Michigan Tuesday: Asks For More Change

Since Lloyd retired the Michigan Football program has been in constant change.   A program that suffered very little change since Bo took over has been a whirlwind of change since Lloyd called it a career. 


They hired a young offensive wizard.   He failed because he couldn't recruit or hire a DC that could coach defense.  He also wasn't ready for the big time and still isn't.


They then searched for a coach and found a former Michigan DL coach that had success at Ball State and San Diego State.   He had a decent first year and then decided his offense was stuck in the mud and fired Al Borges for Saban's OC.   They all failed as well.


Now comes a coach that was a former Michigan QB, successful at every stop, and even coached in a Super Bowl.  A perfect fit.   He hired a DC that quickly got hired as a Big Ten head coach and went out and hired the best DC in the country in Don Brown.


That coach is 1-2 against MSU, 0-3 against OSU, and 1-2 in Bowl Games in Florida.    We thought we were getting Alabama Saban and it seems we got MSU Saban.


So now what?  I'm not calling for Jimmy's job, I still believe he can turn this battleship but there are changes that need to be made.  


After that debacle yesterday, I like many of you watched the playoffs and compared those teams to the Wolverines. 

• Michigan has a playoff caliber defense at pretty much every position.  
• That is where the similarities end

Michigan needs to clean house on the offense side of the ball.  Every position should be open and every coach should be fired or re-assigned.   Michigan is paying millions of dollars to 3 Offensive Coordinators: Jim Harbaugh, Pep Hamilton, and Tim Drevno. 

1. Jim will not fire himself, so that means new roles or exits for Pep and Tim.   I know this team was young and it was a mess at QB, but the offense should never be that terrible.  Never.   That falls on them.
2. Jim also is not going to fire his son, who is coaching the running backs.  I like Jay as special teams coach or something.
3. Michigan is in desperate need of a QB coach.  Hire one please.
4. Rumors are that Michigan is trying to hire former MSU QB, CMU head coach, and Arkansas OC Dan Enos.  He is considering taking a role but will also have other offers, maybe the OC role at LSU? 
5. Hire one of those legendary NFL offense line coaches.   Pay them like Pep and Tim and get them to fix this 10 year on-going issue.  I don' care if he is 80 and can't recruit, hire him today!

Don Brown was a home run hire, Jimmy now needs another one on the offensive side of the ball.  Time for more change. 

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2018/01/michigan-tuesday-asks-for-more-change.html

A Nightmare of A Day

You go to bowl games to enjoy yourself.  You want to enjoy your team playing a different opponent and get away for a few days.  Bowl games are not cheap, no matter if you are traveling by plane or car.  You most likely have transportation costs, hotel costs, food, and tickets.   You're investing your time and your money to support your favorite team. 


My favorite team my entire life is the Michigan Wolverines.  I always knew they wouldn't be flashy but they would play hard and compete every game.  I don't know when that changed but it has.  Not even the chosen one Jim Harbaugh has been able to change it.  Something is wrong or broken and for the life of me, I can't tell you what it is.  


I realize I'm pissed off coming off a terrible loss to a terrible team just a few minutes after the game mercifully ended.   This is not the program of my youth or what many of you grew up watching.   Maybe there was a "Tiger Woods" effect when you played Michigan and opponents just feared the Maize and Blue and didn't play well because of it.  


My family and I spent the entire day freezing in 40 degree weather in Tampa, that had a pretty strong wind and light rain.   The first half was one of the worst half's I have ever watched on the offensive side of the ball.   For some reason that half seemed like it took 3 hours and had 100 punts.   It was miserable watching your team play like that in poor conditions. 


As I sat back at halftime and looked at a half empty stadium, you start to wonder if your a sucker for investing in this bowl game.   Michigan then comes out of the locker room and starts to dominate the game, like many (including me) predicted they would.   They score the games only TD and it seems they are on their way to an easy victory up 16-3.   Thoughts like, how is South Carolina going to score on Michigan's defense?


