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You wanted it you got it.

I can't share as much as I used to, do to various reasons (to be explained later), but I will do my best to share what I know/have heard, etc. btw if there are any UM fans interested in really good stuff, pm me and I will get you the name of a site you will want to keep an eye on.

Anyways, I was in Grand Rapids this entire summer and had the oppurtunity to talk to very interesting people linked to the program.

Here is a run down of a conversation I had that I thought kind of shed light on why Rich Rod and UM have been such a uneasy marriage.

When Rich Rod first arrived, he was given full power to choose his staff (just like anyother new coach would be), but the way he decided to let some of the old assts go really rubbed a lot of people wrong. Rich Rod basically gave them the old red slip in the locker without even interviewing them or speaking to them once. This turned a lot of the old coaches wrong, which it would anyone, and this made things toxic from the get go.Those coaches deserved more respect then that, and Rich knows he kind of messed up and would do it different now, but it happened. Long story short, old coaches told boosters, alums, etc how it went down, and they instantly hated him for it (respectfully so I guess). Rich did nothing wrong by getting his guys in and the old guys out---99% of coaches will bring in their guys---but it was the way he did it.

Those old coaches also let their buddies on the inside (atletic department know), and it is my strong opinion that a lot of the problems with the CARA forms that were not turned in, filled out, etc by compliance members were due to nothing more then hard feelings. Hince the reason they have all been fired lol. I don't 100% blame RR for the NCAA Sanctions, more like 50%.

Braylon Edwards #1 PR nightmare. Remember when RR almost gave current starting DB JT Floyd the #1 and Braylon fliped his lid, RR was unaware he had a scholly endowment and has some say in who it goes to. It is understood, but again PR nightmare that should have been handled in house (compliance fired guys).

Justin Boren---I stand by my Justin Boren story from two years ago. I am even more willing to bet actual money on it now talking to more people around the program. Boren was leaving from the day RR was hired he was just looking for an easy out. I don't blame Boren, he signed up to play for Carr and if he wanted to go then go, it was the way he went I have a problem with. His brother was promised a schooly by the Carr staff, but once Carr knew he was leaving (which he knew the year before), there was no offer and big Boren was very upset. Long story short, RR should had never granted a release for Boren to OSU, if he would not have granted a full release, Boren would have had to sit two years and pay his own way at OSU, instead of sitting for one. Plus, 99% of coaches would never grant a release to a conference team let alone your rival. Big, huge, screw up on RR behalf. Again another PR nightmare he should have actually fought in the media when Boren said family values were gone. Not fighting that made it look true.

RR never dreamed that UM would lose 20 players in a year and a half plus have such little talent when he first came. He really did walk into this thing thinking Carr left him a above average roster, which he did not. Brandon Graham was the only elite player, and then he had some above average: MOrgan Trent, Brandon Minor, Greg Matthews. The rest were all very young inexperienced guys. You can't build a great program with one elite player and 3-4 above average players.

MOving forward

David Brandon---current AD, is the best thing that could have happened to UM athletics. He will not put up with average. He will either be RR biggest supporter or he will give him the boot without thinking twice. He walked into a mess and has done an outstanding job thus far. HE is exactly what UM needed. I blame a lot of this mess on Bill Martin.

Actual team stuff----

Denard was the man in the spring and everyone was raving about him. He worked his tail off in the film room and on the field. HE also ran indoor track for UM, finishing 3rd in the conference I believe in the 60m. He is fast. Fast on the field, fast on the track, etc. Brandon Saine from OSU is really fast, more track fast then football fast. So is Mike Shaw, but again more track speed then football speed, and Denard is only second to a certain Florida RB in terms of speed. Anyways, he can actually throw lol. He had awful technique when he arrived and worked hard all off season to get it right. Went to several academies to right his throwing motion.

Tate decided to slack off and did the Chris Carter I will just go to all the bars and act like a Jack Ass all the time. Really lost a lot of his teams respect. Was in the dog house all spring and most of the summer. Let me say this about Tate---Tate is a fine QB, but he doesn't fit this system. He never did. He was a quick fix until UM could get a Denard or Devin. Tate doesn't have the skill set to run this offense. He would be much better in a Purdue passing attack type of system. I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves after the season, but his Dad is urgining him not to.

Devin will play this year and be ready to take over when ever called upon.

RB----Michigan is about 3 deep and then two more who are right there. Shaw has always had the talent, but he tip toes too much. He finally ran hard in the opener and it worked for him. He has a lot of trouble gaining weight. He came in at 170, he is only 185 now. He goes down easy. Vincent Smith is a very good RB. Think Warrick Dunn. Very versatile and will have a good career at UM. His knee looks 100%. Mike Cox you will see more of is a very good athlete. He will be used like Brandon Minor. The other two backs are Fitz Toussiant and fr. Stephan Hopkins. Fitz would have been the starter this sat btw, but hurt his knee last week. Hopkins is a big back, he will be used around the goal line.

