As a MSU fan, these are the things that UM needs to look out for the most, as I see it.
(Pat will be in parenthesis and italics)
#1 Passing game.
Can Denard get behind center and pass the ball? I know he is able to, he lit up teams like Massachusetts and Illinois, but can he do that consistently? My concern when watching him pass is that hes no overly tall so slants across the middle could get lost behind the boys in the trenches.
(1. While this is certainly a concern, I think it's also overplayed. Al Borges has been around the block and I'm not too concerned Denard is going to be put into a drop back passing role exclusively. He'll operate out of the shotgun a huge percentage of the time and the offense will utilize a lot of rollouts when he's under center and they want to play action.
The biggest difference from last year's offense to this year's is going to be running power. The line is going to be tasked with drive blocking and a running back is going to follow a full back from the I and try to make four yards. This will happen 8-15 times per game. In my opinion, the success of this play is a much larger concern than the passing game.)
#2 Defense
Obviously, UM will improve their defense, it will be hard to go anywhere but up. But how far up? What kind of overall defensive numbers will you need to put up to gain an extra win? If there isn't some serious and I am talking SERIOUS improvement, Hoke will already be hearing grumblings from the fan base.
(2. Real creative Tbone. 110th. That was Michigan's defensive rank last season. Get that # to 60th or so and it would be a gigantic leap.. I also think it's possible. Injuries, lack of depth, Greg Robinson having no clear idea of what he wanted to do and a general malaise regarding defense all rolled together to create an opponent touchdown train unlike anything I've ever seen before. Watching Michigan's defense last year was like watching the Lions play the Colts on Thanksgiving that one year where the Colts threw a touchdown pass on seemingly every play. It was like 35-0 after one quarter. Imagine watching that every week and Matt Mcgloin and Nathan Scheelhaase are playing Peyton Manning and you keep trying to blink yourself out of the twilight zone but instead you open your eyes to see Greg Robinson rubbing stuffed animals on players faces on the sideline.
This is going to sound crazy...but there's some talent on this defense. Mike Martin is a flat out stud. (who's season was never as productive after he suffered a high ankle sprain on an illegal chop block by the Spartans) Ryan VanBergen is a very solid senior defensive tackle. Troy Woolfolk comes back from missing an entire season and is easily the best player in the secondary. Kenny Demens was good after Robinson finally put him in to replace Obi Ezeh after the MSU game last year. Jordan Kovacs is about as solid as a Jordan Kovacs can be. (he is also a point of consternation for the UM fan base, but IMO he's a good player) Craig Roh is playing defensive end again, after a debacle at linebacker. All those young players who got burned a lot last year are a year older and maybe a little bigger and stronger and more ready for college football.
So yeah, Michigan's defense is clearly the #1 concern for this season. I know they are going to be better, how much better is the big question.)
#3 Depth
How is the depth? This was a serious problem last year on both sides of the ball for UM. Is this freshman class enough to caulk up some of those holes? Id say more than anything the lack of depth on the offense and defense cost UM 2 games.
(3. Depth is improved vastly in the secondary, somewhat at linebacker and is relatively thin up front on both sides of the ball. One or two injuries to the defensive front would certainly be devastating. They could deal with one or two on the offensive line but nothing more. Depth is fine at WR and RB. I don't think depth is that big of an issue, DL is the one big scary place but almost all teams have one position group where their depth is thin.)
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