scott shafer

This game seals it.  We played a 2-6 team without its starting QB, and gave up 48 points.  I don't know how anyone can defend this guy as our DC.  We're on pace to shatter every school record for defensive futility - and this with a D that returned eight starters. 

I don't care if we lose a recruit or two.  Dump Shafer and hire someone with a better track record than just two years in the MAC and one at a Pac-10 cellar dweller.

Every week we make the opposing offense look unstoppable.  I am pissed off.  Another 49 points!!!  This offense can't score 14 points a game in conference play, yet they dominate our defense with a QB playing his second game ever.  Pathetic

There is absolutely no reason to keep Shafer on anymore...the man can't coach his way out of a paper bag.  How do you let a 2 win team with a third string QB (RB!) put up 48 points on you!??

One question I have for knowledgeable people...Why were our corners just watching the QB when they backpedalled with complete disregard for the WRs? Is that just zone? There were a countless number of times Trent, Cissoko, Warren, would be in the back pedal watching then qb, the WR would run an out underneathe the coverage and pick up an easy 10 yards.

There is an incredible amount of stupid oozing from this thread.

I love how the standard retort to any kind of criticism of the coaching is "you're stupid."

Okay Ryan, maybe we are stupid.  Would you please enlighten us, then as to why we should be happy with a defensive coordinator whose unit is surrendering 31 points per game (37 ppg if you toss out the two MAC opponents)? 

Look, I like Rich Rod, but he's a human being.  He'll make some mistakes.  Hiring Shafer is looking like one right now. 

It's silly and dangerous to plow through a coach in just one year, especially when that year is one of transition all across the program.

We are talking about an assistant coach here.  There's a big, big difference between firing a head coach and firing an assistant.  Changing one assistant does not bring that much instability.  Minnesota canned its DC last year - one year after a head coaching change - and they sure don't regret it.

Too soon.  Most of the time, there was a player in position to make a play for a minimal gain, and sloppy tackling and bad angles wouldn't allow it.  This is on the posistion coaches if anything.  Additionally, a lot of these drives probably aren't on the defense at all.  There was a bullshit PI call on Warren that extended one drive, a fake punt that extended another after a three and out, and a few drives that started inside Michigan territory.  That pins an awful lot of points on poor special teams play.

 Giving up over 500 yards to such an awful opponent is certainly a poor performance, but this is as much on the players/posistion coaches as on Schafer.  No scheme works when your players don't tackle and your defense spends 3/4 of the game on the field.  Schafer may work out and he may not, but lets go ahead and give him a fair shake.

Is Shafer a part of the overall failure of this tems defense?  Yes, but he is only a part of it.  One of the bigger parts is the near complete and utter failure of one of the most talked about defenisve lines in the country coming into this year.  The only one of the four who has lived up to his end of the bargain so far has been Graham.  The second issue lies with the lack of capable linebackers we had through the first five games or so, but we seem to have a decent core in there now, there was just a horrible rotation of unprepared, unqualified LBs splitting time earlier this year.  Finally, the biggest problem lies with the secondary.  Trent "seemed" to have improved as last year went on, but this year he has proven time and time again that he is the same CB that played in 2006.  Brown goes unmentioned because we already know about him.  Aside from Warren, who seems to haveing aome troubles of his own this year, the secondary is completely lacking in ATHLETES.  Corners and safeties have to be the most physical athletes on he field, and Michigan has failed time and time again to land elite defensive backs.  The Michigan safety hating God issues have been well-documented, but the fact is that Warren and Harrison are the only two starters that I care for right now.  There really should be no reason that some of these DBs never see the field again.  This safety cand DB class coming in really needs to step up, because the secondary has been Michigan's achilles heel for years, lets hope some of these kids come through.

Secondly, look at a team like Florida or USC.  They play so many ATHLETES out of position but they make it work.  Florida right now has running backs on their special teams COVERAGE units because these kids can get to the returner before the ball does, how many times has Michigan accomplished this recently?  Similiar situation at USC, that is why they are able to take an almost unlimited number of five-star running backs and recievers at any moment.  Look at their recruitng classes recently, they have a wide-reciever roster that is like six deep with five-stars, similiar situations with offensive and defenive lineman.  They just get as many ATHLETES as possible and move them around and put them in wherever they can.  It starts with recruiting and Michigan has failed miserably with recruitng ATHLETES under Carr, hopefully this will change with Rich Rod, but time will tell.

Bottom line: Shafer can only do so much.  The 3-3-5 is not to blame, how has Michigan looked with the four-man front this year?  2-6 with the four man front, that is not the issue, the entire defense is the issue.  Shafer (1/3) + lack of athletes (2/3) = this years defense.