So, the defense...

Submitted by maizenbluedevil on

Overall, UConn put up less points than I thought they would.

Our defense looked good at times.  They had some good hits.

But also there were some runs where it seemed like UConn was getting 15 yards up the middle way too easily.

They were also their own worst enemy.  Especially with the 2 key dropped balls early.  And the fact that we got lucky on that muffed punt by Gallon, recovering it.  If they catch those balls, or if the muffed punt goes back to UConn, it's possible there could have been a different outcome.

I'm thrilled about the victory.  There's a lot to celebrate.  But, with ND looming next week, I can't help but think about our D and how it will hold up.  They probably looked slightly better than I thought, but, we really did catch some breaks today.  And the fact that our offense had 0 turnovers was huge.  If we can keep that up all year, that will be a huge help to our D.

Anyhow, I'm curious what ppl thought about our D that - unlike me - actually know what to look for in a defense.

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bronxblue

September 4th, 2010 at 7:50 PM ^

I hear the fear, but at the same time the defense made some big plays, really bottled up a good running game, and some of those passes were not going to be big gains even if they were caught.  Every defense looks like it got lucky on a couple of plays, and a couple of big gains should have been stopped but the offense caught a break.  Tends to even out.

Also, I saw enough of ND's offense to feel fairly confident that they are not much better, if at all, than UConn's.  Get some pressure on Crist and I expect this team to play well.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 170936

Tater

September 4th, 2010 at 7:51 PM ^

"Bend but don't break."  I was shocked at how well the defense played.  They will have to improve next week, but this was a great start.  Maybe there won't be nearly as much gloom and doom as predicted.

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584

joelrodz

September 4th, 2010 at 7:56 PM ^

Cam Gordon to me often looked lost and barely ever would attempt to wrap up on tackles ( against the Big Ten backs that's called 6 points). Ezeh still looked flat footed out there, except for the INT that fell on his lap. This is very early still but I am certainly worried about it. Next week we'll see how Kelly attacks them. I am def excited about our O but that D backside is going to give me an ulcer. I seriously hope I am wrong.

Joined: 09/26/2009

MGoPoints: 372

joelrodz

September 4th, 2010 at 8:07 PM ^

Cam Gordon to me often looked lost and barely ever would attempt to wrap up on tackles ( against the Big Ten backs that's called 6 points). Ezeh still looked flat footed out there, except for the INT that fell on his lap. This is very early still but I am certainly worried about it. Next week we'll see how Kelly attacks them. I am def excited about our O but that D backside is going to give me an ulcer. I seriously hope I am wrong.

Joined: 09/26/2009

MGoPoints: 372

LondonBlue

September 4th, 2010 at 8:18 PM ^

Jeez, I was nervous all the way through the third quarter. To put it nicely, I thought we were fortunate. But given we've been on the wrong end of the stick so many other times, turn about is fair play. Not only did UConn help M's cause a lot in the first half but they coughed up the ball inside the ten after getting first and goal where a touchdown would have cut the lead to 7.

Having said that there were a few nice plays that were made, particularly early. The Rogers hit on the WR to make him cough it up on a early 3rd and short play. The Floyd hit on Shoemate to produce the fumble. But we also had more than a few missed tackles.

I'm most concerned about our ability to get pressure on the QB. We had a few hurries but no sacks. We had 4 TFLs and they had 11. We will face more accurate passers and better receivers and pressure will be key.

On the ground, for as well as Michigan ran the ball today, we averaged 4.7 ypc on 61 carries against an undersized DL. UConn averaged 4.6 ypc on 30 attempts. Thankfully, they were forced out of their gameplan after falling behind early.

But all in all, I'm just thrilled with a victory and beating them at their own game - rushing. Michigan had the ball a whopping 21 minutes in the second half including a final drive of 15 plays for 51 yards consuming 8:24!

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 112

FingerMustache

September 4th, 2010 at 8:38 PM ^

did anyone else see cullen christian dive at the recievers feet and miss on two consecutive plays. i have a feeling that that part of his game will keep him from seeing any significant minutes until at least next season.

Joined: 02/17/2009

MGoPoints: 963

Njia

September 4th, 2010 at 8:42 PM ^

But those UConn receivers were awful. Pathetic. It was like they had Crisco on their hands.

Notre Dame will be better. Of that, you can be very confident.

I can't wait to see Brian's UFR. I don't think our D played as well as the final score indicated. It feels much like the win over WMU last year: deceiving.

Joined: 09/15/2009

MGoPoints: 35773

Sommy

September 4th, 2010 at 8:43 PM ^

I can count three or four times offhand where I saw Cam Gordon lower his shoulder for the tackle and completely fail to wrap the ball carrier up.  Not good.

Granted, it's game one, but I expected the defense to look poor, and they looked, well, average.  I guess that's a positive.

Joined: 07/29/2008

MGoPoints: 1806

FingerMustache

September 4th, 2010 at 8:43 PM ^

in the future we need to capitalize on those opportunities to get interceptions. in a matter of minutes floyd was a bit slow to react and missed one over his head, banks got hit in the chest (although im not gonna complain about a Dlinemans hands), and mouton dropped one. Obviously it didnt end up mattering in a game like this, but in the future, we need to capitalize on those.

 

although i should give props to floyd for forcing the fumble. perfect technique for a goal-line situation like that.

Joined: 02/17/2009

MGoPoints: 963

joelrodz

September 4th, 2010 at 8:49 PM ^

Cam Gordon to me often looked lost and barely ever would attempt to wrap up on tackles ( against the Big Ten backs that's called 6 points). Ezeh still looked flat footed out there, except for the INT that fell on his lap. This is very early still but I am certainly worried about it. Next week we'll see how Kelly attacks them. I am def excited about our O but that D backside is going to give me an ulcer. I seriously hope I am wrong.

Joined: 09/26/2009

MGoPoints: 372

joelrodz

September 4th, 2010 at 8:53 PM ^

Cam Gordon to me often looked lost and barely ever would attempt to wrap up on tackles ( against the Big Ten backs that's called 6 points). Ezeh still looked flat footed out there, except for the INT that fell on his lap. This is very early still but I am certainly worried about it. Next week we'll see how Kelly attacks them. I am def excited about our O but that D backside is going to give me an ulcer. I seriously hope I am wrong.

Joined: 09/26/2009

MGoPoints: 372

TheOracle6

September 4th, 2010 at 10:35 PM ^

The defense still looked shaky but they made plays when they had to, they bent but didn't break, and through hard work and film study they will only continue to get better and more consistent.

Joined: 09/02/2010

MGoPoints: 1636

big10football

September 4th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^

Its going to be a learning process. The good thing is that a lot of players got their first game experience today. Hopefully, they will improve. But we all knew going in that the defense would be the achilles heal so their play wasn't that disappointing.

Joined: 01/03/2009

MGoPoints: 403

Jinxed

September 4th, 2010 at 11:19 PM ^

TBH.. I think this defense ends up performing marginally better than last year...

 

ND doesn't really have much room to improve on offense from last year... so the key to that game will be our offense vs their defense. It's not like Kelly's teams were world beaters on defense... so I'm honestly not too worried.

Joined: 09/15/2009

MGoPoints: 1993