Another Harbaugh Choke Postgame Thread

[WM Wolverine]

M's corners can be beat, opponent receivers get separation but they haven't played any really good QB's/WR's yet that can exploit that on the regular, Sparty has a chance to exploit it while the Buckeyes will..

I was going to mention that Sparty's defense has been given more credit than it deserves (by some), bend don't break is exactly it. They allow a lot of yardage for how little points allowed. Even to pretty bad offenses, they seem to give up yardage. Relying on your red zone defense isn't a good strategy, it's really bad for field position (your offense will need to work harder for its points), time of possession (your defense could get winded), and often red zone metrics are a measure of luck and eventually that luck will run out.

I don't have the faith in McNamara I wish I did, a serviceable game manager maybe all they need and that's Cade. Cade does have some strengths, avoiding sacks (which kill drives), avoiding interceptions (which kill drives) and dumping the ball off when M's receivers can't get open.

[froot loops]

I think the Spartan defense is coming on though. By next year it probably will be the better unit. Haladay is playing awesome. Panisiuk has the best production in the big ten for a defensive lineman. The defensive backs are getting better, they basically have a whole new unit for the defensive backs from the blast couple years. That's the interesting part about these Spartans, Tucker has brought in something like 37 new players over the last year with recruits and transfers so it is a work in progress. One more year of recruits and transfers along with another full spring should have them where they need to be.

Thorne wasn't projected to be the starter but he won the job in camp.On offense they are using a lot of holdovers from the Dantonio teams along with Walker.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I don't have the faith in McNamara I wish I did, a serviceable game manager maybe all they need and that's Cade. Cade does have some strengths, avoiding sacks (which kill drives), avoiding interceptions (which kill drives) and dumping the ball off when M's receivers can't get open.

I agree with this. I also think Harbaugh, given his approach to the game, is perfectly fine with it. Thunder at Touch the Banner, posted a piece titled "Fire McNamara or Not." In it he hypothesizes that McNamara is no different than every QB that plays in JH's offense: They appear to regress. The notable exception is Rudock. All the rest have become less efficient and he opines that is because of JH's system not because the QBs aren't good.

Typically, and Patterson is a good example, QBs arrive at M with good skill sets in the passing game or option game then turn inefficient. You could argue that M QB's skill set diminishes over time because whatever big play capabilities they possessed don't get used in Harbaugh's offense. They atrophy and when you need that kind of big passing play, it doesn't happen.

This is one theory and only one but it makes sense. As long as M's offense grinds an opponent's D down with a flurry of body blows and possession (long drives) and the M defense keeps the opponent's offense in check, M will churn out ugly and boring wins with big plays on defense more likely than big plays on offense. That makes the offense and the QB look bad to M fans. In reality, it's a decent game strategy. OTH, when M faces an opponent who is invested in producing gaudy numbers, OSU for example, Harbaugh's approach gets risky.

I don't think MSU presents that kind of challenge.

[THE_WIZARD_]

HARBAUGH!!! 27 TUCKER!!! 13

[Hannibal]

We probably lose this one, It’s a bad matchup for us.

[Cody_Russell]

[klondike]

UM. - 38
MSU- 10

[THE_WIZARD_]

Plausible

[WingsFan]

Sparty is rolling. They're confident. They have an actual football coach that has gotten them to lay aside the typical thuggery, and play real football. Somewhere, Dantonio is scowling.

Yes indeed. This has a different feel from the Dicktonio days for sure, Tucker and Harbaugh like each other, Tucker was neighbors with Harbuaghs sister Joanie and brother-in-law Tom Crean in Georgia. If Tucker wins this one he could land at LSU (Tucker’s does not deny interest in LSU). Ah the hate for Sparty (football) is gone.

[lineygoblue]

This is what makes MSU a more formidable opponent than in the Dantonio days, IMO. Tucker just keeps his yap shut, and prepares his players to play. Dantonio never stopped running his disrespectful mouth about Michigan, and encouraged his players to play thug ball. He and Narduzzi were big on that type of play.

