On Rivalry Canines

Below is the story of an ordinary dog and her battle to overcome the cruel and and unfortunate circumstance of Spartan torture. 

As in all great tales, there is a beginning.

At a mere 8 months of age, she was already pure Michigan.   Inquisitive, relaxed, comfortable. 

Cheers for Michigan and runs 5K's for charity.

But only pain can forge a true sense of self, of being, of home.   As many have done before, she too went through trial and tribulations.  She was still only a pup when she was so brutally treated at an East Lansing tailgate four seasons ago.  Michigan would win that day, but the scars to her psyche have never relinquished their horrifying hold.  

That's Tbone manhandling my dog.

Look at how miserable she looks!  She clearly hates Drew Stanton.  And the color green.  And drunk, loud, obnoxious humans who believe alcohol transforms them into the characters of 300.  Her eyes are screaming for help as Tbone's grasp strangles her spirit.  This is misery.   This is MSU.

But could it possible get worse?  Indeed, her suffering had not yet ceased.  We all know Spartans are repeat offenders...(I'm looking at you Glenn Winston)  So of course Tbone can't keep his grubby, filthy, slimey green hands off my dog and defiled her yet again. 

Anyone else notice the Boddingtons on the table and get thirsty?

Humiliating.

Desecration of a man's best friend shall not go unpunished!  Brady Hoke and Denard Robinson agree, they love dogs, unlike cruel and indecent puppy hating Spartans.  Tbone probably has Michael Vick as his fantasy team captain and quarterback....yeah, I went there.

Ah but there is salvation, casting aside dirty Spartans, she rises a Wolverine.

That's a good looking collar.

Now look at her.  Classy.  Stoic. Proud.

Celebrating a Michigan victory with a little climbing.

On Rivalries Week

The battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy takes place this Saturday at noon in East Lansing.  Spartans are confident riding their 3 game win streak in the series and need to be reminded of the series all-time record of  67-31-5.  (it should be noted that um is a mere 34-22-2 since the Paul Bunyan trophy was established.  thats what?  a JLSmith tenure worth of dominance?- tbone)  This year, what appears to be two evenly matched teams will do battle.  To better prepare you, Tbone and I will provide a rundown of a match-up of personnel and try to figure out who has an advantage in this game.

Up today, the battle in:  

The Trenches

Big Ten games are usually decided by who wins the battle up front.  While this battle won't be the only one we discuss it may just be the most important. 

First up: Michigan's D-Line 

He's crazy...good. Crazy and good? Yeah maybe that's it

Michigan's defense is vastly improved and a lot of the credit needs to go to a veteran defensive front.  They aren't the biggest defensive line in the B1G but they do have a lot of talent.  Mike Martin has had games in his career when he was a one man wrecking crew but has battled some injuries that have slowed him down.  He appears to be healthy and regularly taking on double teams.  He has the capability to make big plays when Cousins drops back and also will be stout in the run game.  Ryan Van Bergen is the epitome of solid, he has a high motor and never stops pursuing the football.  Craig Roh has really picked up his game lately and will be a factor in the pass rush.  In an ideal world, Michigan will shut down the Spartans running game and get after Cousins in obvious passing situations with the blitz.

The defensive line for Michigan is not a dominating unit but they are a solid Big Ten D-line.  If the Spartans oft discussed offensive line issues are for real, Michigan has players capable of exploiting the weakness. 

And that brings us to...

Tbone on the Spartans O-line

I wrote this when Pat and I started the blog.

(This is a legit concern. And I wont even try to argue otherwise.  However, I will try to talk them up a bit.  Skylar Burkland is a redshirt freshman and I haven't read one bad thing about him.  Hes big, hes fast, and is knocking the defensive ends on their asses in scrimmage. Jared Mcgaha, is a senior, he has played in every eligible season and has started. hes not as thick as Dan However, Jared is 6-6. Dan France came from the defensive line.  However, he was originally recruited as a OT out of high school. This unit will make mistakes, false starts, etc.  Hopefully they will learn quick..... And you may remember this position switch, he came from the defensive line. O, here's an image:

 










 (plus with all this youth, imagine the unit next year, sounds like future best OL in the B1G.)

