The Smoke of the Chimneys is the breath of the Wolverines
Today, Comrades, we come to you to remind you of the oft-told story of Joseph Stalin. Facing a domestic industrial complex ravaged by the Russian Civil War, Stalin embarked on a program of forced, brutal industrialization. Over the course of nine years, the nation’s coal output (which fueled their manufacturing) more than tripled, employment sky-rocketed, the population’s education level grew exponentially, and vast manufacturing plans began to dot the landscape in Moscow, Gorky, Stalingrad, and Cheliablinsk. Investment in higher education grew vastly, as the Soviet nation refused to rely on foreign help in their technological advances.
This program wasn’t without its costs – minors often needed to work 16 hours a day to meet quotas (failure to do so could result in a charge of treason), safety wasn’t even a minor concern, and the reallocation of resources from farming to industry sparked a devastating famine.
However, the enormous advances in technology and industrial output placed the USSR in a position to meet the evil (-er?) threat looming on its border – Nazi Germany. Without the scientific advances and industrial capacity achieved during this time, a largely agrarian Soviet Union would have been in a similar position as Poland – attempting to repel the German tanks brigades from horseback.
Comrades, the Rodriguez regime is following closely in these footsteps. Facing a program increasingly plagued by poor player development, significant attrition, and hindered by over-confidence against inferior competition, Rodriguez revolted. Those fearful to do the work fled the regime to find cozier environs (Justin Boren) or extra-large pizzas (Alex Mitchell). Those who failed to meet expectations were banished (Jason Kates, Zion Babb, Carson Butler, Marques Slocum), and those who remained toiled under a demanding task-master, feverishly working to learn radically new ways of doing every day things – from exercising to running new plays. The final goal of the Rodriguez and Stalin regime is the same: to grow the strength to face the looming evil empire on our border.
As with Stalin’s change, this growth was painful – players toiled in a system that some were not suited for, some not familiar with, and some at positions they had never played. Could Rodriguez have handled this change better? Could he have made the transition smoother? Today, glorious proletariat, we recap the performance of the Rodriguez regime to date, as rated in Molotovs – Stalin’s trusty right-hand man!
Getting buy-in from the existing team
The first challenge that all new coaches face is to convince a team full of players they don’t know, who didn’t choose to play for them to follow their guidance on the football field. Rodriguez initially started off with several bumps in this regard – the highly-touted Ryan Mallett fled, taking virtually all of Michigan’s quarterback experience with him. Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington both bolted to the NFL rather than play in a seemingly run-oriented attack. Starting guard Justin Boren, bitter over Rodriguez’s snub of his brother, defected to Ohio State. Alex Mitchell, faced with the choice to diet and run his ass off for Commisar Barwis, or to eat a daily sugar-coated stick of butter, chose corpulence. Throughout the season, other players dropped out for a variety of reasons – Slocum couldn’t remain eligible, Carson Butler couldn’t keep his fists at his side, Sam McGuffie missed home, and Jason Kates, Zion Babb, and Avery Horn decided that the grueling Barwis sessions weren’t worth if it if they were never going to see the field.
Grade: 4 Molotovs. The loss of Kates, Babb, Horn, Butler, and Mitchell are symbolic of the purging of much of what was wrong under the Carr regime’s later years – these players may have been able loaf through their career previously, but no longer. Rodriguez may have been able to better accommodate the receivers, McGuffie, Mallett, and Boren. However, Mallett was widely rumored to be on the docile Carr’s last nerve, and Boren’s outrage was essentially based on Rodriguez’s refusal to partake in nepotism. In the Revolution, comrades, the power resides in the people – benefits are not given to some merely because of bloodlines.
Assembling a staff
Rodriguez, understandably, brought in most of his highly-successful coaching staff from West Virginia. Some cried nepotism, but this was nothing more than choosing to work with people with whom he had previously enjoyed great success. Two new coaches joined the fold – linebacker coach Jay Hopson, and defensive coordinator Scott Shafer.
Grade: 2 Molotovs. Rodriguez didn’t have to make many decisions here, and the two he did make failed to varying degrees. Hopson continues to be spoken of well, but coached what was likely the weakest portion of the entire defense, despite having two extremely gifted athletes (Obi Ezeh, Jonas Mouton). Further, Hopson seemed to continually fail at putting his best players on the field – starting the season with Marrell Evans and Austin Panter in the starting lineup, and later replacing John Thompson with, essentially, Safety Brendan Harrison. While we’re of the opinion that Shafer unjustifiably shouldered the blame for the defense’s poor performance, one extremely obvious thing stood out: Rodriguez hired a coordinator with whom he was uncomfortable, and one in whom he had little faith or trust to solve the unit’s problems. The blame for that is on Rodriguez.
Developing players
One frequent criticism of the later years of Carr’s regime was that elite players left untapped potential behind (particularly on the offensive line) and that fitness levels were, to put it kindly, dwindling.
Grade: 4 Molotovs. Between the defection of Justin Boren, Mitchell’s abdication to corpulence, Zirbel’s career-ending knee injury, and the earlier losses of Brett Gallimore and Justin Schifano, Michigan lost an entire line full of elite offensive line prospects. What remained was young, small, and nearly completely inexperienced. The never-ending shuffle along the line found a defensive-tackle starting two weeks after switching positions. However, something interesting happened – by the end of the year, the offensive line actually began to play well – Michigan’s running game over the final half of the season was among the top four in the conference. Brandon Minor emerged to be exponentially more dangerous than he had shown in previous seasons, and Jonas Mouton finally shed the “disappointing” tag. The only things that prevent the rating from being higher are the somewhat disappointing season from an injured Donovan Warren and the continued mediocrity of Obi Ezeh.
Recruiting
Michigan’s perch atop the recruiting evaluations has been secure since the inception of Rivals and Scout, but Rodriguez has a long history of working with two and three-star recruits at West Virginia.
Grade: 5 Molotovs. Rodriguez, thus far, cannot possibly have done a better job recruiting. He rounded out Carr’s strong 2008 class with a bevy of highly-praised players (Roy Roundtree, Ricky Barnum, Michael Shaw) and added a handful of lower-ranked players who have demonstrated great potential (Odoms, Omameh). The 2009 class, despite being put together in the midst of a 3-9 season, again achieved top-10 status, and Rodriguez again added a bevy of elite talent in the final moments – Denard Robinson, Quentin Washington, and Je’Ron Stokes. This year, the recruits are not as universally praised, but this is attributable more to 3-9, than to the staff’s acumen as recruiters. Even so, Ricardo Miller, Marvin Robinson, Devin Gardner, and Jerald Robinson are consensus impact players.
To be continued…
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