So I have to work today from 10-7. I am going to miss basically every college football game. Thank god for DVR. Goin to make this short and sweet. I will have a full on recap tomorrow after the game to make up for the lack of game preview.
OFFENSE: I like the bye week. Good things are going to happen. More reps for the offensive line, more reps for the throws, more time to add a wrinkle or two. Expect MSU to have a balanced offense that uses quick pass plays to gash the Wildcat defense for big gains. This has the feeling of a day for Sims and Fowler.
DEFENSE: The MSU defense has to stop multiple quarterbacks that play two different offensive style with Colter using his legs and his arms and Siemian is more of a pocket passer. With those two quarterbacks is Venric Mark a speedy back that gets the corner and gets the ball upfield. This will hopefully be a case where their speed is used against them and fumbles occur on contact. The MSU defense will need those turnovers to slow and put doubt into this offense.
PREDICTION: Who doesn't like to go bowling? I fully expect MSU to come out fired up, and score some points early. For about half of a game we will see how good this offense can be and that will be enough to win it. 31-21 MSU. Time to go to work.
Showing posts with label michigan state football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michigan state football. Show all posts
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
The State of State
Right now, I cannot even pretend to have anything to be happy about for the Spartans. OK...OK, I can be happy about the defense. We have the best defense in the B1G. We hold the Michigan offense without a touchdown, and lose though. This makes me very sad. So where are our Spartans right now?
Well, to cover the obvious stuff, MSU is 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the conference. Winning out would put MSU at 8-4 and 5-3 in the conference. After the first half of the season ended, I projected this is where we would end up.
Right now, the offense is playing like a team that's uneven. At times our running game looks good, at time our passing game looks good, at times our blocking looks good. Rarely do they all synch up together. I will contribute a lot of this to the injured offensive line. The lack of continuity has made it hard to develop a pattern and trust in the trenches. I has been great at developing younger players though. So look out 2013! The line play dictates a lot of what you can do in the run game, Bell has managed a solid season with some highlight reel plays. He seems to get three yards every time he touches the ball. The problem is, he has not been gashing defenses for HUGE chunks of yards. This could be a product of being used too much. After injuring his knee against UM, Bell called to come out, he did not, got the ball for the next carry, and promptly stumbled after the handoff. We need Caper to get the ball sometimes. Lastly for offense, once the receivers starting dropping the ball nothing good could happen. Now that they are catching the ball and making athletic plays doing it, we might finally see some points scored.
A lot has been said about the defense and their inability to close out games. But when you hold teams to 12, 19, 16, you need to win those games. I don't care if you gave up one last drive at the end, you stopped plenty more before that. The worst thing I can see from this is that defense gives up its edge. MSU can rely on it's defense for only so long. I cannot find a lot of words for our defense, they have done a great job all year. A few more turnovers would be nice, but I will take so few touchdowns allowed.
Right now, MSU has a huge game looming against Wisconsin. This is the game where blocking, running and passing need to link up and show some muscle. After that we have Nebraska at home (which I will be at). Go 2-0 over these games and get to the bye (off?) week. To me, MSU is still a bowl team, it would be a real shame to not make one. So that is where MSU is right now, a lot of unbalanced performances from the offense, solid play from the defense, and a deflated blogger.
Well, to cover the obvious stuff, MSU is 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the conference. Winning out would put MSU at 8-4 and 5-3 in the conference. After the first half of the season ended, I projected this is where we would end up.
Right now, the offense is playing like a team that's uneven. At times our running game looks good, at time our passing game looks good, at times our blocking looks good. Rarely do they all synch up together. I will contribute a lot of this to the injured offensive line. The lack of continuity has made it hard to develop a pattern and trust in the trenches. I has been great at developing younger players though. So look out 2013! The line play dictates a lot of what you can do in the run game, Bell has managed a solid season with some highlight reel plays. He seems to get three yards every time he touches the ball. The problem is, he has not been gashing defenses for HUGE chunks of yards. This could be a product of being used too much. After injuring his knee against UM, Bell called to come out, he did not, got the ball for the next carry, and promptly stumbled after the handoff. We need Caper to get the ball sometimes. Lastly for offense, once the receivers starting dropping the ball nothing good could happen. Now that they are catching the ball and making athletic plays doing it, we might finally see some points scored.
A lot has been said about the defense and their inability to close out games. But when you hold teams to 12, 19, 16, you need to win those games. I don't care if you gave up one last drive at the end, you stopped plenty more before that. The worst thing I can see from this is that defense gives up its edge. MSU can rely on it's defense for only so long. I cannot find a lot of words for our defense, they have done a great job all year. A few more turnovers would be nice, but I will take so few touchdowns allowed.
Right now, MSU has a huge game looming against Wisconsin. This is the game where blocking, running and passing need to link up and show some muscle. After that we have Nebraska at home (which I will be at). Go 2-0 over these games and get to the bye (off?) week. To me, MSU is still a bowl team, it would be a real shame to not make one. So that is where MSU is right now, a lot of unbalanced performances from the offense, solid play from the defense, and a deflated blogger.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Mustache Wars
 |
| Glorious be thy stache |
Yes, I went there. Michigan is the favorite to make the Rose Bowl.
The remaining schedule:
Illinois
MSU
@Nebraska
@Minnesota
Northwestern
Iowa
@OSU
Things could go south if they lose in two weeks to the Spartans and of course there is a lot of football left to be played but at 3-2 Michigan looks like a team destined for no worse than 8-4 and the team that is in the driver's seat to make the B1G championship game from the Legends division where they will face off against either Purdue or Wisconsin. That sounds like a pretty nice opportunity to me.
Elsewhere in College Football
I saw the highlights of the Penn State - Northwestern game. Seems like a great comeback win for the Nittany Lions. Page me in 8 years when they are relevant again. Still looks like a 7-5ish team to me.
I LOL'd to the Spartans score at halftime but figured they would pull it out. Got to see bits and pieces of the 2nd half and it looked extremely encouraging for MSU. Having only watched the 2nd half and seeing how completely dominant the Spartans were I'm guessing the first half was an exercise in frustration for Tbone. I've been telling anyone who will listen how much I loved Aaron Burbridge as a prospect and whatdoyaknow he gets the start and is already MSU's best receiver. +1 for pjh's recruiting obsession paying dividends in knowing thangs.
Quick rundown of the Big Ten
1. OSU - Anyone else feel sick to their stomach after seeing all the love the Buckeyes are getting on espn.com? They deserve the #1 ranking here but they simply are not exceedingly better than everyone else. They easily could have lost to the Spartans.
2. Michigan - IMO the clear favorites to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl.
3. MSU - They haven't really looked impressive for any extended stretch this season but who are you putting above them?
4. Nebraska - Clearly flawed on defense and not dominant enough on offense to overcome it.
5. PSU - Moving up my rankings because they keep winning but I think they'd lose to all four teams above them on this list.
6. Wisconsin - They have issues but they are still your Leaders division favorites.
7. Northwestern - That defense is pitiful. They are scary on offense and will beat some good teams this season.
8. Purdue - The hype comes before the massive letdown for Danny Hope and co.
9. Iowa - They lost to a bad Central Michigan team two weeks ago...
10. Minnesota - Got beaten soundly by a bad Iowa team.
11. Indiana - Offense is one of the best in the Big Ten but defense is probably the league's worst single unit.
12. Illinois - HaLOL
Thursday, September 20, 2012
In Defense of the Big Ten
The national media is having a field day slamming the B1G, with a lot of pundits claiming this is the worst they have ever seen the conference. Let's take a closer look with a team by team breakdown and the losses the league has suffered and what we can really learn about the conference from those games.
Michigan
It all started with my beloved Wolverines getting taken to the woodshed by Alabama. Michigan was overrated as the #8 team in the country and hyped up heading into the showdown in Dallas. This game proved that Michigan is not on the elite level with Alabama, though there are few teams that can stack up to the Crimson Tide. Who can compete with them? Maybe LSU, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon...anyone else? Alabama has since obliterated an Arkansas team that was a preseason top 5 pick by many, the same Arkansas team that lost the previous week to UL Monroe. Who would you pick in a matchup between the Razorbacks and the Wolverines?
Wisconsin
Wisconsin has been a huge dissapointment to begin the season, but before Russell Wilson was Wisconsin ever a dominant non conference team? I seem to remember them neeed a missed FG to beat Cal Poly a few years ago and some near misses versus Fresno State and UNLV as well. They lost to an underrated Oregon State team and nearly lost to Utah State. Everyone jumped on Wisconsin for the near loss against Utah State but this Utah St team will finish the year with no less than 9 wins and has already defeated a team from the media darling Pac 12 in Utah.
The Badgers certainly have issues offensively but I still believe they are the favorites in the Leaders division and probably the favorites to make the Rose Bowl.
Nebraska
The Corn Huskers lost on the road to a vastly improved UCLA team. This same UCLA team was even in the Pac 12 championship game last year. It's not easy winning on the road across the country against a fired up foe playing inspired for a new coach. Nebraska is just about what they were last season, a flawed team but a top 20 team nonetheless.
OSU
They struggled at home with a mediocre CAL squad but they did in fact pull out the victory. Urban Meyer has a 3-0 record for the Buckeyes and this is legitimately a top 10 team.
MSU
The loss to Notre Dame was ugly, but there needs to be some credit awarded for defeating Boise State. MSU lost big to ND last season and ended the year defeating SEC darling Georgia in a bowl game. Don't write off the Spartans.
Northwestern
The only team in the country to have three victories over teams from major conferences defeating a Big East team, an ACC team and an SEC team. Their win over Vanderbilt got no love from the media even though everyone was lauding Vanderbilt as a team that would give the top teir SEC teams fits throughout the season.
Iowa
They lost to Iowa State. Don't they lose to Iowa State 2 out of every 3 seasons anyway? What's so different about this year?
Illinois
Their complete annihilation at the hands of of Arizona State was a bad loss but they were also playing without their starting QB and have a new coaching staff playing in their first road test of the season across the country. They are also Illinois, did anyone expect them to be good?
Purdue
2-1 with a close call in a FG loss to a very solid Notre Dame team. This team seems like a fringe top 25 team to me.
Minnesota
They are a lot better than last year at least!
Indiana
Ha Indiana
PSU
Admittedly a tire fire but there's not much they can do about that these days.
For all the national media claiming the Big Ten is the worst they've ever seen it, I think it is a pretty typical year for the league with the exception that Michigan played one of the country's best teams in a nationally teleivised game to start the year and got embrarrassed. Beyond that the Big Ten clearly has no elite teams that can win a national title but they have a lot of solid teams that are going to battle and whoever comes out of the scrum will be a worthy Rose Bowl representative.
Michigan
It all started with my beloved Wolverines getting taken to the woodshed by Alabama. Michigan was overrated as the #8 team in the country and hyped up heading into the showdown in Dallas. This game proved that Michigan is not on the elite level with Alabama, though there are few teams that can stack up to the Crimson Tide. Who can compete with them? Maybe LSU, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon...anyone else? Alabama has since obliterated an Arkansas team that was a preseason top 5 pick by many, the same Arkansas team that lost the previous week to UL Monroe. Who would you pick in a matchup between the Razorbacks and the Wolverines?
Wisconsin
Wisconsin has been a huge dissapointment to begin the season, but before Russell Wilson was Wisconsin ever a dominant non conference team? I seem to remember them neeed a missed FG to beat Cal Poly a few years ago and some near misses versus Fresno State and UNLV as well. They lost to an underrated Oregon State team and nearly lost to Utah State. Everyone jumped on Wisconsin for the near loss against Utah State but this Utah St team will finish the year with no less than 9 wins and has already defeated a team from the media darling Pac 12 in Utah.
The Badgers certainly have issues offensively but I still believe they are the favorites in the Leaders division and probably the favorites to make the Rose Bowl.
Nebraska
The Corn Huskers lost on the road to a vastly improved UCLA team. This same UCLA team was even in the Pac 12 championship game last year. It's not easy winning on the road across the country against a fired up foe playing inspired for a new coach. Nebraska is just about what they were last season, a flawed team but a top 20 team nonetheless.
OSU
They struggled at home with a mediocre CAL squad but they did in fact pull out the victory. Urban Meyer has a 3-0 record for the Buckeyes and this is legitimately a top 10 team.
MSU
The loss to Notre Dame was ugly, but there needs to be some credit awarded for defeating Boise State. MSU lost big to ND last season and ended the year defeating SEC darling Georgia in a bowl game. Don't write off the Spartans.
Northwestern
The only team in the country to have three victories over teams from major conferences defeating a Big East team, an ACC team and an SEC team. Their win over Vanderbilt got no love from the media even though everyone was lauding Vanderbilt as a team that would give the top teir SEC teams fits throughout the season.
Iowa
They lost to Iowa State. Don't they lose to Iowa State 2 out of every 3 seasons anyway? What's so different about this year?
Illinois
Their complete annihilation at the hands of of Arizona State was a bad loss but they were also playing without their starting QB and have a new coaching staff playing in their first road test of the season across the country. They are also Illinois, did anyone expect them to be good?
Purdue
2-1 with a close call in a FG loss to a very solid Notre Dame team. This team seems like a fringe top 25 team to me.
Minnesota
They are a lot better than last year at least!
Indiana
Ha Indiana
PSU
Admittedly a tire fire but there's not much they can do about that these days.
For all the national media claiming the Big Ten is the worst they've ever seen it, I think it is a pretty typical year for the league with the exception that Michigan played one of the country's best teams in a nationally teleivised game to start the year and got embrarrassed. Beyond that the Big Ten clearly has no elite teams that can win a national title but they have a lot of solid teams that are going to battle and whoever comes out of the scrum will be a worthy Rose Bowl representative.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Recap and Quick Hits: Week 3
Well that was far and away from a win. Had it been played later it would have been a Sunday bloody Sunday. Rudy is still a douche bag.
-I watched the majority of OSU with the sound off. Braxton Miller is no doubt a stud. He made some Cal defenders look foolish. But man is that OSU defense underwhelming.
-Penn State put a whooping on Navy. Good for them, this was was pretty much necessary. I am not one of those people that wants PSU to tank every game - that's how I feel about Notre Dame. Robinson was making a lot of plays and looks like a legit threat for PSU. If they have anyone else on offense something good could start happening.
