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 9:18 AM ^
and he's a 3 year starter. The fact that guys like Stribling and Lewis can't take away Countess' job says it all.
All you need to do is watch games against OSU, MSU, K-State, and ND to see this point.
I liked Hoke going for it on 4th in the 1stQ, I liked the 2 FG attempts (Wyle is a senior with a lot of game experience) and it wasn't all bad.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:44 AM ^
I'm baffled Hoke did not go for it on 4th and 2 on the first field goal attempt. That seems like something he would have done in 2011.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:01 AM ^
"Strib's Girl" sat in front of me on Saturday. At least that's what her jersey said. She wasn't happy about the touchdown he gave up. Not one bit happy.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:18 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 9:31 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 9:19 AM ^
Hoke is in over his head. Great person, just not ready for this job. Mattison might be a relic. I also really did not like the shuffling of the position coaches, seemed like change simply for the sake of change to me to put guys who had never coached the position before in place.
It's also obvious to me that we have a sub standard Strength and Conditioning program. We just don't look that strong at the lines, our linemen on both sides of the ball looked physically over matched way too often, and it's not like ND was playing a bunch of 5th year seniors, they were playing true freshmen on the lines at points in the game. Also think our guys looked a step slow. Think we are plenty big enough, but that's not translating into strength and explosiveness.
What would it take to get Sparty's S&C coach away from East Lansing? Guy must be doing something right.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^
1. I don't think that's entirely accurate. Logan Tuley-Tillman was a developmental prospect, and Ben Braden - a potential LT prospect - is ahead of a guy like Chris Fox, who tore his ACL at the end of his senior year. That's just the way it goes sometimes. Magnuson could probably play LT, but they want to shore up the interior.
2. We did stop the inside run. Notre Dame only ran for a little over 2 yards/carry, IIRC. We also did not get beaten on seam routes very often. I remember Robinson beating Stribling, but I also remember just about every team - including Michigan - hitting a seam route once or twice a game. You can't stop every play every time.
3. Gardner has to throw off his back foot when he has linebackers and defensive tackles in his face. Or at least you have to understand that quarterbacks are going to do this when they get hit a lot. That's not a major technical flaw on Gardner - that's an offensive line issue.
4. Agreed.
5. I don't give a s*** what information Hoke gives to the media. They/we are not required to know everything. You and I are not important.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:51 AM ^
I think that's an emotional statement. Probably not accurate. Coaches play games on injury information, every single week. Belichik is the king of it. But...you and I are what makes this team what they are. Been that since the day they first put on a leather helmet, and strapped on their suade jock straps, all the way up to Saturday's loss. I can promise you, that Brandon, and the powers that be, including Hoke, put sufficient stock in their fanbase. It's the entire marketing strategy. True, maybe not as much to the non-alumni as the alumni, but both contribute significantly to the successes of the team, and the incoming $. I'd reserve the "you and I are not important" declaration, to maybe a government rant....
September 8th, 2014 at 9:59 AM ^
The only thing that really matters is winning. If we win, nobody will care if Hoke tells the media everything about injuries, the OL lineup, etc. When we lose, it suddenly becomes important.
So no, we aren't important. We are observers. We have nothing to do with the team itself, and my knowledge of injury situations will not affect whether I buy tickets, whether I buy merchandise, etc. It's a petty thing to whine about for self-entitled fans.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:10 AM ^
#3...I thought Miller played a decent game. At least that is what we were led to believe.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:58 AM ^
Miller is doing a much better job of figuring out the OL's assignments this year. I honestly believe that. The issue is that he got overpowered by Jarron Jones. Jones is huge and good at football, so it's not particularly embarrassing for Miller...but regardless, they were getting in Gardner's face.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
Not only that, but one of Gardner's best throws of the night came off his back foot across the field 20 yards downfield with a DB in pretty tight coverage. It was an NFL caliber throw.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:32 AM ^
Who honestly could we get to come coach here? Jim Harbaugh isn't walking through that door, no SEC coach is leaving their school to come north. Art Briles makes about $50k a year less than Hoke, is he leaving Baylor for M? Doubtful.
I know this won't be a popular comment, but in the midst of my angst, I texted my brother that, I'd be just fine, with the school paying Saban $15million a year to come make us a winner again.
I never thought I'd hit a time when I turned games off, and became resigned toward Michigan football. After Saturday both of those things happened.