This still rings true and after the OSU game, we look pretty good.  I think Travis Jackson is a huge difference maker for the offensive line.  The OSU defense is solid, and after watching us give up zero sacks I feel fairly good about our ability to keep Cousins clean against UM.  This is obviously a huge difference maker, if UM can get to Cousins and get him nervous in the pocket and throwing off the back foot, it will be a long day.  I do not have a lot to say about the offensive line because I write about them every week.

(Pat interjects: Doesn't Burkland's injury turn a line with question marks and upside into a cross your fingers and pray situation?) 

So it looks like Tbone is cautiously optimistic with regards to the Spartans O-line play in this game.  Let's see how he feels about the...

Spartans Defensive line

Validating the preseason hype?

The defensive line is a different story. Again, to use the OSU game, our defensively line was dominant.  Will Gholston finally had a coming out party, and is excellent in pursuit.  This game will be a little different and the OSU game was no reason to believe we can win a game solely on defense.  Sure, we won the game basically on defense but OSU's offense is that bad.  (i think the Nebraska game was a fluke).  Keeping Denard  inside the tackles and making him throw will be a huge advantage for MSU.  There is no mistaking his ability to run the ball, his passing game leaves a lot to be desired.  Jerel Worthy needs to have a monster game especially after all the news surrounding his tattoo.  Something else to watch are hits Denard takes.  He took a lot of hits early in the Northwestern game and seems, this year, to have a great ability to bounce back.  It is always nice to get hits on the quarterback and hitting Denard, and maybe seeing UM put in an unproven QB in would be monumental.  Marcus Rush is a legit pass rushing threat.  He is a red shirt freshman defensive end who has high motor and this year has shown her can play.  Anthony Rashad White is the nose tackle, 6-2 320 pounds of hurt.  He hasnt really done a lot to impress me, but with that kind of girth he can plug holes.    If we are to win this game, the defensive line needs to get through UM's offensive line and bottle up Denard.  Stop him from running rampant and we can win this.

(Pat interjects again:  I heard in the off-season that this Spartan unit was going to be the strength of the entire team.  I've seen some concrete evidence to back that up but also have some lingering doubts.  Namely, the schedule thus far.  MSU has played some horrendous offenses.)

And to round it out...

Michigan's O-line

Thin to win

Even in the disappointing 2010 season, Michigan ran the football.  Most have attributed that success to Denard Robinson's crazy ability (that's true, obviously) but the offensive line is also deserving of plenty of credit.  Taylor Lewan will play left tackle in the NFL and David Molk will play center.  This unit (starting unit, depth is worse than shaky) is probably the best on Michigan's team.  They do come into the Spartan game with a few question marks and namely, will they be asked to drive block or zone and reach block?  They are less than mediocre at the former and tremendous at the latter.  Recruited to run the spread for Rodriguez, these guys are big but very mobile.  They aren't Wisconsin's offensive line but they are damn effective.  My expectation is that you'll see a lot of zone read this weekend as well as other zone blocking schemes to best utilize the personnel.  If Michigan tries to line up and pound the ball against MSU they may have some problems.  I'm confident Borges recognizes this and you'll see Michigan gain yards on the ground.

The match-up of Sparty d-line and UM o-line will likely determine this game.  Watch to see if Denard finds grass, if he does Michigan will be in good shape.  If Denard is constantly harassed because of pressure and third and long, well that's the other option. 

In a hypothetical world where you are the GM of an NFL team (or NBA or any pro sport)...Would you rather draft with the first and 4th picks or the 2nd and 3rd?

In my own humble opinion, I think the Spartans have the better defensive line, (1st pick), Wolverines the better offensive line (pick 2), but whereas the Michigan d-line is solid (3rd pick), the Spartans o-line is unproven and a huge question mark (pick...4? 8? 52?)

This is the week that this blog was created for so let's get some discussion in the comments.  Tell me how wrong (or right) you think I am. 

Up tomorrow: running backs and wide receivers.

Way Too Late

It's unlikely anyone is going to read this before the Michigan game starts in a few hours but here's 3 things to watch and a prediction.

