Mailbag question: Donovan Warren and cornerback play

Mailbag question: Donovan Warren and cornerback play

Hey guys,

I am no coach - just a fan, but can you guys explain to me why we have our best CB and some say one of the better ones in the conference/nation playing 10-12 yards off the ball so much?

Are the coaches worried about getting beat deep or is this the type of defense UM is playing?

Penn State kept on dinking and dunking our defense with those short passes against the CB and it was killing us. Can you explain the reason behind this so maybe it might make sense to me because frankly right now it does not at all.

Hector G.

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Thanks for the question. It takes a number of skills to play press or bump and run coverage.

Here are a few of the most important to consider: very quick feet; anticipation; ability to read routes; strength, and the ability to get off of blocks.

One thing about playing press coverage all the time, a team better get to the quarterback and that is something UM has not done well, even if the defense sends a lot of guys. It seems like no matter how many guys UM sends, the opposing quarterback still has time to get the ball off, and most of the time to the primary receiver.

D. Warren has problems getting off of blocks. In Saturday’s game we saw him blocked ten yards downfield more than once. D. Warren has worked hard and improved his strength, but he still needs further improvement.

Also Michigan's lack of speed at safety makes the defense prone to giving up big plays over the top, making it mandatory that the cornerbacks maintain proper deep leverage. Beat me short but do not beat me deep might be another way of putting this problem and “solution” into context.

As a side note, we have watched multiple spring practices over the last two seasons and watched both Coach Shafer and Coach Gibson work very hard at teaching / coaching up press coverage. And D. Warren still has problems with it.

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Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine