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U of M = University of Massive-Disgrace

Posted by | January 3, 2007 .

Going into this year’s Rose Bowl, I thought ex-Head Coach of Notre Dame – Lou Holtz put it best when he said that he could think of millions of reasons why Florida deserves to play in the National Title game (coming Jan. 8th) but Holtz claimed that he couldn’t think of one reason why Michigan doesn’t. Well, after witnessing the debacle that I, and so many other Michigan fans saw at the Rose Bowl, I think it’s clear Lou…WE NOW DEFINITELY HAVE A REASON.

39.jpg As it turns out, this was not the Michigan team that I thought. Then again
perhaps it is because yesterday’s Rose Bowl loss to USC (32-18) showed
me yet again that this team still is not prepared to win the biggest games
on the biggest stages. Lloyd Carr’s team was simply not prepared,
not ready and too cocky for a victory over a USC team that played like
they had nothing to lose and gave Michigan the ass-whipping that,

quite frankly, I thought they so deserved. The simple fact is that Michigan got lost in
the National Title hype after their heartbreaking defeat to OSU, thought
that they were too good to play in this game, weren’t even ready to
so much as even step on the Rose Bowl field and as Detroit Sportswriter/Broadcaster
– Mike Stone claimed on Tuesday… “FARTED ALL OVER THE
ROSE BOWL.” I couldn’t have said it any better then that because,
Michigan played like a team that belongs in the Toilet Bowl. And that wouldn’t
exactly smell like roses

Don’t get me wrong USC fans. I give you all the credit in the world. You knew where Michigan’s prime weakness was (pass coverage) and you exploited it with QB – John David Booty (391 yards and 4 TD’s) who I actually thought showed how talented he truly is on the Pasadena field. That also being said though, Michigan clearly didn’t show up. Lloyd Carr’s preparation was non-existent. WHERE IN THE HELL WERE THE MICHIGAN HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS? USC Head Coach – Pete Carroll said it best when he claimed that his Trojans are a 2nd half team. What does that mean? Simple. It means that USC is a team that studies what other teams bring to the table and they make halftime adjustments to counter them. Those are the same halftime adjustments that U of M didn’t make and it cost them. Lloyd Carr got out-coached by Pete Carroll just as he was out-coached by Jim Tressel without question. This Trojan team deserves all the credit in the world for making idiots of the Wolverines, whose heads were obviously still at Disneyland.

The OSU game, I believe did absolute wonders for USC in that they obviously watched tape to prepare and they played like they knew what Michigan was bringing to the game. They knew that their running game of CJ Gable (25 yards rushing but USC had just 48 as a team) might be non-existent against the best rush defense in the nation. They knew that they had to adjust to the outstanding Michigan pass rush. So what did USC do? ALL OF THE ABOVE. They sent Booty outside of the pocket on many plays to counter that same Michigan pass rush and Booty responded by hitting talented USC WR’s – Steve Smith (108 yards and 1 TD) and especially – Dwayne Jarrett (205 yards and 2 TD’s) who seems destined for a successful career in the NFL. Yes indeed Michigan fans…the lack of pass defense is clearly what stood out the most in this game. Hell…it’s what has stood out the most as the big flaw on this team for the past 10 years. The inability of U of M to so much as even contain the pass of both Troy Smith and JD Booty in the final two games of the year is what truly made the final two games total disasters for Michigan.

Leon Hall is a first team All-American CB. I want to say that I am sick and tired of him being built up in this manner and I personally think he is the most overrated player to come out of Michigan in a long time. The fact is I know that some teams wouldn’t throw to his side of the field this season and I guess I sort of respect his ability, or, at least, all the hype he receives. That being said, his play best summarizes Michigan’s season on the whole. They can’t get it done when they have to the most and Leon Hall is the leader of a non-existent secondary in big games. WR – Teddy Ginn beat Hall badly on a few in the OSU game and Dwayne Jarrett absolutely took him to school in the Rose Bowl. The bottom line is, if Michigan doesn’t get a pass rush up front, they aren’t going to win the game. At least, not with this secondary that obviously starts with the supposed great Leon Hall. Well Leon…WHERE WAS THE GREATNESS? The Michigan pass rush was there at times but wasn’t consistent. What a shock because either was the entire team.

Offensively, I thought this was one of Chad Henne’s (301 yards passing, 2 TD’s and 1 INT) worst games yet as a Wolverine. Stats wise it was respectable but with USC both taking the run away from Mike Hart and with Michigan trailing for most of the 2nd half, Henne was forced to throw, forced into a tough situation (6 sacks for USC) and he proved that the only time he puts numbers on the board is when Michigan is already too far behind to have it matter. Sure, the offensive line barely blocked for him and the USC pass rush looked as good as it’s been all season long but even when Henne had time he seemed out of sync, out of rhythm and out of his element, much like the entire Michigan team. It’s painfully obvious that when you take away the Mike Hart rushing attack from Michigan they are a different team and that’s exactly what USC did.

To me there is a bigger picture here though. To me, this game starts with
the intangibles that went with it and it ends with Lloyd Carr. When you
think of everything that Michigan has had to deal with leading up to this
game (Bo’s death, Gerald Ford’s death and the national title
robbery), U of M might have some legit excuse but

58.jpg

NOT FOR COMING OUT AS FLAT AND UNPREPARED AS THEY DID. That falls on the shoulders of one man and one man only – Head Coach, Lloyd Carr. Don’t get me wrong.I am not like some Michigan fans that want his ass out of Ann Arbor. I won’t say that. At least not yet. I am too big of a fan of Carr’s recruiting. Even I have questioned myself after this debacle and I must admit that I’ve caught myself thinking about how Michigan no longer beats OSU, no longer wins the biggest games and no longer plays to full potential. It does have me worried. I am beginning to question if whether or not Carr can motivate players before these types of games at all. Does he even prepare correctly? Obviously not like Pete Carroll does and that was evident.

Prognosticators have already laid out their predictions for the pre-season #1 NCAA ranking for next season. Michigan is among the schools that will be considered for it. The thing is…they proved absolutely NOTHING to me in Pasadena to lay claim to that position. Instead, USC should and probably will be the favorite for the #1 spot instead, especially after they basically dismantled the Maize and Blue in one of the most pathetic Michigan showings of all time as far as I am concerned.

Michigan fans, I am ashamed of our team on this day. I expected better at the Rose Bowl and what I saw absolutely baffled me. Lamar Woodley claimed that it was still a good season considering they only lost 2 but if you lose the 2 most important games that you play, how is it still considered a good season honestly? Again, Michigan was simply outplayed, outworked and embarrassed. That’s a fitting way to describe this day because as a Michigan fan, I am ashamed of their performance, I am ashamed of their next to no preparation and I am ashamed of Lloyd Carr allowing his team to enter such a big game looking like they did. It is absolutely INEXCUSABLE to look that brutal when it counts the most. National Title? After all the yapping that went on it’s obvious. Not this year. Not this team. No up front blocking. No pass defense. It was a disgrace and let’s just leave it at that for now.

I never thought I’d say this but, rest easy Michigan sports fans…WE STILL HAVE THE TIGERS!

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