Are We Sure Michigan's Defense Won't Be Good in 2021?

With a little maturity and 1-2 Portal pickups, this D can be very good!

I'm not sure about anything, these days. 

No, we are not sure. Yes, it is still more likely than not to be average

I don't know anything 

Pure projection here but it’s possible they take a step forward. There are sure to be some learning curve issues especially if we don’t get full spring practice should COVID prevent it. That’s said, there is talent on the the roster, hopefully some optimism for the players getting to do something new with likable coaches, and we will give teams new looks from the last few years. If we can develop the guys we have on the line and scheme around the secondary issues and/or transfer portal some guys in at both spots, there’s no reason the D can’t be good enough to win most games on the schedule. That said, the offense needs to carry this team and year 3 (or 2.5 or whatever) of Gattis needs to yield some results - cohesive, smart game plans game in and game out.

I remain in a wait and see mode.  Before Don Brown was shown the door my thought was the defense next season won't be any better than this past season, and has the potential to be worse.  It all depends on how effective the new DC and staff members are in coaching up the players.

Will "viper" be a thing of the past now that Don Brown is gone?  I thought that position was unique to Brown.

if Don Brown was everything that was wrong with our Defense, it has to be better this year because he's gone.....

Right?

The only sure things in life are death, taxes, and an overall negative UM fanbase. 

Optimism is good. After reading your breakdown position by position, I can't see any team scoring on this defense.

Re: Cornerback

they only seem like good zone fits bc they are a step slow. We don’t know if they actually have the necessary ability to process where to be in a zone quickly enough to make up for foot speed. You don’t just become good at zone bc you’re slower, you need a higher football IQ. 
 

i.e. Richard Sherman is a very good zone corner because of his understanding 

a lot of changes in terms of coaching and presumably system and terminology, so there is going to be an adjustment period for sure.

Personnel is good enough to be in the middle of the B1G, but where is a shot in the dark.

MacDonald is a complete unknown: he could be great, he could be terrible.

Recruiting with Linguist has been impressive so far though and getting some actual DTs is good, but I doubt that it will payoff next year...maybe in the future though

yes. the past has shown us we cannot have good things. the only way to break out of this cycle is to give up hope so that the teenage osu fan controlling this simulation of reality finally gets bored and goes outside for some fresh air.

I too am cautiously optimistic, but you're making a lot of assumptions about unknown/unproven players based on recruiting hype or mgoblog scouting reports.

I'm sure that baring a radical shift on the other side of the ball it won't make a difference. Our head coach's insistence on trying to win every game with defense means it's almost impossible for us to beat a competent offense. See the multiple top five defenses under Don Brown that all lost at least 3 games.

They were 2-11 for the past few years and then ended up in the 60's last year. I'd expect them to finish in the 20-25 range this year. They have some holes, but they have also recruited at a level that means bad opponents shouldn't be destroying them like last year. My guess, around 20th in the country. 

This should have been a diary...

Nonetheless, I'll say the defense will be better this year.  Why, you ask?  Well, let me tell 'ya...  Because the defensive coaching will be different.  There was a very clear disconnect between coaching and on-field play last season.  I mean, there is just no way that McGrone and Ross were coached to put themselves into the wrong gap nearly every play (usually the same gap).  There was no way Hill was coached to be nowhere near the ball while playing hero-ball on nearly every play.  There was no way that entire defense was coached to play so out of sync for entire games!

Don Brown and staff were not/are not stupid - they know how to coach a really good defense, and they want to win!  But, for whatever reason, those guys were turned off by players on the field.  There was no synchronized team effort that we saw in previous seasons.  There was a lot of missed assignments and hero-ball where we didn't see it previously.  There was no effort by the players to do the right things when a play was going south.  Those issues are very different from the obvious 'crootin-neglected DT and CB positions lacking top talent.

If the new coaches are on the same page with the players, and we get a synced team effort, the defense will be better.

What I’m sure of is that half of the guys you listed I had either forgotten about or haven’t heard about. Not sure if that’s a good sign or not.  But it certainly is a sign of something. 

Sure they could be decent.  But you essentially projecting a depth chart doesnt inspire me with confidence. 

The absolute certainty that many have regarding our impending doom seems really weird to me. Harbaugh's teams at Michigan have all had very good defenses with the exception of one team in the dumbest season in college football history. Maybe we'll suck again. There's a pretty damn good chance we won't. We still have probably the second most talented roster in the conference.

Michigan has the pieces. They need a fundamental scheme which will put them into position to succeed. Not some fire drill chaos crap leaving people on an island to cover receivers that can’t cover their receiver. This was literally rolling the dice and hoping the other team fucks up! I think Michigan’s defense will be better in 2021 and much more motivated to succeed. 

Queue up revenge tour,  2021