OSU Snowflakes - The Defense
November 30th, 2019 at 3:47 PM ^
I don’t care what the stats say, good defenses don’t do that.
November 30th, 2019 at 10:25 PM ^
Don Browns defense are like Andre Drummond. Big stats but empty stats
November 30th, 2019 at 3:48 PM ^
It sucked?
November 30th, 2019 at 3:48 PM ^
Maybe the defense should spend less time wearing provocative sweatshirts during warm ups and instead try to have some gap discipline.
November 30th, 2019 at 5:34 PM ^
Maybe the Defense should spend a little time practicing situational awareness: Facing a punt on 4th and 4, don't jump offsides. Don't even go for the block.
To be fair, this is a discipline issue--and therefore a coaching issue.
November 30th, 2019 at 6:16 PM ^
You do realize the difference between Defense and Special Teams right?
November 30th, 2019 at 7:31 PM ^
You do realize the identity between Defense and Punt Return, right? If not, note who jumped offside. Or start me a Special Teams Snowflakes thread.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:49 PM ^
I really have no clue what you do with Don Brown. His defenses are excellent against 90% of FBS but he gave up 56+ points in the last 2 years to Ohio State. What makes us think he's going to do any better next year against Fields? I don't know how you fire a guy who has top 10 defenses over and over again, but I don't know how you just keep doing the same thing you're doing and getting eviscerated by OSU every year
November 30th, 2019 at 3:56 PM ^
Maybe he’ll get with the Rutgers staff to find out how to keep them under 56. I’m sure this game will keep him up and blah blah blah.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:57 PM ^
I think the reaction is to fire the jockey, but sometimes you don’t have the horses.
November 30th, 2019 at 4:02 PM ^
This. The problem today didn't seem to be that the scheme was exploited, as much as we aren't as talented as they are and we made a lot of unforced errors.
November 30th, 2019 at 4:08 PM ^
See. We say that a lot. I tell myself that sometimes, but then why can Iowa beat OSU? Why can Purdue beat OSU? Why can MSU? Why can Virginia Tech win in Columbus? It's not all about the jimmys and the joes
November 30th, 2019 at 4:23 PM ^
People love to point this out but they haven’t lost to more than 1 B1G a season since Meyer got there. Yes other teams have beaten them but nobody consistently. Psu has 1 win. Msu has 1 win. Iowa and Purdue have 1 win. And in those games osu made most of the mistakes. When has that happened against UM?
November 30th, 2019 at 7:22 PM ^
Granted, but we should be able do better than basically 60 ppg against them. The Wisconsins / MSUs / PSUs of the Big Ten can keep them in the 30s. I hoped we could win this game like 38-35. Clearly both sides of the ball screwed things up to keep them from getting to their number. I don't know what Brown's plan is to keep them under 35. Ryan Day owns him
November 30th, 2019 at 7:13 PM ^
Oh, I dunno. Because it's the one game they prepare for every damn day of the year?
December 1st, 2019 at 9:09 AM ^
Michigan will never ever ever ever ever have the benefit of playing Ohio State in a lookahead spot. Of course Ohio isn’t unbeatable, but the teams that have done it over the years were teams Ohio weren’t focused on who played a perfect game that day. Michigan will never be in that spot. Ohio will always have their best prepared day against Michigan.
November 30th, 2019 at 7:38 PM ^
I was at the game. Fields is better than Terrell Pryor, JK Dobbins is the next Barry Sanders (as a ball carrier he’s better than Ezekiel Elliott-seriously), and all season Brown wallpapered our lack of effective defensive tackles. It seemed to me, without the benefit of replays, that that was where the problem was.
December 1st, 2019 at 7:04 PM ^
The coaches recruit the talent.
The coaches coach up the talent to be sharp physically AND mentally.
It's not all on the players. (Of course, it's not all on the coaches, either).
November 30th, 2019 at 4:42 PM ^
he may not have the horses to shut them out but his horses are good enough to get more than 1 stop when it mattered.
