How much attention should RR show the D?
An interesting strain of questioning seems to be developing to which I don't know the answer and wonder if anyone here has good insight...How involved are most head coaches with their non-strength side of the ball? Does a "defensive wizard" ignore the offense? Do "offensive masters" hand off the defense? What's normal?
Check out this from AnnArbor.com today from RR's press conference:
Rodriguez said he will personally spend 15 to 20 minutes with Michigan's defense Monday in practice.
And, this quote that Tim presented from RR's presser:
"I'll probably spend a little bit of time with them today. Our defensive staff I think knows what we've gotta do."
The defensive staff "knows what we've gotta do"? 15 to 20 minutes? That's it? Your defense is ranked #100 out of #120 teams and you show you concern by spending 15 to 20 minutes with them? How much time was he spending before? 5 minutes? 2? Maybe we're losing so many players on defense (1/3 of RR's recruits) because the head coach is an absentee manager? Or...maybe that's standard practice. I guess, if the defense were doing well, it's a question that no one would care about. Since our defense is (and has been) poor, I'd imagine that the coach would want to be very involved. If anyone has good insight, I imagine I'm not the only one interesting in learning.
September 20th, 2010 at 6:04 PM ^
He should take them to Chuck E. Cheese's at least once a week and go to all their big events (school plays, dance recitals, etc.), otherwise they will want to move in with GERG after the divorce. Of course, he can't just ignore the O either, or they will spend years and tons of money in therapy only to learn that all of their problems stem from the fact that they hate Coach Rod.
This thread is dumb. Countless people have answered your question and yet you keep acting like there is more to it that reflects negatively on the head coach. You aren't trying to understand, you are just trying to complain.
Our defense isn't very good. We all knew that going into the season and we all know that now. They aren't very good because the roster is full of young/inexperienced players, some of whom aren't the most physically gifted in the world, who have been forced into the lineup. All the guys who left the program this year were far behind those young/inexperienced guys on the depth chart. There is loads of young talent on that side of the ball (Roh, Campbell, Demens, Johnson, Furman, Robinson, Christian, Ash, Black, etc.) but it will take those players time to develop. Time, not cookies and hugs and "attention" from the head coach or fans on the internet wishing they were better and blaming the staff when freshmen and sophomores play like freshmen and sophomores. You remember what David Harris, Prescott Burgess, and Shawn Crable did as freshman and sophomores? Neither does anyone else because they barely saw the field.
Here are a few things Rodriguez could have done to make you feel more comfortable about the situation: pull Vlad's scholarship offer after he injured his leg, refuse to sign/recruit 5-star Justin Turner, tell players asking to transfer somewhere they have a better chance of playing to go fuck themselves, get the school to cut corners and admit guys like Witty and Dorsey. Would you be happy with any of these decisions? If not, then don't complain about the results.
September 20th, 2010 at 6:21 PM ^
It's because this hiw dahblue works - he doesn't propose honest questions, he proposes questions on which his mind is already made up, and then argues with everyone who disagrees with his preconceived answer.
September 20th, 2010 at 7:12 PM ^
Lock thread.
September 20th, 2010 at 8:04 PM ^
e-greed.
September 21st, 2010 at 2:50 AM ^
boom goes the dynamite.
September 20th, 2010 at 6:07 PM ^
as it pertains to the defense is in the coaches meeting. It's there that overall judgements/concerns are brought up & hashed out. Once they get on the practice field, it's all about installing next week's gameplan.
I'm just hoping that in the coaches meeting, they can figure out what to do in this 3-3-5.... Namely, attacking. At some point, when the defense is struggling, you have to dial it up. You can't have your defense out there in a slugfest, drive after drive, being methodically broken down. Our defense wasn't gonna be a worldbeater this year & we all knew that anyhow. I'd be fine with blitzing & taking some chances. Yes, we'd give up some big plays...but we'd create some of our own as well. Our defense wouldn't be as beat up, though (IMO) & we'd create more scoring chances, which (with our offense) would be scary for opposing teams...
September 20th, 2010 at 6:09 PM ^
gets GERG a headset and kicks all his assistants upstairs, (just a suggestion.)
September 20th, 2010 at 6:12 PM ^
I think a stern lecture is in order for the D. I say this trying to use polite language.
September 20th, 2010 at 6:46 PM ^
RR has frosh and sophs all over the place on offense. He better keep his focus there; his expertise. It's that focus that took all these youngsters and made them a top 10-15 offense. he just better hope Gerg gets his sh*t together and coaches-up his frosh and sophs on defense.
September 20th, 2010 at 7:30 PM ^
"how much attention should RR show the D?"
How about "more"?
September 20th, 2010 at 8:09 PM ^
Not sure if this was already said, but I think I understand the OP's concern. The same thing for any big manager or CEO. They are responsible for everything, whether its their expertise area or not. Not wanting to put any words into the OP's mouth, but he is just concerned that there is a problem area, and coach is not putting more emphasis on it. Just concern and worry.
I think Coach Rod can help the D, because he studies tape of opponent's D to figure how to attack. So, I know his expertise might not be on defense game planning, he can help out. I dont mind that he is not in the meeting, Let him work on the O. Although the O is doing great, he probably can make it better so let him work on that. He knows how much is on the line more than any of us and he knows the best way to handle his business.
September 20th, 2010 at 8:42 PM ^
RR played defense in college so he knows a thing or two about it certainly. However he spends the majority of time with the offense, and you can't blame him with the results. We have freshmen and sophs all over the field and players that had no business seeing the field that are being asked to perform at a high level. No matter how much time RR spends with the team you're not going to see durastic results. Special teams is more of a concern and I think going forward the defense and special teams will get better little bits at a time. This team is going bowling and with Denard nothing is impossible. Don't worry about RR worry about GRob, it's his defense and his problem to fix.
September 21st, 2010 at 12:07 AM ^
So it's Robinson who decided to run the God-awful 3-3-5?
I don't care how much time Rodriguez spends with the defense, in fact I don't care if he sits in his office all day working on compliance forms. The results on the field, on both sides of the ball, are ultimately his responsibility.
I remember the special teams coach that went away mid-season under Carr a few years back. I'm not saying Rodriguez can as easily dispose of his DC during the season, but he needs to do whatever he needs to do to get it as right as he can with the players he has.