WR-Stonum will be a very good WR. Solid all around. The problem right now is they can't find someone opposite him. They have had to move slots Roundtree and Odoms out to WR because they can't get the younger guys to step up and Hemmingway is always hurt. If they can get someone else to emerge, you will see more Roundtree in the slot, which is where he needs to be because as good as he is he is 175 and is not physical enough to play wr on a perminant basis. Michigan btw is loaded at slot, they are like 7 deep loaded. The future at WR is very bright for UM as well. That freshmen WR class is very very good.

TE----IF we use them they are the most talented group on the team----three NFL guys and Koger would be an all american if he played at Oklahoma.

OL- Very deep and above average to good. Inside they are very good. Molk, Schilling, and Omameh are as good as there are from guard to guard in the conference. As good as Brewster is at OSU, and he is very good, most coaches around the conference think Molk is a better college player (Brewster better NFL prospect). The tackles are serviceable right now. Not great but not bad. They two RFr Taylor Lewan and Mike Scholfield are the future. Lewan rotated in and is expected to be a future 1st round pick.

Dline- Above average to good. Mike Martin is a beast. Martin is my favorite player. Just an animal. Guy is former heavey weight national wrestling champion. Bench presses over 500lbs. The rest are all upperclassmen besides Will Campbell so they know how to get it done.

LB- This is an average group. Mouton is a good to sloid player and Roh is going to be a flat out stud, but the rest are just average.

DB- THIN---THIN----JT Floyd is sloid. James Rogers is ok. THe rest are true freshmen.

S- Young. Cam Gordon is a step up but still very young. Vlad Rfr, Cam Rfr, Kovacs RSoph. The rest are a mix of average and freshmen.

Punter----Hangerup will be a freshmen all american. Kid is a stud. Will be an all american next year.

Kicking games is iffy.


This is it. WIn now or get out. RR knows and believe me his players know. The first win helped, but he needs to beat ND. That will give him a huge leg up (2-1 v ND). Not only does he need to win 7-8 this year, but he needs to beat someone that matters (OSU, ND, PSU, MSU). If Michigan goes 7-5 and losses to OSU, MSU, Iowa, PSU, and ND then he is gone. Can't lose to your rivals.

Three keys

1) Injuries---These guys can't get hurt: Denard, Molk, anyone in the secondary, Mike Martin.
2) The secondary has to be at the very least....soild. If they can just be solid they will be ok. First test they were solid vs UConn.
3) DLine has to get a push and put pressure on QB's. Average secondary means must have pressure!
bonus---turnovers. Win the turnover battle and UM is going to win games.

Enjoyed reading your opinion of RR and the state of Michigan football.

I think alot of RR's mistakes came from his past practice of coaching, i.e. moving into the head job at WVU and doing much of the same that he did at WVU, he did at UM. Granted, going from WVU to UM was an advance in all venues and the way they do things is vastly different. Live and learn from your mistakes.

I cannot go into the vast detail at UM that you did as I am not the fan of UM that you are.

I have to agree with your opinion on the UCONN game as Robinson looked great and it would appear that his offseason work was second to none. He could be a real force in the Big 10 this year. But, last year UM started 4-0 and finished 1-7 so pardon me for just sitting back and watching this play out.

I will add 1 thing about the UCONN game, RR was 4-0 vs UCONN coming into this game winning all 4 by a decisive 179-64 margin and scoring at least 30 points in every game. UCONN has had a very hard time dealing with RR's offense and is 0-2 vs WVU since RR left. Just adding this as a point of interest.

If RR doesn't get some quality wins this year, he is gone. It seems every AD wants their own man. However, if I was Brandon, and I am not by any means qualified to pass judgement, I would look at the whole body of work this season, including the losses, and compare them to how the games played out over the past 2 years before pulling the trigger on RR. I really think that with some time and seasoning RR could get UM back at the top. Most folks just don't realize that his offense requires a much different player to run it than what Carr's offense did. These are 2 completely different sets of animals that we are talking about.

I am very interested in seeing how the UM/ND game goes. ND looked good at times but Kelly plans on out scoring teams vs actually playing some defense. Should be a fun game for the average fan to watch.

Mister B,

I agree with you 100%. He came in and thought he could do things like he did at WVU. Like you said he has lived and learned.


I hope you caught my drift in my info. I agree with you and so does Brandon. He is giving RR the time because of everything you are implying.

