I thought the analysis done here by Seth was incorrect as I had an excellent former football official look at it and we went through the plays together and replayed them many times.
Of 21 plays cited by Seth. We could only fine 4 that we agreed with Seth.
Three of these four plays favor MSU. Three of these plays the officials got right.
As far as the Bolden hit, the issue is with the rule, which is designed to protect QB's, WR's, and kickers. It was not a 'launch' type targeting so that's why some may be upset. Bolden was pulling away from the LT of MSU who had a hand on him, but clearly Reschke was providing the impetus to land on Cook to make sure he was down and he made contact with his facemask. With that said there are a lot of these close facemask calls. Someone sent me a clip of the MSU linebacker Bullough with a targeting hit on an Air Force player that the Spartans did not like. As we reviewed it, it was indeed a targeting call but very unintended.
As a Wolverine fan, I am disappointed that we resort to trying to blame the officials as calls didn't go the way either side wanted them to which leads to this annoyance. We are better than this.
I think what bothered me the most, after having nearly two punts blocked, is why we had the gunners out wide, which is a clear coaching mistake. I would also blame that on Harbaugh because even though Baxter sets formations, the head coach always has the final look and call and if he doesn't like what he sees he has to change it.
The thing that has hurt UM the worse is preocupation with Sparty.
Here's the issue, Ohio State and Urban are ahead of MSU and as long as UM and MSU remain in a bitch fight, OSU prospers.
Also Ohio State is in the East, there will be some years when we may need Sparty to knock off Ohio St to win the East.
Bad move by Brandon is to insist that OSU stay inthe East so they play them once.
I would rather forget the November game and play them in the BT Championship game or have them as a permanent crossover.
But Sparty is not the problem, getting the right coach and getting Urban to retire would be far more effective. Because as long as Urban is in the league UM and probably MSU sit home for every Big Ten Championship game.
However, I do disagree with the notion that Gil Brandt is not accurate in this case. He is a TRUE football insider and a guy so well thought of that he is often 'the' guy that headhunters turn to in gathering info of candidates for their coaching searches. If he said Cutcliffe was offered the job and turned it down, I would bet money on the fact it is true.
Most of the speculation for both Harbaugh coming and not coming to UM has been played out by the media whether they have been local or national and the media is in the speculating business. Those who say a candidate has not been offered have no 100% knowledge that they are correct--they are speculating. The reason I say that is UM seems to be sensitive to the fact they are trying to 'land the first guy they offer to' for some reason.
I don't see why that is a issue. Bielema was offered the Nebraska job before Riley, and Nebraska could care less who knows that. Is Coach Mac the first offer from Florida or did they look at Mullen or Stoops first? I will gurantee you they could care less either way.
The issue is not being turned down, but the issue is whether you asked people good enough to turn you down. There is no shame in being turned down by Cutcliffe, or Butch Jones, or Les Miles, or even Harbaugh. The shame is in not asking.
1. JIM HARBAUGH: Apparently before Brandon was fired the UM plane went west to SF and Harbaugh said no to UM again. Harbaugh has too many options, was on the hot seat at Stanford for a while until the end when he put it together. Started out like gangbusters at SF and now that is falling apart and he can't get along with anybody. This is not a long term solutions UM needs and he burned his bridges with comments about UM. Forget about his brother as well.
2. BUTCH JONES: As already said no to UM. Tenn is a good job.
3. LES MILES: At one time Miles would have given his left nut to Coach at UM and Jim Hackett loves him but he may be long in the tooth and his better days behind him.
4. DAN MULLEN: He built Miss St from scratch and seems like he has firm southern roots. He may look at Florida first, and if Alabama or Auburn opened up he would be gone and leave UM even if you could get him here.
5. GUS MALZAHN: Why would he leave Auburn and the SEC?
6. DAVID SHAW: Would not likely leave Stanford
7. PAT NARDUZZI: Strikes me as a carreer assistant like Bud Foster. No head coaching experience , may not know enough about offense or special teams to make adjustments. Defense broke down against Oregon and OSU.
