DLinemen
With our entire starting D-Line graduating or leaving (I presume Brandon Graham will leave), I am worried about where we will stand next year. I know Martin has been playing well and the Butler shift may be interesting. Also, Van Bergen has showed some promise. Roh and Lalota and Campbell(?) are coming in next year. It would be a shame if we improve our LB core and DB's but our D-Line falls apart. Do we have any budding superstars I am unaware of? Is there any real cause for concern?
November 17th, 2008 at 6:46 PM ^
BG will stay, his mom wants him to. not even joking that's a pretty big deal that his mom wants him to stay.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:19 PM ^
yeah the daily had an article last week about graham being 'a momma's boy'. even if he doesn't stay, i think we should be alright if we land campbell. then we'd have probably van bergen and butler/lalota/roh at DE and campbell and martin at DT. if we get campbell the DT's are going to be seriously good. mike martin is a beast, and will isn't 5 stars for nothing
November 17th, 2008 at 7:13 PM ^
In all of the draftnik things I've seen that include non-seniors, BG's name has not shown up in the lists of top 64/top 100. Either people don't think he's that highly rated to be in the top two or three rounds or people don't think he'll leave school.
I think if he comes back next year he might be able to play himself into the first round, especially if a team playing the 3-4 needs a rush OLB. He could play defensive end in the 4-3, but I feel like he could be an absolute beast in the 3-4 at the pro level. He'll get plenty of pre-season attention.
And lord knows we need him given the rest of the line is all seniors this year. Might be good for guys like Roh to be working with a future pro like Graham in practice too.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:33 PM ^
I am also of the opinion that BG will hang around for his senior year. I was unaware of the mom factor, but this is a heavy draft class for DE's and a guy like BG would really benefit not only from another year of improvement but also of a weaker draft class. That said, a lot of the highly rated DE's are also guys with eligibility left, and if many of them announce early that they will return, it might give BG reason to take off. If I had to bet, though, I would put my money on BG sticking around.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:38 PM ^
Graham is super-close to his family. I remember reading a story that he goes home once or twice a week for dinner. Also, this draft is super-deep in DE's - Graham isn't listed in the top 25 prospects at the position.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:50 PM ^
Don't forget we have a really good shot at getting Pearlie Graves (DT), we have DeQuinta Jones, barring a decommitment, and Sam Montgomery said we're probably going to get a visit, unlikely we'll get him, but good that we're getting a visit.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:06 PM ^
commitment level? Also, what do you think of him as a player?
November 17th, 2008 at 8:40 PM ^
Well, IMO, whenever a kid says he has "wandering eyes," and wants to take visits, there should be concern. He wants to visit Oklahoma State and another school that I can't remember right now, so they're good schools. These visits have caused a lot of concern in my eyes, because even if the kid says he's going just to look, that coach isn't going to let up and tell him to take a look around on his own. That coach sees that as a challenge, and is going to do everything to get that kid on his sideline. I'm more concerned with the convincing power of a winning record this year, and a proven coach...i.e.-Alabama. Like I've said before, I think winning affects these kids more than losing. To actually see a program have success is easier for them to see.
As far as him as a player, I'm not sold. Rivals has him as a 4 star, and Scout as a 3. I'm leading more towards 3. It's tough because he plays DE sometimes in high school. He's big and fast, which is good, but as a DT I'm not convinced he's better than Pearlie Graves. A lot of times these kids just happen to be bigger and faster than everybody in high school. That doesn't always transition well into college, where everyone is as big, if not bigger than them. I don't see very good technique from him, and maybe there's a position change or they're viewing him as a project, since he's fast. From what I've seen from his film, he's usually the second or third to the tackle. He gets penetration, but not with any technique, just pure size. So, that's just my opinion.
Would I be mad if we lose him, eh, yea just because he might pan out, it can't hurt. But, I really hope we get Pearlie Graves and more importantly William Campbell.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:12 PM ^
I also think Graham will stay. Not only will it serve him well, but he'd be taking bad advice if he thought it was going to pay off for him (Brandon, meet Ernest Shazor).
