Tag: Merril Hoge

Former ESPN analyst Merril Hoge believes Drake Maye ‘will get you fired’

Drake Maye has been all over the place in draft rankings. Former ESPN analyst Merril Hoge believes that the UNC passer is a very high risk.

As draft season rolls along, the takes and “news” you hear on players will begin to take a specific turn from glowing to critical. It happens every single year.

The latest news cycle had former Steelers fullback and ESPN analyst Merril Hoge speaking out on Drake Maye while appearing on WCCO-AM in Minneapolis.

Hoge said: “Drake Maye is the kind of player that will get you fired. Especially if you draft him in the top five or top three, he’s going to get you fired.”

He thinks the evaluation of Maye is pretty cut-and-dried and reminiscent of that of Malik Willis in 2021. Willis was favored to be one of the top quarterbacks drafted in 2021 but he now is buried on the Tennessee Titans depth chart instead. 

“Willis might be the only guy that I can think of that is as erratic as Maye,” Hoge said. “I studied him for two years. … I watched every one of his games last year. … His last game against [North Carolina State] was probably the most embarrassing display I’ve seen from a guy who is supposed to be an elite franchise quarterback.”

Hoge has been right on quarterback prospects in the past. He was notably against both Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel throughout their draft processes. Not the company Maye will want, nor Vikings fans, as he is linked to the team more and more in mock drafts.

Former NFL player Merril Hoge claims Drake Maye is the ‘kind of player that will get you fired’

Merril Hoge continues to speak against Drake Maye as an NFL prospect.

Former NFL running back Merril Hoge is apparently not a fan of North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. Hoge played running in the NFL for eight seasons and, after his playing days, joined ESPN, where he worked for over 20 years.

While Hoge doesn’t work at ESPN these days, he’s still active in the media and analyzes draft prospects every year. This year, his most notable draft evaluation is North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

“I wouldn’t touch Maye,” Hoge said in a February appearance on the “Sports Junkies.”

“I wouldn’t grab Maye in the first round! There are a bunch of things that bother me. He is extremely inconsistent. His accuracy and processing are both inconsistent. He is not extremely athletic. I find him more stiff. He has a longer throwing motion which allows more hits in our league than college.”

It’s a stance that Hoge reiterated when he joined other Washington-related shows.

Hoge’s stance hasn’t changed. In a recent appearance on WCCO Radio with Henry Lake in Minneapolis, Hoge said Maye is the type of player who will get someone fired.

“Drake Maye will get you fired,” Hodge said. Drake Maye is the kind of player who will get you fired. Especially if you draft him in the top five or top three, he’s going to get you fired.”

Somehow, Hoge sees Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis as a comparison for Maye. 

“Malik Willis might be the only guy that I can think of that is as erratic as Drake Maye,” Hodge said. “I studied him for two years…….I watched every one of his games last year…His last game against [North Carolina State] was probably the most embarrassing display I’ve seen from a guy who is supposed to be an elite franchise quarterback. When you talk about accuracy, he’s erratic. He’s everywhere.”

It’s fair. It’s Hoge’s opinion. Some agree. Most others do not. No one disagrees that Maye has some work in front of him at the next level, but 

Hige wasn’t done criticizing Maye. 

“When I watch Drake Maye, first of all, he lumbers. People think his athleticism will translate, but people want him to run, and they will bust him up,” Hoge said. “He is not athletic enough. If he doesn’t get down and learn how to do that, he won’t last until Week 10. He has an elongated motion. Short, intermediate, or long, doesn’t matter.”

There is much more included in the interview.

The Washington Commanders hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Adam Peters has a much better track record than Hoge as a talent evaluator. We’ll soon find out what he thinks of Hoge’s player personnel evaluation.

Hoge wasn’t much higher on J.J. McCarthy, acknowledging he was better than Maye, but just “OK.”

2024 NFL draft: Chris Simms comes in with the latest Drake Maye slander

“Drake Maye has a ton of awesome traits, but is still a bit of a project.” Simms ranks Maye 6th among the quarterbacks.

