GA Tech Runs for 535 yards vs Hoke D Line
Georgia Tech ran for 535 yards and accumulated 655 total yards last night vs Brady Hoke's D line at Tennessee. TaQuon Marshall, the Tech QB, is a first year starter and ran for the most yards ever by a GT QB. Combine this with Oregon's 7th worst NCAA team rushing yards per game allowed last year means that for all of the praise Brady received for his 1997 Championship D-line, sorry to say but the man is not a defensive genius. I know the Vols didn't have a great rush D last year (107th), but after last night's performance and the upcoming SEC schedule, Tennessee will probably finish near the bottom this year.
I know people say that we should leave him alone and have nothing but kind words for him, and he is a good human being, but I think coaching has passed him by.
Why does Brady have a job anymore?
September 5th, 2017 at 1:46 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 1:49 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 2:25 PM ^
The Red Dawn is ebbing because Nick Saban looks grumpy on camera!
September 5th, 2017 at 2:51 PM ^
It's a metaphor?
September 5th, 2017 at 2:59 PM ^
It was shit-a-phor
September 5th, 2017 at 1:49 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 2:02 PM ^
What's the guy supposed to do? He walked into a ship about 90% sunk in Oregon and didn't miraculously keep it afloat? Shocking.
Now he's walking into Champions of Life U, a school which has been wasting talent ever since Phil Fulmer was forced out, and this is indicative of Brady Hoke?
He had several years in Ann Arbor and turned out very good D-lines (with Mattison's assistance). Even Jim Harbaugh didn't have Michigan manballing in year 1. Obviously he wasn't a good head coach, but you can't seriously try to glean anything from one year with Oregon and a single stinkin game with Tennessee
September 5th, 2017 at 2:11 PM ^
Plus GT is a weird offense that runs on everyone, and most of the yardage was on the edge on the option sweeps. Those are on the LBs and CBs getting off blocks, not on the DL. When the DL did get it put on them up the middle, it was due to getting cut blocked, which ok, they could do better, but it's not like they're alone it getting got by triple option teams.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:41 PM ^
Yeah, lets not get too smug. Be glad we did not have to play the GT triple option in our first game.
It's not fun, you risk injury, and to add insult to that injury, you look foolish doing it.
GT is Army / Navy / Air Force with D1 talent.
Um, no thanks.
September 5th, 2017 at 3:52 PM ^
I cannot stand the triple option offense. I hate it when UM plays a service academy.
September 5th, 2017 at 4:29 PM ^
I love watching it, with the exception of when it's being used against Michigan.
When run properly (like last night) it's a thing of beauty. GT may be my favorite team to watch after Michigan.
The bowl game between GT and one of the Mississippi teams (I think it was MSU) a few years back was awesome too.
September 5th, 2017 at 9:25 PM ^
I love how it makes SEC "speed" teams just look stupid.
All their speed does for them is get their dumb players out of position even faster.
September 5th, 2017 at 3:04 PM ^
Why any good team would voluntarily schedule GT is beyond me. That also applies to schools who think they should have a good team, so Tennessee is included.
The service academies are similar, but at least there's a patriotism argument. It just doesn't seem right to duck them. Plus their talent level lowers the fear factor.
September 5th, 2017 at 6:33 PM ^
They stopped playing it about 30 years back but they continued the every-year series for a long time after Tech left the SEC. They've played each other more times than Michigan's played ND.
Week one maybe wasn't a good idea. But somebody has to play them first.
September 5th, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^
because they can't be aggressive and have to maintain gap control. They lined up about a yard behind LOS because they want to combat against cut blocks.
I wouldn't put blame on Hoke for it. Tennessee defense as whole got shredded all night long. Once they think they got a hang of it, GT countered with different plays to gash them. They couldn't stop QB counter all game long except when it counted for the 2 pt conversion.
September 5th, 2017 at 8:51 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 2:11 PM ^
I will always like Hoke.
I understand the bashing he takes around here - we lived through some dark times - but to continue to pile on someone who was the walking embodiment of the Peter Principle and clearly loved Michigan is unnecessary.
Nobody wins when we do this.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^
He gave us a couple great wins and brought in some great players and left us with a great D line coach. I'll say nothing bad about the man.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:39 PM ^
He proabaly still does not wear red in honor of Michigan.
He did more for the program than just about any of us on this board.
September 5th, 2017 at 4:09 PM ^
a good guy, a good defensive coach, with a deep love of Michigan. but haters gonna hate. i guess that's what message boards are for.
September 6th, 2017 at 1:15 AM ^
September 6th, 2017 at 11:16 AM ^
bet you never feel nothing but
September 5th, 2017 at 9:29 PM ^
How about he is just a good person who is all Michigan. It's not like we don't like him so I don't understand this post. I will make it basic and at street level. If your going to hate on Brady Hoke go fuck yourself!!!!.
September 5th, 2017 at 3:12 PM ^
Fair enough, I'll say some bad things for you: he's a bad coach who was condescending to the fans, was Brandon's lapdog, and was the only person in the stadium who wasn't "fully aware" that Morris was concussed. The best things he did for this program were to inadvertenly help get Brandon fired and ultimately lead to Harbaugh returning.
September 5th, 2017 at 3:27 PM ^
Tennessee gave up over 400 yards to Missouri and Kentucky last year; I didn't go digging through all their boxes scores, but their defense last year was not good.
September 5th, 2017 at 6:35 PM ^
And from reports at the Tennessee blogs it was mostly the defensive line's fault. They were not good, though a lot of it was injury related.
September 5th, 2017 at 8:16 PM ^
Hoke's defense was epically bad at Oregon last year. Maybe he couldn't change things fast but they were so horrible it probably contributed to cleaning house there. The better assessment will come this year when, with the same players, my expectation is they will be much better.
