Some thoughts:
- Don Brown. We've had great defenses (most notably 1997, of course -- a GREAT defense) since Bill McCartney took up residence in Boulder, but I've not felt this way about the Michigan defense since Mac left. Namely, that the spine of the Michigan football program is GREAT, swarming, carnivorous, team defense. The difference being that Mac had his little ragamuffins whereas Brown has his bridge trolls. As great as Hammerstein and Messner were, for example, I'd rather try to block them than the gentlemen we've seen over the last two years. Overall, this is a group of piranhas. They feed off one another -- wow.
- 3-man front. Just another way to get speed on the field, change up blitz angles, and keep the big boys fresh while making use of 'tweeners like Furbush, et al. And 30-fronts can cause real problems for spread teams that traditional four-man fronts don't. Brilliant.
- DL. We can blame Brady and his staff for some lingering issues (more on this later), but Brown's defense has been built on the bedrock of the defensive line -- and of course the stars from last year's line were recruited by Hoke and developed by Greg Mattison. The one criticism I have of yesterday's DL play is that they didn't stay in their rush lanes consistently and that lead to a few big gains. We saw exactly the same thing last season early on and Mattison got it fixed nearly immediately. I expect that to be the case this time around, also. And man oh man -- Michigan is about to become "DL U." Tight ends, fullbacks, and DLs -- right this way to the NFL.
- Youth will be served. Aubrey Solomon. Oh my. Mrs. Varnsen saw Tarik Black and said "where's he been?" "He's a freshman." "Wow. He looks like he belongs already." Mrs. Varnsen knows 'ball.
- You're only as strong as . . . . It seems likely that this team will go as far as QB, RT, and the DBs permit. In terms of the DBs, I think it's pretty clear that teams will try to run fades and comeback balls. PSU, IU, and OSU will likely connect on some. I'm looking forward to Don Brown vs. Joe Moorhead. But Zordich is a great teacher of technique. In particular, the DBs did a great job of tackling yesterday. That will be key in our big games. It's one thing to give up a 20 yard pass. It's another to miss the tackle. As we've seen, OSU has the speed to turn mistakes like one missed tackle into 6 points.
- Road games at night. Pack your defense, eliminate turnovers, take advantage when you have the chance to score, and bring a kicker who can make big kicks late. We've got one of those for sure (D) and Nordin clearly has talent. Hopefully the missed kicks were a blip (I think that is the case). Obviously the two question marks are our ability to eliminate turnovers on offense and to take advantage of short fields and opportunities. We do that and we're in Indy.
- Devin Bush. This young man is on the road to being one of my favorite Wolverines ever. BUT his quote about (essentially) saying "If they eject me, they eject me, that's who I am" is completely off the mark. I'm already worried that he'll get tossed in the 1st quarter against OSU. Harbaugh needs to make sure the refs at practice call it close and Partridge needs a financial stake in Bush staying in games. He makes that kind of a difference out there.
- Grant Perry. Needs to be fitted with a shock collar that goes off whenever he spins the ball. An important player who can move the chains and who's a good blocker. But he needs to cut that crap out.
- OL. I usually watch the OL when we have the ball but yesterday I was occupied with the impending disaster at QB. From what I saw Kugler held his own, there was a lot good happening with inside runs, and both tackles had some shaky moments. Bredeson and Cole failing to pick up the stunt on the second pick six was, of course, a trigger for the PTSD residue from the Funk era and something that I thought Drevno had eliminated. Hopefully that's just a first-game glitch. On one of our second half FGs, we had to kick because UF dialed up a nice blitz to the right side of our OL. It was away from the back and we didn't adjust -- another mental error that hopefully is just a game one issue. Obviously Ulizio had some really shaky moments. I don't have any insight into whether he can resolve those or if he's just over-matched. But given the fact JBB couldn't clearly beat him out, well, he's one of the guys who will define our season. I am heartened by the fact he was able to handle his guy one-on-one in the second half and he wasn't getting help on EVERY single passing down. Color me cautiously optimistic.
- RBs. Great to see Isaac play well. I thought he got shafted last year. I thought he, Evans, Higdon, and Hill all showed well. Didn't notice any of them in pass pro so I assume they did fine there.
- QB. Speight is better than O'Korn and I don't think it's close. Obviously Speight continues to have issues throwing fades and other sideline balls with touch. Just as obviously that's where DCs will try to funnel our receivers. In order to win the biggest games, he's going to have to hit some of those with regularity. Whether he's able to do so or not will go a LONG way towards defining our season.
- Pep. When we were really struggling on O, I was wondering where the vaunted quick game was. Hopefully that's not this season's version of the Max Martin wheel route. We could really use a good quick game and (as many pointed out) a screen game. Of course, the quick game flourishes when the QB can hit guys in stride and they can rack up the yards after the catch -- not Speight's stock-in trade.
- Outlook (Season). Overall, I think we will go as far as Speight can take us and injuries permit. I think there's great talent at DB and I have every confidence in Zordich and Brown. I think RT will get shored up and that there are ways to address it. But at some point in the season Speight is going to have to win a tough game for us. He did it last year against Wisconsin. Will he do it consistently? Is he Brian Griese circa 1996 (toss to Tai Streets aside) or 1997? That's the question. It says here he gets it resolved and we're playing in Indianapolis.
- Outlook (Program). I think UF and McElwain are in deep, deep trouble and that beating them yesterday doesn't tell us a whole lot about where our season will go. We will know a whole lot more after MSU and PSU. And I think both Rutgers and Maryland are improving, so the grind of conference play is going to continue to require real mental toughness and depth. But the progress in this program is unmistakable, regardless of where we end up this season. But I don't think we're on a level with Clemson or Alabama yet. That requires the OL depth and talent to improve and for a quarterback not recruited by Al Borges to be under center. Those two positions are the lasting legacy of the Hoke regime that we haven't fixed yet. Here's hoping that Grant Newsome is able to come back next season, because we will desperately need his talent.
- QB (II). While I understand the passion around the subject, I think some of the debates over our QB situation are a little misplaced. Harbaugh's bona fides as a QB coach are long established and I think what he achieved with Rudock was further proof the guy knows what he's doing. Speight is a competitor, he's got very good pocket presence, he's a worker bee, he's tough, and he's smart. Those are all obvious assets. But he has a very mediocre arm. My prediction is that he improves over the course of the season and he can play well enough to win a championship. He's still going to drive us all crazy at times with missed opportunities or with throws that challenge his receivers to make great catches without any YAC. But he's the horse we have to ride. If you want to blame someone, I'd suggest:
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