Don Brown interview: "Michigan defense will change 'over my dead body"
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverine…
FREEP I know... but he talks about spread teams around 9:45 and hence has the title quote but I really like what he says.
Also, 23 QB knockdowns...Brown says that may be the best he has ever had - without Taco, Mone, or Lewis.
September 21st, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 2:59 PM ^
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2016/09/michigan_dc_don_brown…
Same interview if you want to avoid freep
September 21st, 2016 at 3:11 PM ^
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September 21st, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
Hate the FreeP (well it's okay sometimes)...
September 21st, 2016 at 3:06 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 3:49 PM ^
"And what it will turn into is this..." *mimics QB turning head towards sideline with confused look* "who's controlling the tempo now?"
He's the man
September 21st, 2016 at 3:52 PM ^
that quote
September 21st, 2016 at 5:05 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^
i dont care if he has them running around in tutus... as long as they can stop osu's spread....
September 21st, 2016 at 2:46 PM ^
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September 21st, 2016 at 2:56 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 3:34 PM ^
But only if they had a good week at practice.
September 21st, 2016 at 3:26 PM ^
And if not, you'll probably hear about it. But you aren't wrong. People will love this "won't change over my dead body" unless it stops working.
Narduzzi was the same way at MSU. And people were calling for his head early on. Then guys started executing and MSU developed one of the best defenses in college football. Hoke said the same thing, people were fine with it at first. Then they turned on him when guys never started executing.
But in the end, guys need to execute whatever it is for it to work. The defense needs to execute better. That's on the players and coaches to get them there.
September 21st, 2016 at 4:07 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^
Coaches have a responsibility to teach. Players have a responsibility to take that teaching and learn. It isn't a one way street. Both need to do their part.
September 21st, 2016 at 5:04 PM ^
When players aren't learning from their coaches it's on the coaches. Always has been and always should be. If a coach loses the locker room and players aren't listening anymore they have to put different players out there or change the way they are teaching. Coaches have a responsibility to win games.
September 21st, 2016 at 7:21 PM ^
& try again.
September 21st, 2016 at 10:27 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 7:29 PM ^
September 22nd, 2016 at 9:27 AM ^
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September 22nd, 2016 at 9:29 AM ^
*i hit post too early on the iPhone app*
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September 21st, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
I feel like we all knew players adjusting to Don Brown's system was going to be something that happened as it has been a thing at his previous stops. I know there is an adjustment to any new system, but with the complexities of this current system, it would take a little longer. As long as it's all ironed out by MSU game no one will care about some early season breakdowns.
September 21st, 2016 at 3:25 PM ^
I agree. Reading the preseason write-ups on the defense, adjusting to the complexity was a big concern of mine. And now we've seen it in the field, with them keeping Jabrill out for the entire game against UCF, presumably to continue to master his many roles, I think that's what is happening. The first TD was a coverage bust by Peppers, the sort of thing that reps and time will help iron out.
The worry, of course, is that things never get ironed out. But we also saw the defense adjust and clamp down on the Colorado offense, allowing only one real sustained drive. And while we are still a bit gunshy of the "correctable mistake" quotes that we remember meant nothing in the Hoke era, Brown has a track record of his teams getting better as they learn the system.
His stubborn-sounding quote is couched perfectly in the understanding of what spread teams are doing to gain advantages on defenses, and how he wants to deny them those advantages.
And he has Peppers.
September 21st, 2016 at 4:18 PM ^
right? The pre-game analysis talked about their dizzyingly up-tempo offense. . .
September 21st, 2016 at 2:57 PM ^
Dude.
September 21st, 2016 at 3:11 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^
Just a dude hanging loose.
September 21st, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
The heads of our adversaries on pikes. No relent, no mercy. Bring it.
September 21st, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^
It's Don.
