3 Things Michael Spath is hearing about the D
As we anxiously wait for the start of the season later this month, here's an article by WTKA's Spath about what he's hearing about the D.
Enjoy!
August 16th, 2019 at 4:04 AM ^
Honestly, it's still too soon for me to get my hopes up about the defense. It's nice to hear nice things, and I hope for the best for these kids, but I'm damn sure gonna reserve my optimism all the way until seasons end this year.
August 16th, 2019 at 7:47 AM ^
Agree. Lets win some games against ranked teams, let's upset someone, let's win in November.
August 16th, 2019 at 7:48 AM ^
Going to be hard to pull an upset when they're literally a favorite for every game as of right now.
August 16th, 2019 at 9:19 AM ^
Guess that just means a playoff win or two.
August 16th, 2019 at 8:46 AM ^
Agree. We lost a ton from last year's D and you just don't replace some of those guys overnight. I'm in the "wait and see" mode right now. The offense, on the other hand, should be explosive.
August 16th, 2019 at 10:57 AM ^
We lost more from the defense in the '17 draft and they were replaced, maybe even upgraded.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:00 PM ^
The second part of your comment highlights the difference between 2017 and this year. While we did lose a lot from the 2016 defense, we had a number of very athletic and high regarded FR and SO stepping up in 2017, across all three levels of the defense. Guys like Gary, Bush, Lavert Hill, Long, Khaleke, Solomon, etc. Gary and Bush likely were upgrades (at least athletically in 2017, and overall for sure by 2018) over Wormley and McCray/Gedeon (who were very good players in their own right).
This year we don't necessarily have that. You can't replace Gary and Bush athletically, and we're thin at DT, but the front seven will probably be fine. But CB is a definite concern. As opposed to two highly regarded CBs stepping up, this year we have one established star and a lot of question marks.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
That's what I was saying, and don;'t forget, Maurice Hurst, he wasn't a starter in 16', but he was already maybe our best DT.
I think the 2019 defense can be great, but it's not a similar situation to 2017. 2017 had a lot more proven depth returning IMO. And as good as the 2017 defense ended up being, it was still an 8-5 season.
August 16th, 2019 at 1:15 PM ^
Dwumfour was a starter last year and was the best DT! So here's hoping he heals quick :(
And everyone acknowledges the 8-5 season was about the offense, which makes the fact that they have only had to replace one OL and one TE, drafted to the NFL in the last two years, one thing that's very encouraging.
August 16th, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
8-5...sounds like it was JO’Kd.
August 16th, 2019 at 1:05 PM ^
# of highly regarded FR and SO:
Hutchinson, McGrone, Green, Dax, Hinton, Smith, Perry, Quinten, DJ
Plus will also have JRs: Vilain (#57), JKP (#250), Jeter (#299)
And Hill and Hudson are still there.
Now I can say ....Hutch/ (non-injured) Vilian = (injured) Gary/ Chase
Jr Ross/ McGrone / Gill < (slightly behind) Bush/ So Ross/ Gill (but next year better)
And even though it's true they don't have the same level of DB talent, as you said, they have one lock down so they only have to find one starter and that's probably easier than hitting on two.
How different?
August 16th, 2019 at 9:05 AM ^
Waiting to cheer till after they win ......
Bold strategy Cotton, username checks out, cya in January.
lol
August 16th, 2019 at 10:27 AM ^
I will wait for at least first 19 minutes of ND game before getting my hopes up.
August 16th, 2019 at 10:42 AM ^
Yep. Fooled me with Fall camp hype for 1-11 years, won't get fooled again.
August 16th, 2019 at 10:57 AM ^
I don’t get this sentiment but see it all over.
I mean “they’re gonna be good” has been accurate hype for 3 of the last 4 years. Where’s the fooling?
August 16th, 2019 at 11:00 AM ^
A classic!!!
