When Ron Turner was coach I called in to one of the radio shows he was on and complained about how predictable the offense was in the most recent game. I complained that the other team seemed to know exactly what we were doing and as a result, they took it to us. Coach Turner said, "We should be able to tell the defense every play we're going to run in advance, and still beat them in execution." That must have been in 2000, because the next year we did starting winning the execution, (with a senior laden team), and we went 10-2 and won the B1G outright. That was a great year to be a fan.
Anyway, I think Lovie is 100% in agreement with Turner; have to win those individual battles so we can win in execution. He certainly believes in his scheme, too, but if individuals aren't winning their battles, the opponent is winning on execution. It's pretty obvious that's what is happening this year (be it by missing reads, using poor technique or just getting beat). And I agree with the posters who say that the physical disparity between 19 y/o's and 22 y/o's has a huge impact on winning the individual battles, especially in the 4th quarter. Add our young players' lower position on the learning curve they have from less experience, and three wins sounds about right.
Finally, if there was a corrosive element in the locker room, it's no wonder we couldn't put it together and finally click. Nothing worse than being undermined from the inside. Hopefully everyone else is 100% bought in and ready to start putting it together.