Fault 1: After a year ('05) in which our entire DB haul was Johnny Sears and Chris Richards, and DBs were hit so hard that the Angry ____ Hating God meme was invented for our safety situation, we got zero defensive backs in 2006. We needed like four. If two were 5th year seniors today, that would have helped. Not fixed, but helped. Mouton was a linebacker, and this was known to recruiters. Steve Brown ended up being a linebacker too, though I suspect Gibsons coaching led to him being a bigger bust at FS than he need have been.

Fault 2: In 2007 we got Donovan, Williams, and Woolfolk, plus Artis Chambers if you want to count him. Williams was a 4-star to the sites, but other schools were staying away from him - maybe they knew something. Warren was a big get. Woolfolk was a legacy, and we are supremely lucky he grew from 4.5 to 4.3 speed. Still, this is after two years in a row of zero CBs and one safety, and our haul is one 5-star guy, a slow and diminuative Brandon Harrison-like safety, and a legacy.

Fault 3: By 2008 Carr and RR both should have known the situation was going to be dire at the DB positions. Lloyd had Cissoko and Brandon Smith coming: a mite, and another obvious linebacker. RR added Floyd, but he was otherwise occupied with offensive recruiting, where he created a pipeline to Pahokee out of thin air, added the two best offensive linemen of a class that already had four in it, filled the running back and receivers corps (Shaw and Roundtree, our best RB and WR, respectively, were won away at the last minute), and chased the No. 1 recruit in the nation around until finally losing that battle. Had RR spent some of that time scouting and signing a few more cornerbacks and the obvious obvious obvious need by that point of a deep safety...

Fault 4: 2009 was a repeat of 2007 except more egregious. He got Turner, which yay, but then after him....uh....Witty, who didn't make it to campus and it seems the staff hardly cared about that because Witty was part of landing Denard Robinson, and Vlad, who was a project because of a major injury that we weren't sure he could ever recover from. RR had 3-9 hanging around his neck, but as opposed to '08 when he had a month in a half to add, this was a full recruiting class. And he got just Turner and Emilien.

Fault 5: Losing Turner, Emilien, and Warren. This is on those guys of course, but I do think the head coach has something to do with how a kid turns out. Not everything, but something. What was it that Turner needed to get motivated? 4.5 star cornerbacks seldom bust out. He was a bit big as he filled out, but so was Marlin. This is all speculation, but I still feel like RR rewards playing time to the guys who practice harder, over the guys who are actually better, and since Turner wasn't one of those guys, well, balls -- or as Rich says, the door's unlocked from the inside. Emilien, well, I thought it was simply his knee not ever coming back, and used as evidence him getting lapped by Teric Jones in the Spring Game, but then some observers told me that was a different injury hampering him and that Vlad had his speed back. He was supposedly a really hard worker too -- I'm sticking with his [total lack of] speed being the issue, but if not, that really raises a WTH thing with me. Warren: what can you do, really, except go up to him and say "Don, you have the rest of your life to be an NFL player, but one chance left to really do something for your school. I need you. Your team needs you. This program needs you." I don't think RR does that for anyone, and I don't think Warren ever really liked the new regime, and I think that contributed to him departing early. That and the NFL collective bargaining agreement that meant being a 3rd round guy this year could be a big money difference from being a 2nd round guy next year.

Fault 6: Gibson. One thing we haven't seen is defensive back progression. The biggest leap anyone has taken since 2008 is Steve Brown, when he went to linebacker. Of the meager leftovers, name all defensive backs who have seen a major year-to-year progression:

1. Troy Woolfolk

Avery, Talbott, Christian, these guys are true freshmen. But "don't evacuate a zone" might be something that's teachable over, I dunno, say a few months. Cissoko might have been all Cissoko's problem, but I remember him making more mistakes as he went on. J.T. Floyd has limited ability, but he has regressed significantly this year, particularly in his tackling, which used to be pretty solid (it was his speed that made him bad). The dude is probably one of the hardest workers on the team, but I don't see his work paying off. Steve Brown could never get coverage. Mike Williams was lost ever time he was out there. Cam takes bad angles, Kovacs takes bad angles, Rogers takes bad angles...we can't really know if coaching sucks back there because there's nobody who's been around long enough to be coached. But I feel like there should be better.

Fault 7: Dorsey. How does Sean Parker end up at Washington? Because RR was pursuing a commitment from a guy who never could have gone to Michigan. I guess there's more to the story than that, especially for Parker, but I think it should be part of the narrative.