If Michigan wants to reach its goal this season, the defense must improve
There have been times where Michigan’s defense has looked good this season.
Problem is, as the season has progressed, those spots have become fewer and farther between. And as Michigan enters the heart of Big Ten play, there’s one for sure thing separating the Wolverines from potentially reaching elite status in the Big Ten.
The defense.
Simply, Michigan’s defense needs to be better than it has been for the Wolverines to remain competitive. Forget undefeated, teams are quickly learning how to exploit Michigan.
They pick on the cornerback opposite Donovan Warren, be it sophomore Boubacar Cissoko or freshman J.T. Floyd. They run away from Brandon Graham, which has resulted in opposing offensive lines creating large holes.
And most of all, teams have found a soft spot in the middle of the Michigan defense, often running underneath routes right in front of Michigan’s linebackers, specifically Obi Ezeh in the middle.
“We did have moments where we played real well,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. “What we gave up was a couple big plays and some of the other plays that we gave up, there were a few missed assignments, mental errors. And there were points during certain drives that our guys were thinking so much that they weren’t reacting quick enough and weren’t playing as aggressively as we need to.”
Yes, Michigan is still in its first year of defensive coordinator Greg Robinson’s new multiple scheme. And yes, Michigan is 4-0.
But there’s something troubling when the Wolverines’ defense steps on the field. They haven’t been able to stop anybody for the majority of the game.
Glance at elite teams, historically. Rarely are those teams outside the Top 25 in defense. Often, teams that focus too much on the offensive side of the ball - most recently Texas Tech and Notre Dame - have exceptional offenses dragged down by shoddy defensive play.
Consider, Michigan’s offense has scored more than 30 points in all four of its games. Its defense has allowed 30-plus in two of four, including to an Indiana team that struggled to score against Western Michigan and Eastern Kentucky.
Michigan looked unprepared last Saturday, and it showed with multiple
miscommunications, blown assignments and shoddy tackling.
“We’re a work in progress,” Robinson said after Michigan escaped, 36-33, against Indiana on Saturday.
But how much progress is really being made?
Michigan ranks no higher than 52nd in any major defensive statistical category in Division I. Its total defense currently ranks 89th, yielding 385.75 yards a game. The 22.75 points a game the defense is averaging (58th in the country) is skewed because of the defense’s best total effort, holding Western Michigan to seven points in the opener.
The run defense has allowed 142 yards a game (69th in the nation) - and the Wolverines have yet to face a team ranked higher than 53rd in rushing offense this year. The pass defense has been worse, allowing 243.75 yards a game, bad enough to be 92nd nationally, sandwiched between Georgia and Purdue.
No individual Michigan defensive player ranks in the Top 60 in any category charted on the NCAA statistical Web site.
And Michigan has been unable to get to the quarterback, ranking 100th in sacks with 1.00 a game. Considering two of Michigan’s opponents - Notre Dame and Western Michigan - had pure dropback passers, the non-existent rush has to be another area of concern since the quarterbacks in the Big Ten are quicker, more agile and generally more mobile.
It’s a disturbing trend, too. Last year under Scott Shafer, Michigan was 34th in total defense through four games, allowing 309.25 yards a game. Shafer’s defense also finished 67th in total defense, allowing 366.92 yards a game.
Both numbers are lower than Michigan’s current totals.
A year earlier, in Lloyd Carr’s last year at Michigan, the defense finished the season ranked No. 24, allowing 335.69 yards.
If anything, the defense’s sub-par performance has been masked by the late-game heroics of freshman quarterback Tate Forcier and a strong running attack led by Carlos Brown.
But how long can Michigan rely on its offense to press the escape button?
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.
Comments
Kevin
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 6:08 p.m.
I have to ask about all these statistics...specifically yards given up per game on defense. In the old Lloyd Carr days, I saw some time-consuming offensive drives...meaning, the opposing team would have less drives per game and less opportunity to inflict damage to Michigan's "total" defense. Now, Rodriguez wants to strike and strike fast. Question is: Can you compare yards given up per drive for the last 3 years? That would be more telling. And divide it up by quarters if you could. Good luck with that deep dive...sounds like a research project, but would be more telling then total yards given up per game, which can vary greatly based on style of play.
81wolverine
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 4:28 p.m.
