was selected in the draft, but the wrong draft: Theron was the La Crosse Bobcats' third round selection in the 1996 CBA draft.

A year later, we drove to Washington DC to play the white and Asian kids of Thomas Jefferson, that damn Virginia magnet school, and Theron Smith was driving a UPS truck. "I don't know," said Bancroft. "He's just hanging on."

-------------------------------

Data: Michael Oher, star of Michael Lewis' The Blind Side. For the purposes of our conversation, the heart of the book has to do with Michael Oher's schooling, or lack thereof. For a variety of tragic (and probably sadly common) reasons, Oher mostly attends school when he feels like taking advantage of the free lunches provided. From ten to fifteen, Oher lives a virtually feral existence in a little slice of Somalia mysteriously transported into downtown Memphis. He decides he will be Michael Jordan, and he does not go to school, ever. After a quasi-year at a downtown Memphis quasi-high school, Oher is taken out to Briarcrest Academy, a Christian school in the white section of Memphis by a guy named “Big Tony”; Briarcrest hems and haws and decides that the Christian thing to do is have an enormous black guy play on the basketball team.

Oher eventually falls in with a Briarcrest supporter named Sean Tuohy, a former Ole Miss point guard turned rich white guy. The Tuohy family ends up adopting him, and Oher ends up commiting to Ole Miss February of his senior year of high school. Despite three years of nonstop private tutoring, Oher needs a telescope to see the grade point and test score combination the NCAA requires.

At this point, Tuohy spends a lot of money and time tracking down ways to fraud – there's really no other way to put, it – Michael Oher into Ole Miss, striking upon two separate gold mines: a friendly psychiatric clinic that gets Oher declared “learning disabled” mostly because he has an average IQ but hasn't learned anything yet, which allows Oher unlimited, guided, untimed attempts at standardized tests, and a series of “courses” BYU should be ashamed they offer: ten-day remote equivalency courses during which he has to read about famous personages and answer five questions about them. Each set of five questions cleared allows Oher to replace a semester of F with one of A.

Oher qualifies, and starts his freshman year at Ole Miss.

Michael Oher is a very large learning disabled man with approximately three years of actual schooling and a fraudulent academic transcript and Michael Lewis writes this about him in his afterword:

IN THE SEASON AFTER this book's publication Michael Oher started every game as Ole Miss's left tackle. The Ole miss football team was so consistently inept it was hard to believe anyone on it could be any good, but Michael's play landed him on the All-SEC second team, while his grade point average (3.75) landed him, for a semester, on the University of Mississippi Dean's list. (He was honored at halftime during one Ole Miss basketball game for his schoolwork.

#$*#! I didn't carry a 3.75. I knew I should have spent my middle school years roving around inner city projects trying not to get shot.

--------------------------------------

Data: erstwhile Michigan running back Max Martin, a native Michigander who moved to Alabama for the last few years of his high school career, got in trouble a lot, and it started early. When Michigan checked up on Martin's progress for the first time, they found that Martin hadn't gone to any of his classes. He told the curious coaches that he didn't know he had to go; none the kids he knew at SEC schools had to.

After a couple seasons of fumbling and off-field transgressions, Martin transferred to Alabama. Their coaches' character check was this: "is he in trouble with the law?" At that moment, he was not.

Click.

Martin lasted one semester in Tuscaloosa.

--------------------------------------

Data: I have a friend who is getting her PhD in a humanities field and, as such, spends much time being the best GSI any of her students will ever come across. She is deeply conflicted about the presence and purpose of athletes in her classes and across the university in general, and has presented the following pieces of information in our discussion on the subject.

• When she was the GSI for a large lecture class, two football players three times her size were amongst her students. She was momentarily terrified of having authority issues, envisioning a future wherein the large recalcitrant men set a defiant example for the rest of the class, until she started talking and the two enormous guys were the first in the class to begin dutifully transcribing notes. Both were sweethearts, she says, and passed the class legitimately.
• The professor running this class has a reputation for checking up on the progress of athletes in his classes and pulling those who are struggling into... yep... independent study classes.
• Multiple times during the semester, athletic department representatives would drop by the class to make sure the enormous men were where their class schedules promised they would be.

Another semester, she was teaching freshman comp and had a men's swimmer fresh from high school, who struggled badly. At one point he tearfully confessed that he was overwhelmed. Practice was hard. School was hard. Travel was hard. Everything was hard, so hard, and he couldn't just quit one or the other and what was he going to do?

--------------------------------

Data. Football takes lots of time:

Division I-A football players reported spending an average of 44.8 hours per week on their sport. That doesn't include the hours involved in taking care of their academic responsibilities.

Any school other than Duke or Vandy or Stanford will take any player who meets NCAA minimums that, on a non-athlete application, would be laughed out of the admissions office, and Duke and Vandy and Stanford (and the Ivy leagues) all bend their admissions standards severely. The NCAA has instituted punishments for schools that do not keep their players in school and on track for a degree.

End data.

Jowls

On the same day Bobby Petrino takes the Arkansas job, Jim Grobe becomes the hot name in the Michigan coaching search.

FoxSports:

Weeks ago, Petrino's name kept popping up among college athletic directors looking for new coaches. I wrote that Petrino sniffed around the Michigan job to no avail. GM Rich McKay and Petrino both denied that he was actually pursuing open positions on the college level.

Why not Petrino? Inveterate job-hopper, guy you'd have to worry about from time to time if he's a success, which his track record at Louisville suggests he would be. Why not? Because you might have to endure the indignity of watching your coach entertain other job offers? Isn't this Michigan? Isn't this a place that should be good enough that other job offers don't matter?

And if it isn't, whose fault is that?

A blogging associate of mine found himself talking with a prominent assistant coach in the state of Florida who could not believe Greg Schiano turned the job down. "Insane" was the term used in our discussion. And, right: insane. This is the head coach of Rutgers, and even if he gets lucky and Joe Paterno retires before 2027 everything has to fall right for him if he's going to get the job. Bradley has to be passed over. He has to remain attractive enough to be the first choice. And Penn State's athletic department has to overlook strong internal candidates like JayPa.

For Schiano to turn the job down there has to be something wrong with someone. Maybe it's Schiano, but the preponderance of the evidence says otherwise.

Petrino asked about the Michigan job and could not get an interview. Brian Kelly is running around saying he can't guarantee he'll be back at Cincinnati next year but will not be considered for the job. Les Miles... well, we all know the fiasco that turned into.

I would like to believe in the magic of smokescreens, but when a phone call with Les Miles, Mary Sue Coleman, and Bill Martin that should remain secret hits WTKA, then here, then the Free Press the problem with the search is not its obscurity but its transparency. And it's transparent that Michigan is flailing, divided amongst itself, and rapidly running out of plausible options.

Brady Hoke is not a plausible option. Neither are Mike Debord, Ron English, or current future rejecter du jour Jim Grobe. But who else is there? Michigan is determined to eliminate anyone who's "off" in any way. Grobe is not off. This is Jim Grobe:


As a brilliant meterologist I know only as "steve" says: "Haircut and jowls of the kind of guy you just feel comfortable with somehow, if you're of a certain age, pallor, and socioeconomic status."

This is about perpetuating a culture. It is not about finding a good football coach. Anyone outside of that culture faces the daunting task of conforming to it instead of changing it, and that has driven off coaches even if it's "insane" not to take the job. Something is rotten in the state of Schembechler, and it will not yield the throne.

And what about Grobe, the coach? Old. No record of how well he recruits. Runs a crazy offensive system that may or may not translate to higher levels with (possibly) better talent. A huge, huge risk to anyone who has performance foremost on their mind. Obviously, this is not the case here.

EXCLUSIVE: Transcript of Miles Conversation With Michigan

Les Miles: Uh... hello?

Mary Sue Coleman: Hi, Les. It's Mary Sue Coleman. Let me patch in Bill Martin.

Bill Martin: (faintly) Hello? Hello?

MSC: Bill.

BM: (faintly) Hello?

MSC: Turn the phone around, Bill.

BM: What?

MSC: YOU'RE SPEAKING INTO THE WRONG END OF THE PHONE.

BM: (louder) Oh.

Miles: So....

MSC: Les, as you know, the University of Michigan is looking for a head coach. We would like any prospective candidates to have a strong understanding of the program's history, an established track record of success--

BM: -- and sailing experience --

MSC: -- as a college football head coach, and --

BM: -- any other sort of boating-type experience. Motor. Catamaran. You know. Water-type things.

MSC: and a strong rapport with his charges. Anyway, Les, you've just won the SEC, have a 36-6 record in three years at LSU, and are well loved by your program. You also lettered twice under Bo and love this program more than any other. So...

BM: ... do you know anyone that fits our criteria?

Miles: Uh... me?

BM: I didn't see any jib or mizzenmast experience on your resume.

Miles: Right. That's because I'm a football coach. I coach football.

BM: In fact, your resume made no reference to sailing whatsoever. So you're out, asshole.

MSC: I think what Bill is trying to say is that we would like to offer you--

BM: --the opportunity to tell us who might be our perfect candidate. Reminder: Michigan ties, success, sailing.

Miles: No, sorry. I don't know anyone who fits that criteria.

BM: Well screw you, buddy!

Click.

MSC: Bill... next time let me do the talking.

BM: Lloyd says Brady Hoke dresses up like Long John Silver on most Tuesdays. Let's hire him.

