2012 Michigan Football Thread- GO BLUE!

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JeffoC6

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
1,053
Reaction score
93
Location
Stewartsville
Thought I'd start this thread up so all of us Wolverine fans can have an area to discuss our thoughts on all things Michigan football.

Been a fan since as early as I can remember. My dad was always into college football, so naturally, I was too. As soon as I saw those uni's, I was hooked.

Just finished reading John Bacon's book 3 and Out (story of Rich Rod at Michigan). While I was pretty aware of everything going on during RR's time in Ann Arbor, it still felt like I got punched in the stomach after I finished reading it.

Those were some very difficult days. Now that RR is gone (and I still thank him for what he gave to the Michigan program), we've seen that Hoke is clearly ready to lead the Wolves back to national prominance.

A lot of pundants are saying that Michigan will take a step back this year, and although that may be true (record wise) due to the difficult schedule, I don't think it's true from a talent standpoint.

So, with the ribbon about to be cut on the 2012 season, let's all Hail! Hail! to Michigan!

GO BLUE!
 
I can't say that I'm a fan of much that Rich Rod brought to the program. I know everytbody likes to see teams like Oregon execute the spread, and what Rich Rod did at WV with Pat White and Steve Slayton was impressive, I would've rather not seen the traditional system at Michigan tossed in the trash.

So far, I like what Hoke is doing. He's forced to used somewhat of a hybrid system, with the players he currently has (transitioning from RR's recruiting classes), but I think he'll bring things back to a more pro style offense/defense. I think that will be much better for the school, and development of the players, for those lucky enough to make it to the next level.

Although I'm a die hard Michigan fan, I'm just not a big Denard Robinson fan. I look forward to watching Shane Morris running the team in a couple years. I wish the best of luck for the team this year. Let's hope for a respectable showing, if nothing else.
 
Hey Jeff. MattyGoBlue here! Just saw this thread and you know I had to contribute!

I totally agree with you about this team taking a step backwards this year. I too can see it record-wise due to the difficult schedule, but I still think this team could actually be better overall than last year's team. I actually think Michigan has a legit shot at making it to Indy and then on to Pasadena and all in all, Pasadena is Hoke's main goal coming in to every season outside of competing for a national championship!

And I'm with Lgaddy on my opinion on RichRod. I was behind him in the beginning because he was the head coach at Michigan, but by the end, I was ready for the experiment to be over. And I am thrilled in the direction that Hoke seems to be taking us in as well! He is recruiting his a$$ off since he's arrived in Ann Arbor! And while we may not be quite where we need to be to legitimately go toe to toe with the Alabamas just yet, I think it's pretty clear that we are getting there!

I will disagree with Lgaddy regarding DRob! I LOVE Denard Robinson and what he's meant to Michigan football and I will have to give RichRod props for bringing us DRob. With that said, I too am very excited about getting Shane in the fold and what the future has in store with him running our offense!

Just over a week until the greatest time of the year starts boys! Can't wait for kickoff next Saturday! GO BLUE!!!
 
Yes, I know, I'm one of the few not on the bandwagon of DRob, but just think of what Ryan Mallett couldve done with the program had RR not come in and brought in a new system. Outside of being a bit immature, Mallet was a stud for Arkansas. I hope he puts in his time behind Brady and learns how to be a Pro Bowler in a few years.
 
Popping in to say Go Blue...My sister just graduated so I adopted the Wolverines as my alma mater barely knows which way to run on the field.

I actually brewed her a batch of "Maize and Blueberry" beer for her graduation present!
 
GO BLUE!!!!

I'm a current tuition paying student, so I can say and wear all the Michigan stuff I want. :rockin:
 
Matty! Apparently we have the same passions, huh? Where am I going to find you next, billcosby.com?

To add to this thread again; While I agree that RR needed to go and that Hoke has done a hell of a job (and is the right man for the job moving forward) Rod did bring in DRob, who has helped in bringing the program into the 21st century. While I don't see Hoke recruiting guys like DRob to play QB during his tenure, I do think that having DRob as our QB got us out of the Mike DeBord doldrums once and for all. Even with a pocket passer coming in, I feel that Hoke will want at least SOME kind of athletic ability. It's hard to think that you'd want to go back to a Cutlass Calais again after driving a Ferrari. From what I can tell, Shane Morris is no John Navarre, so while we may be going back to the pro-style, I don't think that it's going to bog us down like it may have in the past. RR (to me at least) helped spice things up and show the Michigan fans that it CAN happen here...While we don't need to run that system 100%, or recruit those players 100%, it does help to have those elements intertwined.
 