November 30th, 2019 at 6:26 PM ^
The best way for me to explain Don Brown is that he treats almost every play like it’s third down and two. When it’s second and 16, it’s OK to emphasize coverage and give up a five or 6 yard check down.
But no, he’s dialing up risky blitzes that miss more than they hit against better teams.
Against MSU or IU, ok, go for it more.
But learn how to bend and not break when the situation dictates!
December 1st, 2019 at 1:57 AM ^
Maybe, just maybe OSU’s WRs and RBs are better than UM’s players. Vincent Gray will never in a million years be able to cover a WR like Wilson and there are zero recruits, ZERO, coming in for UM next year to match up with the OSU WRs.
December 1st, 2019 at 3:34 AM ^
Which is why you go to zone coverages, mixing in zone blitzes and 8-man coverages. You can man-blitz occasionally, but it's got to hit home. You've got to get an actual pass rush, can't allow the QB to break pass contain so easily and often, and have to play better fundamentally.
December 1st, 2019 at 7:51 AM ^
I thought about this too. The frustrating thing for Brown is, I believe he tried to adapt. More zone, a little less aggressive on the blitzes (although that may be due to superior personnel last year). But last year we got destroyed with crossing routes. This year we got destroyed by them running it down our throats. I hate to be superficial, but they just have better players than we do.
December 1st, 2019 at 10:44 AM ^
To win against OSU in Browns defense you need to out athlete out power everyone at every level. It doesn’t work. People said I was stupid when I said Dobbins would get 250 on the ground and Michigan would loose 63-17. I guess I was wrong. Dobbins is no slouch he’s prolly the best RB to come out of college since Adrian Peterson. He’s better than Barkley or Elliott. He is an absolute monster. Michigan is what it has been all year a defense that can make one dimensional teams look bad. OSU with the QB run game is almost 3 dimensional. Brown has a great scheme but he doesn’t have the athletes at every level. This defense was less talented than any other defense he’s has here. Metellus is way too slow, there’s no DT’s at this point that can win blocks and stand up to doubles. There’s above average DE’s but that’s it. Every play OSU runs puts the defense in a conflict position.
Bottom line is hard work bears talent when talent doesn’t work hard. OSU is by far the more talented team at EVERY position and they out work Michigan as well. Something needs to change.
Once again we have a culture issue, Michigan seems to be the country club polo wearing nice guy team. Football isn’t a nice guy sport it’s ugly it’s nasty and it’s violent. Right now Michigan doesn’t wanna get dirty.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:51 PM ^
2018: OSU scores 62 and gains 570 some odd yards.
2019: OSU scores 56 and gains 570 some odd yards.
Whatever the defense is that UM is using against OSU, it is not working.
November 30th, 2019 at 5:12 PM ^
At the end of the day, it comes down to the coach - Don Brown.
Thanks for crushing the Rutgers, Marylands, offensively inept Staees team and getting sodomized by good teams!!!
December 1st, 2019 at 12:05 PM ^
I’m sure you said the same thing after ND
November 30th, 2019 at 3:52 PM ^
Great job Hudson and Metellus! You both are ballers!
November 30th, 2019 at 10:32 PM ^
Carlo get destroyed all day . Owned
November 30th, 2019 at 10:32 PM ^
Carlo get destroyed all day . Owned
November 30th, 2019 at 3:52 PM ^
Browns defense is unsound. Metellus is a liability. I was hoping Brown wouldn't allow him to allow anyone deep but was wrong. We had no chance, because at any given moment they could throw it long. No edge discipline..we blew the edge all game.
Harbaugh was better off promoting Mattison when he arrived.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:53 PM ^
Browns defense is unsound. Metellus is a liability. I was hoping Brown wouldn't allow him to allow anyone deep but was wrong. We had no chance, because at any given moment they could throw it long. No edge discipline..we blew the edge all game.
Harbaugh was better off promoting Mattison when he arrived.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:54 PM ^
Disaster. Disgusting.
