New Year

[Thecycle27]

Next year should be interesting. The offense has the potential to be elite. It starts up front.

The Oline has the potential to return 4 of the 5 starters and they have added really good pieces all ready. It is still in flux but keep an eye on Mills and Brown. The line was fantastic closing out the year.

Not worried about the skills positions but running back depth is thin. Love for them to pluck a Brooks type guy but that was a unique situation. QB is solid with good depth.

The only offense to score 24 points in every game. Offense won’t be the problem.

Like last year it will come down to defense. I like what they have done up front in their 2 years. They don’t get pushed around very much. Even Notre Dame didn’t push they around. Depends on a couple guys returning but I like the what they added.

I like the linebackers but need more speed. We will see.

They clearly have issues on the back end in terms of talent, scheme and coaching.

Their passing defense is a problem. Everyone gets lost linebackers, corners and safeties. They need a significant upgrade in coaching defense in the passing game. It completely eliminates the ability to bring more than 4.

While I appreciate the honestly of the staff saying the players couldn’t execute their game plans and had to simplify. Isn’t that what good coaches do to execute their game plan no matter how complex. I have real doubts English can effectively coach a good passing defense. Run defense is solid no complaints. Brohm has a very detail offense, no problem year in year out.

 

[CardHack]

Given what returns offensively I wonder if Brohm tries to push the tempo more next season; there was a point from the BC game forward where they quickened the tempo a little and it paid dividends. Hopefully we're boosted by the return of a Mills and/or Brown and I really couldn't lay odds on that. We'll miss Gonzalez who has been a stalwart, but it's always good to have a veteran center and Sylvester became a very good pass blocker at OT. If you get Mills AND Brown back you're on house money on the line. Of course...you also want to keep Richard Owens intact. Ditto Chris Barclay who was an RB coach in high demand last offseason.

You made a good point about depth at QB. The experience of Bailey in the Sun Bowl has to boost everyone's confidence and you have Deuce Adams with a year's experience in the system. There is no question the offense was stripped down practically excluding QB designed runs outside of the big run resulting in a fumble in South Bend. Moss is no more or less mobile than Shough, but he doesn't have his injury history. He throws a great ball though. And hopefully to more receivers. Having Lacey back is a huge boost because he shows an element after the catch that we lacked a little when he opted out.

Defensively we are going to have to build around the linebackers. Watts and Clark are as good a playmaking tandem as we've had there in a long time. They were fantastic up in South Bend, and sort of non-existent against Miami but that is as much a byproduct of what Miami did with that zone read/RPO scheme. I swear I thought TJ Quinn participated on Senior Day as a graduate and remain curious if he might go into the Portal as a Grad Transfer. Getting Luben is a big deal; I wonder still about Adonijah Green who was in the bowl whether he is transferring or not. We need Live bodies at DE because without Gillotte we were a pulse late from putting Williams down and still got 6 sacks (same against Stanford). At season's end we were getting sacks and generating INTs that we didn't get at all the first 8 games. The last half of Satt's last season we were among the statistically most disruptive defenses in college football and became that down the stretch this year as well--last season that disruption halted against UK and we lost the last three.

There will be significant personnel additions between now and August and if you want to know why I'll sum it up very simply--what we had banked when Tyler Baron, Wesley Walker and Peny Boone were sent packing post-Spring Practice and Lole' went to OU then Texas afterwards as well. A number of the December portal additions re-entered the Portal post-Spring which has been clearly demonstrated in Brohm's tenure to be a virtual Tryout Camp. His first Spring Practice they practically gutted the offensive line and receiving corps in what was a surprise to many. Guys like Rene Konga and Tramel Logan were added post-Spring. In the aggregate what left in NIL money far exceeded what was brought in--Barron was rumored to have over a half million in NIL and Boone clearly wasn't worth what he was initially rumored to be getting when you consider how Isaac Brown and Duke Watkins materialized. Walker ended up being a big part of Michigan's secondary getting a big pick against Alabama. I'm not advocating that we should have kept Baron and Walker in particular or even Lole' for that matter; I'm saying that what they were replaced by remained productive, and it was cheaper. Sort of a Moneyball approach to defensive personnel, with a replacement of production with volume in the aggregate at a lesser price.

When it comes to the secondary they are going to have to REALLY attack the portal and pump some NIL into it. We have had really good corners manned by transfers going back through Kei'trel Clark coming from Liberty as well as Quincey Riley, Jarvis Brownlee and now Thornton so there is reason to be confident it will happen...but you have to have a lump in your throat when you realize that each of those four very good corners had critical stretches where they were out with injuries. Obviously safety remains a huge need with only Hutchinson returning who has been exploited a little in deep coverage but is a pretty physical tackler.

Placekicking will be interesting since we lose Travelsted.

 

[Thecycle27]

As the portal turns Bailey enters and it appears that was the plan with the other QB coming back. That is good communication by all parties.

I think they will recruit talent in the back end on defense. I thought Mosby (30) a true freshman was really good in the bowl game. I am not sure it matters with this staff or scheme. There is something wrong in how they are coaching the passing game-plan defense. Washington had 2 receivers that you had to be worried about. They couldn’t game plan or execute the game plan. Exact same thing happened against Stanford. They don’t play zone very well as receivers pass through zones get lost. Or when in man to man coverage they play zone. Good example was the crazy play where the QB dodged 5 or six tackles. Both veteran safeties watched the QB dodge tackles instead of seeing the receiver next to them. That is an easy pick if they were scanning their zone because he was the only WR in their zone.

They have to find a way to keep teams in the 20’s. It is painfully obvious Brohm with a good (Top 40) kind of defense is a playoff team. This is where NIL limits them in obtaining game changers. That means they have to have a great teacher of solid defense principles. They just don’t have it in the passing game.

They can’t play fast because that means more possessions for an average defense. He almost has to try to play keep away.