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Ann Arbor ― Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was talking about getting back into college sports after 20 years of coaching in the NFL and whether he needed to change his play calling when he took a quick detour and mentioned how much he likes spotters , who think they know how to quantify defensive pressure.

Martindale was amused in a “they don't know what they're talking about” sense, although in his call with reporters on Wednesday he didn't say exactly whose data he saw or heard, and was presumably mocking.

“I kind of enjoyed listening to everyone's comments about how often you apply pressure and so on, because a lot of it is wrong,” Martindale said Wednesday.

Martindale is in his first season as Michigan's defensive coordinator, inheriting a defense that was essentially modeled after him since joining the program from the Baltimore Ravens, where he developed the scheme as the defensive coordinator there. Mike Macdonald, now head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, and Jesse Minter, now defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers, learned from Martindale in Baltimore, and Macdonald installed the defense at Michigan in 2021, and then Minter took over the last two seasons.

The No. 12 Wolverines (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) hope to retain the Little Brown Jug on Saturday when they face Minnesota (2-2, 0-1) in the finale of five straight games at Michigan Stadium , before they finally compete They are embarking on a path in which the importance of a strong defensive game increases even further.

Michigan's defense ranks 55th nationally, averaging 323 yards, 55th in scoring (20.8 points per game) and 11th against the run (76.5), while averaging 246.5 yards gives up passes, which is 101st place. In a 27-24 win over USC last Saturday, the Wolverines had four sacks, one each from tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant and two from edge Josaiah Stewart. Last week, according to Pro Football Focus, Stewart was second nationally with eight quarterbacks and Derrick Moore was sixth with six.

After the win over USC, head coach Sherrone Moore said Martindale got a game ball because of the defensive performance.

“I think we played really well in situational football against SC, which you saw at the end of the half and at the end of the game,” Martindale said. “But people don't understand that there are actually calls in those situations that can get you a sack before halftime, or that you can stop the passing play from going right down the field when you're in it in the fourth quarter. “

“I've been doing this for 40 years and yes, (Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is) a good offensive coordinator. He's got a really good quarterback, and yeah, (USC coach) Lincoln Riley has another good quarterback. I mean, those are just the challenges of college football and they're the challenges of professional football, period. We adapted and played what we thought was best to win the game because at the end of the week we just want to be 1-0. Just like this week, we just want to be 1-0. We won't go too high. We won’t sink too low because the season is a constant challenge and things are constantly going up.”

So back to Martindale, who poked fun at those he said are often wrong when it comes to documenting print; he thinks a lot of it is directed at him. He has said he has leaned toward aggressive play-calling since arriving at Michigan, and while he likes to blitz, it is strategic and should not be confused with reckless or indiscriminate calling.

“It's a narrative that people wanted to create with me personally, and that's fine because it keeps every offense up all night,” Martindale said. “Just because you send a nickel and drop a D-end, that’s still a four-man rush, you know? It's the same simulated rush.

“But all the great people and all the different ones – I don’t know what they are. There you will get all the information that contains all these percentages – they are wrong. Just keep writing, keep believing and keep reading. Keep doing everything you want to do. It's just completely wrong. But that's it. Like I said, it really helps us.”

What he says irks Martindale is the lack of ability to recognize pressure rates and then point out percentages that he says don't make sense and reflect reality.

“The people who count your pressures don’t know the difference between a pressure, a simulated rush or a four-man rush,” Martindale said. “That’s exactly my point of view. It would be like me reading one of your articles and saying you use bad grammar. I'm not very good at English. Do you know what I'm saying? I don't know what the difference is between a good article and a bad article, or a report or a podcast or whatever. It’s the same thing.”

After the win over USC, Michigan's defensive line received a lot of praise, even if those who made the assessment are unable to understand pressure. Martindale couldn’t agree more.

“Everyone talks about (Stewart’s) pass rush, which is well-deserved,” he said. “You should talk about it, but (Moore) also had some great rushes that turned into rushes where he took tackles and threw them to the quarterbacks. “Lap and Mason and (Grant) together, that's the best I can do ever seen play. As long as we come in every Saturday with that mentality, I think there’s a lot of good things to come for these four.”

To the point where anyone can find out.

[email protected]

@chengelis

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Will Johnson talks about his first year under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

Will Johnson talks about his first year under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

Minnesota in Michigan

▶ Start: Saturday noon, Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor

▶ TV/Radio: FOX/104.3/950

▶ Line: Michigan by 11 1/2

▶ Records: Minnesota 2-2, 0-1 Big Ten; No. 12 Michigan 3-1, 1-0 Big Ten

On By John Fenwick

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