Penn State Postgame Presser Transcript: Brady Hoke
Opening remarks:
“Well, obviously it was a hard fought game by both teams. I thought our guys came back in the second half, played better. We’ve got to execute at all positions better. It was hard fought by both teams. Kept sticking around, so it’s a tough one, every time you go onto overtime, but we have to move forward.”
Missed opportunities?
“We had opportunities throughout the game. We had opportunities with missed tackles. We had opportunities to make a play on the ball. We had opportunities to hit a hole better. We had opportunities to finish blocks. There’s no doubt.”
The decision to punt with 45 seconds left in regulation. Did you consider kicking the field goal?
“Yeah, did, but if we could pooch it down there and them starting at the 20 instead of the 34 or 45 or something like that. I liked those odds better … Could we have executed the pooch better? Sure.”
Could you have kicked the field goal?
“Without the delay? Could have. I think Matt would have, probably, because it would have been a long one.”
Any concern with Brendan Gibbons’s consistency?
“Not really. He’s been great. That’s why we kicked it on the last [overtime].”
Taylor Lewan’s injury?
“Yeah, he should be all right.”
Was it a head thing?
“Not really sure.”
It looked like your guys were in position to make plays on that last drive.
“Yeah, well you have to make plays. You have to execute. Would we have liked to rush the passer better? Yes. But at times we did, at times we didn’t.”
Channing Stribling played a lot on the last drive. What was the reason there?
“Well we’d been playing some dime stuff, trying to put another DB on their tight end.”
Fitz had 27 carries for 27 yards. The offensive line shuffling didn’t seem good enough …
“It wasn’t good enough. There’s no question.”
Where do you go from here?
“Well, we’d better take a hard look at it.”
Chris Bryant got replaced late?
“Chris got banged up a little bit. I think Darrell [Funk] also wanted make a move.”
Some losses are harder to come back from than others. Do you have to work harder to keep everyone together?
“Well I think you always have to work hard. Anytime you lose in overtime, if you let it take a toll, it will.”
With the long field goal in overtime, did you consider Matt Wile at all?
“Thought about it, but Brendan, before the game, we talked. We talked to Matt before the game. Both felt good at certain distances, and that was the distance.”
You talked about the resiliency of this team coming out at the half. What do you take from this game?
“Well I think the biggest thing is we had all kinds of opportunities at every position. As coaches we had opportunities, and we all are in this together, and we all have to make sure we’re taking advantage and executing when those opportunities come.”
After Devin’s mistakes, did you change the game plan at all?
“You know what, we didn’t. Honestly. We started the second half with the same game plan that we used in the first half.”
Did you think there was more energy coming out in the second half?
“I thought we had good energy when we came out in the first half. I had no problem with how we prepared all week and everything we’ve done.”
Were the turnovers deflating a bit?
“Well they responded. Came back, responded. Defense got a couple. I think we complemented ourselves pretty good at times in there. Offense and defense and kicking game. There were some really good things. Especially the kickoff return part of it. When the opportunities are there, you have to take advantage of it.”
When did you decide Jake Ryan was going to play? And did you try to keep his plays limited?
“We tried to keep his play count down a little bit. I can’t tell you exactly how many he ended up having, but we really [made the decision] after Thursday’s practice and Friday. He felt good all week.”
The offensive line issues, is it a toughness thing? A confidence thing?
“We’re having a hard time sometimes targeting at times, combo-ing off the blocks. It’d be interesting to see. Magnuson came in from where I was watching in the game, he made a couple really good combination blocks. That was encouraging. But I’ll be honest with you, [you can’t tell] until you really get a good look at it all and you can analyze it.”
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Quite understandably, the players were really down and only gave short, rehearsed answers. Their expressions say it all.
Jeremy Gallon drinks Gatorade by the quar- okay yeah now is not the time.
October 13th, 2013 at 11:38 PM ^
http://mgovideo.com/brady-hoke-postgame-penn-state/
Sorry for the complete lack of embed.
October 14th, 2013 at 8:49 AM ^
Wish someone had asked him about why Borges and Funk's heads are parked firmly up each others' respective anii (plural for anus I just may have invented) all week while coaching the offensive line and the QB position about turnovers, and on Saturdays with play calling.
October 13th, 2013 at 11:50 PM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
How many more damn hard looks can you take at the kids? Maybe you should be taking hard looks at the staff?
