GBMWolverine: Coach’s Corner — Michigan Football — Utah at Michigan — The Defense

Posted at 6:00am — 9/3/2008

GBMWolverine: Coach’s Corner — Michigan Football — Utah at Michigan — The Defense

Defense Breakdown:

Safeties:
Steve Brown in the first half he fell back into the old habits of his past performances and that’s why he was pulled. He played better in the second half and it was good to see that he did not get down on himself. It was also good to see the coaching staff keep its confidence in him. The good news is he came back and had a solid second half. A year ago his confidence would have been shot. He rebounded well, which is a very good sign for him and Michigan for the remainder of the year.

Charles Stewart’s play was worse in our opinion than Brown’s. Why he left the inside hash on that late first half touchdown is a mystery, and that touchdown was a killer, especially when Utah would be receiving the second half kickoff, putting their offense right back on the field to start the third quarter. The penalty also benefited Utah, as Michigan was forced to kick off from their 15 yard line. Not a good end to the first half, and not a good beginning for the second half. Brown and Stewart both played better in the second half.

Linebackers:
Obi Ezeh played well against the run and in blitz situations. At times he played like a man possessed, but you can bet in this week’s film sessions Coach Hopson is going to get after him about his pass coverage. A lot of people will just look at the stats and see fifteen tackles and think he had a great game, but every time Utah wanted or needed to, they went to their tight end against Obi and usually got a big play or a first down. As well as he ran down the quarterback and defended the run, his pass defense was just as bad.

Austin Panther was worse. He appeared a step slow, he was easily blocked on blitzes, and seemed out of place at times.

Marrell Evans needs to play under control. He had a difficult time on the field, but do not get down on him; he is a youngster who was playing in his first game. He will bounce back to be a good player at Michigan. He knows there is a lot of room for improvement, and he is the type of kid that will keep working to overcome his issues. He is also the type of kid who won’t pout if demoted to second team and he will keep competing.

Jonas Mouton blitzed well, but we need to see his complete game and need to see more of him.

Utah’s game plan was to attack our linebackers. We discussed the improvement of Michigan’s linebackers as practices progressed, but there was concern about their ability to defend the pass. Utah found that weakness in the first half and exploited it to near perfection.

We believe that is why Mouton and Artis Chambers played major snaps after halftime. Mouton really showed some promise in the second half when he was used as a blitzing linebacker. It may have appeared that Michigan blitzed more in the second half, but we attribute that to the blitz being more effective in the third and fourth quarters.

J.B. Fitzgerald is going to be one heck of a football player at Michigan. He has great size and speed and looks very good on special teams. He looks like he enjoys the game. If Obi Ezeh keeps up his stellar run defense and improves his pass defense, Fitzgerald may move next year. In our opinion, 2009 should be a season that has Ezeh and Fitzgerald on the field at the same time.

Michigan’s defense needs improvement from the linebackers and the defensive tackles. If they get better play from those positions, the defense can be solid. Until we see noticeable improvement in those areas, expect every team to attack us with a quick passing game and occasional long seam passes.

Defensive Tackles:
They were not good in our opinion. Coach Shafer was constantly switching to nickel to generate penetration. If Michigan does not get middle push, playing aggressive will be difficult. Defensive Tackles only got needed penetration or separation on about 20 percent of the plays. To play the aggressive style of defense that Coach Shafer wants, defensive tackles must play better.

When you bring the defensive ends up field, the defensive tackles must push the offensive line or it opens up seams inside and makes it easy for the quarterback to step into the pocket when edge pressure shows. When Will Johnson did get penetration or push, or when Brandon Graham did in nickel situations, Michigan’s defense was much better. The defense does not have to hit or sack the quarterback on every play, but when the pocket collapses because of the pressure, it takes away space for the quarterback to step up into the pocket and deliver the ball.

Inside pressure and push are more important and more disruptive than edge/speed rusher.

Utah quarterback Brian Johnson was regularly able to step up into the pocket and avoid blitzes and edge rush. At times when UM’s Will Johnson generated middle push, the defense was very good.

Terrence Taylor was very disappointing in our opinion. He was not much of a factor throughout the game.

Renaldo Sagesse had a solid game. He blew some plays up. He looks to be in very good shape and will be more of a defensive factor as the season goes on.

Defensive End:
Ryan Van Bergen is going to be a very good football player. He seemed to be the best defensive end for Michigan in the first half. Unfortunately, he seemed to get injured, but we don’t know what type of injury he may have suffered and of course hope it’s not serious. He played his ass off, giving constant hustle and effort.

Adam Patterson had his first sack and it caused a fumble in the second half. He seems to be progressing nicely.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

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