-Michigan ended the game against Umass about 10 minutes into it. Funchess with a touchdown and then Denard with a touchdown and then again and again and again. Michigan made this game look easy, for exactly that reason. It was easy. Umass is new to FBS and they will have a few growing pains.
-Lastly, MSU played a real snore fest against ND. The final score was 20-3 but it felt like even less than that happened. MSU played a good game defensively. The touchdown in the first quarter to Goodman was a complete mismatch.* (that was not pass interference either, shit call by the refs). Notre Dame managed only 300 total yards 122 rushing and 178 passing. This is a highly skilled offensive team. They are very dynamic with Wood in the back field and Golson's ability to run added a wrinkle that MSU did not seem prepared for. The Spartan interior line has no push which created a lot of passing and running lanes for the Irish offense. Along with that, the Spartan offensive line has no push which created a lot of rushed passes and tackles for loss. Both of these are issues need to be fixed immediately. Along with that, the wide receivers looked terrible again. Dropped passes plaged the receivers all game long. I have to assume that Arnett might be getting more burn going forward. Lippett dropped the ball and at times looked outmatched. Fowler dropped a touchdown pass on a leaping play; Larry Caper had a dropped screen pass as well. I will say that Mumphrey looked good, he was the only player on offense making any plays. Sims also had a quietly effective game. If anything, this game created a lot more question marks. A lot of MSU bloggers are mentioning how this happened last year and the team was able to win 11 games. This is a much different team. The talent different on offense is really showing. Currently MSU is ranked 13th in total defense, at 250 yards per game that is also tops in the B1G. But no matter how good your defense is, you need to score points. After this game, I am not sure what to expect on offense.
-I watched the majority of OSU with the sound off. Braxton Miller is no doubt a stud. He made some Cal defenders look foolish. But man is that OSU defense underwhelming.
-Penn State put a whooping on Navy. Good for them, this was was pretty much necessary. I am not one of those people that wants PSU to tank every game - that's how I feel about Notre Dame. Robinson was making a lot of plays and looks like a legit threat for PSU. If they have anyone else on offense something good could start happening.
-Michigan ended the game against Umass about 10 minutes into it. Funchess with a touchdown and then Denard with a touchdown and then again and again and again. Michigan made this game look easy, for exactly that reason. It was easy. Umass is new to FBS and they will have a few growing pains.
-Lastly, MSU played a real snore fest against ND. The final score was 20-3 but it felt like even less than that happened. MSU played a good game defensively. The touchdown in the first quarter to Goodman was a complete mismatch.* (that was not pass interference either, shit call by the refs). Notre Dame managed only 300 total yards 122 rushing and 178 passing. This is a highly skilled offensive team. They are very dynamic with Wood in the back field and Golson's ability to run added a wrinkle that MSU did not seem prepared for. The Spartan interior line has no push which created a lot of passing and running lanes for the Irish offense. Along with that, the Spartan offensive line has no push which created a lot of rushed passes and tackles for loss. Both of these are issues need to be fixed immediately. Along with that, the wide receivers looked terrible again. Dropped passes plaged the receivers all game long. I have to assume that Arnett might be getting more burn going forward. Lippett dropped the ball and at times looked outmatched. Fowler dropped a touchdown pass on a leaping play; Larry Caper had a dropped screen pass as well. I will say that Mumphrey looked good, he was the only player on offense making any plays. Sims also had a quietly effective game. If anything, this game created a lot more question marks. A lot of MSU bloggers are mentioning how this happened last year and the team was able to win 11 games. This is a much different team. The talent different on offense is really showing. Currently MSU is ranked 13th in total defense, at 250 yards per game that is also tops in the B1G. But no matter how good your defense is, you need to score points. After this game, I am not sure what to expect on offense.
(Until next year)
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Irish Eyes
So everyone has heard the news by now. Notre Dame is going to the ACC in who knows when...They do currently have a contract with the Big East that has a $5 million buy out along with a 27 month notification time frame. I am sure that lawyers will get involved with that.
A fellow MSU blog mentioned the ND switch in this post and conclude by saying that we are to not say that Notre Dame is irrelevant. I would disagree with that. This move does not make them anymore relevant. Notre Dame is known for their football team, which will not be a part of the ACC (along with the hockey team). The football team will start scheduling 5 games against ACC teams per reports. This of course should stop or create large gaps of time between those classic UM/ND and MSU/ND games, along with potentially USC. That is the real tragedy and is also the reason why their football team is no more relevant. The ACC is home to Miami, Florida State, and Virginia Tech, but right now, is trading games against Michigan, USC and even MSU for those teams a win for Notre Dame? I do not think so.
Their basketball team is probably shitting their pants right now though.
For further reading on this read here (ESPN) and here (Dr. Saturday)
A fellow MSU blog mentioned the ND switch in this post and conclude by saying that we are to not say that Notre Dame is irrelevant. I would disagree with that. This move does not make them anymore relevant. Notre Dame is known for their football team, which will not be a part of the ACC (along with the hockey team). The football team will start scheduling 5 games against ACC teams per reports. This of course should stop or create large gaps of time between those classic UM/ND and MSU/ND games, along with potentially USC. That is the real tragedy and is also the reason why their football team is no more relevant. The ACC is home to Miami, Florida State, and Virginia Tech, but right now, is trading games against Michigan, USC and even MSU for those teams a win for Notre Dame? I do not think so.
Their basketball team is probably shitting their pants right now though.
For further reading on this read here (ESPN) and here (Dr. Saturday)
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Recap and Quick Hits Week 2
A day late on this one, I went to the Tigers Sox game in Chicago on Monday. The game stunk but the people watching was spectacular. I did not watch as much football as I did in the first week but I did manage to catch a few.
-OSU still did not really impress me, but Braxton continues to dominate. The defense looks like it wants to give up big plays at least once a game coupled with that is that no other player on offense is playing at near the level as Braxton. Pat sent me an interesting email. If OSU beats MSU this year, do they go undefeated?
-How about them Beavers? How about Wisconsin? They are really showing how different they are at QB with O'Brien vs. Wilson. Wilson's athleticism really opened up lanes for both Ball and and the Wisconsin receivers. Plus now they have let go of their offensive line coach.
-I saw a bits and pieces of the UCLA v. Nebraska game. If I were to root for a team that was not MSU, it would be UCLA. the Nebraska defense did not look from what I could see. Why did I see so little of this game? Well I was at Musky Fest and had a few barley pops.
-The Michigan game I did manage to watch quite a bit of. I have to admit I found myself cheering for Freedom. I mean, who can't cheer for Freedom? So what do I think about UM? Well their defense looks really porous. Both, lines, offensive and defensive are not playing as good as they did last year. Funchess looks pretty legit. Those runs from Robinson would have been useful against Alabama. In hindsight, this was a trap game, but I think UM should have put this game to bed by the third quarter. And allowing over 400 yards of offense to Air Force has to be alarming. I imagine their next game should serve as a big lift, especially when you look at what Indiana managed against UMass
-MSU played a pretty weak MAC team. Though CMU did show some sings of life. Their line, both defensive and offensive, played pretty well. The CMU left? tackle looks like he could be an NFLer. At the same time, MSU should not have let their lines look good. Maxwell finished with no turnovers and spread the ball all over the field. Bell had 17 carries and two touchdowns. There is not a lot to say about this game other than it was needed before the game against Notre Dame. Big confidence booster. Especially for the wide receivers.. Fowler finished with 99 yards, Sims had a rumbling touch down and Arnett looks like he belongs while only having one catch.
Overall, as the previous post mentions, the B1G does not look good right now. A win against ND for the Spartans will help with the national media. So will some dominating performances in the other games.
-OSU still did not really impress me, but Braxton continues to dominate. The defense looks like it wants to give up big plays at least once a game coupled with that is that no other player on offense is playing at near the level as Braxton. Pat sent me an interesting email. If OSU beats MSU this year, do they go undefeated?
-How about them Beavers? How about Wisconsin? They are really showing how different they are at QB with O'Brien vs. Wilson. Wilson's athleticism really opened up lanes for both Ball and and the Wisconsin receivers. Plus now they have let go of their offensive line coach.
-I saw a bits and pieces of the UCLA v. Nebraska game. If I were to root for a team that was not MSU, it would be UCLA. the Nebraska defense did not look from what I could see. Why did I see so little of this game? Well I was at Musky Fest and had a few barley pops.
-The Michigan game I did manage to watch quite a bit of. I have to admit I found myself cheering for Freedom. I mean, who can't cheer for Freedom? So what do I think about UM? Well their defense looks really porous. Both, lines, offensive and defensive are not playing as good as they did last year. Funchess looks pretty legit. Those runs from Robinson would have been useful against Alabama. In hindsight, this was a trap game, but I think UM should have put this game to bed by the third quarter. And allowing over 400 yards of offense to Air Force has to be alarming. I imagine their next game should serve as a big lift, especially when you look at what Indiana managed against UMass
-MSU played a pretty weak MAC team. Though CMU did show some sings of life. Their line, both defensive and offensive, played pretty well. The CMU left? tackle looks like he could be an NFLer. At the same time, MSU should not have let their lines look good. Maxwell finished with no turnovers and spread the ball all over the field. Bell had 17 carries and two touchdowns. There is not a lot to say about this game other than it was needed before the game against Notre Dame. Big confidence booster. Especially for the wide receivers.. Fowler finished with 99 yards, Sims had a rumbling touch down and Arnett looks like he belongs while only having one catch.
Overall, as the previous post mentions, the B1G does not look good right now. A win against ND for the Spartans will help with the national media. So will some dominating performances in the other games.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Few Legends, Lacking Leaders
Some games occurred while I was away...
Michigan was outclassed and eviscerated by the Crimson Tide, there is no other way to put it. Alabama is once again a national title contender and the Wolverines simply have not reached that level yet. The game raised massive concerns along both the offensive line and the defensive front seven. Still, shortcomings easily show against the best in the country, Michigan won't be playing another team on Alabama's level the rest of the season which allows for optimism.
I said all summer that I disliked scheduling Air Force the week after Alabama in Dallas. Michigan had a long trip home and a shorter week of preparation than normal for a triple option offense. Once again, there are tons of issues that need to be straightened out and corrected. Michigan simply is not a dominant team up front at this point. Against Air Force, Denard Robinson showed that Michigan does have the most dominant player in the Big Ten. He was simply ridiculous, setting an all-time college football record with his third game with both 200 yards passing and running while accounting for more total offense than Michigan's team total. As long as Denard is healthy, Michigan has a chance in it's remaining ten games.
And Michigan will have a chance in those games because woo-eee the B1G is bad this season. Wisconsin is not a top 20 team and no team looks like it's capable of competing on the national stage. The Big Ten remains wide open.
Let's look at some takeaways from the first two weeks for the Wolverines.
After an awfully disappointing first two weeks for the B1G, let's rank the league where things stand as of now:
Every Two Weekly B1G Rankings
1. Michigan State
The Spartans may have the most impressive league victory (home over rebuilding Boise St in an underwhelming performance...this league is bad) After a surgical demolition of CMU, the Spartans clearly have the league's best single unit as their defense. Maxwell, the offensive line and the receivers all need to continue their improvement if this team wants to make the Rose bowl.
2. Ohio State
An imperfect team both offensively and defensively, the Buckeyes are still probably the league's most talented squad. Braxton Miller might end the season as the B1G PTOY, so much for NCAA sanctions taking OSU down a peg.
3. Northwestern
Wait, what? This may look like a joke, but a victory over a good Vanderbilt team is arguably the Big Ten's best non-conference victory. Northwestern looked very susceptible through the air in their first game but really stepped up in week two.
4. Michigan
Michigan is only 1-1 but I'm not sure anyone would argue for another team in this spot. Michigan has issues to resolve but also once again has the most dynamic playmaker in the league running the show. Michigan has played clearly the league's best schedule to this point.
5. Nebraska
The first B1G team to play in the Rose Bowl this year, Nebraska is a talented team that will compete for the Legends crown. Losing to a mediocre UCLA team looks worse on paper than it really is as UCLA played inspired yesterday and does have a high level of talent.
6. Wisconsin
The league's best offense in 2011 is grounded without Russell Wilson. Danny O'brien and a new offensive coordinator have Wisconsin struggling to move the football.
7. Purdue
They had a chance late against Notre Dame and have one of the better defensive fronts in the league. The QB rotation seems to be working out OK for them but I think they will be better off naming one guy the starter.
8. Iowa
Who knows about this team. I thought they would be really bad defensively and very good offensively and then they lose 9-6 to Iowa State. Doesn't Iowa do this every season during the nonconference year? I have a feeling they will make noise in the Legends division as a spoiler.
9. Illinois
The Illini got crushed on the road against Arizona State, but they were playing without their starting QB against a team they were very poorly matched. I put Illinois here because I don't think it's unfathomable to see this team in Indianapolis (Illinois will be battling my 6th and 7th ranked teams due to OSU being ineligible)
10. Minnesota
2-0! Is this too low for the Gophers? Winning at UNLV is a solid victory for Minnesota. I might be keeping Minny down because of last season's record but they will soon have a chance to move up this list.
11. Indiana
The Hoosiers beat UMASS to get to 2-0 and get their first victory of the Kevin Wilson era over an FBS foe. Tre Roberson is out for the year with a broken leg though, poor Hoosiers.
12. Penn State
I know they have lost two heartbreaking games but this team is 0-2 with nowhere to go but down. They may end the season getting some victories but Nittany Lion fans have nothing but despair to look forward to for the next half decade.
The B1G is clearly outclassed by the SEC, the PAC-10 and likely the Big 12 and ACC as well this season. This may be a season of irrelevance for the Midwest.
Michigan was outclassed and eviscerated by the Crimson Tide, there is no other way to put it. Alabama is once again a national title contender and the Wolverines simply have not reached that level yet. The game raised massive concerns along both the offensive line and the defensive front seven. Still, shortcomings easily show against the best in the country, Michigan won't be playing another team on Alabama's level the rest of the season which allows for optimism.
I said all summer that I disliked scheduling Air Force the week after Alabama in Dallas. Michigan had a long trip home and a shorter week of preparation than normal for a triple option offense. Once again, there are tons of issues that need to be straightened out and corrected. Michigan simply is not a dominant team up front at this point. Against Air Force, Denard Robinson showed that Michigan does have the most dominant player in the Big Ten. He was simply ridiculous, setting an all-time college football record with his third game with both 200 yards passing and running while accounting for more total offense than Michigan's team total. As long as Denard is healthy, Michigan has a chance in it's remaining ten games.
