Tag: Ryan Van Bergen

Countdown to Kickoff: Day 2

2011 Countdown: #10 Ryan Van Bergen

Ryan Van Bergen

Name: Ryan Van Bergen
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 288 lbs.
High school: Whitehall High School in Whitehall, MI
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #53
Last year: I ranked Van Bergen #6 and said he would have 55 tackles and 7.5 sacks.  He had 37 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 1 pass breakup.

I’ll be honest – I didn’t expect Michigan to run quite so much of the 3-3-5 last season.  I thought it would be run only sometimes, and I assumed the Wolverines would blitz out of it.  Eh . . . not so much.  So for much of the season, Van Bergen was one of three rushers who made valiant but futile efforts to get to the quarterback.  Without another down lineman or blitzers to draw attention away from the starting three, Van Bergen and his cohorts were constantly double-teamed and chipped by running backs.  Production across the whole defensive line was down.  Consider that in 2009, the four defensive linemen averaged 48 tackles and 4.9 sacks.  In 2010 those averages dropped to 37.3 tackles and 3.2 sacks for the trio of Van Bergen, Mike Martin, and Greg Banks.  But hey, at least Michigan’s strong safety had 116 tackles.

Van Bergen ought to see an uptick in his production as a senior this season.  Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison has pronounced that Michigan will blitz, and with four defensive linemen already on the field, we should see Michigan’s sack totals leap significantly.  From 2006-2010, Michigan’s sack totals dropped from 43 to 33 to 29 to 22 to 18.  Even if one discounts the 2006 team that had so many stars (LaMarr Woodley, David Harris, Alan Branch, Shawn Crable, etc.), those totals in 2007 and 2008 are still satisfactory.  But 18? Yikes.  Van Bergen should benefit from the change in defensive philosophy.  While he’ll line up on the strong side and face double-teams from a tackle and tight end on run plays, pass plays ought to give him a little more freedom to get a rush than he had last year.  Combined with more pressure from the backside and some blitzing linebackers, I’m going to predict the exact same thing that I did last year.

Prediction: Starting strongside defensve end; 55 tackles, 7.5 sacks

Poll Results: Patrick Omameh got 43% of the votes for the #10 slot, while Van Bergen got 30%

Poll Results: Who will be Michigan’s top draft pick in 2012?

Mike Martin eats Vincent Smith a midget

DT Mike Martin: 79%
C David Molk: 7%
QB Denard Robinson: 2%
WR Junior Hemingway: 2%
TE Kevin Koger/WR Roy Roundtree (tie): 1%
OG Patrick Omameh: 1%
LB Kenny Demens: 0%
CB Troy Woolfolk: 0%
WR Darryl Stonum: 0%
DE Ryan Van Bergen: 0%
Other: 0%

In a landslide victory for exactly whom I expected to win this poll, senior Mike Martin pulled in nearly 4 out of 5 votes.  Martin is a 6’2″, 304 lb. nose tackle with surprising quickness.  He might be undersized for playing nose tackle at the next level, which means he’ll likely have to be drafted by a 4-3 team with a need for a 3-tech defensive tackle.  In fact, Martin should probably be playing 3-tech in college, except Michigan has no other viable options at the nose tackle position.  For his career he has 108 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.

Fifth year senior David Molk took second place comfortably.  Molk is a 6’2″, 286 lb. center who will be entering his fourth season as a starter.  Despite being slightly undersized to be an extremely valuable commodity at the next level, he has consistently been mentioned as the strongest player on the team and was a first team All-Big Ten selection in 2010.  Molk has the quickness, leverage, and intelligence to do well at the college level, but he’ll likely have to add bulk in order to have a chance in the NFL.

Junior quarterback Denard Robinson barely beat out wide receiver Junior Hemingway for the third spot.  Robinson is a 6’0″, 195 lb. quarterback who set the NCAA record last year for the most rushing yards in a season by a QB.  He has struggled as a passer at times and with his lack of height, he could very well have to change positions to play at the next level.  I doubt he will leave early for the NFL when his future position is such a huge question mark.  Last season Robinson threw for 2,570 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 11 touchdowns.  He also had 1.702 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

Hemingway is a 6’1″, 222 lb. fifth year senior wide receiver.  Due to injuries and illness, he has never played a full season of football.  However, last year was his best statistical season when he grabbed 32 passes for 593 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and 4 touchdowns.  Hemingway has demonstrated good hands and leaping ability, and with his strength, he can often outmuscle cornerbacks for the ball.  He has only mediocre speed, though, and his production thus far has been mediocre.

