Rough day for this fan

Detroit News Photo

I could have avoided the television and internet over the last 24 hours and went about my day in complete bliss.  Last night was a big night for this fan, landlocked in Afghanistan and completely at the mercy of the American Forces Network for live/taped sports and ESPN.com and twitter for the latest scores and stats.  Not a good statistical day for the two biggest games on my slate, Michigan – Michigan State football, and Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.

We’ll start with a positive. 

The Tigers lost and some may say lost big and you could expect that after the Rangers put up 15 runs.  I don’t buy it as a big loss, disappointed for sure but what a heck of a team.

Detroit News Photo

You have to look at the body of work, regular season and the playoffs.  Do that and you can see why Jim Leyland said before game six that he couldn’t be prouder of any team he’s managed. 

This is one of the scrappiest teams I’ve seen since Jack Morris was king of that hill off Michigan and Trumble.  Sure, a similar group of Tigers made it to the World Series in 2006 and they also had a bit of a chip on their shoulder but I think the team was even surprised to be there to a certain extent.  They were certainly underdogs after backing into the playoffs and many outside Detroit probably felt their pummeling of the Yankees was a fluke. 

The 2011 Tigers shouldn’t have surprised anyone, particularly after the second half they played, dominating everyone in the Central Division.  Going into the best-of-five with the Yankees the Tigers were expected to give the Bronx Bombers all they could handle and they out gritted them throughout.  Even against the Rangers, MVP candidate and Tiger Ace, Justin Verlander showed the kind of moxie and grit in game five of the ALCS that we haven’t seen from a Tiger ace in nearly a generation.  

Leyland was proud?  Shoot, this Tigers team gave the all of Michigan hopeful and bright, something to be proud of as everything outside of sports seems to be so terribly bleak.  What really sticks with me too is that the team seemed to understand the situation at home and played even harder.  You certainly got that sense from Jim Leyland after they clinched their playoff spot.  His post game comments were interrupted by the pure emotion of the moment, his pride in his players and his city and state. 

So it didn’t end after six games.  What the Tigers gave Detroit will last well into the winter, and while deficits continue to pace the bickering in Lansing and D.C., at least people will have something good to reflect on and look forward to as the boys tune up for what should be another solid run as a contender in 2012.

I was a whole lot less impressed with the Michigan Wolverine football team I saw last Saturday.  To be fair I’m not even so much disappointed in them as I am the whole flakey fan-base across the country who actually thought they were a number 11-12 ranked team.  No way, and no way they should have been ranked in front of ‘Little Brother’.

Detroit News Photo

While I’m fired up about the fantastic job the coaching staff is doing and the attitude these kids have, I’m not so intoxicated with the Maize and Blue elixir that I figured them to be a Big Ten champion this season.  Should that be the goal?  Absolutely and Brady Hoke has the right of it because these kids have the ability to become a championship-caliber team but not this year, not now.  Coach has to put that mark on the wall, along with the dates of the game in Lansing and that little town Ohio southeast of Ann Arbor. 

I wrote a few days ago that this game against the Spartans would be Michigan’s biggest test so far and after the game it really is a good gauge and where the team is on this road to recovery.  The offense was ‘exposed’ as the ever pessimistic Drew Sharp put it in his Sunday column.  I’ve been saying since week three that I felt Denard Robinson was one dimensional, that he needed to be able to throw better and the team needed its other backs to step up.   After watching the replay of yesterday’s game I stand by my thoughts on the quarterback but I certainly don’t put it all on his shoulders because there were some obvious experience issues on the field.

The Spartan defense bunched the middle of the line, filled the gaps and blitzed the edges, leaving Denard nowhere to run.  Obviously you’d expect the quarterback to hit a back on a screen, a receiver running a hot route, someone trying to become a target short yardage.  Didn’t happen.  It was more obvious after watching the second time that there is a huge need to upgrade the wide receiver position with some bigger targets and guys who can recognize a corner blitz.  That’s when the cornerback starts running in the opposite direction of your route when the ball is snapped and it’s generally an idea to find an open patch of grass very quickly.

One thing I’m still trying to figure out is whether the Spartan defensive line just overpowered the Wolverine offensive line or if Urban Meyer sold tickets to the Michigan backfield as part of his play-by-play promotional gig.  MSU owned the line of scrimmage for most of the game and Michigan couldn’t answer.  They couldn’t get their backs going and Robinson couldn’t hit his targets consistently.

The Wolverine defense was solid.  True, the team lost and they gave up a lot of yards on the ground but they created turnovers, giving the ball back to their offense.  That defensive unit would bend a little but for the most part they held up well on their end of the field.  Think back to the years around the Wolverine national championship season and you’d see a similar defense, bend but don’t break. 

So the Big Ten Championship isn’t likely this year but you have to like the direction this program is going under the new coaching staff.  You have to be optimistic with the quality of recruits coming in over the next couple of years and I think it takes that long to really contend for a championship.  More importantly, the Wolverines should come to grips with these points and focus on the one goal that will really make this season matter, beating that Pro-College team in Ohio.

 I think the coaching staff takes away some valuable lessons from East Lansing but what they do with those lessons is key.  You have to forget about Wisconsin and every other team you play before that last regular season game.  Every Saturday between now and then, to include the practices along the way, should be designed to tool this team to crush oSU. 

They’re already bowl-eligible, so every game but the last is irrelevant.  National rankings be damned, put an end to this ridiculous losing streak against your rival and this season can truly the mark on the wall where Michigan turned it around and got back to being Michigan.  That is something those seniors can be proud of and it can be the cornerstone in rebuilding college football’s winning-est program.

A rough day for this fan in Afghanistan but the promise of better sports days ahead with the Wings getting started and it should be a good one tonight with the 5-0 Lions taking on the 4-1 49ers.  I’m just hoping for better results.