GBMWolverine: Coach’s Corner — Michigan Football — Miami (OH) at Michigan — Defense

Posted at 4:00pm — 9/11/2008

GBMWolverine: Coach’s Corner — Michigan Football — Miami (OH) at Michigan — Defense

Defense:
Coach Shafer suffers from the same problem as Rodriguez: the lack of the correct personnel for his aggressive style, especially at outside linebacker, safety, and on the defensive line. Yeah, just about everywhere.

And say “Thank You” to Miami for quitting the roll outs that they were having success with. I’m not sure why they stopped doing that, but I’m glad they did.

There were a lot less missed tackles, but the defense needs to do a better job of finishing tackles. Miami got away with too many yards after contact.

The blitzes seemed more effective this week against the run and the pass. The corner-backs played very well (please catch the ball when it is thrown to you, though, guys) and the nickels played well.

Brandon Harrison was particularly effective in the flat and on blitzes. He may have been the best defensive player against Miami.

Michigan’s defensive line needs to do a better job on containment and the defensive tackles need to be more consistent. Too many times they were literally moved off the line of scrimmage.

The outside linebackers, with the exception of Jonas Mouton (on occasion) are terrible in space and in coverage. The safeties also need to be better in coverage and can get caught completely out of position.

A better offense would have capitalized on those defensive miscues. For all the talk of Michigan’s missed opportunities, Miami shot themselves in the foot a few times also. They dropped two potential touchdown passes and a few others.

And did we mention that our defensive backs might want to catch passes that are thrown to them? That’s not against the rules, you know. We counted five dropped interception chances, including one that could have been returned for a touchdown. A big part of Shafer’s philosophy is to generate turnovers. UM can’t afford not to capitalize on those types of chances in the coming weeks.

The problem with this defense is they were recruited with another philosophy in mind. The safeties under the old staff were almost linebackers at times, overplaying the run and not able to tackle or cover in space. Steve Brown has the skill set to be successful under Shafer, just not the mind set yet. We believe Morgan Trent thought Brown was there to help him on one occasion, and let the receiver release inside as a result. Good thing the quarterback overthrew the pass, as Trent lost leverage.

The linebackers were recruited by the old staff to be run stoppers. Period. They were not recruited for their athleticism or their ability to play in space. In Shafer’s system, the outside linebackers have to re-route the #2 slots and tight ends to keep them from finding open areas in the middle of the field. This is not happening, and it puts the safeties at a real disadvantage.

Terrence Taylor may have been highly recruited, but it is hard to make up for three years of laziness in one spring and summer. He does not generate consistent push and cannot move the pocket backwards.Michigan tried to stunt a couple times. It was a real nice twist, with the defensive ends crashing the “B” gaps and driving the Miami offensive tackles inside for a second. But the defensive tackles did not capitalize and get up field. They lacked the quickness and athleticism to make the stunts work. And there is no excuse for getting moved backwards or shoved down on gap blocks. Who will win that battle in the Notre Dame game?

John Thompson gave the defense some major energy, but he is very weak in pass coverage and did not tackle well in space. I think the coaching staff views Obi Ezeh as too valuable to move out of the middle. We need outside linebackers in this recruiting class, and it is a pressing need that was not helped by the loss of Marcus Witherspoon.

Please comment on our GBMWolverine Message Board about this article and read what others comment.

You can contact us at our e-mail address: GBMWolverine

Written by GBMWolverine Staff

Go Blue — Wear Maize!