Senior tight end Kevin Koger and redshirt junior wide receiver Roy Roundtree tied for the fifth spot.  Koger is a 6’4″, 258-pounder with excellent athleticism who has been underused for the past few seasons in Rich Rodriguez’s offense.  He has dropped some passes at times, but he has the speed, leaping ability, and size to be a huge mismatch for anyone willing and able to get him the ball.  The new coaching staff will almost certainly use him as a receiver more often than the old one.  In three years as a starter, he has averaged 12 receptions, 170.7 yards, and 1.7 touchdowns per season.

Roundtree stands 6’0″ and only 177 lbs.  Despite a lack of elite size and speed, he set a school record for receiving yards in one game with 246 against Illinois last season.  He also has four career receptions of 74+ yards.  No other player in Michigan history  has more than one reception of over 70 yards.  Still his lack of impressive measurables may cause him not to be a high draft pick, even if he plays out his eligibility and enters the 2013 NFL Draft.

Omameh is a 6’4″, 299 lb. offensive guard.  He has started the last 16 games Michigan has played and projects as the starting right guard in 2011, as well.  He moves well and gets to the second level with regularity, which suits the zone running game perfectly.  He’s also an above average pass blocker.  As just a redshirt junior, however, it would be somewhat of a surprise to see him enter the draft in 2012.  He’s more likely to be a 2013 entrant.

Demens is a 6’1″, 248 lb. middle linebacker who burst onto the scene in 2010.  Despite starting only seven games, he finished the season with 82 tackles and led the Wolverines in tackles per start.  Known as a thumping run stuffer, he needs to work on recognizing pass routes and getting to his pass drops.  He already has the size to play in the NFL and could play middle linebacker in a 4-3 or inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.  He might wait to enter the NFL Draft until 2013, since he has one year of eligibility remaining beyond 2011.

Woolfolk is 6’0″ tall and 191 lbs.  He missed his true senior season in 2010 due to an ankle dislocation, but started all 12 games in 2009, half at safety and half at cornerback.  With a couple exceptions, he played well at safety and improved when he moved back to cornerback for the second half of the year.  He has not proven to be a huge playmaker in his career (61 tackles, 3 pass breakups in three years), but other teams all but completely avoided throwing in his direction when he started at corner opposite current Pittsburgh Steeler Donovan Warren.  Woolfolk ran indoor track during his first few seasons on campus and has blazing makeup speed to go along with good size for the position.  Teams usually don’t spend high draft picks on guys who have zero career interceptions, so turning out big plays this fall will be important if Woolfolk wants a shot at the next level.

Stonum is a 6’2″, 195 lb. wideout whose lack of impressive statistics and keen ability to break the law make him extremely unlikely to be selected in the 2012 NFL Draft.  For one thing, he was suspended for the 2011 season and will take a redshirt, hoping to return in 2012.  For another thing, his best statistical season came in 2010, when he had 49 receptions for 633 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Those aren’t bad numbers, but his performance wasn’t impressive enough to make a team ignore his person issues.  Stonum also brings some potential value as a kick returner, since he returned 39 kickoffs for 1,001 yards (25.7 yards/attempt), including a 94-yard TD against Notre Dame in 2009.

The player with the least amount of votes was defensive end Ryan Van Bergen, a 6’6″, 288 lb. defensive end.  Van Bergen has played both defensive end and defensive tackle in his career, totaling 90 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 6 pass breakups in his career.  This season he’s bigger than he has ever been before, but Van Bergen works hard and has squeezed out just about every ounce of effort he can with his limited physical skills.  Some players make it to the NFL with superior athleticism, and some make it with a combination of athleticism and talent.  Not many make it that far on sheer determination.  Van Bergen could play at the next level as a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, but his chances are slim.

The “Other” category received just one vote, and I’d be interested to know which player that voter had in mind.

Poll Results: Who will lead Michigan in sacks for 2011?

Craig Roh will get a chance to create deja vu on September 3rd

A couple weeks ago, I posed the question, “Who will lead Michigan’s 2011 defense in sacks?”  Here are the results of that poll:

Craig Roh: 49%
Mike Martin: 21%
Jibreel Black (tie): 10%
Ryan Van Bergen (tie): 10%
Jake Ryan: 3%
Cameron Gordon: 1%
William Campbell: 1%
Other: 0%

Junior defensive end Craig Roh won the vote in a landslide victory.  I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.  Obviously, Michigan fans have high hopes for a coaching staff that features three current or former defensive line coaches in head coach Brady Hoke, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, and defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery.  Roh was miscast as a linebacker last season and garnered only 1/2 a sack, which means that backup safety Thomas Gordon had 1.5 more sacks.  Yikes.  Still, Roh ought to be the starter at weakside end, which should create plenty of one-on-one opportunities with offensive tackles.

