Press Coverage and Defensive Back discussion

A lot of teams do that, actually. I've seen plenty of quarterbacks fooled by Defensive Linemen dropping into coverage. In fact, I'm pretty sure Cutler was picked off by a gigantic lineman in the Bears game today. It's not like the DL was getting after Golson anyway.

did it last night too. Its a zone blitz, but I'm sure you knew that.

You're right pass rush and press coverage are related, but it's chicken and egg. They need to work together. A bad pass rush means DBs have to cover longer, but bad coverage means the pass rush has no chance to get home. 

From what I saw, most of our problems were coverage related. Our corners didn't disrupt timing and repeatedly gave up inside leverage so Golson could throw in time out of a three step drop. That made the job very easy for his OL and very difficult for our pass rush. 

It sounds like Mattison lost his nerve once there were a couple of pass interference calls.  If they had continued to play tight and aggressive, the refs would not continue to throw flags all night.  Although it was at ND and they did the same thing against MSU last year, MSU never let up and kept the game close.  Close at ND gives you a shot a winning.

If the DL can't get there, then do what MSU does and start blitzing the LBs.  Hell they will even blitz both LBs to make sure they get pressure.  You get home anyway that you have too.

sure does, at least against ND type athletes.  someone else tried making comparisons to va techs defense which should never be done with this group.  va tech has been recruiting to the same profiles and teaching same techniques and running same schemes for decades and theyre usually elite at it.  comparing va techs DL to um's DL is fools errand, same for current groups of DBs - va tech goes several deep with really quick southern athletes while um's depth chart comprised of mostly midwest bigger body type guys at DL - and those current "pass rushers" at um will likely never have the ability to get home vs good comeptition.  

and if someone complains of stereotyping, please check the stats - majority of nfl rosters (particularly DL and DB) and big time college rosters consist of black kids most of which are from the south - its just a fact

Excellent post, I concur.  I played Strong Safety at the DI level and often rolled up in press coverage.  With the 3 step drops that ND runs, you have to take away in the inside slant or hitch, or at least be in position to make some sort of play on the ball.  Countess appears to have very weak strength, particularly in his upper body.  His attempts at jamming a WR are a joke and they just brush him off. Most of the time ND was just throwing inside for big chunks of yards on those 3rd downs, which is very playable by a physical corner.  It was quite frustrating to watch.  Ramon Taylor is much better a the jam but he was out of the game.  Peppers no doubt is better at it than Countess. Countess is also slow out of his backpedal and slow in his hip turn.   I would not be surprised if Pepp takes Blakes spot once he is healthy and Countess is the nickle.  Countess is best suite, IMO as a free safety type but that wont happen at Michigan.

Mattison was backing off the WR, which is death when a QB has a quick accurate release and has short drops.  Perhaps they had no one who could defend that anyway, but misalignment or not being in the proper defense killed them just as well.  10 yds a pop.

Your break down makes a lot sense.Great perspective from a former player Too bad the coaching is poor. You wouldn't happen to be David Harris?

I agree with pretty much everything here. A standard practice in cover 1 or cover 0 is to align on the inside shoulder of the receiver and to control him with your inside hand. Sometimes you see cover 1 corners get called for lining up in the neutral zone, but Michigan's corners are a couple yards off the ball. For example, on the fade route for a touchdown, Countess was slightly of the LOS and did not even touch the receiver until they were in the endzone. It was actually pretty decent coverage considering he didn't jam him off the line of scrimmage.

I don't really agree with Countess's lack of makeup speed - he's not a burner, but he can run with the vast majority of college receivers. He just used poor technique several times throughout the game. I'm not sure if that's coming from Hoke or Mattison or Manning, but I have a hard time believing they don't know how to coach corners. Countess just wasn't doing it properly.

Great post. This blog may end up to be worth reading again after all.  I, for one, am growing weary of anyone who knows anything about football on this blog being shills for the Athletic Dept and its coaches.

Thank God for Beilein and Hutchins.  With all due respect to Berenson and his excellent career and talents, it is way past time for him to retire.  Do we have to do a Bobby Bowden on him????

