Snowflakes: Bowl Game Edition - Coaching

Submitted by LSAClassOf2000 on

In this thread, you have an opportunity to discuss your thoughts on the coaching and coaching decisions made in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. 

BeatOSU52

December 29th, 2013 at 1:16 AM ^

Aaron Wellman - Strength and Conditioning coach

 

Can we give some second thoughts this off-season if we should keep this guy around?  I am getting sick of almost every game where the opposing players constantly look bigger, stronger, and faster than our highly recruited players.

LAwolverine

December 29th, 2013 at 1:26 AM ^

that's the problem.  People complained about Barwis too, but we had guys like Mike Martin.  These guys just don't know how to react during plays.  They consistently hit the wrong gaps, overrun the ball carrier, and simply look horribly undercoached. 

ish

December 29th, 2013 at 12:39 PM ^

I believe you're right. We get pushed around on the lines, where S&C matter most and are most easily observed. It isn't just the young kids. Kalis is young, yes, but his reputation was a mauler and he routinely gets crushed. Heitzman isn't young and he can't hold up at the point of attack. Miller is small, true, but wouldn't a better S&C coach have been able to improve his strength? And why do we need to rotate endlessly at LB? Are our LBs predisposed to tiring? It looks like Wellman isn't getting the job done.

Bocheezu

December 29th, 2013 at 1:36 AM ^

where Rex Burkhead was the option QB and he optioned to a receiver for an easy TD (the famous GIF where Mattison was talking to Hoke and just shook his head and said "I dunno WTF that was"), and at that time I immediately thought "Nebraska could have run that play for an 80-yard TD, and they chose to burn it up on 2nd and goal from the 3."  Same thing here.  Where was that play in the 1st half when you ran the jet sweep and it got stuffed twice in a row?  You choose to burn it up on a 2-pt conversion to get you within 17 with 1:15 to go in the 4th.  Really?

StraightDave

December 29th, 2013 at 1:39 AM ^

Where the hell was that play in the biggest game of the year?   Hoke and his idiot staff wait for BWW Bowl to bust out the good stuff after the game was over. 

stephenrjking

December 29th, 2013 at 1:40 AM ^

I don't mind it. It was clearly designed as a short-yardage goal-line type play. Quick action, short route, much lower chance of disaster. If you do that further back, it's just another tricky play (there were plenty) that may or may not work, with a guy in Gallon who cannot he trusted to throw it deep as a big play would require.

Al's weakness is not his ability to draw up unique, unexpected, one-time plays that gain yardage. He has always been able to do that. The problem is that the base offense often cannot produce consistently without using gimmicks.

stephenrjking

December 29th, 2013 at 2:13 AM ^

Because the play wasn't in the playbook at the time.

Borges designs and installs new plays every week. It's part of his MO, and I think part of the reason why Michigan's base offense is mediocre. Those plays are often teased or totally unleashed in the first part of the game, as part of the "script" that the offense runs. In this case the conversion play was a counter off of plays run earlier in the game, plays developed specifically for this game.

If you closely watch the first couple of drives of most of Michigan's games, you will see a smart and varied gameplan, unusual looks, and new plays that seem to portend a lot of promise. Then, after the script is exhausted (usually by a couple of punts, since there is always a missed pass for a conversion or a stuffed run mixed in somewhere) the offense stops bringing out new stuff, and things bog down.

Borges is far from the only coach to do things this way, but it is more obvious here because the basic plays that are supposed to be a staple of the offense (you know, power and iso and inside zone and stuff like that) don't work at all. 

 

stephenrjking

December 29th, 2013 at 2:18 AM ^

Also, the actual playcall on the conversion against OSU was just fine. The problem is that they lined up to run the play before the TO, then ran the same thing after OSU had gotten a chance to see their look and adjust to it. 

West Texas Blue

December 29th, 2013 at 1:16 AM ^

We have a true freshman QB and we hardly run the ball and instead run a bunch of gadget plays and throw the ball a million times? This team is a dumpster fire.



There's no hope anymore for this program. These past 6 years have broken my Michigan spirit in half. For the first time in my life, I've given up on this program. Fall of 2014 means nothing to me now.

KSmooth

December 29th, 2013 at 1:35 AM ^

Our interior line has been crap all year and we've struggled to run the ball. We've got a backup QB in because our starter is busted up.

FWIW I don't blame Borges for losing this one game, and I'm not particularly down on Mattison for giving up 30+ points to one of the better offenses in college ball.

That's not to say there isn't plenty to criticize about the first 12 games...

cbs650

December 29th, 2013 at 1:17 AM ^

Hoke needs to be encouraged to make changes on his staff. Whether it be the coordinators, position coaches but something has to change. And they to get on the same page on the type of offense and defense they wanna run.

CLord

December 29th, 2013 at 1:18 AM ^

This game was Oregon 2007 all over again.  In that game it became clear that Michigan's coaching staff was dated and predictable, and was toyed with by an innovative Oregon coaching staff.  It had nothing to do with the players - we had tons of NFL talent on that squad.  It was 100% prehistoric coaching.  It was those games that assuredly made Martin think we needed a change to "get with the times."  Well 6 years later and we are exactly where we were then - with a prehistoric, dated coaching staff that was completely outschemed and outcoached.  Mighty, 5 loss K State didn't have to punt once until garbage time when they were lighting 1st and 2nd down on fire anyway just to milk clock.

Ironically, the scores ended up very similar between this and the Oregon game.

Wake me up in another 6 years.

CLord

December 29th, 2013 at 1:28 AM ^

The difference is that team ended the season beating an SEC team and Urbz in a bowl game.  This team just got toyed with by a 7-5 Big 12 team.  Just unreal.  

Mr. Brandon - have fun with your coaching investment next year.  We play away at MSU, ND and OSU with this intact, predictable staff.  

Zzzzzzzzzzz.

MGoBlue24

December 29th, 2013 at 9:53 AM ^

admittedly anecdotal just from watching the game.

His players executed, he looked into the game (as did the K State players), and "his" plays took advantage of Michigan's defense continuously, even when they were telegraphed based on which quarterback came in.

Impressive for someone to pursue their profession as long as he has.

Toby Flenderson

December 29th, 2013 at 1:21 AM ^

Next year is make or break. Hoke needs at least 9 wins with victories against OSU or MSU, otherwise he is fired and this "michigan man" bullshit will be officially dead. I don't care my coach has a southern accent or a New York Accent. I dont care if he is white, black, purple, orange. We just need to get the best coach regardless.