FIS

Football Induced Schizophrenia I have it. I know I do. I'm ashamed, but I'm coming to terms with it.  Here's a peak inside my brain on Saturdays in the fall.

5:12, alarm goes off.  First thing on my brain is not, "Man it's so early!" Nope, I think about the game. Wonder if the offense is going to show?  Will we see Peters? I hope not. Find renewed confidence that our beloved coach has figured this out. Snap back into reality and realize the problems are waaaaaay too big to be figured out in a week.  Shit! We're going to get our asses handed to us on a silver platter in primetime.  Great! Just great! Maybe I won't watch, save myself the heartache and embarrassment.  Who am I kidding? I've never missed a game. Ever.  Crap, I gotta get out of bed and get ready to go to the swim meet.

While getting ready at 5:15 am, the thought of the game never enters my mind. I need to be a swim mom right now, feed my daughters a healthy, protein-rich, hot breakfast.  Make sure they have all their gear.  Put the address in the GPS, out the door by 6:15.  Girls, I can't wait to watch you swim your hearts out.  This is going to be so fun.

In the car, they're getting in the zone.  Headphones on, watching videos on the tablet.  They don't want any distractions.  For once, I want you to talk my ear off and ask me the most off the wall questions about how many leaves I think are on the trees. But no, they don't.  So, I'm left with my own thoughts, which uncontrollably wander back to the the game.

Why, oh why is our right tackle so bad? The whole O-line for that matter! Why can't our receivers bail out our back-up quarterback and make some catches? How is our defense so good? Thank God for that defense!  All they have to do is stop Saquon and we're good.  Our defense will totally keep us in the game.  Maybe we can get a defensive score and pull this out.  Hell yes we've got a chance. This. Is. Michigan.  But what if they don't?  What if this is the first big test they've had and they fail. Great. This is going to be so ugly.  Who scheduled this game anyway?! I wonder what Harbaugh will say in the locker room during his pregame speech.  Man, how I'd love to hear one of those motivational talks! I hope my kids have a coach in their life that gets them fired up!  Now that I think about it, they already have.  I hope they keep getting great coaches.

Swim meet, oh yeah.  Please let them swim well. No false starts, or DQs.  This is their first meet of the season. They haven't had much time in the water. Don't get your expectations up too high.  They're great swimmers.  I didn't know what kind of mom I'd be, but I sure do love being a swim mom.  No offense to you dance moms and theater moms of the world, but I just can't picture myself as that mom.  No, I'm a swim mom.  We walk into the natatorium and I love the sweet smell of chlorine in the morning.  I ask if they want me to walk them to the locker room and help them check in, "No thanks mom, we got this!" Alright sweeties, "Live Well, Swim Fast!" (that's our team's motto and I say it everyday before practice and meets)

So there I sit, in the stands with all the other swim moms, dads, uncles, aunts, grandmas and grandpas, waiting. Alone again with my thoughts.  How many hours until kickoff? Wonder when the heat sheets will be ready? The weather here is great, hope the weather is great in Happy Valley (checks weatherbug on phone) Yep, looks like great weather for a fall night football game.  Man, there are going to be gazillions of viewers and I can't wait to see Michigan shock them all and beat #2 Penn State at home for their stupid white-out. This is gonna be so fun.  But what if we don't? What if we have eleventy-hundred turnovers again? Man, I hate losing to Sparty.  Their fans make it so much worse for me.  Ugh! They talk about arrogant Michigan fans.  Looked in the mirror lately?  Oooo, good song playing in here, "Don't Stop Believin!" I used to love it when they played that in the Big House.  That place really is one of my most favorite places in the world.   I just love it there.  Can't wait to go back next weekend. Wonder what their uniforms will look like tonight?

Oh look heat sheets are ready, that's a good sign.  The rest of the day goes by pretty quickly. They have a great meet. One DQ, oh well, that happens.  Lots of great times, and lots of laughs.

"Quickly, hurry up and shower, we gotta get home and watch the game." We drive home, I welcome the conversation. We discuss times, events, highs and lows of the day.  They want to know what events they have on their schedule tomorrow.  We talk about those. They eat. And then we're home. Home. Game is on in a couple hours. Need to do laundry, get ready for tomorrow, and plop in the chair to watch the game. Finally, it's game time.  I'm nervous. Excited. And then........I'm not. Second play and my heart sinks. This is going to be a loooong night.

I'm going to stop right here, because the sequence of events that followed for the next three hours are not for public viewing or consumption.  I barely want my own husband and children to know how I act when the game is on.  But this just gives you a small glipmse of what FIS is. Do you have it too, or am I the only one?

Train Wreck

What an ugly, ugly offensive game that was, for both teams. They should apologize to the defense and buy them all steak dinners.

