Michigan (1-3, 2-6) is eight games into the reign of Coach Rod and the Wolverines are on the brink of snapping two prestigious streaks (33 consecutive bowl appearances; 41 straight seasons without a losing record).  However, the good news is that the 2008 Wolverines are improving with every game.  How do I know that? Well, after every loss (which is getting to be a regular occurrence) Coach Rod states at his post-game press conference that the team is improving in practice even if evidence of the improvement is not shown on the field during the games on Saturdays.  I'll have to take his word for it as I don't attend weekday practice sessions.  I will agree, however, that evidence of improvement is sorely lacking for those who merely watch the games. For example, the Wolverines' third down conversion percentage is atrocious.  This has been an area of concern all season.  Against the Spartans, Michigan only converted three of 12 third down plays (25%).  Michigan is now ranked 118th of 119 FBS schools in third down conversion rate (26.9% on the year).  As for total offense, Michigan is now ranked 111th of the 119 FBS teams.  Thus, even with two-thirds of the season gone, Michigan's offense remains mired at the very bottom of the national rankings.  The offense started the season playing poorly and is still playing poorly after eight games (six of them losses).  Hopefully some of that fantastic practice magic that Coach Rod is always speaking of will become evident during the games played in the final one-third of the season.  Go Blue! 

As has been widely reported, Coach Rod officially signed his contract with the University of Michigan last Friday.  The twelve page contract (.pdf) can be viewed here courtesy of MVictors.com.  Highlights of the deal include:

• 3.01 (b):  Length of contract is six (6) years
• 3.02(a)-(f):  Salary- base of $300,000 plus annual additional compensation of $1.65 million plus bonuses
• 3.02(g): Settlement payout to West Virginia University
• 4.01(a): Early termination payout clause
• 5.01:  Salary of nine asst. coaches & Strength and Conditioning Coordinator to be a fund of $1.95 million annually
• 7.01:  Scheduling games shall be joint responsibility of Head Coach and A.D. with final decisions resting with A.D.

Go Blue!

After six games, Michigan's third down conversion rate (22/81=27.2%) puts the Wolverines at 116th out of 119 Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams.  Michigan was a dismal 3 of 13 on Third Down Conversions against Toledo.  The significance of the Wolverines inability to sustain drives is that it not only demonstrates the lack of productivity of the offense but it also places an inordinate strain on the defense.  The Wolverines "D" is not getting much rest between drives as the offense frequently goes three-and-out in short order. 

Prior to the season, Coach Rod repeatedly stated that he liked winning too much not to make adjustments to fit the talent he had on the team.  With half the season having been played and the offense being ranked near the bottom of the nation (109th in total offense of 119 FBS teams) it is time to make whatever adjustments are necessary to jump start the offense.  Fans criticized the Carr regime mercilessly for his offensive system but his teams never posted atrocious numbers like the ones being delivered by the 2008 Wolverines.  It is not time to scrap the spread offense but it is time to see if Rich Rodriguez has the ability to coach his team out of the hole they are stuck in.  The Wolverines have six conference games remaining with four of those coming on the road.  Michigan will be hard pressed to find three victories unless it can get the offense unstuck and start racking up some first downs.  Go Blue! 

In December, 1968, A.D. Don Canham hired Bo Schembechler from Miami University to become the 15th Head Coach in the history of Michigan football.  Bo insisted that he be allowed to bring along his own staff.  Bo brought six assistant coaches with him from Miami University (i.e., Jerry Hanlon, Gary Moeller, Jim Young, Chuck Stobart, Dick Hunter and Larry Smith).  Coach Schembechler did retain George Mans and Frank Maloney from the previous year's staff and Bo brought in one assistant (Louie Lee) from the outside.. As legend has it, in late-January of 1969, AD Don Canham invited the six assistant coaches from Miami to Colonial Lanes for a drink. (1) Colonial Lanes was owned by Bob Ufer (2) and had a tavern called the Pin Room where Canham allegedly liked to conduct business. On this day, Canham informed the six assistants matter-of-factly that he had not wanted to hire them but Bo had forced his hand and that they would be fired immediately if they did not win. (3) Canham included. (4).  The 1969 Wolverines, of course, beat #1 ranked OSU, won the Big 10 title, and advanced to the Rose Bowl Game.  Thus, everyone's job was safe and the Wolverines went on to many successful seasons thereafter.