Every year, some in the media world seem to pick one quarterback prospect to nitpick. This year, it’s North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

That’s how you know it’s draft season. Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are in contention to likely be the No. 2 overall pick behind Caleb Williams (USC). There’s a chance Maye or Daniels go No. 1, but it’s a slim chance.

At last week’s NFL combine, there was a strong buzz that Maye was behind only Williams. At the end of the combine, the pendulum swung back in Daniels’s favor when Rich Eisen revealed things he’d heard last week in Indianapolis from various defensive coordinators.

Former NFL player Merril Hoge weighed in on Maye, saying he didn’t believe he was a first-round pick.

Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk has weighed in with his quarterback rankings, and they are interesting.

To Simms’ credit, he’s usually a bit unconventional when he ranks players. Seeing different perspectives and opinions is always good, and Simms provides those.

Without further ado, here are his top six quarterbacks for the 2024 NFL draft.

Here’s a tweet from Simms on his ranking on Maye:

“Drake Maye has a ton of awesome traits, but is still a bit of a project,” Simms said.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. He could be right on Maye. Many could be right on Maye. But calling him a talented project seems like a bit much. While Caleb Williams is the unquestioned No. 1, no passer in this draft has the combination of Maye’s size, arm strength, and tools. He’s had good tape at North Carolina. There has been bad, too.

Two players Maye is often compared to are Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. Those comparisons are unfair for obvious reasons, but you can see why they are made. All have similar size, arm strength and terrific athleticism. They can make every throw on the field but entered the draft with questions.

Allen and Herbert turned out OK.

There is still a long way until the NFL draft. Washington fans should be thankful for having a front office led by Adam Peters that will make the best decision for the franchise. Sure, it may not work, but the process is correct for once. And credit the Commanders for building a coaching staff that is quarterback-centric, featuring offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, assistant head coach Brian Johnson, quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard and assistant quarterback coach David Blough. All four were college starters, and Kingsbury and Blough have NFL playing experience.

If you want to hear Simms discuss the quarterbacks, it’s available on his podcast at this link.

Buckle up. There’s still a long way to go until April 27 in Detroit.

Football analyst Merril Hoge shares harsh thoughts about Caleb Williams, belief in Justin Fields

Say what you really feel, Merril Hoge …

Merril Hoge, a longtime football analyst who used to work for ESPN, did not pull any punches in his evaluation of USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

Via Mike Freeman of USA TODAY Sports, Hoge said, “First of all, his ability to throw on the run is very disturbing. It is very inaccurate and it’s all over the place. There’s a ton of RPO (run pass option), which nobody is going to RPO themselves to a Super Bowl in our league. … You gotta push the ball down the field. There are times when he does that. He doesn’t play with a lot of anticipation because of all the clean pockets that exist for him.

“The thing that’s disturbing me right now is his inability to be consistent on the move as a thrower. And he’s willing to do that a lot more than he has to. You don’t have that choice in our league … I don’t see anything magical with his arm.”

I think we might talk about this topic a little more in the coming days.

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Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky commended for fighting through Patriots debacle

Mitch Trubisky played through boo-birds and chants for his backup, Mason Rudolph.

Mitch Trubisky took it in the teeth last Thursday, both from the New England Patriots and the crowd of Steelers faithful at Acrisure Stadium.

But he continued to play on, even if it wasn’t good. Though he stumbled, he didn’t crumble — through getting booed and hearing chants for your backup.

“That dude fought through. They were booing him and chanting Mason Rudolph,” former Steelers running back Merril Hoge said on the DVE Morning Show on Wednesday.

Though he didn’t persevere, Hoge respects Trubisky’s attitude.

“The way he played and fought through that. I have enormous respect for him. I do. He showed me something from a character perspective and a mental perspective that I was like, I mean, a lot of people in that position would’ve crumbled.”

