About Last Night: Recap Brady Hoke's Former Team

"I'm sorry I left for my dream job in the middle of the night, but I am pointing so it's OKAY!"

The Big House... How you've changed and how you've managed to stay the same, I hadn't been back to A2 for football since, EMU 2009.  During the first half, I was trying to pinpoint why Seven Nation Army became the new ballad of Michigan football. Why wasn't "The Victors" ringing through the air on repeat, what has happened here? It wasn't until San Diego State's 2nd drive of the 3rd quarter that I realized how much the Big House was still the same... "Hey, down in front..."

Michigan had just recovered a San Diego State fumble, the stadium had gone into a commercial break and Pop Evil's atrocious Michigan song was playing. There was no action to be seen on the field. My eyes curled slowly around to peep over my shoulder, trying to mask my disdain, to see two elderly gentleman who glared at me as if I was stepping on their oxygen tank. Pondering what at all they could possibly want to see going down the field, I obliged their request and briefly smiled. This, was the Big House I remembered...

Two years of 4-0 starts that ended abruptly in league play have brought skepticism upon this 2011 team... For all of the things that are different, there are many things the same.

The highway to success this season, same as last, will be paved by Denard Robinson's legs. That's the same. The difference? Michigan's defense has showed itself this year to be, dare I say, reliable? A not great but supposedly good SDSU offense was held for the most part in check.

Offense:
Denard's legs. That will be the key. His passing has continually been inconsistent and shotty the whole season. The 300 yd passing performance against ND is definitely the exception and will never be the norm this season, unless drastic improvement has happens. But, man, oh man, do those legs move. Chalk another point up to Al Borges. He has shown adaptability once again. Was that speed option we saw? Yes, yes it was. If Borges can find a way to keep the running game interesting for opposing defense while Robinson, finds whatever it is he's looking for in the passing game than I really like our chances heading into, B1G play.

The RB situation isn't resolved yet. I still like what Fitz brings to the table as an every down back, But, just like it has taken me a while to come around on Jordan Kovacs being undeniable, one can not simply deny Vincent Smith. The kid plays bigger than he is and is also able to squeeze through holes that no other back could squeeze through. With Denard's legs opening up plays for both backs I am quite okay with having 2 viable options.

The offensive line is really hard to talk about as well, Denard... He runs they look good. They didn't really allow much pressure getting to Robinson and MANball is becoming less and less a part of the offense so that's good.

Any and all WR performances can be extrapolated strictly from the ND game. If they've shown anything this past week it's that, they block and stay engaged in the offense even when the ball isn't coming there way. That's a good thing because from the looks of it all we are going to need them doing as much of that as possible this season.

Defense:
SDSU came into this game averaging 38 ppg and 428 yds a game. Michigan held the Aztecs to just 7 points and jsut 368 yds of offense. The surprisingly good thing about this feat is that the D was able to hold SDSU when many of their possessions started in or near Michigan territory. The D was also able to continue their streak of timely turnovers, forcing 3, all from inside Michigan territory. Michigan defenses of the past 3 seasons would not be able to do such things, considering SDSU has an NFL prospect QB and one of the nations top rushers this is a well recognized feat. Can the defense continue to causing these timely turnovers consistently into league play? No... it won't happen. Yes this is a bummer but there are other things to hang your hat on.

CB depth!? We has it? I won't go that far, but it's better than I can ever recall it being. As soon as Floyd followed Woolfolk to the sideline, I was waiting for the ball to drop and for Ryan Lnidley to have his way with  the secondary. Highly recruited freshman Blake Countess came in and seemingly picked up right where the defense left off.

There are you are D-line, there you are. In my season previews I said, Michigan's best unit on the field defensively would be the D-line. 4 games into the season, I finally look kinda smart for say that. Mike Martin, was blasting into the backfield causing pressure on Lindley all afternoon. If it wasn't Martin, it seemed like it was VanBergen, if it wasn't VanBergen it was definitely Roh, who inched closer to my 12 sack prediction with another one. If William Campbell can continue to improve which, from my opinion is happening, this unit should be able to keep building momentum into B1G play and be a stronghold for the defense this season.

Special Teams:
Any kicker can miss a 40 yarder on any given Saturday. It just sucks that it happened to be Michigan's kicker, again not relieving any stress out of that position. One more miss and I'll be screaming for a switch to Wile or student body tryouts part 2. Jeremy Gallon is the best punt-return option we've had in quite some time and he's proved it. Now obviously with all special teams my emotions are week to week with them. Right now we've got a good thing going lets keep it that way.

Good Feeling To Take Home With You:
Through non-conference play the team is 4-0. I don't care how they got here or what the last 2 seasons say, I'd rather be here with this team than have any losses in our record. There's something about this team that I'm vibing with. The defense isn't perfect, but they are better and every guy is saying the right thing and it just feels like their minds and approach this year are in a better state than the previous undefeated starts. Every starter on this team has seen and undefeated start and they've all seen how badly they've gone. That experience I believe carries this team through this season and the B1G collapse that has plagued this team previous years won't happen again this go-round.

Quickies: The D-Line

This, We'll See Tons of This (Fingers Crossed)

The Low Down:

In 2009, Brandon Graham got held on every single play and last year our undersized d-line only brought three and the defense gave up 4.5yds a rush (insert a knock on the 3-3-5 followed by some rabble, rabble). Craig Roh, who showed promise as a true freshman being a rush end was moved to more of a hybrid-esque linebacker position. Mike Martin at NT and Ryan VanBergen at SDE (Strong Defensive End) were the staples in the line. At DT we had platoon between Greg Banks, Renaldo Sagesse, and Adam Patterson. William Campbell was on the D-Line and then he wasn't, after an uninspiring freshman campaign and a not so awesome start to the season, that saw him basically only see the field in a goal line run package as a blocker. Quinton Washington essentially flopped spots with Campbell mid season, but to my recollection didn't see the field on the D-Line.

The team alone only had 18 sacks coming in for a not so solid 93rd in the country. VanBergen and Martin are our 2 returning sack leaders with 6.5 between the 2 of them. Greg Banks (2) and Adam Patterson (1) were the only other lineman to register a sack. I'm not counting Roh's (0.5) because as far as I'm concerned he was a LB. If you're searching for a moral victory defensively after last season, Michigan did have more TFL's (Tackles For Loss) than little bro last year. Michigan came in 73rd while Sparty came in 86th nationally. Again, outside Roh, VB (8.5) and Martin (6.0) are the only players along the line that returning with stats in this category.  

I've said it once, and I'll say it again, that 3-3-5 thing, whatever it was, wasn't conducive to our defense (any aspect of it) at being good. With the 3 down lineman trying to plow through these big manball offenses in the Big Ten, pressure isn't going to be applied and more often than not your best player (Martin) will be getting double teamed and taken out of the play. This also as mentioned allows the lineman to get to the second level easier making it much more difficult for LB's to step up and make a play. 

1 Year Later:

Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison are both former D-Line coaches, so you know they will coach the group especially hard and expect much from this group. This is evident by the constant coaching and expectations on Martin, who has taken notice and been one of the teams key leaders this off season and early into camp. 

In hindsight I am pleased I couldn't get to this post last week, as my thoughts and opinions would most likely have turned out to be pretty inaccurate. A week or two ago, I say the 2-deep ends up something like this...

WDE	DT	NT	SDE
Roh	Campbell	Martin	Vanbergen
Black	Ash	Q. Washington	Heininger

Now one week later, there's some rumors out there that this might be the case...

WDE	DT	NT	SDE
Roh	Vanbergen	Martin	Brink
Black	Campbell	Q. Washington	Heininger

Damn you internets... Damn you...