Fast forward to the present.  A.D. Bill Martin hired Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia University to become the 18th Head Coach in the history of Michigan football.  Rich Rod brought along his own staff.  Coach Rod brought six assistant coaches with him from West Virginia University (i.e., Calvin Magee, Tony Dews, Greg Frey, Tony Gibson, Rod Smith, and Bruce Tall).  Coach Rod retained one coach (Fred Jackson) from the previous year's staff and he brought in two coaches (Scott Shafer and Jay Hopson) from the outside.  A.D. Martin, like Canham before him, should have held a meeting with the assistant coaches informing them they would all be out of a job if the team did not win.  The 2008 Wolverines are now 2-4 after suffering a 13-10 defeat at the hands of MAC team Toledo.  Go Blue!

Footnotes:

1-"Tales from Michigan Stadium"- (p. 172-173) by Jim Brandstatter published 2002 by Sports Publishing LLC.

2-" War as They Knew It"- (p. 4) by Michael Roseberg published 2008 by Grand Central Publishing.

3- "Tales From Michigan Stadium"

4- "War as They Knew It"

The theme of Coach Rod's press conference yesterday was correcting the preventable mistakes.  He emphasized that through coaching and hard work the team should be able to eliminate the errors that have been holding the Wolverines back.  The game against MAC foe Univ. of Toledo (1-4) is Michigan's last chance to get things straightened out before playing six (6) straight Big 10 opponents with four of those games coming on the road.  Through five (5) games, here is where the Wolverines offense ranks nationally (of 119 teams):

• Total offense:  109th
• Scoring offense:  93rd
• Rushing offense:  87th
• Passing offense:  100th

The Wolverines (2-3) have lost three of their first five games this season.  This is the first time since 1967 that in the first five games to start a season that Michigan has incurred three defeats.  Of course, 1967 was also the last time the Wolverines posted a losing record (4-6).  The road to redemption for the 2008 Wolverines runs over Toledo so the team better have a good week of practice.  Go Blue!

During his Monday Press Conference, Coach Rod railed against the lack of mental toughness displayed by the Wolverines.  He indicated that he and his staff would have to do a better job coaching so that the team would not play "soft".  Coach Rod stated,

 "Right now, I hope our guys all feel we have something to prove each time we play. You should do that anyway, whether you're undefeated or no matter what your record is. You should go out there with something to prove. Hopefully, our guys have that mentality that they have something to prove each and every time you tee it up in practice and in the games. Games should be the fun part.

"We've got to adopt that same philosophy in practice. That they feel every play in practice they should have something to prove. That's part of the problem. We've got to get that mentality.

"That's not just us. Everybody across the country, that's a natural thing. I've told that to the team. What I've discovered is we're not mentally. This is not an indictment of our guys or on our team.

"I said what I figured out is we're like just about every other college football team in America. They need to be motivated to give their best each and every day on the field and off the field, in the classroom and on the field.
 
"Some guys are self-motivated. You don't have to tell them. They're going to try as hard as they can in the classroom, and they're going to try as hard on every single play. There aren't a lot of that kind, most of them need help. That's what coaches are there for. That's what we're here for, and that's what we're going to do." (emphasis added)

For all the talk about how Coach Carr ran a Country Club and that Coach Rod was going to usher in an era of "toughness" with Mike Barwis, it is interesting to see that the current Wolverines are being criticized for being "soft."  It's not that the current Wolverines are not in excellent shape, it's that they are not playing at peak levels of performance.  That speaks to the players level of motivation.  Coach Carr (like Coach Schembechler before him) was a legendary motivator.  Whether it was on the field or in the classroom, Coach Carr was unrivaled by modern coaches in his ability to motivate his team.

Coach Carr's players would run through a wall for him.  He knew how to get the best out of his players.  Even when times were at there toughest last season when the Wolverines started 0-2, Michigan responded to Coach Carr's challenge and ripped off eight consecutive wins putting them in contention for the Big 10 title.  Conversely, Coach Rod is screaming his foul-mouthed head off at this year's team with little effect.  He is not a particularly good motivator and it shows.  Hopefully, for the good of the program, Coach Rod can improve his coaching style so he can help the team reach (or exceed) its potential just as Coach Carr did during his extremely successful 13-year run as Head Coach.  Go Blue! 