Too funny Jeff!

The thing I like about Hoke and even Borges is that they have shown the ability to adapt to the players they have around them as opposed to trying to make DRob a pure pocket passer because that is the only offense they know. RichRod's mistake was trying to drive a square peg into a round hole in trying to implement his offense with players that just didn't fit his system instead of doing things gradually.

Oh, and don't get me started on how much I like Greg Mattison! The few questions I had surrounding Hoke's hire were quickly quashed when he lured Mattison away from the Baltimore Ravens to be Michigan's DC! And Mattison's influence isn't just seen on the field, he's a helluva recruiter and that is evident by last year's recruiting class as well as the 2013 class currently ranked #2!

As the saying goes, It's GREAT to BE a MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!

GO BLUE!!!
 
Haha heck yea! Saturday is going to be a big test... Unfortunately I have to work at 4. Here's hoping for a slowwww day so I can head out early!
 
So Fitz and Clark are suspended. While I think they certainly would've helped us against Bama, ultimately, I don't think we beat Bama either way.
With that said, I'm glad Hoke made this decision. It's about time coaches held their stars accountable. While I think we have even less of a shot without these guys, I'd rather Michigan and Hoke do the right thing, and build the program the right way. Kudos to coach Hoke and who knows, maybe we pull off a stunner. GO BLUE!
 
So Fitz and Clark are suspended. While I think they certainly would've helped us against Bama, ultimately, I don't think we beat Bama either way.
With that said, I'm glad Hoke made this decision. It's about time coaches held their stars accountable. While I think we have even less of a shot without these guys, I'd rather Michigan and Hoke do the right thing, and build the program the right way. Kudos to coach Hoke and who knows, maybe we pull off a stunner. GO BLUE!

Maybe the football gods will look down thru the hole in the roof of Jerry World and look favorably upon Michigan for the actions of Hoke in doing the right thing by suspending his star players despite how it might put us at even MORE of a disadvantage vs. Alabama! :fro:

I agree that I'm glad to see Hoke suspend Fitz and Clkark. It sucks not having them in one of the biggest games of the year, but it was the right move made by Hoke. Hoke is being praised for his decision too which is good to see the positive pub that is coming Michigan's way!
 
I must say I have always been a big fan of Michigan Ball. The Wolverines play honest "in your face" smashmouth ball that is normally not present in the non-SEC divisions. They are always a tune in team for me even though I don't consider myself a dyed in the wool Blue fan. I count this week's game as a real season opener for two great teams and I look forward to whistle to whistle watching.

With my hat tipped to the Michigan faithful, I wish you well as you meet my Crimson Tide!


ROLL TIDE!!!
 
Ouch. Not a good morning. Just went back looking through texts from this past week to my friends. I copied and pasted the same text to most of them (in response to their question about what I thought about the Michigan/Bama game). It said:

Michigan and DRob will not be able to run against the Bama front 7. So that means DRob is going to need to throw to win, and that's not going to happen.

I guess I can take solice in the fact that I wasn't blindsided by this loss. And while I may have even expected it, it still smarts.
Anyone have a Two Hearted Ale? I could use one...
 
I was floored by the size difference. I knew Alabama was big but it felt like I was watching Space Jam.
 
I was shocked, actually. Michigan got their asses handed to them in a way I never expected. I think it might be LSU and Bama in the BCS championship game come January. Both teams are beasts.

Not that my Vols are looking too shabby, but it is too early in the rebuild to expect much. I continue to curse USC and the "coach" (cheater) who shall go un-named.

Good luck, Big Blue, in fighting back from this loss.
 
Yeah, Bama's size and speed pretty much shocked the hell out of me.

