U of M thread (in the Lions Forum) :)

[Fraquar]

There is talent there at UM.

That talent is raw and isn't necessarily suited to what Rich wants to do though.

The combination of the two is what will do them in this year.

It's one thing when you have the right players (but they are raw) and they grow and develop (and learn from their mistakes) into the roles they will be asked to fill in the future. It's another altogether when you have guys that will slowly get better only to get replaced by guys that have the skillsets they are really looking for next year or down the road.

[Rocky Bleier]

Charlie Weis, on the other hand, has no excuse. He's been a flat out failure. He'll get a little bump by beating Michigan on Saturday, but that's not much of an accomplishment this season.

[Fraquar]

You'd think ND would at least be a little concerned about their image with as much TV time as they get and their HC looking like he swallowed a blue-fin tuna whole.

When your university gets that much exposure -
visual image means ALOT. Weis looks sloppy - and their teams play reflects that image.

[Timmy]

So because they're young and haven't played much means that they don't have talent? At the end of the season will they still be talentless even though they have a year's experience under their belt?

I didn't realize that UofM's depth chart was so thin.

They might be talented pinball players too which has about as much to do with the power running game skillset they possess. Both are irrelevant to what the current coach's system is. Running the spread offense requires different linemen than the power running game. You need a faster, more mobile guy as opposed to the road graders currently on the roster. Denver's line is an example of the type of player that's needed now.

I think you'll find out how "untalented" these players are as the year goes on. We'll probably get 6 wins and to me that's not exactly dripping with talent.

[froot loops]

Timmy - The reason I brought up the John Looney Smith is that MSU tried the exact same thing. They were a power team that went to a wacky spread offense. In the first year they ran very well. They ran the offense pretty well. They didn't change their line and the line was terrible the year before. Changing systems shouldn't be the big adjustment that people want you to believe..

[Timmy]

Well I can only hope that we improve as the season goes on but in reality with the # of starters we lost I don't see us even sniffing a December bowl game. Granted we've been spoiled by 20 plus years of appearing in a bowl game but this season is gonna be brutal to watch.

A smarter man would find something better to do with his weekends than watch football this year but who said I was smart?

[SeattleLionsFan]

There is talent there at UM.

That talent is raw and isn't necessarily suited to what Rich wants to do though.

The combination of the two is what will do them in this year.

It's one thing when you have the right players (but they are raw) and they grow and develop (and learn from their mistakes) into the roles they will be asked to fill in the future. It's another altogether when you have guys that will slowly get better only to get replaced by guys that have the skillsets they are really looking for next year or down the road.

I don't know that I agree with this. They have a walk-on starting OLT next week.

The Lions draft is highly rated most every year, so they must have talent also.

(and yes, they have talent on D...)

[Fraquar]

That walk-on is just part of Rich looking for guys that fit what he wants to do.

That isn't to say that they don't have talent at OT - it's just that it's probably the wrong talent for the system - like trying to fit Gosder (a mauling RT) into a finesse blocking scheme.

The Lions defense doesn't have much talent - if they did they'd at least be able to tackle someone.

Big difference between not being where you are supposed to be and just plain whiffing on a play when you are EXACTLY where you are supposed to be to make the play.

The former can be a mistake commonly made by young inexperienced but otherwise talented players - the latter is often connected to smarter, experienced veterans who just can't get it done.

[froot loops]

The NFL draft grades are not applicable in this case. NFL draft grades are all over the place. Whereas the college recruiting grades correlate much better to actual performance. If you get a top 10 recruiting class year after year, you have much better talent than a team that gets a top 40 grade(unles you're Charlie Weiss). There are exceptions but Michigan doesn't apply to those exceptions because they have been high achievers in the recruiting process and high achievers on the field.

[SeattleLionsFan]

Sounds like you guys really have the pulse of the UMich wolverines. You are right. This is a mega talented team, playing walk-ons on offense is just for fun!

[Timmy]

Kinda like the way ScrapIron (Phil Garner) used to trot out those God-awful lineups and say that the pitchers loved it LOL!

[Rocky Bleier]

Maybe Froot could explain why Michigan is so putrid then, if not for lack of talent and experience. Rodriguez has won everywhere else, so it can't be him. The players rave about Barwis. Please enlighten us, Froot.

[Rocky Bleier]

Next opponent:

"I said everything! Including anchovies!"

[froot loops]

Putrid, you guys don't know putrid. So you lost to Utah by two points, big whoop. Stop the crocodile tears.

[Rocky Bleier]

And beat powerhouse Miami of Ohio by six. Yeah, 10 wins are in the bag. Just can't admit you were wrong, eh?