October 14th, 2013 at 12:32 AM ^
And maybe you should be taking hard looks at the plays that lost us the game. Literally every single one of their passing touchdowns involved one of our guys being in perfect position to make a play on the ball and simply not doing it. The long first down on their final touchdown of regulation resulted from the exact same thing. Our rock solid kicker missed not one, not two, but three field goals to help us lose as well. The stadium is extremely difficult to play in, and it caused us to have two delay of game penalties, one at a critical time. Prior to the game the over/under for number of mistakes made due to the noise probably would have been about 2. It was just going to happen. I'm rarely surprised by the level of negativity from Michigan fans, but this game has really put all reason to bed. It's astonishing how fast the masses can turn on the Hoke, who is without a doubt the best person in the country for this job. People have never liked Borges, but once again this loss was not on him, since we put up 40 points with a piece of shit OLine. And people calling for Mattison's head I'm hoping are just trolls because that's just asinine.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:43 AM ^
You defend the defense, but who is really calling them out for this loss? The offense basically spotted PSU 14 points, and the defense scored 7 of their own. The loss is squarely on the coaches' inability to do 3 things: 1) get Devin to stop giving up awful interceptions, 2) create a viable rushing attack with our running backs and 3) due to the failure of 2), fail to adapt to change the play calling to stop wasting early downs drive, after drive, after drive.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:55 AM ^
And not execute proper game theory on the road. Which is the most troubling thing to me.
October 14th, 2013 at 1:32 AM ^
Bingo.
Please, bash the OL and other players a little harder denard gasm. Clearly, we're too young and too under-talented to beat Akron by anything less than one point. We should take that and be happy.
FYI, it's not Borges and definitely not Mattison I'm upset at. It's Darrell Funk and Fred Jackson. And for the love of god will Hoke manage timeouts better?
October 14th, 2013 at 6:51 AM ^
after the game. But watching the tape again, when we don't run into 8, 9 and 10 man in the box defenses, we are OK running the ball. Not great, not above average, but OK. And if we can be average running the ball, with Devin being Devin (minus the turnovers), we can compete with about anyone in the conference. The problem is mostly play selection, timing and coaching. That to me is 100% Borgess.
All we need to do is get up to the LOS and and look at the defense lining up. They are not hiding anything. PSU lined up multiple times 4 linemen, 4 LBs with a safety running to the line at the snap. Or five guys at the LOS with 3 LBs. We should have screen passed, dinked and dunked them into submission until they gave up on stacking the box, then we run it down their throats. This is not rocket science. You take what the defense gives you. Either you are smarter than them, or your not. Right now, Borgess is not fooling anyone. He is predictable and un-imaginative on how he handles Devin reading defenses at the LOS.
When I start seeing Devin check out of play after starting under center, move into a shotgun formation and then throw a quick pass to an uncovered WR, then I will start to see that Al is finally doing his job. Right now, Al is just playing RPS, and keeps shooting rock, because it is rock, and it is what we want to be.....
October 14th, 2013 at 8:45 AM ^
This. It makes NO sense to me to not utilize a no huddle approach, see what the defense is doing, adjust, and attack. I could give or take the up-tempo. We could be exactly the same in terms of ball control that we are now, except with having the advantage of being able to check into the best play more easily. This stubborness to doing things the old school way and not take advantage of everything you can is beyond frustrating.
October 14th, 2013 at 10:51 AM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 5:23 AM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 8:46 AM ^
I love what Hoke, Borges, Mattison, and the rest of the coaching staff are doing. I hate to see the team lose. Yet, this is a huge teaching tool. I believe Brandon is solidly in their corner. And i also believe we're at the nadir in terms of the OL & DL.Marshall, Mone, Pallante and hopefully McDowell and Hand are a huge infusion on the DL, coming in next year. Peppers should be able to contribute immediately in the secondary. The linebackers are good and only getting better. We have two incredible receivers coming in the next two years (Harris & Campbell.) Morris is learning the ropes at QB, and Gardner will only improve. The OL will have had the time to gain strength and learn footwork, with solid depth the whole way through.
I will say that I would like more passing, and acknowledging that 8 - 9 in the box is hard to run against. But I'm not qualified to be making the playcalls, and will defer to the coaches in full.
I am like a moth drawn to the light as regards to mgoblog. I love this place, but really have to stay away after a loss. I can't stand the "off with their heads" mentality. This is definitely a time when I see the need for a "Fort Schembechler" mentality, and solidarity in the team and the coaching staff. I'm glad they are somewhat impervious to fandom right now.
October 14th, 2013 at 11:13 AM ^
Totally with you, Leif Garrett's sister.
October 14th, 2013 at 9:30 AM ^
you're saying our players are pieces of shit?
Other than the two redshirt senoir tackles who were here when the current coaching staff got here, and are not the problem we have with this O-line, everyone else available came on board during Hoke, Borges and Funk's watch.
You can't lay it on Rodriguez and Frey. They recruited and coached Lewan and Schofield. The very reason we don't have enough Junior talent on O-line is the shit storm circling the coaching staff Rodriguez's last year, and the time delay of his firing and Hoke's hiring. That is what it is, and the current staff has to run the hand they're dealt.