Much has been said about the "Harbaugh Train." Well right now, his offense is quite literally a train wreck, with 11 victims on board.  Jim Harbaugh has an enormous problem on his hands. He needs to triage the victims and figure out which is most critical. Then, he's gotta devise a plan and execute it with precision, or this season is going to go up in flames. Here's my Pick Six of what I see as the most urgent, in no particular order:

1. The receiving corps: Help out your quarterback and catch the damn ball.  I know, I know, you're young, and inexperienced, and we lost a lot of depth at that position, yadda, yadda, yadda. I've heard those same excuses since......Lloyd Carr left 11 years ago.  It's getting old.

2. The RT: He's been on my radar as a problem since game one, and he's not getting any better.  His back-up JBB, wasn't any better.  This is a problem. Drevno, you've been around long enough and are some acclaimed coach. Figure. It. Out.

3. The Running Game: Why, o why did that get abandoned? They marched down the field chunk by chunk for 16 consecutive plays eating up 7+ minutes off the clock. And then we ditch it!?!?!? What the hell for, it was working. Higdon is our best back, give him the reps, let him play. Quit rotating so many players.

4. The rest of the O-line: Could someone please explain to me why the entire line takes 2-3 steps backward, TOWARD THE QB, as soon as the ball is snapped. Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't their job to hold the line of scrimmage?!?!?! I'm baffled.

5. The QB: On passing plays, you have more than one option.  Please stay in the pocket, (if you have one) and check down through the progressions, before you take off like a bat out of hell and throw an interception because you feel like you have to be the hero.  Furthermore, if no one is open, you are allowed to throw it away. To the sidelines. So the other team doesn't intercept it.

6. Game Planning: As much as I hate to admit it, they were outcoached. It literally hurts my soul to think that, let alone type it for my readers, but it is the truth. OUTCOACHED, by Sparty. Never thought I'd see the day.

So, as you can see, there is not one part of the ENTIRE offense that is good. Not. One. This is year three of Harbaugh and Drevno. For the amount of money you're getting paid, you should be better than this. Right now, you're kind of like meteorologists, you can be terrible at your job, and still make money. Because, right now, that's what your offense is....terrible.

Bekki
~Go Blue!

Face Palm Emoji

If I could use an emoji as the title of this blog, that's the one I'd use.  I use it often, it fits so many circumstances.  I want to write about football, I really, really do, and I will.

But first, I can't even begin to wrap my brain around what has happened and continues to happen in this country. This particular situation hits close to home. I go to concerts. Lots of them. With my children.  I was in Las Vegas this summer. Drove by this location almost daily. With my children. Walked by it on our first day in Vegas. With my children. It literally brings me to my knees to think about the horror that those poor, innocent victims must have felt last night. The terror that their families must have felt when they awoke to the horrific news of what had happened.  The panic that they are going through trying to find their loved ones.  The despair and disbelief that 58 families are feeling right now. And then our media and people of this country use this as an opportunity to make this a political issue.  Have you no heart? Have you no conscience? Put your agenda aside and save your soapbox rant for something else. Right now we should be focused on doing what we can to help the victims.  If the only thing you can do is pray, send good vibes, meditate, or whatever word you use to describe how you help people with your thoughts.  Do that! Don't point fingers. Don't place blame. Now is not the time, it will never the be the time.  The only blame lies in the person that was in that hotel room and anyone that may have willingly and knowingly assisted him. That's it!  It's not the gun's fault. It's not his race's fault. It's not his religion's fault. No more than it's the fault of the vehicle that he drove to the hotel, or the concierge that checked him into the hotel.  It's his fault. His! That's it!

Now, on to football and that same face palm emoji. To the ridiculous fans that were HAPPY that Speight got hurt and is now out for several weeks.......Really people? Really?!?! You're happy that a kid, who plays football for free, for your entertainment, is hurt and can't play?!?! Everything about that is wrong. Am I glad that O'Korn got an opportunity to play, lead the team, and show us just what he is capable of? Of course, but I'm not glad that it came at the expense of a cheap shot that injured our starter. You should literally be ashamed of yourselves for celebrating his injury.  I'm ashamed that you root for the same team I do.  There are many things that I'm ashamed of as a Michigan fan and American today, but there are far more things that I'm proud of as a Michigan fan and an American.  So, I choose to focus on the latter, to help my psyche deal with the former.

Pick 6 things that make me proud:
1. The heroes that walked toward the sounds of gunfire to save lives.
2. The student/athletes that literally put it all on the line for entertainment purposes.
3. The people standing in line for six hours to donate blood to strangers.
4. The student/athletes that turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to ridicule.
5. The strangers that united last night to keep each other safe.
6. The leaders and best.

