The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/246097
FROM OUR READERS view players during the spring football alumni flag football games. Like a teenager who idolizes his favorite radio DJ, I have grown to feel like Frank and his partners are friends of mine. Thank you, Frank Beckmann; you will be missed. Feeling blue in more ways than one. Lou Hoekstra Kalamazoo, Mich. Frank always did a terrific job, Lou, and we'll miss him as well. We'd add with a grin that some Spartans fans might take issue with the "evenhandedness" when Frank decried the end of the 2001 clock game in East Lansing as, "Thievery!" But we'll just put that one in the calling-it-like-it-is category. We appreciate all his work and wish him the best in all future ventures. TOUGH AUTUMN IN ANN ARBOR Dear The Wolverine: It is hard to write this letter. Disappointment. That summarizes the 2013 Michigan football season for me. It hurts to say it, because, despite the 7-6 record, judging by postgame comments during the year, I believe that the players played hard. Was Michigan as bad as it appeared early in the season against Akron and UConn, or as good as it appeared against Ohio State at the end? As they say, the truth is probably somewhere in between. Somewhere in between is not what we want from Michigan. Expectations are higher. Michigan was a young team this year. Youth manifests itself during the course of the season, often with inconsistency. However, haven't we heard that a team becomes better with experience as the season progresses? There was no pattern of improvement during the year, but rather a tendency to play to the level of the competition. Expectations are higher. I have my un-expert opinion about the coaching. I cannot excuse the lack of ability to identify the best combination of personnel on the offensive line. Add to that the inability of the offensive line to block effectively for running backs, inability of picking up blitzes — lineman and running back failures, defensive backs giving too much cushion on receivers, often low output on punt and kickoff returns, and the ever-present questioning of play calling on offense, often justified. Expectations are higher. At the end of the bowl game, Frank Beckmann informed us that Michigan was no longer the winningest major college football program in the country as measured by percentage. A Notre Dame win coupled with the loss to Kansas State dropped Michigan a fraction below Notre Dame. Be Heard! Send your letters to: Wolverine Letters • P.O. Box 1304 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Or e-mail: jborton@thewolverine.com Letters may be edited for clarity or length.