Jim Harbaugh Scramble

Carson Palmer is Da Man

2008-07-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

I've always liked Carson Palmer, since he days at USC. I always felt that he was a solid quarterback with great field vision and a cannon for an arm. Well Carson has just endeared himself to me even more, and he may be winning some new fans after this verbal takedown of The "University of Ohio State."

I cannot stand the Buckeyes and having to live in Ohio and hear those people talk about their team it drives me absolutely nuts.

As a Michigan fan in Ohio, I couldn't have said it better myself.
Love the Candor, a franchise QB in the Buckeye State just berating the most beloved team in the land. This man has some cajones.

It’s amazing to hear what those guys think about that university and what they think about that football program and Tressel and all the crap I gotta put up with being back there. I just can’t wait for two years from now when SC comes to the Shoe and hopefully we’ll have a home game that weekend and I can go up there and watch us pound on them in their own turf and kind of put all the talk to rest because I’m really getting sick of it and I just can’t wait for this game to get here so they can come out to the Coliseum and experience LA and get an ald [ed. - did he really say "ald?" This has to be a typo, even if he said ald, I'm sure it would have been transcribed as old, so I'm gonna go with a typo]-fashioned Pac-10 butt-whooppin and go back to the Big Ten.

Well Carson I'm with you, I really hope that the Trojans lay a beat down on Tress and the Bucks.

IMO this is without a doubt the biggest non-con game of the year and maybe the best early season showdown since that epic night game between OSU and Vince Young in 2005.
(My early prediction is USC 27 OSU 24. I will cover this game with a nice little preview during the week of the game, as well as my official prediction.)

HT to Jim Rome, who talked about this story on the radio this afternoon.

The Anti-Carr team - Starting QB

2008-07-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

Brian of Mgoblog started this wonderful feature, before unfortunately discontinuing it, however he did leave this awesome post about the d-line: http://mgoblog.com/content/anti-carr-team-defensive-line

I'm just gonna cut to the chase and start with what is in my mind the most obvious member of the Anti-Carr team, and that man is of course John Navarre 2001.

John Navarre burst onto the scene in 2000. His first games playing as a rs frosh for the injured Drew Henson were spectacular. In his first game he was 15-19 for 265 yards with 4 tds (Michigan passing record for tds in a game) with no picks. Nice debut kid.

His next game was a solid effort with 3 tds and no picks. Just one problem, this games were against Bowling Green and Rice.

Navrre's first game against a BCS team was just a disaster, an 8-28 performance, in a horrid loss to UCLA.

Unfortunately for Navarre, I think he lost a lot of fan's good will with this game. The next game didn't help his case, he started out terrible against Illinois, luckily for M fans Drew Henson stepped in and lead to team to victory.

And Michigan fans would not have to worry about Navarre until 2002, as Henson would finish out 2000 and return for a glorious senior campaign in 2001.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. Henson bolted for baseball, and Navarre was the default guy in 2001. But hey whats the worst that could happen right?

The 2001 Painful Numbers

Navarre had 4 games of 50% or less passes completed. That is just horrible. Included in this was a game with 58 passing yards. 58 yards passing, a paltry amount of completions, 5.3 yards per completion (yes completion not attempt0 what is this the Ken O'Keefe offense?

The numbers alone do not describe how bad 2001 Navarre is. All that needs to be discribed is the 2001 OSU game.

Really all I should say here is that Navarre was yanked for Jermaine Gonzalez. Who promptly came in, lined up in the shotgun, watched the ball zip past him for an OSU safety. Well that it for Jermaine Gonzalez, he was yanked after the half. I have to mention though, that those 2 free points came with about 30 seconds left in the half. Navarre was sucking so bad that Lloyd tried to have Jermaine Gonzalez do something with 30 seconds left in the half.

Navarre didn't suck as bad in the second half, but it didn't matter as his incredible suckitude put Michigan in such a deep hole that they were playing catchup the whole time.

Navrre's numbers: 21-47 with 4 picks. Oh and 15 of those completions were to Marquis Walker.

This loss at home, to a very mediocre OSU team, was just awful. Michigan as bad as they had been at times in the 2001 season still was leading the Big Ten and only needed to beat OSU to go to the BCS. Unfortunately, this debacle happened and in Tressel's debut at the Big House he gained the upper hand on the rivalry, and he has not let up.