8. GREG SCHIANO: No.1 A-hole, players in Tampa hated him.
Reasonable Candidates:
1. TYRONE WHEATLY: Buffalo Bills assistant coach is a student of the game and a good recruiter.
2. MARK STOOPS: HC Kentucky, Good track record, and good resume'
3. DANA HOLGORSEN: WVU HC Understands offense.
4. SKIP HOLTZ: (LOUIS TECH) Has learned a lot from his old man.
5. TOM HERMAN: Ohio State Offensive Coordinator will be the next big name coach. I would pay big money to pull him away from Urban legend.
Since Dave Brandon left Hoke seems to be his own man and different players are seeing the field like Drake Johnson and they are playing better.
Knee-jerk reaction happened after Rich Rod won 3, then 5, then 7-games while rebuilding his style of football. Offense was significantly better his third year than the first year.
Problem problem was RichRod couldn't bring his D-Coordinator from WVU. Then what happened he got one from Standford, and then Greg Robinson was fired from Syracuse and called Rich Rod up and asked for the job--and he got RichRod fired because of poor defense. Then Robinson went down to Texas and got Mack Brown fired for all intents and purposes. Had Brandon been smarter, he would have had RichRod stay and had him find a legit D-coordinator like Mattison.
Fast forward, yes, it is Brady's fourth year---but with a new OC in Nussmeier. Yes he has experienced, but it takes a few years to jell. Look at the Minny game---Shane Morris 2nd start and 1st start in a new system and people expect miracles. Same with Gardner what, three OC's in four years?
I would bring back Hoke and Coach Nuss and give them time to develop. Think of RichRod's first offense here, it was horrible. What would happen if given time?
I don't think this will stop and Hoke will be the Coach as long as Brandon is here---time for a historic sit down strike next game outside the Stadium and a buring of the unused tickets in protest. As long as people file into that stadium like sheep, the mediocrity will continue.
Hoke is the guy that broke into the Watergate Hotel, and Dave Brandon is Nixon. This has gone from mass miscommunication issues and incompetence to a poor job of damage control and now----- outright cover-up.
With a video like the Ray Rice video---damage control should have never been attempted to begin with. Per Foster's story--they have a guy saying players and staff were yelling at Hoke to get Morris off the field and he was like a deer in the headlights, and Mgoblog correctly said the med staff refused to lie which is why Brandon's statement came at 1am. Every neurologist across the nation said there is no such thing as a 'mild' concussion.
Should i also note that that Domino's stock has gone from about 7-8 bucks to $77.78 since Brandon has left.
Statement from U-M Athletic Director Dave Brandon Regarding Student-Athlete Health and Welfare
"Ultimate responsibility for the health and safety of our student-athletes resides with each team’s coach and with me, as the Director of Athletics. We are committed to continuously improving our procedures to better protect the health and welfare of our student-athletes."
QUESTION: If it resides with you and the coach, 1) Why are you blaming medical staff, and 2) Why is Hoke saying in his press conference he hadn’t talked to you.
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"I have had numerous meetings since Sunday morning to thoroughly review the situation that occurred at Saturday’s football game regarding student-athlete Shane Morris. I have met with those who were directly involved and who were responsible for managing Shane’s care and determining his medical fitness for participation."
QUESTION: In these numerous meetings why was Hoke not involved since he said at his Monday press conference and he had not talked to you? Is Hoke not involved? I thought you said he was involved, and in fact, responsible? How is that on Monday Coach Hoke said he didn’t believe he had a concussion and would have practiced if not for a high ankle sprain—and yet you say it was determined that Morris had a concussion right AFTER the game and further confirmed on Sunday? So how does Hoke not know that on MONDAY?
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"In my judgment, there was a serious lack of communication that led to confusion on the sideline. Unfortunately, this confusion created a circumstance that was not in the best interest of one of our student-athletes. I sincerely apologize for the mistakes that were made. We have to learn from this situation, and moving forward, we will make important changes so we can fully live up to our shared goal of putting student-athlete safety first."
QUESTION: Why does a school with the reputed medical staff like Michigan have to make changes? Do you realize this damages the schools medical reputation when the entire coaching staff and medical staff made so many egregious errors? Why was their so much confusion and lack of communication? Mattison and Hoke supposedly play euchre and wrestle together; shouldn’t communication be good, in fact superior?
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"I have worked with Darryl Conway, my Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Health and Welfare, to develop a detailed accounting of the events that occurred. Darryl is the person who oversees all athletic training personnel and serves as the liaison to the physicians we work with through the University of Michigan Health System and University Health Services. It is important to note that our athletic trainers and physicians working with Michigan Athletics have the unchallengeable authority to remove student-athletes from the field of play. Michigan Athletics has numerous medical professionals at every football competition including certified athletic trainers and several physicians from various relevant specialties."
QUESTION: Sure the medical trainers have the unchallengeable authority to take a kid off the field; however the BTN’s Glen Mason said many times he refused to let a cleared player go back on the field, why did Hoke allow that? Also if Morris was cleared, why did Bellomy grab a helmet? Isn’t it true, in the lieu of the ‘confusion’, the head coaches responsibility to call a timeout to protect his players instead of trying to save it for a comeback that likely wasn’t coming?
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"I, along with Darryl and our administrative and medical teams, have spent much of the last two days carefully reviewing the situation regarding Shane Morris. We now understand that, despite having the right people on the sidelines assessing our student-athletes’ well being, the systems we had in place were inadequate to handle this unique and complex situation properly."
QUESTION: The right people? How does all the right people, both coaches and medical staff happen to miss that Morris was ‘out on his feet’, when #71 was holding him up when he was collapsing, and #5 was desperately waving for help for the QB and received none. Do you not believe your players when they are hurt, or believe the players standing right next to a player that is hurt and asking for help? Also didn’t Funchess in both the Notre Dame game and the Minnesota game wave his arms for help and receive no care or attention? Also, didn’t Hoke get reprimanded once for allowing a player to get frostbite at Ball State? Also, how does Brady Hoke effectively communicate with ALL coaches and not just the ones standing next to him without a headset—even the girl that took my order at McD’s has a headset. One more thing, how is this ‘unique and complex’? Is this not an ankle injury and a concussion? Do football players not get those injuries? Isn’t this situation handled differently by everyone else so it is not unique and complex? Would have calling a timeout not created this situation?
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"With his permission, I can share that Shane Morris suffered an ankle injury during the third quarter of Saturday’s game. He was evaluated for that injury by an orthopedic surgeon and an athletic trainer several times during the game. With each of these evaluations it was determined that his ankle injury did not prevent him from playing."
QUESTION: Why are you sharing this early in your statement that Morris had an ankle injury and waiting to mention the concussion until later in the statement? Is the ankle injury more pressing in a press release than the head to head hit everyone but the ‘right people’ saw? Speaking of which, why did you wait until almost 1am to release this statement? Was this a PR move? Also when Morris was hurt, the TV announcers said that no trainers came to look at him, but instead Morris sat next to OC Nussmeier to look at plays for upcoming series. Do you not look at ankles and deem them something the trainers should check out?
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"In the fourth quarter, Shane took a significant hit and stumbled after getting up. From the field level and without the benefit of replays, medical and coaching staffs did not see the hit. Because they did not see the hit, the athletic training staff believed Shane stumbled because of his ankle injury. The team neurologist, watching from further down the field, also did not see the hit. However, the neurologist, with expertise in detecting signs of concussion, saw Shane stumble and determined he needed to head down the sideline to evaluate Shane."
QUESTION: After the hit and the pass result was over---all 100,000 eyes were on Morris and gasped when he collapsed, and then in the next several seconds after the hit he was walking to his right and collapsing. No.71 was holding him up, No.5 desperately waving for help? So short of asking you about who ordered the Code Red---WHY DID NONE OF THE ‘RIGHT PEOPLE’ RESPOND TO No.5 WHO WAS DESPERATELY TRYING TO HELP HIS QB BY ASKING FOR HELP? In that scenario, they wouldn’t need to see the play, would they? Why did people say Nussmeier saw it and told his QB to lay down? Why did Hoke say in his press conference immediately following the game that it was his decision to leave him in the game because Morris was a tough kid even though Morris had not come off the field immediately to be evaluated by medical staff? How can the medical staff be blamed if the head coach decides to leave him in the game for another play?
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"Shane came off the field after the following play and was reassessed by the head athletic trainer for the ankle injury. Since the athletic trainer had not seen the hit to the chin and was not aware that a neurological evaluation was necessary, he cleared Shane for one additional play."