August 16th, 2019 at 11:31 AM ^
Here's my Who anthem for this year:
August 16th, 2019 at 1:21 PM ^
From 1950 to 2014 Michigan had 19 seasons where they won 10 or more games. That’s 64 seasons of football for the Wolverines. Or basically just under a 1/3 of their seasons have been 10+ wins before Harbaugh. Harbaugh has won 10+ games 3/4 seasons. Also known as 75% of the time he’s been here. He’s also projected to lead Michigan to another 10+ win season again this year. Which I think will happen. That would make 4/5 or 80% for those counting at home. So Michigan was great when? From 1970-2007? Or just the 70s? Because as is, since 1950 the best era of Michigan football looks to be either the 70s or 90s. Depending on how much weight you put on shared national titles. Right now I would say Harbaugh looks to be on track to come close to matching Michigan’s best era since 1950. But someone is fooling you by saying Michigan is going to be good again? And you’ve been disappointed the last 4 years?
August 16th, 2019 at 9:20 PM ^
The last four years have been fine but this is not a good comment when we now play more games than in many of those years.
August 18th, 2019 at 4:14 AM ^
Teams only played 9 regular season games until 1965. We could only go to the Rose Bowl every other season. Bo only had one 13 game season in his career, he went 11-2 (we played @Hawaii and the NCAA allows an extra game)
Harbaugh has coached 13 games each season and only needs to win 77% of his games to achieve a 10 win season.
10-3 is .770
7-2 is .777
8-2 is .800
9-2 is .818
10 wins is the modern era equivalent of 7 or 8 wins.
August 16th, 2019 at 4:19 AM ^
Man, Kwity Paye looks strong!
August 16th, 2019 at 6:01 AM ^
Ambry is a huge loss. He was a gamer, and had that uncanny, unteachable ability to make plays and wreak havoc - I just remember him always going for strips, causing fumbles, or blowing up special teams returns. He also seemed really fluid when in at CB and had that ability to stay glued to receivers. I just remember thinking - this guy is a Dude, the kind of guy that makes those momentum changing plays.
As per covering the slot...not sure what Don Brown and the defense have planned for quick passing slants that destroyed us last year against IU and of course OSU, but if a Brandon Watson (no offense to him - solid outside corner) equivalent is what we are aiming for here, we have not learned from our mistakes. Perhaps they have some zone scheme changes (dropping the viper and a LB into coverage) planned for quick passing attacks - because unless we get an insane inside rush up the middle from the nose/DT position, this will remain a nightmare for us.
Unless....and he wasn't mentioned, Dax gets it and can be that guy right away because of his freakish athletic ability. Yes, he's a safety, but maybe he becomes the slot shutdown guy in year 1? One can hope.
Praying for Ambry to get healthy, and hoping he can rejoin the team by midseason!
August 16th, 2019 at 7:40 AM ^
Re: outside corner covering the slot, exactly. I remember two games where the defense was complete eviscerated and defenestrated. Completely ugly. Because they had a guy without the ability cover fast slot players. Sounds like they've learned on offense. Doesn't sound like they're far along on defense.
August 16th, 2019 at 8:31 AM ^
I am not sure how you concluded that they have not learned. If you watch Don Brown's video, he explains what he intends to do without giving out a lot of details. It will still be man but it seems he is going to some coverage changes there and possibly personnel. I know people don't like Top Billin videos. There was one recently where he showed a few plays at the critical juncture of OSU game when the score was still close. It was clear that he was trying to adjust but either the player didn't move the right direction or was not coached correctly. It could be a matter not getting used to thar model. And there wasn't pressure on the QB. I fully expect Don Brown to learn and adjust. He gets the benefit of the doubt based on his career and experience. My humble opinion....
August 16th, 2019 at 7:47 AM ^
I'm confused. My recollection of Ambry is a lot of promise, but no real playing time. Some special teams stuff, sure. But he never really got on the field as a corner and didn't push his way past Brandon Watson last year. So I'm not sure where all of your memories come from... Yeah, he has a lot of promise, and a lot of hype/talk behind him, but that's all its been, so far. He needs to prove himself on the field, though I do suspect he will - quite well.
