Hoke on shane morris late in game

Submitted by newfoundhbomb on

hoke on the radio was asked why shane came in the game.  said they were gonna make a change but decided not to because devin is a senior and it was special for him to finish the game, his last time playing against MSU.  my response is what the hell dude.  play to win the damn game.  he tries way to hard to baby his players.  he coaches them soft and in return they play soft. devin makes so many mistakes and he knows that they won't bench him. 

klctlc

October 25th, 2014 at 7:38 PM ^

As bad as Gardner is ( as a QB, not as a human being) Morris is way worse.  We are fucked this year.  We really have no QB.  Might as welll run the hell out of Gardner.

Just an observation from a layman: Does it not seem Gardner makes it worse when he gets rushed?  He NEVER helps his offensive line out and extends the play?  He just tucks and runs into somebody's back, after he lowers his eyes.  I guess last year killed him or his just not a QB.

bnagy05

October 25th, 2014 at 8:16 PM ^

That is not what I see. I have noticed and have been yelling at the TV for years now that Gardner does not drop back far enough in the pocket. He doesn't give himself enough room to step into his throws. As soon as he is hiked the ball in the shotgun, he first stands flat footed and then stares down whichever receiver he wants to get the ball to and then throws. He telegraphs his passes and he isn't very accurate, a recipe for disaster. Unacceptable from a 5th year senior. He is a great person, but he is a poor quarterback. I respect that he gives it his all, however, with the lack of coaching and lack of fundamentals, he has not had much help progressing in his development.

TESOE

October 26th, 2014 at 1:18 AM ^

Devin has done everything he has been asked except advocate for himself.  If he had stuck to QB perhaps he'd have developed field vision to see the open recievers.  Instead he was tramped through 3 different schemes - the last two of which weren't adapted to his skills and one of these he spent as a wideout for half of the time.

Just a clusterfuq of a career path.  Devin is the better of the two.  In all fairness to the seniors he should start but when things go south Shane should play the remaining minutes.  If Hoke really thinks he is the best QB he should protect him when the game gets out of hand.  Playing Devin to the bitter end makes no sense on any level.  If Devin wants to finish out the game he needs to play better (granted his recievers didn't help - but he did enough to take him out of the game.)  Shane bleeds blue and deserves the snaps.  He has stiff competition next year and needs every minute.

lilpenny1316

October 25th, 2014 at 7:48 PM ^

I think that one problem of playing in different systems is that you get mechanical back there.  Instead of letting it hang out, you think too much.  Same thing happened with Joey Harrington.  It also seems like he lets the pocket collapse before he takes off and runs.  He's just slow processing everything.  Combine that with new offensive systems and poor OL play + poor running game and you have a mess of a situation.

mastodon

October 25th, 2014 at 10:29 PM ^

I noticed on a play when Cook looked to an 10-out pattern on the right that was covered, he immediately unloaded OOB.  There was no pressure around him, so seems he's got that drilled into him.  I don't know what Devin is coached to do in the pocket, but I don't think he's doing it.  Some sacks are gonna happen, but he seems to bring about too many.

TheSacko221

October 25th, 2014 at 11:09 PM ^

Because he is bad or because Hoke is so worried about being loyal to his upper class men that he doesn't allow Morris to get the reps to be prepared.

I really get the sense when Morris has played he plays to try and not get benched. He doesn't believe Hoke believes in him and plays that way. I remember playing for a coach who was quick to yank younger players for any mistake and I always played worried about that and never played freely.

howmuch

October 27th, 2014 at 10:27 AM ^

I know Morris hasn't looked good. A few games ago I felt that the best chance at a win was to stick w/ Gardner since Morris didn't look like he has what it takes right now. But now that there's really no way to salvage this season, I say bench the senior who's going to leave next year w/o any of this experience helping him or the team and put Morris on the field to get snaps and build something.

