Michigan Wolverines: Miami — What Happened and What it Means — Part III
Aug 30, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner (98) leads the team onto the field before the game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Posted at 5:15am — 9/16/2014
Michigan Wolverines: Miami — What Happened and What it Means — Part III
Game Specifics
Game Pace
As star poster Energy mentioned, there is something maybe a little amiss in Michigan’s pace. This season will present the Michigan defense with several no huddle-spread attacks that have as a goal running an excess of plays. The goals are to create confusion, exhaustion, and surrender. Watch the Eagles to see how this philosophy is put into practice. This method is not for everyone. Some times teams play to shorten the game, and some teams want to take the time necessary so as to not shoot a toe off in a critical situation.
Michigan’s pace is deliberate and that is apparently the staff’s choice. But go watch a practice and the pace is neither fast, nor plodding; teaching and correction out value mega-repetitions. Still, go to a game and watch this team warm up beforehand and it becomes a reasonable conclusion that comfort surpasses the process of building energy.
Now do not get the idea that the troops are supposed to come out and sprint non-stop, get hurt, and tire out during warm-ups. There need not be false hoopla and wasted energy, but picking up the pace slightly may pick up some energy. It would be far-fetched to think that Michigan would come out ultra-intense for the Miami game, but after a loss as bad as the one at South Bend, the light needs to be full go.
Psyche
The mental makeup and psyche of this team to an outside observer appears to be somewhat fragile. The mental toughness has already been tested and strained; the final outcome is yet to be determined. As mentioned in the first segment, this team has more than normal trouble overcoming small adversity. There needs to be more toughness; there needs to be more resolve. It is unfortunate that some view the quarterback as the center of Michigan’s mental toughness meter, but on the other hand he carries more weight than almost any other player on the team.
This team is made up of good, high- level student athletes that hopefully will never have published pictures on the post office wall. The coaches are exceptionally supportive and nurturing; the way it really should be. But the downside is this environment creates a comfort zone that fosters a static rate of improvement unless the staff forcibly pulls a hard rug out from underneath. All in all, I prefer the above to a thug culture.
Poison and Loyal Fandom
Sep 13, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; General view before the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Miami (Oh) Redhawks at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsIt is unfortunate that the fans booed Michigan at the end of the first half. This rarely happens and is somewhat a result of the poison pen pile-on from media types, most of whom have little or no athletic accomplishments or knowledge. The booing may or may not have cost Michigan a recruit or even a decommitment, time will tell, nothing has been rumored. The fans were booing the coaching more so than the team, that much is certain.
The delay of game piled on to a perception of mediocre game management that has been discussed here at length the last two years. Michigan is perceived to be a special type of place where the usual tripe and booing is minimal. The fans deserve credit for coming out and supporting the team in a circumstance of last week’s play combined with this week’s opponent. A minute of self-discipline may have helped. For some teams a little mild booing serves as a catalyst, for others, it can be deflating.
A coach’s message has to be “They are booing me, not you, just go play and make those boos turn into cheers.”
A coach has two choices; (1) to insulate the players from media and internet-type nonsense, or (2) use it to create some pay-back emotion.
The Final Miami discussion, Part IV we will talk about Devin Gardner.
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu
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