UMass Postgame Presser Transcript: Brady Hoke Comment Count

Heiko

Brady Hoke

Brady Hoke, before he was cool.

Three games in, what about your team is developing well?

“Um. It’s a really good question. I think, uh, we’re progressing a little bit in the two areas that are the most concerning, and that’s up front defensively and up front offensively. I don’t think we’re close to where we should be and where we need to be, so we’ll go back to work and keep working it. I like the attitude our team's had and how they’ve come to work, but I think for us to meet the expectations that we have, we have to get a lot better.”

How would you assess how your offense ran the two-minute drill?

“I thought once we knew we were getting the ball back, we wanted to go, and they did a nice job with it. I’m not going to recite every play to you, but I thought we were good with the timeouts when we took them and what we needed to do.”

How important was it to come out of this game without any injuries? Did you have any reservations about playing Denard when you were up 49-13?

“Well we wanted to play another series, and this is all about trying to get the mindset of a team and the mentality to win a championship, and keeping the offense together was a big part of that, and letting them finish. I don’t know if we got any boo boos today, but we’re having one of those years where a lot of guys are getting dinged up.”

How would you assess Fitz and the running backs?

“I think he did okay. I think we’re a little - there were a couple times where I’d like to see him stick his foot in the ground and be more vertical with some stuff.”

Status of Desmond Morgan and Stephen Hopkins?

“They should be back next week.”

What’s the issue with Morgan’s head?

“Uh, a head thing. I don’t know what they classify him as. Sometimes you just get dinged.”

Is this a type of game that you needed to have before getting into the brunt of your schedule?

“We would have taken any win.”

What did you see from the offensive line today?

“Oh I didn’t think we moved the line of scrimmage as well as we needed to.”

What do you need to see from them in order to accomplish that?

“Well we better play with better leverage, and we better combination block better when we’re doing that, and we better finish.”

Would you contemplate shaking up the starting lineup?

“I think you willl evaluate like you always do.”

Vincent Smith had a couple touchdowns. How did he play?

“Vince is a guy who whenever you call his number, he’s pretty much going to perform. It’s not surprising. When you look at what he’s done for Michigan football and how he comes to work every day, it’s not surprising.”

You don’t sound like a coach that has won by 50 points. Are you disappointed? Can you give an assessment of where you’re at?

“I think we’re getting a feel, but these kids have worked hard, and they’ve worked hard throughout -- since last January, and they have high expectations. It’s our job to be honest and be real and push them to where they can meet those expectations. I told them the same thing I told you. It’s great to win. But if we want to win the Big Ten championship, we need to improve a lot in a lot of areas, and they start up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage.”

What kind of gains can you make from a game like this?

“Well, there’s always a team morale factor, and being able to play a lot of guys, a lot of guys who have worked hard, a lot of guys on the look teams, them having the ability to play in this football team in from of 100,000 family and friends, I think that’s great. That’s what you want to happen. The other gains are not just for those guys who got that opporunity but for us as a team to improve. The kicking game, on offense, and on defense. Turnovers -- we’ve been terrible, terrible, of creating turnovers. If we don’t start creating turnovers, we’re going to get beat because we need to give more opportunities to our offense. Running the football and defending the run. I think they were seven of 17 on third down -- UMass was. We had some opportunities to make some stops and we didn’t make them. I’m either answering your question or I’m rambling …”

Are you at the point where you’re a little frustrated with the offensive line?

“I’m not frustrated with them. I wasn’t frustrated before with them because I know how hard they go to work and how much work they put into it. At the same time we have to do it better. So, frustrated? I’m not frustrated. I like the offensive line. It’s my favorite part of the football team because of the work they do. I put a lot of pressure on them. We put a lot of pressure on them, just like we do with the defensive line. But if your’e going to be good at football, you better be good at your offensive line and your defensive line.”

How important is it to find a playmaker on offense other than Denard?

“That’s a big part of it, and that’s why we need to block better in the traditional run plays with the running back. I think there’s some playmakers on the offense, at receiver, at tight end. Devin’s a guy who -- he’s a freshman, he’s still got a lot to learn, but he’s a playmaker. We have to find more, but trying to get your running back to be a playmaker is blocking at the point of attack.”

It’s very clear you’re not happy with the run defense.

“I think you are to some degree. They had four senior offensive linemen who were pretty good football players. Mike Cox was a scholarship athlete here at the University of Michigan. Mike, when there’s a hole there, he runs it pretty well. Totally? Probably not, when you get into a power running team.”

So were you pleased?

“No.”

MGoQuestion: It looked like Matt Wile was varying the angle and direction of his kickoffs. Was that part of the plan, and what were you hoping to accomplish with that?

“Yeah we were trying to, just like everything else, your kicking game -- we felt that the first two ball games, we didn’t play as well as we needed to. The Alabama game we had three blocks in the back on kick returns that kills you. And then last week, we didn’t think we were consistent enough. Part of that is trying to place the ball on kickoffs. He did the pooch punting because he had a little pineapple kick -- I don’t know what they call it, that’s what I call it -- but he does it pretty effectively. Yeah we were trying to spread the ball a little bit.”

Drew Dileo. Nice surprise?

“Drew is not the biggest the cat in the world, but he’s a got a heart that’s huge, and he loves the game of football. Every day Drew comes out and we ask him to do a lot, and he does it well for us. So it’s not surprising.”

Comments

Don

September 16th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^

Sure, you were using a film camera with a boutique lens. You then developed the Ektachrome film in your basement darkroom, and then churned out several experimental prints, burning and dodging to get the right final effect.

BlueTuesday

September 16th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^

I for one am pretty happy with Hoke's response to the game.  Judging from his answers, he didn't seemed pleased with Michigan's performance. IMO, The D gave up way too many yards.

getexams56

September 18th, 2012 at 4:07 AM ^

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