Go USA and Go Blue
~Bekki

Take a Deep Breath

So, I was at the game on Saturday and to say I was unimpressed, is an understatement.  As excited, hopeful, and impressed as I was about the Florida game, I was equally unimpressed about the Cincy game. With that being said, I was not one of the fans booing and I am not on the "Speight needs to be benched" bandwagon, or the "This is the best Harbaugh can do?" train.  I am on the, "I have faith in not only our coach, but also our quarterback" side of things.  There are things that need to be fixed with the offense, no doubt, but seriously people, take a deep breath.

Let us not forget that three short years ago, this game probably would have come down to the last possession/play of the game under Hoke. And maybe we would've pulled out a win. You people do realize we won the game by twenty-two points, right?!?!?!  These are the days of old, when we're pissed it wasn't a perfect game, a shut-out.  A win is a win, and right now we have a zero in the losses column. That's a good thing!!

Does Speight need to be more accurate? Undoubtedly. Does the RT still need improvement in his game? See last week's post. Do the receivers need to catch catchable balls? Uh, that IS your job. Does our defense need to stop big plays. Yup. But I have faith that these issues will be corrected, because, in case you forgot.....We got Harbaugh and The Wizard (Don Brown).

This week's game is the Military Appreciation Game.  Here's my Pick 6 things I love about this game:

1. The flyover
2. The parachueters
3. The veteran of the Game moment
4. The chills during the National Anthem
5. Love our military, but let's win
6. The respect that is shown by 110,000+ people

The Good, The Bad, The Defense

This blog is going to follow the format I use for parent meetings.  I love talking with the parents of my students, but sometimes, I have to deliver bad news, and that's hard. I learned this format from my mentor teacher when I was in college and I still use it today.  I like to begin by focusing on....

The Good:

• The O-line. They made holes so the running game could be established. The pass protection was notable so Speight had time in the pocket to make some great deep ball throws. 
• We had a very balanced offensive game plan that was well executed.  We had 198 passing yards and 215 rushing yards, for a total of 413. Not too shabby. 
• The receivers, they lived up to the hype coming out of spring ball and fall camp.  They were GOOD.  I think at one point I said, "He could catch a feral kitten," when speaking of Tarik Black. Nick Eubanks and Grant Perry got in on the action, too.
• The backs played an equally important role in the offensive success. The thing that stood out to me, was the yards after contact.  Thumbs up to Ty Issac, Karan Higdon, and my favorite Urkle look-a-like/mechanic/custodian, Chris Evans. You guys get a B+.
• Quinn Nordin----I'm glad our coach spent the night with you and stole you from Penn State.  Welcome to Michigan "Wild Thang" and thanks for having a leg like a cannon. 

Here comes the tough part....

The Bad:
Ahem, Nolan Ulizio I'm looking at you, listen up!!..... I know, you're young, don't have a ton of game experience, yadda, yadda, yadda, but dude, you gotta be better.  There were many times I saw the back of your horrendous maize jersey chasing your guy down and then stopping the pursuit.  You. Can't. Do. That. Our QB is gonna get hurt. Step up your game, please!

Speaking of the maize jersey and equally awful pants.....I saw them earlier in the week. I didn't like them then, but was hopeful that I'd be so happy and excited to see the team on the field, that they'd grow on me. They didn't.  They were just as terrible at the end of the game as they were when I first laid eyes on them.  Please don't mess with our iconic uniforms again.  They're beautiful in the their original state.  Don't try to put your spin on them Jumpman, leave them alone.

When this blog was named, I was hopful to talk more about the opponent's Pick 6s than our own, but that is not the case this week.  The first one falls on the receiver, that's you're fault Kekoa Crawford. If you can't bring it down, you have to knock it down so no one else can get it.  That will come with experience and practice....I hope. The second one, that came on the very next play, and was surely the nail in our coffin, was Speight's fault.  He overthrew the receiver and right into the hands of the defender.  Heartbreaker. His face said it all.

And now for the way I like to end my parent meetings, amazement.....

The Defense:
All the talking heads could discuss this off-season was how many players we lost on defense to the draft, and what was the "new" defense going to look like. Would they be good? How could they ever live up to last year's defense? No one can recover from the loss of experience and upperclassmen that quickly, right? WRONG!!!!!! Coming out of fall camp, I'd read rumblings that this defense was going to be better than last year's.  Wait, how could that be? Last year's defense was astounding! No way, that's just hype. WRONG again. They are going to better than last year, and very soon.  I think it's safe to say, everyone was shocked at how good they actually were.  Guys were flying around the field (Devin Bush), swarming the ball, sacking the quarterback (Chase Winovich) and knocking the ball loose.  I have goosebumps as I type this, because I'm just so amazed at how good they were.  And the really amazing thing is........they're only going to get better.

