11/13/2026 5:00:00 PM | MGoBlue Podcasts
00:00:01 Speaker 1
It was a tough week last week and everyone wasn't really excited about what happened. Coming off of a hard loss is obviously difficult, but sometimes you get punched in the mouth and how you respond is obviously very important. Main focus is just staying together. You know, we all got to unite. At the end of the day, it's our team, so we just got to stay together. The mindset is to compete at the highest level every game. Each and every week, like everyone's coming in here to take your head off, so you got to give us your all. If you're a competitor and a guy that loves football, that's exactly what you want it to be. I'm excited about it, and you're not excited about it. You got to get your pulse checked because this is just an amazing opportunity. I care about these guys too much, but too much about Michigan to not go out there and give it my all.
00:00:48 Jeff Laurence
We're closing in on another Michigan game day.
00:00:50 Jeff Laurence
Now let's get you set for Saturday's matchup with our keys to the game edition of In the Trenches, presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the 2026 Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest.
00:01:04 Jeff Laurence
Now, here's Jon Jansen.
00:01:07 Jon Jansen
Once a year, Michigan makes that West Coast trip.
00:01:11 Jon Jansen
This year, it's to Eugene, Oregon to take on the Ducks.
00:01:16 Jon Jansen
It's Autzen Stadium.
00:01:17 Jon Jansen
It's a place I've never been.
00:01:19 Jon Jansen
I'm chomping at the bit.
00:01:21 Jon Jansen
But the most important part is this Michigan football team has had to sit and stew in this mess for an entire week.
00:01:30 Jon Jansen
Now they get a chance to go and make a statement against a team that still has playoff hopes.
00:01:36 Jon Jansen
I'm excited.
00:01:37 Jon Jansen
We know that this football team is excited.
00:01:39 Jon Jansen
They're ready to get off the plane on Thursday night and attack this football game.
00:01:45 Jon Jansen
We've got our keys coming up in just a moment.
00:01:47 Jon Jansen
But before I get there, do you want to experience Michigan football like never before?
00:01:52 Jon Jansen
Champions Circle gives Wolverine fans exclusive access to once in a lifetime experiences you can't get anywhere else.
00:02:00 Jon Jansen
Get closer to the action and support Michigan student athletes at championscircleuofm.com.
00:02:05 Jon Jansen
That's championscircleuofm.com.
00:02:08 Jon Jansen
Champions Circle is an official partner of Michigan Athletics.
00:02:12 Jeff Laurence
Offense.
00:02:13 Jon Jansen
I'm going to spend a little more time talking about what the keys are for this Michigan offense.
00:02:19 Jon Jansen
And it's really going to be back to basics.
00:02:21 Jon Jansen
We got to break everything down because
00:02:24 Jon Jansen
through nine games, not a lot has worked well.
00:02:26 Jon Jansen
We've tried different quarterbacks, different combinations of offensive linemen.
00:02:30 Jon Jansen
We've had different backs in the backfield.
00:02:32 Jon Jansen
We've got to find something that works.
00:02:35 Jon Jansen
And I don't care if it takes this week, next week, we've only got three more opportunities to be able to get to bowl eligibility and now is the time to do it.
00:02:44 Jon Jansen
So let's talk about the number one key that is the back to basics and is simply, it involves running the football.
00:02:51 Jon Jansen
Number one,
00:02:52 Jon Jansen
offensive line.
00:02:53 Jon Jansen
You've got to fire off the ball with good pad level.
00:02:56 Jon Jansen
You've got to fire off the ball with intention.
00:02:58 Jon Jansen
You've got to fire off the ball with violence.
00:03:00 Jon Jansen
You've got to find a way to move that defensive lineman and get his feet going backwards.
00:03:07 Jon Jansen
Stalemates aren't going to get it done and you certainly shouldn't be ending up in the running back's lap.
00:03:12 Jon Jansen
So you've got to fire off the ball.
00:03:14 Jon Jansen
We need to see some energy.
00:03:15 Jon Jansen
We need to see some violence.
00:03:16 Jon Jansen
We need to see some want to.
00:03:19 Jon Jansen
So fire off the ball and then understand who you have
00:03:22 Jon Jansen
and what the dangers are on any given play.
00:03:25 Jon Jansen
Got to look at the linebackers.
00:03:27 Jon Jansen
Where are the run-throughs?
00:03:28 Jon Jansen
Is there a possibility if I've got a combination block that somebody might run through my gap?
00:03:32 Jon Jansen
And then I've got to think, okay, where are the slanters and loopers?
00:03:35 Jon Jansen
Anticipate some movement.
00:03:37 Jon Jansen
This is a defense up front.
00:03:39 Jon Jansen
They've got some big bodies.
00:03:41 Jon Jansen
They don't want to move them.
00:03:43 Jon Jansen
A lot of times when you get movement,
00:03:45 Jon Jansen
It's because a defensive line is undersized.
00:03:47 Jon Jansen
They're not going to sit there and let you tee off on them.
00:03:50 Jon Jansen
That's not this defensive front.