September 21st, 2016 at 2:56 PM ^
I get what you're saying, but I don't think that's what Brown means in the context of the article. He's specifically saying that he's not going to simplify his defense to make it easy for his players. And he's saying he's not going to do that because that's what spread teams want: they want to know exactly what they're going to be seeing so they can know exactly how to shred you. Look no further than the OSU game last year to see how that goes.
He's definitely not saying "We're gonna run the same defense irrespective of what offense is on the field." In fact, he's saying nearly the exact opposite: we're gonna run so many different looks on defense that spread teams won't know what to do. I would hope (and indeed, I assume) this includes making sure you don't end up in absolutely horrible matchups.
I hope I'm right. Time will tell.
September 21st, 2016 at 3:00 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 3:20 PM ^
Give Colorado credit...as DB points out, they had some real team speed and a good QB, at least for a while. Other than one play at the start of the 3rd quarter, we basically shut Colorado down after the first quarter, and we did it missing three starters.
I feel better after watching that interview. Thanks, OP, for posting.
September 21st, 2016 at 5:10 PM ^
I wouldn't let last week get too far into your head. That QB, Liufau, was playing out of this world. There are times when a player gets into the zone and goes to another level. When he got back up and threw that bomb on one-leg, it doesn't matter what your defense is doing that guy is going to land his punches a few times.
But even with his incredible performance the defense continued to give our offense a chance to win and consistent good field position... except when they were giving up touchdowns ;-) But that will happen when a player plays like that.
September 21st, 2016 at 2:49 PM ^
"They want you to line up in quarters, a static front and kick your you-know-what. We're not doing that. If it is, it'll be over my dead body. We're going to stay aggressive, we're going to stay focused, and we're going to stay multiple."
You know, when Don Brown says it, you begin to wonder if it isn't just hyperbole (I think the mustache has something to do with that assessment, but it might just be me), but all the same I am enjoying what Don Brown is bringing to the table here in Ann Arbor.
September 21st, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^
I like that he's thinking about what Spread coordinators are looking for and ways to keep them off of their toes. I also like that he has confidence in the players and the system and is pretty blunt about it. He's quickly becoming a favorite interview, even if it is coachspeak.
September 22nd, 2016 at 6:13 AM ^
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September 21st, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
PFF has us graded as the #2 defense in the country behind Alabama and we are playing without 3 NFL players, in the first 3 games of a new scheme, and Colorado is pretty good (I think).
Only gonna get better as we get healthier and more comfortable with the playbook.
September 21st, 2016 at 4:51 PM ^
after the Colorado game?
September 21st, 2016 at 10:58 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 2:51 PM ^
Just the fact that he's saying "We know what spread teams want us to do and we're not gonna do it" is important to me. You always have to be in the mindset of "What does my opponent not want me to do?" and then do *that*. When you just line up to do the same thing you always do because you're counting on "execution," that's when you end up with 27 for 27 (on offense) or the OSU game last year (on defense).
September 21st, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^
Reminds of this clip from the office, except replace 'would an idiot' with 'does my oponent want me to.'
Or don't replace anything, not doing what an idiot does is a good strategy too.
September 21st, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
if a hurry up spread offense is constantly looking to the sidelines (which I saw Colorado do). It means the qb or the players don't know how to handle what Michigan is doing on Defense. And Michigan is dictating the tempo.
Someone please correct me if I misunderstood that.
September 21st, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
Not really. That's how a lot of no huddle teams operate. They line up, see what the defense is doing, and let the coordinator call the play based on what they see. Part of what makes tempo teams effective is they have tons of time to change stuff at the line.
September 21st, 2016 at 3:17 PM ^
September 21st, 2016 at 3:44 PM ^
That's what the giant cards are for. Instead of communicating the play in the huddle, the players all look to the sideline, see the card(s) that are being held up, and see the key that tells them how to interpret the card(s).
September 21st, 2016 at 4:26 PM ^
so what was the point he was trying to make? Especially with the defense controlling the temp.
September 21st, 2016 at 4:51 PM ^