Question for the season.....

I want you to think really hard on this, and for most of you put your Harbaugh hatred to the side:

Tell me why Michigan is playing better ball right now compared to the Dawgs?

Sorry to intrude but doesn't Michigan have way better recruits?

mcnabb7542 said:

I want you to think really hard on this, and for most of you put your Harbaugh hatred to the side:

Tell me why Michigan is playing better ball right now compared to the Dawgs?

Click to expand...

Answer isn't that easy.
Michigan had talent left behind. Senior talent.
UW had Cyler Miles I mean, that was the best QB you had on the roster. Cyler fucking Miles.

There are different coaches with different philosophies all around the college landscape. Some are very adept at changing to the kids around them and others are more geared toward doing things a very specific way and need kids that work along with that. Which is better? Both work well for some coaches.

Sark came in and turned around a 0-12 team pretty fast, but the defense was horrible. No matter how much time they were given, Holt wasn't right. He had talent and couldn't get anything out of it. Wilcox came in and it was flipped nearly overnight. But after 4 years all he had in the cupboard for the vaunted QB slot at UW was Cyler flipping Miles. He whiffed at recruiting that spot big time.

New staff comes in to find zero talent at QB, mostly banged up mediocre running backs, not much depth at WR, and while they had a stout front 7, their secondary was weak. The head scratcher was how inconsistent the defensive play was out of that front 7, but they have clearly shown their vision works with kids that are on the same page as they are. That defense made a fairly strong leap forward with mostly underclassmen. That cannot be overstated. Impressive to say the least.

Having to start a true freshman at QB for the first time in school history has shown both just how bad their QB stock was and seeing the growing pains reiterates why it's not desirable to play such a young QB so quickly.

We are seeing Gaskin emerge as a stud RB. He already broke 1000 yards rushing and that's including how long it's taken for that very young line to come together to give anything that remotely seems like consistent holes to run through.

The line is improving, Browning is learning, Gaskin is shining. The WR's are a glaring issue and yet next year looks like we should see some major steps forward with that unit.

Look how long it's taken Leach to get his shit together on the Palouse.

There is every reason to believe this program is moving forward and has bright days ahead of it. They have most of their team returning next year and they can't help but getting better because of that experience.

mcnabb7542 said:

I want you to think really hard on this, and for most of you put your Harbaugh hatred to the side:

Tell me why Michigan is playing better ball right now compared to the Dawgs?

Click to expand...

Like wiz said, Michigan was in a better place as far as experience goes. Also, I think Harbaugh got a couple Jr. College transfers to fill out and fit his style.

I suppose Petersen and his staff could have tried to go that way his first year, but they seemed to be more about cleaning house and laying their own foundation than instant gratification.

I, for one, am super cool with that.

I understand as to Pete and company cleaning house and getting some more "team players" on the roster, ( though that makes Sark time here look more like a waste on some players) which is part of the recruiting game,
I guess my patients is a little thin, I'm tired of the hit and miss season's, I really am expecting a better season next year, year three and there should be a huge difference in the way this team plays...

Sark was probably the right guy at that time, but I think it's safe to say looking back that he was never going to take this program to the top of the conference.

What he did do was bring back recruiting to much higher levels and put them at least back on the map.

His teams did under-perform, however unlike Michigan he started with kids that came out of some pretty thin classes. He was rebuilding from the ground up. Now had he stayed, he'd have still had to bring in a JC QB at least and there were other holes he left behind that he would have had to have plugged, but '14 would have probably been a very solid year.

Petersen comes in and the cupboards weren't as bare as they were for Sark, but this staff has a very different idea about what types of athletes fit their mold so even some of the great talent had to be expunged for them to move forward with their install. So the effect was similar. Very young teams while they fully install their schemes/systems and work toward depth.

The encouraging signs are how solid this defense is in only the second year. They have mostly underclassmen playing on that unit and are still this good. How can that not leave you stoked for what they are doing?

Even with the offense, they go out and get a kid that looks like his ceiling is higher than any QB we've seen in at least 10-15 years. The O line has taken some time to come together, but at least they are better now than at seasons start. That's all you can ask a staff to do. They've also identified their feature back. Gaskin is going to be a force for the next couple of years.

There are only going to be a few questions going into next year and I can't remember the last time this team had most of its starters solid going into an off season. The biggest question will be outside of Ross and Petis, who is Browning going to throw to that will be a legit threat? Will any of their TE's pick up the production lost of Perkins leaving? And probably, who will pick up the production of Feeney?

Think about that for a minute. We won't worry about who's going to QB. That's locked down solid. RB looks great. The line should be good. The secondary should be outstanding. The front 7 mostly in tact.

So outside of that the only question is will Smith be able to keep advancing this offense and is he the right guy to develop Browning?

You feel great about the defense and even special teams and the questions you have at offense aren't nearly as big as they have been in recent years.

If this staff is legit (and that's the $64,000 question isn't it) this team should make a fairly big leap next season. They play 3 garbage OOC games and should have Stanford, USC, ASU, and Oregon State all at home. No reason to get less than 5 out of that and maybe 6 if they are as they should be. Oregon, Cal, Utah, Arizona, and WSU on the road. Again, if they take the steps they should there is at least 3 wins out of that.

Anything less than 8 wins would be entirely unacceptable. 8 would feel more like the Sark so-so era. But 9-10 wins puts them back on the map and shows progress.

Remember, this sport is very much tied to experience at QB. Teams that turnover at that position are always in a questionable situation. Oregon will be trying to find someone new, and so will Stanford and Cal. Half of the division will be looking for someone new under center. It's there to go get. WSU might be the scariest threat going into next year at least in terms of known quantity at QB.

Good post Wiz, can't really add much except to say that I'm more excited for next season than I have been in a very long time. Even this year, outside of the ASU game I really don't have any complaints. I expected 3-4 wins from UW this season. The defense was great and the offense improved more than I thought it would. Browining is going to set records here.