But I'm not taking this loss too hard. Michigan lost to a great freaking team loaded with NFL talent across the board. Remember LSU didn't even cross midfield in the NC game. At least Michigan scored 2 td's.. :D

Oh and let's not forget we weren't even playing with a full deck. Hard enough to beat Bama with our full team, but our starting rb was suspended, one of our best d-linemen was suspended and we lost our best corner in the 2nd series of the game.

One thing I will say is I wouldn't want to be Air Force this weekend...
 
I can't say that the outcome was a shocker to me. Denard Robinson just cannot play the QB position consistently. I saw the same overthrows, and just winging it up for his receivers (hoping they'd catch it), as I saw last year. What surprised me most was the absolutely poor tackling from the defense. I expected Alabama to win, but also hoped we could keep it within reason. With bad QB play and ugly defense, any team is gonna roll right over you. Blue had better work out the bugs before they get into conference play.
 
I told my Bro-In-Law (Big Blue Fan) that Michigan was going to have to throw against Alabama and he agreed. But they didn't and couldn't much anyway.

It's hard to judge a team against the likes of Alabama. They are heads and shoulders above pretty much anyone else.

We quit watching close to halftime. Bama had all the luck and a few calls to add to it.
 
It's hard to judge a team against the likes of Alabama. They are heads and shoulders above pretty much anyone else.

This is true to an extent. But one thing you can judge is how far Michigan has to go to get to Alabama's level. I think they are on the right track, but they still have a looooooong way to go. But like you said, Alabama seems to be on a whole other level as evidenced by their 21-0 shutout of LSU in the BCS Championship game last year. Heck, I wish the Browns had an O-line as good as Alabama's got?!

Bama had all the luck and a few calls to add to it.

Yeah, there was a lot of holding going on along the Bama o-line that wasn't being called like some of the calls Lewan was being flagged for. Didn't make a difference in the outcome, but mabye Michigan scores a few more points without those iffy drive killing penalties...
 
I did but only against equally large SEC opponents... Talk about skewed perspective.
 
I did but only against equally large SEC opponents... Talk about skewed perspective.

Yeah, that whole conference is scary. But that's why UM had to throw.

If they make the right plays at the right time they can do ok. They aren't going to do it running. They gotta outsmart the Defense and get a guy open and a pass off quickly.

IMO humble Armchair QB opinion, they didn't make enough short throws. I'm actually surprised Denard wasn't sacked more.

It was an interesting game to watch in any case. Looking forward to the rest of the season, even though I split my attention between a few teams. I'm interested in seeing what Denard can do this year, and what the teams does in general. Looks like they are still evolving.
 
Homercidal said:
It was an interesting game to watch in any case. Looking forward to the rest of the season, even though I split my attention between a few teams. I'm interested in seeing what Denard can do this year, and what the teams does in general. Looks like they are still evolving.

Agreed. The nice thing about not growing up with a CFB rooting interest and having an alma mater who can't play football is that I don't get as emotionally spun up about these games as my sister. Now basketball season... Totally different story.
 
Yeah, that whole conference is scary. But that's why UM had to throw.

If they make the right plays at the right time they can do ok. They aren't going to do it running. They gotta outsmart the Defense and get a guy open and a pass off quickly.

IMO humble Armchair QB opinion, they didn't make enough short throws. I'm actually surprised Denard wasn't sacked more.

It was an interesting game to watch in any case. Looking forward to the rest of the season, even though I split my attention between a few teams. I'm interested in seeing what Denard can do this year, and what the teams does in general. Looks like they are still evolving.

I'm not putting too much stock into that one game as far as criticizing Denard goes. Alabama's defense is going to make a LOT of QB's look bad this year, IMO.

The problem is, you are correct in your last statement in that they (Al Borges) are still evolving this offense. He is not used to trying to implement an offensive gameplan with a QB with Denard's skill set and he has been trying to tweak his offensive gameplan to mesh his strengths as an offensive play caller with Denard's strenghts and it doesn't always mesh.

While Denard is one of the most electrifying QB's in the country and many OC's would drool to have a weapon like Denard at their disposal, I'm sure that Borges already has his sights on Shane Morris who could come in next year as a true freshman and start at QB from day 1. He's a more prototypical drop back passer that fits Borges' offense perfectly!