QUESTION: Isn’t true that even if you didn’t see the hit, and none of the ‘right people’ saw the hit, that Morris’ reaction to the hit and his teammates both helping a wobbly and dazed QB and No. 5 trying to ask for help would have made a neurological evaluation necessary?
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"The neurologist and other team physicians were not aware that Shane was being asked to return to the field, and Shane left the bench when he heard his name called and went back into the game. Under these circumstances, a player should not be allowed to re-enter the game before being cleared by the team physician. This clearly identifies the need for improvements in our sideline and communication processes."
QUESTION: Who asked him to go back in the game with an ankle injury and the appearance of concussion symptoms? Did Hoke not go over and ask what happened or how he looked when he came off the field? Isn’t it true that at almost every program in the nation, the trainer reports immediately about the availability to of a player to go back in. Who cleared Morris to go back in the game?
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"Following the game, a comprehensive concussion evaluation was completed and Shane has been evaluated twice since the game. As of Sunday, Shane was diagnosed with a probable, mild concussion, and a high ankle sprain. That probable concussion diagnosis was not at all clear on the field on Saturday or in the examination that was conducted post-game. Unfortunately, there was inadequate communication between our physicians and medical staff and Coach Hoke was not provided the updated diagnosis before making a public statement on Monday. This is another mistake that cannot occur again."
QUESTION: After the game? Aren’t there questions that should have been asked while he was out of the game on the bench? Aren’t you throwing ‘probable’ in the mix with concussion to protect your head coach? How do you prevent this mistake from happening with your coach again? Shouldn’t have he have worn a headset and checked his QB when he came off the field like most head coaches?
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"Going forward, we have identified two changes in our procedures that we will implement immediately: We will have an athletic medicine professional in the press box or video booth to ensure that someone will have a bird’s eye view of the on-field action, have television replay available and have the ability to communicate with medical personnel on the sidelines."
QUESTION: You are kidding right? Had a coach in the press box just called down to Hoke—oh wait, he doesn’t wear a head set. Why not listen to players calling for help from the field as Morris’ teammates were trying to do? Or checking them when they come off the field so they don’t get their name called by the head coach?
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"We are also examining how to reinforce our sideline communication processes and how decisions will be made in order to make sure that information regarding student-athlete availability to participate is communicated effectively amongst the medical team and to our coaches."
QUESTION: Does this mean the head coach will wear a headset? Does this mean the ‘right people’ will listen to players on the field when calling for help for a teammate? Does this mean when a head to head targeting penalty is called, someone on the sidelines will have the common sense to check him out? Does this mean when the player gets to the sidelines he will be adequately checked? Does this mean the 3rd string QB will be able to find his helmet?
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"We have learned from this experience, and will continue to improve ways to keep our student-athletes’ health and safety our number one priority."
QUESTION: We have learned that the ‘right people’ don’t have a clue when it comes to protecting players and it appears that the medical people are getting the real blame when as Glen Mason says, the real decision maker is the head coach and he has to rule not to put a guy back in even if he was clear, and in this case, he wasn’t cleared, and in fact, did not get checked for a concussion in your own words until after the game.
Hoke's just released statement should outrage Michigan fans and appears to be an disingenuous at best and some outright lies at worse in my opinion. I have a few other opinions as well.
1. "Morris was removed from yesterday's game against Minnesota after further aggravating an injury to his leg that he sustained earlier in the contest."
A--Morris was clearly 'out on his feet' and wobbly from the head to head tackle from a Gopher player. Morris waved off help and played one more play and threw a pass---and THEN Gardner came into the game. Morris actually injured his leg earlier in the game on a near safety. While his leg injury probably was getting worse--this should not have been the main reason for taking him out compared to the head to head hit which left him obviously dazed. Also, after being taken out--HOKE put him back in after Gardner lost his helmet and Bellomy couldn't find his.
2. "He was evaluated by our experienced athletic trainers and team physicians, and we're confident proper medical decisions were made."
A-The announcers said they saw no trainer go over to him at the end of the series when he first got hurt near the end zone, instead he sat down next to OC--Nussmeier
3. "The University of Michigan has a distinguished group of Certified Athletic Trainers and team physicians who are responsible for determining whether or not a player is physically able to play."