I don’t care if we have to steal 2 stars from CMU or Northwestern, you can’t have classes without 300 lb DTs ever again.
November 30th, 2019 at 4:05 PM ^
THIS. THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES THIS
November 30th, 2019 at 3:55 PM ^
That blitz package on 2nd and 18 killed me. I know the whole thing was shit, but that was just so emblematic of why this team’s defense can’t get it done.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:56 PM ^
Good bye, Josh Mettelus. Decent career, but always looked like he should be playing in the MAC when facing the Buckeyes. Let's hope the good safety recruiting as of late pays dividends.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:57 PM ^
I'll give credit to Aidan Hutchinson playing a pretty good game. Dobbins and OSU line are really outstanding.
November 30th, 2019 at 6:12 PM ^
Yeah, osu is so good at beating our ass. Makes me wonder if um should play football any more?
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:29 PM ^
Particularly good in trying to remove Dobbins' shoe. Note, next time don't do it with the ref standing over you watching.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:57 PM ^
I'll give credit to Aidan Hutchinson playing a pretty good game. Dobbins and OSU line are really outstanding.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:58 PM ^
Yeah, no answers again this year.
November 30th, 2019 at 3:58 PM ^
Stars matter.
You can coach some guys up and hit on some gems. But the elite teams have stars at every position and need, at most, one lower-rated guy or two to step up.
Michigan came into the season with a known problem at DT. Wisconsin exploited it and OSU exploited it, ruthlessly. Michigan is an athlete short in the secondary, too.
Their stars made plays. Because they have them.
Recruiting matters.
November 30th, 2019 at 4:04 PM ^
That’s all true but the number of mental mistakes caused another blowout instead of just a loss. Coverage busts, fumble, penalties, missed XP, etc.
November 30th, 2019 at 4:28 PM ^
The mistakes were annoying...but we were getting blown out regardless. The only thing stopping OSU was OSU. They could've Bielema'd us (2010 vs RichRod) and ran the ball 60 straight times and we would've had no answer. They wouldn't have scored AS fast but it would've been an ass-kicking nonetheless. Coverage busts aren't just mistakes, it's how football works...it's what OSU does, they get us creeping up and peaking in to stop the run and then hit a 5star over the top of a slow Metellus or a not-slow-but-not-fast-enough other CB and we look silly.
November 30th, 2019 at 4:28 PM ^
double post...shocker. Website running real smooth
December 1st, 2019 at 3:01 PM ^
An offense as talented across the board as OSU is going to put a lot of pressure on a lesser talented D...that pressure will lead to more mental errors and wtf moments.
We've all been there right...up against someone or something that is just better and when that reality hits you in the face you make all sorts of mistakes trying to over compensate.
December 1st, 2019 at 7:22 PM ^
Coaches are supposed to coach up the players to be sharp physically AND mentally. Our players do not generally have the mental focus required. Partially on the players, but also on the coaches. You can't just put it on the players -- there are many coaches out there coaching lesser talent up to at least play fundamentally sound.
TL;DR - it's on the coaches too.
November 30th, 2019 at 4:05 PM ^
That’s all true but the number of mental mistakes caused another blowout instead of just a loss. Coverage busts, fumble, penalties, missed XP, etc.
November 30th, 2019 at 6:30 PM ^
The one that still burns me to the core is actually not a defensive play but Haskins' bad read on that attempted 4th down conversion. Follow Bredeson and it is goodbye, but no....
As for the defense, it's just frustrating that all OSU really had to do was feed Dobbins on a lot of simple IZ concepts and we couldn't stop it when it mattered for the most part.
November 30th, 2019 at 7:22 PM ^
We should've taken our lumps with Hinton and Smith out there from game 1 to get them ready for game 12. In retrospect, attempting to run a 3-3-5 with Kemp, who is heady and smart but is the size of B1G SDE was an ill-fated plan against Dobbins and their guards.