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.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Mike Tomlin
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.
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
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.
So in short my examination of the 1996 UM Purdue game will appear either on this upcoming sunday or soon after.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Quick Takes
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
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
Monday, February 19, 2007
Next Up
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.
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.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Examining a Michigan Debacle: The 1996 Choke-Job at Northwestern
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
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
Thursday, February 15, 2007
First Matter of Business
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.
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
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!
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