I don't think we'll see any drastic scheme changes, that's not the way Don Brown seems to work. But I do agree about needing to hit on some corner croots! That class of generic sizing two years ago (17 CB's that are each 6'2", 195) hasn't produced a thing... Losing Ben St. Juste appears to hurt some...
August 16th, 2019 at 8:18 AM ^
^^^^^ This. ^^^^^
Also, it's refreshing to read something (the one referenced in the OP) that has at least a few traces of negativity/caution. (Spath's credibility and value aside .....) Much better than the multi-paragraph hand jobs like the one from umgoblue11 .....
August 16th, 2019 at 7:54 AM ^
While I agree Ambry was a breakout candidate this year, I think most of the hype on him has mainly been his recruiting ranking. Outside of special teams and his dalliance with a few end arounds and fly routes on offense, most of his plays were in garbage or close to garbage time. As has been brought up many times, he wasn't brought in to OSU early either when it was clear Watson was out of his league. Not really super concerning as neither David Long/LaVert Hill did much of note before becoming a starter, but I thought everyone penciling in Ambry as a starter opposite Hill since Long declared for the NFL was a bit premature.
August 16th, 2019 at 10:00 AM ^
Him not being brought in earlier against OSU may be a mishap by the coaches. Not necessarily a bad reflection on Ambry
August 16th, 2019 at 8:55 AM ^
I think your memories are a little bit faulty.
August 16th, 2019 at 9:15 AM ^
Uhh ....it wasn't slant it was mesh routes and route combinations that washed out UofM's man to man.
And the most important difference this year is that the offense they practice against will use a lot of the same concepts; they will be able to diagnose and improve in the week, rather than getting exposed on Saturday.
August 16th, 2019 at 9:59 AM ^
☝️?This, exactly! Username does check out.
August 16th, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
I, on the otherhand, am only now hearing that he is out, and that really, really sucks.
August 16th, 2019 at 7:17 AM ^
Ambry will be sorely missed. Need to start hitting on some top flight CB recruits.
August 16th, 2019 at 9:53 AM ^
If you've read some of the insider-y stuff from Fall camp, the coaches are pretty pleased with DJ Turner already.
It's going to be a concern - Michigan fans are going to have to get used to teams completing passes against the cornerback opposite Hill. If Gray is bad, that's going to be a problem. If he's average, that's something that nearly every team deals with. Even Alabamas, Clemsons, and OSUs. Doesn't mean you can't have a great defense, even with a man-dependent scheme like Brown's. MSU had Layne and somebody else at corner last year after Scott went down, and were still very good.
Michigan's not at the level where every year the departing players can be replaced by stars. Probably only Alabama, Clemson, OSU, and UGA are. It's getting there rapidly.
You know, the defense was excellent last year and mercilessly crushed the teams it was supposed to crush. It... did not against ND, OSU, and UF (though the latter hardly counts given guys sitting out and injuries in the game). These guys could be less dominant against inferior opponents but keep Michigan much closer in the big games. Frankly, it would be hard for them to play much worse than the 2018 D did against the best opponents. Admittedly feelingsball: I have no basis to propose this other than reversion to the mean and hope that Michigan can win the scheme contest in 2019 (as Brown largely did in his first two years against OSU).
