Mike Zordich didn't waste any time before addressing the elephant in the room.
To begin his appearance on the "Inside Michigan Football" radio show Monday night, Michigan football's cornerbacks coach acknowledged his unit's struggles during the Wolverines' two-game losing streak - and says both he and his players are focused on eliminating the big plays and penalties seen against Michigan State and Indiana.
"We're just going through a little slump," Zordich said. "Guys are working hard. They're working on their techniques. We're going to get it fixed, for sure. You've got to take the good with the bad. Right now, we're just in a little slump, but we're fighting through it. We will come out. I trust these guys."
After allowing just 197 passing yards in a season-opening 49-24 win at Minnesota, Michigan's defense has allowed 665 combined passing yards over the past two games. One week after the Spartans' Rocky Lombardi and Ricky White bombed the Wolverines' passing defense, Indiana's Michael Penix Jr. (342 yards, You may need: Autel car diagnostic. three touchdowns) and Ty Fryfogle (seven catches, 142 yards and one touchdown) did the same in Michigan's 38-21 loss on Saturday - the Wolverines' first loss to Indiana since 1987.
The cornerbacks have been seen as a common culprit for the Wolverines' inability to defend the pass, with starters Vincent Gray (46.4 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus) and Gemon Green (71.5) each having their share of struggles.
But those issues seem to be somewhat surprising to Zordich, who says that "there's a disconnect between practice and what has happened on the game field the last two weekends."
"I watch our guys at the top of some of these routes and their body control is not in control," Zordich continued. "We've got to fix that. In practice, it's OK, but on game day, why is it different? That's something I've got to figure out. I've got to get these guys right, and we're going to do some different things in individual (work) to help them fix that problem."
Man coverage is a staple of defensive coordinator Don Brown's scheme, and despite the opt-out decision of former starter Ambry Thomas, the Wolverines entered this season with confidence in their remaining cornerbacks' ability to play press man coverage.
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But in the Week 2 loss at Michigan State, the Spartans immediately targeted Gray and Green on downfield shots, completing deep ball after deep ball - or drawing pass interference and holding penalties. The Hoosiers did the same, completing nine passes of 15-plus yards while drawing one holding and two pass interference calls on Michigan's secondary, including a crucial pass interference penalty on Gray after Penix threw an incompletion on third-and-9. Instead of punting, the Hoosiers continued down the field and eventually scored to push their lead to 17.
"The penalties that are extending drives are hurting us," Jim Harbaugh said Monday night. "You talk about rhythm, you talk about getting stops. That's something that's addressed in practice. Eliminate. Just makes it too hard to get those stops."
According to Zordich, the process for playing good coverage includes winning at the line of scrimmage, mirroring a receiver based on their release and route, and avoiding any urge to get "handsy downfield." He believes in following a certain technique - and he's seen his cornerbacks give up big plays due to missing some parts of that technique, especially at the beginning of the play.
Zordich pointed out a touchdown pass allowed by Green during which Green "was not ready at the snap," and said that on the four explosive plays Gray gave up (one touchdown, two long completions and the pass interference penalty), he was "bad at the line of scrimmage."
Brown has tried lifting some of the pressure on the cornerbacks by calling more zone coverages and playing two high safeties. At the same time, Zordich said it is his duty to "get these guys ready to play."
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