Great effort by the kids on D today.
I just wanted to start a thread to give it up for the guys who played defense today. It wasn't their best game but they played their butts off and gave all they had for the university we love. They could've given up 50 points today but they gave up 35, and that was good enough to win. I'm just tired of hearing about these young kids who give all they have to entertain us and I come on here and see nothing but how awful they played.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:45 PM ^
They definitely came through, somewhat, in the second half. I think much of the problem was the game planning. The cornerbacks played way too far off. Indiana could have (and did) thrown a 10 yard hitch pass whenever they wanted to.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^
That gets especially frustrating when we bring pressure with extra guys. Don't make it easy for the quarterback on the short break off routes.
But the point is a good one, the guys played hard and hustled.
October 2nd, 2010 at 9:37 PM ^
If we want to stop any teams with an offensive style like this GERG is definately going to have to change his ten yards off the ball and bail CB allignment. This will only cause us heart ache and pain in the future. We need to take the chains off, an unleash our athletes. At least then if we make a mistake, it will be an aggressive one.
October 2nd, 2010 at 9:41 PM ^
But our athletes are all Freshmen! When you unleash Freshmen, you get a car crash pretty often.
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:02 AM ^
When you unleash Freshmen, you get a car crash pretty often.
Yes, but if we get gashed a time or two, or three...I have absolute faith that our explosive offense will come right out and run down the field and match it up.
It may mean more of a shootout that we've even seen this year, but if we Just So Happen to make a few stops, cause more bad passes, or even get a few picks for the young guys to gain confidence with.....I think we still win by two TD's on most teams - even if it's 63-49.
Do it this way: Start rushing 4 instead of 3 right from the start - see what the extra pressure brings. The first time we get a stop and go up by 2 TDs, we unleash the kids and see what happens then. If we get torched once, we go back to 4 man rush and still stay up by a score.
Every stop builds D confidence. If we get a pick from a young DBack, it builds confidence in his playing ability.
If a young kid gets torched, his teammates will be there to build him up and our O will keep rolling, and stay hot. The D also gets a breather instead of a 42 minute "Bend" workout like today. I'm all for more playing time makes for more experience, but today's TOP was rediculous.
BRING IT FOR SPARTY! Whooooo!
October 3rd, 2010 at 3:29 PM ^
get beat deep because the more yards the ball covers in the air the less (%) likely the pass will be completed. i believe by moving our ATHLETES up will prevent more yards and points than give them up. our pressure on the chappel was better yesterday than in any of the previous games. little parts are coming together, now let the Trust of our athletes and what they have learned come together and bring them up to play physical football! GO BLUE!
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
He is such a damn beast. Admirable effort by the defensive front, adequate at best from the rest of the backfield. I hope defensive recruits are licking their chops.
I want GERG fired though. I think his reputation is overrated, and I remember as a KC Chiefs fan just how bad he was in his last pro job. While the defensive depth is thin and experience is low, I am convinced almost anyone else could produce better results.
I wish the offense possessed the ball more/longer, but how can you complain about consistent big plays.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:52 PM ^
I am convinced almost anyone else could produce better results.
Lets call Scott Shafer!
October 2nd, 2010 at 9:52 PM ^
Scott Shafer's defense was way way better than this one statistically.
October 3rd, 2010 at 12:46 AM ^
The 2008 defense was expected to be very good before the season. We had non-freshman starters at every position. Our CBs were Warren and Trent; our safeties were Harrison and Stevie Brown; our DL was Graham, Taylor, Johnson and Jamison; our LBs were Ezeh, Mouton and Thompson.
The LBs are more or less even, but the DL and secondary units were more experienced and filled with better players in 2008. I think it's fair to say that Shafer was working with a lot more than G Robinson is right now.
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:09 AM ^
Agreed.
October 3rd, 2010 at 3:39 PM ^
so take this against your comment not you! to upset the apple cart with any moving parts, right now, is moronic! 5 GAMES in and we are 5 and 0! i can see if we were 0 and 5 or any combo in between. Things are getting fixed in small increments (which is not as fast as us fans would like it to happen) but i have seen some improvements. the reality of the 'D' may not be great right now but the reality of creating uncertainty would be more devestating IMO than the points we are giving up! GO BLUE!
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
Had the offense put the game away late 3rd/early 4th no one would be debating this. They came up with 4consecutive stops during that time and a score on any one of them could have been the game.
Indiana has better receivers than we have dbs, but they were able to hold them down and allowed the offense to win. If I've learned anything from these past two years, its that a win is a win and I don't really care how it happens.
We are still 5-0 and one win away from a bowl game. Just take it one step as a time.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^
Even though they gave up an absurd amount of yards you have to hand it to them for only giving up one TD in the second half. That was pretty incredible.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:51 PM ^
Two TD's in the 2nd, but your point is still valid.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:53 PM ^
Hell YES! Plus if we don't fumble on the 1yd line we go up 2 TDS and probably win by 49-35. (and give me the exact score I predicted for THE KNOWLEDGE).
