Thursday, September 20, 2018

Week #3 In The Rear View Mirror - The Mailbag


I am really looking forward to your analysis after watching the game on TV with the benefit of slow-mo.  You know I have no problem blaming the refs, but I just didn't think that the calls were all that bad.  Sadly I do not have DVR service, so I can't verify my opinion, but my recollection is that I had no problem with the PI call against Metallus (although it could be the case that I thought it should have been defensive holding rather than PI.  What I will repeat is that I have had it with Metallus already.  The targeting call was surely legit against nd, then there was his pathetic face guarding lameness on the TD pass.  Had he turned around he could have had an INT

SuperFan

SuperFan – You are so incredibly wrong on this one that it literally pains me to have to address it on this blog.  These Refs WERE SO BAD-

Peanut Gallery: “How Bad Were They?”

Their actual performance has been requested to go under review by Michigan’s AD... 

So I watched the replay (Thank you BTN Game in 60 that you can order up free on Demand if you have X-Finity) …From PI calls that were clearly inside the 5-yard “bump” window to PI’s that were called where the pass was uncatchable.  I believe of the 4 (?) PI’s that were called, there was only one that was even close to legitimate.  And not even that one based on how bad all the other ones were being called.  Not only that, on the replay I saw SMU holding REPEATEDLY on Gary and Winnovich….And that was my opinion watching live, also, that Michigan wasn’t getting any holding calls.  As I re-watched the game and not only were my suspicions confirmed, there were several other calls where the refs completely blew it.  DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE TARGETTING CALL THAT WASN’T ON HUDSON!  (There was no INTENT!)  That Hudson has to miss a half a game against Nebraska is ludicrous and should be something you can review again and change the ruling during the week. 

Other Flubs?   Lots of them.  CASE IN POINT:


Read the first part of unverified voracity and watch the referee yell something at Bush.  Bush responds, gets out of position, tries to get back in position when the ball is snapped and is literally BEHIND THE PLAY because of the referee’s interference!  I remember seeing it live on the field and I couldn’t figure out WTF was going on then and why the ref was grabbing Bush.  There’s a reddit link that addresses it also.


Can refs tell defenders where to line up? Because that definitely happened
At the 8:24 mark in this video (will start at the right time) the ref insists that Bush moves. Bush is standing in the place where MLBs always stand. Are refs actually allowed to do this, because this seems very strange to me.

So then what happens? What if a ref tells you to move out of position and there is a big play because of it? I assume it can't be reviewed and you're just fucked. I don't care about the Michigan game because that went fine(ish), but what about in the future?

Edit: The consensus seems to be that the defender's pads weren't right so the ref told him not to play. However, this still seems wrong to me. Play wasn't stopped and the ref told the player to leave the field after the offense was set which is ridiculous. Clearly there was no infraction being committed by the player because he was still on the field and no flag was thrown.

Conclusion: Refs shouldn't be allowed to say things like, "you have to leave the field" when you don't actually have to leave the field. The confusion this may cause (and clearly did cause this time) isn't reviewable and could screw a team over.

In addition, the last “roughing the passer” call on the SECOND TO LAST PLAY OF THE GAME was so NOT a roughing the passer and it makes me wonder how anyone on that particular crew still has a job this week.   Of the 13 penalties (on Michigan) I think they blew 9 or 10.  The ones they didn’t screw up were procedural or formation.  

So, in conclusion, Not-So-Superfan, I think YOU need to re-watch every critical referee call AGAIN and form a new opinion as to what you were seeing.  Again -I’ll ask the same question I asked you in our texting back and forth:  Have you taken up drinking during the games???  Clearly, a lot of other people and I agree that the refs were simply horrid. 

You and I are divided on this one…

What did you think of Patterson’s overall performance?  To me, it seems like he’s getting more comfortable in the offense.  Go back and watch some Notre Dame highlights and I think you can already see a difference.

I didn’t re-watch any domer (JEEZ I HATE THESE GUYS!) (BTW – the CORRECT TERM when addressing that school in South Bend) stuff, but I can tell you from Western to SMU I’ve seen improvement, better pocket awareness (up to the inevitable collapse) and really good instincts when it comes to moving and throwing on the run.  Some of that is coaching, most of that is trust in team mates, the offensive system, and your own ability.  One minor issue:  Shea doesn’t have the “D-Rob” sense of when to take the ball and run vs. handing it off.  D-Rob was a master at that.  Shea prefers to hand it off or pass it. 

While I do think Shea’s getting better, Nebraska will definitely be a better test of Patterson and closer to what the domer D presented so that’ll be a good time and game to compare.  And, where Nebraska’s weak on D is the secondary and Michigan may be able to really exploit that, if the staff chooses to do so.  If Michigan opts to rush the ball, well, Shea will hopefully still be there to do his thing when needed.


Did you see this?  It’s a pretty good read!


IT is a good read, but I hate how the writer weaseled out at the end and had a scenario where both Michigan and Nebraska won (in 1997).  Pick one and move along.  It’s been 21 years and were all big boys and girls now.  I’m pretty sure the EA Sports NCAA Football game had two pretty accurate renderings of the two teams and I believe there was a setting where you could just select the two teams and hit “Play Each Other”.  Someone, an author (?), did this and, over 100 trials, Michigan came out on top by a small margin.  Seeing as how that’s probably as close as you’re ever gonna’ get, that’s good enough for this fan. 

Small nod to the Impeached Oval Office BJ Prez for this quote:

"We tried to get it going at the Rose Garden when we were at the White House," Steele said. "Both teams were at the White House, which was probably not the best idea."
Clinton used the opportunity for a one-liner both teams still remember.
"We've had a lot of heavyweights in this room, but nothing compares to this," Clinton said. "The entire season, everyone has been trying to get these two teams to meet, and it looks like I'm the only one who could pull it off. Seeing how it's sunny outside, maybe we should go out and settle this whole thing right now." 
In all honesty, that would have been a blast!!!
Speaking Of EA Sports, The NCAA Is Fighting Again To Defend The Indefensible – Amateurism


The NCAA is in what may be the last fight (or it’s at least picking up where the O’Bannon case left off) in the NCAA’s attempt to protect amateurism and the level playing field.  The main point of the case is that this time, it’s a class action suit fighting for everyone and all athletes under the rules of the NCAA.  There’s more detail in the link, but suffice it to say, this might be the one that topples the NCAA rule book.  Of course, the ole’ MMQ has said that before and been completely WRONG when it comes to the Idiots In Indy... 

And Super Safety Daxton Hill Commits To Michigan!


Again, if you’ve been reading me for a long time, you know I don’t get my panties in a bunch when it comes to recruits and commitments, regardless of whether or not they commit to Michigan or elsewhere.  Again, recruits pan out all the time and I’m more of a “Let’s see what the kid does on the field”.  Howeva’!, based on the fact that Pete Finebum was emphatically stating that “Satan never loses a recruit like this” and the fact that Daxton had been leaning Bama more or less his entire recruitment period, well, this did kind of make my day, if for no other reason than Finebum has to own up to Harbaugh being the “Better recruiter for once.”  Hee-hee….

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