I think next year's line will be weaker but budding with talent. I would expect the starters to be Graham, Sagesse, Martin, and Van Bergen (not counting Campbell, since he's uncommitted right now). I don't see any other freshmen cracking the lineup, although Roh and any DT's would almost have to be in the rotation.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:34 PM ^
is our LB's and DB's should be better. So even if our d-line is weak we should be able to rely a little more heavily on the other groups.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:45 PM ^
Why are we all assuming that our defensive backfield will be any better. Ezeh has been a huge disappointment and Mouton, althou improving in run support, is still a huge liability in the pass game. Everyone seems to be assuming that our third lb, either demens or fitzgerald will step in and be money. Note that they will both be seeing the field for the first time in there college careers, and weve seen first hand the problems of inexperience.
Im not a fan of morgan trent at all because i think he allowed way too many easy receptions due to giving up big cusions in order to prevent the deep ball. However, he did bring experience to the backfield. And even tho cissoko has showed promise, he also got beat a few times in coverage, and iv seen him get plowed over by recievers when trying to jam or wen trying to help in run support.
Also harrison was far and away our best reciever so him leaving could def hurt. Charles Stewart has been nothing but an achilles heal all year, so losing him I don't believe will be a huge loss.
That leaves us with Stevie brown as a near def starter. He has shown glimpses of potential, but for the most part has been a huge liability as well. Correct me if im wrong, but I beleive that brandon smith saw the field this year on special teams. That means that he burned his redshirt yr and was eligible to play, but still didnt get any reps at safety. that means that somone thought that Charles Stewart and Stevie Brown were better than him.
Donovan Warren was a huge disappointment in my eyes. I really expected a break out year after a great freshman season, but he was abused time and time again; althou partially b/c of poor safety help.
Mike Williams saw the field some, but its hard to get a true read on his potential. Hes seemed pretty decent so far.
There is also the potential of Isaiah Bell, Mike Jones, Justin Turner to step in and get some playing time. I havent heard much of JT Floyd but he redshirted this yr as well.
I change of personelle immediately sounds like a great thing, but Im not so sure that we should be so quick to assume that the lb's and db's will improve. I guess you can judge for yourself, I expect the backfield depth chart to look like this:
SLB - 1. Fitzgerald
2. Marrel Evans
MLB - 1. Ezeh
2. ? Fitzgerald
WLB - 1. Mouton
2. Panter
3. Demens
CB - 1. Cissoko
2. Troy Woolfolk
3. Doug Dutch
FS - 1. Stevie Brown
2. Mike Williams
3. Mike Jones
SS - 1. Mike Williams
2. Brandon Smith
3. Isaiah Bell
CB - D. Warren
2. JT Floyd
November 17th, 2008 at 10:11 PM ^
Brandon Smith didn't play a single snap. He redshirted.
Panter is graduating this year.
I'm betting that at least one of Bell, Mike Jones, and Smith will move to linebacker.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:40 PM ^
I don't know why you think our DB's will be better. We'll have at least two new starters, neither of whom is proven and neither of whom is an upperclassman.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:42 PM ^
I think it's reasonable to expect Cissoko to at least match Trent's level and to expect ANYONE to be better than Charles Stewart.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:48 PM ^
Stevie Brown HAS to be better... He's definitely improved throughout the year. Cissoko has gotten quality reps, and Mike Williams has played well as a backup. Mouton is really starting to come on towards the end of the year. Plus I think we'll be at the point where we can count on our offense for a TD if our D gets beat allowing them to be a little more aggressive.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:55 PM ^
Graham is close to his mom of course. And, a point that no one has brought up yet, assuming we lose to Ohio State on Saturday, I think Graham will want another shot at Ohio State. I know if I were him I wouldn't want to leave Michigan without a win over those jerks.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:59 PM ^
how can he want to go out after losing to Fat Charlie and little brother as well??