Reports started to surface yesterday that Michigan's DC Wink Martindale was interviewing with the Atlanta Falcons and is also expected to interview with the Colts. This was not a shock to me. Wink came to Michigan to rebuild his brand and in the last two games, he did just that by taking out both Ohio State and Alabama. His defense has been the only thing to stop the Buckeyes in the last 60 days.
It's not a secret of what I thought of Wink's overall performance this season. Last 2 games A+, the rest of the season a D. Michigan had a boat full of talent on defense this year and I thought that defense way under performed (outside of the final 2). I don't know if Wink will be offered by these NFL teams or another, but if he goes, I wish him good riddance!
Let's grab another NFL young guy, who can relate to the roster, scheme the shit out of the defense, and work the recruiting trail. A Jesse Minter or Mike MacDonald type is the goal. Yes, these guys might be in Ann Arbor only a few years, but I will take them everyday over a guy at the end of his career.
- Jeff Daniels sings the "Curse of Bobby Layne" on Kimmel last night.
- Penn State's top 2 RB's are staying in Happy Valley, but their top 2 WR's enter the portal.
5 comments:
It's no secret that Bob and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to Wink. Where we diverge is I think the last 2 games were a little bit of fool's gold. OSU started the game getting the ball on the edges and had success. Then inexplicably Chip Kelly/Ryan Day decided they were going to run into the teeth of the Michigan's D, which was between the tackles. Texas had a lot of success getting the ball wide and making Graham and Grant run sideline to sideline. And Bama didn't have a functional QB. Jalen Milroe sucks! He had limited upside to begin with, but wasn't a fit for Kalen DeBoer's offense!
Promote Lamar Morgan next DC
Think we need to be careful on thinking Wink is problem and better off with someone else. Maybe, but any change has consequences and nothing happens in a vacuum. Would I have loved to have Minter be back this year or maybe the head coach, absolutely! But let's be honest if Harbaugh did not take him he was going to be looked at by every NFL team to run a defense just like McDonald showed with us, then Baltimore, and now he's the Seattle HC. Did Wink have issues coming from a Do Your Job mentality of pros in the NFL to college, yes. He got better as the season went on and dumbed things down to players with less experience...particularly in the secondary and linebacker level.
A few key points to consider:
1.) Rod Moore's injury showed a lot in the beginning part of the season with communication issues. You can't believe the actual play call vs. Texas was one secondary person over 3 receivers! That is a communication issue at the safety level and Sark is great play caller that can take advantage of poor inexperienced communication.
2.) Learning who can produce on the opposite of Will Johnson took awhile too. Will had his own failings as well falling asleep at times due to inactivity and letting passes through. Something he will have to address in the NFL or his career will be short. He's immensely talented but needs to show it on every down.
3.) As season wore on the defense got better and due to bad offense was on the field the majority of time. Which means starters needed rest and inexperience players come in at times. They all grew and their effort against OSU was amazing! Texas was the first one to use it vs OSU since for some odd reason and if not for one inept failure by the Texas safety who was slow to play and then just stops on that screen pass at end of first half that game probably plays out different. Wink, also showed everyone how to beat Indiana in the second half of our game that our offense just could not capitalize on to win.
The other factor, and probably most important to why Wink was hired from the start. Sherrone being a first year head coach always focused on offense before this promotion needed an experienced leader on the defensive side. Having that old coach on defense who's seen it all helped him learn the HC ropes and focus on what he knows best. I understand why he went the Wink route vs. a younger coach still learning ropes as well. Now as Sherrone has grown if Wink decides to leave we can maybe run with a younger coach but realize there will be growing pains and the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Just my two cents. Take it or leave it but everything affects something else on the field.
I think you vastly overestimate Wink's impact on Sherrone's first year as a HC. Wink has NEVER been more than a DC. It sounds good, but its not reality! Wink knows nothing about being a HC. And it wasn't so much that Moore picked Martindale, he didn't have a whole lot of options. You can make all the excuses you want, but there's no way the Michigan D should of looked like it did in beginning of the season with potentially four 1st round draft picks on that D!
Chowman, I didn't say or mean to infer Wink had any HC experience. What I was saying as being a long term DC and a side of the ball Sherrone had zero experience handing. Losing Minter to the NFL (which was probably a forgone conclusion) it made sense for him to go with someone with a wealth of experience in the defensive system Michigan has run very successfully for years. Any coordinator will have growing pains as being a HC is about delegation, vision, and leadership more than calling plays. Yes, we had 3-4 first round picks but what Texas did was pick apart the outsides until the two great DT's got tired then switch to middle. Plus Rod Moore's injury lead to a leadership void on the backside for much a the year. I am not giving Wink a full pass but situationally context, injuries, learning what he's got to work with, and adjustment to college game is important to recognize.
I don't care if you have 10 NFL first round picks being on the field that long with zero offense or worse offense putting you horrible situations with turnovers will hurt any defense. Both sides of the ball need to compliment each other and one of the main reasons we won the National Championship last year! That was nonexistent this year!
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