Senior defensive tackle Mike Martin finished second in the voting, but it surprised me that he only got 21% of the vote.  Martin had 2.5 sacks last season when he was strictly a nose tackle, and Mattison has promised to move Martin around this year – even to outside linebacker at times – to use his athleticism, strength, and quickness in various ways.  Martin will still face plenty of double teams, but if he can avoid the ankle injuries that slowed him last year, he might give Roh a run for his money.

Sophomore defensive end Jibreel Black and fifth year senior defensive end Ryan Van Bergen had exactly the same number of votes.  Black will split time between both defensive end positions, but he had zero sacks among his 7 total tackles as a freshman.  Meanwhile, Van Bergen is the active sack leader with 9 total.  He will face his share of double-teams as well, but he’s relentless and could make a run at the team lead, as well.

Redshirt freshman SAM linebacker Jake Ryan did not play at all last season.  He did have an impressive spring and earned compliments from the coaching staff, but at best, he’s expected to split time with redshirt sophomore Cam Gordon at outside linebacker.

Speaking of Gordon, he just barely beat out junior defensive tackle William Campbell (by one vote) for last place on the list.  Gordon had zero sacks among his 77 total tackles last season, although to be fair, Gordon played half the season at free safety before moving to outside linebacker.  In one-and-a-half seasons at defensive tackle, Campbell – who moved from DT to offensive guard midway through 2010 – had only 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss.  He moved back to defensive line in the spring and at 6’5″, 333 lbs. should be a load for any offensive guard to handle one-on-one.  I do expect Campbell to break out this season, but Ndamukong Suh-like seasons are rare from defensive tackles.  Campbell will more likely end the year with 2 or 3 sacks, and hopefully a couple of his teammates will surpass that total.

Welcome Back, 4-3 Under: The Defensive Line

The 4-3 Under

A couple weeks ago, I put up a post that took a stab at the depth chart for 2011.  In the comments section, I was asked to describe what should be expected from each position.  I’ll try to do that here.

5-TECH DEFENSIVE END
Alignment: 5-technique, which is on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle
Gap responsibility: C gap (between offensive tackle and tight end)
What should he look like? It’s only a matter of semantics, but head coach Brady Hoke and new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison appear to be referring to this position as the 5-technique defensive tackle.  Don’t get caught up in the terminology – the term “5-tech” is more important than whatever comes after it.  This player needs to be able to stand up to double-teams by the tight end and tackle, which will come with some regularity.  He also needs to be able to rush the passer when the tight end releases or when the offense goes to the spread.
Best physical fit: Ryan Van Bergen (6’6″, 283 lbs.)

1-TECH DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Alignment: 1-technique, which is on the strongside shoulder of the center
Gap responsibility: A gap (between center and strongside guard)
What should he look like?  The most important thing for a 1-tech (a.k.a. nose tackle) is that he should be able to stand his ground against double-teams.  Any penetration or pass rush from a nose tackle is gravy, but if he can resist getting blown backwards, the rest of your defense has a chance.  It would be typical to expect a short, fire hydrant-type player to fill this role.  Tall players (such as 6’5″ William Campbell) often struggle with losing leverage.  Mike Martin, the projected starter at nose tackle, is a bit of an anomaly, because he has the strength and technique to be successful at the position, despite being less than 300 lbs.
Best physical fit: Richard Ash (6’3″, 320 lbs.)

3-TECH DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Alignment: 3-technique, which is on the outside shoulder of the weakside guard
Gap responsibility: B gap (between weakside guard and tackle)
What should he look like?  Rather than size, the key at this position is the ability to get penetration.  Whether it’s by brute strength or pure quickness, it doesn’t really matter.  Most running plays go to an offense’s strength, which means the 3-tech is expected to play the B gap while simultaneously squeezing the A gap and trying to prevent cutbacks.  In passing situations, the 3-tech ought to be able to beat a single block (typically the guard) and push the pocket.  Because of the job description, players of various shapes and sizes can play the 3-tech.  Albert Haynesworth was a great 3-tech at 6’6″ and 335 lbs., but so was Warren Sapp at 6’2″ and 300 lbs.
Best physical fits: Mike Martin (6’2″, 299 lbs.) and William Campbell (6’5″, 333 lbs.)

RUSH END
Alignment: 5-technique, which is on the weakside offensive tackle’s outside shoulder
Gap responsibility: C gap (outside offensive tackle and containing outside)
What should he look like?  This is essentially the weakside end position that gets so much attention in recruiting each year.  He’s typically the quicker and lighter of the two defensive ends.  While he should be more of a threat as a pass rusher, he needs to be able to hold his own against single blocking by the offensive tackle.  In certain blitz packages, he might also need to cover the flat zone or a running back out of the backfield.  You can expect this player to be between 6’3″ and 6’5″ and somewhere around 260 lbs.
Best physical fit: Craig Roh (6’5″, 251 lbs.)