Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and his Wolverines have a bye before heading into a game with Northwestern. We talked about the offense at the midway point Thursday ... here's one assessment of the defense and special teams through six games.
First, it's clear how different this defense is than former defensive coordinator Don Brown's. It's a lot of bend but don't break, plenty of zone, and the defensive backs like it much better. There's still plenty of man coverage, but not nearly as much, and the corners like it much better.
“I’m very excited to show I can do more than just stand in front of a guy and press him,” veteran corner Vince Gray said. “We learned a lot this offseason just conceptually ..."
Yes, the corners are still the weak link on the team, but they've been protected. Gemon Green, in his second year as a starter, still has issues finding the ball, and he has more trouble securing it when he gets a couple hands on it. He's been solid in coverage and has come up with some big plays, though. Gray isn't the tackler he was last year, but he's been better in the new defense, and Dax Hill, minus a few plays, has been outstanding in nickel coverage.
D.J. Turner is a bit too handsy and needs to improve, and it would be great if one more corner emerged. Ja'Den McBurrows is going to be good, in time, but more depth is needed here.
The bigger plays in the passing game really haven't come at the corners' expense, though, and that's an upgrade.
GRADE FOR THE CORNERS: B-
The safeties, meanwhile, have been outstanding, for the most part. Dax Hill is as good at getting off a perimeter block as anyone we've seen in a long time, and his athleticism as a blitzer has been game-changing, at times (Wisconsin's Graham Mertz would attest). R.J. Moten has been very solid, and Brad Hawkins is the unheralded star of the defense. His play to keep Taylor Martinez out of the end zone on the first drive at Nebraska was huge, and his game-winning play with the strip fumble and return later was ... well, game-changing.
We liked the safeties before the season and said this could be a team strength, thanks largely to Hill, an All-Big Ten player. But Hawkins is playing at an All-Big Ten level, too — he'd be even better if he could hold on to the picks he should have had (crazy to think he was a high school receiver, too, and his film was outstanding).
But this group has been really good, minus the occasional broken play (backup Rod Moore a couple times, though he's a true frosh with a bright future) and the last drive of the first half at Wisconsin, in which Hill was beaten by some really good throws. And they've been solid as tacklers, too.
GRADE FOR THE SAFETIES: A-
Up front, the defensive line has been the most pleasant surprise of the year. As much as defensive line coach Shaun Nua has been criticized, he's done an outstanding job with the interior guys, led by Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton. Hinton had a sketchy spring and a slow start to the fall, but he's stepped up and continued to improve. He's really getting off blocks and holding the line, whereas last year he was getting pushed backward too often.
Mazi Smith has gotten better and better in the middle and is also stout at the point of attack — you rarely see anyone get push on him — and guys like Kris Jenkins and Donovan Jeter have contributed. Mike Morris has been a huge help playing across the front, dictated by situations.
Overall, this group has been the pleasant surprise of the team. They're a big reason U-M has had one of the top three front sevens in the country (based on metrics) through the first half of the year. If you include Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo here — they're considered linebackers, but are really DEs on a lot of downs — this group gets an 'A.'
GRADE FOR THE DEFENSIVE LINE: B+
Behind these guys, the linebackers have been another of the defense's most pleasant surprises. Hutchinson has turned himself into a high, first round draft pick with his play — absolutely dominant most of the time, and one of the best pass rushers in the Big Ten — and Ojabo has also had his moments as a pass rusher. These guys aren't quite the new 'salt and pepper' (the name Josh Uche and Hutchinson gave themselves as complementary ends), but Ojabo has come on strong.
Josh Ross is having an All-Big Ten year. Despite a few struggles in coverage on wheel routes, he's been unbelievable. He reads plays as well as any inside linebacker we've seen in a long time — he's almost too aggressive at times, and you can expect teams like MSU and others to try to take advantage of this by mixing up their looks on certain plays with play action, etc. — but there's not much to complain about here. We saw how much they missed him when Rutgers owned the second half against Michigan with the read option and quarterback Noah Vedral.
Nikhai Hill-Green and Junior Colson are only going to get better. They struggled against Rutgers, but they've been great, first-year contributors. Colson is a future All-Big Ten player, if not more. They still need more depth to emerge here ... we'd like to see Kalel Mullings make a move, but he needs to be more consistent.
Throw in Hutchinson and Ojabo here as LBs, and this group would be around 'A-' range.
GRADE FOR THE LINEBACKERS: B+
Overall, Macdonald has done an outstanding job with this group, and he's gotten a huge assist from Nua, linebackers coach George Helow and new secondary additions Ron Bellamy and Steve Clinkscale (especially). Macdonald's NFL principles are tough to figure out, keeping offenses guessing. Our intel before the Wisconsin game was that coach Paul Chryst knew the free lunch (on knowing what was coming) was over, and he was concerned how his offense would do against so many looks, disguised and otherwise.
The answer — not well.
Michigan's first big test against a really balanced offense, though, comes in two weeks at Michigan State, and of course Ohio State awaits. "Let's not (pat each other on the back for a job well done)" just yet, but we like the direction halfway through the season ... for now, and for the future.