A.--This should be true, UM of Hospital and medical facilities are among the best in the nation. However, shouldn't that player been brought out for evaluation when he was hurt and 'out on his feet' for a concussion evaluation?
4. "Our coaches have no influence or authority to make determinations if or when an injured player returns to competition"
A--Is this a play on words, 'return to competition' or is having enough common sense to bring out a wobbly and concussed football player? I guarantee you every coach worth his salt is go to say, "Get him out of the game" and not have to rely on anyone else's opinion.
Recent Comments
Congratulations, bet he is crying with joy.
David Shaw is a great Coach
Coincidence
Chargers New Motto: Who has it better than us?! NooooBodyy!
Good effort with the content.
Rooting for the NFL and seeing what happens. Wish him well.
Agreed, who is paying for that crap.
Day's Brother PI firm caused all the problems!
Harbs is back in Ann Arbor; get the passports ready!
They can sanction Michigan but will likely go easier since Harbaugh left.
Sherrone Moore will be a great hire.
It is so horrific that the football schedule is so weak, when Alumni pay so much for season tickets.I also think it hurt the Wolverines last year.
Nailor and Jarvis are leaving
I thought the analysis done here by Seth was incorrect as I had an excellent former football official look at it and we went through the plays together and replayed them many times.
Of 21 plays cited by Seth. We could only fine 4 that we agreed with Seth.
No 2 (12-men), 12(a) 'forward progess', 12(b) Shelton catch, 13. Reschke interference.
Three of these four plays favor MSU. Three of these plays the officials got right.
As far as the Bolden hit, the issue is with the rule, which is designed to protect QB's, WR's, and kickers. It was not a 'launch' type targeting so that's why some may be upset. Bolden was pulling away from the LT of MSU who had a hand on him, but clearly Reschke was providing the impetus to land on Cook to make sure he was down and he made contact with his facemask. With that said there are a lot of these close facemask calls. Someone sent me a clip of the MSU linebacker Bullough with a targeting hit on an Air Force player that the Spartans did not like. As we reviewed it, it was indeed a targeting call but very unintended.
As a Wolverine fan, I am disappointed that we resort to trying to blame the officials as calls didn't go the way either side wanted them to which leads to this annoyance. We are better than this.
I think what bothered me the most, after having nearly two punts blocked, is why we had the gunners out wide, which is a clear coaching mistake. I would also blame that on Harbaugh because even though Baxter sets formations, the head coach always has the final look and call and if he doesn't like what he sees he has to change it.
The thing that has hurt UM the worse is preocupation with Sparty.
Here's the issue, Ohio State and Urban are ahead of MSU and as long as UM and MSU remain in a bitch fight, OSU prospers.
Also Ohio State is in the East, there will be some years when we may need Sparty to knock off Ohio St to win the East.
Bad move by Brandon is to insist that OSU stay inthe East so they play them once.
I would rather forget the November game and play them in the BT Championship game or have them as a permanent crossover.
But Sparty is not the problem, getting the right coach and getting Urban to retire would be far more effective. Because as long as Urban is in the league UM and probably MSU sit home for every Big Ten Championship game.
Herman would be a great hire off of Ohio States staff.
He has been inthat program for three years and knows the offense inside and out.
Plus it knocks your rival down a notch.
However, I do disagree with the notion that Gil Brandt is not accurate in this case. He is a TRUE football insider and a guy so well thought of that he is often 'the' guy that headhunters turn to in gathering info of candidates for their coaching searches. If he said Cutcliffe was offered the job and turned it down, I would bet money on the fact it is true.
Most of the speculation for both Harbaugh coming and not coming to UM has been played out by the media whether they have been local or national and the media is in the speculating business. Those who say a candidate has not been offered have no 100% knowledge that they are correct--they are speculating. The reason I say that is UM seems to be sensitive to the fact they are trying to 'land the first guy they offer to' for some reason.
I don't see why that is a issue. Bielema was offered the Nebraska job before Riley, and Nebraska could care less who knows that. Is Coach Mac the first offer from Florida or did they look at Mullen or Stoops first? I will gurantee you they could care less either way.
The issue is not being turned down, but the issue is whether you asked people good enough to turn you down. There is no shame in being turned down by Cutcliffe, or Butch Jones, or Les Miles, or even Harbaugh. The shame is in not asking.
