Nebraska Postgame Presser Transcript: Brady Hoke
"I passed your floor on the way up, and now I'm passing it on the way down, and I don't think I'll be taking this elevator again." - Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon
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There’s probably some degree of frustration on the team. Can you talk about the number of missed opportunities on the field?
“Yeah. You know, frustration because we lost as a team. Yeah. It’s a frustration that we all have. I have to do a better job coaching this football team. The effort was really – guys were working, guys were fighting, guys were doing things. Did we do them well enough? No. And that goes on me.”
Seven sacks this week. How do you keep Devin’s spirits up?
“His spirits will be up because he’s a competitor. He’s going to be sore, and that’s part of it. Again, I have to do a better job coaching.”
When you talk about coaching, we do have to ask about the play calling from Al Borges. Do you have to look at that much more closely this week?
“I like the play calling. I think we thought we could do some things and we didn’t.”
Did you hear the booing after some of those offensive plays?
“Well, that’s you know, that’s the way things are.”
What’s Thomas Gordon’s situation?
“He had a little bit of an ankle. He played on the punt team. We also thought Courtney [Avery] and Josh [Furman] could give us something. And Jarrod [Wilson].”
What did you think you got from the safeties?
“I think it was okay. I don’t know until I watch it.”
Negative 69 rushing yards over the last two games. How do you explain that?
“Well, it’s hard to explain, isn’t it? I’ve got to do a better job coaching those guys.”
MGoQuestion: What kind of adjustments were you hoping to make over the course of last week as well as during this game?
“Well, you always have a plan that you think is going to work, number one. We change the plan all the time every week. I think there were some things that we did pretty well. But there were a number of things that we have to do a better job coaching the kids on.”
Can you talk about not cashing in on the turnovers?
“Well, we didn’t. We just didn’t execute.”
It looked like Devin really struggled scrambling. Is he banged up?
“His legs and everything are fine. I don’t know if he took a shot over there near their sideline. I think it was the second quarter. I thought he was fine.”
Was there fatigue on defense during the last drive?
“I don’t think so. Because of the number of plays guys are playing? No.”
What do you attribute it to?
“I have to do a better job of coaching.”
You have blocking issues all across the board.
“I don’t know about all across the board, but there’s some blocking issues.”
Why is that not progressing? If anything, it looks like it’s regressing.
“I’ve got to do a better job of coaching, it looks like. We’ve got to do a better job of what we’re doing and look at what we’re doing.”
You said you did some things good and some things not good. What were some of the things that were good?
“That were better as a team? Well defensively after the first quarter they settled in. Did a good job. I think they were 6 of 16 on third down. Most of the third downs – you want them all, but the critical ones, we needed to execute a little better on.”
How much does it hurt to see the home winning streak end?
“Home winning streak, away winning streak, any winning streak, you’re disappointed when it’s not there.”
Taco played today. What did you like about him?
“He’s been fortunate enough that he’s been able to improve over the course of the year without having to take full time snaps in a lot of critical situations. We just like how he’s come along. It’s about the right time for him because of how he’s come along to play.”
Is interior defensive line where he can play more?
“That was all in the nickel packages, sub packages. He’s still an outside end, but he’s got the length and the size and as good of quickness as anybody. He’s pretty good inside when you get in the sub packages.”
You were able to generate some offense with some screens and quick passes. Is that something you have to look at more?
“Last week we had that different screen in that we thought was going to be pretty good, and [Michigan State] sniffed that one out pretty good. This new one today was hitters but not consistent hitters. It’s something we tried to do. We threw the rocket to Gallon the one time, hit the windows route one time in there. Some of that stuff, it helps you a little bit, but at the same time, there’s some of it that’s similar when you look at what they did and what we did.”
At some point, do you have to admit that you can’t run the ball and not beat your head against the wall?
“I agree. And yes, you can do that.”
Is Devin holding the ball too long?
