Iowa Kirk Ferentz 1-on-1 Interview: Michigan "reminiscent of their '85 defense"

Submitted by markusr2007 on

I can't embed, but the weekly KCRG video interview from his head coach office is interesting:

http://www.kcrg.com/content/sports/Kirk-Ferentz-1-on-1-400640211.html

Ferentz's comments:

  • "Really is" the most talented team we've faced in a while.\
  • Michigan on film "is the most impressive thing."
  • "Few of their games have been competitive. Played from behind only one time this year"
  • Too many playmakers. "Can't load up in one area" against them
  • "Defensively, they're not overly complicated, they just really play aggressively"
  • "Reminiscent of their '85 defense..wasn't exactly rocket science to get ready for them, but playing against them was a real challenge".

 

I found these comments on Michigan's defensive complexity interesting when set against the comments of other ACC offensive coordinator comments about it taking 50 hour weeks just to figure out what in the hell Don Brown thinks he is doing.

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stephenrjking

November 10th, 2016 at 5:31 PM ^

He's not saying that it is easy to play against, just that preparing for it isn't that complicated. I have no idea if that's true or not; Michigan certainly has a lot of different looks, but perhaps the base concepts are things that Ferentz and Davis know how to adjust to. Comparing it to the '85 defense is high praise.

 

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uniqenam

November 10th, 2016 at 5:49 PM ^

That sounds like med school to me: learn every nerve enervation, muscle insertion, etc in the next 2 weeks for this anatomy exam. Not hard, just loathsome. Also not good for procrastinators.



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Everyone Murders

November 10th, 2016 at 5:47 PM ^

In 1985 No. 1 Iowa played No. 2 Michigan at Iowa, and won 12-10.  It was an epic defensive struggle, pitting Chuck Long against some Michigan QB you've probably heard of.

Ferentz is giving high praise to Michigan's defense here.  That victory was one of the most memorable games in Iowa history.  And what people who haven't been there don't always realize is that there is nothing competing with Iowa football in Iowa.  The Iowans are locked in on Saturday afternoons/evenings.  Some minority may be watching Iowa State, but college football is all they've got - most I know look to KC for their pro sports, but are not as invested as they would be in a local pro team.

(For all of that, I did click on this thread to make the "so Ferentz will be bringing out his 1985 offense" joke, but it had already been made.  /Shakes fist upward/)

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Everyone Murders

November 10th, 2016 at 6:54 PM ^

I may be talking out of an orifice other than my mouth here, since I did not actually watch the video - I relied on the OP's excerpts.  Take my comment with that in mind, and sorry if I missed that nuance.

To the extent that Ferentz is claiming that Brown's defense is at a 1985 level of sophistication, I think he'll be disappointed.  Because Michigan's defense is very likely to party like it's 1999.

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