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发帖数: 11198 | 1 Learn from yesterday, live for today, Hoke for tomorrow - JNW
http://mgoblog.com/diaries/learn-yesterday-live-today-hoke-tomo
By Lordfoul — October 9th, 2011 at 11:54 AM — 17 comments
Filed under: 6-0 is rare Al Borges is a mad magician football Greg Mattison
is Gary Moeller++ Junior Denard overcomes his mistakes Senior Junior helps
out
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important
thing is not to stop questioning.”
Albert Einstein
Learn from yesterday...
6-0 starts for Michigan are rare.
Most of my life (33 years) has been spent rooting for a Michigan team that
would win most Saturdays, live in the national rankings, and stub their toe
early in the season. 4-0 or better starts have only occurred 11 times in
those 33 seasons:
4-0: '78 '96 '09
5-0: '85 '95 '99 '10
6-0: '86 '97 '06 '11
The starts to the last three seasons have been a stretch that Michigan fans
have not witnessed since the dawn of the Carr era. That exciting time back
in the mid-90s culminated in a National Championship with the two seasons
before ending in disappointment. We have had the disappointment x 1,000,000
these past two seasons (but thanks for the excitement RR); perhaps we are
on the brink of something special again.
Looking back reveals that the last 4 teams* to start the season undefeated
through six games have gone on to have very memorable seasons:
'86 - Jimmy Harbaugh guarantees victory over Ohio and delivers as Michigan
goes 11-2 losing the Rose Bowl to a tainted ASU team.
'92 - Gary Moeller with a senior Elvis Grbac goes undefeated, winning the
Rose Bowl over Washington and finishing 9-0-3 in the days before overtime.
'97 - Michigan goes undefeated at 12-0 and clinches a NC, winning the Rose
Bowl over Washington St and a Heisman for one Charles Woodson.
'06 - Michigan starts out 11-0 leading up to the Game of the Century against
#1 Ohio; Bo dies and Michigan ends up 11-2 after a loss to USC in the Rose
Bowl.
That would be 1 National Championship, 3 B10 Championships, 3 11+ win
seasons, and 2 wins in 4 Rose Bowl appearances. These are good tidings
indeed.
*1992 not included in the 4-0 or better teams because of a tie against ND in
the season opener.
Live for Today…
Halfway through the season, several Michigan players and coaches** should
take pride in accomplishments thus far:
1. Brady Hoke – My pride in my team and the way it is coached couldn't
be higher right now. Brady Hoke should be the clear front-runner for coach
of the year at this point. He is the glue.
2. Greg Mattison – The defense continues to improve and despite looking
overmatched at times they never quit. The half time adjustments against
JNW were remarkable, forcing 2 turnovers and shutting the Wildcats out for
the second half. If not this season, coming seasons will feature a top-10
ranked defense and a return of Michigan dominance. Mattison = Gary Moeller+
+.
3. Al Borges – Naysayers can go sit in the corner because Mr. Borges is
having none of it. Al Borges is having the time of his life, making use of
the treasure trove of speed and talent left to him by Rich Rodriguez. His
understanding of the talent he has, and how to most effectively make use of
it, grows with each passing week. He has this team rolling, and even a 3-
turnover 1st half can't derail their confidence. I can't wait to see what
he has in store for little brother. Al Borges is a Mad Magician.
4. Junior Hemingway – Senior Junior is what bails out the shortcomings
of a Denard-led offense. His ability to go up and get jump-balls stretched
the JNW defense and forced them to give up more space for Denard's feet to
do what they do. We are lucky he stuck around, because without him this
team is probably 4-2.
5. Denard Robinson – Junior Denard overcomes his mistakes. Credit has
to be given for how he shook off that dreadful first half to win the game
for Michigan in the second half. There has never been a player like
shoelace, and there will never be one like him again I bet. His humble
attitude, always positive, always smiling... it allows for turnarounds like
we saw yesterday. You just can't keep him down. He obviously took the
coaching-up at half time and came out a different player. I told my wife
before Devin Gardner's TD that Denard was not really injured bad, he just
wanted Gardner to get his shot. Just remarkable.
Also of note: Jeremy Gallon, Roy Roundtree (nice to see some production),
RVB, Kevin Koger, Jordan Kovacs (Probably the only player that could rip off
the QB's helmet without drawing a flag), Devin Gardner (clutch TD run),
every position coach and basically everyone on the team. Great job guys.
*Adding coaches in here this week because this team is truly a reflection of
their hard work and dedication.
Hope for Tomorrow
Of those 4 seasons, the current one reminds me most of 1997 so far. Much
like in 1997, Michigan is coming off of consecutive seasons that started hot
only to end in disappointment. In '97 Michigan started the season ranked
fairly low by the standards of the time, and had to win over hearts and
minds with each passing week. There was a hard-fought, down-to-the-wire win
over Notre Dame after trailing at half time. There was a gritty, come from
behind win over a B10 opponent (Iowa) for the 6th win that overcame a two-
score half time deficit. That '97 team got better with each week and won
through a very tough November schedule that included Top-5 ranked Penn St
and Ohio teams.
I remember that '97 Iowa game well. That was the game that showed the
difference of that team, of that season. Instead of folding yesterday,
Michigan again showed that fight and persevered to stay undefeated. This
team is starting to believe in itself and I am feeling big wins in their
future.
I realize that this team is not on the level of the '97 team, but if you
squint you can see some similarity. The '97 team had a dominant defense
centered around a Heisman candidate that supported an offense with several
nice pieces to it. This 2011 squad may have the opposite in a sense, though
it is far too early to predict this team's ceiling. The upcoming opponents
are perhaps less intimidating than those the '97 team faced down the
stretch, so there is reason to hope. Championships are a distinct
possibility; which ones remain to be seen.
Go Blue and stay safe. |
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