Fun Summer Reading: Michigan Defense Could Be Among Best Ever
Yeah, it's Bleacher Report. But still, fun summer reading fluff during our endless wait until fall.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2642380-michigans-2016-defense-could…
I expect the defense to be good, but without a proven linebacker corp... the best ever!?!? That is SO BLEACHER REPORT!
I'll settle for top 5 in 2016.
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Axelrod graduated from The Ohio State University in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and minor in political science."
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Uh, I think the following might disagree:
| Position | Player | |
|---|---|---|
| right linebacker |
James Hall (11) Juaquin Feazell |
|
| defensive tackle |
Josh Williams (11) Juaquin Feazell |
|
| n. tackle | Rob Renes (12) | |
| defensive end |
Glen Steele (11) Juaquin Feazell |
|
| outside linebacker |
Clint Copenhaver (8) Rob Swett (3) DeWayne Patmon (1) |
|
| inside linebacker |
Sam Sword (11) Ian Gold |
|
| inside linebacker |
Dhani Jones (9) Eric Mayes (3) |
|
| ss cornerback | Charles Woodson (12) | |
| ws cornerback |
Andre Weathers (10) Daydrion Taylor William Peterson |
|
| strong safety | Marcus Ray (12) | |
| free safety | Tommy Hendricks (12) |
which of these people have SONS to recruit!
DL:
Hall - Williams - Renes - Steele all ended up in the NFL Projected '16 starters Glasgow - Wormely - Charlton will too. The difference: '16 is older (seniors all over) and deeper (Hurst, Mone, Gary, Godin all may play in the NFL too)
Edge: '16, despite the uncertainity at WDE (Winovich), due to superior depth, overall talent, and experience
LB:
Gold and Jones were talented pups who ended up being good NFL players. Sword and Copenhaver were steady vets who shut down the run game. Michigan has Peppers and then is hoping for a freshman to contribute. Only Gedeon comes close to bringing their experience.
Edge: '97 tentatively ahead due to experience, but nobody individually is on Peppers level, and Brown could put people in position to succeed. If Bush can play like Gold/Jones this could go '16's way.
DB:
Woodson > Lewis
Weathers > Stribling
Ray = Thomas
Hendricks = Hill
Taylor = Clark
Peterson/Whitley > Hill/Long
Woodson is Woodson, but Lewis is the closest Michigan has had since. Weathers was excellent on the opposite side. Thomas/Hill being as good as Ray/Hendricks is speculative, but with their athleticism they project as potential NFL picks, whereas Hendricks and Ray were undrafted (though they both played in the league). Roles should be similar - with the corners locking down Thomas and Hill should be able to fly around to hammer runners and go after INTs. The CB depth looks excellent, pending how good Long and Hill are (Peterson had a long NFL career).
Edge: '97 because Woodson. However, Michigan could have as many as 6 DBs drafted this year (if you count Peppers) so there's a chance the overall performance is better. 97's depth was excellent, 16's MIGHT be better.
I was at that game. Penn State was done well before that play. It did put a hush on the crowd though.
Heading into the 2016 season, I'm not sure I'd say they are equal. Ray was 2nd Team All-Big in 1996 in the coaches vote. With Thomas, I think most of us are hoping he has found the light and are expecting good things from him, however, Ray was a proven commodity heading into the 1997 season.
Thomas is reasonably proven but far from a lock to be all-conference. I think his ceiling is higher than Ray's. Ray benefitted greatly from the CB tandem locking everyone down. Thomas will too, but I think he might be a better player overall.
That is speculative though. Thomas needs to put a complete season together. Hopefully he is 'boring' with a splash of highlight plays that the '97 secondary had.
I want to believe.
I'm not sure I do, though. Great analysis.
Agree that this line > 97 line, mainly for depth reasons, but also because a) I think Glasgow might be slightly better than Renes (and Renes was great), and b) we won't be starting Winovich at WDE unless he is legitimately a force there.
But I have to think 97 has takes the LB and secondary battle. Only '16 wins, I think, is if Peppers proves he is a Woodson level talent (elite even among the elite), one of McCray or Gedeon hits peak potential while the other is serviceable, and, finally, Bush plays extremely well for a true freshman. I'd say those probabilities are about 10%, 50%, and 75%, so not a good chance combined to beat the 97 team in the LB rankings.
In the secondary, the thing is, Weathers was very good; only two ACLs kept him from a promising NFL career. If Woodson + Weathers = 10, I'd say Lewis + Stribling/Clark = 8. Safety comparison, like LB, is swingy. Dymonte could turn into that demon we saw in his first game blocking that CMU punt - but based only on what we've seen so far, Dymonte + Hill is maybe a 7, with Ray + Hendricks an 8. We'll see if Dymonte can hack the decision-making part of the game. If he can, then the 16 safeties may well surpass the 97 duo because the athleticism is superior, I think.
He was the edge rusher and spent most games breathing into the ear-hole of the opposing QBs. The 2016 D needs to find their version of Glen Steele to be truly excellent.. If Gary plays DE and starts, it could be him. Don't know if Taco Charlton could be that guy.
Calling Steele an edge rusher is understating his overall effectiveness. Yeah, he could rush, but he was a force on every down. Steele ended up a 300 pound DT in the NFL. Hall was the edge guy in '97
Steele was a 4th round pick and all conference his senior year but did not make all-conference his junior year.
Wormley could be even better if you project improvement from his 3rd team all conference performance last year and look at draft projection in the top 2-3 rounds (CBS has him as the #3 DT prospect in the draft which is typcially 1st round).
I was about to drink the Kool-Aid, but I refuse to imbibe Bleacher Report piss.
but unless the linebackers blow expectations out of the water, it ain't happenin
Fuck that guy and the rest of fuckeye nation. That goes for Herbie as well. I'm wary of Spielman. I know lots of people on here like him. I personally think he's a good analyst but, like Herbie, I don't think he believes a single word he says when he's complimentary of Michigan.
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Meatchicken's defence could be won of teh best evar!!
or two first. Mmmm kay
Disagree but fun article nonetheless!
I hate high expectations!
I don't expect shit. We'll be lucky to hang with Hawaii for 2 quarters.
That is not the case here.
The defense could be very good. Maybe get near elite. But with a verrrry shakey situation at LB I'm not holding my breath for the time being
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Not so sure that's entirely fair. Gedeon and Peppers are proven players and excellent athletes. The 3rd spot and depth are uncertain, but that's what happens when you graduate 4 seniors who were sucking up most of the snaps.
We have a top 10 defense returning most of it's talent. Elite is a reasonable hope.
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OKorn and Speight better get in line.
TING!!
Don't fall for the BR Rope-a-Dope.
I think the formula has been figured out...
Need Clicks..esp during the off-season....Mention Harbaugh. Need even more clicks? Make some extreme projection re. UM/Harbaugh. Click, Click...Profit.
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Tough crowd.
Dominant D. Our only loss was to Iowa and Chuck Long. We held them completely out of the end zone but still lost on Field goals. The O was too conservative.
If Bo had been willing to throw on 3rd and short just a few times in his career, he would have had multiple NCs.