Since my only access to a computer prior to Saturday morning was a dial up connection this week will only include a post game analysis.
MSU did just enough to win Saturday in a 42-29 victory over Indiana. Ringer had a fairly boring 198 yards with one touchdown. He carried the ball 44 times, at least a half dozen for a loss.
Hoyer looked, again, just ok. Although his stats looked respectable (14 of 26 for 261 yards w/ 2 passing TD's, one rushing TD) he continues to stare down receivers. Against IU it worked. Against teams like Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State,and Penn State that means big trouble. In his defense, yet again, receivers dropped some perfectly catchable passes. There were 3 glaring drops in key situations. The worst play of the day (on offense) was an overthrown pass for a TD to Cunningham. Hoyer had Cunningham wide open deep down the middle and missed a sure TD by not putting enough air under the pass, missing his target by a few feet. I would like to say that Hoyer looked better--because he did glancing at a stat sheet--but Indiana's defense is suspect to begin with (See: giving up 42 points and 460 yards of offense to Ball State) and have lost 3 starting defensive backs to injury so far this season.
The MSU run defense was soft as well. I expect the defensive backs to get beat from time to time. Yesterday there was a flag about every 4 seconds. But the run defense had been strong up until Saturday, when the Spartans gave up 189 yards on the ground.
Wisconsin found a way to lose to UM after leading 19-0 at halftime and recovering 5 UM turnovers in the first half. I really didn't think Wisconsin was that great coming into the game, but losing after being up by 19 and recovering 5 turnovers in a half?! Sounds like John L Smith.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
MSU v ND
Lock the pantry and hide the little boys, Charlie Weis and his friendly fathers are in town. Pull up a twinkie and sit on my lap, son, while I tell you a story.
ESPN.COM discovered MSU. Turns out all you have to do is play a mediocre team coming off a terrible season to get some recognition. 3 Articles this week. 1 about Ringer (greatest things since ... ). 1 about Hoyer ( ... ). 1 about emus.
We all know the heart-warming story of Notre Dame lore. A young hobbit, not very smart or very talented, nor very attractive. But, neither was he very tall or fast. He wasn't a kicker, punter, or long snapper.
He wasn't really worth much at all. He wasn't rich, or from a family that contributed a great deal to society. He wasn't a future leader, nor has he done anything repute since his glory days back in 1919. But he had a heart and dedication like no other. So much heart did that little hobbit have in his wee chest (very like a leprechaun was he!) that he made the team. We loved that little hobbit making tackles in the last 3 seconds of scrub time, loved it so much we made a movie.
The year is 2007, and Rudy has a bag on his head at a home football game, turning his other cheek to touchdown Jesus, praying for a new offense.
All jokes and pedophilia aside, the game should be good. I don't know at all what to expect from either team. ND has beaten two nobody teams (haha) and MSU has, considering the weather, shown us little. The difference between last year's teams and this year's teams is like ... leaving us with little to go on. I still predict that MSU is, overall, better than they were last year. ND is slightly better than the 2007 version.
Let's check with Lou.
Lou isn't happy with my analysis. SSScccHIIIT.
MSU - 32
ND - 27
ESPN.COM discovered MSU. Turns out all you have to do is play a mediocre team coming off a terrible season to get some recognition. 3 Articles this week. 1 about Ringer (greatest things since ... ). 1 about Hoyer ( ... ). 1 about emus.
We all know the heart-warming story of Notre Dame lore. A young hobbit, not very smart or very talented, nor very attractive. But, neither was he very tall or fast. He wasn't a kicker, punter, or long snapper.
He wasn't really worth much at all. He wasn't rich, or from a family that contributed a great deal to society. He wasn't a future leader, nor has he done anything repute since his glory days back in 1919. But he had a heart and dedication like no other. So much heart did that little hobbit have in his wee chest (very like a leprechaun was he!) that he made the team. We loved that little hobbit making tackles in the last 3 seconds of scrub time, loved it so much we made a movie.The year is 2007, and Rudy has a bag on his head at a home football game, turning his other cheek to touchdown Jesus, praying for a new offense.
All jokes and pedophilia aside, the game should be good. I don't know at all what to expect from either team. ND has beaten two nobody teams (haha) and MSU has, considering the weather, shown us little. The difference between last year's teams and this year's teams is like ... leaving us with little to go on. I still predict that MSU is, overall, better than they were last year. ND is slightly better than the 2007 version.
Let's check with Lou.
Lou isn't happy with my analysis. SSScccHIIIT.
MSU - 32
ND - 27
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
FAU Aftermath
In two words: It Rained.
During the MSU/ND game in 2006, in the second half at least, it rained harder. This was more like dripping water torture. It rained constantly. We were wet in rain gear under a tent.
Not-so-Sharp from the Free Press gives all the credit to two things: the rain and Ringer. Wow. Profound. He gets paid for this?! Next he'll be telling us people don't like high gas prices and the Lions are a terrible football team. He's right again. Way to go out on a limb.