00:03:52 Jon Jansen
They've got some giants in there as defensive tackles and they've got a lot of talent on the edge.
00:03:58 Jon Jansen
So you may not have to worry about blocking so much movement, but you've got to be able to get some movement.
00:04:05 Jon Jansen
And #2 key is protect the passer.
00:04:08 Jon Jansen
Five sacks last week against Michigan State is unacceptable.
00:04:13 Jon Jansen
You've got to identify the defense and who you have as a unit.
00:04:17 Jon Jansen
All right, there's five of you.
00:04:19 Jon Jansen
got four down and a second level player.
00:04:21 Jon Jansen
You must identify and communicate who that individual is.
00:04:25 Jon Jansen
Got to understand where the running back is.
00:04:26 Jon Jansen
That may tell you where the linebackers are going to be and which one you're going to.
00:04:30 Jon Jansen
What's the formation?
00:04:31 Jon Jansen
Are we in, you know, are we evened up two and two on the outsides?
00:04:34 Jon Jansen
Are we at trips right?
00:04:36 Jon Jansen
You've got to understand the formation so you understand where everybody is and you can identify the right individual.
00:04:42 Jon Jansen
And if there's six men in the protection, if we got that rhino in there, if you got a tight end or a running back involved in it, that means you've got four plus that second level player plus one more.
00:04:54 Jon Jansen
Who's that going to be?
00:04:55 Jon Jansen
It needs to be the most dangerous, but you got to follow your rules of the play.
00:04:58 Jon Jansen
And it must include communication, tackles.
00:05:01 Jon Jansen
You could see everything in passing situations.
00:05:03 Jon Jansen
You're going to be in a two-point stance.
00:05:05 Jon Jansen
If you see anything that is out of the ordinary, you got to relay that information to the center, center talk to the quarterback, signal
00:05:12 Jon Jansen
to the running back if there's any adjustments in the protection.
00:05:15 Jon Jansen
And you also must anticipate movement and twist.
00:05:18 Jon Jansen
Just like in the run game, you've got to anticipate some of that movement.
00:05:22 Jon Jansen
Now, what's that movement going to look like?
00:05:25 Jon Jansen
You may get some movement from some of the edge defenders, guys that hey, they maybe want to come inside, but why would they do that?
00:05:32 Jon Jansen
You've got to anticipate that.
00:05:34 Jon Jansen
Well, if you're on, if you're a tackle, you look out there and say, okay, who is outside of my edge defender?
00:05:40 Jon Jansen
Do I have a linebacker?
00:05:41 Jon Jansen
Is he at depth?
00:05:42 Jon Jansen
That may not influence the edge at all.
00:05:44 Jon Jansen
Does he start to creep up towards the line of scrimmage?
00:05:47 Jon Jansen
Oregon's linebackers have happy feet.
00:05:49 Jon Jansen
They can't stand still.
00:05:51 Jon Jansen
They will telegraph to you when they are coming and most likely where they are going.
00:05:57 Jon Jansen
That will also tell you what is going to happen up front with that defensive front.
00:06:02 Jon Jansen
You also have to identify what
00:06:04 Jon Jansen
What's the where are the feet of my defender?
00:06:07 Jon Jansen
Where is his hand?
00:06:08 Jon Jansen
Is he on the ball?
00:06:09 Jon Jansen
Is he off the ball?
00:06:10 Jon Jansen
Is he normally A3 technique, but this time he's a little bit wider?
00:06:14 Jon Jansen
All of these things will give you ideas and so many more of what is going to happen pre-snap.
00:06:20 Jon Jansen
You've got to be able to anticipate where these guys are moving and what is coming.
00:06:26 Jon Jansen
And in turn,
00:06:28 Jon Jansen
Communicate guards with tackles, tackles with guards, guards with centers.
00:06:31 Jon Jansen
You must have a free flow of conversation.
00:06:34 Jon Jansen
Now it's going to be loud, but you've got to find a way to force that communication so there is no doubt, hey, quarterback knows in a five-man protection, we've got these five.
00:06:46 Jon Jansen
You're solid on these.
00:06:48 Jon Jansen
If you add in a back or if you add in a tight end or both, who are six and who are seven, who is expected to be blocked and then you've got to go out there
00:06:58 Jon Jansen
and perform it.
00:06:59 Jon Jansen
Again, 5 sacks last week is unacceptable.
00:07:03 Jon Jansen
You've got to be able to run the football and you've got to be able to protect the passer.
00:07:06 Jon Jansen
And that leads me to #3.
00:07:07 Jon Jansen
If you do both of those one and two,
00:07:10 Jon Jansen
You're going to increase your odds to protect the football and not turn the ball over.
00:07:15 Jon Jansen
We can't have quarterbacks being rushed.
00:07:17 Jon Jansen
I don't care who is the quarterback, but you can't have them rushed in the pocket.
00:07:21 Jon Jansen
You've got to get them comfortable so they can go through their progressions and they could deliver strikes to those wide receivers and tight ends.
00:07:29 Jon Jansen
Backs, if the football is in your possession, it is your most prized possession.