Not to belabor my point about linebacking too much, but here is where our current lack of talent and experience at linebacker comes from: 2005 recruiting class: Chris McLaurin (switched to TE), Brandon Logan 2006 Quinton Patilla (transferred), Brandon Graham (switched to DL), Cobrani Mixon (transferred), Obi Ezeh 2007 Brandon Herron, Marell Evans (transferred) So, given those classes would give us today's 5th year seniors, seniors, and juniors, only 1 player shows up on the Sam, Will, and Mike LB depth chart - Obi Ezeh. The rest are walkons or players who played something else in high school. Our most recent recruiting classes have added some more players, but only a few with enough size to play in the Big Ten. I'd say we need to recruit players who actually were successful playing LB in high school first. But, it looks like it's going to take a while before we see huge improvements.
81wolverine
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 11:06 a.m.
I agree that Michigan truely can't be an elite football team vis a vis the rest of the powers in college football until our defense improves quite a bit. Right now, our offense is comparable to OSU's but their defense is WAY better. What are the problems? 1. Certainly, having 3 Def. coordinators in 3 years hasn't helped. 2. Linebackers - no nice way to put this, but not much talent and very little depth. One big difference between say, Penn State's and OSU's defenses and Michigan's over the last 10 years has been they have a lot better linebackers. The recruiting at this position for Michigan has been very poor for the most part over the last 6-7 years. 3. D-Line. Not enough big, strong guys who are hard to push aside. Will Campbell will fill this role, but we need more like him. Again, better recruiting will help. 4. Cornerback - we ALWAYS have one solid player and one liability on the other side. This allows the other team to pick apart the "weakest link". 5. Inconsistent pass rush. We need desperately to put more pressure on the other team's QB. It may mean we need to blitz more, and maybe find someone else on the other side to complement Brandon Graham. Right now because this isn't the case, Graham is being double teamed a lot. Anyway, that's my two cents worth. It's going to take some time and improved recruiting I think to turn things around.
KeepingItReal
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 10:25 a.m.
I think most of us agree that M's defense is not what it should be. However, the expectation that Tater along with a couple of other Wolverines will be able to carry the team might be a little misguided. Tater is a threat to run and pass but if you notice lately, Tater has been getting hit quite a bit and he has come up hurt on a number of occasions. This against what we thought were some pretty mediocre teams. M is starting to get into the meat of its Big Ten schedule and Tater will get hit more and harder the more he attempts to run, exposing him to the possibility of getting hurt. M needs to establish its passing game early on and only using Tater to run if a play breaks down. My prediction is that Shoelace is going to be the key in this game.
Theo212
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 9:51 a.m.
State's chances on Saturday? About the same as George Perles driving past an Old Country Buffet.
blue
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 9:16 a.m.
I agree with maizenbluenc. The expectations should not be high for this defense. We've got true freshmen and walk-ons running around out there. Last year, there was a lot more experienced talent (Trent, the whole d-line). I also think our sack stats (or lack thereof) are a little misleading. I don't believe Brandon Graham has a sack this year, but he, Roh, RVB and others have disrupted their fair share of QBs. Let's just hope the coaching staff can find some ways to cover up our problems at the second corner spot.
MrBigHouse
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 8:58 a.m.
I agree shotouts will be the norm, but our defense has shown signs of life. Our guys are inexperienced and confused alot of the time, that will all get better the more playing time they get. As long as our offense can stay healthy to buy more time as our defense improves we will be fine. I am so confident I say they will finish 10-2, losses to wisky and iowa and surprising ps and osu.
maizenbluenc
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 7:20 a.m.
My opinion is this: last year Scott Shafer had a horrible defense with a group of experienced players that should have carried the team. This year Greg Robinson has a group of mostly inexperienced players, and they've shown moments of success, but for the most part are patched together as best Greg can based on the players skill with obvious weaknesses, and new system confusion. Remember last year when Rich didn't have all the components he needed on a very inexperienced offense? Remember how they put a quarter, or almost two of good play on the field now and then? We're looking at the same thing on the opposite side of the ball this year. So, agreed, hopefully the D improves across the season like the O-line did last season. Meanwhile, hopefully the offense stays healthy and productive, and we're going to have patience... Go Blue!
jeremy
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 6:49 a.m.