Brandon is a former CEO, knows business and knows what he wants. Played for Bo and is a Michigan Man himself. He only wants to win period. I don't really think he cares from the people I have talked to about who it is. He just wants a winning product. I was told he had a sit down come to Jesus meeting with RR over OSU and the importance of beating them. He is ok with going 8-4 but you better beat OSU.

Anyways, it is all about who you beat. If you are going 7-5 it doesn't matter if you are beating Illinois, Purdue, etc. You better beat your rivals or no one cares.

peake wrote: I was told he had a sit down come to Jesus meeting with RR over OSU and the importance of beating them. He is ok with going 8-4 but you better beat OSU.

Anyways, it is all about who you beat. If you are going 7-5 it doesn't matter if you are beating Illinois, Purdue, etc. You better beat your rivals or no one cares.

It's about time.

Like I told you before, it's about time the return the game, to THE GAME!

I will add 2 items I found interesting...

1. Greg Robinson back as defensive coordinator. I am both surprised and pleased that he is back for UM. The way some folks screamed for a head to roll for defensive lapses from last year, I though he might not be back. I think it is a good thing that he is back for UM.

2. DB play will always be an item of concern for UM while Gibson is in charge of them. He got added duties this year as Special Teams coach so that gives me pause as to "will he have the time needed to improve UM's DB concerns?" He coached the DBs at WVU and the Mountaineers didn't set the world on fire with their pass defense while he was there. He is one of RR's old buddies from his Glenville State days and this leads me to believe that he simply has rode RR's coattails to this point. Not real impressed with Gibson's body of work to date. I know this year's DB at UM are thin and young but I am not sold that Gibson is the one to mentor them.

If Denard Robinson can continue to run the offense as well as he did in game 1, this could be a very interesting year for the Maize and Blue.

I do catch your drift on your info and it appears to be spot on.

GO BLUE....we will win 8-9 this year...i guarantee it...

As a Buckeye fan, I honestly hope that Michigan has things turned around and can once again be a strong force within the conference. The Big Ten definitely needs a program like Michigan to be able to win more than 5 or 6 games a year.

I am still a little skeptical on them right now and they will need to win against some quality opponents. Next week will be a good measuring stick on how (if) they have improved from last year.

Hoggy wrote:As a Buckeye fan, I honestly hope that Michigan has things turned around and can once again be a strong force within the conference. The Big Ten definitely needs a program like Michigan to be able to win more than 5 or 6 games a year.

I am still a little skeptical on them right now and they will need to win against some quality opponents. Next week will be a good measuring stick on how (if) they have improved from last year.

Im with u on that one Hoggy....i think they will beat the non-fighting irish....Rich Rod has to beat a couple of the talented teams...ND, Mich St., Ohio St, Iowa, Wisconsin...if they dont win a couple of them then Rods out...

RR better be a heck of a fireman as the bridges are burning under his feet. I think too much internal damage has been done and UM is looking for an honorable way to get Jim Harbaugh in there. And THAT would be the worst possible outcome for OSU if they want to continue dominance in the Big Whatever. He has coaching ability and he is a Michigan man (Bo).

Is ND a more quality opponent than UConn?
UConn did beat ND last year.

NO defense ,NO chance against good teams, JMHO and I am a Wolverine,but Rich Rod must go!

I am a Buckeye fan and i agree with boilermaker,dont get me wrong im not a hater like some buckeye fans are .The defense is terrible,and when one person is 75 to 85 % of your offense thats not good.I cant see this team winning over 6 games at the most.

Michigan is better than last year, but I'm still not sold. 37 points to Umass? A big time program shouldn't allow that many points to an FCS team.

Raiderball wrote:Is ND a more quality opponent than UConn?
UConn did beat ND last year.

Coming into the season I would've thought that. But UConn was just beaten up by Temple.

Michigan Offense = Explosive, but not a secret that Robinson is all they've got.
Michigan Defense = BAD!

I thought going into this season that they were a 7-5 or 8-4 team that could win 9 games if their cards fell right.

That opinion hasn't changed yet.

Meatchiken has no D! There entire O goes through there QB and they can't stop anyone. Wait until teams figure out hoe to shut him down.

The_Legend_of_Northwest wrote:

Raiderball wrote:Is ND a more quality opponent than UConn?
UConn did beat ND last year.

Coming into the season I would've thought that. But UConn was just beaten up by Temple.

I hear you. Looks like Michigan beating them is not that impressive after all.

Greg Robinson's defense was very impressive yesterday. Giving up 37 to UMass?

Orange and Brown wrote:Meatchiken has no D! There entire O goes through there QB and they can't stop anyone. Wait until teams figure out hoe to shut him down.

I don't know that any team will be able to "shut down" Denard. OSU would likely have the best chance.

The thing that will hurt Michigan is when the teams start to slow down Robinson.
The way that UM doesn't play defense, it won't take too much slowing down to beat them.