The responsibility for the raw talent, size, strenght and development of the players we have on the interior O-line falls entirely on this staff; not to mention theTight Ends. Other teams manage to have effective O-lines with lesser rated players, and numbers of younger players. Taylor Lewan started as a redshirt freshman, so did Schofield, Molk and Omameh (late RS Frosh season).
So, if the players are not the right players: who's fault is that? If the players haven't developed the skills and strength they need to compete: who's fault is that?
Sorry, saying the players are pieces of shit is just assinine. Responsibility lies in the leadership above, and the ability of that leadership to develop them.
October 14th, 2013 at 11:23 AM ^
Did you read what you wrote? "The responsibility for the raw talent, size, strenght and development of the players we have on the interior O-line falls entirely on this staff."
- Toussaint, Gallon, Lewan & Schofield are seniors. This is their 3rd year under Hoke.
- Funchess, Norfleet, Bryant, Miller & Glasgow are sophomores. This is their 2nd year under Hoke. 2nd year working with Wellman on strength.
Seth had a diary on When the Oline will be ready: http://mgoblog.com/content/hokepoints-when-will-o-line-be-ready. His answer? 3rd/4th year. Only 7 players in the last 20 years were ready in their 2nd year.
Maybe, just maybe a big piece of what we're seeing is the growing pains of an offense that by necessity (there are only 25 upper classmen on the depth chart) is a year or 2 younger than optimal. Hence inconsistency, mistakes, lesser strength, etc.
October 14th, 2013 at 5:37 PM ^
The current coaches brought them in. The present youthful situation was a known fact to be prepared for. I am not seeing RS Freshman Lewan-like donkey marauding anywhere in the middle.
October 14th, 2013 at 10:49 AM ^
Knowing about the noise factor would suggest to me that maybe, just maybe, the coaching staff would be aware of the problem and be in a position to call a fucking time out should that be necessary.
As for Borges, how many times in how many games does it take to figure out that you have a problem with manball. If something doesn't work, change it, particularly when you have a QB who plays much better from the spread. I started losing faith in Borges during the 2nd half of the Ohio game when he ignored Denard. This only adds to the weight of the evidence.
October 14th, 2013 at 6:20 AM ^
Do you really think he's going to say, in the postgame after a 4-overtime loss, "We're considering firing some assistants"?
The season is half over and we're 5-1. It can still go either way from here on out. Come back from the ledge.
October 14th, 2013 at 6:50 AM ^
There's no way the coaches aren't taking a hard look at themselves and their staff but you're never going to throw them under the bus publicly - especially in the heat of a poor performance loss. Without taking time to sit down and make a thorough review there is no way of knowing what changes would actually make a difference. Web critics can throw darts but head coaches can't.
October 14th, 2013 at 8:26 AM ^
October 13th, 2013 at 11:53 PM ^
a lot of the 2009 Illinois game- hopefully it the season doesn't get away like it did then
October 14th, 2013 at 12:16 AM ^
I'm seeing a lot of comparisons on here to various RR era teams, and I'm just not buying it. 2009 Illinois was a blowout loss to a dreadful team. We played an ugly game and deserved to lose, but in order for that to happen, the following things needed to occur:
1. Funchess had to drop two touchdowns early in the game.
2. Brendan Gibbons had to miss three field goals in one game, shortly after setting the UM record for the most consecutive makes.
3. Penn State had to convert two very, very improbable passes at the end of regulation.
All of the pounding out of the I-form was infuriating, and the playcalling near the end of the game was infuriating, but we were in situaions where we win that game 9/10 times.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:47 AM ^
I don't know, man. This team has seemed like it's on the verge of collapse for like 4 weeks now. Would you honestly be that surprised if we went 2-4 to finish the regular season? The Akron and UCONN games are now looking more and more like bright red warning signals vs. fluky wakeup calls.
October 14th, 2013 at 6:22 AM ^
Those games were certainly warning signs but still, we did not actually lose them. So far a Hoke-coached M team has never lost back-to-back regular season games. We've always rebounded from a loss. We've got to hope that continues.
October 14th, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^
I don't think they collapse. Instead, I think this is the wakeup call needed.
- Funchess will catch better.
- Gibbons will be fine
- The OL will improve.
- The secondary will learn from their mistakes.
I hate the loss, but still feel every game remaining is winnable. Even, believe it or not, Ohio.
October 13th, 2013 at 11:54 PM ^
I don't know how Hoke can claim they had the same gameplan going into the second half as the first. They clearly did not on either side of the ball. Started bringing more pressure on defense. Started passing on first and/or second downs. Went to more zone read. Stopped most of the unbalanced line stuff. More than anything, it was the game plan going into this game, which I mostly blame Hoke for, that cost us this game. We pretty much dominated the second half when we resorted back to things that we are actually good at rather than the things we wish were good at.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:24 AM ^
It probably has something to do with him actually knowing what the gameplan was, which you do not.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:46 AM ^
Or that he can never give a straight answer in a presser. But you tell me, you think we came out with same game plan in the second half? You think we thought things were going pretty well? Let's just keep trying the same thing?
