5 Thoughts - Nov. 2
...This is a tough one for me, because I am a graduate of Michigan, and I agreed in theory with the decision to bring Rich Rodriguez in to replace Lloyd Carr. Carr's teams had achieved plenty of success during his tenure, most notably the '97 national title. But the inability to beat Ohio State and the growing trouble the team had with the nation's elite programs (and don't try to give me the bowl win over a lesser Florida team as evidence to the contrary) had put Michigan in the position of becoming a sagging regional power that couldn't handle the bully on its own block. I viewed Rodriguez as a window to a broader recruiting base and a means of elevating Michigan onto the same level as the more athletic, faster teams that had been competing for national titles - not to mention beating Ohio State more than once every five years.
So, that was the plan, and I was willing to give it a chance, no matter how much it angered the Schembechler crowd. (I wasn't always a big fan of that bunch to begin with.) Nearly two years into this process, however, it appears as if the theory was sound, but the practice has been a disaster. Michigan needed to update its method of playing, if only to hang with the Buckeyes, who were culling every top prospect from the state, mixing them with imports from the region and owning the Wolverines. But the way Rodriguez has done it has proven to be disastrous and short-sighted. Case in point: during a season when the top teams in the nation are playing great defense, the Wolverines are rotten on that side of the ball. Truly horrific. Michigan is 81st nationally in total defense and eighth in the Big Ten. The Wolverines are too light along the front seven and have zero depth. Their secondary is easy pickings for any QB with a mildly accurate arm, and coordinator Greg Robinson insists on leaving these overmatched backs in single coverage frequently.
But that's just part of the problem.
The vaunted Rodriguez spread offense has sputtered now that the opposition isn't of the I-AA or Mid-American Conference variety. Granted U-M is playing a freshman QB, but the Wolverines can't throw the ball with any regularity, and their ground attack has been squelched during a four-game losing streak by teams that recognize that the Wolverines can't run successfully between the tackles. We had heard all sorts of stories about how Rodriguez's second year at Tulane, Clemson and West Virginia brought big results. Well, Michigan faces a must-win situation against Purdue Saturday, or it probably won?t play in a bowl game. (Wisconsin and Ohio State loom.) Finishing 6-6 is not exactly what people had in mind when Michigan entered the '09 season.
Now comes the tricky part: Do you cut ties with Rodriguez after two seasons, or do you risk a third campaign that doesn't meet expectations? Michigan's talent level doesn't seem to be higher than when Carr left. In fact, other than defensive end Brandon Graham, a Carr recruit, there are no obvious high draft pick candidates on the roster, unless you consider senior tackle Mark Ortmann, another Carr conscript. Rodriguez is already in trouble, since the man who hired him, AD Bill Martin, is resigning after this school year, and the next guy in may not want him around. Worse, if the NCAA finds that Rodriguez and his staff violated practice limits, Michigan could go on probation for the first time, an embarrassment worse than any loss to Ohio State. (Well, maybe not any loss.)
Another year of Rodriguez's tenure would bring in another recruiting class of light, fast players who don't seem capable of standing up to the Big Ten's rigors. Another year of spread offense at a time when defenses seem to be making headway in stopping it could keep Michigan behind the schematic curve. If this were Indiana, it would make sense to keep Rodriguez around, because building takes time. But this isn't Indiana. This is the nation's winningest program, and it has been leveled. Only a miraculous three-game winning streak that vaults the Wolverines to eight wins can save him now. Short of that, it’s time to cut bait, mend fences with former Wolverine QB Jim Harbaugh and move forward
was he going to open the pipeline to all those highly recruited wv kids? who were his big wins as far as recruiting is considered while he was at wv? 
