Damning quotes from Nebraska DE Randy Gregory
I've been one of Borges' staunchest defenders on this board, but this game and these quotes are the straw that broke the camel's back for me. Borges needs to go.
Gregory: "They had certain tendencies. Whatever formation they came out in, we knew what they were going to throw at us." #Huskers
— Samuel McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) November 10, 2013
Gregory on Gardner: "After the game, you could just tell: He was kind of out of it. That's what we wanted to do: Take him out of the game."
— Samuel McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) November 10, 2013
November 10th, 2013 at 12:07 PM ^
Why wouldn't I go after Glasgow? He has bad snaps every week, and the timing of his snaps messes up the under-center run game (which doesn't need any additional flaws). Give me one good reason that he shouldn't be under the microscope a little bit.
November 10th, 2013 at 4:18 PM ^
There is more, but you kept it succinct.
November 10th, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^
This should be required reading. Thank you so much.
November 10th, 2013 at 4:11 PM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 5:20 PM ^
Yes, I am. And you would be wrong if you threw Morris in there. Sorry but true.
November 10th, 2013 at 7:59 AM ^
FWIW, the scouts loved him during the summer. I wasn't nearly as convinced as others that last season's 5 game performance portended great things for him, but then he did the summer coaching/clinic tour and everyone raved. Maybe it was that he was away from Borges for that time period. Who knows. But what I do know is that Gardner has QB ability. Bringing in a freshman of questionable ability isn't going to solve anything. Not with this line and this offensive coaching staff.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:21 AM ^
view, we just got beat by a freshman QB and an extremely chubby walk-on Senior QB. Agree though. This is 75% coaching / playcalling and 25% crappy/young line play. The low hanging fruit for improvement lies with the coaches. They are either too proud, to ignorate or too stupid to see that is the case. Any one of these three reasons, and you shouldn't be a major D1 football coach.
November 10th, 2013 at 4:20 PM ^
of teams, players and coaches that with the ods/numbers whatever against them that have bwetter success and make better adjustments.
I think Borges is who has also lost confidence and regressed.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:37 AM ^
With this offensive line, blaming Devin is straight up laughable.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:37 AM ^
I just wouldn't want to subject Shane to that horror this early in his career. It would probably ruin his psyche.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:48 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 10:17 AM ^
you keep fihting the good fight bud.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^
You are dumber than Borges.
November 10th, 2013 at 10:14 AM ^
That's being kind.
November 10th, 2013 at 10:30 AM ^
If Hoke isn't that smart then this raises a problem that many of the "fire Borges" crowd ignore: what makes you think Hoke has the ability to pick a better OC?
November 10th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
The mark of a truly top-level head coach is the ability to identify, hire, and retain top-level assistants. Rich Rodriguez is a good offensive coach, but hiring Greg Robinson was an indication that he had some serious blind spots when it came to defensive assistants.
November 10th, 2013 at 7:43 AM ^
If even lousy defensive teams can shut us down, you know we must be telegraphing most of our plays. Combine that with a terrible offensive line, and yesterday is what you get. I've really been trying to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt up until yesterday. But its crystal clear now that this is a poorly coached AND led offense. Hoke will need to make some serious changes during the offseason.
November 10th, 2013 at 7:58 AM ^
I'm not going to defend the play calling, but I will say that almost every team has "tendencies." Just because Michigan has tendencies doesn't mean the OC needs to be fired.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:14 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 10:12 AM ^
Really? Wow. I guess I didn't know that. I thought we had 200 yards last night.
November 10th, 2013 at 10:28 AM ^
I agree that all teams have tendencies. Is it as easy to read all teams as it is ours though?. I actually have a much easier time guessing what the Lions are doing based on formation then what UM is., but I am just a fan. Plus most of the time Borges does run when no logical person would run...so my heart may be interfering with my brain here.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:16 AM ^
So what do you think is the problem?
Line blocking is terrible for our run game.
Fitz can't block.
Devin has lost a step or two and often holds onto the ball way too long. Yesterday, it seemed like there were several plays where he had adequate protection but he held onto the ball way too long.
We barely beat Akron and UConn.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:18 AM ^
I think you've pretty much answered your own question.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:22 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 8:35 AM ^
Imagine all the touchdowns and vic-tor-eees!
