How will Michigan football's defense stack up with Big Ten running games?; Was the excitement too much for Mark Dantonio? and more
Aside from Denard Robinson (once again), the hot topic regarding Michigan football this week is its defense, which gave up 37 points to UMass, an FCS school, last Saturday.
The Detroit Free Press' Jamie Samuelsen hypothesizes, "If
UMass had come in and run some funky Air Force-style wing formation
where the ball is hard to follow, (Greg) Robinson would get a lot more blame.
But that didn’t happen. The Minutemen essentially said, 'We’re going to
try to run the ball down your throats and see what happens.' And what
happened was really, really scary."
Samuelsen adds, "If an FCS school such as UMass can beat up Michigan physically, what will Wisconsin do? What will Iowa do? What will Michigan State do?"
In this handout provided by OhioCollegeFootball.com, Ohio State mascot Brutus,left, gets grabbed from behind by the Ohio University mascot before the start of a college football game Saturday Sept. 18, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. The man behind the Ohio University Bobcat mascot says he tried out for the job with a goal of tackling the Buckeye. Brandon Hanning tells The Post newspaper of Athens that "the whole reason" he tried out to be Rufus Bobcat was because "I knew we were going back to OSU this year, and I wanted to tackle Brutus." (AP Photo/OhioFootBall.com, Dan Poel)
- AnnArbor.com: Michigan's left tackle job up for grab, Tate Forcier still in year's plans
- AnnArbor.com: Michigan's defense has regressed since season opener
- AnnArbor.com: Video of Rich Rodriguez, players talking defense and Bowling Green
- Detroit Free Press: Was the excitement too much for MSU coach Mark Dantonio?
- Detroit Free Press: Bo Schembechler's legend grew, even with heart problems
- FanHouse.com: Mark Dantonio heart problems remind coaches to be health aware
- Grand Rapids Press: MSU's Don Treadwell carrying on work as Dantonio's hospitalized
- SI.com: KSU's Daniel Thomas joins fray, Shoelace holds No. 1 in Heisman Watch
- ESPN.com: Ohio mascot had plotted to ambush Buckeye
- USA Today: Arkansas licking chops at thought of toppling Alabama
- New York Times: Trying to get unstuck at a program ready to move on
- Los Angeles Times: College football is better late than ever
Comments
BigBuckDown
Wed, Sep 22, 2010 : 9:17 a.m.
Clarklaker, If you follow any of 3 and out's posts you'd understand that we have had the 4-3 idea before. Remember Shafer? I don't care who is the DC, you are doomed to failure if you have D assistants who can't coach or who refuse to teach a system other than the 3-3-5!! RR is doing a fine job offensively! He's got his type of players in his system! What he needs to do is fire his whole defensive staff " yes " even his "boys" like Gibson and bring in a coordinator who can hand pick his assistants to teach and implement a defensive scheme that works!! P.S. Shafer is running a 4-3 defense at Syracuse who is avg 276yds per game and holding the running attack under 100yds a week!? Compare those #'s to ours? Any questions on if he was made a scape goat for RR's boys on the defensive side?
clarklaker
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 8:10 p.m.
The 3-3-5 is obviously not working,why not try the4-3 defense. Maybe we will actually stop someone.
Sean T.
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 7:36 p.m.
I don't see whats wrong with asking a serious question, I mean haven't you been honest enough to question our tackling or the way we can't get to the ball. As the competitors play a little tougher our team plays a little softer. Allow GRobinson to run his defense or we'll be "really" gashed against tougher teams.
3 And Out
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 7:29 p.m.
lol..good one Yelmonian. That incident reminds me of The Game in 1985 at Michigan Stadium. I was a boy in the stands with my father. Brutus was dancing around on the sidelines before the game acting all a-fool... back in those days, the Brutus costume was just a guy in some colored clothes with a big Nut on his head... not as much padding as he has now for sure. Anyway, some drunk Michigan student ran out on the field and just leveled Brutus from behind. He stuck him like Lawrence Taylor planed Joe Theisman on the turf. Brutus' big nut head popped off and was rolling around on the field. The student was escorted off by security and he was lucky that Brutus was not seriously injured because he could have been. It was a good lesson in the intensity of the rivalry.
Yelmonian
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 4:45 p.m.
3 and Out... That was a mascot tackling? I thought it was a Michigan defensive player....
3 And Out
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 3:21 p.m.
The Ohio mascot was pretty bush league and looked pretty foolish trying to tackle Brutus.
Blue Marker
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 3:03 p.m.
Jamie Samuelsen is a hater, plain and simple. He, Sharp, Rosenberg and Snyder all belong in the same group.
braggslaw
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 1:42 p.m.
81 Wolverine. Will Campbell is third string for a reason... he is soft and does not use his hips. When he plays he ends up 10 yards off the ball because he stands straight up. There is a reason why he has not played a game this year.
81wolverine
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 8:10 a.m.
It's easy for everyone to blame Robinson for the bad defensive outing. (Personally, I don't watch that ESPN team as I hate Lou Holtz and his mumbling, buffoonsih statements) But, outside of Mike Martin, yes, the D-line and linebackers were manhandled most of the game. Talent has something to do with it, yes. But, Van Bergen, Patterson, Roh, and Banks were no slouch players in high school. And they didn't look that bad against Notre Dame. Yes, our linebackers are mediocre at best. Still, there are some things that will help. 1. Just get more experience and playing time. 2. Get Will Campbell in the game. No one's going to manhandle him. 3. Get more aggressive with the pass rush by sending in 4 or 5 guys a lot more often. We have nothing to lose as we're already getting torched for long plays. 4. Rotate more guys in the lineup including some of the freshmen like Marvin Robinson and Cullen Christian. 5. Try harder. Come out ready to play instead of 1/2 asleep. Go Blue!