And Michigan will have a chance in those games because woo-eee the B1G is bad this season. Wisconsin is not a top 20 team and no team looks like it's capable of competing on the national stage. The Big Ten remains wide open.
Let's look at some takeaways from the first two weeks for the Wolverines.
- Issues up front. For whatever reason, Michigan's experienced offensive line is struggling to start out the season. Will we see true freshman Kyle Kalis in the lineup at guard soon?
- The two best players on Michigan's defense? Jordan Kovacs and Jake Ryan.
- Defensive tackle is going to be an issue all season, how Michigan progresses here may determine how far this team can go in the B1G this season.
- Devin Funchess is going to be a star. He is too slim to be a reliable blocker as a true freshman but he showcased his playmaking ability against Air Force by high-pointing a TD pass for Michigan's second TD.
- Devin Gardner may just be Michigan's go-to receiver throughout the season. As a convert to the position he still has a lot of room for growth.
- Dennis Norfleet is going to be exciting to watch the next few seasons.
- I had Michigan's linebackers vastly overrated entering the season (both Demens and Morgan have been replaced often by true freshman James Ross and Joe Bolden)
After an awfully disappointing first two weeks for the B1G, let's rank the league where things stand as of now:
Every Two Weekly B1G Rankings
1. Michigan State
The Spartans may have the most impressive league victory (home over rebuilding Boise St in an underwhelming performance...this league is bad) After a surgical demolition of CMU, the Spartans clearly have the league's best single unit as their defense. Maxwell, the offensive line and the receivers all need to continue their improvement if this team wants to make the Rose bowl.
2. Ohio State
An imperfect team both offensively and defensively, the Buckeyes are still probably the league's most talented squad. Braxton Miller might end the season as the B1G PTOY, so much for NCAA sanctions taking OSU down a peg.
3. Northwestern
Wait, what? This may look like a joke, but a victory over a good Vanderbilt team is arguably the Big Ten's best non-conference victory. Northwestern looked very susceptible through the air in their first game but really stepped up in week two.
4. Michigan
Michigan is only 1-1 but I'm not sure anyone would argue for another team in this spot. Michigan has issues to resolve but also once again has the most dynamic playmaker in the league running the show. Michigan has played clearly the league's best schedule to this point.
5. Nebraska
The first B1G team to play in the Rose Bowl this year, Nebraska is a talented team that will compete for the Legends crown. Losing to a mediocre UCLA team looks worse on paper than it really is as UCLA played inspired yesterday and does have a high level of talent.
6. Wisconsin
The league's best offense in 2011 is grounded without Russell Wilson. Danny O'brien and a new offensive coordinator have Wisconsin struggling to move the football.
7. Purdue
They had a chance late against Notre Dame and have one of the better defensive fronts in the league. The QB rotation seems to be working out OK for them but I think they will be better off naming one guy the starter.
8. Iowa
Who knows about this team. I thought they would be really bad defensively and very good offensively and then they lose 9-6 to Iowa State. Doesn't Iowa do this every season during the nonconference year? I have a feeling they will make noise in the Legends division as a spoiler.
9. Illinois
The Illini got crushed on the road against Arizona State, but they were playing without their starting QB against a team they were very poorly matched. I put Illinois here because I don't think it's unfathomable to see this team in Indianapolis (Illinois will be battling my 6th and 7th ranked teams due to OSU being ineligible)
10. Minnesota
2-0! Is this too low for the Gophers? Winning at UNLV is a solid victory for Minnesota. I might be keeping Minny down because of last season's record but they will soon have a chance to move up this list.
11. Indiana
The Hoosiers beat UMASS to get to 2-0 and get their first victory of the Kevin Wilson era over an FBS foe. Tre Roberson is out for the year with a broken leg though, poor Hoosiers.
12. Penn State
I know they have lost two heartbreaking games but this team is 0-2 with nowhere to go but down. They may end the season getting some victories but Nittany Lion fans have nothing but despair to look forward to for the next half decade.
The B1G is clearly outclassed by the SEC, the PAC-10 and likely the Big 12 and ACC as well this season. This may be a season of irrelevance for the Midwest.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Offensive Line
UM Offensive Line
(The Michigan portion is written by Pat and posted by tbone)
All-American or panic. It may sound like hyperbole but this description is perfect for Michigan's offensive line in 2012. Michigan's pair of starting tackles is likely to be the best in the conference. Taylor Lewan looks more and more like an All-American in what is now his third season starting at left tackle, one of the most important positions on the football field. Michael Schofield has received praise as the better of the two in run blocking. Schofield is big and cameo'd at both guard and tackle last season due to injury. He did quite well as a too-tall guard and is better suited for tackle. These two studs literally have no viable backups. (No offense meant to former walk-on Eric Gunderson or true freshman Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson and Ben Braden)
On the inside Michigan will turn to senior Ricky Barnum to take over for David Molk at center. Barnum was a starting guard last season but battle injury issues throughout the year. When he did play he was effective and is a very big body. He has received high praise throughout the spring and fall. His backup is Jack Miller, a young player who came in needing to put on weight. He would be more in the Molk mold of a mobile center but would be a big dropoff from Barnum.
Right guard is firm with Patrick Omameh. Patrick is one of those players who has seemed to have been around forever. He was great in the zone schemes diagrammed by Rodriguez in 2010 as a sophomore and suffered through some transition issues last season while starting every game. I expect his second season under Hoke and Borges, with some added weight, will see Omameh reach a high level of production.
Left guard is the only position on the offensive line that still has an ongoing battle. Senior Elliot Mealer, former walk-on Joey Burzinski, redshirt freshman Christian Bryant and true freshman uber recruit Kyle Kalis are doing battle there. Playing a true freshman is always scary but I expect Kalis to be the starter by the time B1G play rolls around and I am actually excited about that possibility as he's not your typical freshman OL recruit.
Mealer, Burzinski, Chris Bryant and Jack Miller will provide depth along the interior of the line (unless one of them earns the starting OG spot over Kalis, maybe Mealer or Burzinski).
So this unit is easy to forecast. They are elite and have terrible depth. If Michigan can make it through the season without an injury to an OT I think they will be in line for some serious postseason awards on the Oline and likely have the best offensive line in the B1G. If one of their tackles goes down...players will be shifted all over the place and things could end up in disaster
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MSU
If the UM offensive line is All-American or bust, than the MSU line is All B1G or bust. I am not sure what I am getting there other than this line should be good. As good as UM's. ESPN B1G blog has the MSU offensive line as the third ranked OL unit (UM was second), saying "this could be the best offensive line Mark Dantonio has had in East Lansing." and "Chris McDonald is one of the league's top guards."
McDonald is the most experienced returner as a 5th year senior and three year starter. He is on Outland Trophy watch list and ranked as both a preseaon all B1G team member but also one of the best guards in the country. ESPN has also ranked him as the fourth best overall lineman in the B1G. There are not a lot of juicy stats for offensive lineman, but McDonald did lead the team in knockdowns and in snaps played. That might be the most telling stat. Chris is good and is durable.
At the other guard spot, left guard, is named starter Blake Treadwell. Currently Blake has a stress fracture in his tibia. Unfortunetly the tibia is a weight bearing. I hope this is not something that lingers all season. I imagine when you weigh 300 pounds, that hurts. Last year, Blake started three games at center, before receiving a medical redshirt for a knee injury. The left guard position was going to be an on going position battle between Blake and Jack Allen. Though Blake should return within 2 months. Jack Allen is a name that almost always pops up evertime you read a Spring report on MSU football. Jack was a redshirt last year and this spring has been receivng reps at both left guard and center. Now is the time for Jack to show what he can do. Offensive Coordinator Dan Roushar believes that MSU has "something special" in Jack. Allen was ranked the 7th best center in the country out of high school. Along with that he was a successful high school wrestler, winning hte class 3a state championshio in his weight class and racking up over 140 career wins. Jack has the athleticism, we are all ready to see it. Between our guards is the steay hand of Travis Jackson. As a redshirt freshman last year, Travis started 10 games for the Spartans. Yahoo, ESPN and BTN all named Travis to their B1G all freshman team and some sources had him on their freshman All-American team. Jackson should fine himself on some first team All-B1G lists after this year, anything less than that would be a disappointment for him. Backing up our guards and centers are Ethan Ruhland at left guard. Ethan is a fifth year senior who started in the win over Minnesota last year but received action in 12 games. Ethan is more than a serviceable backup and is a great guy to have should anyone get injured. With Allen sliding over he should be hacking up Jackson at center. Backing up McDonald is John Deyo another 5th year senior with loads of game experience. Deyo saw action in all the games last year. This kind of experience is what you need in an offensive line. Especially a grind it out team like the Spartans claim to be.
On the outside the Spartans have Dan France at left tackle who will be entering his second year as a starter. Last year France started 13 games at left tackle and recorded 29 knock downs. With a right handed quarterback having a player who is receiving All-B1G team praise is what you need to protect your quarterback. Dan is listed at 6-6 and creates headaches for opposing ends with his size. At the other tackle spot is Fou Fonoti. Last year Fou seemed to get better as the year went on. He really had great games against Wisconsin and the offense seems to like to run behind him. This will be Fou's second season as a starter and has received pre-season All-B1G accolades. Fou finished last year starting 11 games and playing 659 snaps. What is more impressive about that is that he did not allow a sack. Fou is exceptionally athletic for a guy his size and has no problem getting to the next level to help stretch run plays. Fou should be on a few All-B1G lists as the season ends. No sacks allowed? Come on. Backing these guys up are Skyler Burkland at left tackle. Skyler was a starter last year before an ankle injury sindlined him for the rest of the season. Skyler should push for a starting spot or at least a lot of playing time. He is a talented kid with massive frame at 6-7 317 pounds. I would have full faith is Skyler were starting right now, even with his limited playing time. Henry Conway is the backup at right tackle. Conway is least experienced of the entire offensive line having appeared in only three games last year, Conway red shirted his freshman year and missed the next season due to an injury.
Other players worth mentioning would be Nate Klatt who plays both center and right right guard. He will be backing up both positions and could be the #2 guard behind McDonald. There is also Donavan Clark who is a true freshman and a big recruit out of high school. There is also Connor Kruse who has been limited so far with a knee injury.
Overall this is a deep unit, about as deep as an offensive line can be. There are four starters returning and six players that have started at some point in their career. That is solid. It may be a cliche but is is true, football is won in the trenches and this is as talented and game tested of a unit as Mark Dantonio has ever had.
EDGE: Interesting one here. While UM might have the best single overall player, I think MSU has the better overall unit. These are two talented offensive lines. I will add that I would not want the UM line for the MSU offense and I do not think Pat would want the MSU line for the UM offense. Along with that, the MSU line is intact from last year while UM will have a new face up front. Based on that, I will say PUSH.
(The Michigan portion is written by Pat and posted by tbone)
All-American or panic. It may sound like hyperbole but this description is perfect for Michigan's offensive line in 2012. Michigan's pair of starting tackles is likely to be the best in the conference. Taylor Lewan looks more and more like an All-American in what is now his third season starting at left tackle, one of the most important positions on the football field. Michael Schofield has received praise as the better of the two in run blocking. Schofield is big and cameo'd at both guard and tackle last season due to injury. He did quite well as a too-tall guard and is better suited for tackle. These two studs literally have no viable backups. (No offense meant to former walk-on Eric Gunderson or true freshman Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson and Ben Braden)
On the inside Michigan will turn to senior Ricky Barnum to take over for David Molk at center. Barnum was a starting guard last season but battle injury issues throughout the year. When he did play he was effective and is a very big body. He has received high praise throughout the spring and fall. His backup is Jack Miller, a young player who came in needing to put on weight. He would be more in the Molk mold of a mobile center but would be a big dropoff from Barnum.
Right guard is firm with Patrick Omameh. Patrick is one of those players who has seemed to have been around forever. He was great in the zone schemes diagrammed by Rodriguez in 2010 as a sophomore and suffered through some transition issues last season while starting every game. I expect his second season under Hoke and Borges, with some added weight, will see Omameh reach a high level of production.
Left guard is the only position on the offensive line that still has an ongoing battle. Senior Elliot Mealer, former walk-on Joey Burzinski, redshirt freshman Christian Bryant and true freshman uber recruit Kyle Kalis are doing battle there. Playing a true freshman is always scary but I expect Kalis to be the starter by the time B1G play rolls around and I am actually excited about that possibility as he's not your typical freshman OL recruit.
Mealer, Burzinski, Chris Bryant and Jack Miller will provide depth along the interior of the line (unless one of them earns the starting OG spot over Kalis, maybe Mealer or Burzinski).
So this unit is easy to forecast. They are elite and have terrible depth. If Michigan can make it through the season without an injury to an OT I think they will be in line for some serious postseason awards on the Oline and likely have the best offensive line in the B1G. If one of their tackles goes down...players will be shifted all over the place and things could end up in disaster
-----
MSU
If the UM offensive line is All-American or bust, than the MSU line is All B1G or bust. I am not sure what I am getting there other than this line should be good. As good as UM's. ESPN B1G blog has the MSU offensive line as the third ranked OL unit (UM was second), saying "this could be the best offensive line Mark Dantonio has had in East Lansing." and "Chris McDonald is one of the league's top guards."
McDonald is the most experienced returner as a 5th year senior and three year starter. He is on Outland Trophy watch list and ranked as both a preseaon all B1G team member but also one of the best guards in the country. ESPN has also ranked him as the fourth best overall lineman in the B1G. There are not a lot of juicy stats for offensive lineman, but McDonald did lead the team in knockdowns and in snaps played. That might be the most telling stat. Chris is good and is durable.
