Biggest unit improvement from last year?

Agree on CB and DL. Those units have gone from bad to really good. Also the O-line too. They were adequate last year but this year’s O-line is probably the best in the country. 

#1, Team Chemistry/development/coaching

#2, Offensive Line (though, any position group could be mentioned and be correct). The OL paved the way for this offense to score points methodically while preserving the D.

I don't know from last year but the improvement I've appreciated over the past, I don't know, 15 years is the ability to get a tough yard when needed. How many games (thinking Iowa and OSU in 2016) would have been wins if we could have just made a first down on short yardage plays?

Offensive line all day long for me.

From last year, secondary.

OL and QB

Def. CB - those dudes went from however you want to label the MSU 2020 performance to this year with what, the best pass defense in the conference?

Really, the entire defense was outstanding. But the offense just put up 42 and 42 to end the season vs 2 of the top defenses in the country. And the ST was the overwhelming #1 unit in the nation

The secondary, and the QB play, honestly. 

Weiss has been a revelation to McNamara and his early returns on JJ McCarthy are looking appetizing. Hell, even Donovan Edwards looks great. Kidding. Sort of.

The secondary though looked lost, inept, unathletic last year and for big games in 2019. DJ Turner too a stranglehold on his job after Green's injury and Gray has really improved remarkably. Clinkscale deserves whatever he wants. 

OL for sure. Helped with ball control, takes pressure off the defense and opened up the passing game. A catalyst for the entire team, IMO 

Fanbase. 

The self-loathing, misguided and perpetually angry about everything have been (at least temporarily) silenced.

The opportunity to avoid six months of BPONE is also tremendous.

I improved from 4 to 8 inches, so I think I may be in the running.

The corners by a landslide!!!!

Cornerback. They were dreadful last year and directly caused  the horrible MSU loss in particular, Vincent Gray was bad.  But  they really improved and got their swagger back. Gray didn’t have his nonstop pass interference penalties.  Green was solid when he was in there, and DJ turner was a revelation whose  only going to get better and better next year.  

CBs for me. DT there was always some hope Hinton and Mazi would eventually have the light come on given their recruiting profile. CBs seemed just hopeless and completely turned it around in a way no on expected. We even lost Green, arguably our best CB, and Turner stepped in seamlessly. 

CB and QB.  

Defensive Line.  We couldn't set the edge last year at all.  It was brutal.  The secondary is better but the scheme is so much more suited for them.  This scheme allows us to bend a little bit against teams with superior skill guys but we tackle well and live to fight another day.   Honestly, I've never seen a better coaching job.  We were so bad last year on defense.  We shouldn't be this good.  No one could have expected this.  I still find it confusing.  The jump from Hinton, Smith, and Ojabo combined with Hutchinson and Hill's talent allowed us to make a quantum leap.  I still can't believe it.

The secondary by a mile.

Literally all teams had to do was toss the ball up on fly patterns to any of their wr and it was a big play or a PI penalty last season. These new defensive coaches have been really impressive.

The DL most definitely leveled up in talent, health, and depth - but also quarterback!

If Joe Milton quarterbacks this team, we finish with a losing record.

I get why people are saying DL, but the secondary is the obvious answer imo.

Losing Hutchinson last year was fatal. Had he played all season the line would’ve looked much different. On the other hand this is mostly the same group of cb’s and safeties from last year, and they just went toe to toe with a group of NFL receivers, and have been pleasantly boring and reliable basically all year.

Michael Barrett

Our corners went from getting burned alive by the jackpot offense against MSU to being one of the best units in the country. 

DBs and it isn’t close

All ummmm!!!

QB for me. Case in point. Stroud. If he was pressured, he didn't do well. We found a QB who can stand there and deliver. Does not make mistakes. Does not force. Understands FB as a team game. Proved that all the skill in the world is not going to help a QB without good decision making and toughness. Close second is OL. Also want to shout out to DL. We won some close games because we were able to run the ball and able to stop them. 

Jim Harbaugh's greatest coaching strength is knowing, understanding and believing in complimentary football. That this team came together so well on so many fronts make it impossible, even silly, to declare a single unit being "most responsible". Here, the holistic transformation that happened is so remarkable that I will most happily forego polluting these waters. The players, the coaches and the supporting staff all deserve great praise for how this season has played out. Simply remarkable!!!

I think it’s the blue pants 

O Line. They are absolutely paving those pedestrian fools. 

So this is where we whip out our units and measure them against each other, eh? Sounds sketchy, count me in! Defensive secondary. Our secondary would look good under Brown for large stretches of the season, then get completely obliterated and have the score run up on them by any qb with a pulse, and at halftime? Zero adjustments, coverages keep getting obliterated, only the game clock hitting zero stops the bleeding. This year? Night and day. 

Really need to appreciate Coach Clink.

Brings a ton of experience dealing with SEC offenses. 
 

The pass defense is the biggest improvement and hats off to Clinkscale for his role in it.

The CBs and the defense as a whole have markedly improved. Really credit our DC for doing a terrific job and actually making adjustments during the game.

LBs. No comparison. The whole core. George Helow is a coach to give a raise to and keep.

Oline, no question in my mind

The secondary is night and day

Corners and Quarterbacks and it's not even close.

DL had Hutchinson and Paye, they just got hurt. The RBs were okay last year, but the scheme and OL was awful.

1. CB - the MSU game last year was sickening. What they did vs. OSU to stop big plays and contest every throw showed how much coaching made a difference.

2. QL - blocking, pass protection, attitude, etc.

3. QB - Cade may not have had a stellar (Bryce Young) season but made the plays when needed. Only 4 INTs, 15 TDs. Plus he was clearly the leader behind the scenes that Shea and Joe were not.

4. DT - kept us from being gouged up the gut - excelled down the stretch.