beanie wells

Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 9:52 a.m.

@tater: not sure if he noticed the offense (41 total points?). probably noticed the defense, though (only 41 total points!). pretty sure hoke will give the defense some attention... pretty sure richrod didn't.

MikeB

Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 7:22 a.m.

Couple of things. Congratulations to Coach Hoke. To the fans - undoubtedly he will do things you disagree with and he will lose games and disappoint some of you - please deal with it. No one wins all their games. To all who wrote about the "Spread Offense" No one who is a fan of the spread, myself included, ever felt that defense wasn't important, but please bear in mind that they were playing for the National Championship! And they both had pretty good defenses. Please remember that the team who scores the most points wins the game. The UM Defense needs to get a lot better and I suspect it will, next year - good but not great. Next season a decent defense and a potentially very good offense will deliver a record with 8 or 9 wins and a decent bowl game. Last comment - lets support the coach and give him a chance, because often the end target of the venom being spewed (even inadvertently) is a young man, maybe 18 or 19 years old who doesn't deserve the ire. Go Blue

YuckyPizza

Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 2:01 a.m.

Looser coach joined by a Journeyman Tumbleweed coordinator.

BMZ

Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 1:17 a.m.

About AL BORGES, see the interview on MAIZENBREW.COM. Sounds good. Hope he is. GO BLUE!

john d. hs

Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 1:15 a.m.

Michigan finished 8th in the country in total offense with 10 returning starters and still very young. Lets continue to build on that. If this O cordinator is willing to do that I would think he is wise. If he doesnt understand how good hes got it on the o side, then we are in deep, deep trouble.

john d. hs

Wed, Jan 12, 2011 : 12:33 a.m.

AZ......I dont know how anyone can honestly say that rr offense was not an improovement X10 of what Michigans o was doing under Carr. Im not saying bring RR back, but we need to be honest. Even as a huge Michigan fan it was very, very boring watching Carrs offense. You could hear a pin drop in that stadium. Whether you like it or not The excitement plays a huge factor in the programs success. More excitement around the whole program. Players want to be a part of it. TV viewers want to watch it and fans in the seats actually stand up and yell. Dont throw the baby out with the bath water. The offense was going in the right direction whether you can see it or not.

aareader

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 11:30 p.m.

@Tater Your assumptions may be correct if a hybrid offensive plan cannot be found for Denard and he decides to leave Let us hope Hoke and company can show some versatility. If not how will they be different than RR in his first year to the previous Michigan players. I choose to be optimistic. Go BLUE

azwolverine

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 10:31 p.m.

John, The fact that Hoke is bringing coordinators with him to do it "for him" is a GOOD THING. A coach that knows how to hire quality coordinators that know their jobs and do it well is something our previous coach had no idea how to do. Greg Robinson and the entire defensive staff were terrible, and the fact that RR dictated an awful system that the coordinator had no idea how to run was even worse. Throw in the worst strength and conditioning coach (Barwis) in the history of Michigan football, and you see a huge part of the problem with the previous coach. By the way, 8 points per game against OSU over three years is equally pathetic. If you want the old, 'exciting' (8 points? that excited you?) coach, follow him on ESPN or FoxSports this season as an announcer since no one seems at all interested in hiring him to coach their team. UM needed a change of direction, and Hoke is our man. Go Blue or go home.

Tim

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 10:21 p.m.

Hoke Returns to Ann Arbor: http://sports-glutton.com/2011/01/11/hoke-returns-to-ann-arbor/

vi4mi4

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 10:14 p.m.

..Woooooooo!!! back to developing players that play on Sunday! Rally Up Wolverines!..spring ball will be intense and competitive.. Hail to the Victors! Go Blue! v

john d. hs

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 10:12 p.m.

@LG.. Those were last nights stats

john d. hs

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 10:09 p.m.

Auburn runs the spread too. Yes you have to score, which they could have if they executed properly. You can still have a formation for a goal line offense. thats pretty easy to put in there. There were turnovers deep in eachothers territories also. I think aburn is pretty effective in short yardage situations in thier spread.

LG

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 10:07 p.m.

Hey to the guy who wrote about 2 spread teams-they had one of the highest scoring teams in college football. Auburn plays in the toughest conference in college football where all the teams play defense better than any conference in football,So the statement you made doesn't hold a bucket of water. P.S. Keep up with stats where the teams play and what conference they play in.It was proven this bowl season the southeastern conference is way ahead of the big ten.

john d. hs

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:52 p.m.

I hope to God this guy is smart enough to keep an offense that can use all the talent Michigan has on offense. I have heard that Hoke has never been a coordinator before. So I guess I can see why he is bringing people with him that have been doing for him. Man, the more Im researching everything the worse this is starting to look.

heartbreakM

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:50 p.m.

Last night, Auburn won that game on defense. Oregon did itself no favors by running all these multidirection motion sets which were theoretically to confuse Auburn, but that defensive line of Auburn just blew it all up. Ultimately, you can get a zillion yards on offense, but if you score 22 points and win, that means your defense ruled the day. Can you imagine if michigan scored 22 points in every loss this year? They still lose!! (And even most of their wins). So, yeah, I can see how the spread is the only way to win. LOL

heartbreakM

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:50 p.m.