October 14th, 2013 at 7:40 AM ^
maybe he thought the scheme was okay but the execution was not, as in "we turned the ball over three times, if we stop doing that we win." which was correct until midway through the fourth quarter.
October 14th, 2013 at 5:42 PM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 1:16 AM ^
Agree. 'Dominated the second half' - after that clunker of a first half they did a total 180. When they started putting together that drive after PSU cut the lead to 7, I started thinking what a huge momentum boost this second half performance might be for the rest of the season. Instead, the last 3 minutes of the regulation and the OT's were just one repeated donkey punch after another.
October 13th, 2013 at 11:57 PM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 1:45 AM ^
So nobody was curious enough to ask why he didn't use the timeout before taking a delay of game penalty? Or why he didn't use the timeout to allow Gardner back in on the 3rd and goal situation instead of putting Shane Morris in on the most obviously fucking tailback running play in the history of mankind?
For all his bullshit about players needing to execute, coaches need to as well. I see an offensive line that can't block run plays and has been atrocious all year in that respect. When, if ever, do the coaches need to look at themselves and be held accountable for what the kids are doing/not doing on the field? I recall Wisconsin firing their O line coach last year one or two games into the season when it wasn't up to snuff and they improved overnight.
Where are the real questions? That may have been the worst presser to follow up one of the worst games ever.
October 14th, 2013 at 1:48 AM ^
That play would have been a perfect time for a bootleg or a waggle. PSU was totally selling out for a run there. Like you, I think using a TO there to get Gardner back in the game is fine.
October 14th, 2013 at 2:06 AM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 1:41 PM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 5:40 PM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 12:00 AM ^
So then why did Gibbons take the 52-yarder at the end of regulation?
October 14th, 2013 at 12:09 AM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 6:04 AM ^
October 14th, 2013 at 12:15 AM ^
"I’ll be honest with you, [you can’t tell] until you
really get a good look at it all and you can analyze it.”
Does this inability to "analyze" during the game hamper us? Or is Hoke just coach speaking the shit out of this presser?
Rhetorical question. Is this the first time I've ever listened to a presser in hopes of getting an answer as to what the hell the coaches are thinking?
Yes. Yes it is.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:22 AM ^
Most coaches don't feel comfortable commenting on the game untl they've had a chance to review the film. The cameras see everything, far more than what he sees during the game. He can compare who had what assignment on every play and what they actually did.
This is not a Hoke thing. It's every coach. It sounds dumb, but it's a valid response.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:42 AM ^
Call me crazy but I think Gardner is going to improve significantly from here on out. It's pretty obvious that all his problems are mental since he improves so much in high pressure situations when he doesn't have time to think. I have a sneaking suspicion he's been putting a ton of pressure on himself and now he's going to lighten up a lot. Hopefully this is true of the team as a whole as well.
October 14th, 2013 at 7:42 AM ^
But let's also hope he survives the season physically. If we don't find some semblance of a running game fast and he keeps getting the lions share of the running yards, he's going to get destroyed. He took an awful beating in the Penn State game, and that just can't continue.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:43 AM ^
Apparently unanswered amidst all the hullabaloo. But seriously, what does the fox say?
October 14th, 2013 at 12:46 AM ^
Discovering that video yesterday is the only thing salvaging my weekend so far.
October 14th, 2013 at 12:50 AM ^
The whole say nothing and troll the reporters during the pressers is awesome when we're winning but kind of infuriating when we're losing. I'd like even the smallest assurance that a) the coaches know exactly what went wrong and b) they are working overtime to get it fixed. If Hoke really doesn't know what's going wrong with the O Line yet, we're in serious trouble this year.
October 14th, 2013 at 1:11 AM ^
The thing about the media (and fans) is that they tend to read way too much into what a coach says and you can only react two ways: the Bill Belick method of non anwsers and/or misdirection or the Steve Spurrier patented "whatever, I'll throw Clowney under the bus, I don't even give a shit anyways" technique.
Basically, coaches can say nothing and let people outside of the program squirm while they handle everything internally, or be brutally honest and risk eventually saying something stupid or revealing that causes everyone to fly off the handle.
October 14th, 2013 at 1:19 AM ^
But there are actually some coaches who split the difference and give real/respectful but still politically acceptable answers. Mattison for example. Joe Torre in the Yankees heyday and Francona with the Sox. Doc Rivers was usually pretty genuine.
That said the Inscrutable Troll approach certainly works when done properly, as frustrating as it can be for journalists and fans — to wit, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich.
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