After canceling his Oklahoma visit last weekend, there are rumors going around that four star WR Jordan Payton is now thinking about canceling his trip to Notre Dame as well. This would be great news for Michigan, who are already the favorite to land Payton's services.
California was in the mix a while back, so maybe they still have a chance, and he's mentioned a possible official visit to Penn State before. But right now, things are looking really good for Michigan, and given that WR is a huge position of need, Payton's potential commitment would be one of the biggest in this class.
Not to jump the gun but from the "rumors" I'm hearing,it sounds like Dunn may be closer to flipping his commitment. Rumor is that Dunn has seen how bad OSU is and they may be bad for awhile. Go Blue!!
ReplyDeleteBenji,
ReplyDeleteDo you know when Payton will make his decision?
I'm hoping to finish out with Dunn in our class. The kid is a beast. That and I wouldnt mind taking two of ohio's best recruits for this class.
ReplyDeletein other good news....we moved up to #12 in the AP poll...probably somewhat overrated but we'll take it :-)
ReplyDeleteoverrated in the polls? no way, Michigan defense has made some strides to becoming better this year. I've been saying since the hire of hoke & mattison that you don't need to tweak the offense but if our defense is at least decent and can shave the allowed points to under 20 then we have a chance to beating any time. Yes, it does help opening up with an easy schedule but you can't say san diego state or notre dame are push overs.
ReplyDelete#11 in the coach's poll....and we are overrated and it's ok to admit that. We haven't had a good outing against a good team yet. When that happens then I'll buy it. It is pretty crazy though that we're almost in the top 10 which should definitely help with filling out the rest of our class.
ReplyDeleteNot sure when Payton will decide, could be quite soon if he does cancel the ND visit.
ReplyDeleteAs for our rank in the polls, yes we are overrated. Michigan isn't the 11th best team in the nation, based on the fact that we haven't stopped a good BCS level offense. If Michigan shuts out Dan Persa this weekend, then we can start talking about top 10 etc etc.
I agree that we are over rated but thats ok. I thing I will say is that I do believe every game is winnable now. Neb. and OSU dont look that great.
ReplyDeleteMan, I'll tell you what, I'm getting so tired of how some M Fans have this inferiority complex anymore. I blame it on the stench that the WCIMFH left before he was fired.
ReplyDeleteAs an M historian and a fan of 40 years, trust me when I say that this is for real! This is probably the best staff in the country, we will improve even more, not regress, which was the norm in the last 3 years.
Forget about that previous shit, have faith and believe what you are seeing, it's only gonna get better.
@Mick,I dont think anyone has a inferiority complex but just most people,like me,don't feel this team should be ranked so high YET. This has nothing to do with last year or the last staff.It has to do with the fact that 1.we have yet to play a road game or a ranked team. 2.this team still has a lot of holes and 3. this is still not a complete team.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying they cant end up top 15 at years end,its just that for a lot of us we just havent seen enough yet to say they are top 15 right now.
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ReplyDeleteI think that I can finally post again!!!
ReplyDeleteA few things from being at the game this week. We looked good, better than we have in previous weeks.
Wile was still solid.....11 kickoffs. 3 for touchbacks and all inside the 10 except for one at the 15.
Gibbons went 3 for 3 with a long of 38 yds. I haven't looked it up but he is now 4 for 5 and we have as many field goals now as we did all last season.
Good work by our backs all the way around
Countess will be a force to be reckoned with!!!!
DR and DG both on the field at the same time.....I'm sure we'll see more of this.
DR took his time on his passes and went 15 for 19 with on bad drop and one completion but just out of bounds. The good news is he didn't throw anything scary.
On a recruiting note:
I was talking to somebody from UofM Recruiting for a couple of minutes and here is what I was able to learn:
Banner is apparently a pretty good lock.
O'Brien is not looking quite as good for us and I was led to believe probably not coming.....BUT....with a bit of a smile I was told "but that's okay, we're looking at others that are much better".
In the coming weeks our schedule will get tougher. We are not the 11th best team in the country at this point but we are getting better each week and I have no doubt that we'll be top 15 by the end of the season.
We beat two very competitve opponents in Notre Dame and SDSU and both games were very different. We just beat a much weaker team but the manner in which we did it is very encouraging. What I'm seeing on the field is a level of confidence that has been missing for a couple of years but it's back. Let's take it one game at a time. BTW.....win next Saturday.
It has nothing to do with an inferiority complex and everything to do with the fact that we really haven't played anyone yet. Notre Dame was a good win but if they didn't choke the game away and some crazy things happening on a huge stage we may not have won that game. We have 2 wins against a MAC school and one (Minnesota) that would have trouble beating a lot of MAC schools. I think we have the ranking that we do right now because a lot of schools ahead of us are losing tough games (see VA Tech, Texas A&M, etc). There's nothing wrong with that, that's just the rankings system that we have. You can't fault anyone for being skeptical of a team that has fallen apart down the stretch each of the last 2 years. I really hope that doesn't happen this year too. Could be tough with our lack of depth/experience. Don't forget we're still a pretty young team..it will all depend on how well the kid's respond to coaching as well as the added expectations that go along with the record/ranking that we currently have. I don't think we'll fall apart down the stretch like we have in years past if we can stay healthy. Every game on the schedule is winnable. What's really going to be exciting to see is if the defense will continue to improve as the season goes along. Don't forget that they had to go back to complete basics with the D and Mattison still is not running the D the way that he would like to because he has not even implemented all of the packages he can do with the D. This start will definitely help with getting those last few recruits that we want as well as retaining all of the recruits that we have now.
ReplyDelete@ GBN ....
ReplyDeleteMay I ask who we are looking at???? I didn't think we were really in the run for many other defensive tackles for some reason.
Yeah who is the other DT we are looking at? The reason I heard we aren't the leader for O'Brien is because we stopped recruiting him cause the coaches think we are set with the guys we have.
ReplyDeleteUnless you listen to that Ace dude from chatsports that swears we are getting O'Brien.
I know for sure we're looking at Aziz Shittu and he's definitely interested in us. I'd much rather have him. O'Brien who?
ReplyDeleteI dont think anyone feels inferior here but lets be honest here. It is overated and it follows a similar pattern as the previous Rich Rod teams. A few diferences.
ReplyDelete1. Defense is improved, and seems to be improving each week. It looks like the players are "buying" in. (this can only help in recruiting and the future).
2. Hoke and Borges seem to get it with Denard. He isnt getting lambasted like last year. While Id like to see a little more DG, I think they are leaving DR in to work on passing.
3. DR is the man and they are sticking with him. I got so tired of seeig Taint Forcier come in if he had a bad series, I think that hurt his confidence somewhat.
4. We are better at short yardage and goal line situations. The ability to line up and get tough yards (with out DR) will only help in the big ten.
5. We dont see Wisconsin, unless its the title game. (which cause of schedule may happen) SUBNOTES. Three toughest games.
a. Wisconsin exposed Nebraska. If you can score points early and force Martinez to throw more then he wants we win.
b. Its pretty much the same for MSU. They are ALOT like ND. They have a great reciever in Cunningham and a good run game. Also their D-line is good but DR will really test them. If we can force the game to Cousins we can win. Poor desicion maker.
c. Lets face it... Unless god shows the OSU QB's something all we have to do is score, cause that offense down there is terrible. In fact I dont know if I should even list them here, I think Illinois is better TBH.
All in all im optimistic, but as far as the ranking goes Id rather be ranked lower and play with a chip on my shoulder. We start getting favored and teams start to "get up" to play you. I think recruiting continues strong, and we get both Payton and Banner. Better days ahead gentleman.. GO BLUE!!!
I don't think state's RB's are as good as advertised either. I've seen 3 of their games and they looked slow in all of them. Cunningham is not even close to being in the same league as Floyd. I think Floyd rivals Blackman for the best/most dangerous WR in all of college football. You're absolutely right about Nebraska. If we can get up early and avoid mistakes Martinez is definitely uncomfortable having to throw when they HAVE too. OSU will definitely be a lot tougher than they showed against MSU. They'll have all of their suspended players back and their D is very very tough.
ReplyDeleteCunningham is nowhere close to Floyd if you put them against each other this is true. I merely stated the simalarity in a "go to" big target
ReplyDeleteReciever. Even so he still presents matchup problems and i you watch the OSU Game, he is real physical. Few plays he dragged OSU defenders. OSU will be better with their other players back, but still dont have a qb that can get them the ball.
Payton is scheduled to visit Penn State on 11/11/11 so I wouldn't anticipate a commitment right away... Maybe he cancels that visit too?
ReplyDeleteWe are not over rated. The "D" is excellent compared to last year. The only difference is the offense. Has of now, RR's offense last year APPEARS more fluid, and explosive compared to this year offense. Which is expected with the staff implementing new schemes. As the weeks roll on, the offense should click. The ONLY game we should worry about other than the conferance championship (we will lose to Wisconsin) is MSU. They have a solid D. After that game you all will see where we stand. I predicted at least 10 wins this season. So to be ranked this high is not over rated. Only to those who predicted 7-8 wins this year. Which was a shit load of you's. Go Blue
ReplyDeleteI don't understand on this board why people keep bringing up Shittu. He has stated the teams he has interest for and Michigan is not one of them. Rivals also shows no interest in Michigan. I feel we would be better served by discussing people who have an interest in Michigan. Go Blue
ReplyDelete..........but JCARTER, my sisters's boyfriend's brother in law is friends with a friend of the program and he says that we have an outside shot at Shittu, so, in turn, we should spin our wheels talking about kids we have no shot with.
ReplyDelete**i think we need another d-lineman but thats just me so i hope we are, in fact, looking at backups when O'brien announces for Tennessee this week.
What day will O'brien announce this week?
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not mistaken... its the 6th that O'Brien announces.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying we shouldn't have alternative plans, but have them for people who are interested in our program. You are probably correct about O'Brien. That's fine by me if his heart doesn't bleed blue then he should go elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteTroubles with Posey and Herron coming back... Gene Smith is holding a press conference to let us know whats up.
ReplyDeletehttp://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/10/ohio-state-ncaa-devier-posey-dan-herron/1
They're so done.
GoBlueNorth,
ReplyDeleteIf O'Brien goes else where and I am leaning that way myself is the new person of interest a DT or DE? If you know?
Does anybody know who UM is still interested in on the D Line?
Is Amara Darboh out for the season? I thought I read somewhere he was hurt?
Does anybody know whats going on with OSU? I hear new problem. Paying player? If this is true Dunn will most likely turn Blue very soon.
I believe UM will transition to a 3-4 D. Pipkens in the middle and Jake Ryan can be a Clay Mathews type beast. We may be satisfied with 1 true NT, but I wouldn't mind a second!
ReplyDeleteDarboh separated his shoulder, according to some research. Sounds like they might hold him out till playoffs, regardless of how he recovers.
ReplyDeleteConsidering how Michigan has been playing, and how THEosu has been "playing", I wouldn't be surprised to see Dunn go blue soon. Which is a lot for me to say considering I wrote him off a long time ago. I think us doing well, THEosu sucking, and people in his ear (including his cousin) is going to eventually persuade him from the dark side.
ReplyDeletePayton is a lock, just a matter of when.
I'd still like to see Darboh (injury?) or Powe/Madaris go blue. I'm not counting out Stanford either, I think his stock has gone down some, but he's still a tall/talented receiver, and our coaches can fix any flaws he might have.
SO pumped to see Countess getting continued playing time, he is making the most of it. I'm very upset our coaches keep playing woolfolk. They need to bench him for a week. He leaves every game with that ankle bothering him. We definitely didnt need him this week, and now the meat of our schedule starts, so we WILL need him. Hopefully he gets some rest this week and is ready to go before MSU. (hopefully persa isn't ready to play this weekend, that would certainly help our chances).
More trouble for osu. Herron, Posey, and an o-lineman still suspended. If it's not already considered one, this is turning into a full-blown circus.
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7054653/three-ohio-state-buckeyes-suspended-summer-job-pay-two-suspensions-extended
Without Herron and Posey, Nebraska may win with ease.
@Lalond, I think the coaching staff has a better idea of what's going on with the team than you do my man. I'll let them coach so that I can be a fan.
ReplyDeleteAlso, how cool would it be for Nebraska to get it's 1st B1G win with a victory, hopefully a rout, over that school in ohio.
Plus, I think I would like Madaris to go blue, I have an affinity for guys whose names starts with M, plus he sounds like a hell of a player.
@lalondtm...it was just announced today that Persa is playing this week.
ReplyDeleteTrumpy is out for the rest of the season though.