Rest of coaches (football in particular) are collection of losers. Great people, losing coaches.  It is time to going back to insisting on great people who are winning coaches. Case closed. Either win, or apply for opening at Purdue. (no, you do not have to win every year, but at least be in the conversation, we are now irrelevant)

And BTW, someone please give the macaroni/pizza guy a job at Burger King where he belongs, or on the end of the bench..., which is where he was when he cqalled himself a defensive end.

And agree with much of what you're saying, but here's what I'll say about Cover 1 Press. Leverage depends a lot on the rest of the Cover 1 call, where your help is, and the situation. Golson wasn't just killing Michigan on slants, he was also killing Michigan on quick outs and fades when Michigan started cheating or over-playing their leverage inside. Depending on the split, you simply can't cheat inside on all situations because you give up a free release outside, and Countess doesn't have the strength or quickness to keep up.

I really can't comment on the coaching, because I'm not there in practice. What I saw from the DBs was just getting flat out beat and out-executed though. Countess had a WR outside and even and simply did not have the functional strength to hold him there. Next, he cheats to try to jump it with his body and allows a free release outside. Some of it is technique, because they've only been working on it for one off-season at length, but I think, as far as Countess is concerned, that it really has to do with functional strength and eye-discipline. He's better as a zone player.

Hollowell just isn't athletic enough at this point to handle a slot to the field. He had to play it straight up because of alignment and help, and pressing him would have been a quick death. They played off in an effort to force Golson to do something he is less comfortable with: march down the field in chunks. It also allowed him to play off man and limit run after catch. The hope likely that Kelly, because he tends to do this, would eventually try to attack downfield and bring the FS into play. He didn't budge, he kept running Cover 1 beat after Cover 1 beater and ND simply out executed there. I would have liked to see Michigan give Hollowell some inside help, either with a bracket or a robber, but they also needed to generate some pressure vs a quick passing attack.

I disagree with your assessment of the front though. I saw Clark throw a hell of a spin move after a fake inside rip. I saw Clark get some pressure on the outside. I saw the DTs handle a very good ND interior. I thought the LBs were well schooled. The problem was ND had a quick passing attack and Golson was very accurate all night. The rush couldn't get there because the ball was out of Golson's hand already. If you are getting beat in Cover 1 on the backend, pressure won't get home no matter how much pressure is dialed up, it just won't. And that's what happened. I thoughtt the front 6 looked solid to good against ND again, and I thought the DTs really one with their hand-technique on the inside all night. It's stemming from the backend much more than anything up front.

And as far as switching to a cover 2. Mattison has always been a single-high guy first and foremost. Michigan actually did run a Tampa 2 on a third down and got off the field, but that was about it. But Michigan spent so much time repping Cover 1 and a Cover 3 bail in the offseason to get it to try to get it to a point it needed to be, there is just no way they were going to trot out a cover 2 and run it effectively regularly against a team that was executing like ND. It just wasn't going to happen. You commit to Cover 1 like Michigan did, you live and die by it. Michigan died by it, from a team that simply out executed them on the outside.

Thank you for this post.

Are you available to coach?

I am not being sarcastic.

Sigh.

Your post makes me even more frustated than ever because it speaks to position coaching.  I fear other than our WR coach we seem to be lacking everywhere else.  Who would you really retain from this staff?  At this point Heck and Manning are the only 2 I'd want to see go to the other staff - Manning for recruiting purposes.  Heck is the only guy I see get guys developed, he has made Norfleet viable, he did wonders with Funchess and Gallon, and now Chesson is developing. 

Position coaching is the least appreciated thing in college football and I think MSU's defensive position coaching versus ours is so different.  I see their DBs with inside coverage, I see them with their heads turned, I see their DL doing things other than "bull rush".  So frustrating.

The one time when Delonte hit the reciever on the slant pass is one of the only times when I saw DBs making contact before the pass. One thing that I want to ask you specifically since you said you bulked up considerbly during college is that why are our corners aren't putting on more size. I felt that the ND recievers where huge against our DBs and where able to gain leverage in the pass game. You say what you will but I haven't seen big size except for Clark ,Cole and maybe DG. With the neglect on technique I am wondering if players are neglecting the weight room. Also about the D-line I have also noticed they poor hands. They don't use their hands well and have poor leverage.

Simply put these db's are not being coached correctly and are being allowed to get away with poor technique.