Rich Rodriguez: U-M was not tough enough
(JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/Detroit Free Press)
It was only a week ago that Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said he would be embarrassed if somebody said his players "looked like they quit or were soft or lazy."
On Monday, he was that somebody.
"I thought we played a little soft," he said, referring to Saturday's home loss to Illinois. "That was the most disappointing part about it." Missed assignments "are going to happen, and you make a few mistakes -- you shouldn't be making them each and every game, the same mistakes -- but to play a little soft was disappointing. We've got to get a little tougher.
"You can run full speed and still be soft. It's a physical ballgame, and there comes a point in time where you have to play physically. You can't catch people. You can't allow them to block you -- you've got to want to block them. ... Unless we become a tougher football team mentally and physically, we'll have a lot of problems."
The team's problems were on full display in the 45-20 loss to the Illini, particularly in the second half.
But Rodriguez refused to pin all of the blame on the veteran defense. He called out all three units: offense, defense and special teams.
"I'm not saying we have soft guys," he said. "But if we have one of 11 guys play soft on one play, that's unacceptable. And it will never be acceptable."
He wouldn't go into detail about what he would do to correct the problem, but he said some of the responsibility falls on the coaches because it's their job to motivate the players who are not self-motivated.
The message seems to have reached the players.
"It's a main point," quarterback Steven Threet said. "Just because we're a spread team doesn't mean we're a finesse team. We've got to go out and play hard every play. ... There can't be even one guy that's soft on that one play, whether it's offense or defense. That can be the difference."
Rodriguez added: "It's a mind-set you have to have each and every day. We talked about it last night. You don't just wake up one day and say, 'I feel good today, I'm going to play tough,' or 'I feel good today, I'm going to play physical.' It's a mind-set you have to carry when you go to practice.
"And when practice is over, you flip it back off. You've got to cross that line and flip a switch. That's not to hit guys dirty or cheap or get stupid penalties. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the inevitable point of contact or collision. Some coaches say you're either the hammer or the nail. I'd rather be the hammer."
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