We Must Destroy This Process In Order To Save It

(Ferentz? Nein, apparently (sidebar).

Kirk Ferentz will not be the next head coach at Michigan.

Ferentz, who has been the Iowa coach since 1999, is no longer being considered by Michigan's seven-person search committee to replace Lloyd Carr , multiple sources said Wednesday.

Given that the only guys who have interviewed are Brady Hoke and the two coordinators, I'm not sure whether to be pleased by this development or not.)

Oh, there's a process? Sailboat Bill Martin:

"We established a process and I am following that process, and from my perspective it is working," Martin said Wednesday night. "It's been tougher than I thought, but it's not that the process is flawed. It's the degree of commentary and spin. Some of the stuff that people are saying is just totally off the wall. But the plan is working fine."

Well, thank God for that. Thank God there's a process. I mean, sure, it's a completely insane process that managed to not have a credible list of candidates ready to go as soon as Carr retired despite Michigan having four months to prepare one, but whatever. As long as there is a delineated list of steps that's followed strictly, I'm good.

This entire fiasco hinges on the fact Michigan did not know whether it wanted to offer Les Miles the job or not. Because Martin didn't know he should call Miles agent and say "yes, the past four months of research have proven to us that you should be Michigan's next coach," he is not Michigan's next coach. There is no excuse for not being ready.

"There's a campaign out there," he said. "But there are times you've got to stand tall and follow your process, and that's what I'm doing."

Whatever the "process" is, what did the first four months consist of?

1. Sail on sailboat.
2. ???
3. Head coach!

"There's no question you can continue doing your work whether you're in Florida or New York City or Ann Arbor," he said. "But I was not going to call back Les' agent until after that game. Trust me, I can understand why people can see it the way they're seeing it. But my job is to bring the best candidate to Michigan."

I am not going to throw this vase sitting next to me. The flowers in it are dead and the water is gross and the cleanup would dwarf the pleasure of watching it shatter against the wall. The first highlighted sentence and the second highlighted sentence are diametrically opposed to each other. Martin has no idea who the "best candidate" is for the Michigan job despite having all the time in the world to come up with an answer to that, and he failed utterly. Not calling Les' agent when LSU's AD specifically offered that avenue of contact and Miles was frantically attempting to figure out what was going on is ludicrous.


For one, it's completely disrespectful to a guy who's made his love for Michigan known time and again. For two, it relies on some sort of Queensbury rules: "Dear LSU, I will be talking to your coach after the game. I plan to offer him sixteen quid a week, which is a considerable sum! West End brothels won't know what hit them! Thanks, good chaps, I trust you won't interfere. -- Sailboat Bill."

For Martin to simultaneously go "well, I never!" when LSU made their dastardly offer before the agreed-upon speaking-time and claim he's being "very aggressive" is ridiculous. It's ludicrously ridiculous and many other words that end in "ous" and generally indicate something improbable.

There is a process. There was also a process that resulted in -- don't Godwin yourself, and don't reference "Gigli" -- Hitler making "Gigli".

Dammit.

The point: processes are neither good nor bad, and sticking to your process when said process ends up with you not knowing whether or not to offer a coach in the national championship game the job just means you're doubly stupid. No plan survives contact with the enemy.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU TELL THEM YOUR PLAN.

Set A Course For The Virgin Sea

Right, so the "sailing" rumor went from hilariously improbable to likely to confirmed. The only thing more remarkable than that is that Martin deigns to defend himself:

"I did (call), Sunday morning," Martin said. "Why Sunday morning? I committed not to talk to Les Miles, directly or indirectly before the championship game on Saturday. That's the way this process is done, or at least the way I'm honoring the process."

Indeed, you committed not to talk to Miles "directly or indirectly." Setting aside that hopelessly Pollyanna view of the way things go -- too much "Leave it to Beaver" growing up, no doubt, here's LSU AD Skip Bertman in the Detroit News article about Michigan receiving permission to contact miles:

"I don't think anyone would try to speak to Les before the SEC title game, but that doesn't mean they couldn't speak to his agent (George Bass) before the game or at any time," Bertman said by telephone from his home. "There's no reason Bill or anyone else can't use headhunters to speak to Les' agent, but I would not assume that Bill would speak to Les himself without our permission. That doesn't mean he can't speak to other people."

This, of course, is all about Miles' agent trying frantically to get in touch with Michigan so they can respond to the situation he's facing. Do they not get the Detroit News on the virgin sea?

Oops. Let's punt.

Come Sail Away... Confirmed!

Yesterday:

The reason Miles couldn't get ahold of Martin on Saturday: Martin was on a sailboat. !!!



Obviously, if that's true Martin should be shot into the sun but I find that very, very doubtful.

Carty in the AA News:

Miles had no idea if Michigan really wanted him.

So Bass [Miles' agent] decided to ask.

He said he called Martin's cell phone on Friday and left a message. He just wanted to know where Miles stood.

Then, when he didn't hear back, the agent said he called Martin again.

"The (LSU) deal was so good that we couldn't just wait," Bass said via phone Tuesday. "I didn't know if we were one of the candidates in the pool at that time. There was just no communication."

Where was Martin? One source places him in Florida, at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. Wherever he was, he didn't call back.

This is incompetence of staggering proportions. If Martin was a president, he would be William Henry Harrison. If he was a world-changing invention, he would be a Segway. If he was a football coach, he would be Charlie Weis.

The current face-saving explanation is that Martin is playing Ferentz and Miles off each other, hoping one will jump at a lowball offer loaded with incentives. When even the face-saving explanation paints you as a fool willing to let one million dollars per year jeopardize the well-being of an entire athletic department, you screwed up. Michigan's chances at landing Miles are now much weaker than they were a week ago, and it's because Martin blew the most important decision in Michigan athletics since 1969. Because he was on a damn boat too busy to return a phone call.

He has a chance to make good with an excellent hire; anything short of that and he should be run out of town on a rail.

What Happened?

The easy answer is "we'll never know." But that's not particularly satisfying, is it?

Carty:

What happened, considering Miles' earlier indications that he wanted to return home to the school he played at and was an assistant coach under Bo Schembechler?

A source close to the situation said what was always a close call was pushed the breaking point by the two-week interval between Carr's retirement and the SEC title game, and the combination of LSU's hefty contract offer and the ESPN report on game day made Miles opt to stay.

The source would not comment when asked if Carr's silence on Miles candidacy - widely interpreted as a sign of animosity between the two men and Carr's opposition to Miles succeeding him - was a factor in the decision.

Rosenberg:

...[Miles] had been in contact with Michigan through back channels for weeks. Through intermediaries, Miles’ representatives and Michigan were hammering out the terms of an agreement.

Miles knew Michigan was prepared to offer a five-year deal. He knew how much money Michigan was prepared to offer. He was fine with it.

But the key word here is “prepared.” Despite what you may have heard or read, this was never a done deal.

Never.

And Miles knew it.

Rosenberg's theory is that the money getting worked out was but a prelude to a job offer, not the result of one:

Martin was not going to hire a coach without an extended one-on-one interview, and he couldn’t conduct that until after Saturday’s SEC title game. ...
He just needed to know the Michigan job was his. And Michigan couldn’t make that promise.

This is scenario A: Martin, weirdly, operates in an inverted paradigm where you work out the financial details of a contract, then interview for the job. Michigan went through the first portion of this process with Miles agent and a tentative agreement was reached on the numbers.

This explains the "done deal" stuff as soon as the Ferentz thing passed. This also explains the weird split on the information I was receiving: pro-Miles guys knew about the tentative agreement and made the reasonable assumption any sort of "interview" would be strictly PR, since a 36-6 coach who loves the university more than life itself is obviously the best man for the job. Meanwhile, guys nearer the search committee were hearing that Miles had to dance for Carr and Martin as part of a full search process that, given Carr's strident opposition to Miles' candidacy, could well end with no offer.

The source from the LSU side of things is very well connected and offers up this explanation of events from the other side:

Vincent (AD) evidentially gave Miles an ultimatum. He told Miles that if he was considering the UM job that he would be fired on the spot and not be able to coach the SEC championship game.

So Miles told his agent to work out the details with LSU for a contract extension. That’s why he went on ESPN at 1:30 and sounded as though he was totally pissed off about Herbstreit. Had Kirk not said anything and ESPN not reported on the rumors, Miles may have talked to Martin yesterday.

This has been widely mongered on the internets, and though it seems far fetched -- LSU would fire the head coach on the eve of the SEC championship game? -- please consider this is the South and crazier things have happened in the SEC. Hell, Michigan fired Frieder on the eve of the NCAA tournament. It could have been a bluff, but put yourself in Miles' spot: LSU has threatened to fire you unless you agree to a contract extension. Meanwhile, Michigan refuses to assure you that you'll be offered the job and you know elements of the athletic department wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. Do you take the risk of calling the LSU bluff and possibly finding yourself without any job?

Well, you probably call Michigan frantically to see what's going on, to give them an update of your situation, and attempt to work something out now. Which is apparently what happened. And Michigan did not respond. Thus the press conference and Miles keeping the LSU job. If you are so inclined, you can hear some bitterness in Miles' postgame press conference:

I certainly love Michigan. I love Michigan. I will always be a Michigan man. I will always root for the next head coach there. I will wear those colors when it comes down to the Ohio Michigan game. I'm going to root and pull for the Blue, and they will eventually win that game (laughter).

