Coach Rich Rodriguez has stepped into a bigger mess than he may have realized. The numbers prove he has the skill to take a losing team and turn it into a winning team within one year. He stepped into the role of head coach at Michigan during a year of transition. He lost the primary choice for QB he had to OSU. He ended up with a bunch of guys recruited by Lloyd Carr who were unprepared for a spread offense. Most of these guys are inexperienced freshmen, who have a lot of talent, but not much experience.

So, can we blame Rodriguez for Michigan falling apart mid-game or be glad there are definite signs of improvement?

Seriously, if you went into the Penn State game expecting Michigan to win, it was unrealistic. Michigan held its own while it could, but we saw why Penn has one of the top offenses in NCAA football. It’s hard to beat a team so in sync due to years of working together with a bunch of inexperienced freshman on the field, who still don’t even know how to work together yet. We saw promise in Steven Threet, but disaster when injury took him out of the game. The defense seemed to stop playing football come the fourth quarter. Not even Graham Cracker (Brandon Graham) could take down the offense.

There is a glimmer of hope through all the muddled darkness and roller coaster of potential wins for Michigan fans. Rodriguez never has a losing season twice. He just doesn’t. Not in his entire career as a coach. Every first year coaching his numbers have been bleh. The next year, he’s brought his players out to a winning season. Why can’t the same be true for Michigan?

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I’ve been with Michigan for about 17 years. That’s a major part of my life (I’m 27). You see, I wasn’t always a Michigan fan, merely because I didn’t know any better. I grew up in a Buckeye household, and like all little kids, was forced to wear the obligatory OSU gear my parents made me wear. When I went into 5th grade (I was about 10), I started to make my own sports decisions and one of the first was to become a Michigan fan.

I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy growing up a Wolverines fan in a home full of Buckeyes. I grew up in a small town right outside Toledo, Ohio. For those who don’t know much about Toledo, it’s home to the fiercest UM-OSU rivalry between Ann Arbor and Columbus. Located about 53 miles south of Ann Arbor (1 hour’s drive) and 140 miles north of Columbus (2.5 hours drive), Toledo is the biggest city between the Big House and the Shoe, making it the ideal place for a fierce UM-OSU rivalry. Nearly half of the city and surrounding area root for the Wolverines and the other half root for the Buckeyes. Considering this is the greatest college football rivalry of all time, things can get kind of crazy!

It’s funny because you’d think they’d be crazy in Ann Arbor and Columbus. Not so. The vast majority of people living in Ann Arbor are for UM. The vast majority of people living in Columbus are for OSU. There is no major rivalry going on in the cities, unless the opposing team and all their fans make their way to said city. It’s not like Toledo. Toledo is special if for no other reason than that it epitomizes how NCAA football and this massive rivalry have made their way into the lives of the people who consider themselves fans. NCAA football is huge in the Midwest and this rivalry can pit father against daughter, brother against brother and even wife against husband. There is no better (or worse) time in Toledo then in November, on Saturdays, especially *that* Saturday.

Now that you know a little about my history as a Michigan Wolverines fan, I want to talk about the Michigan legacy. I’ve heard “winningnest-shminingnest” Michigan is over”, “Michigan has no hope” and a variety of other negative comments concerning the newly re-formed Michigan team. I never gave up hope that the Wolverines would come back and make me proud. They did just that, beating rival Wisconsin 27-25 in last Saturday’s game. There is no doubt Michigan has a long way to go, but we’ve been able to get just a small peek into what new Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez is capable of accomplishing with these guys!

I know there have been naysayers about Rodriguez, but I’m not one of them. I like him. I think he’ll be excellent for this team. I’m glad he’s the new coach. Sure, they could have hired within Michigan, but after last season, the school needed a boost; something fresh and new. The Big Ten, as a whole, is becoming stale. We’ve seen the same ol’ same ol’ from schools like OSU. All of these schools need a makeover and now it just happens to be Michigan’s turn.

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It was a big past two days for six former Michigan Wolverines. With ten Wolverines listing themselves as eligible for the draft, six of them have been chosen in the seven round draft. Out of 252 newly drafted NFL players, six of them played for Michigan last year. The ten who applied for the draft were Jamar Adams, Adrian Arrington, Shawn Crable, Brandent Englemon, Chris Graham, Mike Hart, Chad Henne, Adam Kraus, Jake Long and Mario Manningham.

The first pick of the NFL draft went to Jake Long. Long was the first man to join a newly reformed Miami Dolphins team. The 6 ft 7, 313 lbs. Offensive Tackle was announced as the first pick of the draft four days before the draft officially began, so his selection was no big surprise. It was the rest of the Wolverines who would have to wait a surprisingly long time to find out who would be the second to go that were chosen by unpredictable teams.

While Jake Long wasn’t viewed as the best overall pick of the draft, he is filling in a position the Dolphins, the worst team of the 2007 NFL season, needed filled. Long is a competent offensive blocker and seeing as he has experience playing with the Dolphins’ newest quarterback, he’ll know exactly how to cover him in order to be successful on the field.

