Go Buckeyes

September 20th, 2016 at 9:57 AM ^

Program dominance can be a fleeting moment in time and is considered as precious as it is fragile by rational Buckeye fans in my neck of the woods. Just take a look at USC, Texas, Miami, etc. Ohio State believes that UM is and always will be their biggest threat to maintaining a stranglehold on success in the midwest. So yes, you are in our heads and rightfully so. I believe this constant feeling of insecurity keeps Urban and the Buckeyes hungry, knowing that they can be dethroned as quickly as Jim devours a booger.

The loudest sighs of relief you'll hear in Ohio's capital always come the day after an Ohio State victory over your Wolverines. We respect this rivalry and our rival. And that means remaining cognizant of your program's status.

Joined: 09/06/2016

MGoPoints: -85

Go Buckeyes

September 20th, 2016 at 10:39 AM ^

That's just the result of jealousy and frustration that he chose to side with the enemy. OSU fans also like to mock his Twitter exclamation to "Suckeyes" recently, furthering their disdain for the dynamic playmaker.

From most everything I've seen, the dude is a stud. The moment I turned on the Colorado vs UM game, Peppers was in the backfield making a tackle for loss. Peppers would surely start at the safety position for OSU, and alongside Malik Hooker would create a very troublesome duo for any offense. I could also see him as our walk out LB, like Darron Lee. He would probably return kicks on ST.

However, alot of shortsided OSU fans think back to the 2015 OSU-UM game for evidence of Peppers' greatness. Quite simply, it was not there. Beyond some nice plays he made on offense, I don't recall Jabrill being all that impactful on The Game last year.

We're all curious to see what unfolds this November.

Joined: 09/06/2016

MGoPoints: -85

EGD

September 20th, 2016 at 9:54 AM ^

I think people look at Hill's build and see a guy who resembles a tiny linebacker, and then they see Thomas' speed and athleticism, and think "okay, Hill is your box safety and Thomas is your free safety." But Hill has always been the superior coverage safety whereas Thomas has struggled with it but is a great open field tackler. I do think Brown wants all his safeties to be strong in coverage though so it will be interesting to see how things shake out when JD gets back in the lineup.

Joined: 09/16/2009

MGoPoints: 35199

Eye of the Tiger

September 20th, 2016 at 2:02 AM ^

Safety is definitely the biggest problem area for our defense, and if it doesn't improve quickly we are definitely going to have major problems with OSU (and Indiana). Certainly Thomas and Hill are athletic enough to improve but they are going to need serious coaching up if we want to win the conference, let alone make the CFP. 

Joined: 09/14/2009

MGoPoints: 7827

M Ascending

September 20th, 2016 at 9:18 AM ^

Hopefully, once Jourdan comes back, he can lock down and free the other DBs to help one another better.  Also, I have a feeling Tyree Kinnell is going to start seeing more time at safety.  I think he's faster than either of the starters, which may help cut down on the over the top throws.

Joined: 09/14/2016

MGoPoints: 21273

mediocracy2

September 20th, 2016 at 10:51 AM ^

and I can say that OSU's team speed jumps out at you right away. We'll need a healthy JL in order to even think about slowing that f*cking offense down. Bastards. 

MSU on the other hand looks like a good matchup for us. Their team speed is similar to ours and I like the personell matchups for our defense vs their offense.

Joined: 09/07/2016

MGoPoints: 331

xtramelanin

September 20th, 2016 at 6:23 AM ^

It also means that while Don Brown hates it when people call his defense "high risk", it has proven to be "high reward" with some offenses. He needs to protect his players better. I'm imagining Ohio State matching up their slot receivers like Curtis Samuel against Michigan's safeties — or linebackers — and it's not something that will end well for the Wolverines.

i think he hit the nail on the head, and only time will tell.  

Joined: 12/09/2014

MGoPoints: 15439

M-Dog

September 20th, 2016 at 8:02 AM ^

Yeah, the "standard" Don Brown defense is not going to work against Ohio State.  

If your plan is to aggressively blitz JT Barrett while your safety's are alone to cover Samuel and Noah Brown, you are going to have "Across the Field" ringing in your ears all day Sunday.

You will need to play sound assignment-and-contain football, keeping Barrett in the pocket and the receivers bracketed.  We will see how good Don Brown is with that kind of defense . . .

 

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 256998

Mr Miggle

September 20th, 2016 at 9:53 AM ^

David Terell and Ron Bellamy into playing DB in nickle and dime packages. They always covered the outside receivers, and the CBs moved inside since that was the tougher assignement. I've read that's what we'll do with Jourdan Lewis, move him to slot corner in those packages and let Stribling and Clark cover the outside. I'm wondering why we haven't made an adjustment to have Clark or Stribling do that in his absence. Maybe we just lack the depth at CB? 

Joined: 10/07/2010

MGoPoints: 47532

LSAClassOf2000

September 20th, 2016 at 7:10 AM ^

Most importantly, however, it means that Michigan is 3-0 and they finally got to face some adversity. They didn't buckle. They needed a bit of a struggle and they're better for it. Now they are ready for Big Ten play.

I tend to think that game was a decent mental test of this team, and they not only adjusted, but as Tony said, they didn't buckle and eventually took this one more or less running away. That's exactly what you want them to be able to do if needed, and seeing them simply not give up or blink really was comforting. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130561