Injury Pattern Concerns -- Credit Drew Hallet

Really necessary to say "O$U"?

Maybe BrandOn and Hoke can clean toilets at Sun Life Stadium for their next gig, hired by Ross.

They're adjoined at the hip anyways. Observe: the Schembechler Hall parking lot.

If Brady Hoke is still coaching on Tuesday, it may be the biggest crime of DB's tenure.

Not to mention the rash of ACL tears and other injuries we seem to get every spring/summer ball.  Are these outside the norm of other major college football programs?  I don't know--maybe somebody could track that down as I'm too lazy to do it.  

But if it IS above the norm, I think it's more evidence that the "toughness" thing is getting misapplied.  As we've said in prior threads, clearly the mental thoughness isn't there.  And then instead theres this macho physical toughness going on that perhaps is out of proportion.  Obviously you want guys to be able to gut out fatigue and minor injuries.  But by putting TOO much of an emphasis on it, guys will lie about injuries, downplay them, push even harder to "play hurt" and thus exacerbate injuries, etc.  Clear the message is there--if you stay on the field despite injury, Hoke smiles upon you.  If you don't, you get the stink-eye.

Morris knew yesterday's game was his big shot at starting this year.  He wanted to impress, and that included demonstrating how "tough" he was after taking those monster licks in the 4th quarter.

 

 

Keeping players in the game with head injuries or possible head injuries is bad business. That being said football is a rough sport players get hurt. You can play through some injuries and players will want to play through injuries at times. If one wanted to they could pick any coach in the country and question why they play someone with a broken hand sprained ankle etc. Hoke is on the hot seat so now people will question every player he has ever played with a boo boo.

There's a balance that has to be struck. Hoke is right, pretty much every guy out there could limp, and if you came out every time you get dinged then you probably wouldn't be spending much time out there on the field. As we've seen in injury testimonials from NFL players on the fringe of making/missing the roster, the point of this sport is being able to have your body ripped up and go out for another play. 

That being said: this is why we have a training staff. If they can't determine the amount of damage done to a player and make a call as to whether they can play on then I really don't know why they're being paid. This goes for Devin's broken foot and Shane yesterday. Hoke shouldn't have kept Shane out there and then put him back out there again after that hit as that was a pretty obvious instance of the player needing to be kept out. So I'm all for adding that to the list of his incompetencies, and it's probably his most serious one to date. But whomever is in charge of the training staff should be getting the full force of the shit storm for Shane and especially for Devin's injury that he was kept out there with. What do you do out there? Just tape ankles? 

I find it pretty disingenious that the Gardner thing is now a knock on Hoke when we pretty much unanimously regarded it as a gutsy performance. Like I said in the front page thread, I can't help but feel that some are summoning up some extra indignation to justify letting Hoke go immediately (as if he hasn't done enough himself to justify it).

Just a question about that comment about there being Brandon well publicized reports that he is active in film sessions...I often hear this but all ive seen is generic comments that he sat in film sessions. There is a big difference between sitting in every week's film session as part of his regular schedule VS just walking by Thecoaches room late one night and checking what they are up to and watching an hour of film a couple times. Does anyone know what is really behind this "Brandon watches film with coaches" claim?

Im not really bringing it up with this injury issue but moreso with possible coaching changes. Everyone rightly says many coaches wouldnt stand for their ADs demanding to watch film with them. But I also think a potential coach could care less if an AD walked by a couple times and sat down with coaches to see what is going on and they happen to be watching films.

Makes me want to puke

Do that with other sports? Softball, swimming maybe?

through the Dantonio upswing I remember him getting an awful lot of criticism for his handling of injured players, now look where they are.

 

Football is a rough sport, it requires toughness and yes playing through injury.  My bigger concern with yesterday is that it appeared UM did not follow what should be standard protocol these days.  On top of that, a coaching staff being paid a heck of a lot of money was completely ill prepared for an injury substitution.

Morris clearly waves off the coaching staff to stay in the game, he clearly states to the official he's ok after returning.  Not everything in this situation is on the coaches and I think we need to take that into account.

 

But for christ sakes, LOOK like a major football program for a few plays every game.