MOD DELETE: Call for Reason: Being Angry but Trusting Hoke
The Second Half Al Borges called was the worst half I have seen since ThreetSheriDammit. Not only that but he has continually shown an inability to learn from previous mistakes to the point where his arrogance seems to get the best of him consistently. I am furious at today and would not be completely opposed to Hoke firing him.
HOWEVA, we have known from day one the personnel Hoke an Co. inherited is much different from the personnel they hope to build around. It has been very frustrating this season, watch them try and force the O-Line to do things they are not naturally good at. It was extremely frustrating to see the mismanagement of the running game. But at this point, we are entering next year with Devin Gardner as the starter. We are seeing a lot of young, talented O-Linemen come in to the rotation and starting lineup, players recruited by this staff to be able to fit intended schemes.
At this point, I am calling for a little sense to trust Hoke with this decision. Remember where we were a few years ago? Our roster still was not very complete this year. Certainly not as talented as Ohio.
I am pissed at what happened in that second half, but would firing Borges really do anything but potentially stall growth in the transitioning offense? I am concerned about Borges' stubbornness but this team can be close by staying the course. So...perhaps calm down.
(EDIT: Point taken. Delete Thread, Please. Thought every thread started with "FIRE BORGES etc." and mistook this for being different.)
November 24th, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^
You don't need a complete roster to know that running Smith up the middle on 3rd and 2 is stupid. But other than that, this thread is great. Very original.
November 24th, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^
November 24th, 2012 at 4:23 PM ^
from facebook
"If this guy Al tries to run up the middle on 3rd & short one more time instead of letn Devin make a make, I'm flyn up there tonite!"
November 24th, 2012 at 4:25 PM ^
November 24th, 2012 at 4:39 PM ^
November 24th, 2012 at 4:25 PM ^
The whole Denard at qb one play Devin at qb the next play was absolutely criminal.
November 24th, 2012 at 4:27 PM ^
November 24th, 2012 at 5:39 PM ^
Honestly, mediocre might be too generous. Our OL has been downright putrid this year. Pass blocking has been decent but run blocking has been non-existant against any defense with even a hint of a pulse. Lewan has been good, but not as good as he has been in the past but the rest of that crew has been flatout bad. Schofield was way better at guard last year, Omameh has been eh, Barnum has been a dissapointment, and Mealer (while I have worlds of respect for him because of what he's been through) has done nothing.
I'm still totally on board with Hoke because I think the guys he is bringing in are sending us in the right direction and will get us back on top. He's building things the Michigan way, from the lines out. Once these young pups get some seasoning and add a few more pounds we will be stuffing the ball down the throats of everybody. Yeah this has been a rough year but besides Alabama we've had a chance to win every game with a team that honestly isn't very talented. I know today sucks but good things are coming.
November 24th, 2012 at 4:27 PM ^
Al Borges is the Gene Lamont of college football.
#mindblown
November 24th, 2012 at 4:28 PM ^
The personnel excuse is gone. Borges called a fantastic game last week and then again in the first half. And then he did the football equivalent of turtling in the second half and completely blew it. It's a consistent theme of Borges when the pressure increases, the play calling becomes DeBordian.
November 24th, 2012 at 4:38 PM ^
Each year, we have pre-season worries about personnel on the defensive side of the ball. With very good coaching (Mattison), those worries/limitations are overcome.
The exact opposite happens on offense. As we regress further on offense, instead of looking to the coaches, we simply start blaming the players (many who had success prior years).
November 24th, 2012 at 5:44 PM ^
Our line has been terrible this year. This might be the worst run blocking OL I've ever seen wear the winged helmet. If you can't control the line of scrimmage it takes alot of options away from you. Obviously Borges did a very poor job today and showed zero creativity and his adjustments killed us in the second half but if you can't get a consistent running game going the entire year that should tell you what you need to know. Yeah Denard put up some big numbers this year but when was the last time we had a drive where we just shoved the ball down the oppositions throat? Our entire running attack was "Go be fast Denard and outrun the entire defense". Whenever a mortal was asked to run the ball there was zero room and Mealer/Barnum were usually two or three yards deep in the backfield.
November 24th, 2012 at 6:05 PM ^
How can you watch the game and say that with any honesty? The run blocking is NOT good. But, the pass blocking is EXCELLENT. Do you see how much time we consistently have to throw the football? If our O-line was terrible Devin would not be playing the way he's been playing minus a few bad passes along the way. The problem comes down to simple schematics. Our play calling is predictable, and that gives the DL a HUGE advantage in the run game. We zone-block most of the time which is the same thing we did with Rich Rod. It doesn't matter if we are in "I" or "spread" formations...we zone block, and we've been doing it for over 10 years. The problem is our O-Line isn't designed for the power game, which is a huge part of Hoke and companies schemes. We don't pull well, we CERTAINLY don't trap well, and we don't drive block well. Pulling and trapping are a huge part of the power game because when the DL starts to get up field against the zone blocking scheme you can call a pull or a trap, leave a defeneder playside unblocked, and get an OL to the second level. We do not do that well. If you ever watch Stanford...they do it well, very well. Even when the defense knows it's coming. If you can execute your zone-runs, but you can't execute power plays with pulls and traps your run game suffers. But, to say our O-Line is TERRIBLE makes me feel like people don't know much about the team they are so "passionate" about. Our O-Line is mediocre with a strength and pass blocking. Which brings me back to play calling. Knowing this, and you decide to run a sub 200lb back on 3rd and one simply amazes me. Borges is NOT a good OC. He is way overrated, and it hurts me to say it, but if you watch the game it is the aboslute truth.
November 24th, 2012 at 7:20 PM ^
Our pass blocking is certainly better than our run blocking but it's still not great. We have two very mobile QB's so defenses are reluctant to just pin their ears back and come at them. Our line has been dreadful, sorry to break it to you. When you pair that with poor offensive play calling you start to see why our running game was so pitiful this year. Borges was the OC last year but we actually had more than 1 servicable OL so our backs had room to run. This year, no matter who was back there has to dodge Mealer and/or Barnum because they constantly get destroyed off the ball. This just isn't a very talented group and to be frank, this team in general over acheived this year because of our defense and Denard/Devin being better than the opposition. if you go outside of those two you will find very little in the way of talent older than sophomores.
November 24th, 2012 at 6:24 PM ^
November 25th, 2012 at 6:00 AM ^
I do trust Brady to an extent. The no headset thing does kind of get to me. Also going for it on 4th and 3 from your own 45 was not a good move. Especially if you're going to run it up the gut with Devin on the sideline. On the flipside, Brady is killing it on the recruiting trail. I just wish he would be nastier about this game like Tressel and apparently Meyer are. This is the biggest game on the schedule and I thought Hoke knew it but if he let Al call a 2nd half like that then does he?