00:07:34 Jon Jansen
You possess that ball from the start to the finish.
00:07:37 Jon Jansen
You have to end every single play with that ball in your hand.
00:07:41 Jon Jansen
We can't break a run and then all of a sudden the ball is on the ground.
00:07:45 Jon Jansen
Every single yard matters.
00:07:46 Jon Jansen
Every single possession matters and possession of the football is the utmost important.
00:07:52 Jon Jansen
Wide receivers attack the football.
00:07:54 Jon Jansen
50-50 balls.
00:07:54 Jon Jansen
We had those last week.
00:07:56 Jon Jansen
If you go up for a 50-50 ball, either you come down with it or no one comes down with it.
00:08:01 Jon Jansen
And I'm a little bit excited about talking about these offensive keys because we've got to generate some fire.
00:08:07 Jon Jansen
We've got to generate some offense.
00:08:09 Jon Jansen
We've got to generate some content.
00:08:11 Jon Jansen
and it must come in this game on the road against Oregon.
00:08:17 Jeff Laurence
Defense.
00:08:18 Jon Jansen
Number one key on defense is you've got to get after Dylan Raiola.
00:08:23 Jon Jansen
You've got to win one-on-one battles.
00:08:24 Jon Jansen
This is a big, talented offensive line.
00:08:27 Jon Jansen
There's a lot of really good athletes up there.
00:08:29 Jon Jansen
They've got good size, they've got good speed, and they've got long arms.
00:08:33 Jon Jansen
It's a great opportunity.
00:08:35 Jon Jansen
Every single guy up front, if you can win one-on-one battles.
00:08:39 Jon Jansen
John Henry Daly, saw you do that a couple of times last week against Michigan State.
00:08:44 Jon Jansen
We need more of those and we need it on a more consistent basis.
00:08:49 Jon Jansen
It can't just be in the first quarter, then you wait for the 4th.
00:08:51 Jon Jansen
It can't be in the first half and nothing in the second.
00:08:54 Jon Jansen
It needs to be 4 quarters of harassment on Dylan Raiola because he will throw you the football when he's under duress.
00:09:02 Jon Jansen
Blitzes.
00:09:03 Jon Jansen
If you're a linebacker and you're coming on a blitz, it's a bigger quarterback.
00:09:07 Jon Jansen
So what does that mean?
00:09:08 Jon Jansen
It means you have to wrap him up.
00:09:11 Jon Jansen
You can't just try and knock him down, knock him out.
00:09:13 Jon Jansen
You can't just throw him to the ground because
00:09:16 Jon Jansen
He's a bigger dude and he is going to be able to withstand more than you are used to.
00:09:21 Jon Jansen
Follow through and take him all the way to the ground.
00:09:25 Jon Jansen
Number 2, you got to be stout on double teams and linebackers understand that.
00:09:30 Jon Jansen
Fill gaps.
00:09:31 Jon Jansen
Troy Boltz has been amazing this year at doing this.
00:09:35 Jon Jansen
We need more from Nathaniel Staehling, Chase Taylor.
00:09:38 Jon Jansen
Anyone that's in the ball game, you've got to understand where the double teams are, who's getting double team when you recognize that.
00:09:46 Jon Jansen
am I supposed to fit?
00:09:47 Jon Jansen
All those defensive tackles are all doing all the dirty work.
00:09:50 Jon Jansen
And if they're going to do that, you've got to make sure that you're filling every single gap where you're supposed to fill.
00:09:56 Jon Jansen
Fit in there and make sure that there's no exposed gaps.
00:10:00 Jon Jansen
And then #3, turnovers.
00:10:04 Jon Jansen
Gotta have at least two turnovers.
00:10:07 Jon Jansen
Set yourself a goal, whether it's fumbles, interceptions, I don't care how you get it.
00:10:11 Jon Jansen
You've got to create turnovers.
00:10:13 Jon Jansen
And let's be honest,
00:10:15 Jon Jansen
You may have to take, you may have to get a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
00:10:18 Jon Jansen
You may have to get a pick 6.
00:10:20 Jon Jansen
When you get that ball in your hands, do something special with it.
00:10:23 Jon Jansen
Go put points on the board and go out there.
00:10:25 Jon Jansen
If you have to win the game yourself, win the game by yourself.
00:10:28 Jeff Laurence
Special teams.
00:10:30 Jon Jansen
Field position is going to be a huge factor in this game.
00:10:34 Jon Jansen
And we saw Cam Brown.
00:10:36 Jon Jansen
Check one up in the third quarter, right at the one yard line.
00:10:39 Jon Jansen
If you were going to have to win the field position battle, punt and punt coverage.
00:10:46 Jon Jansen
Zeke Berry, coaches talked about him being one of the best in the country, maybe the best he's ever coached.
00:10:51 Jon Jansen
Got to find a way to get down there, force a fair catch.
00:10:54 Jon Jansen
If you're inside, if you know that the punt is going to be inside the 10, soon as you see that fair catch, you've got to circle around back and make sure that ball doesn't bounce into the end zone.