1. JIM HARBAUGH: Apparently before Brandon was fired the UM plane went west to SF and Harbaugh said no to UM again. Harbaugh has too many options, was on the hot seat at Stanford for a while until the end when he put it together. Started out like gangbusters at SF and now that is falling apart and he can't get along with anybody. This is not a long term solutions UM needs and he burned his bridges with comments about UM. Forget about his brother as well.
2. BUTCH JONES: As already said no to UM. Tenn is a good job.
3. LES MILES: At one time Miles would have given his left nut to Coach at UM and Jim Hackett loves him but he may be long in the tooth and his better days behind him.
4. DAN MULLEN: He built Miss St from scratch and seems like he has firm southern roots. He may look at Florida first, and if Alabama or Auburn opened up he would be gone and leave UM even if you could get him here.
5. GUS MALZAHN: Why would he leave Auburn and the SEC?
6. DAVID SHAW: Would not likely leave Stanford
7. PAT NARDUZZI: Strikes me as a carreer assistant like Bud Foster. No head coaching experience , may not know enough about offense or special teams to make adjustments. Defense broke down against Oregon and OSU.
8. GREG SCHIANO: No.1 A-hole, players in Tampa hated him.
Reasonable Candidates:
1. TYRONE WHEATLY: Buffalo Bills assistant coach is a student of the game and a good recruiter.
2. MARK STOOPS: HC Kentucky, Good track record, and good resume'
3. DANA HOLGORSEN: WVU HC Understands offense.
4. SKIP HOLTZ: (LOUIS TECH) Has learned a lot from his old man.
5. TOM HERMAN: Ohio State Offensive Coordinator will be the next big name coach. I would pay big money to pull him away from Urban legend.
Since Dave Brandon left Hoke seems to be his own man and different players are seeing the field like Drake Johnson and they are playing better.
Knee-jerk reaction happened after Rich Rod won 3, then 5, then 7-games while rebuilding his style of football. Offense was significantly better his third year than the first year.
Problem problem was RichRod couldn't bring his D-Coordinator from WVU. Then what happened he got one from Standford, and then Greg Robinson was fired from Syracuse and called Rich Rod up and asked for the job--and he got RichRod fired because of poor defense. Then Robinson went down to Texas and got Mack Brown fired for all intents and purposes. Had Brandon been smarter, he would have had RichRod stay and had him find a legit D-coordinator like Mattison.
Fast forward, yes, it is Brady's fourth year---but with a new OC in Nussmeier. Yes he has experienced, but it takes a few years to jell. Look at the Minny game---Shane Morris 2nd start and 1st start in a new system and people expect miracles. Same with Gardner what, three OC's in four years?
I would bring back Hoke and Coach Nuss and give them time to develop. Think of RichRod's first offense here, it was horrible. What would happen if given time?
I don't think this will
I don't think this will stop and Hoke will be the Coach as long as Brandon is here---time for a historic sit down strike next game outside the Stadium and a buring of the unused tickets in protest. As long as people file into that stadium like sheep, the mediocrity will continue.
Gerry Dinardo talked to
Gerry Dinardo talked to a Big Ten ref and the call was right.
The FSU Athletic
The FSU Athletic Department is getting little heat.
Jimbo Fisher is getting little heat.
Winston is getting most of the heat because he is immature.
Statement from U-M Athletic Director Dave Brandon Regarding Student-Athlete Health and Welfare
"Ultimate responsibility for the health and safety of our student-athletes resides with each team’s coach and with me, as the Director of Athletics. We are committed to continuously improving our procedures to better protect the health and welfare of our student-athletes."
QUESTION: If it resides with you and the coach, 1) Why are you blaming medical staff, and 2) Why is Hoke saying in his press conference he hadn’t talked to you.
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"I have had numerous meetings since Sunday morning to thoroughly review the situation that occurred at Saturday’s football game regarding student-athlete Shane Morris. I have met with those who were directly involved and who were responsible for managing Shane’s care and determining his medical fitness for participation."
