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DT Luke Fickell (HC Wisconsin Badgers)

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I'm the last one who is going to defend the defensive coaching staff, but at least some of the blame lies at the players' feet for not making plays--off the top of my head:

1. Shazier misses the tackle for loss in the first half on Funchess on the end-around. Instead of it being 3rd and 15 or 16, it is 3rd and 5. Michigan converts the much more manageable 3rd and 5 and gets a TD later that drive.

2. Roby misses an easy INT at the Michigan 40 or so that would've set up the offense in great field position. Looked like he may have taken his eye off the ball to see where he was going to run with it.

3. Barnett misses an easy INT (hit him right in the numbers) on the OSU 1 yd line on 3rd down in the fourth quarter, with OSU up 7. If he catches that ball, OSU has the ball up 7, and we all know how gassed Michigan's defense was at that point in the game--it's game over if he makes that play. Instead, Michigan gets a first down on the next play, and gets the game-tying TD a few plays later.
 
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UpNorth_Buckeye said:
One thing I wasn't a huge fan of (and I was at the game, so can't say 100% if this is accurate), but we didn't appear to blitz much. All I've seen from DG is that he blows when under pressure. I would have blitzed 40-60% of The Game. Whether that's withers, fickell, or both, wasn't a fan of the play calling.
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The defense got torched even worse when they blitzed than when they didn't. What they needed was more pressure from the d-line and better tackling when somebody did get to the QB. The D-line is the most talented and accomplished unit on the Ohio State defense and they were anonymous for much of the game.
 
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jlb1705 said:
The defense got torched even worse when they blitzed than when they didn't. What the needed was more pressure from the d-line and better tackling when somebody did get to the QB. The D-line is the most talented and accomplished unit on the Ohio State defense and they were anonymous for much of the game.
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This also. There were a ton of missed tackles by the defense yesterday--a lot of plays ended 5-10 yards down the field that should've ended in the backfield.
 
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Defense isn't about necessarily blitzing the crap out of a team. It's about playing solid, tackling solid and showing something to the offense that they haven't necessarily seen before.

I think we can all agree that scUM was in no way fooled offensively basically all game long and the stats bear that out.
 
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Tough to play D without a middle LB. I felt the reason UM had so much success in the passing game was that our inability to tackle meant that we had to respect the run game, which made UM's playaction much more effective.

Hope we get a healthy C. Grant back for the next two championship games.
 
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HorseshoeFetish said:
You can include me in the category that wanted us to bring one more guy than they could block on every play. I might not have cared if that number reached 11 at one point. Sometimes I feel like "fear" is calling the defensive plays. I mean we seem to be so much better when we are attacking...and then "fear" decides we better play it safe.
I think we need to fire "fear".
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This.
Yesterday had a lot to do with poor performance by the players imo, but the D did come to life at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd quarter. Then we went into Prevent Defense mode... and collapsed.
It's not just the players, and it's not just the coaches. It's a combination of both. The only identifiable leader amongst the entire defensive structure (coaches and players) seems to be Vrabel. I'm starting to hope Bosa steps up as a true freshman, b/c Shazier / Roby / Barnett aren't taking it on.

kujirakira said:
It's about what I expected. Going after the QB does wonders against inexperienced pocket passers.
But a team that can hold off the pass rush or the QB can keep a play alive... they'll make plays on us. I think that's just the reality of where our defense is at.
Poor tackling has been an issue today, however.
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Wrote this after Illinois... still think it's the reality.
They were making some plays against us when we went after Gardner, but it was a lot more difficult for them than when we went back to soft zone and letting them pick us apart. A turnover seemed inevitable at that point, Gardner was on the ropes arguing with his team mates, limping around look beat... then we let them get comfortable playing it "safe" and nearly lost the game with a prevent defense.
 
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