Maryland Snowflakes: The Defense

While our pass rush might be less aggressive our secondary is a bit more aggressive on making plays. Maryland is like Ohio state JV imo on offense. A good way to start big ten play to get the defense in shape for a full game of play. Need a LB to fill that hole in the middle on rushes though that break the dline. I miss a good Jarrett Irons cleaning things up.

Thankfully we play Iowa’s offense next week. 

Defense was decent but just sucked that last drive. Really disappointing to see the utter lack of organization and discipline 

It’s going to be in our best interest if Eyabi can earn a bigger role on passing downs as the season goes on.

We were beyond spoiled last year with Hutch and Ojabo, literally two of the best pass rushers this school has ever seen, but it’s obviously a big step down right now and that Colorado State game was clearly more of a mirage.

Maryland is a good offense with a lot of talent though so enjoy the victory and use this game to grow.

Last Maryland drive notwithstanding, they appeared to gear up and play better in the second half. Maryland has got real talent on the offensive side of the ball. Guys who will play on Sundays. They should not have given up that last TD, and giving up that 3rd and 21 was just ugh. 

But all in all they played alright. 

I think this Defense got something. They need to figure a few things especially against scrambling QBs. Young team and I expect them to learn from this. They made plays when they needed it. Last drive was not good but it looked like not all starters were there. Need our players to be healthy for PSU. Iowa-- I already assume it will be ugly and my heart will be pounding the whole game. But, a win is a win. MM needs to be able to get to QB a few times. It seems we are missing NHG.

Lots of players really stepped up. Guys played hard.
Minter has a lot of work ahead.  Flashback to Don Brown’s defense during the 3rd and 21 scramble for a first down by a backup QB …

Thought our secondary was outstanding today.  Tau is a very talented qb and Maryland has been averaging 40 points a game coming in.  Thought Michigan's D Line had a rough time time vs. Maryland.  Maybe part of that was the step up in class, though they practice against our OL all week..   Credit M. Morris and M.Smith for making some big plays.  

I'm not as concerned about the pass rush as others, it seems like they got more conservative once Taulia burned them on scrambles.  But there is a lack of depth at end.  The guys behind Harrell and Morris are either limited pass rushers or inconsistent as run defenders.  McGregor probably the most well-rounded but not a standout.

I thought the secondary was amazing.  Like I think they won us this game along with Corum because nobody else on defense played particularly well (besides Mazi).  NHG needs to get healthy because Mullings is really worrisome, and even Colson finally started to make some mistakes (albeit in a tough spot). 

On one hand, it wasn't surprising that the Terps could put up 20 points but on the other, didn't like their last TD and 2 pt conversion.

Pass rush got going more in the 3rd quarter. They took out Tagovailoa. They had 2 INT which was huge. Good plays were made but they need to stop the run better. Credit Maryland for playing hard as they were no cupcake. Michigan made enough good plays and should build on the weaknesses that were exposed.

Need to wrap up the QB when we get pressure.  Couple times we let the QB escape what looked like a sack and get big yardage.

Sanristil looks better than even the most optimistic fan could have hoped for. Didn't realize how much closing speed he has, and he looks like a great tackler. This could be a really big deal in Columbus in 2 months

The secondary overall looked pretty good (I'll chalk up the last drive to prevent defense)

The obvious concern is no organic pressure from the front 4. Turns out Hutch and Ojabo are not easily replaced

This is the defense I expected after losing so much talent to the draft. But the team is young, there is talent, just hope they can learn and improve as the season progresses. 

Mostly ok today (the pass rush is what it is), but some big lapses on the last sequence. Johnson fell on the first 4th and 13, then Moten took a horrific angle on the scramble on 3rd and 21, then Mullings got totally lost before the snap on the 4th and 12 and didn't cover his man at all. We probably should have called a TO as soon as it was obvious how confused Mullings was.

Anyway, plenty of stuff to correct. 

Defense played well enough to win, but the line needs to get more push. And we can't close out our remaining games like we did today.

I think the lack of pass rush is being overstated here. Michigan had plenty of pressure to start but tau was able to get away. I think once that happened you need to prioritize contain.

The biggest issue was the linebackers. Maybe it was just a bad matchup with Maryland having big RBs but they couldn’t fill because they couldn’t shed blocks. And when they weren’t blocked the RBs were running through the tackle. That’s without mentioning they seemed lost, particularly on the last drive. Who was out there? Mullings and Barrett. Maybe the snaps at RB for Mullings during the off-season was ill advised.

Help us NHG.

The absence of organic pass rush is alarming. We need NHG back soon to help in run support. Secondary had a hell of a game. Second half adjustments were great.

Like the last poster I’m really concerned about the linebackers. 

Secondary is good though had some issues with crossers.  DL struggled against Maryland's OL in both phases, but especially pass rush.  Mullings is not ready, and there is no defensive down when Colson should not be in the game.

Not bad against a good offense, but it looks like tempo is still a serious concern, just like last year.  Two of the fourth down conversions (one for a TD)  happened with the defense looking like they weren’t set. Mullens (or is it Mullings?) looked lost on the TD, so hopefully NHG comes back soon.

Gotta wait to see the UFR, but it appears that Gemon Green has made the proverbial jump. I didn’t get a good read of him in zone but he is lockdown in man coverage.

Morris too slow to contain . 290 lb DE  will not be the answer . 

The D Line was getting no pressure with just 4. We needed to try more twists and stunts to change things up. Little pressure without blitzing is a tough way to live. 

Well that was horse shit.

Very little pressure all day. 

Zone + rush 4 against a mobile QB doesn't work at all for us atm. Pass rush is now a concern.

Sainristil still looked good against a real opponent. Moten didn't drop the INT. They tested Green early and Green won. Kept Tagovailoa below JJ's numbers who had an off-day downfield. 

Overall, felt worse in the moment than the outcome. 

Facing a run threat QB, it looked like they did a good job staying in their rushing lanes. Still, I don't see a lot pressure/sacks coming on 4 man rushes this year. Maybe 5 total.