First, it's clear how different this defense is than former defensive coordinator Don Brown's. It's a lot of bend but don't break, plenty of zone, and the defensive backs like it much better. There's still plenty of man coverage, but not nearly as much, and the corners like it much better.
“I’m very excited to show I can do more than just stand in front of a guy and press him,” veteran corner Vince Gray said. “We learned a lot this offseason just conceptually ..."
Yes, the corners are still the weak link on the team, but they've been protected. Gemon Green, in his second year as a starter, still has issues finding the ball, and he has more trouble securing it when he gets a couple hands on it. He's been solid in coverage and has come up with some big plays, though. Gray isn't the tackler he was last year, but he's been better in the new defense, and Dax Hill, minus a few plays, has been outstanding in nickel coverage.
D.J. Turner is a bit too handsy and needs to improve, and it would be great if one more corner emerged. Ja'Den McBurrows is going to be good, in time, but more depth is needed here.
The bigger plays in the passing game really haven't come at the corners' expense, though, and that's an upgrade.
GRADE FOR THE CORNERS: B-
The safeties, meanwhile, have been outstanding, for the most part. Dax Hill is as good at getting off a perimeter block as anyone we've seen in a long time, and his athleticism as a blitzer has been game-changing, at times (Wisconsin's Graham Mertz would attest). R.J. Moten has been very solid, and Brad Hawkins is the unheralded star of the defense. His play to keep Taylor Martinez out of the end zone on the first drive at Nebraska was huge, and his game-winning play with the strip fumble and return later was ... well, game-changing.
We liked the safeties before the season and said this could be a team strength, thanks largely to Hill, an All-Big Ten player. But Hawkins is playing at an All-Big Ten level, too — he'd be even better if he could hold on to the picks he should have had (crazy to think he was a high school receiver, too, and his film was outstanding).
But this group has been really good, minus the occasional broken play (backup Rod Moore a couple times, though he's a true frosh with a bright future) and the last drive of the first half at Wisconsin, in which Hill was beaten by some really good throws. And they've been solid as tacklers, too.
GRADE FOR THE SAFETIES: A-
Up front, the defensive line has been the most pleasant surprise of the year. As much as defensive line coach Shaun Nua has been criticized, he's done an outstanding job with the interior guys, led by Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton. Hinton had a sketchy spring and a slow start to the fall, but he's stepped up and continued to improve. He's really getting off blocks and holding the line, whereas last year he was getting pushed backward too often.
Mazi Smith has gotten better and better in the middle and is also stout at the point of attack — you rarely see anyone get push on him — and guys like Kris Jenkins and Donovan Jeter have contributed. Mike Morris has been a huge help playing across the front, dictated by situations.
Overall, this group has been the pleasant surprise of the team. They're a big reason U-M has had one of the top three front sevens in the country (based on metrics) through the first half of the year. If you include Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo here — they're considered linebackers, but are really DEs on a lot of downs — this group gets an 'A.'
GRADE FOR THE DEFENSIVE LINE: B+
Behind these guys, the linebackers have been another of the defense's most pleasant surprises. Hutchinson has turned himself into a high, first round draft pick with his play — absolutely dominant most of the time, and one of the best pass rushers in the Big Ten — and Ojabo has also had his moments as a pass rusher. These guys aren't quite the new 'salt and pepper' (the name Josh Uche and Hutchinson gave themselves as complementary ends), but Ojabo has come on strong.
Josh Ross is having an All-Big Ten year. Despite a few struggles in coverage on wheel routes, he's been unbelievable. He reads plays as well as any inside linebacker we've seen in a long time — he's almost too aggressive at times, and you can expect teams like MSU and others to try to take advantage of this by mixing up their looks on certain plays with play action, etc. — but there's not much to complain about here. We saw how much they missed him when Rutgers owned the second half against Michigan with the read option and quarterback Noah Vedral.
Nikhai Hill-Green and Junior Colson are only going to get better. They struggled against Rutgers, but they've been great, first-year contributors. Colson is a future All-Big Ten player, if not more. They still need more depth to emerge here ... we'd like to see Kalel Mullings make a move, but he needs to be more consistent.
Throw in Hutchinson and Ojabo here as LBs, and this group would be around 'A-' range.
GRADE FOR THE LINEBACKERS: B+
Overall, Macdonald has done an outstanding job with this group, and he's gotten a huge assist from Nua, linebackers coach George Helow and new secondary additions Ron Bellamy and Steve Clinkscale (especially). Macdonald's NFL principles are tough to figure out, keeping offenses guessing. Our intel before the Wisconsin game was that coach Paul Chryst knew the free lunch (on knowing what was coming) was over, and he was concerned how his offense would do against so many looks, disguised and otherwise.
The answer — not well.
Michigan's first big test against a really balanced offense, though, comes in two weeks at Michigan State, and of course Ohio State awaits. "Let's not (pat each other on the back for a job well done)" just yet, but we like the direction halfway through the season ... for now, and for the future.
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