Then Michigan did what they have done all year, they keep the other team in the game when Michigan's offense and Tampa's own Karan Higdon fumbles on the 5 yard line.   A sure Michigan TD is taken off the board and Michigan's tired defense is asked to win the game again.   They didn't and started to fold as the offense kept putting them in terrible positions.    I almost lost my mind when Peters rolled out after a score and doesn't see Gentry running wide open for a sure TD instead throws to WR 3 yards out.   


We all knew the game was over, when Peters throws that terrible pick in the end zone.  Michigan's offense kept a terrible South Carolina offense in the game.  Let's not be confused, South Carolina's offense is as awful as a D1 offense can be.   Which leads to the question, where is Michigan's offense?  


I'm tired of excuses, I'm tired of terrible play, I'm tired of losing to OSU and MSU and I'm tired how this program continues to under achieve year after year.   This is not about a loss to a poor South Carolina team, it's about where is this program going?  It has good recruiting, it has a Super Bowl coach and former QB, it has all the facilities.   What is missing?


As I leave the stadium, freezing from the cold, feeling the light rain on my face, pissed that I just invested so much money into this terrible game.  The one thing I know for sure is, I'm the sucker for falling for it again. 
 




from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-nightmare-of-day.html

Preview: South Carolina

Time: Noon
Location: Raymond James Stadium
Weather: 63 and 70% of rain

TV: ESPN2

Stream: ESPN App

Line: Michigan - 7.5

Bowl games are a funny thing, they fall in between an exhibition vs. an important game for some programs.   Who wants to be there is usually the difference between winning and losing.   I have seen Michigan destroy a Florida team in the Citrus Bowl who had checked out for the NFL Draft already and I have seen Michigan sleep walk in the Orange Bowl in the first half.    You never know. 

Michigan will have added pressure on Monday as they are the last Big Ten team to play a Bowl Game and could give the Big Ten an undefeated Bowl record.  That type of pressure is good, as it gives the players more motivation to play well.   The little yelling match at bowling also didn't hurt.

Tale of the Tape

Michigan OL vs. USC D line = Michigan
Michigan Offense vs. USC D = Push
Michigan D vs. USC O = Michigan
Coaching = Michigan
Intangibles = Push
Bloomin' Onion vs Coconut Shrimp= Shrimp

These two teams are pretty much mirror imagines of each other.   Both are pretty bad on offense and both teams play good defense.   Sounds like there is a good chance of rain on Monday, which could mean a messy field and an ugly offensive game.  

Sing "Tie me kangaroo down sport" (the theme song of WWF's Bushwhackers) if......

• Don Brown and his "dudes" dominate USC's offense
• Brandon Peters plays like he is the long term solution at QB
• Michigan's offense doesn't turn the ball over
• Michigan is motivated to play
• Two weeks of practice and a month of rest has helped the Wolverines
• No Rust
• No injuries

Yell, this is just an exhibition anyways if.......................

• Michigan keeps USC in the game with its offense
• Michigan can't run the ball
• JOK plays a lot
• Michigan's defense is on the field too much and gets tired
• Michigan doesn't want to be there and has moved on to next season
• Michigan's special teams looks like a mess

You will notice this is about what Michigan does and doesn't do vs. South Carolina's strength.   The Gamecocks offense is really bad and they fired their OC right after the Clemson blowout.   Is this a good change? probably but who knows what the new OC has up his sleeve.   The defense is a bend but don't break and should give Michigan a few opportunities on offense.  I expect a lot of field goals by the Wolverines.  

The weather is the wild card and I hope it doesn't rain.  This is not the rainy season in Florida but the outlook keeps showing more and more chance of rain.   I really like Michigan's TE's, Evans, and Higdon in this game if Peters plays well.   I see lots of 5-7 yard passes and some throws to the running backs.  Move the ball between the 20's, score a couple TD's and kick a ton of field goals. 

South Carolina will struggle against Don Brown defense, unless they come out with a ton of new stuff they haven't put on tape.   That seems like a challenge in two weeks worth of practice.  The key to this game is how clean the Wolverines are on offense and do they keep the Gamecocks in the game  with short fields and easy points.

