Maryland Snowflakes: The Defense

Plenty of time to figure things out…but if this defense rolled into Columbus today they wouldve gotten obliterated. Barely any pressure from the front 4

Until that last drive, I thought defense played ok against a fast running QB team. I predicted the final would be M 56 vs MD 38. But they seem to slip back giving up those long 3rd and 4th down plays. LB play need to improve and the here needs to be better pass rushing on throwing downs.

One of the best Os they’ll see all year and first real team this year. Lots to build on in a win. Which is a win 

It was irritating at times but, on balance, I thought it was pretty positive.  We knew going in that Maryland was a very talented offense (they were less explosive but better schemed that I thought they'd be) and we lost a generational pass rush from the '21 team (and struggled there noticeably).

But what did we learn?

(1) Mazi Smith is an absolute hellbeast.  That "freaks list" stuff was not just hype.  Guys that weigh 330+ should NOT look like a straight bar of wrought iron and move like Mazi does.  When things were looking grim early against the Maryland O Line and their power back, Mazi had that huge TFL and he was getting off blocks (and double teams), making more tackles than a nose tackle has any right to make, and generally harassing them.  His stamina was fantastic and he rarely looked gassed, if ever.  This was one of the better games I've seen a Michigan DT play--it was different than a Mo Hurst pass rush thing, but of similar dominance.  It had a Mike Martin feel.  Stock rising and I bet his UFR is really, really positive.

(2) Mike Sainristil was all over the place.  I can't recall a position change going this well since...never?  Joel Klatt mentioned it as the game was winding down, but Mikey is doing his Dax Hill out there.  Picked off a 2 PT try, tackles everywhere.  Would've had another pick had Jarrett not strafed him.  The only knock was that soft coverage on 4th and 1, which turned a game that had become a bit comfortable back into a contest.

(3) Mike Morris changed the course of the game with his huge hit on Taulia Tagovailoa.  He added another sack and was generally a hellbeast in his own right.

(4) Eyabi Anoma/Okie needs to play more.  When he's in there, we get hurries and sacks.  When he's not in there, the defensive front is a step slow.

(5) DJ Turner's "interception" was another momentum-changer.  It should have been overturned, but we get screwed by officiating so often, I figure we're owed that (and more).  Honorable mention to Moten's tip drill INT (he can catch) that elicited an OSKEE from the commentators.

A one-score win is closer than any of us would've liked, but I thought it was pretty good overall.  They made Taulia dink-and-dunk most of the game.  That garbage time TD with the backup in there and being a half-beat slow on about 10 plays was the difference between what we saw and a complete hamblasting.  Maryland was held under 7 YPA passing and to just 3.8 YPC rushing.  Their rushing long was the 23-yard scramble on 3rd down by the backup QB at the end of the game.

I'd say it was a solid B.

Biggest problem I saw was that our 4 man rush rarely generated QB pressure. Need to figure this one out, but I’m hoping it’s something guys can grow into as the season progresses. 

The defense did pretty well, especially in the 2nd half, but that last TD drive of theirs was beyond frustrating. Maryland converted 4th & 13, 3rd & 23, and 4th & 12 (which went 18 yards for a TD).

Didn’t feel great, on the other hand there are going to be a lot of teams that fail to keep Maryland under 30 this year. 

Defense was exposed as just a solid unit today. They made some good adjustments but they just don’t have the elite game breaking talent you need to be a great defense. Also got very lucky the dj turner interception stood to help stop the bleeding in the first half. 
 

Luckily this is probably the second best offense they will play all year. 

Also a huge pet peeve of mine is coaches not calling a timeout to save their defense in a crucial play. Twice late in the fourth quarter there times the defense was clearly not ready on a third or fourth down. Just take a timeout 

Klatt acted like Maryland ran over UM at will. Stats don't back that up. Reality is UM was the better team but when a scrappy good team puts up a fight announcers act like the underdog dominated and people watching the game buy into it.

They went to Jarrett

Edge #8 and #18 need more playing time. Head and shoulders better than the starters.

I'm good with the defensive performance overall. I'm not really counting MD's garbage time TD - this game was 34-19 when it still mattered. Remember this is probably the 2nd or 3rd best Offense we'll face this year. I remain not worried about Spencer Petras next week.

Going into the season, there were concerns about our DL. Those concerns turned out to be valid. Weak showing. 

The run stop got better as the game unfolded and the speed of that offense was great. The QBs play was maybe the best we will see next to OSU until we hurt the Kid.  Im happy that we finally are starting to see interceptions. 

Its interesting that Vance Bedford predict 2 picks earlier in the week.   We will get better because we have the athletes.

The defense needs work. Too many cupcakes at the beginning of the season leads to overconfidence.

Watching live, it looks like MI lacks an emotional leader on D. Mazi can’t be it on every down as it’s physically impossible 

That CSU game we might as well ignore everything about it.   Sacramento State beat them 41 10.    They I think had 10 sacks 

I said “that’s a Dax Hill-like interception” twice in this game.

Better than MSU.  Lollllllll

Should have written immediately that DJ Turner is looking like an All B1G CB.

Need to figure out a pass rush or we will get killed by OSU. Enoba seems to be getting pressure, need him in more often 

The best players on defense were the secondary.  Big shout out to Mike Sainristil.  Whoever had the idea to move him to corner gets the gold star.

Honestly, as frustrating as it seemed at times, Maryland scored 13 points through 4 quarters, and it took two 50+ yard field goals to even do that. 

I’m not one for whining about officiating normally, but……

How does Maryland go from being one of the LEAST disciplined teams in FBS penalty wise (averaging 10 per game this season & 15 last week) to literally not getting a penalty until the end of the 4th Quarter?

Answer: they probably don’t. 

I could be wrong, but the two Maryland OTs—#74 RT most egregiously, but also the LT—seemed like they were holding on nearly EVERY pass play. Yet, the officials seemed to swallow their whistles. More than once during the broadcast the announcers are exclaiming “I don’t understand it, Michigan just can’t get a pass rush going!”……literally as the slow-mo replay is showing #74 doing his best backpack impression, if not outright tackling one of our edge rushers. 

My morning-after thoughts:

Secondary balled out. I thought Sainristil would be competent but he's blowing me away. Excellent blitzer, good coverage, good tackling.  Gemon Green seems to have gotten better too. Safeties continued their play from late last year

Interior DL played pretty well, edge pressure was questionable. 

LB is a dumpster fire right now, it's the worst position from talent and depth perspective. Need NHG back like right now. And hope he's not rusty

Tackling was also an issue for some guys today, and a lot of close misses on sacking the QB. Not to mention a few egregious uncalled holds on our edge pressure late in the game

Even given all of that - 

Holding Maryland to 6.9 YPA, 1 TD and 2 picks is pretty fantastic. And 3.8 YPC

I think if you asked most of us before the game how we'd feel about those stat lines, we'd feel really good

It seemed the pocket collapsed better vs Maryland than vs. UConn. Okie doesn't have 1st down or run down reps. Iowa will be a good place to fix the rush issues.