At the other guard spot, left guard, is named starter Blake Treadwell. Currently Blake has a stress fracture in his tibia. Unfortunetly the tibia is a weight bearing. I hope this is not something that lingers all season. I imagine when you weigh 300 pounds, that hurts. Last year, Blake started three games at center, before receiving a medical redshirt for a knee injury. The left guard position was going to be an on going position battle between Blake and Jack Allen. Though Blake should return within 2 months. Jack Allen is a name that almost always pops up evertime you read a Spring report on MSU football. Jack was a redshirt last year and this spring has been receivng reps at both left guard and center. Now is the time for Jack to show what he can do. Offensive Coordinator Dan Roushar believes that MSU has "something special" in Jack. Allen was ranked the 7th best center in the country out of high school. Along with that he was a successful high school wrestler, winning hte class 3a state championshio in his weight class and racking up over 140 career wins. Jack has the athleticism, we are all ready to see it. Between our guards is the steay hand of Travis Jackson. As a redshirt freshman last year, Travis started 10 games for the Spartans. Yahoo, ESPN and BTN all named Travis to their B1G all freshman team and some sources had him on their freshman All-American team. Jackson should fine himself on some first team All-B1G lists after this year, anything less than that would be a disappointment for him. Backing up our guards and centers are Ethan Ruhland at left guard. Ethan is a fifth year senior who started in the win over Minnesota last year but received action in 12 games. Ethan is more than a serviceable backup and is a great guy to have should anyone get injured. With Allen sliding over he should be hacking up Jackson at center. Backing up McDonald is John Deyo another 5th year senior with loads of game experience. Deyo saw action in all the games last year. This kind of experience is what you need in an offensive line. Especially a grind it out team like the Spartans claim to be.
On the outside the Spartans have Dan France at left tackle who will be entering his second year as a starter. Last year France started 13 games at left tackle and recorded 29 knock downs. With a right handed quarterback having a player who is receiving All-B1G team praise is what you need to protect your quarterback. Dan is listed at 6-6 and creates headaches for opposing ends with his size. At the other tackle spot is Fou Fonoti. Last year Fou seemed to get better as the year went on. He really had great games against Wisconsin and the offense seems to like to run behind him. This will be Fou's second season as a starter and has received pre-season All-B1G accolades. Fou finished last year starting 11 games and playing 659 snaps. What is more impressive about that is that he did not allow a sack. Fou is exceptionally athletic for a guy his size and has no problem getting to the next level to help stretch run plays. Fou should be on a few All-B1G lists as the season ends. No sacks allowed? Come on. Backing these guys up are Skyler Burkland at left tackle. Skyler was a starter last year before an ankle injury sindlined him for the rest of the season. Skyler should push for a starting spot or at least a lot of playing time. He is a talented kid with massive frame at 6-7 317 pounds. I would have full faith is Skyler were starting right now, even with his limited playing time. Henry Conway is the backup at right tackle. Conway is least experienced of the entire offensive line having appeared in only three games last year, Conway red shirted his freshman year and missed the next season due to an injury.
Other players worth mentioning would be Nate Klatt who plays both center and right right guard. He will be backing up both positions and could be the #2 guard behind McDonald. There is also Donavan Clark who is a true freshman and a big recruit out of high school. There is also Connor Kruse who has been limited so far with a knee injury.
Overall this is a deep unit, about as deep as an offensive line can be. There are four starters returning and six players that have started at some point in their career. That is solid. It may be a cliche but is is true, football is won in the trenches and this is as talented and game tested of a unit as Mark Dantonio has ever had.
EDGE: Interesting one here. While UM might have the best single overall player, I think MSU has the better overall unit. These are two talented offensive lines. I will add that I would not want the UM line for the MSU offense and I do not think Pat would want the MSU line for the UM offense. Along with that, the MSU line is intact from last year while UM will have a new face up front. Based on that, I will say PUSH.
(AMAZING SHOTS)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
WR/TE
(the michigan portion was written by pat, posted by tbone)
Yikes. Wide receivers and tight ends are probably the least proven of all offensive position groups for the Wolverines heading into 2012.
First the TE's.
Michigan loses Kevin Koger to graduation. Koger played seemingly all the offensive snaps at TE last season and with his departure Michigan their one proven player at the position. When Michigan went to two TE sets last year they turned to Steve Watson, who also departs. Watson didn't do much to draw praise or ire, so it's safe to say he was average.
Taking over for Koger and Watson is senior Brandon Moore. Moore has physical ability but his lack of snaps indicate he has yet to put things together. He's likely to be the main TE in running situations. If he can play at an average level that will be a win for the Wolverines.
Backing up Moore is a bunch of bodies with no proven commodities. Walk-on Mike Kwiatkowski is likely the next guy in line. Walk-ons in the lineup always give you pause but TE is a position where walk-ons have had success at many programs. Beyond these two there are two freshman; Devin Funchess is a tweener and may well be a WR this season but he is well regarded. He could potentially earn snaps in passing situations. AJ Williams is another tweener but he is more of an offensive tackle than a TE. If he sees the field it will certainly be as a road grading run blocker.
Other bodies here are sophomores Ricardo Miller and Jordan Paskorz. Both will have opportunity to prove themselves and earn playing time.
Success of this unit depends largely on Moore and whether or not he can be a Michigan caliber starter in his senior year. This will not be the strength of the team but TE is a position that can be schemed for or around, depending on your talent.
Wide receiver on the other hand is important in any offense in college football. Michigan loses it's best playmaker on the outside in Junior Hemingway. He was Denard's safety valve all season and continually went up and won jump balls. Martavious Odoms was also lost to graduation. Odoms made some big plays (especially in the OSU game) and will be missed as a leader and a guy with tons of experience.
Michigan was dealt another blow when Daryl Stonum was dismissed from the team in the offseason after serving a one year suspension last season. Stonum would have been a clear #1 guy for Michigan.
Yet another setback occurred when Roy Roundtree had arthroscopic knee surgery last week. Roy is expected back within a couple of weeks and should be ready to play for Alabama but may not be effective the first few weeks of the season.
Michigan will look for Roundtree or Jeremy Gallon to step up and become a #1 receiver this season. Gallon is a mighty mite but has great leaping ability and is exceptionally quick. I'm higher on Gallon than most and believe he will be Michigan's top target this season and a playmaker as well. Drew Dileo is another returning player who has seen action and made big catches. Dileo is a less experienced and less explosive version of Gallon. He will be a productive slot receiver this season.
Devin Gardner is an unknown but has been taking snaps at WR. He's tall and fast and has been impressive by all accounts. It will be interesting to see how much he actually plays at WR. He's probably Michigan's 2nd best athlete after Denard on the entire team. He could be a redzone demon or barely see the field as a WR, it's really anyone's guess at this point.
Beyond those two things get dicey. Jeremy Jackson is now an upperclassmen and has playing experience but he is justifiably put into the dreaded "possession receiver" category. He is steady but does not have the athleticism to get open consistently. Jerald Robinson has the athleticism and size and now is his time to show what he can do. Robinson will have plenty of opportunity to shine on the outside for Michigan. Both incoming freshman could also contribute. They are big (something Michigan's upperclassman can't boast) and they are also fast. Amara Darboh is my choice between the two if you are looking for one to earn early playing time.
While Michigan has some issues at WR for 2012 I'm not sure I would trade their starting unit for any others in the Big Ten. This year is not the year of the WR in the conference. I expect one of Michigan's receivers to be on the All-B1G team at the end of the season and think this unit will solid but lacking a true #1 deep threat throughout the season.
If you look at TE and WR as one unit together, I would say Michigan has a blend of talent, experience and giant question marks. This is a high variance group that could be a disaster if they can't work out something at TE or could be a very big advantage if things take shape. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out for the Wolverines.
-----------------------------------------
The Spartan Tight End group is about as thin as they come. MSU lost Garet Celek and Brian Linthicim to graduation. Starting is well known player Dion Sims. Sims is a fourth year Junior who red shirted 2010 due to legal issues. Sims showed a lot of promise as a freshman and played most of last year with a broken hand, thus limiting his production. He has been named to the Mackey award watch list and is appearing on severeal pre-season All B1G lists. In Sims, new QB Maxwell should find a security blanket. Here is a big target with proven hands. In the redzone Sims will feast, an all B1G selection figures to be a lock. Outside of Sims, there is not a lot of proven talent. MSU has a converted defensive end in Denzel Drone, though lately he was been practicing on defense thanks to the emergence of Andrew Gleichert and Derek Hoebing.
Wide receiver is pretty much the opposite problem as tight end, where there is limited experience across the board but also a lot of potential starters. For me the starters will be Bennie Fowler and DeAnthony Arnett, at least once the season gets going. But for now, that Arnett spot is held by Tony Lippett. Tony played last year as a corner back and was more than serviceable. His athleticism is his largest attribute. If Tony gained some muscle in the off season, he could be a huge surprise for the offense. Fowler is a name that has been around the Spartan team for a while. As a redshirt freshman, Fowler made an impact both in receiveing and returning. Since then, Fowler has been trying to heal a foot injury. His health will decide how this receving crew will end up. Talented, great hands, good size, MSU needs Fowler.
From there MSU has a lot of unproven talent. All of these guys are athletes, Keith Mumphrey, Andre Sims Jr, the tallest one, Juwan Caesar. However, the name that keeps coming up is Tres Barksdale. Tres is a walk on to the team and has been impressive. In the first scrimmage, Tres hauled in a 37 yard TD against our backup defense. You can look at that either way, but I will take the positive in Tres. MSU has had some success with walk on wide receivers, think Blaire White. Finally, Aaron Burbridge will miss 6 weeks with a knee injury. Having recently had arthroscopic surgery, you return pretty quickly, just don't push it. Thankfully he will be under the watchful eye of the MSU medical staff. This is pretty sad after everything Aaron did to get his grades in line. With all that time missed during practice I would be shocked if he did not redshirt. That would actually be a blessing for MSU. Move some of that talent back a year, let him practice all this season, keep his grades up, could be a real positive for MSU. (I have left off DeAnthony Arnett because so much has been written on him already.)
It will be interesting to see how the offense lines up. Do they want some of our burners our there in Mumphery and Sims Jr? Will they use a taller receiver with one of the speedsters? What about lots of 3 and 4 wide? I expect a lot of three wide with Sims acting as a 4th receiver while lined up on the line. If Sims is out, you can probably expect a run the majority of the time.
With that, MSU has a good problem at wide receiver with all the talent. The problem is that they are unproven. The most seasoned player, Arnett, was a freshman last year at Tennessee, and is currently behind other players with knowledge and reps in the system.
So how do these groups stack up against eachother?
In my opinion, I think MSU has more talent as a wide receiving core and is better at tight end with Dion Sims (as a pass catcher). However, the lack of game time experience for the MSU wide receivers makes this position group too close.
EDGE: Push.
Yikes. Wide receivers and tight ends are probably the least proven of all offensive position groups for the Wolverines heading into 2012.
First the TE's.
Michigan loses Kevin Koger to graduation. Koger played seemingly all the offensive snaps at TE last season and with his departure Michigan their one proven player at the position. When Michigan went to two TE sets last year they turned to Steve Watson, who also departs. Watson didn't do much to draw praise or ire, so it's safe to say he was average.
Taking over for Koger and Watson is senior Brandon Moore. Moore has physical ability but his lack of snaps indicate he has yet to put things together. He's likely to be the main TE in running situations. If he can play at an average level that will be a win for the Wolverines.
Backing up Moore is a bunch of bodies with no proven commodities. Walk-on Mike Kwiatkowski is likely the next guy in line. Walk-ons in the lineup always give you pause but TE is a position where walk-ons have had success at many programs. Beyond these two there are two freshman; Devin Funchess is a tweener and may well be a WR this season but he is well regarded. He could potentially earn snaps in passing situations. AJ Williams is another tweener but he is more of an offensive tackle than a TE. If he sees the field it will certainly be as a road grading run blocker.
Other bodies here are sophomores Ricardo Miller and Jordan Paskorz. Both will have opportunity to prove themselves and earn playing time.
Success of this unit depends largely on Moore and whether or not he can be a Michigan caliber starter in his senior year. This will not be the strength of the team but TE is a position that can be schemed for or around, depending on your talent.
Wide receiver on the other hand is important in any offense in college football. Michigan loses it's best playmaker on the outside in Junior Hemingway. He was Denard's safety valve all season and continually went up and won jump balls. Martavious Odoms was also lost to graduation. Odoms made some big plays (especially in the OSU game) and will be missed as a leader and a guy with tons of experience.
Michigan was dealt another blow when Daryl Stonum was dismissed from the team in the offseason after serving a one year suspension last season. Stonum would have been a clear #1 guy for Michigan.
Yet another setback occurred when Roy Roundtree had arthroscopic knee surgery last week. Roy is expected back within a couple of weeks and should be ready to play for Alabama but may not be effective the first few weeks of the season.
Michigan will look for Roundtree or Jeremy Gallon to step up and become a #1 receiver this season. Gallon is a mighty mite but has great leaping ability and is exceptionally quick. I'm higher on Gallon than most and believe he will be Michigan's top target this season and a playmaker as well. Drew Dileo is another returning player who has seen action and made big catches. Dileo is a less experienced and less explosive version of Gallon. He will be a productive slot receiver this season.
Devin Gardner is an unknown but has been taking snaps at WR. He's tall and fast and has been impressive by all accounts. It will be interesting to see how much he actually plays at WR. He's probably Michigan's 2nd best athlete after Denard on the entire team. He could be a redzone demon or barely see the field as a WR, it's really anyone's guess at this point.
Beyond those two things get dicey. Jeremy Jackson is now an upperclassmen and has playing experience but he is justifiably put into the dreaded "possession receiver" category. He is steady but does not have the athleticism to get open consistently. Jerald Robinson has the athleticism and size and now is his time to show what he can do. Robinson will have plenty of opportunity to shine on the outside for Michigan. Both incoming freshman could also contribute. They are big (something Michigan's upperclassman can't boast) and they are also fast. Amara Darboh is my choice between the two if you are looking for one to earn early playing time.
While Michigan has some issues at WR for 2012 I'm not sure I would trade their starting unit for any others in the Big Ten. This year is not the year of the WR in the conference. I expect one of Michigan's receivers to be on the All-B1G team at the end of the season and think this unit will solid but lacking a true #1 deep threat throughout the season.
If you look at TE and WR as one unit together, I would say Michigan has a blend of talent, experience and giant question marks. This is a high variance group that could be a disaster if they can't work out something at TE or could be a very big advantage if things take shape. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out for the Wolverines.
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The Spartan Tight End group is about as thin as they come. MSU lost Garet Celek and Brian Linthicim to graduation. Starting is well known player Dion Sims. Sims is a fourth year Junior who red shirted 2010 due to legal issues. Sims showed a lot of promise as a freshman and played most of last year with a broken hand, thus limiting his production. He has been named to the Mackey award watch list and is appearing on severeal pre-season All B1G lists. In Sims, new QB Maxwell should find a security blanket. Here is a big target with proven hands. In the redzone Sims will feast, an all B1G selection figures to be a lock. Outside of Sims, there is not a lot of proven talent. MSU has a converted defensive end in Denzel Drone, though lately he was been practicing on defense thanks to the emergence of Andrew Gleichert and Derek Hoebing.
Wide receiver is pretty much the opposite problem as tight end, where there is limited experience across the board but also a lot of potential starters. For me the starters will be Bennie Fowler and DeAnthony Arnett, at least once the season gets going. But for now, that Arnett spot is held by Tony Lippett. Tony played last year as a corner back and was more than serviceable. His athleticism is his largest attribute. If Tony gained some muscle in the off season, he could be a huge surprise for the offense. Fowler is a name that has been around the Spartan team for a while. As a redshirt freshman, Fowler made an impact both in receiveing and returning. Since then, Fowler has been trying to heal a foot injury. His health will decide how this receving crew will end up. Talented, great hands, good size, MSU needs Fowler.
From there MSU has a lot of unproven talent. All of these guys are athletes, Keith Mumphrey, Andre Sims Jr, the tallest one, Juwan Caesar. However, the name that keeps coming up is Tres Barksdale. Tres is a walk on to the team and has been impressive. In the first scrimmage, Tres hauled in a 37 yard TD against our backup defense. You can look at that either way, but I will take the positive in Tres. MSU has had some success with walk on wide receivers, think Blaire White. Finally, Aaron Burbridge will miss 6 weeks with a knee injury. Having recently had arthroscopic surgery, you return pretty quickly, just don't push it. Thankfully he will be under the watchful eye of the MSU medical staff. This is pretty sad after everything Aaron did to get his grades in line. With all that time missed during practice I would be shocked if he did not redshirt. That would actually be a blessing for MSU. Move some of that talent back a year, let him practice all this season, keep his grades up, could be a real positive for MSU. (I have left off DeAnthony Arnett because so much has been written on him already.)
It will be interesting to see how the offense lines up. Do they want some of our burners our there in Mumphery and Sims Jr? Will they use a taller receiver with one of the speedsters? What about lots of 3 and 4 wide? I expect a lot of three wide with Sims acting as a 4th receiver while lined up on the line. If Sims is out, you can probably expect a run the majority of the time.
With that, MSU has a good problem at wide receiver with all the talent. The problem is that they are unproven. The most seasoned player, Arnett, was a freshman last year at Tennessee, and is currently behind other players with knowledge and reps in the system.
So how do these groups stack up against eachother?
In my opinion, I think MSU has more talent as a wide receiving core and is better at tight end with Dion Sims (as a pass catcher). However, the lack of game time experience for the MSU wide receivers makes this position group too close.
EDGE: Push.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Cornerback
(this part was written by Pat and posted by tbone)
Wolverine Cornerbacks:
Michigan lost backup cornerback Terrence Talbott recently as he left the program. The rest of the corners return from last season.
2011 saw the Wolverines enter the season with huge question marks at the corner position. It seemed like a position that would be the demise of the defense...except by some miracle (the coaching change) it wasn't.
JT Floyd locked down one corner spot after seeing spot starts and significant playing time in previous seasons. JT was able to take the proverbial leap and go from liability to a very solid starting cornerback. His interception against Illinois sealed the victory.
The other starting corner was true freshman! Blake Countess. Countess was the most hyped defensive recruit in Hoke's first recruiting class and came in and played that way from the get-go. He was very good. He was good enough to create significant hype heading into 2012.
Courtney Avery played the nickel and acquitted himself quite well.
All three corners who saw significant time last season will be back in 2012. Backups will be a pair of sophomores who saw special teams action last season and ESPN top 150 recruit true freshman Terry Richardson. He's tiny though so hopefully he doesn't have to play and can redshirt this season.
Barring injury Michigan is set at the corner position. Losing Talbott certainly hurts the depth at the position as you'd like quite a few more than 5 ready to play corners on the roster. Though if Richardson is ready to play right away Michigan will be fine as far as depth is concerned.
This unit should be very good for Michigan in the fall. They were above average a season ago and everyone who got significant time returns this season. Expect this unit to be in the top part of the B1G. One of the two corners will likely earn honors as an all B1G performer this season. Combine these corners with the Kovacs and Gordon and Michigan's secondary should definitely be the strength of the defense in 2012.
Spartan Cornerbacks:
Returning for his senior year after some speculation that he might go pro, Johnny Adams is back to lead the Spartan defensive backfield. Adams is predicted to go in the top 20 NFL next year according to Mel Kiper and was named to several first team All-B1G teams (Phil Steel, Athlon) and several award watch lists including Bednarik, Nagurski, and Thorpe. Johnny is certainly in th drivers seat to have a great season. Last season Adams had 51 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 3 interceptions. Fun fact is that Johnny had the 7th most INT return yards, (141). Adams is likely the best cover corner in the B1G and might be top 5 in the country.
On the other side, starting is Darqueze Dennard. Dennard was a honorable all B1G mention. Last year he finished with 42 tackles and 3 interceptions. Darqueze is a great complement to Johnny. He rarely blows coverage and can muscle up with opposing wide receivers.
From there the Spartans have Mitchell White and Mylan Hicks. Hicks redshirted his freshman year and then missed the bulk of 2012 due to injury, playing only in the Outback Bowl. White has been used sparingly and is listed as the backup to Adams. Out of these two I am interested to see how Hicks comes back. Having seen White a bit last year, he looks like hes swimming on defense from time to time, and that is never a good thing.
With red shirted and true freshman the Spartans have Trae Waynes and Arjen Colquhoun. Both are tall corners, which is what Dantonio likes. Waynes has been impressive through spring ball and is in that position to "push starters" Though I do not think he will overtake Dennard, it is always good when your back up is reaching that level.
Overall, this is a highly talented position as starters and very unproven as backups. This will not be the backbone of the Spartan defense, but baring any injuries should be one of the best in the B1G. I expect Dennard to at least earn second team all B1G, with a really solid season, Adams could get on some All-American lists by the end of the year. First team all B1G is certainly a lock.
Based on Adams alone, I think they Spartan unit is stronger than Michigan. Here is a player that will be drafted in the first round and fairly high. His partner could very well end up with all B1G honors as well. If Hicks proves to be a worthy back up this unit could be pretty nasty. He should not get the playing time necessary to have a season comparable to Blake's first but allowing the starters to take a breather is what he needs to do.
Edge: MSU
Wolverine Cornerbacks:
Michigan lost backup cornerback Terrence Talbott recently as he left the program. The rest of the corners return from last season.
2011 saw the Wolverines enter the season with huge question marks at the corner position. It seemed like a position that would be the demise of the defense...except by some miracle (the coaching change) it wasn't.
JT Floyd locked down one corner spot after seeing spot starts and significant playing time in previous seasons. JT was able to take the proverbial leap and go from liability to a very solid starting cornerback. His interception against Illinois sealed the victory.
The other starting corner was true freshman! Blake Countess. Countess was the most hyped defensive recruit in Hoke's first recruiting class and came in and played that way from the get-go. He was very good. He was good enough to create significant hype heading into 2012.
Courtney Avery played the nickel and acquitted himself quite well.
All three corners who saw significant time last season will be back in 2012. Backups will be a pair of sophomores who saw special teams action last season and ESPN top 150 recruit true freshman Terry Richardson. He's tiny though so hopefully he doesn't have to play and can redshirt this season.
Barring injury Michigan is set at the corner position. Losing Talbott certainly hurts the depth at the position as you'd like quite a few more than 5 ready to play corners on the roster. Though if Richardson is ready to play right away Michigan will be fine as far as depth is concerned.
This unit should be very good for Michigan in the fall. They were above average a season ago and everyone who got significant time returns this season. Expect this unit to be in the top part of the B1G. One of the two corners will likely earn honors as an all B1G performer this season. Combine these corners with the Kovacs and Gordon and Michigan's secondary should definitely be the strength of the defense in 2012.
Spartan Cornerbacks:
Returning for his senior year after some speculation that he might go pro, Johnny Adams is back to lead the Spartan defensive backfield. Adams is predicted to go in the top 20 NFL next year according to Mel Kiper and was named to several first team All-B1G teams (Phil Steel, Athlon) and several award watch lists including Bednarik, Nagurski, and Thorpe. Johnny is certainly in th drivers seat to have a great season. Last season Adams had 51 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 3 interceptions. Fun fact is that Johnny had the 7th most INT return yards, (141). Adams is likely the best cover corner in the B1G and might be top 5 in the country.
On the other side, starting is Darqueze Dennard. Dennard was a honorable all B1G mention. Last year he finished with 42 tackles and 3 interceptions. Darqueze is a great complement to Johnny. He rarely blows coverage and can muscle up with opposing wide receivers.
From there the Spartans have Mitchell White and Mylan Hicks. Hicks redshirted his freshman year and then missed the bulk of 2012 due to injury, playing only in the Outback Bowl. White has been used sparingly and is listed as the backup to Adams. Out of these two I am interested to see how Hicks comes back. Having seen White a bit last year, he looks like hes swimming on defense from time to time, and that is never a good thing.
With red shirted and true freshman the Spartans have Trae Waynes and Arjen Colquhoun. Both are tall corners, which is what Dantonio likes. Waynes has been impressive through spring ball and is in that position to "push starters" Though I do not think he will overtake Dennard, it is always good when your back up is reaching that level.
Overall, this is a highly talented position as starters and very unproven as backups. This will not be the backbone of the Spartan defense, but baring any injuries should be one of the best in the B1G. I expect Dennard to at least earn second team all B1G, with a really solid season, Adams could get on some All-American lists by the end of the year. First team all B1G is certainly a lock.
Based on Adams alone, I think they Spartan unit is stronger than Michigan. Here is a player that will be drafted in the first round and fairly high. His partner could very well end up with all B1G honors as well. If Hicks proves to be a worthy back up this unit could be pretty nasty. He should not get the playing time necessary to have a season comparable to Blake's first but allowing the starters to take a breather is what he needs to do.
Edge: MSU
Constitution of a Successful Season
Fan expectations fluctuate from year to year for every sports team. Some perennial contenders routinely set the bar at titles or bust while others simply are happy to compete or make a bowl game. College football is a sport that takes regular season (the B1G) championships more seriously than other sports. (Does anyone really care if their NBA team wins it's division or has the best regular season record in the sport?)
Expectations throughout the years for Michigan and Michigan State have sometimes been in lockstep with one another and at other times been vastly different. So let's consider expectations for 2012 and discuss what would constitute as a good season for each squad.
Michigan is coming off an 11-2 season and a BCS bowl victory, yet the season was publicly branded a failure by head coach Brady Hoke. The stated goal is to win the B1G championship. I actually disagree with Hoke and would consider last season an unqualified success after the transition from the Rodriguez era at Michigan. I do love coach Hoke's attitude that anything but a Big Ten title is a failure, which is the right goal for the team and the coach. Us fans have more leeway to alter expectations however we prefer.
2012 Outlook: When looking at the schedule and the depth chart, Michigan is unlikely to be a national title contender this season. The Big Ten title though, is very much within reach. In having their top divisional competitor (MSU) in the Big House, Michigan has a nice advantage. The game in Lincoln against the Cornhuskers will also have significant impact on the division race. One very interesting thing about Hoke's stated goal is that it alleviates some of the pressure of the non-conference season. If Michigan loses to Alabama or Notre Dame (both very possible this season) their main goal remains intact.
The Must-Win: For this season, the game against the Spartans has added emphasis for Michigan and even moreso for bloggers and fans that live within the state of Michigan. Last season it was all about the proverbial Ohio State monkey on their backs and The Game always has massive significance as it will again this year with Urban Meyer beginning his career leading the Buckeyes. Still, my own opinion is that the MSU game has surpassed the OSU game as the most important game on Michigan's schedule this season. Some of that has to do with the rivalry heating and MSU's recent success but it is mostly due to the fact that the winner of this year's in-state showdown in Ann Arbor will have the inside track to Indianapolis for a shot at the Big Ten crown and a Rose Bowl berth.
In historical perspective, 2011 was a great season for the Spartans. With a victory over Michigan, winning the division and a bowl game victory (first for Dantonio) MSU ratcheted up program momentum yet again.
2012 Outlook: For Michigan State, I think the goal should also be a Big Ten championship. I've read some articles saying that Spartan players and coaches have their sights set higher than the B1G and on a national championship. Of course you want to win all your games, but a Big Ten title would always constitute as a good season in East Lansing, wouldn't it Spartan fans?
The Must-Win: Even with the win streak against their rival, the Michigan game remains the most important game on the Spartans schedule and that importance has only increased with the teams now becoming divisional foes.
The Question: Michigan fans, would you be happy with a season that saw your team win the B1G but lose to MSU? Personally, I would be happy with a season that included a victory over Ohio State and a berth in the Rose Bowl no matter what happens against the Spartans.
How about you, MSU fans, would a B1G title be enough to take the sting away from losing to your rivals in Ann Arbor or does a victory over Michigan alone qualify the season as a success?
Expectations throughout the years for Michigan and Michigan State have sometimes been in lockstep with one another and at other times been vastly different. So let's consider expectations for 2012 and discuss what would constitute as a good season for each squad.
Michigan is coming off an 11-2 season and a BCS bowl victory, yet the season was publicly branded a failure by head coach Brady Hoke. The stated goal is to win the B1G championship. I actually disagree with Hoke and would consider last season an unqualified success after the transition from the Rodriguez era at Michigan. I do love coach Hoke's attitude that anything but a Big Ten title is a failure, which is the right goal for the team and the coach. Us fans have more leeway to alter expectations however we prefer.
 |
| The stated goal. |
The Must-Win: For this season, the game against the Spartans has added emphasis for Michigan and even moreso for bloggers and fans that live within the state of Michigan. Last season it was all about the proverbial Ohio State monkey on their backs and The Game always has massive significance as it will again this year with Urban Meyer beginning his career leading the Buckeyes. Still, my own opinion is that the MSU game has surpassed the OSU game as the most important game on Michigan's schedule this season. Some of that has to do with the rivalry heating and MSU's recent success but it is mostly due to the fact that the winner of this year's in-state showdown in Ann Arbor will have the inside track to Indianapolis for a shot at the Big Ten crown and a Rose Bowl berth.
