Hoke: "In the Notre Dame game the cornerbacks were a little bit embarrassed"

Submitted by massblue on

Apparently, during a radio interview Hoke has indicated that Lewis and Peppers were going to stick at CB position partly because our CBs were embarrassed during the ND game.  I, for one, have not seen much from Peppers so far, but Lewis was really aggressive during the last game and a half and seems to have the speed and the quickness to recover from his mistakes.  Peppers, by all accounts, is supposed to be faster so this looks very promising.

 

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September 17th, 2014 at 10:17 PM ^

I'm pretty happy with this. Not the whole "getting embarrassed by a rival" thing, but the personnel switch. Countess is an effective nickelback, full stop. As he has significantly more experience there than Peppers and Peppers is physically better suited to the CB position, this seems like a great switch. 

Joined: 04/23/2014

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Double-D

September 17th, 2014 at 11:11 PM ^

Peppers looked great Saturday. He has all the instincts and athleticism to be the best DB in the Big Ten during his career. Lewis tracks man coverage as well as anyone. Both will only get better. Countess is perfect as ten nickel. I have seen him and Ray T burned way to much to the point of " what are you even thinking screaming at the TV burned". Ray is a great hitter in run support but I see the top three as JP, JL on the outside and BC at nickel. This unit will only get stronger.

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Space Coyote

September 18th, 2014 at 8:48 AM ^

Clearly Peppers is at least 3/4" shorter than Woodson. I know Woodson was wearing Timbo boots and Peppers was in running shoes, but if you go to the respective websites, you'll note that the sole height of them is only a 1/2" different. So when you look at the picture, and from the angle the picture was taken, and you count the pixals between the tip of Woodson's head (subtracting for the thickness of his hat) to the top of Peppers head, you get 1.25", meaning Peppers is clearly, beyond a reasonable doubt, 3/4" shorter than Woodson.

We here at the MGoLabs are still analyzing the arm diameter of the two players from a variety of angles so that we can accurately gauge body fat and arm positions so that we can determine a true, nominal arm muscularity and determine who has bigger arms. We thank you for your patience.

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Wolverine Devotee

September 18th, 2014 at 12:18 AM ^

Hoke wearing a headset literally catches my eye because it's so unusual. 

I don't know why people are still complaining about him not wearing a headset if Nussmeier is on the sideline with him.

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Salinger

September 18th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

Best series of comments I've seen in awhile (barring all the ones that provide actual football Knowledge ex. Space Cayote." 

 

Also, even though I know we are supposed to say cay-oat-E, I like to say Ky-Oat in my head, because I think its funny.

The End.

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aplatypus

September 18th, 2014 at 9:00 AM ^

the slot receiver for Notre Dame is the position that torched us the most. The other WR spots did some too, but they had tons of success throwing simple slants and outs at Hollowell in the nickel spot. If we stick with cover 4 mostly then outside is fine but if we try to go man up guys again I'd rather have Peppers in the nickel and Taylor/Lewis on the outside. 

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MGoRob

September 17th, 2014 at 11:37 PM ^

"In the Miami game, the coaching staff was a little bit embarrassed".  Where were the big Hoke balls that allowed him to poop gold from years past?  4th and inches. No timeout with clock running down.  4th and 6, and didn't go for it despite being on the 30-soming yardline.  And if I'm not mistaken, he did that twice this game.  That's pure Ferentz/Tressel ball.  It's an embarrasment that the coaches don't know basic odds of winning a game and going for it in enemy territory.  /rant

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Red is Blue

September 18th, 2014 at 7:00 AM ^

To me, given the circumstances, it wasn't as egregious as it is being made out. A bit earlier in the game, mistakes had cost them and Miami had tied it up. Why give an inferior team, a team that is close on the scoreboard, a chance to get a defensive stop and go in the locker room with some momentum? I suppose the counter is, go for it to really get momentum on your side, but against a weaker opponent which you will likely be able (and did) dominate in the second half, the risk of giving them momentum may not be worth the potential reward. Against a better team, I'd agree with you to go for it as the potential points are likely at a much higher premium.

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MGoRob

September 18th, 2014 at 10:23 AM ^

I'd argue that Miami did have the momentum already.  They got the turnovers. They tied it up.  Then they "stopped" our last minute drive by forcing us to punt instead of score.  Keeping us off the scoreboard was their victory.  Your argument, in my opinion, is invalid.  You don't think they went into the locker room pumped?

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Red is Blue

September 18th, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^

Any momentum Miami had from the turnovers and tieing the score was already at least partially mitigated by the fact that subsequently Michigan had driven 66 yds and scored to take a 17-10 lead.  Miami then had possession in which they gained 1 yd on three plays.  By the time the decision in question was made, almost a half a quarter had passed and this was the third possession since Miami last scored.  If Miami had just tied the score, then I would say go for it because Miami would have had the momentum at the point and this might have switched the momentum back to Michigan.  But, given the circumstances, I feel the momentum was in Michigan's favor, or at least not strongly in Miami's favor, and getting stuffed presented the real risk of putting the momentum strongly back on Miami's side going into half.

Further, you seem to suggest that a stop via another team choosing to punt is about as emotionally uplifting then stopping a team that has choosen to go for it on fourth down.  I don't believe that to be true. 

Therefore, I think Miami went in the locker room a lot less pumped then they would have if they had stopped MI on fourth down. 

 

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leftrare

September 17th, 2014 at 10:38 PM ^

I assume that a healthy Taylor is a top three non safety DB. I don't think it's clear though, what is the pecking order. I think Lewis and Peppers have shown high level chops and Countess was "embarrassed" against ND. Hard to believe a guy wearing #2 isn't going to see the field, but that's the way it looks. OTOH, rewind to preseason when everyone was healthy, I was convinced that the safety opposite Wilson would be one of the above mentioned CBs, Peppers most likely. jClark seems like the weakest link in the back five. Why not move Peppers back, Countess to nickel and Taylor and Lewis play press/hassle CBs? (I picked myself to be coach in my own little fantasy football league.)

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alum96

September 17th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^

Think when Taylor gets back you'll have a 3 man rotation at your outside corners with him included.

Hollowell is scuffling - Blake is not your perfect nickel but he is an upgrade there.

Still hoping Stribling comes back in 2015 with 15 lbs on his body so he can be competitive at outside.  Seems like weigh gain is an issue with him like it is with Ross - didnt add much of all in the full offseason.  Much like Lewis he seems to be a scrapper but at his height he needs some more weight; then he can take Taylor's spot as the 3rd man in the CB rotation next year. 

 

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MichAero

September 17th, 2014 at 10:40 PM ^

I like the move. I like Peppers to be able to stay on Anderson much better, even with his inexperience.  I can't really disagree with his comments either, but I am a little surprised he said it so bluntly. And finally, why to I always read the comments on articles like that? I should know better by now.

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goblue20111

September 17th, 2014 at 10:43 PM ^

If you're Nick Saban and you're a notorious hardass and winner you can say this. Hoke looks like he's deflecting and blaming players. How about the coaching embarrassments the last 3 years? Will we score a touchdown against MSU this year?


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