Blueinsconsin

October 25th, 2014 at 9:07 PM ^

growing pains with Morris if we're not going to be good anyways? What's the point of continuing to suffer through what ever it is Devin Gardner is attempting to do behind center? Despite what many say, Devin Garnder does not provide a better chance of winning of the game as the QB...Give the kid who actually has a chance of being good more experience

Blueinsconsin

October 27th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^

any game with Gardner at QB ever? It aint pretty...if Michigan is going to continue to be crap this season (which they will), be crap with the kid who needs the experience.  Is Gardner the better QB right now? No doubt, but not by much..but the slight uptick Gardner has over Morris doesn't help Michigan win games..

MGomaha

October 26th, 2014 at 4:34 AM ^

Holy shit this is why I hate our fanbase.

7/19 for 49 yards against MINNE FUCKING SOTA. THAT'S 2.5 YARDS PER ATTEMPT. IT'S REALLY BAD

HE HAS IT ALL UNDER CONTROL THOUGH DEVIN GARDNER JUST SUCKS HE MAKES EVERYONE AROUND HIM SUCK AND WITH SHANE WE WOULD BE UNDEFEATED #MICHIGANMAN #TRADITION #YOLO

westwardwolverine

October 26th, 2014 at 8:46 AM ^

You don't get it. 

No one is saying Morris is better than Gardner (if they are, they are dumb). 

What is being said is that Morris actually has a place is Michigan's future. He's going to be here next year and he's going to be battling for a starting job. So why not give him the reps now during a season that's already lost?

People keep saying, "But the bowl practices!". Whatever. I'd rather have my QB have significant in-game experience going into the next season than some practices with the worst staff in college football. 

Not to mention that Gardner just looked pretty checked out yesterday. 

Blueinsconsin

October 26th, 2014 at 11:57 AM ^

At this point Shane isn't better than Devin, but he's not far behind.  The decision making of Devin is equally, if not worse than Shane's.

I love that people bring up Shane's bad Minnesota, which was his whopping SECOND start...ever...Devin has had 30+ starts and IS JUST AS BAD AS A KID WHO HAS STARTED TWO GAMES! Why not go with Shane? What does that hurt? 

asquared

October 25th, 2014 at 7:36 PM ^

I don't have a problem with them going either way at that point in the game, but to put Shane in for one play and then change your mind just goes to show the quality level of coaching we are dealing with.

Muttley

October 25th, 2014 at 7:44 PM ^

I can see wanting to put Shane in for the good of the team for the remainder of the season.  I think Gardner still gives us the best chance to win when he can use his legs--obviously not today.  But getting Shane some game reps in garbage time in case Devin gets injured--there's some value in that.

And then we unexpectedly get the ball on the MSU 30.  I can also see some value in giving the first string a chance to score for its confidence.

Either way seems reasonable to me.  But again, Hoke was slow to think it through.

TESOE

October 26th, 2014 at 1:55 AM ^

I think he was emotional and sentiment got the best of him.  He knows he's screwed DG.  He knows he's coached his last MSU game.  The job of his dreams has slipped away from him due to his own incompetence.  Devin is a great person - as all who have been around him can attest.

He changed his mind  in  a vulnerable moment.  Bad decision but certainly not a game deciding one.

Hopefully we won't have to deal with this emotion going forward.  It doesn't do the team any good.

BigRedWolverine

October 25th, 2014 at 7:36 PM ^

haha what a joke of a coach. Not only did he place winning the game secondary to accomodating an individual, that degree of indecision is unbelieveable.

TIMMMAAY

October 25th, 2014 at 7:36 PM ^

It wouldn't have been any better, though the experience could have been valuable. Or it could have broken him like the Minnesota game did Belomy. 

Magnum P.I.

October 25th, 2014 at 8:32 PM ^

At first, I actually responded to this guy because I thought he truly believed that defending Hoke was justifiable. Now, I'm convinced he's just trolling the hell out of us. Glad to see by his point total that the board has voted with its feet.

julesh

October 25th, 2014 at 7:37 PM ^

Can we stop with the calls to bench Devin? Yes, he makes mistakes. No, no other QB currently on Michigan's roster (with the possible exception of Speight, but that's doubtful, and not worth burning a redshirt to test) has the ability to do better than Gardner.