00:11:02 Jon Jansen
Don't ruin a good effort by Cam Brown.
00:11:05 Jon Jansen
Can't do it by himself.
00:11:06 Jon Jansen
Can't always plan on the fact that it's going to check up at the one yard line.
00:11:09 Jon Jansen
You may have to be in position to bat that ball back into the field of play so that you pin them back because field position will be of the utmost importance, kickoff and kickoff return again.
00:11:22 Jon Jansen
It is all about coverage on kickoff return.
00:11:25 Jon Jansen
Get down there.
00:11:27 Jon Jansen
And it may be a non-factor.
00:11:28 Jon Jansen
Kick that ball in the end zone, kick it out of the end zone.
00:11:30 Jon Jansen
But you have to be consistent because you never know when somebody's going to try and make a play for the opponent and for kickoff return.
00:11:36 Jon Jansen
If that ball is landing at the one yard line or right at the goal line, take an opportunity, go make a big play.
00:11:43 Jon Jansen
We need a big play on special teams.
00:11:45 Jon Jansen
That's #2 and I'll get there in a moment.
00:11:46 Jon Jansen
We got to have somebody make a play.
00:11:49 Jon Jansen
And we saw last week
00:11:51 Jon Jansen
for Selesi Moa.
00:11:52 Jon Jansen
It's a really nice return, about 25 yards, but it was negated because of a penalty.
00:11:57 Jon Jansen
Go out there, make a big play on special teams, but you've got to be disciplined because you don't never know when that one play is going to pop and you don't be the one to be the reason that it's negated because you were lazy with your hands.
00:12:09 Jon Jansen
You were lazy with your head placement.
00:12:11 Jon Jansen
You decided that you weren't going to hustle on a given play and all of a sudden one gets blown up that could have been a big play or you're lazy, you get a penalty and one is brought back
00:12:21 Jon Jansen
because you just didn't do your job.
00:12:23 Jon Jansen
You didn't want to work hard enough on any given play.
00:12:28 Jeff Laurence
Now it's time for Jon's locker room speech.
00:12:33 Jon Jansen
I know a lot of people expect me to get really energized in this segment here as I talk about the locker room speech and I may work myself into a bit of a lather, but this one, it really doesn't need to be.
00:12:45 Jon Jansen
Enough has been said, enough has been done, enough questions have been raised.
00:12:50 Jon Jansen
Whether it's the offensive line, you're not firing off the ball.
00:12:53 Jon Jansen
Hey, there is no excuse.
00:12:55 Jon Jansen
You may not know who to block.
00:12:57 Jon Jansen
You may use poor technique, but there is no excuse for a lack of effort.
00:13:02 Jon Jansen
This is the next opportunity.
00:13:03 Jon Jansen
I know you've seen the film.
00:13:05 Jon Jansen
I know you're not happy with it.
00:13:06 Jon Jansen
You got to go out there, put something better on film.
00:13:09 Jon Jansen
Take your destiny, the destiny of this team into your own hands, and when in doubt, fire out
00:13:15 Jon Jansen
out and do it with aggression on defense.
00:13:19 Jon Jansen
Hey, we all know didn't expect Michigan State to be able to run the ball like they did last week.
00:13:24 Jon Jansen
This is an opportunity against a more talented opponent for you to erase what happened.
00:13:30 Jon Jansen
That's not going to go away, but you can erase what happened by going out there and playing extremely well against a group of skilled players, running backs, quarterbacks, wide receivers that are very talented against an offensive line that can be a dominant offensive line.
00:13:44 Jon Jansen
They sometimes
00:13:45 Jon Jansen
pick and choose when they're going to play.
00:13:47 Jon Jansen
You force them to play poorly.
00:13:49 Jon Jansen
You force them to not want to play 60 minutes of football against this Michigan football team.
00:13:55 Jon Jansen
But it all comes down to want to.
00:13:56 Jon Jansen
You've got to want to go out there to Eugene, to Autzen Stadium and get a win.
00:14:01 Jon Jansen
You've got to want to go out there and force a team to quit.
00:14:05 Jon Jansen
You've got to want to go out there and play with violence.
00:14:08 Jon Jansen
It's a decision.
00:14:10 Jon Jansen
It's not comfortable.
00:14:11 Jon Jansen
No one said it was going to be comfortable.
00:14:12 Jon Jansen
It was easy.
00:14:13 Jon Jansen
Anybody would do it.
00:14:14 Jon Jansen
You go out there
00:14:15 Jon Jansen
and you stick your helmet in between numbers.
00:14:18 Jon Jansen
If it's a quarterback, you put it right under his chin strap.
00:14:20 Jon Jansen
It's a receiver, you make a pay for catching the football.
00:14:23 Jon Jansen
And if it's a running back, you make a pay and wish that he had never taken that handoff because you're going to destroy them on every single play.
00:14:32 Jon Jansen
It's an active decision to play football with violence.
00:14:35 Jon Jansen
Go out there, make that decision, and bring home a victory.
