Mailbag question: When will our defense be good again

Posted at 8:00am -- 12/30/2009



GBMW,

In your opinion, how long will it be before our defense starts looking like a good solid defense and what is it going to take to get there? Thanks

Dufek

--------------------------------

Thanks for the question.

We believe 2011 is the first possible and likely year to see defensive improvement.

In our opinion next year, as with last year, will not be pretty, especially early on. Michigan will (again?) be playing a high number of youngsters in the two-deep. This necessitates a huge learning/growth curve. UM is losing the best three players from last years defense, and compounding the situation the loses are at key positions (B. Graham, S. Brown, and D. Warren). Yes, some of the younger players are talented, but they need to learn the system and the coaches need to trust them out there. There will be mistakes and there will be up and downs. Look at what happened to USC’s defensive stats when key players were drafted and the replacements were not quite ready.

Can these players be replaced? Well let us wait until spring practices so we can judge and get a better feel for who has improved and who might surprise some people. Also, the coaching staff might try to move around some players and see how they will fit into another position as they did with T. Woolfolk and S. Brown this past year.

In our opinion what the defense needs the most:

1) Explosive, dynamic athletes with the suddenness and acceleration to cover ground and close in a hurry. Other than B. Graham and C. Roh, UM did not have such athletes with the burst and closing speed necessary to prevent big plays. We saw glimpses of this from some players, but not enough to even comment on. Simply, Michigan’s defensive players need to dramatically improve in the off-season.

2) Infusion of edgy, nasty defenders, who play the game with that hair on the back of your neck stand up/I will tear your head off chip on their shoulders attitude. This is something that has been missing for an extended amount of time and it seems that no matter who is the coach or who the players are Michigan just seems to be missing this key ingredient.

UM’s defense has just been way too nice and easy to play against. How many quarterbacks have scrambled and vacated the pocket for key yardage and were never touched? This leaves some on the staff, and we are sure some readers as well, screaming at the television or in person at a game, “Will some one please bury that *ssh*l*?”

Written by GBMW Staff

Go Blue -- Wear Maize!