The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/813087
MAY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 5 FROM OUR READERS WATCH OUT FOR YOUNG QB Dear The Wolverine: Last year we wrote in and predicted that Brandon Peters would be start- ing by midyear. That didn't happen. However, we continued to hear that he was performing well in practice. With Wilton Speight proving to be more than capable, they decided to redshirt him. It was the right thing to do, obviously. Now it's 2017, and we're predicting that Brandon Peters will be the Michi- gan quarterback, sometime during the regular season and beyond. Ap- parently, he oozes talent. If we keep predicting this move, sooner or later we're going to be right! Staying with football, I have to agree with John Borton. Michigan will win its first six games, at least. Some people keep talking about the starters we've lost. Our reply — look at Ohio State. They lost a ton of starters (the Buckeyes were the youngest team in Division I), and they made it to the College Football Playoff. We'll do fine — it's the culture. Changing subjects, Kim Barnes Arico and the women's basketball team has a nice group, and the future is pretty bright. However, to get to the next level, they need that power- ful force in the paint. The men's team could use one, too, for that matter. They do have a five-star recruit in 6-1 Hailey Brown. She's the 38th- ranked player in the country. Maybe she'll provide a presence in the paint. Tom Reynders Sebring, Fla. We still think Speight will be tough to displace at quarterback, Tom, especially with a year of Big Ten experience. But we're with you on reloading, and the need for quality big players on the court, regardless of gender. • I guess I think back to what Don Brown could do at previous schools without the talent he has here. So if he would have had last year's defense (the players) for one more year in his system, to where they were just instinctively moving and not re- acting, they would have been leaps better because of it being year two. So now you have guys that are young, but with less experience, and some may be more physically gifted, but some less gifted. I think the fact that it's year two in this scheme, terminology and prac- tice, etc., I DON'T think it's unrealistic to think that they will be able to perform at a VERY high level. Maybe where they lack in abilities due to being young and inex- perienced, they may make up for SOME at knowing where to be, when and not hav- ing to react, like maybe last year's seniors may have done at times. So I think there will be a drop-off, but it won't be some big amount. spanther • I would consider the defense better even if we aren't ranked number one if we don't let MSU march up and down the field against us, we don't give up 30 points to OSU and we don't give up 33 points in our bowl. I know what the statistics say for last year, but in my opinion you can't be an elite defense giving up 63 points in your last two games. Edit — I believe turnovers also factored into those 63 points. Fritzie • You're kidding yourself if you think our defense was any- thing other than outstanding in the Ohio State game. Come on now. And even for the MSU and FSU games, you're talking about them as though they are separate entities from our overall defensive numbers, which included finishing the season tied with Alabama for No. 1 nationally in total de- fense. They're not. And the reason I'm making this point is that if we have a defense that finishes something like sixth nationally in 2017, it will also involve a few games in which the defense looks shaky relative to other dominant performances. wolverineluke • I think this is the delusions of grandeur phase. In my opinion, there are three things you look for in a team (defense) — talent, experience and maturity. Last year, we had all three. Now we have talent but are in short supply of the last two. Our starting defensive line is among the best. Will we be able to find four more we can rotate in and out to keep them from getting worn down by the fourth quarter, when games are won and lost? At linebacker, we have some experience and talent here, but again we will be play- ing some very young players. They are fast, but will they be running to the right spots? With the exception of Tyree Kinnel, our secondary will be extremely young and will we have to play more zone to help the secondary with reads? If they play a lot of man-to-man, will the corners be able to hold up? I expect this defense is going to have some serious grow- ing pains. GABLUE1 • My single biggest concern about this defense compared to last year's is depth. Last year, I feel that U-M was relatively fortunate keeping key players healthy. Yes, the quarterback was banged up, but overall it was a good year. Which as we all know typically does not always repeat it- self. I like our D-line, but not say if [Maurice] Hurst, [Rashan] Gary or [Brian] Mone misses the year. I like our lineback- ers, but not if [Mike] McCray gets hurt. Don't even get me started on cornerbacks. You get the point. I think this defense could be faster than last year, more athletic in the back. Freshmen who are not even on campus are (unfortunately) going to have to play and play above their age if this defense is to be great. I think it takes a fairly sizable step back. Toomer33 From Our Website Don Brown's first Michigan defense led the nation in total defense (261.8 yards per game), passing yards allowed (142.5) and third-down conversions (21 percent). PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN