MichiganCardinal

There were a lot of grumblings that athletics alums and donors wanted him out, but he still had the support of the school and the administration (whose priorities are everything but wins). I got the sense that the resignation was on his own, with a lot of writing on the wall. He may have gotten one more year if he hadn’t resigned, but I don’t think it was guaranteed. The program wasn’t about to magically turn around under Shaw in 2023.

In the days of 15,000 person crowds at Stanford Stadium, "up the middle / up the middle / pass / punt!" chants were sometimes the loudest thing heard that day. Great guy. But his offenses are as vanilla as it comes, and he's let the game pass him by.

What's the proper response if I run into Santa Ono at the Ann Arbor Kroger? Take the stereotypical selfie he'll forget about? Question him on when Warde will be fired and make it uncomfortable? Question his chili choices and try to save a life?

I would expect Bresee to clear his medical just fine and then put up good-not-great numbers at the combine, as he seems to have done his senior season. I've read some reports as well that he's gained weight in his senior year. If he blows everyone's socks off in a complete 180 return to form, he will go high day one. If he shows up injured, he will likely be a day three flyer. I expect somewhere in between. I don't think the question will be his health on February 27th, it will what his status will be in weeks one, five, nine, and fourteen of an NFL season, and that's something the combine can't tell you. He has shown the ability to be healthy enough to play, but hasn't shown the ability to stay healthy and at the top of his game. DT can be so fickle. Levi played nearly every one of his games in college, then comes here with a seemingly unknown back injury that puts him into very likely bust territory. I don't think Bresee is Levi 2.0, but he's also probably not someone you can count on for 17+ games. Proceed with immense caution.

Bryan Bresee is a name to keep an eye on in the 2nd round. I know the know-nothing mock above had him at #8, but I've seen him in mocks go as late as the 2nd and even mid-3rd round. He hasn't gone a full season healthy in college, had a great freshman season anyway in 2020, and was on his way to another, but has done nothing but regress since tearing his ACL in 2021 and then having some truly tragic family issues (his 15yo sister died of cancer) at the beginning of this past season. It's understandable why he wouldn't be focused on football, but he's definitely a candidate to see his stock plummet in the lead-up, depending on his measurables and the physical. 2020: 23 tackles and 4 sacks in 11 games 2021: 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 4 games 2022: 15 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 10 games Depending on their scouting and belief in coaching him back to what he was, he may be a candidate for the Lions to go get in the 2nd round. Ceiling seems to be as a good to elite defensive tackle, but the floor has bust written all over it.

Spoil sport! What are we supposed to do for the next three months other than rage at nonsensical mocks and then make our own slightly more sensical mocks that still aren't going to happen?

The real shame is not getting to see Maher shank an extra point to end it.

I've heard the interview. I still think it comes down to coaching. That play was never going to work (it was clearly a shift, not a scramble off the field), the players lined up illegally (so even if the Patriots had screwed up it would have been offsetting), and the center and QB were not on the same page. And even despite all of that, Pagano could have called a timeout when it was clearly not going to work. Instead, it lives in infamy.

Jerry Jones is probably just crazy enough to fire his coach after a divisional playoff loss by 7. McCarthy never should have been hired in the first place.

I understand the concept, in wanting 11 skill players on the field. But putting only one player on the ball is as asinine as when Chuck Pagano ran that play against the Patriots. Of course they are going to rush your QB and hurry the most important throw of the play.

LOL such a fitting end. Zeke gets bull rushed and knocked on his ass, the throw gets rushed and they can't even run their trick play. Mike McCarthy is an absolute joke.

There is a greater than 50% chance that the Cowboys come out with an illegal formation on this last play. For Zeke to be eligible as a center he has to be the end.

This final drive has been the epitome of piss poor coaching for the Cowboys. Completely lack of situational awareness and sense of urgency.

Watching the Cowboys choke under pressure is the greatest tradition.

As far as season ticket holders go, I think there is a decent chance we go 7-1 or 8-0 at home next season. Very favorable home schedule with a team that plays well at home.

Poor Bills

I think it's fair to say you probably know more than I do about Schlissel's tenure, so I'll defer. I think his legacy will be defined by sending cringeworthy emails to a subordinate and getting canned either way.

I don't love losing the "college scouting director", but if he's been with us since 2007, he isn't really one of Holmes' guys.

I don't think you can evaluate a University President for their sports acumen. It certainly helps as a sports fan if they are beneficial to you (as Santa Ono appears to be and Schlissel wasn't), but their responsibilities are like 1% sports. If the budget is balanced and nothing is on fire, it's really not your arena, short of fundraising and photo ops. The hope is the adults in the room (i.e., Warde) can run their area on their own. Even-keel is one way of looking at it I suppose, but I thought Schlissel was pretty inept when it came to managing the university. Even notwithstanding his scandalous exodus, he gained a vote of no confidence from the Faculty Senate during the pandemic - the first in the University's history. He oversaw a graduate student strike where he didn't even really become involved in addressing issues until after the strike began. For much of his tenure, he was reactive rather than proactive, and allowed those crazies to drive where he would place focus (which does nothing but encourage more crazies IMO). Even the Go Blue Guarantee, while it was good marketing (love the name), it came following many peer institutes having already come out with those, and frankly to a larger degree. Michigan is the type of university that is considered among the best in the world. I would like to see them drive institutional change, rather than allow the world around them to change and then adapt and say "look how revolutionary we are!" YMMV

I agree. Politics, fundraising, and some sense of stability. If I were her, I wouldn't even want to be doing the nitty gritty. "Emeritus, bitches"

Schlissel was a joke-and-a-half from top to bottom, it wouldn't surprise me if there are quite a few fires that Coleman couldn't put out as interim.

This has come up before and there has never been enough ownership support to make it happen or even put it to a vote. I’m sure some NFL leaders are hoping to see Bills/Chiefs in Atlanta as a test run. I think it’s a really dumb idea. While I’m sure they would do something where AFC stadiums host the NFCCG and NFC hosts the AFCCG, it would be a huge disadvantage to outdoor stadium and cold weather teams, who would rarely if ever be chosen to host or have a close championship game. We would see the same rotation of stadiums as we see for the Super Bowl and CFP... Atlanta, Miami, Glendale, New Orleans, LA, Dallas, wash-rinse-repeat. Maybe a new dome stadium once a decade. It also disincentivizes good teams winning late regular season games, where clinching home field advantage doesn’t mean nearly as much. Imagine a (1) Lions v. (3) Cowboys Conference Championship, played in Houston. Totally where this would go. Even if you follow the money (ultimately what will decide this either way), I’m sure those warm weather stadiums would have no problem making more money, but it’s reallocation of money that other teams would make (who frankly earned it) not “new” money being generated like when they started moving the Draft around. Ultimately, for a combination of these reasons (but mostly money), I don’t think 24 team owners would approve this anytime soon.

I’m not opposed to the top corner at #6 if you see someone who could make a Sauce Gardner type impact. As of today I don’t see that in Gonzalez or Witherspoon. If that kind of difference maker isn’t there, I don’t think there is any reason to pick a corner before at least the second 2nd round pick. There are 10-15 starting corners in this draft. They’re going to slide and there will be great value to find.

What’s 2006 Kenny Rogers doing? I want him.