Why Coaching Is Concerning
1) Starting a True Freshman at LT.
This is so telling on so many levels. We have not developed players and a true freshman has better technical skills than any other player at our most or second most important position on the line. We've recruited a boat load of talent here as well with minimal results.
2) Defense is confused and has the same issues that are starting to become exploited.
Two big issues here.
We cannot stop the inside seam route. OSU, Kansas St, SC, ND have all unloaded on the seam route and we have no chance at defended it.
We cannot stop the inside run. Our defensive line does not maintain assignments and our LBs do not read the lineman and are often out of postition.
3) Devin Gardner has Major Technical Flaws
Almost every throw was off his back foot.
He does not have any routes (besides bubbles and screens) that get the ball out of his hands quickly.
He stares down every WR he's throwing too
He picks 1 guy to throw to and will throw it too him or take a sack. It's very seldom he goes to his check down WR unless he has plenty of ample time (which may never happen).
4) WE CANNOT WIN ON THE ROAD
This is all about prepartion and gameplan and I have yet to see a solid gameplan against a worthy opponent. Every big away game the team comes out extremely FLAT as if they were all sick. No drive, no intensity, no focus.
5) The lack of Information given to Media is Lack of Confidence in Coaching.
Almost every coach hands out information about injuries and depth chart but Hoke has a say nothing or stretch/cover up the truth attitude. This does not equate to a good gameplan strategy and only forces the media and fans to become distant to the program.
The lack in confidence shows up in recruiting too. The no visit policy is an obvious lack in confidence that we can be the best school despite kids wanting to see other schools.
I'm sure there are others and I remain in support of Brady until he is no longer the coach here, but I am very concerned with the direction of the program to say the least.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:54 AM ^
The point is that it is not the norm in coaching. Hoke has in the past given information on long term injuries. I get Peppers was a gametime decision and I understand he doesn't HAVE to divulge this info, however, it's a weak and cowardly move to not talk about Morgan.
I also agree that these kids are committed and should'nt visit but these are also high school kids that have futures and want to make sure of the right decision. It's not the norm in recruiting and I feel it's not that important. Let them go bc you should feel confident in your own efforts and relationships that they will stay committed.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:51 AM ^
I am very important, to my kids at least...
.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:58 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:05 AM ^
Really? None of the coaches seem competent? Not Jeff Hecklinski? Not Fred Jackson? Not Doug Nussmeier? Two games in, and he's incompetent?
Emotion is ruling logic.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:11 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
I thought Michigan tried to adjust to the ticky-tack pass interference calls on the second(?) drive by playing off a little more. I also thought Michigan moved from the quick screens to the bubble once they established the run a little bit.
I don't think Nussmeier did enough to keep the defense off of Gardner. He should have used more half-rolls, sprintouts, slip screens, tunnel screens, etc. So I'm not saying the coaching is perfect. But I don't think the coaching is as bad as people think.
Keep in mind that Michigan outgained Notre Dame's high-powered offense. The 289 yards isn't anything spectacular, but it should be enough to eke out at least a couple scores. I really think it's just sort of an unlucky coincidence that Michigan couldn't score a touchdown, that Wile's foot slipped on his second FG attempt, etc.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 12:41 PM ^
You're right, and it's too early in the season to make far-reaching conclusions. Michigan played poorly in a road game, and ND had a great night at home. There were some bad breaks.
However, something still bugs me about what we're seeing when you add in the 3-7 in the last ten games statistic, that shows a trend, and when you average things out the bad breaks aren't the cause of all the losses.
Our players have potential. Our coaches aren't getting that much out of them to this point. that's got to be very concerning.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
I'll give Nussmeier a pass because he is new.
Fred Jackson may have been competent in the past.
The rest of the coaching staff is the sum of what they've put on the field, and it hasn't been competent.
September 8th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^
Personally, I think Hecklinski has done a GREAT job. If we're talking about the job they've done at Michigan, Hecklinski is probably the most successful guy. We've had good blocking from our wide receivers, we haven't had a ton of issues with drops, he helped turn Jeremy Gallon into a record-setting receiver, he helped Junior Hemingway develop into an NFL player, and he has helped turn Devin Funchess into a very good receiver.
September 8th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
Think Hecklinski is a good coach.
I think if the team isn't winning, none of the coaches are successful.
None of the coaches on the current staff have been successful at Michigan.
September 8th, 2014 at 8:21 PM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:04 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
I AM concerned but I also support him and will go to games, cheer, and expect to win. Dont confuse concered with non-supportive...
September 8th, 2014 at 10:09 AM ^
This result is concerning because the coaching staff has to know they are under a ton of pressure to perform. Honestly given Hoke's record on the road I was not expecting to win but I certainly thought the game would be competitive within 1 score.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:13 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:20 AM ^
I'm still pissed and embarrassed about Saturday night but I do have to ask myself - does anybody care? My expectations for this season have been severely tempered by the game - not that we lost (I sort of expected we would) but rather HOW we lost. That was not expected and is a very scary harbinger for the future. I mean seriously - does anybody in the Athletic Department from top to bottom see the results at ND as unacceptable and demand accountability? For example:
1. Two years ago, following a dismal blocking performance on the West Coast, Wisconsin's HC Brett Bielma fired the OLine coach the next morning and replaced him with a graduate assistant.