I really like Brady Hoke and honestly wish him very well. I also think he's a good coach and expect the D-Line at Tennessee to improve with him recruiting and coaching there (in that order). He's a Michigan guy through and through and I don't like people badmouthing him, however it is prudent to acknowledge some of his weaknesses.
September 6th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
Their list of DC interviews was short and not particularly impressive and...how to put this?...experienced--nobody with their career still in front of them was willing to put that job on their resume.
Then when they were announcing Hoke's hiring somebody asked Helfrich about the process and he said something like "we realized we should probably start recruiting the defensive side of the ball too." Kelly's guys were graduating (the good ones already had) and Helfrich had brought in nada.
And then the complete change of scheme, which was probably something they needed to do but only a first year coach could have gotten away with it. For a fourth-year coach on the hot seat to try it...that's desperation.
September 6th, 2017 at 1:02 AM ^
but let's revisit in a few weeks. If I had money to bet on worst run D in SEC and that was a thing to bet on, I'd seriously consider putting it on Tennessee.
And only because Hoke is D-line coach.
After constant downward trajectory at UM and providing historically bad D at Oregon while they still had more talent available on the team than they had throughout the entirety of 70's and 80's and part of the 90's....
Track record is pretty bleak.
Nice guy though. Maybe he should coach elementary school football.
September 5th, 2017 at 5:20 PM ^
he's not the DC making the defensive calls he is simply a DL coach. Sure the amount of yardage is alarming, but GT has a very good running offense which is tough to scheme against and Brady is simply the DL coach. I watched some of th game but not what the DL did exclusively. For all we know they did their job well and the LB's were blowing assignments. One game with Tennessee doesn't make the whole season.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:28 PM ^
I would disagree - it's definitely not the worst. If we were to go by sheer downvote volume, which is a fairly reliable barometer, it is probably whoever was asking why we couldn't recruit quarterbacks like Josh Rosen, perhaps forgetting that Michigan did - in fact - recruit him for a time anyway. That, and "Unhappy Anniversary".
September 5th, 2017 at 1:47 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 1:59 PM ^
Indeed. Not to mention it's the first game of the year. Georgia Tech might be really good (well, maybe).
I've long believed that Hoke has been overrated at nearly every step of his career, but he must know something (much, really).
September 5th, 2017 at 2:24 PM ^
Tennessee lost a few LBs due to injury, including a season-ender days before the game. Also, GT's QB Marshall is an outstanding runner.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:49 PM ^
Let's stop kicking Brady Hoke. He loves Michigan. He no doubt did his best for Michigan. He was fired. Let's let his Michigan dreams rest in peace.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:56 PM ^
I'm over his firing and like the guy a lot but I do find this interesting. Since he's left Michigan he's done nothing but put together absolutely awful defenses and defensive lines in particular. Considering he was splitting those duties here with Mattison, I think this starts to paint what was once considered his one strength at Michigan in a new light.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:31 PM ^
How foolish we all were?
September 5th, 2017 at 3:02 PM ^
Maybe he's lost his fastball as a DL coach, but one game against GT's triple-option offense isn't airtight evidence.
September 5th, 2017 at 4:41 PM ^
Tom Herman is a media darling and for all intents and purposes just got his ass handed to him by Maryland. Hard to judge someone by their first year when they don't have their own players. Not everyone is Harbaugh, which is why we're psyched about HARBAUGH! Lay off Brady.
September 5th, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 5:54 PM ^
Disagree somewhat. Hoke seems like a nice guy, I have nothing against him personally, and wish him success in the future. However, he was a mistake as a hire, and the cause of that mistake was the misguided idea that the predominant qualification for head coach at U-M is being from the "Michigan Family."
Unless a diet of milk and steak somehow makes you immortal, some day Michigan will be hiring for a HC again, and some group of idiots is going to point to Harbaugh as evidence that "Michigan Family" is the predominant qualification for HC at U-M. And when that happens, we need to shove the cautionary tale that is Brady Hoke down their ignorant throats.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:51 PM ^
GT triple option is a bitch and it's his first game. It's not like he's been coaching this D line for multiple years. Plus, the Tenn offense had trouble staying on the field. Even when Tenn scored they did so quickly. That Tenn D line was gassed. I'm willing to give him a pass on this game.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:50 PM ^
fuck your girlfriend or something OP?
No one has ever said that he's a defensive genius, only that he's a helluva D-line coach. He's been on the job at Tenn for 5 mins that that triple-option voodoo offense puts up a shit ton of yards against pretty much everyone.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:56 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 5th, 2017 at 2:03 PM ^
The Univeristy of New Orleans runs the triple option voodoo
September 5th, 2017 at 3:36 PM ^
September 5th, 2017 at 1:51 PM ^
We struggled with Air Force when Hoke was the coach. However, I feel the DC and LB coach share just as much blame as Hoke, if not more so.
September 5th, 2017 at 3:56 PM ^
Pretty much everyone struggles with Air Force. I'm annoyed that they're back on our schedule.
September 5th, 2017 at 1:57 PM ^
but he's over his head as a dc and head coach.
September 5th, 2017 at 2:06 PM ^
My thoughts exactly. He's Cam Cameron 2.0, riding early success at Michigan for an entire career. He did great under defensive minded Lloyd Carr, but couldn't adapt to the spread, like Lloyd. His defenses at Ball State and SDSU were underwhelming as well. Mattison's fingerprints are all over the defensive success he had as HC.
The guy is worth a salary for his recruiting alone though, that can't be argued. Just needs a strong DC looking over him.