In 2007, Carson Butler was charged with aggravated assault stemming from an incident at a dorm with a student on St. Patrick's Day (March 17, 2007).  The incident became known around campus as The St. Patrick's Day Massacre.  Butler was even dismissed from the team by Coach Carr although Butler was eventually re-instated.  Fast forward to last Saturday's game vs. Notre Dame in South Bend, IN.  In the 4th quarter of the game, Butler was ejected for punching a Fighting Irish player.  The Big 10 informed Coach Rod that Butler would NOT be suspended for his behavior.  Coach Rod said he was "not overly concerned" with Butler's actions.  Coach Rod stated,

"He shouldn't have done it. It was a lack of poise. He apologized. We'll move on."

Butler is lucky that Coach Carr is not still the Head Coach because there is no doubt that Lloyd would have booted Butler off the team for good for his actions considering Butler's past history.  However, Rich Rod is either oblivious or just does not care.  Either way, Butler benefits as he gets to stay with the team to wreak more havoc.  Go Blue!

The Wolverines are currently 1-2.  Stretching back to last season, the Wolverines lost 2 of their final 3 games of 2007.  That means the Wolverines have gone 2-4 in the last six games they have played.  The Wolverines have been here before.  In 1980, Michigan also started the season 1-2.  The Wolverines had finished the 1979 season on a three game losing streak meaning Michigan was 1-5 in the six game stretch encompassing the end of '79 and the begining of '80.  Things looked bleak. As legend has it, Coach Schembechler called team captain Andy Cannavino into his office and blasted him challenging him to step it up.  The Wolverines, led by the defense spearheaded by Cannavino, won the final eight (8) games of the season including Bo's first Rose Bowl victory.  The defense did not give up a touchdown for the last 22 quarters of the season and Coach Schembechler stated that Cannavino was probably the greatest captain he ever had.

For a more recent example of a Michigan team that had to overcome a difficult start, one need look no further than last season when the Wolverines started 0-2 including losing to Appalachian State, a Division I-AA (FCS) school.  Despite dropping the first two games of the season, Coach Carr challenged the team not to give up on the season and the Wolverines won the next eight (8) games.  Michigan went into the final game with OSU with an 8-3 record and an opportunity to win the Big Ten title with a win over the Buckeyes.  Although the Wolverines could not manage a victory against OSU, Michigan came up big in the Capital One Bowl vs. Florida as the Maize and Blue sent Coach Carr out with a stunning victory.

The 1980 and 2007 Wolverines were both able to overcome early difficulties and have great seasons as a result of the unyielding leadership of the teams' respective head coaches.  It remains to be seen if the 2008 Wolverines, led by first-year Head Coach Rich Rodriguez, will respond in similar fashion.  Let's hope so.  Go Blue!

In 1998, Justin Fargas was a hotshot true freshman running back.  He rushed for 277 yards on 77 carries (3.6 ypc) and 1 touchdown.  However, in November of 1998 against Wisconsin, Fargas' season was cut short when he suffered a gruesome broken leg that had doctors considering amputation.  Fargas redshirted in 1999 as he rehabilitated his broken right leg.  In 2000, Fargas returned but was stuck behind the A-Train (Anthony Thomas) on the depth chart at running back.  Midway through the 2000 season, Fargas switched to playing at safety.  After the season, Fargas transferred to USC.  Because of transfer rules, Fargas had to sit out the 2001 season.  That left Fargas with only one season to make an impression.  Fargas made the most of his opportunity as USC's main man in 2002 as he rushed for 1,677 yards on 257 carries (6.53 ypc).  That season was impressive enough to help Fargas get selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft.  Last season, Fargas was a thousand-yard rusher for the Raiders and he began this season as the #1 running back before suffering an injury.

