Carr has lots of questions to answer
Tuesday, March 15, 2005BY JIM CARTY
The Ann Arbor News We asked through official channels and personally.
We sent e-mail and a hand-written note.
But Lloyd Carr has consistently declined to sit down with writers from The Ann Arbor News and discuss what happened to the University of Michigan football team in general - and his defense in particular - in the closing months of last football season.
<>Those decisions are disappointing on several levels, but none more so than simple accountability. Michigan fans have been clamoring for months to hear their coach's explanation for why the defense faltered down the stretch. Part of Carr's job is to offer them his thoughts on the situation, even if it's clearly not a part of the job he enjoys.
Almost all fans start with the simplest question: Why did a
defense that allowed an average of 18 points per game in its first eight games give up 33 points per game in its final four contests?
What changed? Did opponents, starting with Michigan State, figure something out? Did the players lose focus? Or was it something else?
Then there's the mobile quarterback issue.
Having been shredded by shifty Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith for 8.1 yards per rush in their final game of the regular season, what adjustments did Michigan make going into the Rose Bowl to stop another running quarterback?
And why didn't those adjustments stop Texas quarterback Vince Young one bit, as he did Smith one better by averaging an eye-popping 9.1 yards per carry en route to a game-high 192 yards rushing?
Other popular questions:
Why did Michigan struggle to tackle against Ohio State and Texas? Why did All-American safety Ernest Shazor disappear down the stretch? Why did linebacker Pierre Woods have little impact all season?
Was linebacker Lawrence Reid - who's subsequently retired due to a neck injury - playing hurt? If yes, did his injury affect his play?
Why wasn't linebacker Joe Sarantos, one of your best special teams players, asked back for a fifth season?
After leading the nation in turnovers earlier in the year, why did the Wolverine defense recover only one fumble and make only one interception over its final four games?
Finally, there's defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann.
Herrmann's defense allowed more points during the regular season than every Big Ten team except Michigan State, Northwestern, Illinois and Indiana (none of which went to a bowl game). Since he's blessed with highly rated recruits at just about every position, how much of the blame for that kind of performance falls on Herrmann's tactics?
How, in Carr's evaluation, is the defensive coordinator held responsible?
Finally, how is Carr going to fix what went wrong?
At his Feb. 2 recruiting press conference - the only press conference he's held since losing to Texas in the Rose Bowl - Carr shut down questions on last season by claiming that recruiting had kept him from properly evaluating the year.
"As a staff, we will do that starting Monday," the coach said.
With Monday long come and gone, and Carr scheduled to hold his annual spring football press conference Thursday, it seems fair to finally expect comprehensive answers.
Especially since the coach now has all the questions right in front of him.