Michigan Football, Team 137, 2016 Season.

[The Oracle]

Probably not, but if Ojemudia and Glasgow both don't go down, they would have looked a bit different at the end of the year.

[SeattleLionsFan]

I think the d was what it was. A great defense made even better when facing pro style offenses of moderate talent.

That plus the fact that M put the boot on those dudes offensively broke their will to compete.

[Jeff Buchanan]

M played some really bad offensive teams last year. It's shame, in a way, they ended up playing Florida in their bowl game because Florida was another god-fucking-awful offensive team. They could have drawn LSU, which wasn't a great offensive team but at least decent -- and a team with a scheme that played to M's strength. That would have been an interesting gauge.

As it is, you have a season of these extremes on the defensive side. Weird.

I wouldn't be so quick to minimize the shut-outs or that M went 152 points for and 14 against shutting out 3 opponents and going 5-0 (5-1 including the loss to Utah to open the season) before falling to Sparty in one of the weirdest finishes in CFB.

So, M lost 3 games to good (Utah and MSU) to great offenses (osu) and won 10 more ..... and I'll give you that Oregon State (116), NWU (108) and probably Maryland (95) with their top receiver out did suck on O. But UNLV (77) and BYU (47) were decent and got stoned by M's D. UNLV scored 7 points, BYU was shut out.

I don't think the "extremes" you describe on defense were that extreme. The defense was good overall with very exploitable weaknesses, as we've discussed, at LB, and only two teams, IU and OSU, really exploited those weaknesses.

Moreover, yeah, Florida had problems on offense (4676/83) but weren't' that much worse than LSU (5247/58). I thought that was a solid win for M and I can't imagine a game v. LSU would have been much more of a test given how Ruddock played on O and the DL and back end played on D.

[iam416]

Florida was a train-wreck by the end of the season. They needed OT to beat Florida Atlantic...scoring only 14 regulation points and generating 250 total yards. They could have played 20 quarters against FSU and not scored. Another 250 yards. Alabama held them to 175, and 81 of those came on a garbage time 4th quarter drive. LSU had their issues, but Brandon Harris was way better than Treon at QB...and that's saying just how awful Treon was.

The defense was good overall with very exploitable weaknesses, as we've discussed, at LB, and only two teams, IU and OSU, really exploited those weaknesses.

I guess. I mean, it was "good". That's it, IMO. OSU didn't just beat their LBs. They whipped their DL all day. And when they wanted to pass they passed. Michael Thomas even whipped Lewis over the top twice, one for a pass interference penalty on 4th down. I mean, OSU scored on 6 straight drives. That defense wasn't just overmatched at LB, it was overmatched all over the field.

But, Florida put the bloom back on the rose. So, there you go. It's all good.

But UNLV (77) and BYU (47) were decent

Also, no. Just no on UNLV. Yeah, they scored 80 against Idaho State and did ok in the MWC. But they were bad. Just bad. When they played decent teams -- like UCLA -- just bad. Very bad.

[THE_WIZARD_]

STFU

[Wellington_beefhouser]

Michigan's D will be better this year than it was last year. Book it. Love what Brown did with a BC D made up of 0-3 star recruits. Imagine what he can do with a very talented Michigan D.

Don Brown = Wizard/Alchemist

[WM Wolverine]

Defensive line will be as good as it's been since '06, defensive back will depend on how good the safeties are and both are talented 4th/5th year guys.

[lineygoblue]

They're definitely starting at a more advanced level than they did last year. Lots of experience, solid talent, some excellent newcomers, and a coach that is tough nosed, and has a great resume. Coach Brown also seems to have a great rapport with his players, and the transition looks to be seamless.

My biggest concern for the team will be the OL and QB. I'm optimistic with the OL, but I'm quite nervous about the QB position. I hoped that O'Korn would have taken the job by the shirt collar, and made it his during the Spring. It appears that he has not done so. That means the run game is going to have to be stout, in order to take the game out of the QB's hands (i.e. passing)

[WM Wolverine]

I have very little concern about the OL, it might not have 3+ NFL draftees but they'll be very experienced (Magnuson, Braden & Kalis are in 5th year), deep enough and very well coached. There should only be one new starter on the offensive line...

With the talent/experience M has at WR (Chesson, Darboh; both 5th year), TE (Butt; 4th year) and less so RB (Smith, Isaac & Johnson; all 4+ years), it should make an average QB look good or a mediocre QB look average. My only concern is QB, M desperately needs one of O'Korn, Morris or Speight to be able to run the offense the way Harbaugh hopes. It's really the difference between a subpar offense and one of the top 3-4 in the B1G.

[WM Wolverine]

Imo Jarrod Wilson never received the recognition he earned, being the deep man breaking up big plays and making the sure tackle in the open field. Stevie Brown can tell you safety is a spot where if you're out of position on two plays, those two plays can change the entire game. Both Thomas, Hill looked like solid B1G safeties near the end of last season but it's much different when an opponent studies your team's film and each player's weaknesses and plans where they'll attack...

Good for the safeties, I think the DL takes a huge burden off them. This defensive line should be able to get to the passer rushing just 4-5. The defensive line is very experienced, really talented and again, very well coached.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I have very little concern about the OL, it might not have 3+ NFL draftees but they'll be very experienced (Magnuson, Braden & Kalis are in 5th year), deep enough and very well coached. There should only be one new starter on the offensive line ....... My only concern is QB, M desperately needs one of O'Korn, Morris or Speight to be able to run the offense the way Harbaugh hopes. It's really the difference between a subpar offense and one of the top 3-4 in the B1G.

I'm with WM on the OL. Also with concern about QB. This is especially true given JH's play calling. HIs QB has to know when to get into or out of his plays based on what he's seeing the D give him pre and post snap.

Huge difference between Harbaugh and meyer here. Meyer's QB can run his bread and butter plays on offense by reading a few keys. It's simple but it also consistently hard to stop. OTH, Harbaugh demands his QBs make NFL level reads for both the run and pass game.

I think we'll see the same kind of development out of either O'Korn, Morris or Speight - whoever gets the nod to start - much like we saw Rudock develop. Slow start, damn nice finish. It's nice for QBs that M is at home with a relatively easy schedule before conference play begins and then going on the road v. both MSU and osu, their toughest games for sure. I also think Iowa, on the road, will be interesting.

[WM Wolverine]

Iowa will be tougher than some here expect, especially at Kinnick at night. I think both will be ranked in top 10 when we play them.

[Wellington_beefhouser]

MSU OSU IOWA all on the road. I think I'll call it the gauntlet. We shall prevail.

I have high expectations for this defense. They should be able to cover for some of the mistakes M's QBs make early on. I say "early on" cause I fully expect the QB whisperer to work his magic. Eternal optimism boys...

[Mike]

O'Korn will be just fine at QB, especially with the early soft schedule. I'm not worried about our QB at all. My biggest concern is being able to run the football on obvious run situations like 3rd and 1 or 2. The last time we've been able to consistently pick those up on the ground Jake Long was anchoring the line.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Power I. Fullbacks running behind 3 TE sets. Mark it down. JH's offense will get those short yardage 1st downs.