2. Last year, following a dismal late night performance, USC's AD Pat Hayden fired Lane Kiffin before he could re-enter the building when they returned home and replaced him with the OC giving them the entire year to conduct a coaching search.
Yes - I know actions above are not considered the "Michigan Way" but GODDAMN IT - neither is 3-7 in our last 10 games and neither is getting our ass kicked and shut out at Notre Dame. Saturday night sure felt a lot to me like the end of the RichRod era when Wisconsin then OSU and finally Mississippi state crushed us and it didnt seem like the staff had a clue how to fix things.
What the current staff is doing now is NOT WORKING! Anybody who can read a scoreboard can tell that unless 3-7 is considered "working" and something needs to change IMO.
OK rant over.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:54 AM ^
Heck, I was watching some of that game and the announcers said USC only has something like 55 players on scholarship due to the sanctions.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^
I hear you man. There was a time a few years ago when a Michigan performance of this level would throw me into a complete funk and enraged. After I had my first son, a lot of perspective on sports and the importance of sports has changed. I just don't get that upset anymore.
I still care deeply about this program and team, and even when we witness a game where we just got outclassed, I still am so used to seeing heart and fight until the end. I didn't see that fight and heart and the more the years go by the more games I see where our team simply gives up.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:27 AM ^
I have to start to wonder how much time the coaches actually get to coach. It seems like the problems are too spread out and have been going on for too many years.
I have worked at several small engineering firms and they have been setup differently. At one, they had 20 engineers and all of them had to do everything under the sun. So it took all 20 of them to get projects completed. At another, they ony had 5 engineers, but got just as many projects out the door, because the other 15 people were support staff that got all the mundane B.S. completed and the engineers could engineer.
Are the coaches able to coach?
September 8th, 2014 at 10:31 AM ^
was the TD to make it 28-0. U-M runs a double A-gap blitz, the thing that has victimized our team countless times during the Hoke era, and Golson just calmly throws a slant and the guy prances into the endzone untouched. Seriously what the hell is wrong with this team, these concepts are not rocket science and other teams have no difficulty dealing with them at all. It looks like our team doesn't even know how to tie their own shoelaces.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
I feel like Hoke and Mattison are living in the past. 1997 is a long time ago.
Its time for Brandon to open up the checkbook and offer Harbaugh or Miles anything they want.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^
Are doing so because of the UFR vs App St. Michigan held ND, a team with a pretty damn good OL, a mobile QB, and 3 capable RBs, to 1.7 ypc on 31 attempts. The run defense wasn't the issue. Michigan even got pressure at times when Golson didn't just have a 3-step drop and throw.
September 8th, 2014 at 3:30 PM ^
my Run-O-Meter is just skewed from watching the game. I thought Michigan did alot better than they did last year, and had an actual running game, but their YPC was horrible. And it seemed like most times ND touched the ball, at least in key circumstances, they got 4-5 yards; but then I find out they are 1.7 ypc.
I will say that sometimes it seemed like there was at least decent coverage and Goulson threw the ball into a football sized window in the recievers hands.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^
Why is coaching a concern?
Brady Hoke at Michigan
2011 11-2. Won Sugar Bowl, lost to MSU
2012 8-5. Lost Outback Bowl, Lost to MSU & OSU
2013 7-6. Lost Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Lost to MSU & OSU
2014, already lost to ND and we still have a long painful season to watch.
Oh and NO Big Ten Championships since 2004 and that was a co-championship. 10 years!
The program is going backward and Brady Hoke aint the guy to turn it around. His record speaks for itself.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
How about a more obvious answer? These coaches suck! Never have so many four-star, even five-star players been coached down to two and three-star levels. I would rather have the coach at MSU, gulp...., never thought I would say anything so heretical.
It has sunk to this, most assuredly.
Just stop all this BS analysis, please...
Soon the masses will be screaming to hire ANYONE who has ever been in the same state of the union as Harbaugh.
How about hiring a real football coach? Goss, Martin, and now Brandon. These are just plain idiots, except maybe for Martin, and he was the worst AD of the three. Time to clean house, PLEASE.
September 8th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
Devin Gardner isn't a QB. Move him to receiver and start playing Morris. Fire Hoke.
September 8th, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^
If you think that starting at freshman at LT is something shocking, then you haven't been paying attention - at all - AT ALL - to the OL depth issues this team has and will continue to have until next season.
We basically had 2 years w/o no OL recruits panning out
2010 - Christian Pace - Injured, out of football
2011 - Chris Bryant - Oft injured, now out of football, I believe
Tony Posada - was on campus for about 3 seconds then quit
That's it. 2 years, three OL recruits, none panned out. The injuries are unfortunate, and who knows WTF was up with Posada. He showed up very overweight from what I recall, and quit within days of arriving in camp.