reason number 2 to be excited

Submitted by gsimmons85 on

Follow up to the bad weather post.  The secondary will be much better DESPITE the loss of Brandent and co.  for the following reasons.

 

#1  Barwis and Co.    Beyond the strength, weight, fitness, conditioning, and speed  changes, the secondary will benefit most from the agility, and hip fexibilty focus of barwis.  You will see much smoother  movements from the secondary which will equate to better performance.

#2  Shaffer is one of the best secondary techniqque minds in the country.  They will be in position to make plays, and make big plays.

#3  Pressure on the Qb.  Combining the new schemes of Shafer getting after the Qb, with a great DL, means better chances for the secondary to make plays.

#4  Morgan Trent  Im expecting an AA type year from him this year.  Another year of learning to play corner and doing db drills (shameless plug to my blog on the recent article about improving hip flexibility) to improve his flexibility is making Morgan into more than just a straight line runner.

gameday

Comments

colin

July 12th, 2008 at 4:16 AM ^

that's part of the process.  network of well liked blogs and all that.  also, you never got back to me about taylor.  are they going to ask him to play two gap NT in the 3-4 and do you think he can do that if so?  i really don't think he can take up a double team.

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 1472

gsimmons85

July 12th, 2008 at 4:39 AM ^

i thought i did respond to you.......  but yeah i think Taylor could be an outstanding nose in the 3-4   reember its going to be mostly during spread formations...  so the only way he has a constant double team, is if you are planning on blocking the speed rushers one on one with an OT.   the guards are going to have to block out... also when Shafer uses his okie package, alot of time you have all 4 line backers in a blitz look,  so the guards have got to respect the fact that the presure may be comming   also remember the best nt of all time at michigan renes played alot in the 3-4 scheme,  he was not big, but low leverage and had a motor that didnt quit...

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 261

mjv

July 12th, 2008 at 1:01 AM ^

My opinion is that improved conditioning is going to have a huge effect on the D. The number of broken tackles that we have suffered, I believe, is directly related to poor conditioning. A better conditioned athlete is able to complete the tackle after having put forth the effort to get into position. I don't think Vince Young has his day against us in the Rose Bowl if Barwis and his lion hunting dogs are driving the workouts instead of Gitt.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3656

detroitjohn

July 12th, 2008 at 7:00 AM ^

I watched Brian's link for the 04 UM-Minny game and cringed, again, to watch our safety take the wrong angles in tackling. That nifty tradition, alive and well in 07 vs Beanie Wells, is something I'd like to see go the way of all flesh.

Joined: 07/12/2008

MGoPoints: 47

cougar blue

July 12th, 2008 at 5:09 PM ^

All they need to do is have their head up, and put their head on the ball, wrap their arms, and drive the legs.. Fundementals that for some reason seemed to be lost... Oh and yes pursuit (proper) angles would be nice. Although after last year i would just be happy with getting somone on the ground!

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 2

Don

July 13th, 2008 at 12:05 PM ^

GS, thanks for the info on hip flexibility and squats. With respect to the latter, I read in a number of online posts pre-RR that while MG was in charge, squats were NOT part of the S&C package, the thinking being that they would lead to injuries during their execution.

Then I read a comment from Vince Young after his RB performance against us, and someone asked him what the secret was to his great acceleration and power late in the game. His reply was "squats." I figured then that our S&C regimen was horribly out of date, and was as much hindrance as help. S&C alone will not guarantee victories, but one thing we will not see under Barwis is the slow-footed, plodding, unexplosive, and out-of-gas-at-crunch time team we've seen all too often over the years.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148358