There's a proud tradition, and they have to do the things they have to do. I'm for them, and if there's any way I can help them, I'd love to help them. But I'm not going there. It saddens me at times. I can't be at two places.

On Saturday I wondered what an extra 500k or 1m per year would do for an already rich man, as if it was Miles' fault he wasn't coming to Michigan. I don't believe that anymore. This was a colossal screwup by Bill Martin, aided by Lloyd Carr. But they probably don't see it like that. They see it as protecting the program.

How do you not have an extended one-on-one interview with the man obviously most qualified for the job at this point? Michigan has known Carr was retiring since September, and Martin knows literally dozens of Miles' friends. Hell, John Wangler is his BFF. Call Wangler into your office, have him call Miles, and have a goddamn interview on the phone. There is no excuse for failing to hammer out whatever potential differences existed months ago. All this interview stuff is purely for show if we are operating under the assumption Martin has an IQ above 60.

We do assume that around these parts, so the inescapable conclusion: Michigan essentially passed on Miles. If Michigan really wanted Miles, Michigan would have him. That much was made clear by Miles' season-long "woo Michigan" campaign of newspaper articles and TV appearances. Hell, the week of the Ohio State game you couldn't turn on a sports talk station without hearing Miles wax poetic about Bo. Everyone near the program knew Miles wanted the job more than anything. He loves the program.

But his love is unrequited. That has a tendency to embitter people towards the object loved. When LSU made it very clear they wanted Miles, had no reservations about him, and were willing to make a hefty financial commitment to prove it, it was an easy decision. Michigan wanted him to prostrate himself. Good football coaches often being prideful, this was not likely to happen, especially with the pressures imposed by LSU and ESPN. Thus: this.

Two weeks ago, Carr retired. In his press conference he stridently declared he would have only a minimal role in the search and that the timing of his retirement would have no effect. Two weeks later, he maintains plausible deniability. But only just.

Assorted bullets:

• If Michigan hires someone who fails and gets fired real quick, the Herbstreit report will be the fan equivalent of the Kennedy assassination. Who told him? Was it, as Miles suggested, "an Ohio State plot"? Miles said that in jest, but the way everything worked out could not have been better for OSU.
  
  There are two main theories on the leak: Desmond Howard, his ESPN co-worker and a member of the search committee, and Jim Tressel. Howard obviously has a vested interest in not telling Herbstreit anything. Tressel, OTOH, is interesting: that move would be the Machiavellian genius I now, sadly, expect from Tressel whenever Michigan blunders into his path. The "AND they're getting Tenuta!!!" bit is apparently without even the slightest grounding in real life -- Tenuta denied having even spoken to Miles yesterday -- and implies that maybe the whole thing was just batty nonsense. Who would have the pull with Herbstreit to say "and, like, Tenuta, dude" and get it aired? (Not that Herby is complicit here; the theory is he's Tressel's dupe.)
  
  That is totally crazy, sure. But maybe I'm a little crazy.
• Debunking myself: we assume that Herbstreit actually unearthed anything because he was the guy who said it. If you believe this, you are forced to believe that Mark May is busy unearthing all sorts of scoops. Hell, he's finding out who our next coach is right now!
  
  Another possibility: someone else at ESPN heard it and it was put in pretty boy's mouth to make the talking heads look more credible.
• More in the Rosenberg piece:

  Two people familiar with the process say Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is not a candidate. He will not be a candidate. I don’t have a specific reason, but Kelly has rubbed people the wrong way at various points in his climb up the ladder.

  Great. Raise your hand if you think the 1968 version of Bo Schembechler would be even slightly considered by this set of decision makers. That's what I thought. "Rub people the wrong way"... the entire athletic department has been infected with this crap.
• List of people guaranteed not to rub anyone in this AD the wrong way: Jim Grobe, Mike Debord, Brady Hoke, Ty Willingham.
• What now? Schiano's name is getting thrown about a lot, as is Tedford, but by media folks. Given the way the search has gone so far, with Michigan high on Ferentz early (yes, I screwed up my first post about the Ferentz situation, but he was a very serious candidate), lukewarm about Miles, and apparently uninterested in Kelly, it's clear Michigan has different priorities than sane most people.
  
  It appears they're actually serious about the Lloyd clone bit... but who is that? Terrifyingly, Grobe seems the closest.

Spartans, Your Profession Is "Loser"

Push It To The Limit

Yikes. This sounds un-good:

The U.S. Department of Education issued a scathing report to the University of Michigan, chastising U-M for routinely violating federal accessibility laws and effectively shutting out wheelchair users from Michigan Stadium football games.

The federal department has threatened to terminate federal funds to the 39,700-student university if U-M doesn't submit a plan within 10 days to correct the numerous violations outlined in the 42-page report dated Oct. 26.

"The university is discriminating against individuals with mobility impairments … because the stadium does not include a sufficient number of accessible seats; the accessible seating is not dispersed so as to provide persons with mobility impairments the same range of seating choices as is provided to persons without disabilities … and the routes, toilet rooms, and concession stands are inaccessible."

I was under the impression this case had to be tried or something; can the DoE unilaterally impose a punishment like this? Anyone out there have an idea how significant an event this is?

Minnesota Game On ESPN Classic

Wheeeeee for continued complete lack of coverage.

Michigan's game against Minnesota is scheduled for 3:30 on ESPN Classic. Awful. ESPN is showing the Breeder's Cup, which is a frickin' horse race that takes two minutes, for six hours that day, and ESPN2 is showing a Busch series race. Even when we're not on the BTN we're on an obscure channel few people get. Classic was moved to the digital expanded tier on Comcast recently.

Those complaining about the BTN should remember the Ball State game last year and this fiasco before leveling criticisms. (Not that there aren't criticisms to level, mind you, but the situation was rapidly heading towards this over the past couple years.)

About The Field Goal

Right, I promised a look at Crable's culpability or lack thereof in the field goal. Here's the setup:


Appalachian State has overloaded the left side of the line.


At the snap everyone moves forward; the second man from the left (#92, redshirt freshman defensive end Greg Banks) starts to block down on the defensive end.

He continues to do this, opening up a hole between himself and Crable.

Crable takes the outside guy and the other player continues unimpeded. Result: disaster.

Questions, and a sincere one to anyone who's blocked for a field goal before: should Banks have taken the man Crable let go? Is the double team on this DE here necessary? Is the guy on the interior here any threat? Does your opinion change considering this guy plays I-AA? Why does this always happen to us?

My answers: yes, no, no, N/A because I of what I think on the first three questions, one of us must have killed Jesus. I blame Leopold and Loeb.

Upon Further Review: Defense Vs Appalachian State

note: a few complaints about not being able to see the video. These clips are generated directly from the MGoVideo download of the game and so may be using supersecret awesome compression. I know asking this for a few video clips is lame, but if you download VLC it will play them. VLC plays everything. I'll try to figure out how to make the clips more user-friendly in the future. If you can't play them, please email/comment and indicate what you're trying to play them with.

EMO WEEK PRESENTS

the end of Ron English, Weis-level super genius.

This post's official song of woe:

Wise Up - Aimee Mann



Download


This post's official clarification of "emo" as it applies to these songs: you've already had a tough enough week without me heaping Dashboard Confessional on you; also this would require me to have some knowledge of actual emo bands to do this. I am proud to say that I do not, and must make do with the more depressing recesses of my musical library.

This post's official August Strindberg quote:

Sometimes not seeing things can be a blessing.

Anyway. On with the show:

Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O26	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	0	Zone read handoff
At the snap Michigan has a man over each receiver, a single deep safety, and two linebackers behind a four-man DL containing Crable, who played all of this game at DE. Terrance Taylor(+1) can't be moved despite a double. The play is fouled and delayed; the linebackers can converge without harrassment.
O26	2	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	6	Circle
Two outside receivers drive off zone coverage, allowing the third guy on that side to run the slant-pirouette-out combo commonly referred to as a circle route and utilize that open space. (CA, 3, cover -1) Michigan stunts, BTW, and Taylor ends up falling down. If Edwards wanted to take off the entire back side was open. This will be relevant soon.
O32	3	4	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	68	Slant? (Replay)
Ugh. Johnny Sears(-1) turns his hips to the outside as this guy fakes going on a fade route and then cuts it back for a little slant designed to get the first down. Stevie Brown(-5) takes the worst angle in the history of angles, waving at this kid's ankles and turning an eight-yard first down into a touchdown. Welcome to Michigan Safety Hell. (CA, 3, cover -3)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-7, 11 min 1st Q. Seriously, what the &#*!. We've rotated through like five secondary coaches since Marcus Ray left and each one of them has had safeties who were complete bollocks.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O16	1	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	9	QB draw
Technically not Incredibly Surprising since it's the first time they've done it. Anyway, two deep safeties and our linebackers are in that half-split that indicates zone coverage. We stunt, opening up a big hole, and Ezeh (-1) is late reacting. Even if he's magically David Harris on this play the end result is likely the same, though: it's one linebacker in a sea of green versus this little nippy QB guy.
O25	2	1	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Penalty	-5	False start
O20	2	6	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	-6	Sack
Will Johnson(+2) defeats his block on a stunt and contains the QB; Crable(+1) comes up to help finish the play. Coverage caused the hestiation, this from Sears(+1). (Cover +1)
O14	3	12	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	6	Scramble
Can't find anyone. Cover +1.
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 7 min 1st Q. Containment + coverage = punt. Savor this drive.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O35	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	6	Zone read handoff
Oh, the first of many, many, many of these that are infuriatingly successful. Corner blitz cuts off the outside but for some reason both of our DTs are slanting away from the LG-C gap. Johnny Thompson(-1) is hesitant and does not read the hole. And what the hell is Chris Graham(-1) thinking? He's setting up to take on a blocker, then decides that maybe the QB has the ball well after it's clear he does not and takes a couple steps upfield, running himself out of the play. Ugh.
O41	2	4	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	3	Zone read handoff
Unclear what happens on this play -- sadly, the BTN is just as retarded about showing blonde sideline reporters when the play is going on as other networks -- but by the time we're back to the action there's a significant hole on the right side of the line (it looks like we've stunted again) and the RB is squeezing up into it. It's unclear who slows him up by getting an arm on him, but the delay is enough to hold this short of the first down.
O44	3	1	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	5	Zone read handoff
They snap it quickly. Will Johnson(-1) slants up hard and collapses, opening up a hole. Our linebackers are tardy and allow blockers to get out on them; no chance we stop them here. A first indication we are totally unprepared on defense
O49	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	1	Zone read handoff
Four times in a row might be a little much. Terrance Taylor(+1) fouls the intended hole and prevents the RB from attacking anywhere his linemen might have a good angle to block a linebacker. Thompson finishes. No stunt this time.
50	2	9	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	8	Slip screen
Easy pickings as we have only two guys out here covering three wide receiver. Harrison gets blocked but does manage to force it inside, where Thompson can make a tackle downfield.
M42	3	1	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Penalty	-5	False start
M47	3	6	5-wide shotgun	3-3-5 nickel	Pass	11	Slant
This guy is wide, wide open. Ridiculously so. (Cover -2). Jamar Adams pounds him after the catch but BFD.
M36	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	4	Zone read handoff
We have an extra guy in the box this time, Jamar Adams. Another stunt just gets a DT out of position and Shawn Crable driven way downfield. The presence of Adams prevents this from becoming a large gain.
M32	2	6	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	9	Zone read handoff
This is ridiculous. It's time to bring up the extra guy in the box and stuff the run, right? No. six guys and then a tenuous corner but he backs off to pay attention to the wide receiver. As result there's no one to fill when the guy cuts back (Thompson was blocked out of the play, -1) and squirts for a first down. I mean, seriously, let this noodle-armed kid try all the 40 yard bombs he wants, put a safety in the box.
M23	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	19	Option reverse
Brown gets suckered in and is way out of position, but it's Crable(-2) who gives up contain instantly in a futile pursuit of a quarterback who isn't coming back his way. Senior... senior captain. AAAAAAARGH.
M4	1	G	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	-1	Zone read handoff
Blitz into it. Yay. They're swarmed under by three unblocked defenders.
M5	2	G	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Penalty	-5	False start
M10	2	G	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	10	Stop
What the #$%*. Seriously. This guy is sitting at the five yard line and he is open by five yards. There is no excuse for the coverage to be so loose against this team inside the ten yard line. Adams whiffs a tackle (-1, cover -3).
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-14, 13 min 2nd Q. Completely inexcusable all around. Constant stunts when we should be able to run over their I-AA defenders, presnap position that leaves us dead and open to exploitation, complete irresponsibility by our senior captain, and then a coverage of OSU vintage that manages to leave a guy wide open inside the ten yard line.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
M37	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	2	Zone read handoff
Drive starts in Michigan territory after M -1 yard drive, crappy punt coverage, and incredibly weak late hit fifteen-yarder. Chris Graham(+1) reacts to this before the AppSt guy does and makes a tackle somewhat near the LOS, instead of getting blocked five yards downfield.
M35	2	8	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	7	Middle screen
Graham(-1) fails to read this and since he's not slicing up to stop this as he releases he gets blocked and there's no one to recover.
M28	3	1	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	4	Zone read handoff
Bit of a cutback here. Crable's useless as a DE against the run, just standing up most of the time, and this hole is between him and a crashing Taylor. Thompson(-1) decides to rush up into a wad of players and then wave his arms at the passing tailback.
M24	1	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	2	Scramble
Coverage(+1) is good and QB can't find anyone. Crable(+1) chases him down after he decides to take off.
M22	2	8	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	22	Slant
Pick play. This is again Stevie Brown(-3) completely failing to read the play and getting way out of position. There is no one to help. (Cover -2)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-21, 10 min 2nd Q. Pretty sure this is Brown's last snap.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O35	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	2 + 15	QB draw
Turns into five wide as the RB motions out. Tim Jamison(+1) does a good job of getting some push and filling a hole, tackling him and forcing him back into linebackers. Except for the 15 yard facemask. (-2)
M58	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	5	Zone read handoff
Hey, you know what's a good way to get Brandon Harrison(-2) to overrun a play? Ask him to do anything at all! Crable slants inside right at the snap � stupidity? Run blitz? Dunno. That would be a good way to force the tailback into the waiting arms of Harrison if he ever did anything on a blitz other than run upfield really fast. He manages to recover, but only after turning what should have been a two yard loss into a five yard gain.
M43	2	5	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	9	Zone read handoff
I mean, you'd think we'd wise up by this point: there is no deep passing game here. But our safeties remain way downfield holding their penises, or, in Stevie Brown's case, trying very hard to grab his penis but falling down and watching it score a touchdown. Anyway: Taylor slant towards the playside, guy comes off him (zone blocking!) to pop Grahaam and the RB finds a seam on the weakside. But by God, we hit these &#$#ers hard after they pick up 10 yards.
M34	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	3	Zone read handoff
THEY KEEP RUNNING IT. A I-AA TEAM IS TREATING US LIKE MICHIGAN TREATS MAC TEAMS. WE ARE TOO STUPID TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. This is a virtual replay of the last play, down to the double in the hole, but Thompson(+1) actually does a pretty good job of standing up the blocker and collapsing.
M31	2	7	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	2	Zone read keeper
Graham(+1) does a good job of reacting to this quickly, filling the hole with authorita and allowing Crable to tackle.
M29	3	5	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	21	ISQD
Incredibly surprising quarterback draw. I hate Michigan football sometimes. Guess what we do on this play? Stunt our pretty little asses off. There are no linebackers within 10 yards of the guy when he crosses the LOS (really? Really this guy doesn't warrant a spy?) and he gets the easiest 20 yards of his life. Debacle.
M8	1	G	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Penalty	-5	False start
M13	1	G	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	6	Speed option
Hey, I've called this play in NCAA 08. Thompson(-2) idiotically blows up the QB instead of keeping contain. Adams(+1) does well to keep this down to the big gain it is.
M7	2	G	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	2	Zone read handoff
No hole on the frontside thanks to a good job from the DTs. Can't help but think this is a TD, though, if this guy cuts it to the backside. He doesn't.
M5	3	G	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	5	ISQD
I hate Michigan football. We're still stunting!
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-28, 2 min 2nd Q. Abomination.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O36	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	-4	Screen
Brandent Englemon(+2) reads this and comes up to stop it in the backfield.
O32	2	14	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	Int	???
One of two times in this game that Edwards just wings a ball directly to a Michigan defensive back. Trent(+1) is the recipient of an easy interception. Isn't this an indication we should have been daring this guy to throw? I guess that assumes that we would occasionally have a defensive back within ten yards of his intended receiver. Withdrawn.
Drive Notes: Interception, 17-28, 14 min 3rd Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O24	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	8	Zone read handoff
Crable(-1) runs himself right out of the play. Both DTs hold their ground but do little else. Ezeh(-1) is hesitant and gets blocked downfield; Graham is keeping contain on the other side. Completely ridiculous. The last eleven plays: nine runs, a screen, and a horrible interception. Clearly we are not getting the job done with six guys in the box. Where is Adams?
O32	2	2	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	3	???
TV misses this play entirely.
O35	1	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	11	ISQD
I will note that the last two times AppSt was in this formation, they ran ISQD. This time: ISQD. What. The. Hell. Ezeh is on the line, covering another OL. Graham... I don't know where the hell Graham is going but it's away from the quarterback. Gaping holes. I mean, seriously, I beg you to watch this play and the other two ISQD. We're the stupidest team on the planet.
O46	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	13	Slip screen
Same zone-read-fake to slip screen they ran earlier. This should be held down to a four yard gain but the runnerguy splits Graham(-1) and Harrison(-1) for a big gainer.
M41	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	-2	Slip screen
Exact same playcall but this one to the other side of the field. AppSt coach-man, you are now the owner of our women and I know whenever you call ISQD it goes for like a million yards, but NOT THIS TIME!!! Trent(+1) blows by the block attempt and buries this in the backfield. Morgan Trent isn't out of San Diego. Is anyone on the team out of San Diego?
M43	2	12	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	2	Speed option
I'll give Harrison(+1) this: he contains the option better than Thompson did. With nowhere to pitch and Tim Jamison(+2) blowing a guy into his path, he aborts and cuts back. He gets a couple before Jamison hunts him down. Crable(-1) should have had him in the backfield but overran it.
M41	3	10	5-wide shotgun	3-3-5 nickel	Pass	27	Flag
Chris Graham has proven himself a pretty shitty football player, but you have to feel sorry for him when he's tasked with covering a wide receiver lined up yards and yards outside of im. Michigan sends four guys around the outside and leaves Will Johnson as a spy; the blitz gets there but it doesn't really matter because of the world's most obvious read. I'm all for this playcall as long as the guy in question is not Chris Graham but a cornerback. WTF. Do we have a dime package? The replay shows this idea in all its aborted fetus glory.
M14	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	1	Zone read handoff
No stunting this time, and no holes. Will Johnson(+1) pushes through and makes a tackle for a small gain.
M13	2	9	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	1	Zone read keeper
Crable crashes in and forces the QB to pull it out, but does enough of a job delaying him so that he can't make much. Graham(+1) keeps contain, forcing him back up into Ezeh for minimal gain.
M12	3	8	5-wide shotgun	3-3-5 nickel	Pass	Inc	Slant
Six guys cross the LOS; Edwards finds a completely wide open guy; he drops a sure touchdown. (Cover -3) How did this guy get so wide open? Adams(-2) and Sears(-2) both covered the same guy!!!
Drive Notes: FG(29), 20-31, 8 min 3rd Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
M28	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	2	Zone read handoff
This is where the defense starts to turn effective until the game-losing drive. No stunt; Line remains tight; no holes. Jamison(+1) does the most work; both DTs absorb double teams and do not flinch.
M26	2	8	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	2	ISQD
Will Johnson(+1) discards his blocker as the ISQD approaches and grabs Edwards' leg; this slows him long enough for Thompson to get there and hold the gain down. Still: without this very good play from our DT, this goes for a first down.
M24	3	6	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	-4	Sack
No stunts; four receivers to the top side of the screen. Edwards' first read is covered (cover +1), and Jamison(+1) and Crable(+1) come in and sack him before any others can present themselves.
Drive Notes: Missed FG (45), 20-31, 5 min 3rd Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O16	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	0	Zone read handoff
Linebackers now reacting more quickly. RB runs right up his OL's back. Graham(+1) had held up well to the block attempt. No stunting.
O16	2	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	15	Zone read handoff
Something we haven't seen before: pulling linemen. Both RG and RT pull around the center as both Dts get sealed immediately. Graham(-1) runs himself too far outside and puts himself in line to get smashed by the pulling guard. There's a major hole right up the middle. Again: where is the extra guy in the box? Look at this play selecton! The only downfield passes on third and long since forever ago!
O31	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	0	Zone read handoff
Will Johnson(+1) and Terrance Taylor(+1) win the battle inside; no room.
O31	2	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	-3	Scramble
One blitzer, no stunts, and no pocket. Freaked out, Edwards starts to scramble; Crable(+2) disconnects and punches the ball loose. Thompson recovers.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 20-31, 2 min 3rd Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O26	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	6	Slant
Behind the receiver; he makes a nice catch. Graham hits him soon after. (Cover -1).
O32	2	4	???	Nickel	Run	-1	Zone read handoff
...probably. I don't remember and TV doesn't show this play. Crable +1?
O31	3	5	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Penalty	-5	Delay
O26	3	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	Inc	Slant
AppSt catches M off guard and gets a guy wide, wide open as the D isn't set. Edwards chucks it behind him. (Cover -1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 26-31, 14 min 4th Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O41	1	10	3-wide shotgun	Nickel	Run	0	Zone read handoff
Adams drawn up for an extra guy in the box. They bring a WR in motion like they're going to run a speed option here but go with the same old standby. Taylor(+1) discards his blocker and makes a tackle at the LOS.
O41	2	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	Inc	Slant
Thrown horribly wide. Missed route? Many of these receivers are young; the QB is a sophomore.
O41	3	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	Inc	Seam
Receiver bracketed. (Cover +2) Edwards can't fit it in the tiny hole available.
Drive Notes: Punt, 26-31, 11 min 4th Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O33	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	2	Slip screen
Same play they ran earler; would go for five or six but the player slips to the turf.
O35	2	8	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	-3	Sack
Coverage(+1) is good; Jamison forces Edwards up and Taylor(+1) and Crable(+1) converge.
O32	3	11	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	-5	Sack
Six guys cross the LOS and this time no one is wide, wide open. Unblocked Crable(+1) keeps contain and sacks.
Drive Notes: Punt, 26-31, 4 min 4th Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O26	1	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	Int	Post
Another horribly misthrown ball directly to a Michigan defender. Englemon(+1) this time.
Drive Notes: Int, 32-31, 4 min 4th Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Def	Type	Yards	Brief
O26	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	18	Scramble
Corner blitz from Harrison is picked up; I believe they snapped this quickly to catch us off guard and it worked. Terrance Taylor(-2) is tasked as a spy on Edwards but ends up way too far off the line, sitting in nowheresville as a big hole develops. Insanely, he even steps well away from the obvious lane for Edwards to run up into. Thus enormous yards.
O44	1	10	4-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	-4	Double pass
Motions into five wide; supposed to be a trick play double throw here but the first throw is wobbly and by the time it's hauled in the receiver is swarmed under by Michigan defenders. He manages to gain a few yards and hold this loss down. +1 Ezeh, I guess, for reacting quickly.
O40	2	14	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	20	Short out
Two blitzers and this is just a short dumpoff that should be six yards except Jamar Adams(-2) overruns the play and slips to the turf. Result: 20 yards.
M40	1	10	5-wide shotgun	3-3-5 nickel	Pass	7	Slant
Again blitzing; again no short coverage. Ezeh(-1) misses a tackle; Johnson manages to clean up from behind.
M33	2	3	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	4	Stop
This has to be some sort of sick joke. Again the blitz and again it's no use because there's no coverage(-2). Everyone is playing soft as if a touchdown is a bad thing at this point. More on this later.
M29	1	10	5-wide shotgun	Nickel	Pass	24	Whatever.
Coverage is good for a moment; Edwards rolls out to avoid Jamison, and as he nears the sideline finds a guy abandoned by Ezeh(-2) for the dagger.
Drive Notes: FG, 34-32, 30 sec 4th Q. Oh, if only I could be surprised by this.