QUESTION: In these numerous meetings why was Hoke not involved since he said at his Monday press conference and he had not talked to you? Is Hoke not involved? I thought you said he was involved, and in fact, responsible? How is that on Monday Coach Hoke said he didn’t believe he had a concussion and would have practiced if not for a high ankle sprain—and yet you say it was determined that Morris had a concussion right AFTER the game and further confirmed on Sunday? So how does Hoke not know that on MONDAY?
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"In my judgment, there was a serious lack of communication that led to confusion on the sideline. Unfortunately, this confusion created a circumstance that was not in the best interest of one of our student-athletes. I sincerely apologize for the mistakes that were made. We have to learn from this situation, and moving forward, we will make important changes so we can fully live up to our shared goal of putting student-athlete safety first."
QUESTION: Why does a school with the reputed medical staff like Michigan have to make changes? Do you realize this damages the schools medical reputation when the entire coaching staff and medical staff made so many egregious errors? Why was their so much confusion and lack of communication? Mattison and Hoke supposedly play euchre and wrestle together; shouldn’t communication be good, in fact superior?
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"I have worked with Darryl Conway, my Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Health and Welfare, to develop a detailed accounting of the events that occurred. Darryl is the person who oversees all athletic training personnel and serves as the liaison to the physicians we work with through the University of Michigan Health System and University Health Services. It is important to note that our athletic trainers and physicians working with Michigan Athletics have the unchallengeable authority to remove student-athletes from the field of play. Michigan Athletics has numerous medical professionals at every football competition including certified athletic trainers and several physicians from various relevant specialties."
QUESTION: Sure the medical trainers have the unchallengeable authority to take a kid off the field; however the BTN’s Glen Mason said many times he refused to let a cleared player go back on the field, why did Hoke allow that? Also if Morris was cleared, why did Bellomy grab a helmet? Isn’t it true, in the lieu of the ‘confusion’, the head coaches responsibility to call a timeout to protect his players instead of trying to save it for a comeback that likely wasn’t coming?
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"I, along with Darryl and our administrative and medical teams, have spent much of the last two days carefully reviewing the situation regarding Shane Morris. We now understand that, despite having the right people on the sidelines assessing our student-athletes’ well being, the systems we had in place were inadequate to handle this unique and complex situation properly."
QUESTION: The right people? How does all the right people, both coaches and medical staff happen to miss that Morris was ‘out on his feet’, when #71 was holding him up when he was collapsing, and #5 was desperately waving for help for the QB and received none. Do you not believe your players when they are hurt, or believe the players standing right next to a player that is hurt and asking for help? Also didn’t Funchess in both the Notre Dame game and the Minnesota game wave his arms for help and receive no care or attention? Also, didn’t Hoke get reprimanded once for allowing a player to get frostbite at Ball State? Also, how does Brady Hoke effectively communicate with ALL coaches and not just the ones standing next to him without a headset—even the girl that took my order at McD’s has a headset. One more thing, how is this ‘unique and complex’? Is this not an ankle injury and a concussion? Do football players not get those injuries? Isn’t this situation handled differently by everyone else so it is not unique and complex? Would have calling a timeout not created this situation?
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"With his permission, I can share that Shane Morris suffered an ankle injury during the third quarter of Saturday’s game. He was evaluated for that injury by an orthopedic surgeon and an athletic trainer several times during the game. With each of these evaluations it was determined that his ankle injury did not prevent him from playing."
QUESTION: Why are you sharing this early in your statement that Morris had an ankle injury and waiting to mention the concussion until later in the statement? Is the ankle injury more pressing in a press release than the head to head hit everyone but the ‘right people’ saw? Speaking of which, why did you wait until almost 1am to release this statement? Was this a PR move? Also when Morris was hurt, the TV announcers said that no trainers came to look at him, but instead Morris sat next to OC Nussmeier to look at plays for upcoming series. Do you not look at ankles and deem them something the trainers should check out?
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"In the fourth quarter, Shane took a significant hit and stumbled after getting up. From the field level and without the benefit of replays, medical and coaching staffs did not see the hit. Because they did not see the hit, the athletic training staff believed Shane stumbled because of his ankle injury. The team neurologist, watching from further down the field, also did not see the hit. However, the neurologist, with expertise in detecting signs of concussion, saw Shane stumble and determined he needed to head down the sideline to evaluate Shane."