In historical perspective, 2011 was a great season for the Spartans. With a victory over Michigan, winning the division and a bowl game victory (first for Dantonio) MSU ratcheted up program momentum yet again.
2012 Outlook: For Michigan State, I think the goal should also be a Big Ten championship. I've read some articles saying that Spartan players and coaches have their sights set higher than the B1G and on a national championship. Of course you want to win all your games, but a Big Ten title would always constitute as a good season in East Lansing, wouldn't it Spartan fans?
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| What will make Sparty happy? |
The Question: Michigan fans, would you be happy with a season that saw your team win the B1G but lose to MSU? Personally, I would be happy with a season that included a victory over Ohio State and a berth in the Rose Bowl no matter what happens against the Spartans.
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| Is this in the future for Denard Robinson? |
Thursday, July 26, 2012
B1G Media Days
Is there anything more boring? This isn't that kind of blog.
Chad Henne rhymes with douchebag.
and SHARK FARTS!!
Isn't that more fun than media days?
Chad Henne rhymes with douchebag.
and SHARK FARTS!!
Isn't that more fun than media days?
Monday, July 23, 2012
Coronation
Ladies and gentleman, your 2008 Big Ten Champions are the Michigan State Spartans
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| (this did not happen) |
Sunday, July 22, 2012
A Rivals Perspective
Here I will outline the case for why MSU fans should temper expectations for 2012. I'll admit before I start that I'm taking a very pessimistic stance, (or is that optimistic as a Michigan fan?)
Below are 3 reasons MSU fans should be leery of 2012.
#1: Luck Always Runs Out
The Spartans have enjoyed tremendous success under Mark Dantonio the past two seasons. After a losing record in 2009, MSU won a share of the B1G title while winning 11 games in 2010.
The magical 2010 season included the "Little Giants" victory over Notre Dame, a miraculous (2 TD's in the final 2 minutes) victory over Northwestern and another amazing comeback (aided by a blocked punt) to beat a bad Purdue team after trailing by 11 in the 4th quarter. Momentum came to a screeching halt when the Spartans got their teeth knocked in by Alabama in the bowl game. Still, 2010 was a banner year with a share of the Big Ten title and an 11-2 record but the Spartans won every close game in which they competed while being blown off the field in both losses.
Along came 2011 and the MSU good fortune continued. Right up until the B1G championship game, MSU once again never fell in a close game. They were beaten soundly by Notre Dame and smothered by Nebraska while winning on Hail Mary against Wisconsin and beating Ohio State 10-7 in what was the most abysmal display of offense ever seen. MSU built on their great season with an overtime victory over Georgia, this time getting revenge on the SEC.
It's easy to look at all this and realize MSU has maximized their win totals the previous two seasons. They have played good football, but 11-2, 11-3? Those records were only possible with very good fortune. And the thing about luck...it always runs out.
#2: Paper Tiger Defense
Michigan State finished the season as the 5th ranked defense in the country (yards per game) and the 9th ranked defense (points per game). These gaudy statistics, combined with returning talent (which we have been outlining for you in our defensive position group previews) has Spartans believing their defense is going to shut down errbody. But not so fast my friend, before crowing MSU's D as one of the best in the country, let's take a look at that 2011 schedule more closely.
Below is the Spartans schedule followed by their opponents offensive rank (ypg) for 2011.
Youngstown State - Mediocre 6-5 FCS team. Stats unavailable for FCS.
Florida Atlantic - 120th
Notre Dame - 35th
Central Michigan - 57th
Ohio State - 107th
Michigan - 42nd
Wisconsin - 14th
Nebraska - 66th
Minnesota - 110th
Iowa - 76th
Indiana - 83rd
Northwestern - 34th
Wisconsin - 14th
Georgia - 39th
MSU faced a top 25 offense (Wisconsin) only twice all season. They faced a top 50 offense in only 6 out of 14 contests on the season. On the other side of the coin, they played against 3 teams that finished in the bottom 20 for offense including the worst offensive team in the entire country, along with an FCS foe that isn't listed but certainly had a listless offense.
This isn't to mention the tornado like winds during games with Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska diminishing each teams offense in those games, or the fact that when MSU played Ohio State they were still starting and playing Joe Bauserman at quarterback.
The case above is pretty clear: MSU's defensive statistics and the so-called dominance of their defense were both greatly exaggerated by playing extremely poor offensive teams.
#3: Kirk Cousins
What do the 2009 and 2012 Spartan teams have in common?
A first year starting QB.
MSU entered 2009 with Keith Nichol and Kirk Cousins battling for the starting position. That season ended with a 6-7 record. This season things are more clear as Andrew Maxwell is the clear cut leader of the Spartans offense. Still, Cousins leadership, dependability, play making and starting experience all have contributed mightily to MSU's success the last two seasons. He's gone. It will be a new guy leading that offense in the huddle, changing plays at the line of scrimmage and facing Big Ten road crowds. Would MSU have won with a first year starting QB at Ohio State last year? Would they have won on Hail Mary against Wisconsin? Could they have defeated Georgia? The loss of Cousins is going to diminish the effectiveness of the offenses and make things as simple as play calling more difficult. Maxwell has talent but he's barely seen the field. Expect his inexperience to cost MSU in at least a game or two this season. Maxwell may someday be a star, but it will be difficult for him to keep quarterback play on the same level it has been the last two seasons in East Lansing and college football, after all, is all about the QB.
Do the Math
(I probably just lost any Spartans readers at that header...)
A team with an overrated defense and an inexperienced quarterback which has been pumped up by luck in numerous close games sees it all come crashing back to earth this season.
Below are 3 reasons MSU fans should be leery of 2012.
#1: Luck Always Runs Out
The Spartans have enjoyed tremendous success under Mark Dantonio the past two seasons. After a losing record in 2009, MSU won a share of the B1G title while winning 11 games in 2010.
The magical 2010 season included the "Little Giants" victory over Notre Dame, a miraculous (2 TD's in the final 2 minutes) victory over Northwestern and another amazing comeback (aided by a blocked punt) to beat a bad Purdue team after trailing by 11 in the 4th quarter. Momentum came to a screeching halt when the Spartans got their teeth knocked in by Alabama in the bowl game. Still, 2010 was a banner year with a share of the Big Ten title and an 11-2 record but the Spartans won every close game in which they competed while being blown off the field in both losses.
Along came 2011 and the MSU good fortune continued. Right up until the B1G championship game, MSU once again never fell in a close game. They were beaten soundly by Notre Dame and smothered by Nebraska while winning on Hail Mary against Wisconsin and beating Ohio State 10-7 in what was the most abysmal display of offense ever seen. MSU built on their great season with an overtime victory over Georgia, this time getting revenge on the SEC.
It's easy to look at all this and realize MSU has maximized their win totals the previous two seasons. They have played good football, but 11-2, 11-3? Those records were only possible with very good fortune. And the thing about luck...it always runs out.
#2: Paper Tiger Defense
Michigan State finished the season as the 5th ranked defense in the country (yards per game) and the 9th ranked defense (points per game). These gaudy statistics, combined with returning talent (which we have been outlining for you in our defensive position group previews) has Spartans believing their defense is going to shut down errbody. But not so fast my friend, before crowing MSU's D as one of the best in the country, let's take a look at that 2011 schedule more closely.
Below is the Spartans schedule followed by their opponents offensive rank (ypg) for 2011.
Youngstown State - Mediocre 6-5 FCS team. Stats unavailable for FCS.
Florida Atlantic - 120th
Notre Dame - 35th
Central Michigan - 57th
Ohio State - 107th
Michigan - 42nd
Wisconsin - 14th
Nebraska - 66th
Minnesota - 110th
Iowa - 76th
Indiana - 83rd
Northwestern - 34th
Wisconsin - 14th
Georgia - 39th
MSU faced a top 25 offense (Wisconsin) only twice all season. They faced a top 50 offense in only 6 out of 14 contests on the season. On the other side of the coin, they played against 3 teams that finished in the bottom 20 for offense including the worst offensive team in the entire country, along with an FCS foe that isn't listed but certainly had a listless offense.
This isn't to mention the tornado like winds during games with Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska diminishing each teams offense in those games, or the fact that when MSU played Ohio State they were still starting and playing Joe Bauserman at quarterback.
The case above is pretty clear: MSU's defensive statistics and the so-called dominance of their defense were both greatly exaggerated by playing extremely poor offensive teams.
#3: Kirk Cousins
What do the 2009 and 2012 Spartan teams have in common?
A first year starting QB.
MSU entered 2009 with Keith Nichol and Kirk Cousins battling for the starting position. That season ended with a 6-7 record. This season things are more clear as Andrew Maxwell is the clear cut leader of the Spartans offense. Still, Cousins leadership, dependability, play making and starting experience all have contributed mightily to MSU's success the last two seasons. He's gone. It will be a new guy leading that offense in the huddle, changing plays at the line of scrimmage and facing Big Ten road crowds. Would MSU have won with a first year starting QB at Ohio State last year? Would they have won on Hail Mary against Wisconsin? Could they have defeated Georgia? The loss of Cousins is going to diminish the effectiveness of the offenses and make things as simple as play calling more difficult. Maxwell has talent but he's barely seen the field. Expect his inexperience to cost MSU in at least a game or two this season. Maxwell may someday be a star, but it will be difficult for him to keep quarterback play on the same level it has been the last two seasons in East Lansing and college football, after all, is all about the QB.
Do the Math
(I probably just lost any Spartans readers at that header...)
A team with an overrated defense and an inexperienced quarterback which has been pumped up by luck in numerous close games sees it all come crashing back to earth this season.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Safeties
Michigan safety play was above average last season and the only
departure is oft-injured Troy Woolfolk, a guy who bounced from corner to
safety throughout his career.
Strong Safety:
Jordan Kovacs returns for his senior season to lead the defense from the strong safety position. Kovacs went from feel-good story as a walk-on freshman becoming a starter to many fan's whipping boy as a sophomore to flat out baller as a junior. As a senior, expect Kovacs to push for all-conference honors. He may even be draftable in the late rounds next year or at least get invites to camps as an undrafted rookie. (Don't bet against him)
Backing up Kovacs will be the highly touted Marvin Robinson, a guy who regular comes in for praise for blowing people up in practice. If Marvin ever puts everything together he could become an elite player (due to size, speed and athleticism) Another guy in the mix here will be Josh Furman who missed spring practice because of a criminal case against him, only to have all charges dismissed by the judge because he apparently didn't do anything wrong. Weird situation but Furman was a guy who stood out on special teams last year and could possibly push for playing time.
Free Safety:
Thomas Gordon returns after a solid sophomore season. Gordon seemed to be in the right place at the right time a lot, coming up with key turnovers. Still, he battled Troy Woolfolk for the starting position and the coaches regularly went back to Woolfolk. Gordon lacks the speed you'd desire in a deep safety but he seems to make up for it with making the right plays and playing with good instincts.
True freshman Jarrod Wilson enrolled early and will push to get himself into the 2-deep as Gordon's backup. The depth here is a bit scary so it's possible/likely that Robinson and/or Furman also practice at this position.
Michigan should be very strong up the middle of their secondary this season. Kovacs is simply not going to make mistakes. Gordon can be trusted to play at a high level as well, he's proven he's capable. This should be a real positive area for the Wolverines in 2012 and should help to make their defense one of the best in the Big Ten.
The MSU safety position is seeing a slight face lift after the graduation of captain Trenton Robinson. However, like the rest of the defense, Dantonio has built a lot of depth at the safety position.
Free Safety:
Returning starter Isiah Lewis will help keep the transition clean from Trenton to himself. Last year, Isiah was a second team all B1G selection. Isiah started all 14 games at strong safety and had two pick 6's. (one was against Michigan, BOOM.) Isaiah will be a player that's name is mentioned a lot this year. Having made second team all conference, he should should make the leap to first team this year. With 74 tackles and 4 picks, Isaiah is looking primed for a break out year. Ball hawk skills and big pop make him a player other teams will avoid throwing deep against.
Strong Safety:
Kurtis Drummond should be the starter at FS along side Isaiah. Though RJ Williamson has been showing a lot of skill and is right behind Drummond. Last year, Drummond played behind Robinson and saw action in 12 games. In his time on the field, Kurtis had 17 tackles and two interceptions. Drummond has length and a good bit of speed out of the safety position. He is the type of player that can easily drop back in coverage or sneak up and make plays against rushing quarterbacks. I expect Drummond to hang on to the starter role mainly due to the experience he has. However, Williamson will push him.
RJ came into his freshman year with a good amount of hype. Especially once he got on the practice field. Coach D was unsure if they should hold his talent back with a redshirt. He had the ability to see playing time as a true freshman. Now however, you will see that come together. Like Drummond last year, I expect RJ to see a fair amount of playing time. The drop from Drummond to Williamson will not be huge, which is a good thing MSU fans.
Other players to note would be Jarious Jones who is backing up Isaiah Lewis. Jairus tore his ACL in last years spring practices and saw some limited action last year. However, you may remeber him as being the guy that forced a fumble at Iowa last season to allow the first victory of MSU at Iowa since 1989. Another player worth mentioning is Demeitrious Cox our of Jeannette, PA (i think the same city and high school as terrelle pryor.) Cox will be a true freshman and was a four star recruit out of high school with some pretty serious offers including ND, OSU and PSU. I would not be surprised if he skipped his red shirt. However, Cox was unable to enroll early so he could be a bit behind as practice rolls around.
Overall, this is another position group that I think is stronger top to bottom than UM's. I am a big Kovacs fan, but the way this MSU defense plays, I think MSU has the edge here. This MSU safety group should receive the All B1G accolades, especialy Isaiah Lewis. As a whole, the MSU defense is just better than the UM defense. I do not mean to take anything away from UM and what their defense did last year, but this if last year is an indication, or the norm, we have a good thing going.
Frick, I am excited for college football this year.
Strong Safety:
Jordan Kovacs returns for his senior season to lead the defense from the strong safety position. Kovacs went from feel-good story as a walk-on freshman becoming a starter to many fan's whipping boy as a sophomore to flat out baller as a junior. As a senior, expect Kovacs to push for all-conference honors. He may even be draftable in the late rounds next year or at least get invites to camps as an undrafted rookie. (Don't bet against him)
Backing up Kovacs will be the highly touted Marvin Robinson, a guy who regular comes in for praise for blowing people up in practice. If Marvin ever puts everything together he could become an elite player (due to size, speed and athleticism) Another guy in the mix here will be Josh Furman who missed spring practice because of a criminal case against him, only to have all charges dismissed by the judge because he apparently didn't do anything wrong. Weird situation but Furman was a guy who stood out on special teams last year and could possibly push for playing time.