The season is upon us and I can't wait to watch this team develop.

~Go Blue
Bekki

Pick 6 Pivotal moments from Saturday:
1. Pulling Speight
2. The 55 yarder
3. The run D
4. Tarik Black TD reception
5. Ty Isaac rushing
6. The win

Row Your Own Boat

What a dumpster fire Florida is right now, huh?! I mean, maybe Jim McElwain should pay more attention to his roster, instead of worrying so much about Michigan's.  Seems as though he's got bigger fish to fry in his program, than knowing which of our wide-outs made the roster and are on the 2-deep. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but I don't really think so.  When you've got student/athletes using a program issued credit card to purchase non-allowed items, then lying and saying the credit cards were stolen, one would think you'd be focused on getting to the bottom of that situation. They obviously knew that what they were doing was wrong, which is why they lied, and then to find out that 10 people were involved.  And, there's rumors that there are more suspensions to come related to this incident.  Geesh, kind of a big deal, I'd think. Hey McElwain, ever heard MYOB?! Mind Your Own Business.

Furthermore, to keep myself entertained these past few weeks, and to get a small football fix, I've been watching the mini documentary "Being P.J. Fleck" on the Big Ten Network.  It's chronicled his rise to fame in the coaching circles, shown small clips of him doing speaking engagements, and followed him and the Minnesota Golden Gophers during spring practice. They interviewed players, talked to coaching staff and other people in the athletic department, so on and so forth.

One interview with a player stuck out to me for reasons you'll quickly discover.  The question was asked, "how does Coach Fleck motivate you guys during practice?" The answer, "You know, we're just out there trying to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow that we are today." My jaw hit the floor! If you follow Jim Harbaugh at all, you know that is his key phrase when it comes to competition and motivation.  I get it, it's catchy, easy to remember, and says all the right things, but for heavens' sake, do YOUR thing. Worry 'bout yourself! Row your own damn boat! Our ship is sailing......get outta the way!!!

Man am I ready for some football or what?!?!?! I'm no longer counting months, weeks, or days.  I'm counting the hours. It's GAME DAY my friends.

~Go Blue!!
Bekki

Pick 6 things I'm looking forward to:
1. The excuses that will come when Florida gets embarrassed.
2. Seeing how the O-line has developed.
3. Finding out if the defense is going to be able to uphold the reputation of last year's guys.
4. Watching the development of Speight.
5. Rashan Gary---no explanation needed.
6. Wins, lots of them.

Where it began, is where it will end

It's been a long time since I've written, not because I didn't have things to say, but life just had me really busy last year.  We're all settled in our new house and I'm eagerly anticipating the new football season that is on the horizon.  I followed the recruiting season closely, went to the Spring Game, toured Italy with the team via Twitter and ESPN, and can't get enough of BTN and all that is has to offer in regards to fall camp.

This past Friday the focus on BTN, was Michigan.  They went to practice and gave insight on position development, interviewed Don Brown on how the defense is progressing, talked with Rashan Gary about how he's handling all the attention he's getting and how he's become a leader, discussed the quarterback battle with Speight and O'Korn, and of course, interviewed Harbaugh.  I found myself giggling at how awkward and weird he is. But one thing struck me. Of all the things he said about his team, coaching, the development of men, and the thrill of competition, there was one comment that just made my heart happy.  He talked about how he's always thought of Ann Arbor as "a Hollywood movie set, the setting, the cast." To many people, they may not have even noticed or thought much of this comment, but to me it spoke volumes.

This off season was just like the previous one since Jim came back to Ann Arbor.  Rumors swirled about which NFL team was going to offer him the most money, the most beautiful package, and autonomy that would make Pro coaches drool. Yet, here we are, the second week in August and Jim Harbaugh, is still in Ann Arbor. Living in a house on the same street as his idol.  Sending his kids to the same school he went to as a child.  Living his dream of being the coach of his alma mater. You see, Jim Harbaugh loves Ann Arbor. To him, there is no better place to be.  No better place to raise his family. No better place to call home. This is his home.  Maybe I'm looking through my maize n blue glasses, but I don't ever see him leaving. Maybe I'm naive to think that this is where he feels he belongs.  Maybe I'm gullible enough to think that his wife actually loves living in Michigan, watching her husband do what he loves to do, where he loves to do it.  Whatever. I'm fine with being naive, gullible, or biased.  But I truly believe that where it began for Jim Harbaugh, is where it will end for Jim Harbaugh. Ann Arbor is his last stop.


~Go Blue
Bekki