Brandon Graham Thinks the 3-3-5 is Partially To Blame For Michigan's Defensive Woes

by Maize n Brew Dave on Nov 4, 2010 8:31 AM CDT

"I’m surprised they didn’t stick with what Coach Robinson was running," Brandon Graham said of the 3-4 the team deployed in 2009, its first year under Robinson.

Ugh. As if you needed further proof that the 3-3-5 scheme came from Rodriguez' office and not from Greg Robinson. Ann Arbor dot Com talked with Graham fairly extensively about the defensive problems this year and Graham had some interesting things to say.

"Let Coach Robinson play his defense," Graham said. "Let him do what he knows. He was thrown off, I would say. I know the 3-3-5 is what he (Rodriguez) has been doing for so long. He’s just got to adjust to the Big Ten."

"You’ve got to have four down linemen. You’ve got to," he said. "Or five. You’ve got to stop them holes, and you got to get to the quarterback. You got to trust the cornerbacks are going to do their job."

You may now proceed to bang your head against the nearest wall.

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Ouch.

That’s damning.
At UCLA the Bruins ran a 3-4 and 4-3 under Bob Field/Greg Robinson.
I don’t think the 3-3-5 is that foreign to a guy who’s been coaching defense since the Carter Administration, but yeah, he probably doesn’t run it full bore like Casteel did at WVU.

Go Blue!

by markusr2007 on Nov 4, 2010 9:26 AM CDT reply actions

yeah...not good at all

Yeah it is…I think even when you discuss lack of personnel, it’s better to have 4 on the line with one that’s not great as opposed to just putting your best 3 out there. The idea has also been tossed around that the scheme protects the defensive backs, but a strong pass rush and allowing them to cover for 4 seconds instead of 8 would help them out even more.

by Canzior on Nov 4, 2010 10:42 AM CDT reply actions