2019 Michigan Season Thread

[MrNubbz]

I don't think Hudson would have made much of a difference (he barely played last year and has been veiledly accused of having an allergy to hard work).

So both you and Harbaugh thinks the kid wasn't having emotional problems.Great,good to hear,I don't know that he was and neither do you.

[Anonymous Coward]

Losing to OSU this year, at home, with a senior QB in Patterson and with no Urban Meyer on the other sideline = unacceptable. Harbaugh will start to lose me if that happens.

Even if Ryan Day is a lesser coach than Meyer (feels likely) and if OSU will eventually equilibrate to a new lower level as he takes over (if this first premise is true, this would also seem likely), then this could be the most difficult year to beat Ryan Day. I see no choice but to give Harbaugh a pass if he loses this game. I'd say Harbaugh only needs to get 1 of the next 3 and maybe 2 of the next 5. 

"Expectations" and "reasonable expectations" are rarely the same thing, and "reasonable expectations" are the ones that matter most for Harbaugh at Michigan. If he keeps averaging 10-win seasons he's unfireable. That would probably be different if Harbaugh had taken over directly after Lloyd retired. That the expectations would be higher. But Harbaugh didn't follow Lloyd. He followed Rodriguez and Hoke. Let's not underestimate how much it changed that the program was that recently humbled *that* much.

[Anonymous Coward]

So both you and Harbaugh thinks the kid wasn't having emotional problems.Great,good to hear,I don't know that he was and neither do you.

I'll go back and edit mine. I typed Hudson. I meant Aubrey Solomon. The post was about Solomon and how losing him as a DT was perhaps not that big of a deal.

[Honestbuckeye]

If you just go by QB experience and skill level, you can often get pretty close on best guessing how things shake out.

I fully expect UM to win the east, and would not be surprised to see them run the table. Because of the lack of experience and exposure to the playbook ( unlike Haskins who had a couple years with it) I see a bumpy ride for Ohio State- some good performances and a few stinkers. But they should be a tough out, they will be feisty.  I think MSU and PSU will also be feisty- tough outs for anyone.

It is the west that should be fascinating. You have to respect the Badgers just based on how they have been consistently good- especially if they get solid QB play.   But I feel like Nebraska is going to be really good with that QB and Frost in year 2, and Purdue returns a lot on defense to match their offensive guru of a coach.  And then , in my eyes, both Northwestern and Iowa have proven they can play with anyone.

There will be a lot more games this year that will capture my fascination.  Should be fun.

[Cincydawg]

I agree with the above and have Nebraska and Michigan in the CG, FWIW (not much).

First year coaches often can have some teething issues.

[Temp430]

Anyone else worried about the game with Army?  You should be.

[MrNubbz]

There will be a lot more games this year that will capture my fascination.  Should be fun.

I agree,Certainly seems to be a lot of uncertainty which should be a rather exciting season from a fans standpoint

[FearlessF]

 Georgia could be 9-4 just as easily, losses to ND, Florida, Auburn, and the bowl game.  Georgia could lose to A&M as well in Athens.  The ND game in Athens might be epic, the crowd will be ready, it's a night game.

Auburn is at Auburn, a series where curiously the visiting team seems to win more often than not.

no Bama for the Dawgs this season?

Here's hoping the Domers lose to Georgia and Michigan

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone else worried about the game with Army?  You should be.

They definitely have my attention. Especially against a young defense. Oklahoma's close call versus Army last year seemed to be primarily due to a rough OU defense.

However, I should credit Don Brown. He came to Michigan with a reputation for having a knack with the service academy games. The Air Force team he bottled up (~200 total yards) got half of the yards it was getting in other games. And that was versus a 2017 Michigan defense that was also green -- having just sent eleven guys to the NFL (eight were drafted).

Meanwhile, I do wish Michigan would stop scheduling these teams. It's the proverbial "there's nothing to gain and everything to lose" match up.

[Cincydawg]

If UGA loses to Auburn (or A&M) and Florida, they probably don't make the CG.  

I usually muse about "how bad it COULD be".  It rarely is of course, but it parallels with "how good could it be?".

I don't mean 15-0 or 0-12, I mean realistically of course.  Michigan has a decent shot at 12-0 regular season, but most teams lose somewhere along the way.  Last year was unusual.

[Anonymous Coward]

Stueber, starting candidate at RT, is now out with an unspecified knee injury. I hope it isn't prolonged but it could be. Get well soon to that guy.

We think Mayfield was leading the competition for the only OL spot without a returning starter. Mayfield (RS-Fr) and Stueber (RS-So) were said to have exited spring and entered fall "tied." The truth is fans just don't know the order for sure. Consequences? Less for the starting line; more for the depth. This may mean that Ryan Hayes has to grow up fast. He's a prototypical LT, but he may be needed on either side for depth.

Crack at the depth chart:

LT -- Runyan then Hayes
LG -- Bredeson then Filiaga
C -- Ruiz then  Spanellis
RG -- Onwenu then Honigford
RT -- Mayfield/Stueber then ???

[Mdot21]

Anyone else worried about the game with Army?  You should be.

I don't know. These are the sort of offenses that Don Brown's heavy blitzing and pretty much 100% man to man across the board seem to just shut down and beat the hell out of. Don Brown's defenses look amazing for like 9 or 10 games during a season. But then there is always 1 or 2 games a year where his defenses just get absolutely shredded. PSU in 2017 and OSU in 2018 come to mind immediately. In both those games the offenses exposed that man to man across the board scheme badly. Barkley and Geisicki abused Michigan's LB's in man coverage and DaeSean Hamilton absued Michigan's safeties in the slot. Saquon Barkley vs Mike McCray 1 on 1 in man coverage...LMAO. Poor bastard never stood a chance vs Barkley. OSU ran a lot of mesh and crossing routes to get those speedy WR's free. Got away with a few pick plays, but Brandon Watson and the safeties were obliterated trying to keep up man to man against those OSU WR's.

So long story short, not really worried about these style of offenses. Don Brown's scheme seems designed to completely shut down and stifle like 90% of the offenses his teams will face. It's those rare times he's facing teams with an elite pass catching RB or TE (see Penn State 2017) or facing a team with an elite QB and elite WR's (see OSU) where his scheme breaks down and gets absolutely shredded. His scheme works great 90-95% of the time because 90-95% of the time the teams he's facing don't have the QB/RB/TE/WR's to really expose it.

[Anonymous Coward]

CB is the far away leading concern, then DT.

Those are still the top two concerns, and I'm struggling to think of which other concerns are in view of these. Unfortunately, Ambry Thomas is now out with colitis and Dwumfour is still meaningfully less than 100% (foot?) ... so that's crummy.

[Mdot21]

Those are still the top two concerns, and I'm struggling to think of which other concerns are in view of these. Unfortunately, Ambry Thomas is now out with colitis and Dwumfour is still meaningfully less than 100% (foot?) ... so that's crummy.

Ambry should be back. It's just a matter of when. Really sucks, because he's brimming with talent and this looked like it might be his breakout year. He's probably the fastest, most athletic CB that Michigan has had under Harbaugh yet. Jourdan Lewis was an excellent CB and so is LaVert Hill, but Ambry is taller and faster than those guys. The only guy in the same ballpark is David Long, and Ambry is about an inch taller and has another gear than Long. Long wasn't slow by any means, Ambry is just really fast.