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:20 PM ^
if we score there i think we by even more. it definitely took some air out of tires for a little while.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 PM ^
Yeah, if we had scored there, I think we were headed for a pretty comfortable victory. That turnover got their crowd back in it and made it a "real" road game again.
October 3rd, 2010 at 3:53 PM ^
went up by 14 points! 14 points with the way we scored would have been a major psychological edge. there would have been more pressing and with more pressing comes tighter sphincters and with tighter sphincters come more mistakes and more mistakes comes less points. the key play was the non-score (atleast for the first half) and yes i understand we had the defensive opportunity to stop them and make them punt and still retain the field position advantage! here is to hoping we move up about then yards and play more physical!
October 2nd, 2010 at 9:42 PM ^
I was highly impressed. I mean, I was angred at times, but we did NOT fall apart, and we got the stops when we needed to against one of the most prolific passing O's we'll face. I was happy.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^
It takes a lot of heart to do what they do: hang in even though they're not having a lot of success. They're far from great but they keep fighting.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:49 PM ^
Martin continues to be a dominant player, often beating double and triple teams. RVB seemed to play well today. This is a young D and they didn't make any huge mental mistakes and the tackling was pretty good. These are actually big improvements. Jibreel Black looks promising and the young DB's hung in there and kept the play in front of them. The young DB's will get better. I thought this was there most aggressive and gutsy performance!
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:51 PM ^
Are you saying that Michigan isn't 0-5? I haven't really seen any of the games, but reading the board posts I would just assume that we are... Because when our young, inexperienced defense plays like a young inexperienced defense but somehow keeps us in games so we can win them, we couldn't possibly have all of the "fire Greg Robinson" posts that we have. Unless we have a fickle fan base, which couldn't possibly be the truth either.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:54 PM ^
you want to take the position that these are kids and we shouldn't criticize them. I have never booed a kid at the stadium, and will never tolerate booing at a game, or getting personal on a kid.
But to say say we are proud of the numerous breakdowns and missed assignments that were on display today IMO just bunk. Sorry, but effort is not all that matters. Doing what your coaches teach is part of giving good effort, that was not a good performance today, no fair or impartial person could say that.
I'm behind the guys and the team, and will never be down on them. But I'm not going to ignore reality or sugarcoat it either.
October 3rd, 2010 at 8:22 AM ^
I saw only one major mistake in the second half, which led to the last touchdown. Aside from that, the team played excellent team defense, managed their zone assignments well, and did a great job of getting to the QB on a three man rush when Indiana was sending five wideouts repeatedly.
Look, guys, most of this is just physical reality. Indiana's wideouts had on average two years and twenty pounds on our secondary. Have you actually looked at our roster and seen the size and weight of these players? Avery, for example, who is a good, smart player and played the zone surprisingly well, weighs 167 pounds. The explosive strength and speed you see in Martin just isn't there yet for guys who have been on campus since summer.
The D played their assignments, contained very well, and generally made their tackles, but they had to give up space or risk the big gain. Given what we had to work with I'll take it, and next year they'll close the gaps faster and reduce the average yards per play again, just like they did this year. Last year Indiana's average yard per play was 6.6; this year it was 5.8. That's an improvement, a BIG one, given that they brought back almost their entire offense and they were playing at home in a grudge match.
October 3rd, 2010 at 6:15 PM ^
passing, having them control the play and clock, and convert almost every third down opportunity, is playing "excellent defense" then I won't argue with you. We just have different expectations/hopes. Mine were maybe 350 yards of passing offense and 3-4 touchdowns from them. Maybe that's unrealistic, but there you go.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:54 PM ^
Effort, yes. Execution, no. Those stops in the 4th quarter were big when our offense was stalling and I think those stops were the difference, but everything else was not so good.
October 2nd, 2010 at 7:58 PM ^
I'm happy we won and I'm proud of the kids for not giving up any very long touchdowns and for getting the stops we did. That said, our defense has more talent than that. That is not the best they can play. Part of that is on GERG and part of that is on them. What the breakdown is I'm not sure, but I'm not envying Brian's job doing UFR this week.
October 3rd, 2010 at 4:18 PM ^
GERG and his D players! i think that is the key, two parts to the whole, not one or the other but two parts. i believe yesterdays game was the best two parts of the whole of the year! the reality of that being our best resulted in 35 points! WOW! but one thing i have been seeing in these threads and posts are how much we are enjoying seeing our boys enjoy eachother. as well,the increases in cardio and muscular endurance! there are so many more positives besides what we are seeing on the field plus some positive improvements on the field that help me to believe we are goint to win more games! how many games that will be? TBD! GO BLUE!
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:00 PM ^
Coaches are the problem. Why JT was playing safety is beyond me. By FAR our best corner and we put him where he is ineffective. Sounds logical.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:26 PM ^
and our best pass rusher is out in coverage most of the time.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:02 PM ^
Kudos - there is no question that they played their butts off. All hail Barwis as well - these guys were on the field for over 40 minutes and never gave any sign of giving up. They could have gotten demoralized, given up the long and easy TD...etc. Never saw a hangdog look from them, or hands on the hips.