Michigan 27 South Carolina 9

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2017/12/preview-south-carolina.html

Michigan Friday: Michigan Bowl Practice - Who Didn't Make The Trip?

When the media get close to practice for a bowl game, they start running down the roster of who is and isn't there.  Who is working out in shorts, etc. 


So here we go:

1. Kareem Walker did not make the trip.  Insiders are saying there doesn't seem to be a threat of him transferring and its not an academic situation.  Maybe an injury?
2. Hudson has a cold and missed some time.  Seems minor.
3. Tarik Black won't play, which is good and protects his medical redshirt for the year
4. Isaac is still banged up and working out in shorts, should be considered questionable for Monday.  Would love to see him finish his career on the field.
5. Perry and Hill are also doing light workouts.  Status for Monday is unclear at this point.
6. JBB seems to have made the trip but wasn't seen at practice.  He has been in & out of the coaches dog house all year.  A Michigan announcement is pending. Not good!
7. Ben Bredeson has also not been spotted at practice but seems to have made the trip.
8. Hall also did not make the trip and it seems his heart is leaning more towards a transfer at this point.

I think that covers it for now.

• The announcement of Jedd Fisch to Missouri has yet to have happened.  The rumor is spinning that once that happens Wilton will transfer there.   I guess we will have to wait and see on both.

• I have watched MSU all year and just don't get that team.  They blew out WSU night in their bowl game.  I guess the same can be said for WSU, who was missing their starting QB.

• Big Ten is 3-0 in bowl games right now.

• In what Michigan was hoping for,  2018 five-star offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere watched Michigan practice yesterday.  NP-F attends Berkeley Preparatory where Michigan is practicing this week before the Outback.  Just in case you are wondering, NP-F can't speak to the coaches or players during this time but can watch practice like anybody else.  If you remember, Alabama reeled in Dee Hart the same way when they practiced at his school in Orlando.

Since the game is on Monday, I will give you my preview this weekend.  Probably Sunday.  Enjoy your weekend!

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2017/12/michigan-friday-michigan-bowl-practice.html

Michigan Thursday: Bad Bowl Games

Have Bowl Games officially jumped the shark?  It sure does seem like it.   I love college football but it sure is hard to watch 6-6 teams play each other in a stadium with 6,000 people in it.  Who is making money off these games?  Bad Boy Motors? Walk-On's bar and grill?


I was a little excited to see Big Ten teams start playing yesterday.  Then I started watching the Pinstripe Bowl.   Everyone loves NYC at Christmas but are we reaching a bit trying to have a bowl game in Yankee Stadium when it's 20 degrees out?  The field was frozen and that alone should be enough to at least move that game to the NFL Stadium that has heating under the field so it doesn't freeze.   Or how about this?  Move it to a warm location or a dome!  Iowa literally skated to a victory over BC.


How many times do we need to see Rich Rod struggle to beat Purdue?  I have enough bad memories of that to last a lifetime.   Let's cut the bowls in half and expand the playoffs.   This is getting out of hand. 

• Sounds like Michigan and South Carolina got into a little bit of a mess at bowling last night.  It was more trash talking then anything, but hopefully it will motivate the Wolverines. 

• Devin Bush, Sr. is filling in and doing some on field coaching and recruiting as Jimmy looks to fill his staff.

• When talking about Greg Frey yesterday, I miss calculated the openings on Jimmy's staff if he leaves.  Jimmy would have 3 spots to fill as I forget that Brian Smith has left for Rice and that is the position currently Devin Bush, Sr. is filling.

• Sounds like Cesar Ruiz will get the start at RG for the Outback.

• Lane Kiffin visited Michigan's practice yesterday.

• Michigan State plays Washington State tonight on Fox.  Mike Leach had a pet raccoon growing up.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2017/12/michigan-thursday-bad-bowl-games.html

Wolverine Wednesday: Will Greg Fry Stay in Florida?

Michigan running game coordinator Greg Frey is going home for the Outback Bowl.  He grew up outside of Tampa Bay in Clearwater, Florida.  He also played his college football a bit North of there for Bobby Bowden at Florida State.  Greg even won a National Championship at FSU in 1992.