Even though I am a buckeye, i do live in a2 and when I look at the recruiting of michigan I see alot of dbs, wrs, and athletes, but there isnt a whole lot of defensive linemen or linebackers. And I will say that in his freshman year I thought ezeh would be one of the greatest lbs at um, but i dont see him improving, he has stayed consistent but has never really took any steps forward. That is disappointing. I do wish big blue a great game saturday and hope that the rain and cooler temps wont affect tate's game and shoulder
rensational
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 4:56 a.m.
Absolutely agree with this article. But if you're well-versed in other Big Ten teams this season, you'll see that Michigan is far from the only team with defensive issues (among the teams we have left to play--Michigan State, Illinois, Purdue and at times Wisconsin...then Northwestern is struggling on defense, too), and Michigan has as good as or better offense as/than at least half the other BT teams (almost every other team we have left). So if you're thinking 5-7 or anything else less than 8-4, you're not paying attention to other teams in the league. Michigan is mainly in good shape in the BT because other BT teams have too many weaknesses. Shootouts will be the name of the game, though...you think the ND and Indiana games were giving you heart attacks...saddle up, kids. Michigan's goal really needs to be making a January bowl of any sort, not winning the Big Ten, and that's feasible. It really hurts, though, that we could have gone from 3-9 to winning the Big Ten if the defense was like it used to be.
Macabre Sunset
Thu, Oct 1, 2009 : 1:29 a.m.
Eight wins is a pipe dream unless the defense improves considerably. Let's hope Robinson knows what he's doing here, or this season will get out of hand very quickly.
true blue
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 10:01 p.m.
very good article. true that michigans defense will probably never be what it was in lloyd carrs prime, but there are few signs that the young secondary will be effective. there is cause for concern however, this year because the big 10 finally looks like it is piecing together what it used to be...with the exception of a couple teams...i.e. northwestern. forcier has been impressive and theres hope for a bright future. i predicted 8 wins this year and it could vary down the stretch but it all starts with the defense. hybrid linebackers need to play all out and not worry bout speed. hit somebody and hit em hard
michboy40
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 8:48 p.m.
Has anyone noticed that West Virginia has fallen off the college football map? They are 2-1, barely beating the likes of Liberty, and getting smoked by unranked Auburn? Hmm... I would be delighted to see the looks on the faces of our favorite trollers. Ritawedaliar, johninwv, etal. as Tate the Great threw that pass to Greg Mathews a couple weeks ago. But I digress...
BillMK
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 8:29 p.m.
Yep!
NC Wolverine 20
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 7:42 p.m.
OK, I'm all for optimism, but the M defense is weak. We will continue to outscore a few teams, perhaps even MSU, but not Iowa or PSU or OSU. The D needs serious help.
tater
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 6:57 p.m.
UM is already back among the elite. Luckily, the Big Ten isn't all that difficult of a conference, and a team that would lose six in the SEC can get by with losing two or three in the Big Ten, thus remaining on the fringe of elite status. This team isn't going to go undefeated, but I think they will make it to 9-3, which I have been saying since the spring game. Iowa, PSU, and OSU are the only elite teams left on UM's schedule. Wisky can do damage, and so can MSU, but aren't elite teams. UM can play badly enough to lose to a lower-level team, but well enough to defeat what passes for an elite team in the Big Ten, because they all have flaws. When you have a great offensive coach like RR and a QB like Forcier, you always have a chance to win. They won't go undefeated, but I'm certainly not expecting a MSU-style collapse this season, either.
wersch213
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 6:32 p.m.
The defense needs work no doubt. I do believe that they will rise to the occasion this weekend and come up with the crucial stops when the time comes. I think that Floyd is a better option at this point because of his size and speed. He has shown that he can make plays. I also think that the defense is starting to absorb more of the playbook so mistakes should start to subside. With that being said, for this UM team, the best defense is a good offense. Some long scoring drives will help support the defense. I look to see improvements with Floyd starting at corner and Greg Robinson dialing up A LOT of pressure to avoid the big play. Ezeh, Mouton, and S. Brown will only need to have solid games for Michigan to take down the W...which I expect will happen. Michigan 42 - MSU 23
Rodie
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 6:19 p.m.
good article. I'm concerned about saturday only because our defense is in such bad shape.