I believe we are stuck with what we have, and it will be that way next year too. I hope something happens over these next 10 weeks to make me feel differently.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:35 AM ^
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September 8th, 2014 at 9:37 AM ^
What exactly makes it "reasonable" to think that Harbaugh would even give Dave Brandon the time of day? Any evidence of this? Or just delusions driven by a major overreaction to a sports game?
And if you believe anything The Hat says about job offers, I have a bridge to sell you. Granted, he's probably the best option if we engage in another search, but "never" is a pretty strong word.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:48 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 9:42 AM ^
Harbaugh - Didn't the last coaching search show you Harbaugh's true aspirations? He's an NFL guy. If things don't work out in San Francisco, he will be on the who's who of NFL coaching short lists.
Miles - Dude is 60. Does he really want to spend the tail end of his career doing a rebuild job? Michigan botched their chance to get him before. I'd love for him to be the replacement if indeed Hoke ever gets let go. I just don't see it.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:58 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:13 AM ^
Maybe rebuild was the wrong term ... What about complete overhaul of the program? We are 42-36 and 1 -3 in bowl games since the beginning of RR era through now.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:48 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 9:50 AM ^
I at no point said there weren't any good coaches. I actually proposed the question of who'd replace Hoke? I just don't see any of the big name coaches leaving to come to Michigan.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:02 AM ^
I cannot believe if we go out there and throw 8-10million per at Mike Gundy or David Shaw or Gary Patterson we don't have them here tomorrow. I'd bet we could get Kevin Sumlin at 10 million.
I have no doubt if Michigan used some of the giant warchest we build up every year and was willing to pay a top 3 coaching salary, we can have pretty much anyone we want outside of Saban, Strong, Sarkisian, Stoops, etc.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:12 AM ^
If we offered that kind of money to Mike Gundy, I'd be thuroughly disappointed. Now David Shaw or Kevin Sumlin I'd be all for. But let us be reasonable here. Outside of money, and an historic brand... What do we have to offer Sumlin or Shaw, that A&M or Stanford can't offer right now? Both are nationally regarded as better programs than Michigan right now, today.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
Sumlin would have to come as a total money play, admittedly. Stanford still cannot recruit like Michigan can consistently.
You have to think these top level coaches are for the most part arrogant people. They believe they can have success anywhere. If you go out and offer them 50% more to do it on the biggest stage in college football, why wouldn't they?
September 8th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^
I agree mostly with what you are saying, but is M really "the biggest stage in college football?" Yes, M gets ratings and is still a brand. But this isn't the same M. The perception of the B1G is as low as I can ever remember it being perceived and M isn't succeeding in a bad conference.
September 8th, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
A lot of those guys are comfortable in the SEC where the rules are more like guidelines.
The fans of SEC schools don't give a shit about anything but winning. Michigan fans would run a guy like Tressel out of town on a rail. Winning isn't enough here.
Also, the local press is usually pretty supportive of those schools. Michigan's local press has consists of Sharp, Snyder, Valenti, et al. Those guys are openly hostile to the point of fabricating a story and getting the NCAA to actually sanction Michigan.
And let's be real, any outsider would have a hard time fitting in. The old players have a lot of pull, and they want future Wolverines to have the same values that they did, because they believe that is what wins.
It's not that Michigan is the top of the heap or anything. It's just that Michigan does have some extra challenges for a coach that other schools don't have.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:19 AM ^
Re: #4. On this I partially disagree in that I didn't think we came out flat. We looked pretty good to start then got stopped while in scoring range. What I thought was a mistake was trying the two field goals. ND was going to score in this game and we weren't going to beat them with field goals. Trying the second was especially frustrating after the first miss - just go for it down there.
You have to seize momentum on the road - maybe that's the problem that needs correcting.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:36 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 9:37 AM ^
This definitely deserves its own thread. No doubt. This board is insufferable sometimes.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:37 AM ^
.......And if you start a thread giving everyone a heads up that Jabrill Peppers isn't going to play, it gets deleted, and trollers tell you that you are a "Domer", and that your priviledges should be revoked. Figured most people on this site were beyond that...but it appears not so much last Friday. Maybe it was the nerves.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:50 AM ^
...except they had Peppers on the travel roster and worked him out prior to the game (which is why he was dressed on the sideline), so nobody could have known on Friday that he was 100% not playing.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:57 AM ^
Morgan was on travel roster to. With a cast on his arm. LIke i said, not a big deal, probably shouldn't have started the thread and I felt bad afterward, especially after 50 or so, "you are a Pile of Sh*t" responses. But it was pretty clear that he wasn't going to play. Especially when the mom's start talking about it. A Mom's word, is like GOLD, as you know.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:05 AM ^
Yeah, I was trying to defend this guy as the thread got deleted. People were being way over the top saying he was an Irish troll (despite his post history having several photos of him at a UM-Purdue game and a five year posting history) and calling for him to be banned.
