The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/347495
FROM OUR READERS challenge of losing concentration during my weight lifting workouts and messing up counting rep- etitions. Being a distance runner, I tend to daydream. How does a Wolverine football fan count to 10? Carter, Woodson, Welborne, Har- baugh, Bell, Wheatley, Leach, Avant, Franklin, and Brady. By this time next year, I hope to be able to count to Harmon and Thompson! Refer- ring to the Wolverine's 2009 Season Preview issue, pages 50-55, will be invaluable help. Waiting for fall camp to start. Lou Hoekstra Kalamazoo, Mich. We're all waiting, Lou, and it looks like you, along with the Wolverines, have found some good ways to invest the time Here are links to those videos: Men's Football Experience http://www.mgoblue.com/ allaccess/?media=451806 Michigan Women's Football Acad- emy http://www.mgoblue.com/ allaccess/?media=451768 IT'S A SHOW-ME SEASON Dear The Wolverine: The 2014 University of Michigan football season is upon us, and I ap- proach it with trepidation. I will get right to the point. My concern is for the offensive line. For reasons that escape me, high-level performance of the offensive line depends not just on the inherent talent of the player, but the ability of the player to mesh, for lack of a better word, with his line mates, and the game experience history of the players. Offensive lines reportedly im- prove as their experience of play- ing together increases and/or the sum total number of games played by the offensive linemen increases. Coaching the available talent is in the performance equation, and ex- perience tells us that it is an impor- tant element of success or failure. Our experience for success, or lack of success, is illustrated by last year's mediocre record of the team, which failed to run the football con- sistently. There were reports of com- plicated schemes that the line failed to execute consistently. There was a constant search for the best combi- nation of offensive linemen due to lack of adequate execution. In my opinion, the coaches' re- sponsibility for determining the best players for a given position should be accomplished by the end of sum- mer camp. That may be stating the obvious, but the coaches were strug- gling with offensive line combina- tions all last year in an effort to get it right. I see recognizing the best combination of players as requiring a sense of urgency. Yes, injuries and youth are factors, but all schools have those burdens. Doug Nussmeier as offensive co- ordinator is a welcome addition to address many of the problems on offense. Who would have thought that Michigan could turn down a chance for a tie in the Ohio State game, and