Some Perspective on Our D-Backfield - Keep The Faith
When you go for a run the mind wanders.
The Illinois game sucked. That's clear. The talk around here has died down as Purdue looms large in under 40 hours, but there really have been way too many "Fire Rodriguez" insinuations for my liking.
Let's go back to August. After reading Hail to The Victors 2009, I was mortified of everything on the defense. Only 5 returning starters, only 2 seniors in the 2-deep, period.
The D-line seemed to be Graham, Martin, and the great unknown. Well, Graham's been great. Martin and Van Bergen have been serviceable. Roh has been good for a true freshman, and there is actually depth (BWC, Sagesse, Banks, Heininger) that is returning.
The LBs? Ergh.
But look at the defensive backfield, and look at the dominoes that have fallen with this unit:
(1) Turner qualifies 10 days late and is forced to redshirt;
(2) Witty DOESN'T qualify; and
(3) Cissoko has his fall from grace.
Had the coaching staff had Turner and Witty from the start of camp, I don't think it's far-fetched that one of them would have been in line for early season snaps, which would have helped with depth as the year progressed. This proved vital since Cissoko essentially was lost by the second half of the Indiana game. This caused the insertion of JT Floyd (Turner's speed would probably been a little better against Sparty, yes?), the eventual switch by Woolfolk, Jordan Kovacs starting, and Michael Williams flipping safety positions the week of the Iowa game.
Before the season started, most of the fanbase was worried about Cissoko being able to handle the starting job (remember the Gross Isle arrest? ha) Turns out, the triple negbang of Turner, Witty and Cissoko left this team in a serious bind that they've been trying to paper over since August 20th.
Given THE ENTIRE PICTURE, I think Rodriguez, and GERG in particular, has done a quite excellent job in keeping a team, without 3 of the top 5 guys it had pencilled into the CB rotation in August, above .500 into November.
Keep the faith, Michigan fans. I think this year GERG is proving that he can scheme well, he just needs an infusion of defensive backfield talent. Witty (who is rumored to have qualified), Avery, Talbott, C. Johnson, M. Robinson, hopefully Buck Christian, and one or two others are on the way.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:36 PM ^
When I go for a run my shins hurt.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:57 PM ^
Oh, really? Wait. So you're saying...our secondary is...thin? Dayamn! You sir, must be commended for your original thought. I am pretty sure I have not read anything remotely like this, especially not in much better written, better researched posts detailing the problems with the defense.
Thank you, oh light of knowledge, for giving me better perspective on this subject.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:07 AM ^
you people are harsh around here... What's wrong with breaking down who we thought we would have and how it's actually playing out? You're right that there isn't any mind blowing info in this post, but that doesn't mean you should just slam him.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:21 AM ^
I know...but the pain in my shins makes me very angry and prone to lash out.
You don't know what it is like having to ride a bicycle all of the time when you really just want to go for a run sometimes.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:29 AM ^
Pretty sure he was talking to me, not you. There's nothing really in his post deserving what I said. It's just he's usually mean to lot of posters...guess I was just venting. His being unneccessarily mean to many posters had built up on me for a while I guess, so I vented.
/apology
November 6th, 2009 at 12:39 AM ^
If keeping RichRod means we keep filling the board with these rationalization posts I will soon convert to the fire RichRod camp. It just might be worth it.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:01 AM ^
If you don't have the ability to grasp and understand the larger picture of what has happened this year (and, in using Misopogon's research, the past five years) which led to the defensive breakdowns the past month, you really don't have a logical basis by which to add to the conversation.
November 6th, 2009 at 8:09 AM ^
I should have read this before posting Our Secondary-Ouch!
November 6th, 2009 at 8:21 AM ^
Something is just not right with the Turner situation. Turner was not "forced" to redshirt. On this team with Turner's alleged talent level, he should be playing. Since Turner is not playing it must be either an injury or he is unable to pick up the defense, which for a true freshman is probably understandable. I don't think, with our dearth of talent at safety and corner, missing the first 10 days would have been insurmountable or the difffernce between redshirting or not
November 6th, 2009 at 9:00 AM ^
It could be an injury with Turner, but I don't think it would be an inability to pick up the defense. In my opinion, this defense for cornerbacks is pretty easy.
Of course, it could also be the speed of the game or his conditioning or something of that nature.
Skill players are often able to contribute at a young age, but even Leon Hall and Donovan Warren weren't starters immediately. And once you get about halfway through the season, the coaches probably think, "Really, do we want to sacrifice a year of Turner's elibility for 5 or 6 games?"
I'd rather have Turner for the 2013 season when Rodriguez has his entire offense and defense in place than have him for half of 2009 when our offense and defense are going through growing pains, anyway.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:02 AM ^
You're right Magnus. Once the coaches got to the Iowa game and were able to have the CBs play "respectably," they probably figured burning Turner's redshirt wasn't necessary.
However, had Turner not missed the first 10 or so practices, I seriously wonder whether he'd have been in the rotation ahead of Floyd. And that is why I was so upset at the NCAA Clearinghouse this summer. If they can't do their job at the most important time of the year, in order to simply confirm a kid passed one part of one test, they shouldn't be able to keep their jobs when it affects kids, and teams, in such a negative way.
November 6th, 2009 at 11:46 AM ^
IMHO it is not about cornerback's playing respectably it is about the Defense playing respectably, which they haven't, so playing Turner if ready would have been the thing to do. Also, RR constantly preaches about the best players playing, which makes me conclude Turner is not deemed worthy of playing time at this point.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:05 AM ^
IDK, If the corner position is easy to pick up, then Turner for 6 games would be worth it to me. We could move Williams and Woolfolk back to the positions they started the season at and have a more cohesive unit.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:30 AM ^
So, "blueblueblue," lemme get this straight: anyone who doesn't want to scapegoat RR and run him out of town on a rail is "rationalizing?"
Are you sure your name isn't "trolltrolltroll?" Or "Greengreengreen?" Or "scarletscarletscarlet?" Just asking...