How many profanities did you delete/change into $#&#! in this?

Three hundred fifty-two.

How did Michigan give up 34 points to a I-AA team?

Sheer wanton stupidity, lack of preparation, and an inability to adjust until it was too late. By late in the game it became clear that Edwards, while a fast little bugger, was as much of a danger to his own team as he was to Michigan when he sat back in the pocket and threw. This should be no surprise: he is a fast little bugger, a true sophomore, at a I-AA school. When Michigan deigned to have a man within ten yards of his intended target, he was often inaccurate and sometimes disastrously so. His only downfield (defined as 10+ yards) completions all day were the flag when Chris Graham was put in an impossible position and the final improvised dagger. Everything else was short.

And yet Michigan played a scaredy-cat zone with two-deep coverage most of the day when AppSt was grinding ahead with the same damn zone read handoff, which they ran 21 times. Twenty-one! They took what Michigan gave them. While the players bear a large portion of the blame here, the coaching preparation for this game was nonexistent. Even the "we were preparing for Oregon" excuse doesn't fly: Oregon runs nearly the same damn offense. I guarantee they line up in five wides and have Dennis Dixon run an ISQD three or four times. Defending a spread option draw or a zone read is absolutely basic. Appalachian State did not fool Michigan into a ton of broken coverages and missed assignments (though Michigan provided many of those on its own), it mostly just lined up and ran the same play over and over until Michigan proved it could stop it. Eventually, when the stunting stopped, the defense started chopping these down. By then they had given up four first half touchdowns.

Ron English no longer seems fit to coach a Pop Warner team. I mean, those guys can run the same play over and over again, too.

And the players?

Obviously Stevie Brown was not ready for prime time. He should call Sam Bernstein and get a lawsuit going against the Michigan Stadium turf -- he's proably got severe whiplash from two separate slip and fall accidents. Heck, Berstein's kid is already suing about the stadium edifice itself, why not go for the whole enchilada? Anyway, if you slapped a "21" on Brown, no one would be able to tell the difference between him and Ryan Mundy.

Johnny Sears was also culpable on the first Appalachian State touchdown, getting beaten by yards and giving up the inside in a snap. He wasn't even in a position to slow his opponent down on a five yard slant. The preseason hype on him is officially Grady Brooks.

Both were replaced. Brown got yanked after giving up his second touchdown in favor of Brandent Engelmon; Donovan Warren came in for Sears.

The other major culprits were the linebackers, all of whom were terrible. This is potentially forgivable for Ezeh, a freshman in his first game, but any hopes that Chris Graham doesn't suck go out the window. Johnny Thompson also had a bad day; Michigan's refusal to take David Harris off the field for even a moment last year now seems clear, as does the recruitment of Austin Panter.

Did anyone not soil themselves?

I don't know what to make of the defensive line. They sacked Edwards four times and harassed him frequently otherwise. Their performance against the run left something to be desired, though. art of that wasn't their fault, as they were often asked to stunt themselves out of position when an ISQD was coming, but there was a clear step down from last year. (Obviously.) I am unclear if the DTs or Jamison were responsible for any of the issues in the video above. It looks to me like both DTs took double teams on every play and mostly held up. Quick-reacting linebackers could have filled the holes in the line and held the gains down considerably, but I invite anyone with more experience/knowledge on the field to offer up their own opinions.

Also, Morgan Trent didn't do anything bad.

Where was Brandon Graham?

Graham had a lingering ankle issue that limited his time. He did come on periodically in the second half.

Crable?