Speaking of QBs, the second Wolverine to go also went to the Dolphins. The choice of Chad Henne as a QB was to be expected after Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco and Brian Brohm went to Atlanta, Baltimore and Green Bay. I have to say that if Henne went to one of the four teams I’m glad he went to the Dolphins. They can use a dependable QB with a strong arm and the confidence Henne possesses that led him to the Rose Bowl in his freshman year at Michigan.

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This is a live action announcement. As the draft is happening, the winners will be announced, and we’ll have them listed within a few moments after they’ve been chosen.

#11 - Buffalo Bills - Leodis McKelvin

The Bills took Cornerback Leodis McKelvin from Troy. This is a pretty interesting pick since Troy isn’t one of the biggest schools out there, but the Bills could use a good Corner and McKelvin is one of the best in the country.

#12 - Denver Broncos - Ryan Clady

The Denver Broncos choose an Offensive Tackle from Boise State. While Clady is a great player, he has the size and speed to turn the Broncos into the kind of tackle they need to improve their team.

#13 - Carolina Panthers - Jonathan Stewart

The Panthers chose a running back, this one from Oregon, to help improve the team’s offense. While he’s had some problem with injuries in the past, he’ll be ready to go once the NFL teams enter their training camps.

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This is a live action announcement. As the draft is happening, the winners will be announced, and we’ll have them listed within a few moments after they’ve been chosen.

#6 - New York Jets - Vernon Gholston

The Jets have had a relatively successful past few years. Right now, the selection could be just about anyone. After LSU got selected, OSU had their first man go. Vernon is a Defensive End and the Jets fans seem to be excited. Of course, I’m a Michigan fan and don’t like the Jets so they can have him!

#7 - New Orleans Saints - Sedrick Ellis

The Saints had success choosing Reggie Bush from USC a few years earlier. They go back to USC to choose Defensive End Sedrick Ellis. The Saints traded up their #10 spot with the New England Patriots. The Saints could really use some help on the defensive end and the assistance of Ellis should help improve the team greatly.

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This is a live action announcement. As the draft is happening, the winners will be announced, and we’ll have them listed within a few moments after they’ve been chosen.

#1 - Miami Dolphins - Jake Long

There was no big surprise that Michigan Offensive Tackle, Jake Long, would be the first pick of the draft. The Miami Dolphins announced their choice of Long four days prior to the draft picking. As the first draft, Long feels incredibly honored. He made it clear that he plans to go out and prove he was worth being the first pick of the draft. The Dolphins, who had the worst season of any NFL team, could use plenty of help to turn their losing record around. Jake Long won’t be able to do it alone, so hopefully their additional 2008 picks will compliment their choice in him. I’d hate to see Long go to a team he can’t do anything with, since he’s such an amazing player as it is.

#2 - St. Louis Rams - Chris Long

There was a lot of speculation into who would go second. Since Jake Long was taken, the list of hopefuls include Chris Long and Glenn Dorsey. The Defensive End from Virginia was said to be shoe in for the selection by the Rams and that is exactly what happened. While it was said that the Rams initially wanted Glenn Dorsey, in the past week, they settled on Long and after some last minute deliberations decided to go with Long, after all.

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Tom Brady just wasn’t on his game like he usually is, but that didn’t stop the New England Patriots from clenching the AFC Championship and moving one step closer to a perfect year. The Patriots have yet to lose and while much of the emphasis has been on New England’s star quarterback, Tom Brady (a man many believe is the best quarterback of his time), this game really showed how important and worthy the rest of the team is at backing Brady up and seeing that any mistake he made did not turn into a gain for the underdog, San Diego Chargers team.

Brady turned over the ball three times, once in the end zone, something that has not happened in two years since another AFC playoff game. Still, the Chargers were unable to make nothing out of these turnovers thanks to a stellar defense, which held off a battered, albeit better played (than earlier this season), Chargers team. In the third quarter, things looked shaky for the Patriots with the Chargers trailing by 2 (14-12) and Brady turning over the ball in the endzone. While he came back with a TD on the next play after the Chargers were unable to convert the turnover into something playable, the rest of the game seemed standard if not slightly sub par for the team that has now gone 18-0.

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It looks like Darren McFadden is second place again. This year’s winner of the Heisman Trophy is Tim Tebow. The Florida Quarterback first thanked “his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” who he says is #1 in his life, with his family a close second. It was a disappointing Heisman year, with Florida winning again and another QB joining the elite Heisman club.

Tebow spoke quickly in a mumbling voice as he said a lot of thank yous as he spoke a mile a minute. He thanked Jesus twice and God once, showing off his Christian faith. In his interview, Tebow stated that God gave him the ability to play football and he is just trying to make him proud. For us, it was a little overkill, but hey, to each their own.

Tebow is the first sophmore to win the Heisman. The QB, who was wearing a cast, which he says will be coming off prior to the Capital One Bowl where Florida will take on Michigan, is looking forward to the upcoming bowl game.

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