Michigan Monday: Welcomes Basketball Season

This has been a difficult year to stomach for Michigan fans.  It has been full of mistakes from administrators, coaches and players.   Mistakes will happen with players so I am less upset at those.  

Let's do a quick recap:

• David Brandon schedules the Dallas Massacre against Alabama.  The only valid reason was a money grab and marketing.   NOT WORTH IT.
• 3 weeks later Michigan has another poor primetime performance against ND.   A winnable game where the Michigan offense could not score in the Red Zone.
• First Big Ten loss comes during another primetime game against Nebraska when the Michigan coaches did not have a viable option at backup QB ready to play.
• Finally, Michigan travels to C-Bus and plays a competitive first half and has a 1 point lead at half time.  Completely changes offensive strategy in the second half which creates 21 plays for 60 total yards (1/2 of it comes on one pass play to Gallon), 3 turnovers and 0 points.

Sprinkle in undefeated seasons from Ohio State and Notre Dame and this season has been tough to take and not what many of us imagined for Denard's senior year.   The highlight of the year was a field goal fest to beat a .500 Michigan State team at the Big House.  When your judging a successful year on a MSU win at home, that is not a successful year.

It didn't take a brain surgeon to look at this schedule in August and see 4 glowing losses.  The problem is at least 3 out of the 4 games were very winnable.   The Hoke Honeymoon is officially over.  He has some serious issues on this team that he will need to address with his staff and his team. 

#1: OC position - It is hard to see how Big Al is the right man for this position with the clear failures he has had this year.  It is also clear Hoke knows very little about offense and needs a Greg Mattison type of coach (a head coach on offense) in that role.

#2: Offensive Line:  Outside of Taylor Lewan this was a poor year for Michigan's OL.  They could not run block to save their lives.   This unit could have close to 100% attrition if Lewan goes to the NFL.

#3: Skill Positions: Michigan has a big void at WR and RB.   This has been a problem on the recruiting trail for the past 3+ years and now looks to be a big hole to fill.    Yes, the RB position is negatively effected by the poor OL play.

#4: Quality Road Wins:  When was the last one?  All of Hoke's losses at Michigan have come on the road. 

It would also help if Hoke looked like he was doing something on sideline besides looking cold and folding his arms.   Get a coat and a damn headset!

If you feel the way I do, you should turn your attention to Michigan's Top 5 Basketball Team.  They have talent at all positions, 3-4 legit NBA prospects, a decent bench, multiple post players and playing a good team on Tuesday at Crisler!    They just won the pre-season NIT tournament if you missed it over the holiday weekend.

• ESPN projects Michigan in the Capital One game against Texas A&M and Johnny Football. Rather see them over a real good Georgia Team.

• Black Sunday Re-cap for College coaches:  Purdue has no Hope, Auburn has a free fall after Cam Newton, Boston College's current coach and former coach (NC State) gets fired on the same day, and Colorado PAC 12 move has been a bust after a 1-11 season.

• Michigan coaches are expected to visit a name from the past this week at his high school.  That player is RB Ty Isaac.   Might be a good time with USC imploding and Michigan having immediate playing time available.   This also could be a play to put a little pressure on Derrick Green to make a decision with Tennessee and Auburn looking for head coaches.