QUESTION: After the hit and the pass result was over---all 100,000 eyes were on Morris and gasped when he collapsed, and then in the next several seconds after the hit he was walking to his right and collapsing. No.71 was holding him up, No.5 desperately waving for help? So short of asking you about who ordered the Code Red---WHY DID NONE OF THE ‘RIGHT PEOPLE’ RESPOND TO No.5 WHO WAS DESPERATELY TRYING TO HELP HIS QB BY ASKING FOR HELP? In that scenario, they wouldn’t need to see the play, would they? Why did people say Nussmeier saw it and told his QB to lay down? Why did Hoke say in his press conference immediately following the game that it was his decision to leave him in the game because Morris was a tough kid even though Morris had not come off the field immediately to be evaluated by medical staff? How can the medical staff be blamed if the head coach decides to leave him in the game for another play?
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"Shane came off the field after the following play and was reassessed by the head athletic trainer for the ankle injury. Since the athletic trainer had not seen the hit to the chin and was not aware that a neurological evaluation was necessary, he cleared Shane for one additional play."
QUESTION: Isn’t true that even if you didn’t see the hit, and none of the ‘right people’ saw the hit, that Morris’ reaction to the hit and his teammates both helping a wobbly and dazed QB and No. 5 trying to ask for help would have made a neurological evaluation necessary?
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"The neurologist and other team physicians were not aware that Shane was being asked to return to the field, and Shane left the bench when he heard his name called and went back into the game. Under these circumstances, a player should not be allowed to re-enter the game before being cleared by the team physician. This clearly identifies the need for improvements in our sideline and communication processes."
QUESTION: Who asked him to go back in the game with an ankle injury and the appearance of concussion symptoms? Did Hoke not go over and ask what happened or how he looked when he came off the field? Isn’t it true that at almost every program in the nation, the trainer reports immediately about the availability to of a player to go back in. Who cleared Morris to go back in the game?
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"Following the game, a comprehensive concussion evaluation was completed and Shane has been evaluated twice since the game. As of Sunday, Shane was diagnosed with a probable, mild concussion, and a high ankle sprain. That probable concussion diagnosis was not at all clear on the field on Saturday or in the examination that was conducted post-game. Unfortunately, there was inadequate communication between our physicians and medical staff and Coach Hoke was not provided the updated diagnosis before making a public statement on Monday. This is another mistake that cannot occur again."
QUESTION: After the game? Aren’t there questions that should have been asked while he was out of the game on the bench? Aren’t you throwing ‘probable’ in the mix with concussion to protect your head coach? How do you prevent this mistake from happening with your coach again? Shouldn’t have he have worn a headset and checked his QB when he came off the field like most head coaches?
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"Going forward, we have identified two changes in our procedures that we will implement immediately: We will have an athletic medicine professional in the press box or video booth to ensure that someone will have a bird’s eye view of the on-field action, have television replay available and have the ability to communicate with medical personnel on the sidelines."
QUESTION: You are kidding right? Had a coach in the press box just called down to Hoke—oh wait, he doesn’t wear a head set. Why not listen to players calling for help from the field as Morris’ teammates were trying to do? Or checking them when they come off the field so they don’t get their name called by the head coach?
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"We are also examining how to reinforce our sideline communication processes and how decisions will be made in order to make sure that information regarding student-athlete availability to participate is communicated effectively amongst the medical team and to our coaches."
QUESTION: Does this mean the head coach will wear a headset? Does this mean the ‘right people’ will listen to players on the field when calling for help for a teammate? Does this mean when a head to head targeting penalty is called, someone on the sidelines will have the common sense to check him out? Does this mean when the player gets to the sidelines he will be adequately checked? Does this mean the 3rd string QB will be able to find his helmet?
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"We have learned from this experience, and will continue to improve ways to keep our student-athletes’ health and safety our number one priority."
QUESTION: We have learned that the ‘right people’ don’t have a clue when it comes to protecting players and it appears that the medical people are getting the real blame when as Glen Mason says, the real decision maker is the head coach and he has to rule not to put a guy back in even if he was clear, and in this case, he wasn’t cleared, and in fact, did not get checked for a concussion in your own words until after the game.
Four statements numbered
Four statements numbered 1-4 and A is for my answer.