The emblem of stupidity, Crable had a good day with a bunch of tackles and a FF and a sack and a half but also was culpable on a number of plays, most egregiously the field goal of doom, upon which he blocked an outside guy instead of an inside guy... but I'm not entirely sure that's his fault. I'll expound on this more later.

What about this: "Everyone is playing soft as if a touchdown is a bad thing at this point. More on this later."

Ah, yes, Michigan's fundamental inability to understand game theory. It wasn't quite as bad as the Appalachian State coach nearly immortalizing himself with one of the all-time great blunders in college football history by kicking his winning field goal on first down with 30 seconds left, but it was pretty bad. On that play in question, the opponent is on the 33 yard line facing a second and three. There is approximately a minute left. In order, you fear:

• A moderate-length first down that puts them in chip-shot range
• A first down of any sort that puts them in makable FG range with the potential for another 10 or 13 yards
• The remote possibility this Edwards kid can bomb something down the field for a long touchdown.

Michigan blitzes six and then sets up a gentle umbrella zone that has no one anywhere near the simple out that gets AppSt the short first down and sets them up for the dagger. Michigan did a similar thing on the 20-yarder on second and fourteen, blitzing a ton of players but making it irrelevant because of soft coverage behind it. If Edwards has to hold the ball one second longer on either of those plays, he is buried under winged helmets. But combining a noodle-armed QB with a blitz and then "coverage" nowhere near the receiver in question is idiotic.*

*(Note that this is a great strategy on third or fourth down and long, when the picket-fence zone plus blitz usually results in a dumpoff that ends up short of the sticks. Using it on second down is dumb.)

Oregon?

Will shred us. Our linebackers are clueless, we're going to spend the entire game in a nickel against four and five receiver sets, and the Ducks' talent level is vastly higher than Appalachian State's. Only errors from Dixon will keep us from playing Purdue 2006 opposite them; thankfully Dixon is the kind of guy who makes tons of errors. I figure the preparation levels will be better, but I also don't buy that Michigan can not be prepared to defend 21 instances of a basic running play. The defense sucks.

Upon Further Review: Offense Vs Appalachian State

EMO WEEK PRESENTS

This post's whiny music selection:

I Know It's Over, The Smiths



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and this post's August Strindberg quote:

Happiness consumes itself like a flame. It cannot burn for ever, it must go out, and the presentiment of its end destroys it at its very peak.

Anyway...

Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M34	1	10	I-Form	Run	4	Hart	Zone left
Appalachian State has eight in the box, and not even a soft eight: three linebackers and five DL. We get a fullback shuffle (yay! It's back!) and then our traditional zone left. Good blocking from everyone up front but the App St middle linebacker manages to get off the zone block (Kraus has disengaged from a successful interior zone) and grab Hart as he passes. OL grades out OK here.
M38	2	6	Diamond	Pass	4	Manningham	Diamond screen
I've come to hate this playcall a little bit because it's yet another instance of something that's totally predictable. Anyway: Manningham manges to slip past the first guy, who attacked arrington, but Schilling fails to cut his guy and he comes out to help recover, holding the gain down. (CA, 3)
M42	3	2	Weak I-Tight	Run	4	Hart	Zone left
Replay of the first play, basically: successfully executed Boren-Kraus zone block. This time Hart cuts back for the first.
M46	1	10	I-Form	Pass	16	Massey	PA TE Out
PA draw fake suckers the linebacker in coverage on Massey; they collide and Massey shucks him. Henne has time and finds him wide open for a nice gain. (CA, 3) Jesus... they're so intent on the run game that Massey is amazingly wide open.
O38	1	10	I-Form	Run	34	Hart	Zone right
FB takes a shuffle step right before the snap, this to the weakside of the formation. I know this play works, but Jesus. Let's just tell them we're going to run to the weakside? No matter. For some reason the App St DT on the playside is really late reacting, allowing the Boren-Ciulla zone block to blow him way off the ball. Ciulla peels onto a linebacker and Moundros has no one to block at all. Pure pwnage from Boren here. Hart passed him eight yards downfield.
O4	1	10	I-Form	Run	4	Hart	Zone left
Hole is between Long and Massey, again Moundros is decoration.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-0 M, 12 min 1st Q. This is how this is supposed to go: these 230 pound “defensive linemen” get obliterated. I wonder what happens later. I can't wait to find out! The thrill of discovery!
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M43	1	10	I-Form	Run	1	Hart	Zone left
Henne does his check-w-fingers thing, getting AppSt to reveal a strongside run blitz. So Michigan goes to the weakside, again shuffling the fullback that way. Clever. This time the playside DT is quick off the ball and gets to Kraus before he can get doubled. No problem, this is a zone play, Kraus just pilots him upfield. But also quick was the weakside DT, possibly because the FB shuffle tipped him off on the playside, who evades Ciulla's cut block (-1 Ciulla) and fills the hole. Hart's attempted cutback is swarmed under.
M44	2	9	Shotgun 4-wide	Pass	6	Mathews	Cross
The panacea! Originally a five-wide look but Hart motions into the backfield to pass block. Henne gets some pressure from the outside, stepping up and hitting Mathews on a crossing route. (CA, 3)
50	3	3	Shotgun 4-wide	Pass	-10	--	Sack
Somebody completely busts a blitz pickup... probably Boren. There are six guys at the line, one for each of the OL plus a guy hanging to the outside over Hart. The linebacker, lined up over Boren, blitzes as the DE drops off into coverage, but Boren sets up to block this DT. End result: three Michigan OL are blocking one DT, Hart correctly picks up the linebacker coming right up the middle of the field, and the backside linebacker is totally free. (PR, Boren -2) BONUS! Illegal formation on Michigan, declined.
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 9 min. Let's have a race. Inexcusable mental breakdowns: 2. Michigan failing because they're totally predictable: 1.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M48	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Run	0	Hart	Zone left
Kraus(-2) gets driven yards into the backfield. Unbelievable.
M48	2	10	I-Form	Pass	10	Minor	Screen
Both Minor and Hart are in the backfield; Hart motions out. Why? Henne takes a straight drop and then tosses a screen to Minor. It's well set up, though I wonder why Minor attempts to seek out the tackler at the end of the run instead of cut behind a blocker for more yards. Vision questions? (CA, 3) Nice block from Kraus(+1).
O42	1	10	I-Form	Pass	Inc	Manningham	Bomb
Manningham gets a step or two on his guy and is open for a potential touchdown; Henne underthrows it and allows the DB to make a play on the ball. (IN, 1)
O42	2	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Mathews	PA Waggle
AppSt blitzes right into this; Henne throws it away. (PR, 0)
O42	3	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	17	Arrington	Out
The 15-yard out that Henne can throw that makes him an NFL prospect if you ignore the other issues of today. A max-pro set with seven blockers held in; Arrington gets open and Henne lays it in there. (DO, 3)
O25	1	10	Ace	Run	-2	Hart	Zone right
Infuriating call: eight in the box, corners in Herrmann-soft coverage, and we just run it right at them. Totally unblocked linebacker submarines Hart.
O27	2	12	Shotgun 3-wide	Run	8	Hart	Draw
Well blocked; DT just manages to get a hand on Hart and trip him a bit; he maintains his balance but is in no position to put a move on the safety.
O19	3	4	Ace 3-wide	Pass	9	Manningham	Stop
Excellent protection. Manningham sits in front of the corner and hauls it in. (CA, 3)
O10	1	G	I-Form	Run	0	Hart	Lead draw
Run right into a blitz and gets blown up. Their rock, our scissors.
O10	2	G	Ace 3-wide	Pass	10	Mathews	Cross
Touchdown. Easy. (CA, 3)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-7 M, 3 min 1st Q. IMBs: 2, FBTTP: 4
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M20	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Run	4	Hart	Zone left
Unclear why this play doesn't work; think it's because the DT to the playside successfully holds near the POA and gets Hart to cut back. He dodges one tackler and makes a few yards by himself.
M24	2	6	I-Form	Penalty	-5	Massey	False Start
Massey(-1)
M19	2	11	I-Form	Pass	Inc	Manningham	Fly
Again with the Hart as fullback and then Incredibly Surprising Motion. This time the AppSt corner is lined up nose-to-nose with Manningham; Michigan goes at him. One hideously uncalled pass interference call later, third down. (IN? CA? I don't even want to chart this. 0, anyway.)
M19	3	11	Ace 3-wide	Pass	Inc	--	Throwaway
AppSt rushes seven(!!!) guys and Henne freaks out. If he steps to his left a little bit he's got Jake Long blocking some dude and Hart picking up a guy coming through the middle. Instead he rolls out to the right, into one of the blitzers, and has to take a long orbital path before dumping the ball OOB. Textbook example of the pocket awareness criticism. Still: seven guys. (TA, 0)
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-14, 12 min 2nd Q. Mmm, three and out versus Appalachian State. IMB: 3, FBTTP: 5.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M20	1	10	I-Form	Run	7	Minor	Iso
Now starts the odd lack of Hart. This is sort of a zone play – double on a DT with a linebacker peel – but is definitely going nowhere but straight up the middle the whole way. Said double team works well; Moundros does okay and Minor goes N-S.
M27	2	3	I-Form	Run	4	Minor	Zone left
FB-shuffle weakside == run weakside. It looks like there should be a hole at first but things get jammed up. Minor hurdles a fallen Kraus and manages to lurch forward for the first.
M31	1	10	???	Pass	12	Manningham	Slip screen
Instead of seeing the first portion of this play we glance lovingly at Mike DeBord. It turns out to be a Manningham screen; he slips a guy and makes first down yardage. (CA, 3)
M43	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	17	Massey	Seam
A dart. (DO, 2). Massey gets popped right afterwards.
O40	1	10	I-Form	Run	5	Minor	Zone left
FB-shuffle to side play goes to. This time the double comes from Long and Massey; Moundros buries a blitzer and Minor has an alley. Extraordinarily quick-filling safety comes up and holds this down, otherwise this is a first down easy.
O35	2	5	I-Form	Run	0	Minor	Uh...
Eight in the box. Odd. FB lines up on the weakside then sort of shuffles strongside. This is supposed to be some sort of counter based on the vectors of the FB and Minor... or I don't know what it is. It is incoherent, though. The blocking's all messed up and there's an unblocked guy right where Minor chooses to go. I can't even begin to sort out what the intent was here.
O35	3	5	Ace 4-wide	Pass	Inc	Manningham	Fly
Corner does not bite on the pump or Manningham's route and makes this a very difficult ball to throw. Henne again a little short, allowing the corner to deflect it. (IN, 1)
O35	4	5	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Arrington	Deep out
AppSt again rushes seven; Henne just chucks it past Arrington. How about a slant or something? Do all of our pass routes have to take eighteen years? AppSt knows that we have no hot reads. They blitz with impunity. (harsh, but IN, 0)
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 14-21 AppSt, 6 min 2nd Q. IMB: still 3, FBTTP: still 4.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M33	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	2	Massey	TE out
A checkdown. (CA, 3). I tend to get less exercised about this than most. Sometimes you have to check down.
M35	2	8	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	16	Arrington	Slant
Easy throw and catch. (CA, 3). Coverage in prevent-y mode.
O49	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	9	Arrington	Slant
Same play. (CA, 3)
O40	2	1	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Arrington	Post
Pump fake does not get the DB to bite as they go a little deeper here with a similar route. Henne throws it slightly behind, allowing the DB to get a hand on it. (Marginally CA, 1)
O40	3	1	Ace 3-wide	Run	5	Minor	Zone right
Arrington comes in, acting as something of a second TE to the strongside. Boren-Ciulla block is very good and creates a hole for Minor to get the first.
O35	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	24	Mathews	Flag
A little high but catchable; Mathews goes up and gets it. (CA, 2).
O11	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Run	-4	Minor	Draw
All out blitz into this draw. No chance.
O15	2	14	Ace 4-wide	Pass	10	Mathews	Slant
Mathews does appear to be pretty good, at least. (CA,3 )
O5	3	4	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	Inc	--	Throwaway
No one open, I guess. (TA) Could have dumped down to Minor for a first down, maybe a touchdown.
Drive Notes: FG(22), 17-28, halftime. In a glimpse of the disaster to come, the FG team lines up with only ten guys. IMB: 3, FBTTP: 5.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
O39	1	10	I-Form	Run	11	Minor	Zone left
We actually run away from the strength of the formation after motioning the TE, catching their linebackers shifted away from the playside. This is very close to being no gain as Ciulla's guy hops over(-1 Ciulla) him when he goes for the chop block, but he can't quite get to Minor. Schilling and Boren (+1 each) both get second level blocks on linebackers, Minor cuts up smartly when the hole reveals itself, and it's ten yards.
O28	1	10	I-Form	Run	2	Minor	Zone right
Eighth guy in the box. Massey(-1) is stalemated a couple yards behind the LOS, which forces Minor to decide whether to take it inside or outside of him. Dunno what inside held, but probably not much. Outside doesn't, either, as Minor stiffarms a linebacker to get a couple yards.
O26	2	8	Ace 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Minor	Screen
Henne gets a blitzer, and though this is a screen he's completely unblocked and flies up the field. Still, rifling it 100 miles an hour at your tailback two feet in front of you is not good policy. It clangs off Minor's shoulder blades and ricochets into the air, but manages to get to the turf. (IN, 2)
O26	3	8	Ace 4-wide	Pass	Inc	Mathews	Slant
Hits him right in the hands; dropped. Probable first down otherwise, definitely close enough to go. (CA, 3)
Drive Notes: FG(42), 20-28, 13 min 3rd Q. Execution errors. IMB: 5, FBTTP: 5.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M11	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	1	Moundros	FB flat
We call a TO before this play. Which is the first one of the drive. And then, the play itself... I have no idea why a fullback flat route is a good idea here. App St has eight in the box. The linebackers are rolled up tight to the LOS. All three of them step forward on the snap – despite no play action fake! -- and massey plows into one of them, then Henne throws it to Mark Moundros at the sidelines for a yard. So, in conclusion: seven of the App St defenders have just opted out of pass coverage and there is going to be no pass rush. Solution: one yard fullback flat. I captured this play just so you could all see it in its glory. It is wondrous. (CA, 2)
M12	2	9	Ace 3-wide	Pass	6	Manningham	Slip screen
App St all over this; Manningham reverses his field and manages to turn this into six. Why have we not thrown downfield yet on either drive this half?
M18	3	3	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	8	Mathews	Stop
Lots of time; Henne finds his second read. (CA, 3).
M26	1	10	I-Form Twins	Run	6	Minor	Zone left
Ciulla (+1) blows his guy way off the ball; Schilling (-1) falls at his feet uselessly. Moundros does okay on a filling linebacker as the gap to the backside opens up. Unblocked DE closes and gets enough of Minor to slow his progress. Minor does a good job of fighting for YAC.
M32	2	4	Ace 3-wide	Run	0	Minor	Zone left
Fumbles; never really got the handoff. One note... the App St linebackers are ridiculously overshifted to the strong side of the formation. We run there anyway. Henne clearly frustrated.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 20-31, 7 min 3rd Q. IMB: 6, FBTTP 5.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M28	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Manningham	Bomb
Has him; overthrows him. (IN, 0)
M28	2	10	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Massey	TE out
Henne forced to step up in the pocket as Ciulla(-1) is beaten but not enough for his man to come in and sack him. Henne's grabbed, steps up, starts running, and finds an open guy in Massey; throw is behind him. (IN, 1)
M28	3	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Massey	Flag
Pretty good coverage by this linebacker but there's a spot for Henne if he can hit it; he can't. Marginally CA... but (IN, 1).
Drive Notes: Punt, 20-31, 4 min 3rd Q. IMB: 6, FBTTP: 5.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
O31	1	10	Ace 4-wide	Pass	Inc	Arrington	Slant
Open; accurate; dropped. (CA, 3)
O31	2	10	Ace 4-wide	Pass	8	Arrington	Slant
Same play. (CA, 3)
O23	3	2	I-Form	Run	8	Minor	Iso
App St run blitzing hard to strong side, expecting a stretch. Instead it goes right up the middle. Kraus(+2) completely crushes his guy, just obliterates him. Moundros gets enough of a blitzer and Minor does a fine job of picking his way through traffic for the first down.
O15	1	10	I-Form	Run	5	Hart	Zone left
Straight eight in the box. Massey gets out on a guy; long has his guy under control; a charging linebacker comes up and meets Moundros. I'm not a huge fan of him yet. He submarines guys but rarely buries them. Again here he does this; Hart cuts back behind him. One chasing guy has been cut well by Schilling but another is still up. Hart does as well as he can, making two and then doing his Hart thing for a final three.
O10	2	5	I-Form	Run	6	Hart	Zone right
Hole this time shows between Schilling and Ciulla. At this point the Michigan line is really just mashing these guys. Schilling blows his man six yards downfield and by the time this play ends there's just a wad of players at the four with Hart sticking out one end.
O4	1	G	I-Form	Run	4	Hart	Zone left
This is just Hart being Hart. A guy gets playside of a guard and has him, but does not have him.
O3	Conv	G	Ace 4-wide	Pass	0	--	Fumbled
Hart offset; pass all the way. Henne fumbles the snap.
Drive Notes: Touchdown (PAT failed), 26-31, EO 3rd. IMB: 8, FBTTP: 5. Pulling away.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
O34	1	10	I-Form	Run	7	Hart	Zone left
Drive starts way in AppSt territory after bad punt and 15 yard facemask. Eight in the box; FB shuffle strong side; zone left. Front side is pretty jammed up here but1) Ciulla (+1) flat kills his guy and 2) we actually block the backside DE with Schilling; is this intended to go backside?
O27	2	3	I-Form	Run	7	Hart	Zone left
This time a FB shuffle to the weakside, where we run. Moundros gets a good pop on a LB right up the middle, where Hart follows, leaping a defender who's getting cut.
O20	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Penalty	-5	Kraus	False Start
Kraus(-1)
O25	1	15	Ace 3-wide	Pass	Int	Arrington	Waggle
Only the second time we run the waggle all game and it's the second time they blitz right into it. Are we tipping this? I dunno. Anyway, Henne gets chased and then throws the most inexcusable interception of his career. Throw it away. Awful. (BR, 0)
Drive Notes: Interception, 26-31, 12 min 3rd. IMB: 10, FBTTP: 6. I count the interception as both.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M24	1	10	I-Form Weak	Run	5	Hart	Zone left
No shuffle; we run FB side. Kraus(-1) gets beaten by a second level defender, who hits Hart a couple yards behind the LOS. Hart powers through the tackle attempt and that of another player for five yards that should have been a loss.
M29	2	5	I-Form	Run	21	Hart	Zone left
Weakside run. Intended POA is jammed with players; Hart manages to cut behind an awkwardly positioned Ciulla (actually facing away from the guy he's quasi-blocking). Schilling (+1) shoves a guy from behind, blocking off pursuit and eliminating both that guy and another trying to get to the ball; result is Hart in the secondary.
50	1	10	I-Form	Run	2	Minor	Iso
FB shuffle weakside. AppSt DE cuts up past Long and Kraus; Moundros has to take him in the backfield. He does, but the guy gets set up outside and prevents Minor from breaking contain. He cuts up into an unblocked linebacker. Ciulla is injured on this play; Ortmann enters and Schilling slides in to guard.
O48	2	8	I-Form	Run	4	Hart	Iso
Boren(-1) gets beaten by the DT; Hart has to deal with him in the backfield. He gets around him and manages to burrow for a few.
O44	3	4	Ace 3-wide	Pass	6	Mathews	Cross
Excellent protection; Mathews is covered very well on the cross but not well enough. (CA, 3)
O38	1	10	I-Form	Penalty	-5	Ortmann	False Start
Ortmann(-1).
O43	1	15	I-Form	Run	6	Hart	Zone left
FB shuffle weakside again; we run there. Hole is up the middle – eight in the box – and is pretty decent. Moundros' guy gets up off the block and makes contact three yards downfield; Hart drags him for three more. I don't like the way Moundros just sort of throws himself in the general direction of his targets.
O37	2	9	I-Form	Penalty	-5	Arrington	Illegal procedure
Arrington lines up off the LOS.
O42	2	14	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Mathews	Comeback
Henne throws to a covered Mathews and has to force it in a tiny spot. Even if this is a catch it's for all of three yards. With time and only four rushers, he has to find someone else. (BR, 1)
O42	3	14	Ace 3-wide	Pass	9	Henne	Scramble
Fine given the result, I guess.
O33	4	5	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Massey	Post
Tries to fit this in a tiny spot between two guys. Massey is bumped before the ball gets there; this is interference as by the time the ball gets to Massey he's been spun 90 degrees. Mostly I'm focusing on a wide open slant for Arrington. (CA, 1)
Drive Notes: Turnover on downs, 26-31, 7 min 4th Q. IMB: 12, FBTTP: 6. This one's over.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M46	1	10	I-Form Twins	Run	54	Hart	Zone left
Kraus(+1) gets his guy sealed to the inside by himself, leaving Moundros and Long to block two Mountanieers, which they do. There's a gaping hole. Hart does the rest.
O3	Conv	3	Ace 3-wide	Run	1	Minor	Zone right
Minor slips; not that it matters much since this was getting overrun from the start.
Drive Notes: Touchdown (PAT failed), 32-31, 4 min 4th Q.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
O43	1	10	I-Form Strong	Run	6	Minor	Zone left
Kraus and Massey and Long create a solid crease for Minor, who runs through an arm tackle for a solid gain.
O37	2	4	I-Form Strong	Run	6	Hart	Zone left
Same play. Michigan gashing their line; Boren with a key block.
O30	1	10	I-Form Strong	Run	0	Hart	Zone left
Ortmann is given a tough assignment: block the DT inside of him. Instead he escorts him to Hart. Kraus has been beaten by the DT to his side; these two converge in the backfield and swallow this play.
O30	2	10	I-Form Weak	Run	5	Hart	Zone left
Massey lined up on the other side now. This is a stalemate on the frontside. Moundros comes in and plows a guy that Schilling is blocking, which takes out a linebacker in the wash, and opens up a hole on the backside for Hart to scoot into.
O25	3	5	Shotgun 3-wide	Penalty	-5	--	Delay
Completely inexcusable! You lead by one with 2:17 left and have two timeouts. Use one. There is no reason not to take a timeout here, and guess who can call them? Coaches. Inexcusable.
O30	3	10	Shotgun 3-wide	Pass	4	Mathews	Stop
An uninspiring result, but there are only three receivers in the pattern and no indication of the availability of the others is made. There are good reasons to make this throw instead of chucking something questionable – keep the clock running, get in better FG position, put yourself in a more makable first down. (CA, 3)
Drive Notes: Blocked FG, 32-31, 2 min 4th Q. IMB +1.
Line	Down	Dist	Form	Type	Yards	Player	Brief
M34	1	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	Inc	Mathews	Flag
Overthrows Mathews on a semi-open flag. (IN, 1)
M34	2	10	Ace 3-wide	Pass	46	Manningham	Prayer
Lofts up a punt Manningham runs under. (CA, 2)
Drive Notes: Blocked FG, 32-34, EOG.