November 10th, 2013 at 8:42 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 9:09 AM ^
Tendencies are one thing. Out and out tipping the play call is quite another. And based on formations and subtitution patterns we all but call out "hey other team....the play is going to be a run now and we're going to run it right over there" to the defense.
We keep playing poker with marked cards and wonder why we keep losing hands.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:18 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 9:47 AM ^
I'm sure it was for my wife - she drove. The capper for me was listening to the post-game presser and hearing Hoke say he saw nothing wrong in the play calling. That was my signal to start drinking heavily as I knew that we are fucking doomed. Not only is Borges an absolute idiot - his boss think's he's brilliant so we're doubly screwed.
I was really, REALLY hoping that Hoke (who I like) would see what every other living human who watches football even causally can see but I guess not. It's Borges till Hoke is gone it seems and that made me very, very sad.
November 10th, 2013 at 11:20 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 11:51 AM ^
We are going to have to see. I just don't think Hoke is going to fire people mid-season and at this point why would we it is almost over anyway. Let's finish out the season and maybe pull in another victory or two (although at this point doubtful) and then see what Hoke does. It is abundantly clear there is something rotten within the offensive coaching ranks and if Hoke does nothing then it will be quite sad.
November 10th, 2013 at 10:10 AM ^
MANBALL doesn't require fakery and shenanigans. You call your shot, tell the D where you are running and run it rght at them. That is what MEN do. It is simliar to WWI trench warfare where MEN ran right at machine guns because they were MEN.
November 10th, 2013 at 10:16 AM ^
That's right. We need our guys to SACK UP AND GIVE 120%.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:32 AM ^
Magnus, do you see the play tipping? I am skeptical of all of the experts on this blog who can tell every play before it is run, but when an opposing player says it, I take that much more seriously.
November 10th, 2013 at 11:50 AM ^
I see the younger guys rocking back in their stances a little bit on pass plays, but the bigger thing I see is just the predictability by down and formation. Borges tries to run the ball on early downs, gets behind the chains, and then calls a dropback pass. The creativity on early downs is very poor.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:37 AM ^
"tendencies"? What the fuck does that even mean? And how can a team's "tendencies" be separated from its coaches? They cannot. And part of coaching is correcting bad tendencies. Just like any leader of men.
November 10th, 2013 at 11:15 AM ^
Too the point where the def. is beating the offence to the point of attack? It's like sharks with blood in the watwer.
November 10th, 2013 at 12:16 PM ^
There's a difference between tendencies and execution. That's where people are having an issue separating these things.
Yes, you have to break tendencies to keep a defense off balance, but then you never establish your strengths. If Gardner is good at throwing the deep ball, then you don't want to limit him to short passes. If Green is a great inside runner, you don't want to limit him to sweeps and zone stretches just to break tendency. You still have to let Gardner throw deep and let Green run inside. It's a chess match between OC and the opponent's DC to keep them off balance.
As I said above, I'm not defending Borges's play calling. Obviously, he was bested by Pat Narduzzi and somewhat by John Papuchis (although I think the Nebraska game was more about poor execution by Michigan). What I am saying is that every offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator has tendencies based on strengths, weaknesses, downs, distances, etc.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:00 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^
how many football games did he win?
/s
November 10th, 2013 at 8:01 AM ^
The school deserves better. The players deserve better. The fans deserve better.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:04 AM ^
This could answer the question: Why was our offense good in the first two games and then struggled greatly since? (with the exception of Indiana). Teams know what we are running - to use baseball parlance we are tipping our pitches. This combined with our lack of a counter or deception (as Brian pointed out many times) coupled with inexperience on the interior of the OL line and we have what we have and that is an offense that can be stopped by even the worst defenses in college football.
November 10th, 2013 at 9:20 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 8:16 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 8:29 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 8:36 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 8:38 AM ^
Maybe you guys should just not go to the games then? I'm serious. If you constantly feel like you're getting ripped off, win or lose, then why keep going? That's not the AD's fault. No one put a gun to your head and made you buy a ticket.
November 10th, 2013 at 8:49 AM ^
awesome suggestion. and some wonder why there are empty seats in the stands (which is a problem i expect to grow next season)
November 10th, 2013 at 8:59 AM ^
November 10th, 2013 at 9:04 AM ^
Why would I not show up?