No Freshman on the 2-deep quite yet, but keep an eye out for Frank Clark, who basically traded spots with  other freshman Brennan Beyer. Clark has been generating a substantial amount of buzz through fall camp. I would expect to see him in pass rushing situations only as size wise it'll be hard for him to hold the line and play the run effectively.

Let me butter you up with the good stuff, Mike Martin and Ryan VanBergen return to anchor the line. These two guys, past Brandon Graham, have been the 2 most consistent players on the defense I can recall over the past 3 seasons. Both have added some weight and appear to be primed for great seasons. Martin is set up for another All Big-Ten Caliber season, with a huge chance to improve his draft stock. Rittenberg gives him his #10 spot in his preseason top-25 player rankings. Craig Roh is getting moved back to where he belongs, on the line with his hand in the dirt. Roh also got jacked up over the summer bumping his weight up from 251 to 269. There hasn't been much hype about Roh since the inception of fall camp, let us for now attribute that to the illness rumors floating around Roh. PLZ DON'T BE MONO.

The elephant in the room... Will Campbell...  It was reported shortly after Brady Hoke's hire that Campbell was moving back to defense and that Hoke and Mattison were going to make a point out of developing the 5-star recruit. It appeared early in the fall that Will was on his way to doing what the coaches asked of him to be a major factor in this front 4. He was even praised by Hoke for his commitment to the team by meeting his weight goals.

“Will Campbell left spring at 342 pounds and came in at 316, 319,” he said. “Just watching him move around and do those things, you can see that. That’s a commitment. A commitment is always important - he showed his teammates he’s made a commitment."

Then this gritty, hard working walk-on, named Nathan Brink popped up, and Campbell's consistency has been a cause for concern. At first it seemed like your typical fall camp overachieving all-star like hype, but sounds like kids' got game. Mattison on Brink.

"He has come out every day as tough as he can. He listens to [defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery] on every word. When he tells him to step a certain way, he tries to step a certain way. And he's really, really physical." …

"In the spring it was mentioned a number of times because his toughness stuck out like crazy," Mattison said.

Nothing is set in stone and I am a huge proponent of the best players on the field, but how disappointing would it be to see Big Will not being able to beat out an under-sized walk on for the starting role. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed and that, the coaches are just toying around with different options and the rumors of Will barely hanging out with the 2's are just of the motivational type fluff.

With Terry Talbott off the team with a medical exemption, the depth on the line is thin and it's vital that Will and/or Q. Washington really step up their game. This team desperately needs a player at the DT position to take the pressure off of Mike Martin. If teams are allowed to double team Martin because he gets no help in the middle we could have some serious concerns.

Expectations: What is them?

3 things in my mind are cut and dry. Martin, VanBergen, and Roh. That 4th spot will be a mystery until either Sept 3rd or when Brady Hoke releases the depth chart. If Will Campbell isn't there at the beginning of the season, I will be worried about the production of this unit and more importantly if Campbell will ever amount to a productive member of this team. VanBergen is big enough to move inside but what does that do to the SDE position? Hello Brink or Heininger? Maybe Jibreel Black but most reports have him somewhere in the doghouse.

So with all the uncertainty, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and make a highly and most likely inaccurate and very flimsy prediction. Will Campbell, will take a hint and will be consistent enough by seasons start to secure the starting role at DT. VanBergen, like never leaves the field so, when Will goes off expect VanBergen to move inside bringing Nathan Brink, the defensive line's Jordan Kovacs  on the field at the SDE position.
To take my flimsy uneducated prediction further, VanBergen and Martin will both be All Big-Ten, and Roh will be right on the cusp of All Big-Ten. This unit, as long as someone can step up to take double teams off Martin, should be able to apply more pressure to the backfield than what was seen last year. This as stated before should help the secondary and free up the LB's to read/react and make plays. Improvement, my friends improvement.

Up next: Now instead of talking about how crappy the 3-3-5 kind was, I get to over speculate on if this offense will take a step back under Borges or not. I'll get it out of the way and start with the QB's. As always, Go Blue.