Greg is on his second tour of duty in Ann Arbor after Rich Rod hired him in 2008.  He has had successful stints at Indiana and Michigan and has sent over 20 kids to the NFL.  Jimmy hired him less then a year ago in late January 2017.


Jimmy brought in Greg to help the offensive line in the running game and to recruit Florida.  I would say the jury is still out on both areas in Greg's first full year. 


Now there are a couple of reports that Greg could be leaving Michigan to join Willie Taggart at Florida State.  As you know, Jimmy and Willie are very close and I assume any move would have Jim's blessing.  The issue I believe is pay.  FSU is known not to pay their assistants top dollar and there is a question if Florida State would be able to match Greg's current compensation at Michigan.  So Greg might have to take a pay cut to go home. 


If Greg does leave, Michigan would have two open coaching positions after the bowl game.  The NCAA is allowing each team to add a 10th assistant and of course Greg's spot. 


Would it be a big blow to lose Greg?  Hard to tell at this point, I'm not sure Greg's style of zone blocking in a spread offense is a good fit with Jimmy's offensive style.  I personally would have loved to seen a couple of years of proof before we made that decision or not.   So to net it out, if Jimmy is letting him go to a friend, I believe he thinks he is a better fit at FSU then in Ann Arbor. 

• Jedd Fisch coached UCLA last night to a bowl game loss.  Josh Rosen didn't play due to a concussion.

• Here is video link to Michigan's first practice in Tampa for the Outback Bowl.

• Michigan has offered 2018 4 star Texas WR Tommy Bush.

from The BIG HOUSE Blog http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2017/12/wolverine-wednesday-will-greg-fry-stay.html

Top Ways to Enhance Customer Experience in eCommerce

Nurturing relationships with your customers is one of the best ways to improve your eCommerce business. Investing in your customers through an impactful marketing strategy is a must to deliver exceptional customer experience. Your interaction with customers will define the experience i.e. how customers feel about your services or products. Good experiences will help in building awareness, website traffic & eventually boost sales while bad experiences can scare off your customers & even impact a business negatively.  As per records, Companies are losing as much as 23% of their annual online revenues on average for providing poor digital experiences.
 
Here are some of the tips that can be considered by every eCommerce web development company to build a great customer experience:

Personalization

One effective way to improve user experience in your business is to add personalization in your marketing campaigns. You can create customized experiences considering the features like location, information provided by users, items in Wishlist, recently viewed items, etc. Personalized online stores have been believed to help 59% marketers with good ROI.

Upsell & Cross-sell

Another way to provide a robust user experience is to offer only the relevant products to the customers. Instead of scaring buyers away with the products they don’t want, offer something that will complement their shopping cart and the ones that will be useful. However, keep a check on the frequency of messages, as constant upsells may detach clients.

Out-of-the-box Social Media Marketing

Integrate your online store with different social media marketing ideas like the social sign-in feature that will make the sign-in process less time consuming or Facebook bot for online shops to deliver automated messages. This will help to manage order confirmation, provide 24*7 customer support and even ensure upselling.

Virtual Experience

More than 40% buyers are willing to pay more for the product if they could experience it through Augmented Reality. Give users the virtual experience to transform their imagination into reality like interpret what an item would feel like in their hands or how a furniture would look like in their home. This will make them go for a purchase with more satisfaction & assurance.

Delight Customers

Since there may be many competitors offering similar services, differentiate yourself and find ways to delight your website visitors whenever possible. Send extra goodies while shipping the products occasionally, offer amazing discounts/loyalty offers via email or exclusive deals in website pop-ups to attract users.

Apart from all the points discussed above, it is important to make your website experience seamless to enhance better customer experience and engage more people. Also, ensure that the entire shopping experience is simple and easy to use for the users. If you need to build a website or add some latest functionalities on the existing one, take help from a top ecommerce Website Development Company having in-depth knowledge of new IT trends. Most importantly, analyze what your customers care about to deliver what they want with a personalized user experience.

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