Confusion doesn't reign, say Rich Rodriguez, Michigan defenders
Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark told reporters after Saturday’s 35-10 thumping of Michigan that the Wolverines “had trouble lining up” on several plays.
But Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez and defensive starters Troy Woolfolk and Ryan Van Bergen said that wasn’t the case.
"We didn't really have guys covering the wrong people or guys totally out of position,” Rodriguez said at his press conference Monday. “But there were a few technique things that if you've got B gap, you've got to be in B gap; if you've got C gap, you've got to be in C gap."
Clark was named Big Ten Player of the Week after throwing for 230 yards and four touchdowns in Penn State’s first win at Michigan Stadium since 1996.
He threw three touchdown passes to Graham Zug, two on the same playcall, and found tight end Andrew Quarless for a 60-yard bomb down the middle of the field.
“I don’t think it was a matter of being confused, it was a matter of not executing our plays,” cornerback Troy Woolfolk said. “The one long touchdown pass with the tight end, someone just didn’t carry on their job. It kind of made (linebacker Obi Ezeh) look bad. It’s just us executing our plays, that’s what made us seem confused, I guess, whatever he said."
Safety Jordan Kovacs made the wrong read on Quarless’ touchdown catch.
Van Bergen said “maybe once or twice there was a little bit of a delay” in getting lined up, but “there was no confusion" on the part of Michigan's defense.
“There’s different plays where we have different men we align to and we were disguising it a little bit,” he said. “There was a lot of times we were trying to confuse them by stemming on the defensive line in our fronts to mess with their blocking scheme, so maybe that’s what they were thinking of.”
Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Comments
jeremy
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 5:01 p.m.
maybe the red wristband is his signal to tressel to fire their oc and offer rich the job
vi4mi4
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 12:47 p.m.
...the Wolverines are confused by looking over and seeing red wristbands on our sideline... Ban the Wristband! Go Blue! v
A2D2
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 11:08 a.m.
We need to accept the fact that the defense isn't very good, and that the Big 10 has figured out the offense.. The spread is based on keeping the defense "off-balance", and so far, that hasn't been the case with Big 10 opponents. Maybe their "balance" is better than previously thought......
jeremy
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 8:14 a.m.
blaming the walk on for obi's inability to cover a te. thats lovely. Still see the delusional one is writing gabage. DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!! Florida had a good offense, but has a great defense. LSU had a nasty defense in their title years. Defense wins championships, dont kid yourself. Because your "king" cant put up a good defense doesnt make it a non-important aspect of the game. It would help the defense alot if the offense could sustain some drives. being on the field 35-40 minutes a game is a back-breaking task for any team
81wolverine
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 7:48 a.m.
Whatever the reason is, other teams' receivers aren't getting covered well. Too many blown coverages, people out of position, and miss-tackles, resulting in long plays. It's like this is a problem we've had for at least 4 years now and doesn't seem to be improving. What's the answer? More speed? More experience? More depth? Have a Def. Coordinator longer than a year? I hope the coaches find the answer really soon.