00:14:39 Jon Jansen
Go Blue.
[music builds]
00:14:39 Jeff Laurence
Thanks for listening to this edition of In the Trenches with John Jansen, presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the 2026 Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest.
00:14:52 Jeff Laurence
In the Trenches is part of our Michigan Athletics Podcast Network, M Go Blue Podcasts.
00:14:58 Jeff Laurence
The preceding is a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
00:00:48 Jeff Laurence
We're closing in on another Michigan game day.
00:00:50 Jeff Laurence
Now let's get you set for Saturday's matchup with our keys to the game edition of In the Trenches, presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the 2026 Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest.
00:01:04 Jeff Laurence
Now, here's Jon Jansen.
00:01:07 Jon Jansen
Once a year, Michigan makes that West Coast trip.
00:01:11 Jon Jansen
This year, it's to Eugene, Oregon to take on the Ducks.
00:01:16 Jon Jansen
It's Autzen Stadium.
00:01:17 Jon Jansen
It's a place I've never been.
00:01:19 Jon Jansen
I'm chomping at the bit.
00:01:21 Jon Jansen
But the most important part is this Michigan football team has had to sit and stew in this mess for an entire week.
00:01:30 Jon Jansen
Now they get a chance to go and make a statement against a team that still has playoff hopes.
00:01:36 Jon Jansen
I'm excited.
00:01:37 Jon Jansen
We know that this football team is excited.
00:01:39 Jon Jansen
They're ready to get off the plane on Thursday night and attack this football game.
00:01:45 Jon Jansen
We've got our keys coming up in just a moment.
00:01:47 Jon Jansen
But before I get there, do you want to experience Michigan football like never before?
00:01:52 Jon Jansen
Champions Circle gives Wolverine fans exclusive access to once in a lifetime experiences you can't get anywhere else.
00:02:00 Jon Jansen
Get closer to the action and support Michigan student athletes at championscircleuofm.com.
00:02:05 Jon Jansen
That's championscircleuofm.com.
00:02:08 Jon Jansen
Champions Circle is an official partner of Michigan Athletics.
00:02:12 Jeff Laurence
Offense.
00:02:13 Jon Jansen
I'm going to spend a little more time talking about what the keys are for this Michigan offense.
00:02:19 Jon Jansen
And it's really going to be back to basics.
00:02:21 Jon Jansen
We got to break everything down because
00:02:24 Jon Jansen
through nine games, not a lot has worked well.
00:02:26 Jon Jansen
We've tried different quarterbacks, different combinations of offensive linemen.
00:02:30 Jon Jansen
We've had different backs in the backfield.
00:02:32 Jon Jansen
We've got to find something that works.
00:02:35 Jon Jansen
And I don't care if it takes this week, next week, we've only got three more opportunities to be able to get to bowl eligibility and now is the time to do it.
00:02:44 Jon Jansen
So let's talk about the number one key that is the back to basics and is simply, it involves running the football.
00:02:51 Jon Jansen
Number one,
00:02:52 Jon Jansen
offensive line.
00:02:53 Jon Jansen
You've got to fire off the ball with good pad level.
00:02:56 Jon Jansen
You've got to fire off the ball with intention.
00:02:58 Jon Jansen
You've got to fire off the ball with violence.
00:03:00 Jon Jansen
You've got to find a way to move that defensive lineman and get his feet going backwards.
00:03:07 Jon Jansen
Stalemates aren't going to get it done and you certainly shouldn't be ending up in the running back's lap.
00:03:12 Jon Jansen
So you've got to fire off the ball.
00:03:14 Jon Jansen
We need to see some energy.
00:03:15 Jon Jansen
We need to see some violence.
00:03:16 Jon Jansen
We need to see some want to.
00:03:19 Jon Jansen
So fire off the ball and then understand who you have
00:03:22 Jon Jansen
and what the dangers are on any given play.
00:03:25 Jon Jansen
Got to look at the linebackers.
00:03:27 Jon Jansen
Where are the run-throughs?
00:03:28 Jon Jansen
Is there a possibility if I've got a combination block that somebody might run through my gap?
00:03:32 Jon Jansen
And then I've got to think, okay, where are the slanters and loopers?
00:03:35 Jon Jansen
Anticipate some movement.
00:03:37 Jon Jansen
This is a defense up front.
00:03:39 Jon Jansen
They've got some big bodies.
00:03:41 Jon Jansen
They don't want to move them.
00:03:43 Jon Jansen
A lot of times when you get movement,
00:03:45 Jon Jansen
It's because a defensive line is undersized.
00:03:47 Jon Jansen
They're not going to sit there and let you tee off on them.
00:03:50 Jon Jansen
That's not this defensive front.
00:03:52 Jon Jansen
They've got some giants in there as defensive tackles and they've got a lot of talent on the edge.
00:03:58 Jon Jansen
So you may not have to worry about blocking so much movement, but you've got to be able to get some movement.
00:04:05 Jon Jansen
And #2 key is protect the passer.
00:04:08 Jon Jansen
Five sacks last week against Michigan State is unacceptable.
00:04:13 Jon Jansen
You've got to identify the defense and who you have as a unit.
00:04:17 Jon Jansen
All right, there's five of you.
00:04:19 Jon Jansen
got four down and a second level player.
00:04:21 Jon Jansen
You must identify and communicate who that individual is.
00:04:25 Jon Jansen
Got to understand where the running back is.
00:04:26 Jon Jansen
That may tell you where the linebackers are going to be and which one you're going to.
00:04:30 Jon Jansen
What's the formation?
00:04:31 Jon Jansen
Are we in, you know, are we evened up two and two on the outsides?
00:04:34 Jon Jansen
Are we at trips right?
00:04:36 Jon Jansen
You've got to understand the formation so you understand where everybody is and you can identify the right individual.
00:04:42 Jon Jansen
And if there's six men in the protection, if we got that rhino in there, if you got a tight end or a running back involved in it, that means you've got four plus that second level player plus one more.
00:04:54 Jon Jansen
Who's that going to be?
00:04:55 Jon Jansen
It needs to be the most dangerous, but you got to follow your rules of the play.
00:04:58 Jon Jansen
And it must include communication, tackles.
00:05:01 Jon Jansen
You could see everything in passing situations.
00:05:03 Jon Jansen
You're going to be in a two-point stance.
00:05:05 Jon Jansen
If you see anything that is out of the ordinary, you got to relay that information to the center, center talk to the quarterback, signal
00:05:12 Jon Jansen
to the running back if there's any adjustments in the protection.
00:05:15 Jon Jansen
And you also must anticipate movement and twist.
00:05:18 Jon Jansen
Just like in the run game, you've got to anticipate some of that movement.
00:05:22 Jon Jansen
Now, what's that movement going to look like?
00:05:25 Jon Jansen
You may get some movement from some of the edge defenders, guys that hey, they maybe want to come inside, but why would they do that?
00:05:32 Jon Jansen
You've got to anticipate that.
00:05:34 Jon Jansen
Well, if you're on, if you're a tackle, you look out there and say, okay, who is outside of my edge defender?
00:05:40 Jon Jansen
Do I have a linebacker?
00:05:41 Jon Jansen
Is he at depth?
00:05:42 Jon Jansen
That may not influence the edge at all.
00:05:44 Jon Jansen
Does he start to creep up towards the line of scrimmage?
00:05:47 Jon Jansen
Oregon's linebackers have happy feet.
00:05:49 Jon Jansen
They can't stand still.
00:05:51 Jon Jansen
They will telegraph to you when they are coming and most likely where they are going.
00:05:57 Jon Jansen
That will also tell you what is going to happen up front with that defensive front.
00:06:02 Jon Jansen
You also have to identify what
00:06:04 Jon Jansen
What's the where are the feet of my defender?
00:06:07 Jon Jansen
Where is his hand?
00:06:08 Jon Jansen
Is he on the ball?
00:06:09 Jon Jansen
Is he off the ball?
00:06:10 Jon Jansen
Is he normally A3 technique, but this time he's a little bit wider?
00:06:14 Jon Jansen
All of these things will give you ideas and so many more of what is going to happen pre-snap.
00:06:20 Jon Jansen
You've got to be able to anticipate where these guys are moving and what is coming.
00:06:26 Jon Jansen
And in turn,
00:06:28 Jon Jansen
Communicate guards with tackles, tackles with guards, guards with centers.
00:06:31 Jon Jansen
You must have a free flow of conversation.
00:06:34 Jon Jansen
Now it's going to be loud, but you've got to find a way to force that communication so there is no doubt, hey, quarterback knows in a five-man protection, we've got these five.
00:06:46 Jon Jansen
You're solid on these.
00:06:48 Jon Jansen
If you add in a back or if you add in a tight end or both, who are six and who are seven, who is expected to be blocked and then you've got to go out there
00:06:58 Jon Jansen
and perform it.
00:06:59 Jon Jansen
Again, 5 sacks last week is unacceptable.
00:07:03 Jon Jansen
You've got to be able to run the football and you've got to be able to protect the passer.
00:07:06 Jon Jansen
And that leads me to #3.
00:07:07 Jon Jansen
If you do both of those one and two,
00:07:10 Jon Jansen
You're going to increase your odds to protect the football and not turn the ball over.
00:07:15 Jon Jansen
We can't have quarterbacks being rushed.
00:07:17 Jon Jansen
I don't care who is the quarterback, but you can't have them rushed in the pocket.
00:07:21 Jon Jansen
You've got to get them comfortable so they can go through their progressions and they could deliver strikes to those wide receivers and tight ends.
00:07:29 Jon Jansen
Backs, if the football is in your possession, it is your most prized possession.
00:07:34 Jon Jansen
You possess that ball from the start to the finish.
00:07:37 Jon Jansen
You have to end every single play with that ball in your hand.
00:07:41 Jon Jansen
We can't break a run and then all of a sudden the ball is on the ground.
00:07:45 Jon Jansen
Every single yard matters.
00:07:46 Jon Jansen
Every single possession matters and possession of the football is the utmost important.
00:07:52 Jon Jansen
Wide receivers attack the football.
00:07:54 Jon Jansen
50-50 balls.
00:07:54 Jon Jansen
We had those last week.
00:07:56 Jon Jansen
If you go up for a 50-50 ball, either you come down with it or no one comes down with it.
00:08:01 Jon Jansen
And I'm a little bit excited about talking about these offensive keys because we've got to generate some fire.
00:08:07 Jon Jansen
We've got to generate some offense.
00:08:09 Jon Jansen
We've got to generate some content.
00:08:11 Jon Jansen
and it must come in this game on the road against Oregon.
00:08:17 Jeff Laurence
Defense.
00:08:18 Jon Jansen
Number one key on defense is you've got to get after Dylan Raiola.
00:08:23 Jon Jansen
You've got to win one-on-one battles.
00:08:24 Jon Jansen
This is a big, talented offensive line.
00:08:27 Jon Jansen
There's a lot of really good athletes up there.
00:08:29 Jon Jansen
They've got good size, they've got good speed, and they've got long arms.
00:08:33 Jon Jansen
It's a great opportunity.
00:08:35 Jon Jansen
Every single guy up front, if you can win one-on-one battles.
00:08:39 Jon Jansen
John Henry Daly, saw you do that a couple of times last week against Michigan State.
00:08:44 Jon Jansen
We need more of those and we need it on a more consistent basis.
00:08:49 Jon Jansen
It can't just be in the first quarter, then you wait for the 4th.
00:08:51 Jon Jansen
It can't be in the first half and nothing in the second.
00:08:54 Jon Jansen
It needs to be 4 quarters of harassment on Dylan Raiola because he will throw you the football when he's under duress.
00:09:02 Jon Jansen
Blitzes.
00:09:03 Jon Jansen
If you're a linebacker and you're coming on a blitz, it's a bigger quarterback.
00:09:07 Jon Jansen
So what does that mean?
00:09:08 Jon Jansen
It means you have to wrap him up.
00:09:11 Jon Jansen
You can't just try and knock him down, knock him out.
00:09:13 Jon Jansen
You can't just throw him to the ground because
00:09:16 Jon Jansen
He's a bigger dude and he is going to be able to withstand more than you are used to.
00:09:21 Jon Jansen
Follow through and take him all the way to the ground.
00:09:25 Jon Jansen
Number 2, you got to be stout on double teams and linebackers understand that.
00:09:30 Jon Jansen
Fill gaps.
00:09:31 Jon Jansen
Troy Boltz has been amazing this year at doing this.
00:09:35 Jon Jansen
We need more from Nathaniel Staehling, Chase Taylor.
00:09:38 Jon Jansen
Anyone that's in the ball game, you've got to understand where the double teams are, who's getting double team when you recognize that.
00:09:46 Jon Jansen
am I supposed to fit?
00:09:47 Jon Jansen
All those defensive tackles are all doing all the dirty work.
00:09:50 Jon Jansen
And if they're going to do that, you've got to make sure that you're filling every single gap where you're supposed to fill.
00:09:56 Jon Jansen
Fit in there and make sure that there's no exposed gaps.
00:10:00 Jon Jansen
And then #3, turnovers.
00:10:04 Jon Jansen
Gotta have at least two turnovers.
00:10:07 Jon Jansen
Set yourself a goal, whether it's fumbles, interceptions, I don't care how you get it.
00:10:11 Jon Jansen
You've got to create turnovers.
00:10:13 Jon Jansen
And let's be honest,
00:10:15 Jon Jansen
You may have to take, you may have to get a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
00:10:18 Jon Jansen
You may have to get a pick 6.
00:10:20 Jon Jansen
When you get that ball in your hands, do something special with it.
00:10:23 Jon Jansen
Go put points on the board and go out there.
00:10:25 Jon Jansen
If you have to win the game yourself, win the game by yourself.
00:10:28 Jeff Laurence
Special teams.
00:10:30 Jon Jansen
Field position is going to be a huge factor in this game.
00:10:34 Jon Jansen
And we saw Cam Brown.
00:10:36 Jon Jansen
Check one up in the third quarter, right at the one yard line.
00:10:39 Jon Jansen
If you were going to have to win the field position battle, punt and punt coverage.
00:10:46 Jon Jansen
Zeke Berry, coaches talked about him being one of the best in the country, maybe the best he's ever coached.
00:10:51 Jon Jansen
Got to find a way to get down there, force a fair catch.
00:10:54 Jon Jansen
If you're inside, if you know that the punt is going to be inside the 10, soon as you see that fair catch, you've got to circle around back and make sure that ball doesn't bounce into the end zone.
00:11:02 Jon Jansen
Don't ruin a good effort by Cam Brown.
00:11:05 Jon Jansen
Can't do it by himself.
00:11:06 Jon Jansen
Can't always plan on the fact that it's going to check up at the one yard line.
00:11:09 Jon Jansen
You may have to be in position to bat that ball back into the field of play so that you pin them back because field position will be of the utmost importance, kickoff and kickoff return again.