Even for the interception, Hoge doesn’t blame Trubisky but targeted tight end Pat Freiermuth.

“The pick that Trubisky threw … Freiermuth makes a move and just quits. He’s supposed to break it inside and he just quits. … He stopped and backpedaled. I’ve never seen a route like that. And there would be no reason to do that based on the coverage that they were playing. He should have been where the ball was. I’m just telling you that.”

Hoge said he didn’t like Trubisky as a first-round draft pick, stating that nothing would tell any team that he was that caliber of a quarterback. “If you studied him in college, he has the exact same things today that he had in college, and they’ve never changed, they’ve only gotten worse, they’ve been magnified.”

Still, Hoge credited his leadership skills for not throwing Freiermuth under the bus. “His job is to throw it, and when you lose, it is about you. It’s not about other people. And he followed that model perfectly, but the way he played throughout that game, I was like, that kid deserves a lot of credit because he was getting, I mean, beat up.”

Trubisky needs to play strong and sound football and use that teeth-kicking as fuel against the Indianapolis Colts. Because if he doesn’t, the Steelers are in even more trouble as the 2023 regular season winds down.

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Merril Hoge blasts Steelers’ blocking, compares it to ‘two turtles humping’

Merril Hoge has never been one to hold back on criticism of his former team.

The fire has been out of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense for a few seasons now, and the ashes are stone cold.

We watch it unfold with every snap they take. From the center-to-quarterback exchange to the passes to lazy receivers to aspects of the ground game that once looked promising, the Steelers continue to get worse.

Former Steelers running back Merril Hoge has never been one to hold back on criticism of his former team. Most times he’s spot-on, and sometimes even hilarious while doing it.

There’s so much blame to go around, and Hoge highlighted a few instances that only amplified why. For starters, blocking has been abysmal.

“It is the only term I can think of,” Hoge said in a Dec. 13 interview on 102.5 DVE. “But our tight ends look like two turtles humping when you’re blocking; you’re not blocking anybody.”

I take that back. It’s not funny. It’s sad. The Steelers offensive players look like a bunch of bumbling high-schoolers who don’t know what’s going on.

Receivers were criticized for their lack of follow-through.

“It might be the worst group of route runners in the NFL,” Hoge said. “Half the time, they quit on routes.”

According to Hoge, Mitch Trubisky’s intercepted pass targeting Pat Freiermuth at the start of the second quarter in Week 14 was more on the receiver than the sender.

“The pick that Trubisky threw … Freiermuth makes a move and just quits. He’s supposed to break it inside and he just quits. … He stopped and backpedaled. I’ve never seen a route like that. And there would be no reason to do that based on the coverage that they were playing. He should have been where the ball was. I’m just telling you that.”

Jabrill Peppers returned the interception to the Steelers’ 11-yard line. The Patriots found paydirt two plays later, upping their lead to 14-3.

“It’s not just Freiermuth, it’s all of them. … There’s no sense of urgency, there’s no, there’s passion in it, there’s no purpose in it, and it shows up and eventually it catches you.”

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Former Steelers legend blasts lack of effort by receivers and tight ends

The Steelers receivers and tight ends play like they’ve given up on the season.

We have questioned the heart and desire of the Pittsburgh Steelers all season long, particularly on offense. We have criticized the effort of the offensive line as well as the skill-position players on multiple occasions. Now former Steelers fullback Merill Hoge is putting his two cents in and he isn’t holding back about the Steelers wide receiver and tight ends.

Hoge was on WDVE and offered up some hard truth about the receivers quitting on routes and going even harder on the tight ends.

“It might be the worst group of route runners in the NFL…the only term I can think of but our tight ends look like two turtles humping when you’re blocking.”

Hoge is an exceptional analyst and can break down plays as well as anyone but you don’t need his level of football acumen to see just how poorly these two positional units have played. This lack of effort is a direct reflection on the Steelers coaching staff and their unwillingness to hold any players accountable for what they do.

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