Michigan Defense Looks for Opportunities; Player Success in Coaches' Hands

The new-look Michigan defense did not impress on their first drive, as sloppy pass coverage and no pass rush led to an opening-drive score for the Western Michigan Broncos.

Wolverine fans no doubt had that same feeling from 2010, a year in which it appeared that the Michigan defense couldn’t stop anybody but themselves.  Alex Carder looked more like John Elway as he systematically moved Western down the field on the way to an early 7-0 lead.

All it took was one big play for the landscape of the game to change completely.

Western Michigan was once again driving down the field looking for six, when linebacker Brandon Herron came up with a 94-yard interception return for a defensive touchdown, the longest in modern Michigan history.

Suddenly the sleeping defense had been woken, along with a crowd that probably wasn’t as electric as they should have been for the start of a new era in Michigan football.

Greg Mattison made adjustments to his defensive scheme following the big play, something not seen over the tenure of Rich Rodriguez and his defensive coordinators.

The Wolverines began getting to Alex Carder. They were bringing blitz after blitz, looking a lot more like the Baltimore Ravens than the Michigan Wolverines. Granted, it was against Western Michigan, but still an encouraging sign none the less.

They ratcheted up the intensity even more in the start of the second half, constantly creating pressure, which was finally capped off by another defensive score. Once again it was Brandon Herron picking up the ball and becoming the first player in over 60 years to score twice on defense in the same game for the Maize and Blue.

Is this opportunistic defense what we can expect to see from the Wolverines all year? They were lacking playmaking from everyone not named Denard Robinson in 2010 and therefore struggled in conference play.

You can’t say too much about being able to score on both sides of the ball. So long as the Wolverines can tighten up the pass coverage they could survive in the Big Ten by running this aggressive New York Jets-style defense that we saw after the first few drives on Saturday.

It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get a look at the team for the entire duration of the game, but what little glimpses we did see show that there are changes in the works at Michigan. Talent is all over the field; now it’s up to the coaching staff to put them in a position to succeed.

Erik Underwood is the creator of Saturdays in the Fall.  Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/erikunderwood