The pass rush was bad. There was little to no pressure on the FAU QB. When it rains receivers can't get in and out of cuts, things take longer to develop, and the QB takes longer to get out from under center and get a good grip on the ball. That should have provided MSU's defensive ends a chance to get 3-5 sacks. We got zero. We can't hope to be a good defensive team until we pressure the QB. On the bright side the run defense was solid. Drew Dull seems to ignore that fact, saying the MSU defense was lucky it rained and stopped the passing attack, but FAU couldn't run the ball effectively either. Coming into the game FAU had run for over 150 yards per game. Last Saturday they had 82.
Ringer was Big Ten Player of the week. I'm still not sold on the offensive line. Most of the credit goes to Ringer, both for his raw talent and for decision making. Young backs run as fast as they can either straight up field or to the corner, trying to bounce outside. Experienced backs are patient. They wait for the blocks to develop, don't panic, then burst through when they see an opening. That is exactly what Ringer did this past weekend running the ball 43 times for 282 yards and 2 TD's. A 30 yard TD was called back on a hold.
Hoyer is...Hoyer. The conditions were terrible so I can't be too hard on him. However, he fumbled or almost fumbled three times as many snaps as the opposing QB. At one point a high snap went over his head. He ran to the ball and had the right idea; fall on the ball and eat the loss. He somehow screwed that up. Hoyer has now added "falling on a fumble" to a list of things he is not so good at.
I have no idea what to expect from the MSU ND game this weekend. ND looked terrible against lowly (very, very low) San Diego State and honestly should not have beaten Michigan. I'm ok with the latter. They just don't look all that impressive.
MSU is hard to figure as well. The offensive is, well, Ringer. I like the receivers I just don't know that I trust Hoyer to make good decisions or throws. The defense is hard to figure. Most importantly MSU v ND games are always strange.
During the MSU/ND game in 2006, in the second half at least, it rained harder. This was more like dripping water torture. It rained constantly. We were wet in rain gear under a tent.
Not-so-Sharp from the Free Press gives all the credit to two things: the rain and Ringer. Wow. Profound. He gets paid for this?! Next he'll be telling us people don't like high gas prices and the Lions are a terrible football team. He's right again. Way to go out on a limb.
The pass rush was bad. There was little to no pressure on the FAU QB. When it rains receivers can't get in and out of cuts, things take longer to develop, and the QB takes longer to get out from under center and get a good grip on the ball. That should have provided MSU's defensive ends a chance to get 3-5 sacks. We got zero. We can't hope to be a good defensive team until we pressure the QB. On the bright side the run defense was solid. Drew Dull seems to ignore that fact, saying the MSU defense was lucky it rained and stopped the passing attack, but FAU couldn't run the ball effectively either. Coming into the game FAU had run for over 150 yards per game. Last Saturday they had 82.
Ringer was Big Ten Player of the week. I'm still not sold on the offensive line. Most of the credit goes to Ringer, both for his raw talent and for decision making. Young backs run as fast as they can either straight up field or to the corner, trying to bounce outside. Experienced backs are patient. They wait for the blocks to develop, don't panic, then burst through when they see an opening. That is exactly what Ringer did this past weekend running the ball 43 times for 282 yards and 2 TD's. A 30 yard TD was called back on a hold.
Hoyer is...Hoyer. The conditions were terrible so I can't be too hard on him. However, he fumbled or almost fumbled three times as many snaps as the opposing QB. At one point a high snap went over his head. He ran to the ball and had the right idea; fall on the ball and eat the loss. He somehow screwed that up. Hoyer has now added "falling on a fumble" to a list of things he is not so good at.
I have no idea what to expect from the MSU ND game this weekend. ND looked terrible against lowly (very, very low) San Diego State and honestly should not have beaten Michigan. I'm ok with the latter. They just don't look all that impressive.
MSU is hard to figure as well. The offensive is, well, Ringer. I like the receivers I just don't know that I trust Hoyer to make good decisions or throws. The defense is hard to figure. Most importantly MSU v ND games are always strange.
Friday, September 12, 2008
MSU v Florida Atlantic 9/13/08
The Michigan State defense faces a challenge this weekend when they meet FAU. FAU throws the ball, then they throw the ball, then when the QB is tired he hands it off --- and the RB throws the ball. John L would be proud.
With several banged up (and some MIA) members of the secondary day to day more shifting will occur this week. Ross Weaver will move from corner to safety, to fill in for Davis-Clark, who was a fill in for the dismissed Jenrette...you get the idea.
All the headlines following last week's 42-10 victory over Eastern Michigan used words like "Romp" and "Crush" and "Thrash," but from where I sat (quite close to the field, thanks Justin) the defense looked just ok. The offense was fine, considering the EMU (which the band chanted, "Go EMU," like the ostrich/Jimmy Clausen looking animal) defense gave up about 30lbs and 4 inches to the MSU offensive line. It was the corners, the defensive ends, and the interior linemen that looked just ok. EMU was about 1/2 a step away from scoring 14 more points. There was no pass rush. There were no big plays. That can't happen this week because given time the FAU QB will place the ball. In two games FAU's QB has thrown the ball 74 times and last season threw for 3700 yards. That's about...a lot of yards per game.