John Navarre 2001, the Starting Anti-Carr team QB.

(All worked out pretty well for Navarre, he improved over his next two seasons, won a bowl game, and beat OSU.)

Getting the Band Back Together (seriously)

2008-07-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

Due to popular demand I am going to fire this baby back up.

My next post (within the next few days) will continue MgoBlogs, sadly discontinued "Anti-Carr" team feature. Brian (of MgoBlog) my have discontinued his coverage of this gripping series due to backlash, but do to said backlash (which I consider to be beyond lame) I am going to carry the torch and finish out the "Anti-Carr" team with a twist!

The twist being that I am going to do it one position at a time, rather than the one position group at a time.

The D-Line has been accounted for, what position will be next? Find out on the next edition of the Anti-Carr team.

Looking back at some predictions

2008-05-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

For the NBA I said:
DET over ORL in 6.
BOS over CLE in 5.
LA over UTAH in 6.
NO over SA in 7.

Pistons won in 5, so that was almost right on.
If Boston wins game 6 I will have been 1 game off in that series too.
LA has a chance to beat Utah in 6 - so that could be right on.
NO I really hope beats SA in game 7, if so that would be right on.

A quick note on the NO/SA series - wow how obvious is it that the NBA really wants SA to win? The reffing in that series has beyond awful. San Antonio has gotten so many cheapie calls - simply disgusting. Also, how about Horry nailing David West in the back and no call? Then the San Antonio fans chant "Horry, Horry." As if I needed anymore of a reason to hate those no class pompous asses.

If the Spurs beat the Hornets because West can't go, that will be bull. Kinda like how the SPurs beat the Suns last year because Amare was suspended. The Spurs may have some rings on their fingers, but their are at least 2 *'s on those titles. One for their first championship over an 8 seed in the strike shortened season, and another for beating a Cavs team that was so outclassed in the finals it would have been better to just award the trophy to SA, rather than airing 4 straight beatdowns.

Now on to my NHL picks:
DET over DAL in 5.
PIT over PHI in 6.

With a Wings win that pick will be dead on.

The Pit pick is looking pretty good too if the Pens win game 5 I will have only been off by 1 game.

The Long Offseason

2008-05-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

As the season is looming near, I will actually be posting things.

I will post some Big Ten as well as national predictions just before the season starts. I would post them sooner but with injuries and off season stupidity (Perrilloux) you can never be too sure how a team is going to look until the season is nearest.

However for the time being here are my NBA picks -
DET over ORL in 6.
BOS over CLE in 5.
LA over UTAH in 6.
NO over SA in 7.

NHL picks -
DET over DAL in 5.
PIT over PHI in 6.

Bringing it Back

2008-04-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about getting the blog back together. Actually posting stuff. With the excitement of a new coach, new players and new system, by the time the football season rolls around, I'm hoping to actually be posting a few days a week.

Will it work out? Maybe, hopefully.

Quick Final Four take - UNC over KU, UCLA over Memphis. UCLA 75 UNC 71 in the championship game.

Congrats

2007-10-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Harbaugh, Miles and Kelly who all had big, big wins on Saturday.

Hopefully one of these men will be UM's head coach next season.

I'm amazed that Harbaugh can beat USC with a rather pathetic Cardinal team and every time UM plays USC in the Rose Bowl we get blown out.
Our coaching staff needs to get with the times, the game is all about matchups and attacking your opponents weakness. Our coach staff does not believe in this however.

Purdue looked awful against the Bucks, how will they look against UM? The coaches need to watch tape of the OSU game asnd study why they won and craft a similar game plan. Will they do it, HIGHLY doubtful, but as we have seen throughout this college football season anything can happen.

GO BLUE, pleas beat Purdue.

And on a completly unrelated note - Karl Dorell you are done dude, that EMU and his 87 yards passing put the nail in your coffin. Here's a tought - you are on a third string QB in a tie ball game - RUN the football.

Preview

2007-09-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry the S.fla/WVU game prevented me from doing an actual preview but based on the 80 degree forcast with no rain I this years game playing out much different from last years.

My prediction is UM 31/NW17.

and on another note go CAL beat that arrogant puke Mike Bellotti.

and bump bret bielema, i hate that guy.

Tommorow!

2007-09-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

Preview of the NW game coming tomorrow, stay tuned!

UM v. PSU

2007-09-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

I don't really know what to say about this game. The key for me is UM winning the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense. IF M can get hart 150 rushing yards, hold the PSU ground attack to less than 100 and pressure Morelli - M wins. If they can't do these things I think they'll lose. PSU runs a traditional offense, which is something that M hasn't seen yet this year (ASU and Oregon both run the spread and ND doesn't run an offense). I think M matches up well with the PSU offense, the key will be dominated the line and pressuring Morelli. The D-backs have to be careful of the speed of the PSU WR's too. I'd hate to see a 3 yard hitch turn into a 70 yard TD.

My prediction is UM 20 PSU 17.

UPDATE -
I forgot to say that my bold prediction for this game is that Derrick Williams (AKA D-Wheels ) will touch the the ball at least once behing the LOS. Whether this means a reverse, end around, direct snap, hand off, or whatever but I am very confident that Jay-Pa and Joe-Pa will have some tricky play lined up that tries to take advantage of #2's speed.

Update

2007-09-19T23:34:00.000-07:00

Coming soon will be my preview of the UM/PSU game.

Go blue!!!

Update!

2007-09-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

First of oregon fans just like your team and your coach you have no class.

Next off, Portland should have taken kevin durant, think they are regretting taking the 40 year old rookie instead?

Next up, the Buster Bowl pitting ND against UM. I'm gonna say this right now the loser does not make a bowl game. Winner salvages some pride but whats on the line is being remembered as the loser in this clash of the anti-titans.

Notre Dame has no Offense, Michigan has no offense, typically a great D beats a great O, but does a shit D trump a shit O or vice versa.

I don't know how this game is gonna play out but it is gonna be painful to watch for fans of both teams.

My prediction is that mike hart leads UM to 13-10 victory.

UM needs to win if not Clausen and the robot genius will get slurped by ESPN more so than usual and no one should be forced to deal with that.

As for other games - I'm picking USC over the huskers, UW over the Buckeyes, noles over buffs and the gators over the vols.

And I'm not sure who oregon is playing but I hope they lose.

Update time

2007-09-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

I had a nice oregon preview ready for last friday but blogger fucked up and didn't save it.

it is probably better it didn't though because I predicted a UM win silly me.

anyway on thursday night or friday i'll have a nice emu related post up.

Michigan's already lost to one bird this year and a hope we don't lose to a bird of the large flightless and freshmen variety.

100+ years of tradition down the drain

2007-09-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

I don't really need to say anything that I haven't said elsewhere or that hasn't been said already.

All I'll say is this Lloyd needs to step down at the end of the year, the sooner he announces his retirement the sooner Billy Martin can find a new head coach. This head coach had better be the best available and either a big name hire (a proven big conference or NFL coach) or a hot new up and comer (worked for Fla right)? This is going to be a huge hire and martin better not drop the ball like he did by scheduling App state.

Oh and I'm calling out the O-line and Henne. Chad that was pathetic.

This game against the ducks is a must win to salvage some pride.
Maybe we can stop the spread, probably not.

Oh and as a man of my word i said i would break something if we lost to App. state and my desk chair was the victim of that bold prediction.

Saturday Saturday Saturday

2007-08-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

This Saturday at the big house michigan will beat APP State 45-10.

I'm not going to talk about the game anymore than this because Appy state is DIVAA and if Mich doesn't destroy them I will break something.

But here is a brief albiet informative Big Ten Preview:
First my predicted Standings (based on overall record):
11: Minn
10. NW
9. MSU
8. Indiana
7. Ill
6. Purdue
5. Iowa
4. PSU
3. Wisc
2. OSU
1. UM

Player of the year offense - Mike Hart (RB), UM.

Player of the year defense - Dan Connor(LB), PSU.

Frosh of the year - Regis Benn (WR), Ill.

Coach of the year - The Zooker (I think the fighting Illini go 6-6 and make bowl game and that the Zooker will be rewarded with this award).

Onto the national scene:

My Heisman pick - Darren Mcfadden (RB/KR/Wildcat QB), Ark.

My preseason top 10 -

1. USC
2. LSU
3.UM
4. WVU
5. Texas
6. VaTech
7. Louisville
8. Oklahoma
9. Florida
10. Wisc

Welcome Back

2007-08-15T00:39:00.001-07:00

Well the football season is almost coming up and that means it is time for this blog to get to posting.