I understand we don't like to indulge in idle rumours and all that, but its funny how often things that turn out to be true get deleted.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:15 AM ^
very hard to believe him.
Probably because he didn't want to out himself.
Edit: oh and lang, you shouldn't feel bad just because people thought you were trolling.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:15 AM ^
What kind of out do you want? I'vebeen considering coming out of the closet for almost 5 years...... I"m blond haired, blue eyed, and enjoy Saturdays.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^
but I meant getting outted as in your personal information getting revealed.
Probably pretty stupid of me to try and guess your intent when you're right here.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^
No intent. Just shooting the S like I was bellied up to a local pub. There's obviously some guidelines that I crossed. I did, however, remember enjoying the "he's definitly a domer, 'look he has only 101 mgopoints', he can barely start a thread". The "he's not worthy" angle is one for that will never go away, so i'll just have to be patient with it. I'm going to work on being more worthy, soon.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^
As I said, you didn't seem credible based solely on the post you made.
If you've been a season ticket holder for 55 years the initial post's lack of credibility was probably because, and this isn't meant as an insult in the least, you aren't internet forum savvy. Hell, saying you're not internet forum savvy is a compliment.
What you posted looked like a template taken from trolling 101.
/edit: I'm not doing a very good job of making you feel better about this I think. I'll just stop.
September 8th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
Good to go. I'll stick to appreciating the Drinking Thread for awhile.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:45 AM ^
become forum savvy (which you shouldn't try to do. Help me).
September 8th, 2014 at 10:14 AM ^
55+ year season ticket holder. Fathers ashes at the stadium (I'm sure mine will be also). Alumni. In other words...."a domer". Defending one's affiliation, is a real f*cked up part of athletics. Honestly, thought it might be a bit different in this blog, but it's clear there are many who just want to attack others. I think it tends to come from those...that maybe didn't graduate from Mich, but in retrospect, deleting the thread maybe saved me some more personal attack.. Again, my bad...won't do that again. BTW...the pictures were from when I worked for The Capital One Bowl. If you had access to the press box...you'd get a good feel on what type of individuals are backing Michigan, and who isn't.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:40 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 10:08 AM ^
It's year 4. He didn't walk into a situation where there were 50 freshmen. He walked into a situation with some pretty good guys on the team. Hell, he had a first and third round draft pick offensive lineman on the team last year. This team isn't that young, especially compared to our rivals.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:51 AM ^
and a redshirt SO at tackle. Don't know if they all played against Stanford.
http://247sports.com/Bolt/USC-to-Start-2-True-Freshman-on-Offensive-Lin…
USC has a new OL coach, a guy with 25 years experience, most recently with the 49ers:
http://isportsweb.com/2014/05/25/usc-football-previewing-offensive-line/
I've defended Funk, but it's eye-opening and sobering to see other programs have success with OL as young as ours, if not younger.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:55 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 9:45 AM ^
Winning cures all ills. I know a win in e landfill is looking kinda unlikely but if we can get pressure, I know that's a big if, on Barrett we might get a win at the toilet seat. I'm hoping we get better as the year goes on, if not give Harbaugh a blank check.
September 8th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
September 8th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^
If, again a big if, we go to columbus and come out with a W for the first time since Henson was our QB then Hoke should return.
September 8th, 2014 at 9:47 AM ^
We've been through this multiple times on few subjects going back to last season, but reading too much into what is not said to the media is not generally a good idea and should be interpreted as....well....nothing. Just because Hoke (perhaps at the direction of the department) is circumspect about injuries (I'll put it like that) does not really mean much more than he either wishes to or is told to provide limited information. We can't justly take away anything more than this.
The "no visit" policy - again, I don't see how you can reasonably jump to this being born from a lack of confidence. That seems like a rather incredible jump as well. If we're going to say someone is "committed" to a school and they want to visit others, then to me it is reasonable to say they aren't necessarily "committed" by the typical definition. In any case, we're talking about a verbal commitment that can - up until NSD - be terminated without conseuqence, so I have never been sure why it gets played up by either side of the argument really.