Free Safety:
Thomas Gordon returns after a solid sophomore season. Gordon seemed to be in the right place at the right time a lot, coming up with key turnovers. Still, he battled Troy Woolfolk for the starting position and the coaches regularly went back to Woolfolk. Gordon lacks the speed you'd desire in a deep safety but he seems to make up for it with making the right plays and playing with good instincts.
True freshman Jarrod Wilson enrolled early and will push to get himself into the 2-deep as Gordon's backup. The depth here is a bit scary so it's possible/likely that Robinson and/or Furman also practice at this position.
Michigan should be very strong up the middle of their secondary this season. Kovacs is simply not going to make mistakes. Gordon can be trusted to play at a high level as well, he's proven he's capable. This should be a real positive area for the Wolverines in 2012 and should help to make their defense one of the best in the Big Ten.
The MSU safety position is seeing a slight face lift after the graduation of captain Trenton Robinson. However, like the rest of the defense, Dantonio has built a lot of depth at the safety position.
Free Safety:
Returning starter Isiah Lewis will help keep the transition clean from Trenton to himself. Last year, Isiah was a second team all B1G selection. Isiah started all 14 games at strong safety and had two pick 6's. (one was against Michigan, BOOM.) Isaiah will be a player that's name is mentioned a lot this year. Having made second team all conference, he should should make the leap to first team this year. With 74 tackles and 4 picks, Isaiah is looking primed for a break out year. Ball hawk skills and big pop make him a player other teams will avoid throwing deep against.
Strong Safety:
Kurtis Drummond should be the starter at FS along side Isaiah. Though RJ Williamson has been showing a lot of skill and is right behind Drummond. Last year, Drummond played behind Robinson and saw action in 12 games. In his time on the field, Kurtis had 17 tackles and two interceptions. Drummond has length and a good bit of speed out of the safety position. He is the type of player that can easily drop back in coverage or sneak up and make plays against rushing quarterbacks. I expect Drummond to hang on to the starter role mainly due to the experience he has. However, Williamson will push him.
RJ came into his freshman year with a good amount of hype. Especially once he got on the practice field. Coach D was unsure if they should hold his talent back with a redshirt. He had the ability to see playing time as a true freshman. Now however, you will see that come together. Like Drummond last year, I expect RJ to see a fair amount of playing time. The drop from Drummond to Williamson will not be huge, which is a good thing MSU fans.
Other players to note would be Jarious Jones who is backing up Isaiah Lewis. Jairus tore his ACL in last years spring practices and saw some limited action last year. However, you may remeber him as being the guy that forced a fumble at Iowa last season to allow the first victory of MSU at Iowa since 1989. Another player worth mentioning is Demeitrious Cox our of Jeannette, PA (i think the same city and high school as terrelle pryor.) Cox will be a true freshman and was a four star recruit out of high school with some pretty serious offers including ND, OSU and PSU. I would not be surprised if he skipped his red shirt. However, Cox was unable to enroll early so he could be a bit behind as practice rolls around.
Overall, this is another position group that I think is stronger top to bottom than UM's. I am a big Kovacs fan, but the way this MSU defense plays, I think MSU has the edge here. This MSU safety group should receive the All B1G accolades, especialy Isaiah Lewis. As a whole, the MSU defense is just better than the UM defense. I do not mean to take anything away from UM and what their defense did last year, but this if last year is an indication, or the norm, we have a good thing going.
Frick, I am excited for college football this year.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
In the Interest of Rooting
(This was written in full by pat. and posted by tbone)
Michigan and Michigan State begin the 2012 football season with two of the highest profile games in the country as Michigan squares off with Alabama in Dallas and the Spartans take on Boise State in a Friday night affair. Tbone and I will be certainly be rooting for our respective Alma Maters, but what about rooting for our rival? Blasphemy to some fans, but I think the discussion here is an interesting one.
When conference season rolls around, because they are in the same division, MSU and UofM benefit when their in-state rivals suffers a loss. Rooting against MSU simply makes sense for the Michigan fan in this scenario. The season opener, however, is a non-conference game which changes the dynamic. Michigan does not directly benefit from an MSU loss to Boise State. The only benefit I can see is the ability to take a little joy in a loss by a rival. Is that sufficient reason to actively root against a fellow conference team? I will admit that rooting for MSU to win has gotten more difficult the past 4 years. When Michigan was routinely winning against their in-state rival it didn't matter much what MSU did outside of the Michigan game and it also helped this feeling that they were never really in contention competing against Michigan for a spot in a bowl game or for a Big Ten championship.
With MSU's improvement, that has all changed and it is certainly more difficult to pull for them. I think I actively rooted for Michigan State in only one contest last season, the bowl game against Georgia. I am on board with the consensus that the SEC is the best conference in college football (they have proven it on the field) but I believe the gap is much smaller than most make it seem. I will root for 11 of the 12 Big Ten schools in any matchup with the SEC and almost all Big Ten schools during the non-conference season. I like seeing the profile of the conference go up and I would love for the Big Ten to make a return to being the best conference in the country.
As it concerns the opener, I don't have a whole lot against Boise St other than believing they are regularly overrated because they don't play a tough schedule week in and week out. I probably won't care much either way to what happens in MSU's opener but I would rather see them win to elevate the perception of the Big Ten.
How about you, MSU fans, will you root for Michigan against the SEC evil that is Alabama?
My one caveat about all this...I do find it hard to root for OSU in almost any situation. I just dislike them so much I want to see nothing but sadness and despair for their fans. I may root for them in some specific case against an SEC school but it's not guaranteed.
Is that the way Michigan State fans view Michigan?
Michigan and Michigan State begin the 2012 football season with two of the highest profile games in the country as Michigan squares off with Alabama in Dallas and the Spartans take on Boise State in a Friday night affair. Tbone and I will be certainly be rooting for our respective Alma Maters, but what about rooting for our rival? Blasphemy to some fans, but I think the discussion here is an interesting one.
When conference season rolls around, because they are in the same division, MSU and UofM benefit when their in-state rivals suffers a loss. Rooting against MSU simply makes sense for the Michigan fan in this scenario. The season opener, however, is a non-conference game which changes the dynamic. Michigan does not directly benefit from an MSU loss to Boise State. The only benefit I can see is the ability to take a little joy in a loss by a rival. Is that sufficient reason to actively root against a fellow conference team? I will admit that rooting for MSU to win has gotten more difficult the past 4 years. When Michigan was routinely winning against their in-state rival it didn't matter much what MSU did outside of the Michigan game and it also helped this feeling that they were never really in contention competing against Michigan for a spot in a bowl game or for a Big Ten championship.
With MSU's improvement, that has all changed and it is certainly more difficult to pull for them. I think I actively rooted for Michigan State in only one contest last season, the bowl game against Georgia. I am on board with the consensus that the SEC is the best conference in college football (they have proven it on the field) but I believe the gap is much smaller than most make it seem. I will root for 11 of the 12 Big Ten schools in any matchup with the SEC and almost all Big Ten schools during the non-conference season. I like seeing the profile of the conference go up and I would love for the Big Ten to make a return to being the best conference in the country.
As it concerns the opener, I don't have a whole lot against Boise St other than believing they are regularly overrated because they don't play a tough schedule week in and week out. I probably won't care much either way to what happens in MSU's opener but I would rather see them win to elevate the perception of the Big Ten.
How about you, MSU fans, will you root for Michigan against the SEC evil that is Alabama?
My one caveat about all this...I do find it hard to root for OSU in almost any situation. I just dislike them so much I want to see nothing but sadness and despair for their fans. I may root for them in some specific case against an SEC school but it's not guaranteed.
Is that the way Michigan State fans view Michigan?
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
LB
Linebackers Michigan
Last Year:
2011 saw Michigan vastly improved at the linebacker position. The struggles at this position were well documented throughout the Rodriguez era at Michigan. It was quite nice to have some production out of the linebackers.
Who's Gone:
Only one contributor is gone from the linebacker corps from last year. Brandon Herron had a big game against Western Michigan but saw his playing time fall off drastically to where he was mostly a special teams player throughout the season.
2012 Personnel:
In the middle is senior Kenny Demens. Kenny now has more than a full season as the starting MLB under his belt. He is likely to put up very good tackling numbers and be on the lists for All-Big Ten, maybe as a second teamer or honorable mention. He'll be one of the top middle linebackers in the conference this season.
In Michigan's 4-3 Under defense they have a weakside and strongisde LB. The strongside LB needs to be almost a DE combo type player as he will be tasked with taking on more blockers and being stout in the run game. For this position Michigan turns to Jake Ryan. As a redshirt freshman last season Ryan played almost the entire season as the starter and was a playmaker, always around the football. The sky is the limit for Jake and he could become a household name around the conference this season.
There are plenty of incoming freshman who will try to earn their way onto the 2-deep. Keep an eye on true freshman Joe Bolden who will probably enter the fall as the backup MLB and is likely to be Michigan's starter in the middle in 2013
On the weak side Michigan has starter Desmond Morgan coming back for his Sophomore season. Morgan, in my humble opinion, was Michigan's weakest starter on defense last season. He continually got blocked, took poor angles and looked generally like a true freshman...though his effort was always there and he seemed to be around the football a lot. Luckily, he's not a true freshman anymore. With starting experience in his pocket and a full off-season of a college strength program I expect a big leap in the level of play of Morgan. He should go from liability to solid starter. If he doesn't, his playing time will come under siege from some other young players on Michigan's roster.
Two more players will see time in the LB rotation. Brandin Hawthorne and Cam Gordon. You may remember Hawthorne as the lean, tall looking line backer who makes tackles for loss. He was outstanding in Michigan's spring game and will get playing time, likely on passing downs. He needs to become a more consistent run stopper because up to this point he has displayed little ability to shed blockers. Cam Gordon, you may remember from 2 seasons ago as Michigan's starting Free Safety. He's now playing a position I described as "similar to a DE". Wow, I'm glad Greg Robinson is no longer coaching at Michigan. Cam has great athleticism and should be able to do good things when given the chance but he's battling rising star Jake Ryan for playing time.
2012 Outlook:
Overall, this unit has depth, production, leadership and room to improve. They should go from a decent unit in 2011 to a very good unit in 2012. I'm excited about the development of Michigan's linebackers as well as their prospects for 2012. This should be a very good unit.
Linebackers Michigan State
Last Year:
Last year for MSU was supposed to be a transitional year for the Spartans. After losing two time All-American Greg Jones and his partner Eric Gordon, there was supposed to be a drop in production. But the opposite happened. The LB core actually looked better with first year starter Max Bullough in the middle and Denicos Allen making explosive plays all over the field. This LB core can defend the short pass across the middle better than the previous group, and is more than adequate at stopping the run. The group is good at attacking sideline to sideline and Max has been able to direct both the defensive line and the linebackers for quick defensive changes. As if you need more proof that they are athletic:
Who's Gone:
No one. This puts a smile on my face.
2012 Personnel:
Denicos Allen is one of those guys that is easy to miss on the football field. He is only 5-10 and 218. However, once the game is started you cant help but notice him. Allen flies all over the field and is known to attack players out of nowhere in the backfield. With explosive athleticism and a nose for the ball, Allen has turned the tides in games numerous times the previous year.
Chris Norman plays on the weakside and I like to describe him as a guy that can get end to end in a hurry. This past year his highest tackle game was against UM. He is good at covering in the flat and wraps players up to take them down. I really enjoy Norman.
Max Bullough is better at pass coverage than Greg Jones was and you notice that in the amount of times teams pass short 5 yarders over us. Along with that however, is the fact that our DL has been getting more pressure on and allowing Bullough to be in pass coverage more, as opposed to the constand blitz. Bullough's ability to hit is not be overlooked. He is a big kid and will stick anyone in the middle. He is less explosive than Allen or Norman but is the leader on defense. When out there you can tell he loves playing the game. Along with that, he went to the same high school as Pat and I. Max had 89 tackles last year with 7 tackles for loss. This tackle total should continue and I would expect Max to add a few INTs into the mix
From here there is a varied group of young and talented players led by Darien Harris, Taiwan Jones and TyQuan Hammock. Kyler Elsworth saw some serious action last year including a blocked punt against Wisconsin. Steve Gardiner is another player that will see action. Finally Ed Davis is a RS frosh that will see times on special teams.
2012 Outlook:
This looks to be the strength of the defense in my opinion. The defense ends are a very strong unit for the Spartans but the LBs are that much better and deeper. This unit can keep rolling lines at you to keep players fresh or leave their starters on the field (Bullough, Allen, Norman) and lock you up. I expect this unit to lead the team to victories in tight games. Look for Darien Harris to get a good amount of playing time and Kyler Elsworth to continue to impress both on special teams and in the time he gets at the LB spot. Taiwan Jones is another player to keep an eye on. This unit is critical in stopping a player like Denard and is the biggest reason for our success against Michigan lately. The linebackers will face a number of quarterbacks that are more than capable of running and will be tested throughout the year in games against UM, OSU, IU, NW and UN. One first team all B1G is an expectation of mine from this group.
Edge:
The edge here goes to MSU. This might be the best single unit from top to bottom in the entire B1G. Anything but big things would shock me here.
Last Year:
2011 saw Michigan vastly improved at the linebacker position. The struggles at this position were well documented throughout the Rodriguez era at Michigan. It was quite nice to have some production out of the linebackers.
Who's Gone:
Only one contributor is gone from the linebacker corps from last year. Brandon Herron had a big game against Western Michigan but saw his playing time fall off drastically to where he was mostly a special teams player throughout the season.
2012 Personnel:
In the middle is senior Kenny Demens. Kenny now has more than a full season as the starting MLB under his belt. He is likely to put up very good tackling numbers and be on the lists for All-Big Ten, maybe as a second teamer or honorable mention. He'll be one of the top middle linebackers in the conference this season.