August 16th, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
I’m sorry but the coaches can sometime blow smoke with the camp hype. One report one day says we might struggle on our back end, then the next day we hear a player is shining. And to your point about not replacing players with stars is not a good reason for not having adequate replacement players ready. We have to stop acting like we recruit like Indiana or Illinois! They went from Clark, Lewis and Stribling right into Watson, Hill and Long. 4 of those 6 guys(Hill is a sure fire draft pick as well) have played in the NFL. So the evidence is there that Michigan can recruit at that level. For some reason we have not being able to land high recruits at CB in the past few classes. We lost Gary, Winovich and Bush, but no one worries as much about filling those holes because we have developed and recruited well at those spots. Plus the players have shown potential with snaps in game action as well.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:16 PM ^
Your post seems to argue both ways: we've recruited really good players at CB, which would indicate we should be fine, yet you are upset that we don't have more highly recruited CBs. Watson, Clark, and Stribling were not high level recruits. We still have Hill. JKP, Ambry Thomas, and DJ Turner are as highly ranked aa the group you mentioned. So I dont see your complaint.
August 16th, 2019 at 12:49 PM ^
Not upset about anything, just strictly pointing out something. They were 3 deep atleast with quality players at corner. Trying to figure out why that isn't the case now. Presently we have 1 Star, a maybe(who is injured) and a bunch of unknowns who were clearly behind the maybe. In the past 3 classes Ambry was top 10 at the position according to 247. No one else has hit that mark. JKP was a Safety(Mostly due to his speed) coming out of high school, and Turner was ranked #51 at CB in his class. Hopefully they can develop quickly or at least learn on the job.
August 16th, 2019 at 2:05 PM ^
You have selective memory here. You say they want "directly to Watson, Hill, and Long." You now know that Hill and Long turned out to be very good, but going into their first season starting (i.e. before you had seen them), you didn't know that. And neither of them were hurt.
So if not for the injury, it we'd be going "directly to Hill, Thomas, and Gray (or JKP or Turner)". That's the same level of recruiting stars as Watson, Hill, and Long or Lewis, Clark, and Stribling. Will they be as good in terms of performance? Who knows, but you're criticizing the recruiting and not the performance. That's not at all warranted.
August 16th, 2019 at 7:08 PM ^
But last year the drop off would’ve been to Thomas if an injury hit...before that the drop off would’ve went to Hill/Long. There is a steeper drop off according to pedigree in recruit now then there was in the two previous versions. How you can not see that is beyond me.
August 16th, 2019 at 7:48 AM ^
Thanks, Craptain. It's good to get details rather than the coach-speak happy-talk in most preseason accounts.
August 16th, 2019 at 7:50 AM ^
Why not stick Dax on the slot? He's got the athleticism for it and there's safety help in the middle so not the worst place to stick a true Fr. Hell, flip Lavert in on the slot and have Dax play the outside receiver with inside leverage.
August 16th, 2019 at 7:52 AM ^
There is a terrifying lack of dax hill in that section on DBs
August 16th, 2019 at 8:06 AM ^
Settle it down, some... Dax Hill just arrived in Michigan a few weeks ago, after living his entire life in Oklahoma. He has some adjusting to do - let him adjust. He'll be fine...
August 16th, 2019 at 8:28 AM ^
He'll be fine but you figure there would have at least been a mention. When he was being recruited, Sam Webb said he was guaranteed to start.
August 16th, 2019 at 8:09 AM ^
Spath is such a fuck
August 16th, 2019 at 8:14 AM ^
You either don't like him, or you enjoyed your time in bed with him. I don't think I want to know either way...
August 16th, 2019 at 8:52 AM ^
Both?
August 16th, 2019 at 8:18 AM ^
Come on, man. For those of us now outside the Detroit area, *why* is he such a fuck?
August 16th, 2019 at 8:25 AM ^
Just makes shit up, doesn’t know shit about the game, is deliberately inflammatory and says things just to get a reaction. He’s Michigan radio’s version of Valenti, except less of a homer and pretends to be an “insider”. I really can’t stand him, he’s a total bozo.
August 16th, 2019 at 8:50 AM ^
Spath is not Mike Valenti. Marcus Ray was Michigan's Mike Valenti. If anything, Spath gets way too fired up. That producer on Spath's show is trying his best to be Drew Sharp though. He feels he has to disagree with anything positive because he thinks that will help him appear to be more credible.