NO joke there will be a ton of football related content coming up, never mind that i work part time and go to law school full time, I am going to make time for college football and blogging.

Get ready cuz on monday i will unveil my big ten preview consisting of my rankings of each team, and who i think wins the biggest games of the season, and the players to watch on each team.

Sun Belt Preview Time

2007-06-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

yes folks the time has arrived to start breaking down the conferences. Lets start with probably the worst 1-A conference known to man.

The members of the conference -

troy, mid. tenn., ark. state, fau, ul-lafayette, ul-monroe, north texas and fiu.

the team(s) to beat - (who's most likely to win the conference or make a legit bcs run)

obviously a bcs run will not happen for any of these teams, but one team must win this conference and make a bowl game.
troy and mid tenn. state were the top two teams last year in the conference and i see no reason why they shouldn't be the top two teams in the conference this year.

the cellar dwellar (who blows and will be getting their ass kicked on a weakly [get it "WEAK"ly instead of "week"ly???] weak - cuz these teams suck and will be probably lose double digit games)

fiu sucked, sucked, sucked, sucked, SUCKED last year going o-7 in the worst conference in the land and being a solid 0-12 for the year. i see no reason why they should be that bad this year.

players to watch - (the returning studs of the conference and maybe a few impact frosh)

Omar Haugabook the qb from troy is the only player i can think of off the top of my head, and therefore is the only player who shall be mentioned. and since no one really watches the sunbelt calling it players to watch is a bit of a stretch.
additionally the sun belt website mentions ASU safety tyrell johnson on the nagurski watch list, so he must be a pretty solid player.

crazy prediction - (who will win the conference)

my pick is troy, they won a bowl game last year, (albiet over rice) and they have Omar Haugabook returning who is probably the best player in the conference. I see no reason why troy shouldn't win this leauge.

mvp - a crazy pick of the offensive and defensive mvp for the conference.

offensive mvp - omar haugabook, qb, troy.
defensive mvp - tyrell johnson safety, asu.

*************** please note the "bcs" conferences will have real pieces and breakdowns with actual research.

condolences

2007-06-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

i have just learned that IU football coach terry hoeppner has passed, thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and those in the miami (oh) and IU football communities.

Upcoming posts

2007-06-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

in honor of the new and upcoming college football season, i will be posting an early assesment of each conference including:

the team(s) to beat - (who's most likely to win the conference or make a legit bcs run)

the cellar dwellar (who blows and will be getting their ass kicked on a weakly [get it "WEAK"ly instead of "week"ly???] weak - cuz these teams suck and will be probably lose double digit games) (temple and buffalo congrats guys you are gonna get some blog-time for the only time this year.)

players to watch - the returning studs of the conference and maybe a few impact frosh, i'll try to pick from each team, but obviusly teams like LSU will have more players on this list than a team like Blayor.)

crazy prediction - (who will win the conference)

mvp - a crazy pick of the offensive and defensive mvp for the conference.

i'll try to start with the crap conferences and work up to the big boys, if anyone has any suggestions please leave them in the comments section.

Guess who's back

2007-06-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

Adrian Arrington is back on the team after running steps at 6am for seemingly ever and whatever other secret punishment lloyd decided to dish out.

welcome back A.A. and here's a tip - stay out of trouble!!!!!!

his return gives michigan in my opinion, the best 1-2 bunch at reciever in the big ten with mannigham and arrington.

(thanks to umgoblue for the story)

CHOKE

2007-06-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

pistons that was a disgrace. (i have a hunch) that this team is getting blown up in the offseason and will look totally different in the 07-08 season.

personally i say keep the team intact for one last run, but i don't know how possible that will be given the salary cap and such.

the pistons have some young players with promise and have 2 first round picks, maybe it is time to build for the future??????

we'll find out what joe dumars' plan is soon.

CAVS

2007-05-29T20:27:00.000-07:00

congrats refs and cavs on making the series 2-2

but the pistons will still win in 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

c'mon pistons win this series!!!!!!!

Memorial Day

2007-05-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

enjoy your day off everybody, a new post tommorow, breaking down the TE's.

time for some michigan football coverage

2007-05-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here is my super early michigan season preview: (part 1 of ?)