Carlos Brown (Jr./Jr.) is a man looking for playing time.  He is stuck on the depth chart at running back behind Sam McGuffie and Brandon Minor.  Returning from injury, Brown was expected to have a significant impact on the Notre Dame game.  However, he only took took one direct snap from center that went for no gain.  When asked whether he will be used as a running back more in the future, Brown responded,

"Hey, I'm clueless. You have to talk to coach Rod about all that."

When Coach Rod was asked at the Monday Press Conference about how he plans to use Carlos Brown, Coach Rod answered,

"You know, Carlos, he can play a couple positions. Obviously at quarterback, the situation in the game, the wet ball, the way we thought they were going to defend us, didn't lead to him playing more there.
 
"I still think he'll probably get more reps at runningback this week. We're also trying to teach him the slot. So depends on how much he can learn, again, how productive he'll be out there. Martavious played more than we wanted him to, but he's awful productive when he's fresh. So that's why he's out there."

When Coach Rod was asked whether he felt Carlos Brown had done a good job at the quarterback position, Coach Rod responded,

"Yeah. But he's very limited with what we're doing. It's not like you think he's going to line up, the guy knows everything. If you put a guy in there, all you're going to do is run right or run left, they're going to put everybody in there, load the box up. You have to have some answers for that. Not as simple as throwing him out there, okay, run this play. They can out number you. They know that. They can out number you defensively and you've got to have an answer for that. You've got to be able to execute that answer."

In light of the above, Brown does not appear to have prospects at converting to QB and his playing time at RB will be limited by playing behind McGuffie, Minor and possibly Grady.  To get on the field, Brown (like Fargas before him) even tried defense last season.  In a short lived experiment during 2007 Spring Practice, Brown practiced as a cornerback.  By the end of Spring Practice, however, Brown was back at RB after Grady was lost to a season-ending knee injury.  It was rumored that Brown was considering transfering last season prior to Grady's injury.  When Grady went down, Brown stayed and saw his first significant playing time of his career at running back.  However, the handwriting is on the wall and if Brown wants to establish himself as a prime-time running back he will evidently have to do it at a school other than Michigan.  Brown has not used a redshirt season yet meaning he could transfer to another school next year and sit out while having one season of eligiblilty remaining.  Brown could then try and duplicate the feat of Fargas who proved himself in his final year and was picked up by the NFL.  Although I would like Brown to stay, I don't see that he has much of a future as a Wolverine.  He may want to follow the lead of Fargas if he wants to ultimately play on Sundays.  Go Blue!

Coach Rodriguez met with the media today for his weekly Monday Press Conference.  (text transcript)  Coach Rod addressed the state of the team as the Wolverines head into a bye week as they try and regroup from the disappointing loss against Notre Dame.  In discussing the schedule for this bye week, Coach Rod said the following:

Normally they have Mondays off. But today we're going to get a short practice in, mostly special teams, as we've got a lot of work to do there. Probably be about an hour or so this afternoon. Then we'll practice normally on Tuesday. Practice on Wednesday. Probably go early. I think we're looking at an early practice, maybe a 6 a.m. on Thursday.

Then this is the one open week. It's an opportunity for coaches to go out and evaluate recruits. So we'll go do that on Thursday and Friday, maybe even some of the guys on Saturday. So the players will have Friday and Saturday off from practice. Then we'll go back on our normal schedule on Sunday.

That's kind of what we're doing this week so far; could be subject to change. But that looks like what we planned on doing.

It could be a long bye-week for the boys.  Go Blue!

At his weekly news conference Tuesday, Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis explained the origins of his infamous "To Hell with Michigan" remark he made at a breakfast before the Blue-Gold game this past April.  Coach Weis stated by way of explaination during his Tuesday press conference,

"You know, anyone who is a Michigan fan should know and understand that that comment pays respect to Bo and his mentality when playing an opponent." 

Of course, Coach Schembechler notoriously commented "To hell with Notre Dame" on many occasions over the years, most notably when the Fightin' Irish refused to join the Big Ten Conference.  Nevertheless, the current Wolverines appear to be using Coach Weis' comment as extra-motivation for this Saturday's upcoming contest.  According to DE Tim Jamison, Coach Weis' comment was,

"plastered all over our training room."  Jamison went on to say, "Now that we're about to face Notre Dame, we can look back at that. To some people it helps. That's why you've got to watch what you say."

  Go Blue!