Rich Rodriguez must focus on defense

Ann Arbor

Rich Rodriguez tries to stay calm, and tries mightily to stay positive. But the unrest temporarily quelled by Michigan's 4-0 start stirs anew, and some of the concerns aren't going away.

The Wolverines are fading again in familiar areas, especially on defense, and how Rodriguez handles this adversity -- concurrent with an ongoing NCAA investigation -- will determine whether he can make a lasting impact here.

Deep into his second season, he sometimes still appears uncomfortable, and his team still shows startling stretches of softness, mentally and physically. I fully understand a lot can be tied to the Wolverines' youth, and Big Ten contention was unrealistic. But Rodriguez needs to show some progress the rest of this season just to dim the noise.

Michigan's horrific collapse in a 38-13 loss at Illinois dropped it to 5-4 and suddenly made this week's home game against Purdue extra large, with bowl eligibility at stake. Think about this: If U-M doesn't beat Purdue, and doesn't win either of its last two toughies, at Wisconsin or home against Ohio State, it would finish 1-7 in the Big Ten, dead last.

Already, they're 3-10 in Big Ten play under Rodriguez, 8-13 overall. School president Mary Sue Coleman rightly won't overreact to anything, and this isn't an issue of Rodriguez's job security (barring major NCAA violations). It's ridiculous to fully judge him before his third season, but it's hard to ignore troubling signs.

It should be fixable with more time and more recruits. The offense can work, as the early, giddy success of freshman quarterback Tate Forcier showed.

Where's the defense?

But the biggest disappointment in Rodriguez's program so far is the defense. He changed coordinators after last season, firing Scott Shafer and hiring Greg Robinson. He has shuffled the lineup, inserting walk-ons at linebacker (Kevin Leach) and safety (Jordan Kovacs).

The defensive talent is disturbingly thin after end Brandon Graham and cornerback Donovan Warren. We can debate if Lloyd Carr's regime left little on the shelves, but that wouldn't explain everything. It doesn't explain the embarrassing lay-down against Illinois, which rolled up 406 yards in the second half. It doesn't explain why Rodriguez has focused so much attention on offense --his specialty, of course --with so many holes on defense.

Of Michigan's 19 recruiting commitments this year, only seven are defensive players. Last year's 22-recruit class featured nine on defense.

"We've got some players, but we've got a lot of guys that need to be developed as well," Rodriguez said. "Sometimes I think we're almost over-conscientious, and (the players) worry and get tight and don't let it loose. I said this when we were winning games and I'll say it now --we're not good enough to play poorly and win. We're not at that point experience-wise and talent-wise."

I'm not sure Rodriguez completely understood the scope of the job when first hired. Asked Monday if he thought he'd win quickly, he gave a terse response: "Not after I got here."

Offense isn't everything

He realized right away some players didn't fit and some weren't good enough, and then some left. In a radical transition, that's fairly common. But turning it around isn't as simple as installing a fancy offense. Defense is the bedrock in the Big Ten and Rodriguez needs to respect it and address it, or his struggles will continue.

Look around college football. The spread-offense mania hasn't died, but teams are winning with defense, from Alabama to Florida to Texas to Iowa to TCU. Outside of Cincinnati's rise under Brian Kelly, how many top-10 teams are built mostly around offense? For all Tim Tebow's acclaim, Florida's defense snaps opponents in half.

Forcier carried Michigan early but now is playing on a (sore) wing and a prayer. He tries to do too much, and turnovers have become an alarming staple.

The Wolverines seem devoid of confidence and poise, which can happen with young players. But Rodriguez must show he can stand the heat and not get overwhelmed by frustration. We certainly know he's not timid about railing against players and assistant coaches on the sideline. Hey, nobody yelled more than Bo Schembechler, but Rodriguez's fiery obsession with offensive precision cannot overshadow the need for defensive passion.

"I tell the coaches, you've got to coach to your personality," he said. "I don't think our kids play tight because we coach. Progress is being made --how fast and to what degree, I wish it was faster."

Everyone knew it would be a tricky fit for Rodriguez at Michigan, and little has changed that perception. The best way to convince people he can handle the strife is to show his players how to handle it, and actually scrap to the end of the season, before all is lost.

bob.wojnowski@detnews.com">bob.wojnowski@detnews.com