“Well I think any time you have negative plays either way, and let me go back to [the previous question]. The negative plays are what kill you on third down. First down negative plays, we snapped the ball again a little high. That was a 10-yard loss, so now you’re second and 20. I think as you watch the tape, he may have held it too long once or twice. I think you also coverage-wise, you have to give them a little credit also. They did a pretty good job on some of the coverage things that they did with Gallon and Funchess.”
You said you needed to do a better job coaching. In what area specifically?
“Just … everything.”
How did you think the other young guys played on defense?
“Willie started last week and played well. Again, I think you get a chance to look at it and grade it and do all that stuff. I know Willie [Henry] made some plays again, which is a good sign. I think Taco forced the sack that Cam got. Did a nice job on a gain. Also did a nice job on a run play in there. Until you really look at it, it’s hard I think for you to make an evaluation that’s fair.”
You mentioned the negative plays that hurt you on third down. What do you attribute that to?
“Because we had negative plays on first down.”
Those have increased, too. What do you attribute it to?
“I think you attribute it to the opponent did a good job, and I have to do a better job coaching our team.”
Looked like the running backs struggled in pass protection.
“That’s something we’re trying to get fixed to be honest with you. Is it a concern? Yeah. It always is. Not tackling, not blocking, not covering. Not throwing the ball, not running good routes. All that stuff is concerning.”
Are you concerned that you’re running out of practice time because it’s November?
“No, because we have three opportunities left. Two of them on the road, one here. Would we like to have played better? Yes. Would we like to have run the ball better? Yes. Would we like to have done a good job on third downs? Yes. And we’ve just got to go to work and keep working at it.”
Did Nebraska bring more pressure than you thought they would?
“I thought they brought a little more.”
What’s the most important thing you need to do as a coach?
“Right now it’s this team being a team. From a staff standpoint and a team standpoint. I tell you, they practiced their tails off. Tuesday and Wednesday they gave as good an effort as any team I’ve been around. The physicalness with which they attack each other and compete. We have to keep doing that.”
November 11th, 2013 at 10:56 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:28 PM ^
Yup I watch the games. Subscribed to BTN just to be sure that if a Michigan game was televised by anyone I'd be able to watch it.
Tough to watch them this season. Tough to see them play as hard as they can and have mistakes cost them wins.
Welcome to youth on the line and in the depth. I don't know if it is reasonable to expect Funk to have made more progress with the interior players. I don't have the expertise to render a responsible judgement. That's Hoke's job and I have every expectation that he will make the responsible decision about his staff.
As for Borges being a stooge, the point I made above stands. Brandon gets to explore the coaching and play calling decisions on both sides of the ball with the men that make them every week. I don't care for Brandon, but he has proven himself an effective executive. He wouldn't spend the kind of money that Borges costs him on a "stooge".
Whatever your or my opinion of Borges, the only opinions that matter are Hoke's and Brandon's, and at this point, neither of them seem like they are going to throw him over board.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:44 PM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 2:04 PM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 2:53 PM ^
One season back when I was a student the team tied their first two games against teams we were expected to destroy. This was in the 70s and many of us could remember the irrelevancy that was MIchiigan football before the coming of Bo. Still the entire student body reacted to the ties as if they were back to back blow out losses. The Daily ran a story about how the team remained undefeated and that we all needed to get a grip. It was embarrassing to be called out by our own newspaper and with some chagrin we did get a grip. While I remember my time at the U with great fondness, I suppose that our fan base has never tolerated not winning very well and over reaction may be deeply instilled in our cultural roots.
Maybe, the RichRod years pushed the fan base over the deep end and damaged our resilence as fans at fundamental level. Hoke's first year was desperately needed. Beating OSU and getting to 11 wins was awful sweet after the previous 3 years. Basking in the glow of that season we all told ourselves that the team could get better in 2012 and end up with a poorer season. It was easy to contemplate such an event then with those fresh wins. Go back and read the posts and comments here, the expectation that 2012 could/would/might be disappointing was a very common thread. Sure enough it happened, and for the most part people over reacted. Then once again in looking forward to the 2013 season, people expressed substantial concern about the youth on the offensive line. There were many cautions that stars and talent are not a solid predictor of performance for young/inexperienced players. Now here we all are, suffering a very tough season with, apparently, no quick fixes. Once again we over react.
So let us all take a deep breath and reflect. First of all as a team they are not "historically bad". They were much much worse in 2008 and arguably worse in 2009 and 2010. The rushing game is very bad as is the level of offensive blocking, not just the Oline but blocking in general. Coaching or youth?
Youth & inexperience is a huge part of the problem. Some of the repeated mistakes, or poor technique must fall on the coaching, the question is how much. As I have said I don't have the expertise to judge, but I do know of someone who does. His name is Brady Hoke.
I'm a fan of Hoke. Not because he's a "michigan man", although I attach no stigma to that label. I'm a fan of Hoke, because I think that he is honorable and a straight shooter. I think that, within the boundaries allowed a head football coach, Hoke pretty much tells us the truth. He may be confined to "coach speak", but we can take what he says as a general reflection of his thinking. I also respect what Hoke has accomplished in his career and dismiss out of hand the notion that he is in over his head or dim witted or slow thinking. I am convinced that Hoke has the necessary skills, talent, and temperament to be a successful head coach for Michigan.
He says that youth is an issue. Ok I believe that. He says that he agrees with the play calling, I accept that as well. So when he is asked how to fix things he says that he and his staff have to do a better job of coaching. Ok that actually makes sense and I believe it. If the problem is primarily youth, other than more experience the only other thing that can help is more effective coaching. He and the coaches really do have to find ways to coach the players to a more effective level of play. They have to find other blocking schemes, if possible, which the players are more able to execute. The coaches have to do a better job because if the players are giving 100% and can only gain experience one snap at a time the only area that is left to speed improvement is the coaching. The problem may be that this level of progress or non-progress is the result of the most effective coaching possible by any group of coaches.
Despite the hard time I have watching this season, I remember the early 60s. I remember losing three years in a row to Woody in the ten year war and feeling like we might never beat them. I remember 2008-2010. I can see what Hoke is trying to build, and the kind of recruiting that he has brought to Michigan gives me reason to believe he can successfully build it. If coaching is at issue and coaches need to be changed, I'm convinced that Hoke will make the necessary changes. Like the Daily reminded the fans back in the 70s, we all need to get a grip.
November 11th, 2013 at 10:58 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 9:17 AM ^
A: "I need to do a better job coaching"
November 11th, 2013 at 9:48 AM ^
November 11th, 2013 at 12:03 PM ^
I for one will not be spending $1,000 for two season tickets next year. No way I can justify that kind of expense in these kind of time with this kind of team. It has become glaringly obvious to me that my beloved "M" now stands for "Mediocrity". At least five losses every season since 2008 (2011 excepted). 2013 will be different. How can UM even competer against Iowa or Northwestern, much less aginst OSU? I suppose the good news is that I'll be able to pick up tickets CHEAP to see Hoke go up against his old team (Ball State) in the Pizza Bowl in Detroit.
November 11th, 2013 at 12:44 PM ^
There is no going back to the spread and Michigan will run the ball. Hoke and Borges should run off tackle ever f^cking play as a modern day equivalent to Cortez burning his ships. If you can't run the ball all else is bullshit and doesn't matter.
After Denard Robison and now Gardner I think the fan base is going into withdraw. Time for some tough love with manball.
November 11th, 2013 at 10:46 PM ^
haha! I love the pic and the caption associated with this thread... I'm a 1985 alum and Daniel Keyes is my father. I'll have to show him this in the morning. He does watch the games and needless to say he was not happy Saturday! Anybody wanna buy our OSU tickets? ;-)
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