Vicious Electronic Questioning With MGoBlog

You know it and love it, despite it’s objectionable subject matter. It’s Brian Cook’s MGoBlog, the best blog about the team you love to hate. We engaged in a little vicious electronic questioning last night. You can read Part One over at his place.

What’s the general mood in Ann Arbor? Does the Notre Dame victory suddenly make everything okay, like hitting the proverbial Reset button? Is there a possibility that the 38-0 shutout makes Michigan…overconfident?

Ha… no, I don’t thing overconfidence is seeping through either Michigan fans or the team at the moment. Go Apps and all that. But things are considerably lighter if only because we are clearly not the worst team in the country and most of the national scorn has passed to Charlie Weis and company. And since our horrible losses were nonconference games, there’s still something major to play for. I wouldn’t say people are happy or even hopeful, but beat Penn State and suddenly the sucky Big Ten looks ripe for the taking. Beat Penn State and we can have a season instead of a months-long prelude to a coaching search.

Just out of sheer curiosity, even if Lloyd Carr wanted to come back next season, would the university and boosters have him back if he won the Big Ten, beat Ohio State, and won a BCS game?

Given those three things, yes. The catch-22 in the situation is that everyone assumes Carr will want to retire on a high note — when we might want to keep him — but could dig in his talons in event of 2005 redux — when everyone would want him to go away. If those things happen, Carr is outta heeeeeeeere like Doug. In that case the threat becomes the elevation of one of his assistants, most likely Mike Debord.

Does Carr really expect those of us in Pennsyltucky to believe that Chad Henne might start on Saturday? What changes if Ryan Mallett starts instead of Henne, outside of the obvious lack of experience and two healthy knees?

It does seem like a smokescreen. Usually Carr is dead silent about injuries; his forthcoming play by play on Henne’s status seems to be a “he might play!” ploy. So I’m with you on that. If Mallett starts, not that much changes. All Michigan quarterbacks come from the same lab in which they clone the latest Inexplicably Great White Wide Receiver at Iowa. Michigan will pull in its horns, avoid throwing down the middle, and rely more heavily on Mike Hart than they would with Henne in the game, but the offense will be the same. The one thing I might watch for is Mallett on the run. He’s been very accurate so far, much more so than Henne, and cutting the field in half should help his reads.

Henne at a costume party, dressed like a doucheba…oh. Not a costume.

It’s safe to say that Penn State won’t be breaking out the read option this weekend — last time we tried that with Anthony Morelli was last year at Notre Dame, and that resulted in a Tom Zbiboxerguy fumble return for a touchdown. Are Michigan’s defensive liabilities strictly limited to read-option quarterbacks, or can Penn State possibly take advantage of Michigan’s poor linebackers and secondary by employing four wide receivers?

Goddammit, you should have busted out Zbiboxerguy like four years ago. Oh, the royalties I would have paid you. Uh… anyway. Michigan’s defensive liabilities: linebackers who can’t get off blocks and fall prey to misdirection, cornerbacks who le suck, and safeties who occasionally bust huge. But I think the pass rush will be somewhere between pretty and very good against a green OL — I am still so skeptical about Cadogan — with Graham back in the fold. I would be more worried about max-protect getting one guy open against Warren or a safety bust than a spread-and-throw attack. I think 4 WRs is probably a bad idea with Morelli.

Well, we recently welcomed TE Andrew Quarless back to the team after his underage drinking citation. He should be an easy matchup for Penn State to take advantage of against a linebacker or undersized safety.

Very possible. I was worried about TEs in the offseason, and though we contained Carlson that had nothing to do with the coverage on him. This will be that theory’s first test. I will note that Johnny Thompson had an excellent game against ND and made an interception in zone coverage, and this one was a real I-read-the-QB pickoff, not a Laurinaitis special.

I believe “Laurinaitis” is Lithuanian for “Inexplicable Leather Magnet.”

I hear his dad is a wrestler or something.

Really? I should have squeezed the word “overrated” in there somewhere, as well.

Well… given Michigan’s struggles to date I will not poke at OSU.

Greatest pose by the greatest linebacker in the history of greatness!

Clearly, we all kneel before Space Emperor Zoltan, but how has [placekicker] Jason Gingell performed so far? Have there been any glaring special teams mistakes since Appy?

Gingell’s done well when called upon. Maybe the first AppSt block was a little low, but you can’t blame him for the second, and he hasn’t missed any others so far. He’s obviously a little range-deficient — a couple of 42-ish yard FGs have just barely made it — but he’s not a return to the horror show that was the Brabbs/Neinberg/Finley crew.

Let’s see…what else. Mike Hart: Still gay?

If you are asking “am I still gay for Mike Hart?” The answer is hell yes.

And rightfully so. It kills me when I read Penn State recruiting updates on a 185 pound running back and multiple Penn State fans whine about him not being big enough to take the beating in the Big Ten. Hart is amazing.

Hot man on little man action.

Predictions? I think it comes down to Penn State’s offense vs. Michigan’s defense and who could underperform the least. Regardless of Michigan’s play against Appy State and Oregon, I don’t think we can possibly disregard the recent history in this series. Penn State always plays into Michigan’s hands. Joe Paterno may be one of the best college coaches in history, but he makes Lloyd Carr look like a combination of Vince Lombardi and Nostradamus. This kills me, but Michigan wins 24-21 (Caution: May Not Apply To Actual Game Predictions). They’ll hit a few big plays, our defense will get tired, and Hart carries the Wolverines in the fourth quarter. I just don’t see how Penn State’s offense can do the necessary grinding in the running game to keep Michigan’s offense off the field.

I tentatively agree based on a potentially dodgy assumption: Michigan’s defensive line and Shawn Crable are all over Morelli whenever he tries to throw. Without the threat of a running QB, they should be able to tee off in a way they could not against their first two opponents, and while Penn State’s line has to be better than Notre Dame’s it looks shakier than the Michigan DL, especially if Shaw is gimpy. Time == a long touchdown or two and a loss. But Michigan appears to have an edge on both lines here, and these are the sorts of coaches that will make that battle paramount. I could be totally wrong on this since we’ve had no real evidence either way in three games, but that was my default assumption for the preseason and that’s my assumption now. The Mallett-Henne thing throws a wrench into matters, but ultimately this game will be decided by the offensive lines.

Misery. Heartbreak. Failure. That’s how we roll.

If we go with a lot of three-step drops and screen passes, please disregard my prediction. I think our wide receivers can win the game for us if they’re allowed to operate in space. If Paterno goes with his ancient formula of defense first, special teams second, and offense third, we’re going to lose. Also, it’s really depressing that neither of us can feel particularly proud of a victory over Notre Dame, but it beats the hell out of the alternative.

Yes: being Notre Dame. Well, good luck this weekend. I hope you lose by 400.

Thanks, and congratulations on your new head coach, Ron English (even though we’re likely to make him look like 1980’s Buddy Ryan by Saturday night).