ReplyDelete@ Mick
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely correct about Madaris. I got the chance to watch him last week, and he didn't disappoint. He has size, he has speed, and he catches everything thrown his way. If I could compare his game to anyone from the past, I would say he's similar to Braylon Edwards. It doesn't look like he's moving that fast, but he just seems to pull away from people. Now I'm not downplaying Payton's or Darboh's skills, but I highly doubt they play the caliber of teams that Moeller and Madaris play. Madaris has passed the eyeball test, and he's doing so against really good teams.
@brandon
ReplyDeleteHe's one of those "underrated" guys who will prove a lot of people wrong, similar to Braylon Edwards (3 star). Playing with a chip on your shoulder makes you a very dangerous player, just ask Tom Brady (6th round pick) or Aaron Rodgers. I GUARANTEE the owner of the 49's is kicking himself for taking Alex Smith over my boy Aaron Rodgers right now.
There is absolutely no comparison between Madaris and Stanford. Stanford plays in a terrible league, and still can't amass solid numbers. Granted, he doesn't have the caliber of qb that Madaris has, but the proof is in the numbers.
ReplyDeleteReceiving Yards:
Madaris 672
Stanford 303
Touchdowns
Madaris 10
Stanford 4
Todd/Jer89,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay but more trouble posting.....I have no idea what the problem is......any tekkies out there?
To answer your questions:
The person I was speaking with has been at the UofM for a long time (under Bo). They spoke kind of close to the vest (pardon the term) and it wasn't until our conversation was almost over that I found out who they were. I thought we were just two fans at he game talking recruiting.
- When asked about Banner they said that things looked really good there with a big shit eating grin on
- When asked about O'Brien, with a look of doubt they replied that it didn't look great for O'Brien and then added that it was okay because we were in line for some much better talent. The only other DT that came to mind was Shittu and I commented that it would be great to be at the game every week yelling "Go Shittu" and all I got from them was an approving smile.
- They mentioned that I seemed to follow recruiting closely when we got talking about a couple of the more obscure recruits.
I don't know this person personally and was only sitting with hem because I had changed my seats for this game.
- I was able to confirm their identity because I was sitting next to a past player who knew them.
Their last comment was that fans would not be disappointed with the way the class was going to close out. I should add that with regard to the O'Brien (getting somebody better) talk, we were not talking position specific so it could be anybody.
I wish I had more solid news for you guys.....
@ brandon
ReplyDeletewho compared Madaris to Stanford?
GBN,
ReplyDeleteYour killing me lol. I really cannot wait to see how this class will finish out. How much did Shittu drop though...?
Game Notes
ReplyDeleteMost have you have seen or read about certain players from the Minnesota game. Here are some of my observations from the Big House.
Wile - Somebody on MGoBlog was bitching about Wiles kicking this week (not being able to get his kicks inside the 10 yard line. I can tell you the Wile kicked 11 times for 3 touchbacks and all but one inside the 10 (it got to the 15) and I swear it just seemed to stop mid air. Winds were between 15-20 mph most of the game and his shortest was into the wind. I may be wrong but he still hasn't put one out of bounds.
Gibbons - score 16 points including 3 field goals (longest of 38). He is now 4 for 5 FGs on the season. We went went 4 for 14 all of last season (I think).
Hagerup - Punting was not great....I think Will may find himself competing for this job...could have been first game jitters
Countess - does not play like a freshman....he's everywhere. Forced one fumble and almost had a pick
Robinson - Ran for 51 on 6 carries (could easily have done much more) which is great because our other backs got to run. 15 for 19 in the air for 169 and they were all smart passes. Two of the IC passes were catchable (one drop and one caught just OOB). He looked really good and patient.
Gardner - guy looks huge and needs and will get more play
2QB - some of us finally got our wish and we will see more of this.
Noteable plays (can be seen on MGoBlog - every snap video - offence)
at 1:56 mins. - Denard gives the ball to Shaw. It was so well executed that everybody thought Denard had the ball and was about to get clocked before he pulled up and you could see Shaw had the ball.
at 4:00 mins. - Denard pitch to Smith, pass to Dileo in the endzone - look at the block Denard throws after the pitch too.
The guys are just doing everything better....Toussaint, Smith, Shaw, Dileo......you could find something good to say about most of them this week.
My picks had us at 9-3. But I tossed up Notre Dame and Iowa so closed out at 8-4. We'll have tougher games than Iowa yet but I feel great about my 8-4 and after the NWU game might rethink things.