AND - Doss is a beast. No question. I was VERY impressed by the Indiana offense. They really executed, and their receivers were excellent after the catch.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:04 PM ^
It's ok to be somewhere in the middle here. No need for extreme positions.
This Defense is not very good. Ton of deficiencies and holes. The 2006 and 1997 defenses aren't walking through the door anytime soon. Move on.
With that, our D needs to give our O a chance to put teams away. The 3 straight possessions of TOD TOD and Punt was that chance. I'm not knocking the O at all , but I've tailored my expectations accordingly - I expect the O to score a lot, I expect the D to give up a lot of points but string together 3 straight TOs/Punts every now and then.
Side note: Had UM gotten Miles, 3-9 may not have ever happened, but holy hell, would we be screwed. That guy is a nut. 3d and goal, time ticking down, spike the ball. or have the play ready. Or something. What the hell. Dude must have fellated a leprechaun or two.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:05 PM ^
Some of the credit should go to Barwis. The d was on the field for a ridiculous length of time and still didn't look gassed. I was wondering when the training methods would pay off and I think I found out today.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:06 PM ^
I guess a win is a win. I think some of these guys are getting better some not. Ezeh is terrible, it still baffles me how we cannot have someone better than him. Rogers is not very good. I wonder how much better we would be with Woolfolk? I think alot. D-line gets better each week, Roh needs to be rushing the passer. I still do not understand the 3 man rush. When we put pressure on the QB good things happen and vice versa. Need to rush four, Roh being one of them. Gordon is getting better, thumping people.
October 3rd, 2010 at 10:22 AM ^
I would generally agree with you that we should rush more than 3. But, when we stopped them in the 2nd half, GREG rushed 3 and Chappel had no where to throw. I think the best would be a mixture.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:08 PM ^
was on the field for the entire game, and yet, they never got tired. Indiana never established a running game even though our guys were out there for 40+ minutes and what seemed like a couple hundred plays. The effort and the conditioning are there. The scheme depends on the offense making mistakes. Give IU credit, they nibbled the whole game. They were patient, took what we gave them, and made it a ball game even though THEIR defense was atrocious. What we saw today was "bend but don't break" versus "break." We won. I'm happy. A road win should never leave you depressed.
My question about the defense is, with a 3 man rush, I would expect the corners to be taking more chances knowing the safeties are back there, but we didn't jump any routes. I also wonder if that 4 WRs to one side thing was something they broke out special for us because we had almost no answer for it.
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:08 AM ^
even though our guys were out there for 40+ minutes and what seemed like a couple hundred plays.
We might not see the Defensive UFR for three weeks (if at all) with that much for Brian to look at!
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:09 PM ^
D was good today, no doubt, and their performance against the run in the 2nd half bodes well for match ups against MSU, Iowa, Wisconsin and OSU.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
You are a good poster, and you know that those teams are WAY better than Indiana. In fact, not even in the same league talent wise. I did not see one single thing (apart from Martin) that would give me the impression that we can give up less than 550 yards to any of those teams. From your lips to Michigan God's ears, I hope. But geez. Denard IME is the only thing preventing big losses to those teams, I fear.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:12 PM ^
Indiana Ran 79 -- SEVENTY-NINE - plays. But in the fourth quarter the defense was actually wearing the offense down. Did you see Martin run down that tight end on the litle screen lob near the end of the game? Good Lord.
They were great against the run, too, and they didn't give up the heartbreaking huge plays that killed them against Notre Dame.
Overall a big improvement in terms of fundamentals. Also note that Indiana basically went after Kovacs the entire game and he didn't blow it except for the missed tackle in the fourth quarter for the touchdown.
Hang on, folks, the whole season is going to be like this. It will be a wild ride.
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:21 AM ^
Did you see Martin run down that tight end on the litle screen lob near the end of the game? Good Lord.
I couldn't believe my eyes. How is that even possible?
Linebackers? We don't need no stinking Linebackers.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:18 PM ^
I give the D props today for hanging in there especially when they were on the field for 41 minutes. Our offense scored so fast today, i'm not complaining one bit about that but it helps our D so much if we can control the clock on offense. I thought our defense actually got stronger as the game went on, which is amazing considering how long they were on the field today.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:25 PM ^
That missed tackle by Kovacs was the best thing that could have happened since it occurred after the first down marker. If he makes that tackle, IU can bleed the clock before scoring (and let's face it - they would have scored). At least we got the ball back with enough time to score.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
Heh...he might disagree, but it did give us just enough time to score.
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:41 PM ^
we never got "Blitzkrieged".
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:32 PM ^
WORD
They got more than enough stops--for the second time this year--for the offense to turn this into an easier win. On the road.
LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:37 PM ^
The run defense in the 2nd half was nice, but Indiana isn't exactly a terrifying run team. MSU and Wisconsin are. Indiana's abaility to pass at will was concerning as well.
That said the D was in MUCH better shape than Indiana's O and that should pay dividend's later in the year. They definitely came to play at the end and kept the effort up, now if they could only tackle....................
October 2nd, 2010 at 8:41 PM ^
They were out there for ninety-eight plays. And they never quit. Holy cow these kids play hard.