As for my degree of fandom, I'm not a Michigan alum but I have grown up in the state of Ohio as a HUGE Michigan fan. I guess it's the contrarian in me?! :ban: I went to college at a small D3 school so I can't really follow their football program, so it's been all Michigan for me since I can remember! And college football is far and away my favorite sport to follow. I like college hoops but really don't follow the regular season with much interest except for the B1G conference schedule now that Michigan is back on the rise in basketball now! As for pro sports, MLB is hard for me to get into as my team (Indians) have an owner who won't spend money and until he ever sells the team, they will be going NOWHERE?! The NBA is pretty much dead to me as I'm sick of seeing this recent trend of the best players dictating where and who they are going to play with. I do like the NFL but my family takes precedence on Sundays as I'm watching Michigan on Saturdays so I don't follow the NFL as close...
 
We watched last weeks game while camping. My BIL got up to "take care of the baby right around the time Bama was up a few touchdowns. His wife went to check on him later and he wouldn't come back! Said Michigan was only going to embarrass themselves.

I don't get it. A REAL fan would stick by their team (they weren't down by THAT much at that time) and furthermore, he didn't even go to UofM!! I'm not sure he's even been to a college class. He ADOPTED the team as his favorite and gets bent out of shape when they are losing to (His own words) "...the best college football team in the world!"

So yeah, it's nice to be able to sit back and watch the game without it ruining the rest of the evening. He's grow out of it. I used to get into hockey that badly, but I've learned to sit back and enjoy the whole game. It sucks when you are watching with Kool-Aid Goggles.
 
I don't care much for the fair weather fans, or the "fans" that pick the popular teams as their favorites (ie Yankees, Lakers, etc.), just to be another lemming. Unfortunately, Michigan has a number of people that claim to be fans, for that reason only. IMO, a true fan will watch every minute they can, of every game, win or lose. If it's your team, there's no excuse not to stick it out through the thick and the thin. I wish I could revoke the fan cards of those that turn away in hard times.
 
I agree about fairweather fans. I never missed a minute of any game thru the great depression of the RichRod era! THAT was painful!

I also don't like fans who only seem to have negative things to say about the team/coaches. All of the negative nancies that come out of the woodwork after tough losses like the loss to Alabama. I'm an optimist in life in general so naturally that carries over to my views on the teams I follow as well. And even the most optimistic I could get about last week's game, I couldn't convince myself that we had a chance in hell against Alabama. So, to hear all of these naysayers come out from under the rocks they live under as if they thought we should have actually won the game is a bit grinding to me?!
 
Hello, does anyone know if Devin Funchess posts on this board? If so, tell him I love him, alright?
 
Air Force shouldn't have been that close, defense needs to step it up. And PLEASE, develop more of a strategy than Denard left, Denard right, Denard up the middle. Having a one dimensional, predictable offense, is gonna bite us in the ass against better teams.
 
I'm not too worried about the defense just yet. We were flat out over matched in that Alabama game. And that triple option is never easy to prepare for for any defense. I read on another forum that Georgia Southern runs the triple option and they ran for 300+ yards vs. Alabama LAST year!

Now, as far as the offense goes, it definitely concerns me that we couldn't get Fitz going. They can't count on Denard to do everything as the year goes on.

Lastly, I still think Michigan looks good as far as winning the B1G is concerned. I wasn't buying Taylor Martinez and Nebraska after their win over Southern Miss and they proved me right losing to UCLA. Same goes for Wisconsin and their unimpressive loss to Oregon State.
 
Air Force shouldn't have been that close, defense needs to step it up. And PLEASE, develop more of a strategy than Denard left, Denard right, Denard up the middle. Having a one dimensional, predictable offense, is gonna bite us in the ass against better teams.

Ya think?
 
Well, this thread has been quiet. It's Notre Dame week fellas! I have one thing to say:

TO HELL WITH NOTRE DAME!!!

What's the over/under on when Kelly's faces changes colors???

images
 
It would definitely make for a good win, with ND being (IMO) overly ranked right now. Surely get us closer to the top ten.
 
Yeah. ND is improved, but I was stunnded how much they jumped in the polls for beating an over-rated Sparty team?! Typical ND media bias. It seems like everyone just couldn't wait to declare ND as being back. Hopefully Michigan can put a dose of reality back in the ND hysteria!
 
Back
Top