Sporadic at Best: Michigan Mid-Term Report Card

Defense

This is a group of guys that have the ability to carry the team. At the beginning of the year I remember reading an article that said, "The defense is good enough to keep Michigan in most games," and they demonstrated that against Utah, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin especially.

As of Week Four, they were ranked the No. 12 rush defense in the country, and that's what Michigan fans have grown to expect. Unfortunately, Michigan fans have also grown to expect the defense getting picked apart by an athletic QB running the spread option—and so far, they haven't been proved wrong.

To say that Juice Williams embarrassed Michigan in their house would be...well...true. The secondary left gaps that even Nick Sheridan could throw through. The line was able to penetrate a few times and hand Illinois some lost yardage, and Obi Ezeh was all over the field, leading the team with 15 tackles, one for loss.

Unfortunately, all of the "sacks" the defense had were considered tackles for loss officially, saying that Williams was running the ball when it happened. There were times that the linebackers especially were made to look like fools in the backfield though, standing there trying to decide whether or not to go for Williams or the pitch.

If the defensive backs can hold it together and not allow so many big plays down the field, this will be the defense to beat in the second half of the season.

Grade: B

Special Teams

An oft-overlooked aspect of a game is the special teams battle, and for Michigan, it has proven to be one of the biggest game breakers. Notre Dame exploited Michigan's inability to hold on to the ball and earned a couple of free possessions that should have been a Michigan 1st-and-10.

Odoms has looked the best so far this year, and just when I thought we had finally found a guy that can return a ball decently enough, he fumbles and loses the return job. If even just the special teams turnovers were erased from the game, I think there would be a couple of different outcomes this year, namely at South Bend.

The field goal business is a little shaky but hasn't been bad enough to make me worry. The shanks that we've seen thus far could happen to anyone and haven't been often enough to cause me bother.

I would like to see a little bit more distance on kickoffs though. The opposition has been consistently returning the ball from their 10 or farther out.

Zoltan has been doing his thing, which is good by me. The only thing I'd like to see from him is fewer punts, but that's not really his fault.

Grade: C

Coaching

I don't necessarily agree with the people calling for Rich Rod's head. I think they should have known that this season was going to be bad, and it would have been bad under any head coach we got, even Carr. I also think that it'll be better when he gets his players on the roster.

I would say, however, that he could be doing a better job with the personnel he has. As a for-instance, where oh where is Kevin Grady inside the 10-yard line? Where is Brandon Minor on 3rd-and-2?

Why do you keep running stretch plays across the line when McGuffie is getting smoked in the backfield? Why do you keep running him, a smaller back, up the middle?

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