Last night, Auburn won that game on defense. Oregon did itself no favors by running all these multidirection motion sets which were theoretically to confuse Auburn, but that defensive line of Auburn just blew it all up. Ultimately, you can get a zillion yards on offense, but if you score 22 points and win, that means your defense ruled the day. Can you imagine if michigan scored 22 points in every loss this year? They still lose!! (And even most of their wins). So, yeah, I can see how the spread is the only way to win. LOL

john d. hs

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:36 p.m.

I think for a lot of Michigan fans mediocraty is good enough. They dont want to go through the sacrafices it will take to compete on a national level. An occasional Big 10 championship is good enough. Then go to the Rose Bowl and get blown away because you stubbornly refuse to learn the lesson that the reason these teams are embarrasing you every year is because thier offense and defenses match up alot better from a scheme standpoint.

Rob Pollard

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:35 p.m.

Blah. What has Borges done this decade? From 2001-2003 he did nothing of note. Then, he had a good (but not great) year in 2004 w/ a ton of NFL talent, but that Auburn team excelled on defense, not offense. Then, the offense got progressively worse each year until he was fired. He took a year off, and then had nice year this past year in the Mountain West. Again, hes probably OK, but is this the best we can do (dont answer that!)

Dankston Hughez

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:28 p.m.

We shall see.....Go Blue.

john d. hs

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:24 p.m.

Defenses Dominated Oregon/Auburn last night???!! Really? Auburn total O... 519 yards, 6.1 yards per play, Oregon total O...449 yards, 6.2 yards per play. Fact is if you want to keep up you have got to run the spread in college fb. if Michigan goes back to Lloyd Carr Offense it will be a BIG mistake. Allthough terrible on D, one thing RR did get right was bringing excitement back in watching Mich games, because the Offense was so exciting to watch. It was very boring watching thier Offense when Carr was coach. It was no wonder Mich fans gained a reputation for being so quiet during games.

D21

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:20 p.m.

Tater, Take a chill pill. With the RR mess behind us, the road to BCS titledom begins today. I guarantee that you, LS and Theo212 will forget who RR is within a year from now.

GoblueinNE_PA

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:19 p.m.

If this is true, this is very good news. I think you'll see a guy in Borges that can adapt the offense to fit the players in the program. The next couple of weeks will be interesting as we'll see what happens with our current crop of student atheletes (some of whom already seem to get it) and this year's recruiting class. I'm more optimitic about the hire the more time I've had to think about it.

johnnya2

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 9:02 p.m.

Hoke will not need a dad to "stump for him". He has people who matteer more when it comes to recruiting. Tom Brady., Charles Woodson, Larry Foote, Brian Griese et al. I can promise you this, Denard Robinson will NEVER be a starting QB in the NFL. We all saw what happened to Oregon and Auburn's offense when confronted with a good defense. The spread will work ocassionally with a once a decade player like Newton or Mike Vick, but long term, I will take Ryan Mallet, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning types over guys who can't produce when it matters. How is that whole QB thing working out for Pat White. If the UM has pro level talent at QB, it will draw pro level receivers, which will also draw pro level offensive lineman and running backs. Buying into the concept of good college player, but not going to make it to the next level is the failure of RR and his followers. TALENT WINS. In three years of recruiting, which UM player that RR got do you see playing on Sundays. Adrian Arrington, Mario Manningham, Braylon Edwards, Tom Brady, Lemar Woodley, Larry Foote, Charles Woodsen, David Harris, Brandon Graham, Leon Hall, Jake Long, Steve Hutchinson didn't need to be in a gimmick offense to succeed.

1st Down

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 8:49 p.m.

tzgoblue...thanks for pointing out that a read zone spread got dominated by a fast and physical defense last night, just as we saw with our team all last year, and the year before, and the year before that. Anyone see a correlation? I do. zone read vs. fast and physical is a certifiable loss.

1st Down

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 8:48 p.m.

Borges is good, very good. Has a long and successful history as an OC in college, and in developing players for the NFL.

tzgoblue

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 8:44 p.m.

2 spread teams playing last night that were dominated by defense. I believe the score was 22-19. I also believe it was 0-0 after the first quarter. If not mistaken, Oregon had the ball at the 1 yd line and that great spread offense was able to gain 1/2 yd and come away empty. Hopefully, DR stays, if not so be it. No one player is bigger than the team. DR should welcome the oportunity to play in a system that doesn't require him to carry the ball 25 times a game and get beat up. He may actually improve his ability as a true QB in a system that utilizes multiple sets, formations, and plays.

Ben

Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 7:48 p.m.

Oh good, this will help with come continuity. I hope Hoke and crew take a good look at the athletes we have and decide how best to utilize them. Unlike RR's arrogant ways where a new system was thrown into play on day 1.