In Michigan's 4-3 Under defense they have a weakside and strongisde LB. The strongside LB needs to be almost a DE combo type player as he will be tasked with taking on more blockers and being stout in the run game. For this position Michigan turns to Jake Ryan. As a redshirt freshman last season Ryan played almost the entire season as the starter and was a playmaker, always around the football. The sky is the limit for Jake and he could become a household name around the conference this season.
There are plenty of incoming freshman who will try to earn their way onto the 2-deep. Keep an eye on true freshman Joe Bolden who will probably enter the fall as the backup MLB and is likely to be Michigan's starter in the middle in 2013
On the weak side Michigan has starter Desmond Morgan coming back for his Sophomore season. Morgan, in my humble opinion, was Michigan's weakest starter on defense last season. He continually got blocked, took poor angles and looked generally like a true freshman...though his effort was always there and he seemed to be around the football a lot. Luckily, he's not a true freshman anymore. With starting experience in his pocket and a full off-season of a college strength program I expect a big leap in the level of play of Morgan. He should go from liability to solid starter. If he doesn't, his playing time will come under siege from some other young players on Michigan's roster.
Two more players will see time in the LB rotation. Brandin Hawthorne and Cam Gordon. You may remember Hawthorne as the lean, tall looking line backer who makes tackles for loss. He was outstanding in Michigan's spring game and will get playing time, likely on passing downs. He needs to become a more consistent run stopper because up to this point he has displayed little ability to shed blockers. Cam Gordon, you may remember from 2 seasons ago as Michigan's starting Free Safety. He's now playing a position I described as "similar to a DE". Wow, I'm glad Greg Robinson is no longer coaching at Michigan. Cam has great athleticism and should be able to do good things when given the chance but he's battling rising star Jake Ryan for playing time.
2012 Outlook:
Overall, this unit has depth, production, leadership and room to improve. They should go from a decent unit in 2011 to a very good unit in 2012. I'm excited about the development of Michigan's linebackers as well as their prospects for 2012. This should be a very good unit.
Linebackers Michigan State
Last Year:
Last year for MSU was supposed to be a transitional year for the Spartans. After losing two time All-American Greg Jones and his partner Eric Gordon, there was supposed to be a drop in production. But the opposite happened. The LB core actually looked better with first year starter Max Bullough in the middle and Denicos Allen making explosive plays all over the field. This LB core can defend the short pass across the middle better than the previous group, and is more than adequate at stopping the run. The group is good at attacking sideline to sideline and Max has been able to direct both the defensive line and the linebackers for quick defensive changes. As if you need more proof that they are athletic:
(good way to get a sack)
Who's Gone:
No one. This puts a smile on my face.
2012 Personnel:
Denicos Allen is one of those guys that is easy to miss on the football field. He is only 5-10 and 218. However, once the game is started you cant help but notice him. Allen flies all over the field and is known to attack players out of nowhere in the backfield. With explosive athleticism and a nose for the ball, Allen has turned the tides in games numerous times the previous year.
Chris Norman plays on the weakside and I like to describe him as a guy that can get end to end in a hurry. This past year his highest tackle game was against UM. He is good at covering in the flat and wraps players up to take them down. I really enjoy Norman.
Max Bullough is better at pass coverage than Greg Jones was and you notice that in the amount of times teams pass short 5 yarders over us. Along with that however, is the fact that our DL has been getting more pressure on and allowing Bullough to be in pass coverage more, as opposed to the constand blitz. Bullough's ability to hit is not be overlooked. He is a big kid and will stick anyone in the middle. He is less explosive than Allen or Norman but is the leader on defense. When out there you can tell he loves playing the game. Along with that, he went to the same high school as Pat and I. Max had 89 tackles last year with 7 tackles for loss. This tackle total should continue and I would expect Max to add a few INTs into the mix
From here there is a varied group of young and talented players led by Darien Harris, Taiwan Jones and TyQuan Hammock. Kyler Elsworth saw some serious action last year including a blocked punt against Wisconsin. Steve Gardiner is another player that will see action. Finally Ed Davis is a RS frosh that will see times on special teams.
2012 Outlook:
This looks to be the strength of the defense in my opinion. The defense ends are a very strong unit for the Spartans but the LBs are that much better and deeper. This unit can keep rolling lines at you to keep players fresh or leave their starters on the field (Bullough, Allen, Norman) and lock you up. I expect this unit to lead the team to victories in tight games. Look for Darien Harris to get a good amount of playing time and Kyler Elsworth to continue to impress both on special teams and in the time he gets at the LB spot. Taiwan Jones is another player to keep an eye on. This unit is critical in stopping a player like Denard and is the biggest reason for our success against Michigan lately. The linebackers will face a number of quarterbacks that are more than capable of running and will be tested throughout the year in games against UM, OSU, IU, NW and UN. One first team all B1G is an expectation of mine from this group.
Edge:
The edge here goes to MSU. This might be the best single unit from top to bottom in the entire B1G. Anything but big things would shock me here.
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Defensive Ends
Defensive Ends
First up, Michigan:
Story of 2011: Starters:Craig Roh (weakside) and Ryan VanBergen Backups: Frank Clark and Brennan Beyer both saw significant playing time as RVB slid inside to play DT often. Michigan returns much of the unit that played well (if unspectacular) last season.
Who's Gone: The Wolverines lose Senior Ryan Van Bergen to graduation, a guy who should not be overlooked as a significant loss because of his consistency, durability and production.
Personnel in 2012: Senior (and 4 year starter) Craig Roh gets moved from the weak-side to the SDE position this season. He'll be asked to add weight in the off-season to be able to hold down the strong side in the run game. Craig has had an up and down career after coming in with significant hype out of high school. If he puts things together he's a potential NFL player. Michigan will look to Roh to be play maker this season.
On the other side, it's likely to be a 2 man rotation with Frank Clark (RS So) and Brennan Beyer (True Soph). Clark was a less heralded recruit out of OSU pipeline Cleveland Glenville who has elite athleticism. He has shown spurts of play making ability (you may remember his interception in Michigan's Sugar Bowl victory this past season). Beyer was a true freshman last season who got playing time. He came in as Michigan's top rated defensive player and his career is on the right trajectory. He needs to continue to add weight to hold up as an every down DE. At this weak side DE position Michigan will look to these underclassmen to produce big plays.
Depth will be provided by a number of young players. Michigan has bodies but no one that will likely push for immediate playing. Watch out for the incoming freshman DE's to see if any make their way into the 2-deep as Craig Roh's backup at SDE.
2012 Outlook: The DE unit should be a strength for Michigan's defense in 2012.
ED NOTE: Now to talk about real talent
The MSU DEs.
Story of 2011: MSU had a young group of defensive ends in 2011. While young, they were also productive.
Who's Gone: MSU returns the bulk of its DEs from last year. In fact, I don't think any DE from last years team graduated. This is a huge plus and a major theme for the entire defense - the total depth.
Personnel in 2012: First and foremost is William Gholston, a true junior. I won't get into what UM fans think about him but will mention this from the previous post:
"I'm skeptical about most of these guys other than Gholston as I think NFL teams will love his freak athleticism." - Pat.
That might be the best way to sum Gholston up. This dude is an athlete. His biggest knock I would say is that he could get off the ball a little better (this was Worthy's best aspect). 70 tackles 16 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. If Gholston improves he should be an All American. If he stays the same, he will be first team all B1G. I will take that all day. Currently he is nursing an injury suffered in the spring game which is said to not be serious.
On the other side is Marcus Rush (amazing DE name). Marcus has a ton of potential and is a true sophomore. Last year he had 58 tackles 4 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. The 4 sacks led all B1G freshman. Along with that, Marcus was named to the freshman All-American team. Marcus excels at getting off the ball which has obviously helped with his tackle totals (having Worthy and Gholston on your line isn't bad either). This year, it will be necessary for Rush to have taken a step forward. Without Worthy on the line to eat up offensive lineman, Rush will need to get used to having more hands in his face. With Rush we have a guy that should be second team all B1G and cause headaches for teams all year round. I am very excited to see his game play this year, see if he took that "leap"
A third guy worth mentioning is Shilique Calhoun. He is listed on the depth chart as the back up to Rush. He is a RS freshman which coaches have been raving about since his first practice. It will be nice to finally see him in action. The MSU staff has compared Shilique to Gholston based on his athletic ability. Numerous bloggers have noted that he has a college ready body since he first walked into practice. This is a phrase that often over used and is perfect coach speak but Shilique Calhoun is ready to push the starters. With no game time action, Shilique was named as the scout team defensive player of the week three times. That is more than any other player (one of those games weeks was Michigan week). It will be interesting to see when Calhoun comes in for spells, how he makes the most of his time.
From there MSU has Jeremy Gainer, Joel Heath, Corey Freeman and Taylor Calero. Corey is a senior and has seen action in numerous games, though it has been limited. Heath is a redshirt freshman that the MSU staff has had praise for. Gainer is a junior that appeared in every game last year - his forced fumble against ND was the highlight last year. He is currently listed behind Rush and Calhoun but having that experience certainly means he will see time this year. Rounding out the group is Taylor Calero.
2012 Outlook: This is a position that on the top end is very high and overall has great depth.
UM vs MSU: The edge here goes to MSU.
First up, Michigan:
Story of 2011: Starters:Craig Roh (weakside) and Ryan VanBergen Backups: Frank Clark and Brennan Beyer both saw significant playing time as RVB slid inside to play DT often. Michigan returns much of the unit that played well (if unspectacular) last season.
Who's Gone: The Wolverines lose Senior Ryan Van Bergen to graduation, a guy who should not be overlooked as a significant loss because of his consistency, durability and production.
Personnel in 2012: Senior (and 4 year starter) Craig Roh gets moved from the weak-side to the SDE position this season. He'll be asked to add weight in the off-season to be able to hold down the strong side in the run game. Craig has had an up and down career after coming in with significant hype out of high school. If he puts things together he's a potential NFL player. Michigan will look to Roh to be play maker this season.
On the other side, it's likely to be a 2 man rotation with Frank Clark (RS So) and Brennan Beyer (True Soph). Clark was a less heralded recruit out of OSU pipeline Cleveland Glenville who has elite athleticism. He has shown spurts of play making ability (you may remember his interception in Michigan's Sugar Bowl victory this past season). Beyer was a true freshman last season who got playing time. He came in as Michigan's top rated defensive player and his career is on the right trajectory. He needs to continue to add weight to hold up as an every down DE. At this weak side DE position Michigan will look to these underclassmen to produce big plays.
Depth will be provided by a number of young players. Michigan has bodies but no one that will likely push for immediate playing. Watch out for the incoming freshman DE's to see if any make their way into the 2-deep as Craig Roh's backup at SDE.
2012 Outlook: The DE unit should be a strength for Michigan's defense in 2012.
ED NOTE: Now to talk about real talent
The MSU DEs.
Story of 2011: MSU had a young group of defensive ends in 2011. While young, they were also productive.
Who's Gone: MSU returns the bulk of its DEs from last year. In fact, I don't think any DE from last years team graduated. This is a huge plus and a major theme for the entire defense - the total depth.
Personnel in 2012: First and foremost is William Gholston, a true junior. I won't get into what UM fans think about him but will mention this from the previous post:
"I'm skeptical about most of these guys other than Gholston as I think NFL teams will love his freak athleticism." - Pat.
That might be the best way to sum Gholston up. This dude is an athlete. His biggest knock I would say is that he could get off the ball a little better (this was Worthy's best aspect). 70 tackles 16 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. If Gholston improves he should be an All American. If he stays the same, he will be first team all B1G. I will take that all day. Currently he is nursing an injury suffered in the spring game which is said to not be serious.
On the other side is Marcus Rush (amazing DE name). Marcus has a ton of potential and is a true sophomore. Last year he had 58 tackles 4 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. The 4 sacks led all B1G freshman. Along with that, Marcus was named to the freshman All-American team. Marcus excels at getting off the ball which has obviously helped with his tackle totals (having Worthy and Gholston on your line isn't bad either). This year, it will be necessary for Rush to have taken a step forward. Without Worthy on the line to eat up offensive lineman, Rush will need to get used to having more hands in his face. With Rush we have a guy that should be second team all B1G and cause headaches for teams all year round. I am very excited to see his game play this year, see if he took that "leap"
A third guy worth mentioning is Shilique Calhoun. He is listed on the depth chart as the back up to Rush. He is a RS freshman which coaches have been raving about since his first practice. It will be nice to finally see him in action. The MSU staff has compared Shilique to Gholston based on his athletic ability. Numerous bloggers have noted that he has a college ready body since he first walked into practice. This is a phrase that often over used and is perfect coach speak but Shilique Calhoun is ready to push the starters. With no game time action, Shilique was named as the scout team defensive player of the week three times. That is more than any other player (one of those games weeks was Michigan week). It will be interesting to see when Calhoun comes in for spells, how he makes the most of his time.
From there MSU has Jeremy Gainer, Joel Heath, Corey Freeman and Taylor Calero. Corey is a senior and has seen action in numerous games, though it has been limited. Heath is a redshirt freshman that the MSU staff has had praise for. Gainer is a junior that appeared in every game last year - his forced fumble against ND was the highlight last year. He is currently listed behind Rush and Calhoun but having that experience certainly means he will see time this year. Rounding out the group is Taylor Calero.
2012 Outlook: This is a position that on the top end is very high and overall has great depth.
UM vs MSU: The edge here goes to MSU.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Who's Better?
We previewed the defensive tackles but the big question is who has a better DT unit, the Spartans or the Wolverines?
I think this is a pretty interesting position group as it is likely both team's biggest question mark on defense heading into the season.
Both teams have upperclassmen who have yet to live up to hype and DE's moving inside to play defensive tackle. Both teams replace big time production. It's difficult to give the edge to one team over the other at this position. Whereas MSU likely has more depth and bodies that they can throw in there, Michigan has guys who I believe have more potential (higher ceiling). How all that will translate into production is a tough question to answer. I don't think I'm being too much of a homer in saying...
Round 1: Defensive Tackles Slim edge to Michigan.
Both teams have upperclassmen who have yet to live up to hype and DE's moving inside to play defensive tackle. Both teams replace big time production. It's difficult to give the edge to one team over the other at this position. Whereas MSU likely has more depth and bodies that they can throw in there, Michigan has guys who I believe have more potential (higher ceiling). How all that will translate into production is a tough question to answer. I don't think I'm being too much of a homer in saying...
Round 1: Defensive Tackles Slim edge to Michigan.
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