Heisman hopeful's health an issue.

1. Is Persa 100%?

A healthy Dan Persa makes the Wildcats a much different team.  They will need him playing and playing at a high level to win this game.

2. Turnover Battle

I can't envision Northwestern winning this game unless they win the turnover battle.  If Michigan can protect the football and generate a couple of turnovers from the Wildcats, it should be a Wolverine victory.  If Denard throws some picks or Michigan has some fumbling issues, NW will win the game.

3. Defensive success an anomaly?

Michigan is tied for 2nd in the nation in scoring defense. (Yes, you read that correctly)  Is that a result of poor competition or a vast improvement in the play of the defense?  If Persa is healthy and Michigan is able to shut down the Wildcat offense it will be a telling sign for the rest of the season.  If Northwestern racks up over 400 yards of offense without turning the ball over, well that would be a telling sign in the opposite direction.  This is a good test for the Michigan defense.

Prediction:

I think this game has all the makings of a trap game for the Wolverines.  First road game of the season, rival Michigan State on the docket for next weekend and a 5-0 record and a stomping of Minnesota the previous week.  The coaching staff and players have been saying all the right things all week but these are college kids after all and winning on the road (even if it's 40% Michigan fans) is difficult.

With all that said, I believe Michigan is the more talented football team.  Northwestern's defense is susceptible to giving up big plays and Denard should be able to take advantage.

35-31 Michigan

OOOO BABAY

TIGERS WIN TIGERS WIN!!! 

So I was way off in my prediction of the lineup.   Inge started...on the bench.  But came in as a defensive substitute when Kelly switched to RF for Ordonez.  Fister, pitched a hell of a game.  What won the game though was the back to back jacks in the first inning.  Obviously scoring helps, but getting two runs in the first inning against a rookie pitcher has to be a total mind F--K.   He left the game with tightness in his forearm.  I smell something foul there.  He left because he was rattled and unable to throw his throws.  Leave Nova in for one more inning and the Tigers have a field day. 

Quick turnaround as the Tigers start in Texas at 7:30 on Saturday.  The pitching rotation will look like this: Game 1: JV, Game 2: Scherzer, Game 3: Fister, Game 4: Porcello, Game 5: JV, Game 6: Scherzer, Game 7: Fister.

Having JV and Fister potentially pitch 4 of the 7 games is a good thing, and I like Fister as game 7, I think hes out to prove himself.  Go into Texas win game one.  We will be looking good for the series.  We need out bats to do what they do in the humid air. 

TIGERS

MSU has a bye week before the um game.  So Pat will be handling most of the blogging duties when it comes to college sports.  While I will mostly be commenting on his posts and talking about the Tigers.  Yes, talking about the Tigers.  They play tomorrow in a decisive game 5, but I plan on talking about them longer.  Mostly because I do not plan on the Tigers losing this game. 

What went wrong in game 4?  A few things I suppose, off the top of my head, Curtis Granderson.  I used to belong to the Facebook group:  71% of Earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Curtis Granderson, and after watching that game you can see why.  Austin Jackson, you are great and all, but you were not Granderson, last night.  Tigers fans are gonna need some jaw dropping catches tomorrow-where applicable.  


What else you say?  Well I am not sure if  I should congratulate AJ Burnett, or scorn the Tiges hitters for swining into so many double plays.  (if i were a TBS announcer i would now type that AJ has the second best stuff in baseball behind JV.  no joke, they said that in the second inning.)  Instead, DAMN YOU TIGERS BATTERS FOR HITTING INTO SO MANY DOUBLE PLAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


You want more?  I will give you more and you will like it!!!  Wilson Betemit.  YOU SUCKED.  Getting the lefty bat in the lineup was a good idea, in theory.  In practice it was a spectacular fail.  Sure, Inge is about the worst hitter on a playoff team but so far hes 3-6 against the yankees, and he knows how to play defense.  Ride the hot bat for game 5 please.  I think Inge will come up big.  He loves it.  


my projected game 5 lineup 1 - Fister. 2 - Avila. 3 - Cabrera. 4 - Razr Ramon. 5 - INGE. 6 - Jhony. 7 - Young. 8 - Ajax. 9 - Kelly.  DH - Vmart


Only changes/surprises are that I see Inge in for Betemit and Kelly will get the nod over Magglio.  Kelly has had good bat, and offers more speed both defensively and running the bases.  


