Discussing Studs on Defense and Question Marks on Offense for Michigan

According to nine different sports writers from the Sports Illustrated network, Michigan is stacked on defense and figuring it out on offense.

Michigan is expected to be very good on defense and has the potential to be pretty explosive on offense, but it's definitely not a given. When nine different Big Ten sports writers from around the Sports Illustrated network put together their all-conference team, that's exactly how it played out.

Michigan was well represented with five defensive players making the cut, but not one offensive Wolverine was recognized as a first teamer. In fact, not one offensive player even received a vote from the writers. That's a testament to how good the rest of the league is, but it's also indicative of what Michigan's offense was last year — mediocre.

Michigan's offense definitely got better as the year went on, so there's plenty of optimism surrounding the unit as Josh Gattis embarks on year No. 2 as the offensive coordinator. Still, there are some major question marks at quarterback and offensive line, which are arguably the most important parts of a college offense. 

Eric Rutter, Justin Roh and myself talked about all of that yesterday after the all-conference team was released in an attempt to find out if any Wolverines were snubbed. We also debated the level of concern surrounding Michigan's offense.