00:11:22 Jon Jansen
It is all about coverage on kickoff return.
00:11:25 Jon Jansen
Get down there.
00:11:27 Jon Jansen
And it may be a non-factor.
00:11:28 Jon Jansen
Kick that ball in the end zone, kick it out of the end zone.
00:11:30 Jon Jansen
But you have to be consistent because you never know when somebody's going to try and make a play for the opponent and for kickoff return.
00:11:36 Jon Jansen
If that ball is landing at the one yard line or right at the goal line, take an opportunity, go make a big play.
00:11:43 Jon Jansen
We need a big play on special teams.
00:11:45 Jon Jansen
That's #2 and I'll get there in a moment.
00:11:46 Jon Jansen
We got to have somebody make a play.
00:11:49 Jon Jansen
And we saw last week
00:11:51 Jon Jansen
for Selesi Moa.
00:11:52 Jon Jansen
It's a really nice return, about 25 yards, but it was negated because of a penalty.
00:11:57 Jon Jansen
Go out there, make a big play on special teams, but you've got to be disciplined because you don't never know when that one play is going to pop and you don't be the one to be the reason that it's negated because you were lazy with your hands.
00:12:09 Jon Jansen
You were lazy with your head placement.
00:12:11 Jon Jansen
You decided that you weren't going to hustle on a given play and all of a sudden one gets blown up that could have been a big play or you're lazy, you get a penalty and one is brought back
00:12:21 Jon Jansen
because you just didn't do your job.
00:12:23 Jon Jansen
You didn't want to work hard enough on any given play.
00:12:28 Jeff Laurence
Now it's time for Jon's locker room speech.
00:12:33 Jon Jansen
I know a lot of people expect me to get really energized in this segment here as I talk about the locker room speech and I may work myself into a bit of a lather, but this one, it really doesn't need to be.
00:12:45 Jon Jansen
Enough has been said, enough has been done, enough questions have been raised.
00:12:50 Jon Jansen
Whether it's the offensive line, you're not firing off the ball.
00:12:53 Jon Jansen
Hey, there is no excuse.
00:12:55 Jon Jansen
You may not know who to block.
00:12:57 Jon Jansen
You may use poor technique, but there is no excuse for a lack of effort.
00:13:02 Jon Jansen
This is the next opportunity.
00:13:03 Jon Jansen
I know you've seen the film.
00:13:05 Jon Jansen
I know you're not happy with it.
00:13:06 Jon Jansen
You got to go out there, put something better on film.
00:13:09 Jon Jansen
Take your destiny, the destiny of this team into your own hands, and when in doubt, fire out
00:13:15 Jon Jansen
out and do it with aggression on defense.
00:13:19 Jon Jansen
Hey, we all know didn't expect Michigan State to be able to run the ball like they did last week.
00:13:24 Jon Jansen
This is an opportunity against a more talented opponent for you to erase what happened.
00:13:30 Jon Jansen
That's not going to go away, but you can erase what happened by going out there and playing extremely well against a group of skilled players, running backs, quarterbacks, wide receivers that are very talented against an offensive line that can be a dominant offensive line.
00:13:44 Jon Jansen
They sometimes
00:13:45 Jon Jansen
pick and choose when they're going to play.
00:13:47 Jon Jansen
You force them to play poorly.
00:13:49 Jon Jansen
You force them to not want to play 60 minutes of football against this Michigan football team.
00:13:55 Jon Jansen
But it all comes down to want to.
00:13:56 Jon Jansen
You've got to want to go out there to Eugene, to Autzen Stadium and get a win.
00:14:01 Jon Jansen
You've got to want to go out there and force a team to quit.
00:14:05 Jon Jansen
You've got to want to go out there and play with violence.
00:14:08 Jon Jansen
It's a decision.
00:14:10 Jon Jansen
It's not comfortable.
00:14:11 Jon Jansen
No one said it was going to be comfortable.
00:14:12 Jon Jansen
It was easy.
00:14:13 Jon Jansen
Anybody would do it.
00:14:14 Jon Jansen
You go out there
00:14:15 Jon Jansen
and you stick your helmet in between numbers.
00:14:18 Jon Jansen
If it's a quarterback, you put it right under his chin strap.
00:14:20 Jon Jansen
It's a receiver, you make a pay for catching the football.
00:14:23 Jon Jansen
And if it's a running back, you make a pay and wish that he had never taken that handoff because you're going to destroy them on every single play.
00:14:32 Jon Jansen
It's an active decision to play football with violence.
00:14:35 Jon Jansen
Go out there, make that decision, and bring home a victory.
00:14:39 Jon Jansen
Go Blue.
[music builds]
00:14:39 Jeff Laurence
Thanks for listening to this edition of In the Trenches with John Jansen, presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the 2026 Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest.
00:14:52 Jeff Laurence
In the Trenches is part of our Michigan Athletics Podcast Network, M Go Blue Podcasts.
00:14:58 Jeff Laurence
The preceding is a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
