Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison takes a sneak peek at defense
Former Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez was fond of leaving the past behind during his three years as coach in Ann Arbor, often saying he wouldn't talk about previous performances because they were left in the past.
Brought in to erase some of the bad defensive memories lingering from the Rodriguez era, new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison thought about taking that mantra one step further - initially, he planned to avoid watching film of the unit he inherited.
"I made a concerted effort when I came in here to say, 'I'm not going to watch it," Mattison told ESPN.com. "What I wanted to do is give these players the benefit of the doubt and not to even talk about what's happened in the past. Those were good coaches here. I'm never going to second-guess guys who were here before."
Mattison eventually changed his mind, and shared his impressions with Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com.
Comments
missionbrazil
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 8:40 p.m.
G. Mattison "There are great coaches in this league, so if you think you're going to come in and totally out-coach them with scheme, you're totally wrong. They're going to get you." whatshisname was an offensive scheme coach without a D, and the other coaches & teams in the BT certainly got him good. Here's to the return of great coaching, solid fundamentals & technique, great defense, and championship football. Go Blue.
NoBowl4Blue
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 8:38 p.m.
Take a pill Theo. What I hear from the new DC is he wants to stop the run first, FINALLY!! Rich Rod aka crybaby never had a clue, now there are coaches who do. Maybe just maybe U of M can rebound from the total destruction Theo's king implemented.
D21
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 8:38 p.m.
Theo212, Ease up your mancrush love on Hoke! (sarcasm). Hoke Is It!
#58ontheroster
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 8:22 p.m.
I am glad we have coaches who believe, as I do, that DEFENSE wins championships. Show me one championship team that doesn't have a great defense. A great defense will negate a "wide open offense." Even the best of offenses stop themselves 40% of the time with a missed assignment, penalties, turnovers, dropped passes, etc. I would love a great offense, too. But we've all seen the last three years what happens to a "wide open offense" when not supported by a great defense. It is my humble opinion that Michigan could have won about 7 or 8 more games the last 3 years had the coaches put an emphasis on defense. Any idiot knows that you can't outscore teams on a consistent basis without stopping the other team from scoring. Coaches on the other teams aren't stupid. Especially the coaches who have good defenses. They game plan on stopping "wide open offenses." Note that in many of Michigan's loses the offense didn't score more than 14 points. That tells me something about defenses, and "wide open offenses."
D21
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 8:43 p.m.
Does anybody remember how UM held Auburn and it's high powered rushing offense led by Vincent "Bo" Jackson to 9 points despite losing the game by 2 pts. Game Statistics Wolverines Tigers 12 First Downs 21 118 Net Yards Rushing 301 125 Net Yards Passing 21 56 Total Plays 73 243 Total Yards 322 25/19/1 PA/PC/Int 6/2/1 8/38.3 Punts/Avg. 4/42.0 13 Return Yards 8 2/1 Fumbles/Lost 4/3 6/49 Penalties/Yards 3/15 Rushing-- (M):Rogers 17?86; Garrett 5?18; S. Smith 9?14; (A): Jackson 22?130; Agee 16?93; James 18-83; Collins 2?1 Passing-- (M): S. Smith 9?25?125; (A): Campbell 2?6?21 Receiving-- (M): Markray 3?68; Bean 3?37; Nelson 3?20; (A): James 1?15; Jackson 1?6 Despite Auburn's 300 plus yards rushing, UM held em to 3 fgs. Hoke Is It!
umgoblue47
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 8:15 p.m.
theo. . . i hear you man, but first we have to fix the D. . . the spread is not dead, it's just being reconfigured. . . GO BLUE. . .
Paco12054
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 8:11 p.m.
Gee Theo, and all along I thought the object of a football game was to win. To do so requires a team to be complete in all three areas, offense, defense and ST. As I have asked several times before, can anyone name in any pro or college sport a coach that won at the championship level on a CONSISTENT basis with a scheme that was all offense and nothing else. I am still waiting. BTW, you may have talked to coach Borges but be assured that you do not speak for the great majority of Michigan football fans.
Blu n Tpa
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 6:48 p.m.
Hey look, T-212 voted for himself. Way uncool.
Blu n Tpa
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 6:46 p.m.
I like this story for a couple of reasons. First, a coach who can change his mind and admit it. The second is I AGREE with the WCiMFH. (Stunned, me too.) Leave the past in the past and NEVER mention his rotten butt AGAIN!!! EVER!!
Theo212
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 6:19 p.m.
Please refrain from posting nonsense articles like this. All we want to hear about is the only thing that will take us to Crystalville, a WIDE OPEN OFFENSE!!!