Michigan (probable regular season record somewhere between 1o-2 and 12-0)

OFFENSE:

arguably one of the top 3 offenses in the country. with mike hart, chad henne, jake long, mario manningham the wolverines have one of the country's top RB, QB, LT, and WR.

Looking at the various positions:

WR:
Mannigham is a stud, a legit #1 receiver. Hopefully adrian arrington will be available if not greg matthews must step up. If arrington is back on the team UM has a solid wr trio, and talent recruits coming in. Latrell Savoy has been a bit of a mystery, apparently he looks good on the practice field, yet cannot get any worthwhile playing time. If indeed arrington returns (i think he will) this receiving core should be tops in the big ten, and one of the best in the country.

Questions about the WRs - will arrington be back on the team, will savoy get to play, will manningham be able to rival his performance of early 2006, and will the freshmen earn any playing time, will antonio bass ever be able to play again and will debord and carr throw the ball since we have a vetern qb and solid wrs?

Probable starters at WR - Mario Mannigham and Adrian Arrington (Greg Matthews if A.A. is not back on the team).

Losses from 2006- Steve Breaston (graduated), Carl Tabb (graduated), Doug Dutch (moved to CB)

Incoming players: Zion Babb, Toney Clemons, Junior Hemingway

Preview of upcoming previews:

TE is a position of concern and mike massey needs to show he can stay healthy, because he is really the only TE on the team with any experience.

the O-Line is solid with long and kraus anchoring the left side. schilling and boren must step up for the line to be at its best.

I thought this was a michigan blog?

2007-05-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

well rest easy loyal readers, it is a michigan blog, there is just such a lack of um football news at the time that it is very hard to find new and intersting um football news to talk about. granted some um players have tried to make news by fighting on st paddys day, getting pulled over, etc. however it is not my place to comment on these kind of issues so i prefer to stay out of them.

but as soon as september nears believe me the content will be much more um related, but until then enjoy some nfl coverage, and what ever else random coverage i decide to talk about.

more nfl draft coverage

2007-05-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

hello amobi okoye, you are overrated and you will be a bust. you are playing for the houston texans who specialize in busts (see carr, david or williams, mario). Welcome to a team with no offense line, no direction, one wr and no running backs. you may look good in practice when you get to matt shaub because the houston 0-line sucks, but in a real game i hope you get stone-walled and knocked on your ass.

I watched you play against rutgers and wvu and if my memory serves me right you didn't do much.

alan branch is way better than you and will have a much better career.

wow your 19 years old, that don't impress me, but it does impress the awesome front office staff of the texans, and those guys are always right.

you will be a bust and the texans once again have made a moronic pick. but hey atleast they are used to it.

trust me people, branch will be much better for the caridnals than okoye will be for the texans.

the texans if they were smart would have taken leon hall and teamed him with dunta robinson that way they have 2 good cbs, because they play against peyton twice a year.

i can't stand the texans so i'm glad they screwed up the draft.

FAVRE

2007-05-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

FAVRE
shut up and play or retire.

I'm sick of hearing about you complain about this and that. It's getting very old, kinda like you. The packers suck, you ain't making the playoffs so just retire already.

i'm sick and tired of you beating the lions, so just retire so aaron rogers can play and the lions can win.

whaaaaaaa-whaaaaaaaaaaaa, shut up you cry baby, make friends with mcnabb or something, cuz it seems all you do is cry just like him.

SHUT UP AND PLAY!

Quick Hits

2007-05-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

Some real quick thoughts regarding the nfl draft:

These thoughts are in no particular or logic order and i don't care about spelling or grammar.

1. First off, D. McNabb - shut up. I am not a fan of McNabb, at all i think he is way overrated, and he is a big whiner. Lemme break it down for you mr. campbell's chunky soup....
dude if you are even remotley healthy you are going to start for the eagles, quit bitchin'. no coach in their right mind is going to start a rookie project over a former pro-bowler who is not over the hill, who has a mega contract. Look I love Kevin Kolb's game, and think he has the potential to be a good starter in the NFL, but he has played in the same offense for 8 years and that offense ain't the same as the eagles offense. that houston crazy run and shoot is nothing like the eagles west coast offense. i think kolb has a chance to be a good one, but there is no way he is going to start over mcnabb in game 1. Mcnabb why don't you quit whining get healthy and play football. mcnabb always seems to bitch about something, wheter it be TO, kolb, getting booed by philly fans, or whatever else he has whined about.
as far as i'm concerned mcnabb and shut it, get healthy and attempt to be the qb he once was.