Game 5 prediction: watch the game.  but like I said earlier, I expect the Tigers to win.  

This Is Michigan

It's fair to say I was less than enthused with the Hoke hire.  It wasn't so much a knock on Hoke as disappointment in missing out on Harbaugh and the sabotaging of the 2011 recruiting class with how the entire coaching search and hiring played out.   

Hoke seemed alright.  He had turned some teams around and was well respected in coaching circles.  I was optimistic but I wouldn't say I was excited.  Hoke did strum a few chords with his answer to one question at his introductory press conference.

Then Brady hired Greg Mattison to be the defensive coordinator. A competent defensive coordinator who is also a tremendous recruiter*?  Yes please I'd love the anti Greg Robinson....I allowed myself to get a little pumped up.  

The turning point came for me before fall practice began, at the Big Ten media days.  Press conferences are just words, but there was something in what Hoke said that made me believe.  "This is Michigan" was music to my ears.  (It was apparently music to the athletic departments ears as well, as they have built the promotional campaign for this season around Hoke's comments.)

Here's my quick transcript:

The question is posed on what it will take to rebuild Michigan.  (At the 9:20 mark of the video)

"I don't think we're rebuilding.  Period.  I mean, we're Michigan.  And we've got kids who understand that they're Michigan.  So I don't put any stock into that."

When asked about recruiting. (12:20 mark)

 "This might sound arrogant and if it is, it is.  We're Michigan.  We have a global education.  We're the winningest program in the history of college football."

A 58-0 romp over a Big Ten team probably says more about Minnesota's utter incompetence than it says about Michigan's return to prominence, but a complete annihilation of a Big Ten opponent made me feel like "This is Michigan" again.  It feels good.


* Urban Meyer referred to Mattison as the best recruiter in all of college football.

WIN!

WOW, what a win.  Apparently, first to 10 wins.  There were a lot of high lights a few low lights.

First, did you see that defense?  O MAN, they looked good. The front four absolutely dominated Ohio State's offensive line.  Yes, it did help having Braxton Miller in there, as he tended to run out of the pocket early.  Mixing in blitzes and coverage kept OSU's offense off balance and our defensive backs were able to keep their men in check.  I will be honest, the few replays they showed of the MSU secondary, showed OSU with wide open receivers.  However, this could have been after Braxton broke off his pass drop back and tried to run it.  The real Dennard had a monster interception and displayed athleticism I have not seen at MSU in a looong time.  Special shout out to William Gholston, who up to this point had gone unnoticed.  William was in the OSU backfield the entire game.  I think he had something to prove. (take note ohio recruits...)    MSU held OSU to 178 yards, keeping in tact the nations #1 ranked yards per game defense in the country.  O yea, we had 9 sacks. 9.

BJ Cunningham is a beast.  My counterpart here balked at the idea of MSU having the best receivers in the big ten.  Well we have the best single receiver in the big ten.  Cannot argue that.  9 catches 154 yards and the lone TD, and it was a beauty.

The running game was very solid.  The total numbers were not lofty (85) but they seemed to get yards when we needed them.  Including several 5+ yard rushes.

O hey, offensive line, that was good to see against a good defense.  No sacks allowed. 

The bad?  Kirk, you weren't so much bad as not great.  The two interceptions were thrown to the worst spots possible.  There was one throw that was about one foot away from being a  pick 6.  However, I will add that had Cousins zoomed the pass to Sims in the end-zone instead of lofting it, it was a TD.  Also, there was another pass that was about 3 feet too far and would have ended up as a BJ Cunningham TD.  Complete those passes and its blow out city.

Some more bad would be some questionable play calling, but I am not going to complain when we left with a win in a game we dominated from beginning to end, even if the score board made it look closer.

(tbone says click the image to get a larger view!)

4-1