Final Tally?

13 Inexcusable Mental Breakdowns, 6 Failures Because They're Predictable. And the worst, the absolute worst, was the delay of game right at the end. Mindboggling. Not one player or coach thought that calling a timeout there would be a good idea. Without that penalty, the weak four-yard Mathews route turns that into fourth and one. Michigan likely goes for it, plows over AppSt for a first down, and escapes.

Sniffle.

I know. Be strong.

AAAAAAARGH VIOLENCE.

Yeah. Brief check on Michigan's drives and why they failed:

1. Touchdown.
2. Boren protection screwup leads to third and short sack.
3. Touchdown.
4. False start, uncalled PI on Manningham, Henne freaks out as App St blitzes seven.
5. App St blitzes seven on fourth and five; we have no hot read.
6. Field goal. They blitz into a draw on first down; on third down Henne throws it away. Could have tried Hart if he wanted.
7. Field goal. Henne rifles a screen into Minor's shoulderpads on second down; on third down a slant is dropped by Mathews.
8. Three straight inaccurate passes by Henne.
9. Touchdown.
10. Henne throws awful interception on first and fifteen.
11. Illegal procedure, decent Hart run, throw to a covered Mathews for what would have been three yards, scramble, potential PI on a deep Massey post that could have been an open Arrington slant.
12. Hart touchdown.
13. Blocked FG as we attempt to run out the clock.
14. Blocked FG after prayer.

There are four touchdowns and the two blocked FG drives weren't really anyone's fault. Other culprits are Justin Boren(1), Greg Mathews(1), and then some combination of Debord/Loeffler/Henne on six drives. I don't really blame Henne for either of the blitz-seven instances because the play design had no answer for that. When you have three receivers, all of whom are running long routes, you're screwed. But the rest of it is on his shoulders. He completed 50% of his passes and averaged 6.2 YPA against Appalachian State, and he didn't even get that much pressure.

Debord?

Awful. Michigan tried one non-waggle play action pass all day against a team with eight guys in the box constantly; on a few plays the linebackers actually started moving towards the line of scrimmage on a pass play without the assistance of a playfake. Massey should have been wide open on seams all day, but this was never explored but once. The one time Massey did get targeted after play action he was immensely wide open and Michigan gained almost 20 yards. But who needs play action against Appalachian State? Whoops.

Also, whenever Michigan shuffled the fullback they ran to that side. Without exception. And whenever Junior Hemingway was in the game, they ran. Without exception. If every Michigan fan can tell you certain things obviously tip Michigan's plays, what are the chances opposing coaches don't know this? Zero. Everyone knows what Michigan is going to do. This is something we've heard every time a bowl opponent is asked about us for the past half-decade and probably longer. It's an arrogant waste of expectation because you expect that you won't need to fool the other team. It's like playing poker without ever bluffing.

Given Appalachian State's blitz directly into Henne both times we tried a waggle and irresponsible seven-man blitzes that worked, it's safe to say that Michigan's predictability goes beyond the really blindingly obvious crap we've been observing for years and into the realm of deep exploitability.

Chart?

Sigh. Chart(s).

Team	DO	CA	IN	BR	TA	BA	PR
Endless Fiasco	2	22	8	2	1	0	2

(Legend for this one.)Way too many INs, but many of those were bombs that were just off. One of the BRs should be worth like six points, though, as it was the horrible interception that killed a Michigan drive.

	This Game
Player	0	1	2	3
Manningham	2	0/2	1/1	3/3
Arrington	2	0/1	-	4/5
Mathews	-	0/2	1/1	6/7
Massey	-	0/3	1/1	2/2
Hart	-	-	-	-
Minor	-	-	0/1	1/1
Moundros	-	-	1/1	-

A lot of items in the "1" category, which is a ball that would be a circus catch if hauled in. That's not good.

What, if anything, can we take from this game that is positive?

Michigan did perform as expected in the run game, grinding Appalachian State for 246 yards at 6.2 per despite continually facing eight guys in the box. Guys were getting blown off the ball consistently and it was only on occasion anyone could step forth and attempt to deal with it. And this was with Michigan virtually ignoring play action and tipping the direction of their runs half the time. Aside from one bust on the first drive, Boren did very well. Schilling was also decent. It remains to be seen whether this means anything against a I-A rush defense, but given Oregon's performance against Houston last week it also remains to be seen whether Oregon actually has one. And that goes for Notre Dame, too.

Greg Mathews looks like he's comfortable with Henne; Massey also was involved in the offense a lot.

What does it mean for Oregon?

We should be able to score points on them given their initial performance against Houston -- and that was no fluke given last year's crumble and the many problems they had in the offseason -- pending Henne's accuracy returning. He had Manningham four or five times and never hit him until the second to last play of the game. You can't always expect bombs to find their targets, but Henne proved more accurate than that last year.