next,
2. i love the detroit lions pick of calvin johnson. kid is a stud. him and roy williams will be a nasty tandom. for the record i hated the charles rogers pick and he turned out to be a bust, i loved the mike williams pick and he turned out to be a bust. however, i loved the roy williams pick and he turned out fine, so i can only hope CJ turns out just as well.

the lions should put up some points on offense this year but that defense is awful, who the hell is gonna start at cb? i expect the lions to be losing a lot of 35-32 type games. my official prediction for the lions is 6-10.

thats all for now.

more real content coming soon, and as the (college) season comes closer the content will improve.

Back

2007-05-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

I just got done with my exams, and am now officially on summer break.

so i'll be able to update the blog regulary now, and updates will become more and more frequent as the season approaches.

briefly let me adress the Jim Harbaugh comments regarding michigan athletics/academics.

it seems like a lot of people are up in arms about the comments. personally my view point is this, Jim Harbaugh is speaking his mind, and what he says is truthful and not offensive.

he is the head coach of standford and as a result his sole obligation is to his employer. it is in his best interest as an employee to promote the school that is signing his paychecks.

harbaugh has always spoken his mind and even competed in a "smack-off" on the jim rome show, so no one should be surprised that he is being very blunt.

i would have a problem if he was trashing michigan as a football program or an insitution, but he is not doing these things. he is simply explaining that michigan like the vast majority of schools is willing to bend the academic restrictions a bit to get some players. wow what shocking news.

i would be mad if harbaugh said michigan sucked and swore alliangence to OSU, but he hasn't done this. and i'm sure this ain't gonna happen.

look as the head coach of stanford his job is to coach and promote his current unversity, and thats what he is doing. i have no problem with these comments at all.

furthermore harbaugh was undefeated against OSU and ND and he actually won a bowl game.
those factors alone mean we should give this guy the benefit of the doubt.

Update

2007-04-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

I've been really, busy hence like 2 months without an update, but have no fear in a few weeks i'll provide some nfl draft analysis and a season preview.

i'll be updating regularly during the season.

ranking the sec

2007-03-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

same disclaimer as the last post.

first off the SEC West (I don't really like any of these teams, I can't stand kentucky baskeball, but i enjoyed Jared Lorenzon)
1. S. Carolina
2. Vandy
3. Georgia
4. Tennessee
5. Florida
6. Kentucky

Next the SEC East (Less contempt for these teams)
1. LSU (I actually would consider myself a tiger's fan)
2. Arkansas (I love the fact they have a RB playing QB)
3. Auburn (These tigers are A-OK in my book)
4. Ole Miss. (Kind of a tossup between them and miss state, the ogergon gives them a slight edge)
5. Miss. State (Were actually a good team in NCAA 06, with an impact scrambling qb and an impact jerious norwood at rb)
6. Alabama (I don't care for the Tide but can tolerate them more than UF and Kentucky.

Ranking the Big Ten

2007-02-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

These are my rankings for the teams of the big ten. This has no bearing on who is the best team in the conference, who is the worst, who is alright etc. These are just my personal feelings on all the big ten teams. This is in no way shape or form has any empirical evidence it is just merely my opinion.

1. Michigan (Duh, my fave team in the sporting universe).
2. Illinois (Someone had to be second, their "rivalry" with OSU is a plus).
3. Minnesota (Seemingly harmless except for 2005 win over Mich, but, bonus points for being rivals with Wisconsin and Iowa, additional points for having WR Ron Johnson who was freaking amazing in NCAA 2002).
4. Northwestern (I don't really care about NW, but they were fun to watch with Zak Kustok and Damian Anderson).
5. Indiana (Bonus points for having Antwaan Randle El, and for losing to UM every year).
6. Purdue (Not a fan but not as much dislike as the teams below)
7. Iowa (Don't like 'em at all but like other teams less).
8. Wisconsin (Slighty more tolerable than PSU).
9. Penn State (Can't stand them).
10. Michigan State (My third least favorite team in the universe).
11. Ohio State (My least favorite team in the whole history of the universe).

Note- Notre Dame is my second least favorite team but since they don't have a conference I'll just lump them in as 10b on the list.