I don't know if Tucker will heed the siren call of LSU or not. But, if he stays at MSU, he's going to have them playing clean, tough football for seasons to come.

[Mike]

Ah the hate for Sparty (football) is gone.

You shut your dirty whore mouth!!

[iam416]

Correct.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Ah the hate for Sparty (football) is gone.

What!!!? No way. This is a 50+ year history of a true rivalry. The OSU rivalry went away along with the tarnished Schembechler legacy and OSU's utter dominance of it. To me "The Game" is just another game that Michigan usually loses.

[lineygoblue]

To me "The Game" is just another game that Michigan usually loses.

Yeah, that's true for me too. Its not competitive anymore so there is no anticipation of it being a big game, as in the past. I'm sure its great times for osu folk, but for us, its just another loss.

MSU has taken on the "hated" status for me recently. Especially with all the crap that Dantonio/Narduzzi pulled during that time frame. I used to have some marginal respect for Sparty, and would even 'root" for them when they were playing other opponents. No more. I want them to lose every time they take the field. I have no respect for that program anymore. Tucker may be one of the good guys, but I suspect he's going to be moving on to greener pastures soon, just like Nick did.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Michigan Monday is really worth some comment even though Gerdeman called the game "pointless."

I remain amused by the complete focus of too many OSU fans on beating Michigan. Spoiler....... None of us care about this game anymore. It's another game that M lines up for and has a good chance of losing. Talent differential and style of play just puts this CFB out of reach for M.

Why do I say that? It's because right now, Jim Harbaugh does not care that M's downfield passing game, the component of the game Gerdeman continues to insist M needs to beat OSU, doesn't look like CFB teams that one might consider elite, OSU among them. Gerdmen has continued to harp on the downfiled passing game as a significant weakness in JH's approach to playing modern day CFB. He notes in his most recent Michigan Monday, with EMPHASIS, that the 20 completions that Cade McNamara made traveled on average, ONE YARD past the LOS. Gerdemn goes on to say M is not going to make it through their next three opponents without a loss given that M might have to play catch-up with teams that have the capacity to stretch the field vertically and actually have a functional running game and a defense that can slow M's run game.

TBF, I don't think M can beat OSU and part of it is because OSU has the talent and coaching skills to shut down Gattis and M's run game - central to JH's game strategy. Just running the ball, grinding opponents to dust doing that and stretching the field horizontally with some jet sweeps and easy swing passes to the Corum may or may not work to take this M football team into its final game of the regular season with OSU undefeated. AA thinks it can with with JH's approach and has described M's 2021 version of itself possibly being as good as a similar Alabama team that rode that strategy to an NC.

I certainly am not complaining about 7-0. I'm not joining in the QB controversy and I've posted why in this thread. Harbaugh is completely happy with McNamara as the starter. I agree with observers who know a lot more about actual football than I do: McCarthy brings too many downsides to the field and not enough upside compared to Cade. Gerdeman disagrees and like too many posters at mgoboard who wrongly believe the back-up is better than the starter and M won't go far without a better QB that poses both a run and deep ball threat. Does anyone here think the coaching staff, having a ton of material at their disposal for deciding who starts and who sits on the bench, knows less than fans? No? I didn't think so, so Gerdeman can STFU about this.

I do think M is limited as a contender for championships and those limitations are based on how Harbaugh has coached at the CFB level his entire career and that isn't going to change. So, in this, Gerdemen and I agree. M is not a contender for championships given what we've seen so far and I'd add, I've seen this act before and, contrary to AA's and Talent's view, it does not turn out well for Michigan football. But I really don't think JH is focused on championship, beating OSU or any other teams that remain on the schedule past MSU. He's focused on proving Michigan can win the next game (MSU) and the next one after that and so on and so on with a pound the ball offense that rarely needs to pass. If it does, it's to get 3y for the next first down and on and on that in-game strategy persists - much to the whining dismay of M fans.

https://buckeyescoop.com/michigan-mo...ames-are-over/