Sorry for the long post and.....
GO BLUE!!!
I saw a THEosu fan peg Michigan at 10-2
ReplyDeleteTodd,
ReplyDeleteShittu
- Rivals - 5*, 6.1, 3rd by position and 21st nationally
- Scout - 4*, 9th by position and 67th nationally
- ESPN - 4*, 80, 15rd by position and just outside the ESPN 150
He'll do!!
The one thing I've come to know is that recruiting is fluid and we could lose favorites or get guys that aren't even on the radar yet.
,GBN ,
ReplyDeleteI was having trouble posting last week. If you use google blogger try switching back to the old version.
@ lalondtm
ReplyDeleteI wasn't insinuating that anyone was comparing the two, I was making a point that it seemed that this board has talked a lot about Stanford, and really haven't spoken of Madaris that much. These two young men are in completely different leagues.
Ohh OK gotchya. Yea I'll admit I liked stanford before the season, but Madaris has shown he belongs with the big boys.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a good time to eat some crow. I made alot of jokes about UM KG licker this year. And well Brendan Gibbons has done a very good job this season. I am man enough to admit I was wrong with this kid. He is doing a good job and hopes he keeps it up.
ReplyDeleteStefon Diggs narrowed his list again, slightly, and UM made the cut. Old teammate and friend Countess has been impressing and may get Diggs to look a little harder at UM. I heard there may be concerns with academics, hate to speculate, but anybody think we may get an official from Diggs?
ReplyDeleteYou never know...there's some tough tough competition though on his list. Like they're saying for the Detroit Lions right now "why not us?". Besides, a lot of these kids like to play with their close friends and he considers himself to be good friends with Countess so that will be helpful. I think if we can get an official from him it will be a huge help. He said himself that it's not a problem for him to play in a colder climate so we'll see. A lot of time between now and national signing day...
ReplyDeleteHoke is bringing Michigan back and its fun to watch. I would love to see Michigan fill the class with "Shittu plugs the line".
ReplyDeleteYou can see improvement every game and adjustments every quarter, something we haven't seen in a while.
One of the guys we are going to be happy with that's coming in next year is Allen Gant. Seen him play a few times over the past couple years and he's really good, under the radar kind of recruit.
Seen Wormley play in five games this year and he has been really turning it up a notch of late. Problem is his team keeps blowing everyone out and he's only been in the first half.
2013 recruiting class should fill up fast if Michigan keeps winning....
Jer89
ReplyDeleteLMAO - great that you give Gibbons props. I would just like to see his FGs a little higher. I don't know if you were trying to insult this kid but calling him a "KG Licker" sounds mean!!!
Jcarter/oubobcat20 - relax because at the end of the day we don't really know who we do and don't have a shot at.....not until it all comes together on NSD.
There was a time when we didn't think we had a shot with Kalis.
Very little here is ever reported as fact........we're just a bunch of Michigan fans who like to discuss and share.
Go Blue!!!
GBN,
ReplyDeleteOops. I mean FG kicker.
I'm seriously not worried about NW. Did you guys see what Army did to them? Literally threw the ball for 6!!! Yards. And the other 300+ came from the running game. We should roll them. Persa won't be doing much running and the for they lost their runningback for the year. Just have to blanket Ebert. Maybe stick the frosh on him?
ReplyDeleteJer89,
ReplyDeleteI know but I also know that we share the same attitude about this board and can gave some fun.
D-Rich - I love the team this year and being at the games, I see not only improvement but more diverse play each week. Gone are the days (last three years) where each drive was the same old, same old. Borges has indicated that they still have an arsenal to roll out that we haven't seen. I wish I shared your enthusiasm but I keep thinking/worrying that I wake up to the same week 6 nightmare. We are much better but still I fear. My pre-season pick for this week was:
Michigan 27-20
More useless facts - through five games 2010 to 2011 with similar competition (not science just fun, I protracted the WMU into what the score might have been based on a full game /3 x 4):
2010
pts. for - 207
pts. against - 127
2011
pts. for - 197
pts. against - 54
The difference is in the defence and the last two games the offence because it wasn't all Denard and yet we ran up some scores.
just like internet bookmakers pointed it out when the announcement of his move was public, Payton was going to help Michigan a lot
ReplyDelete