Mike Tomlin

2007-02-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

A prior post discussed my dissapointment in the Chargers hiring Norv Turner, but I most say atleast he has head coaching experience. Mike Tomlin the new coach of the Steelers has no head coaching experience, and as far as I know he was only the defensive cord. of the Vikings for one year. Now don't get me wrong I'm all for new guys getting a shot, like Marvin Lewis who put in time as a D cord. and had awesome defenses. Mike Tomlin has not put in his time and who the hell was impressed by the Vikes defensive, the team was 6-10! (Yes I know their offense was terrible but both the ravens and bucs won a super bowl with an awesome D and a sub-par O).

Now, Mike Tomlin a guy with one year of being a D Cord with a sub-par defense is a great coaching candidate? I don't get it at all?

The thing that pisses me off the most about this guy is that everyone on ESPN is drinking this guy's KOOL-AID. Saying he is going to invigorate the franchise and so on and so forth. This team won a super bowl just over a year ago and now this guy is going to revitilize the franchise? This guy couldn't hold bill cowher's clipboard.

Sorry, Steelers but I don't think Mike Tomlin is ready for this job yet.

Maybe he can prove me wrong, but I doubt it.

New Posting Schedule

2007-02-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

As far as Michigan debacles go there are certainly more than a handful, and believe me I am dedicated to presenting all of these debacles in all their glory. But, upon further review i realized that there are far too few debacles to be posting one a day until the Football season starts. So in the interest of having fresh content during the offseason I will be presenting one debacle a week and the rest of my content will focus on current issues in sports.

So in short my examination of the 1996 UM Purdue game will appear either on this upcoming sunday or soon after.

Quick Takes

2007-02-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

The UM Purdue 1996 post will be up sometime today probably around 7pm.

So with that formality out of the way allow me to rant on quickly on the chargers hiring Norv Turner.

Now I'm a big NFL (not as much as College football but a big fan nevertheless) and my fave team is the lions, so as they suck and are never in the news of note, I hear alot about other and better teams. One of these so called better teams the Chargers has made an awful mistake. Granted Marty ball has never won a conference championship or a Super Bowl, but i will glady take marty any day over Norv Turner. He was ran out of town in his last two head coaching stints. He took the redskins to the playoffs once, and did win a playoff game, but that was over the detroit lions, so that doesn't really prove much except that norv turner can beat the lions, and who can't say they have done that? After getting canned by the 'skins he was replaced with marty to clean up his mess, now turner has taken over a 14-2 team.

His stint in Oakland was just terrible, granted the Raiders blow but seriously Bill Calahan took that same team to a super bowl and norv turner couldn't even sniff a 500 season.

Nothing against Norv but he has proven to be a lousy coach his biggest carreer win is over the DETROIT LIONS. He is 24 games under 500 for his career, and although he is taking over the most talented team he has ever been involved with i can't seem him doing any better than 9-7 he's just not that good of a coach. Hey maybe he can prove me wrong, I doubt it but he has a chance to silence me and his critics.

In my opinion S.D. made a big mistake with this hiring. It was one thing when the pistons won 50 games and fired rick carlile because they brought in a proven winner in larry brown who lead them to two finals appearances and a championship ring. This is a 14 win team firing a solid coach and brining in someone with far less creditionals. The chargers were the joke of the NFL with Ryan Leaf at QB and Mike Riley coaching, and marty got them to the playoffs twice, I don;t think Norv Turner will have the same effect

Next Up

2007-02-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

My next post will cover a crazy and just plain awful game. Mich v. Purdue from 1996. Not only did the coaching for UM suck in this game the QB play did too. I'm not sure who to blame this loss on, I guess it would be the offensive game plan. My logic being that even though UM stunk it up and had a terrible offensive game plan in the 2007 and 2004 Rose Bowls they at least scored a couple of TD's. Mich's 1996 Team may not have been an offensive Juggernaut but this team has way more talent than a crappy Purdue squad.

After reading the game breakdown you can be the judge and decide if the scheme was to blame or if the players just phoned it in.

Look for this game either late tonight or some time tommorow.

Examining a Michigan Debacle: The 1996 Choke-Job at Northwestern

2007-02-18T15:45:00.000-08:00

Setting the Stage: UM came into this game 4-0 ranked #6 in the country. NW was 3-1, ranked #22, after losing their first game of the year to a Wake team that finished 3-8. NW beat UM at the big house the year before and was looking for an unprecedented winning streak against the Wolverines.

What Happened?: UM was in control and was up 16-0 starting the 4th quarter. A 2TD lead that required 2 two point conversions to be successful in order to tie, sounds like it should have been an easy win for Michigan. However, it turned out to be a choke-job loss. How did this happen?

Bottom Line: 2 mins into the fourth quarter NW finally gets on the board with a TD run from some guy named Levelle Brown. So what do they do? Go for 2 of course. And of course it is good as D'wayne Bates catches a pass and the score becomes UM 16 NW 8. Now the Wildcats only need a TD and the 2 pointer to tie.

So UM is going to get the ball back and all they have to do is run the ball and kill some time, just eat up 13 minutes and protect the football. Sounds easy. However upon getting the ball back UM decides to fumble on the first offensive play and give the ball back to NW. The debacle is now in full swing.

The Mich defense defies the odds and some how holds NW to a field goal. The score is now UM 16 NW 11. 10 mins and 46 secs remain.

Michigan is going to get the ball back, again all they need to do is kill some time and avoid turnovers. NW needs to score to win and all Mich needs to do is hang onto the football. Somehow the Scott Dreisbach manages to not turn the ball over but without any momentum the Wolverines can't get anything going and forced to punt.

Surprise, surprise the punt is crap! NW gets the ball on their own 40 and a shortfield. Somehow the michigan defense prevents the wildcats from getting a TD instead holding them to a field goal. The score is now UM 16 NW 14. 5 mins and 25 secs remain.

Again Mich justs needs to run some clock and avoid doing anything stupid (which at times has proven to be very hard for the Wolverines during crunchtime). Michigan manages to kill some clock and is now forced to punt.

1:45 remains in the game all NW needs is a fg for the win. However they will need to go at least 50 yards for this to be an easily makeable kick. However for UM the 1996 defense did some foreshadowing of what the 2o05 Mich defense would be like (very porous during the opponant's last drive of the game). NW drives easily to midfield, but Michigan holds. It is now 4-13, now or never for the Wildcats. And Steve Schnurr finds Brian Musso for the first down and the ball is now on the Mich 35 with a minute to go.

It was all academic from here, Mich knew that they had choked, and NW knew they just had to get a few more yards and kick the FG. And that's what happened as NW won on a 39 yarder with 8 seconds to go.

Inside the Numbers: Fumbles - UM fumbled 5 times losing 3 (including that very costly 4th quarter fumble). NW fumbled three times but only lost one.
4th quarter yards - UM gained a whopping 28 yards in the 4th quarter, compared to NW's 172.

Debacle Classification: Choke-job, plain and simple. What else can you call blowing a 16 point lead in the 4th quarter and failing to score a single point (besides Sparty-esque)?

Up Next: 1996 UM 3 Purdue 9

First Matter of Business

2007-02-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

Since recruiting is over, and the CFB season is a long way from starting the first thing I want to cover is some of the debacles and crazy losses that have occured under Carr's tenure. There are a handful of losses that seem to defy description but I will attempt to cover these travasties in all their horrible details. Some games that will be covered include: Mich-Oregon 2003, Mich-OSU 2001, Mich-MSU 2001, Mich-Minn 2005, etc., etc.

After covering these bizarre losses the focus will shift to some of the most exciting wins under Carr, and I'll try to keep coming up with new UM football posts until the season nears. If anyone has any suggestions as to some of the more memorable Michigan collapses, choke-jobs, or inexplicable losses from the Lloyd Carr era, leave a message and I'll try to cover the game.

Stay tuned for further details.

Snip Snip: Cutting the Ribbon for the Blog's Grand Opening

2007-02-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

Welcome, this Blog will be dedicated to covering the past, present and future of Michigan Football.

It will also cover albiet not as extensively other sporting events I am passoniate about for instance: Detroit Pistons, Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, College Football in general, NFL in general, some college hoops, a little NBA and MLB, and other sporting events which I feel about discussing.

I am not a fan of spelling and grammar so the feel is going to be very free flowing, yet easy to read.

I'm Jim Harbaugh Scramble and i'll be your blogger for the high points and low points of Michigan football as well as a focus on the Detroit sports scene and the national scene.

Welcome readers and Go Blue!