I expect Trevor Anderson to have a big game at DE. Two sacks, with another 2 for the linebackers would not be surprising. I also expect at least one tipped ball interception as the defensive line has a distinct height advantage.
Hoyer continues to be Trent Dilfer; the guy that just does what he has to do to not lose the game. Hand off 65% of the time. Complete a few throws. Don't gamble. Manage the game. Show your strong arm a few times per game by overthrowing a receiver by 10 yards.
The good news for Hoyer? FAU has a better chance of brokering peace in the middle east than stopping the MSU running game. FAU has given up over 400 rushing yards through two games. A team that can't stop the run can't stop anything. Look for Ringer, and Jimmerson, and Anderson, and...anyone else that lines up in the backfield to have success. Once the safeties creep up, look for deep balls to Cunningham and Dell off play action fakes.
I don't like playing the smaller athletic teams from Florida. There is so much talent in the state of Florida that even the leftovers, at least at skill positions, is top tier in terms of speed. Smaller quicker teams leave less room for error on defense, especially against screens and quick slants like Northwestern runs. I see FAU very much like Northwestern, minus the academics. Passes will likely go 5 yards in the air and 25 yards after the catch. Fortunately I really like our linebackers. With some pressure on the QB from the pass rush, good positioning on defense, and solid tackling the defense should be ok. Miss a few tackles or give the QB too much time and it could spell trouble.
The FAU coach, Howard Schnellenberger, is about 311 years old. He looks like Bela Karolyi, dresses like Captain Kangaroo and through carbon dating has been determined to be juuuust a tad younger than Joe Paterno. Smelly Schnelly (as his players endearingly call him) and Moses were tight until Moses, then a special teams assistant coach, told his players not to block on a kick return. It turns out he was practicing a new "parting" play that involved clearing space for "his people" by using an early rendition of the YMCA dance craze. When the play failed, costing Schnelly a promotion, the two had a falling out.
Naturally Schnelly chose to end his football career in Florida where he spends the offseason driving poorly, enjoying air conditioning and jello, and playing shuffle board by 10 am.
MSU - 41
FAU - 20
*Above: "Can't you see, it's time for my pills!"
With several banged up (and some MIA) members of the secondary day to day more shifting will occur this week. Ross Weaver will move from corner to safety, to fill in for Davis-Clark, who was a fill in for the dismissed Jenrette...you get the idea.
All the headlines following last week's 42-10 victory over Eastern Michigan used words like "Romp" and "Crush" and "Thrash," but from where I sat (quite close to the field, thanks Justin) the defense looked just ok. The offense was fine, considering the EMU (which the band chanted, "Go EMU," like the ostrich/Jimmy Clausen looking animal) defense gave up about 30lbs and 4 inches to the MSU offensive line. It was the corners, the defensive ends, and the interior linemen that looked just ok. EMU was about 1/2 a step away from scoring 14 more points. There was no pass rush. There were no big plays. That can't happen this week because given time the FAU QB will place the ball. In two games FAU's QB has thrown the ball 74 times and last season threw for 3700 yards. That's about...a lot of yards per game.
I expect Trevor Anderson to have a big game at DE. Two sacks, with another 2 for the linebackers would not be surprising. I also expect at least one tipped ball interception as the defensive line has a distinct height advantage.
Hoyer continues to be Trent Dilfer; the guy that just does what he has to do to not lose the game. Hand off 65% of the time. Complete a few throws. Don't gamble. Manage the game. Show your strong arm a few times per game by overthrowing a receiver by 10 yards.
The good news for Hoyer? FAU has a better chance of brokering peace in the middle east than stopping the MSU running game. FAU has given up over 400 rushing yards through two games. A team that can't stop the run can't stop anything. Look for Ringer, and Jimmerson, and Anderson, and...anyone else that lines up in the backfield to have success. Once the safeties creep up, look for deep balls to Cunningham and Dell off play action fakes.
I don't like playing the smaller athletic teams from Florida. There is so much talent in the state of Florida that even the leftovers, at least at skill positions, is top tier in terms of speed. Smaller quicker teams leave less room for error on defense, especially against screens and quick slants like Northwestern runs. I see FAU very much like Northwestern, minus the academics. Passes will likely go 5 yards in the air and 25 yards after the catch. Fortunately I really like our linebackers. With some pressure on the QB from the pass rush, good positioning on defense, and solid tackling the defense should be ok. Miss a few tackles or give the QB too much time and it could spell trouble.
The FAU coach, Howard Schnellenberger, is about 311 years old. He looks like Bela Karolyi, dresses like Captain Kangaroo and through carbon dating has been determined to be juuuust a tad younger than Joe Paterno. Smelly Schnelly (as his players endearingly call him) and Moses were tight until Moses, then a special teams assistant coach, told his players not to block on a kick return. It turns out he was practicing a new "parting" play that involved clearing space for "his people" by using an early rendition of the YMCA dance craze. When the play failed, costing Schnelly a promotion, the two had a falling out.
Naturally Schnelly chose to end his football career in Florida where he spends the offseason driving poorly, enjoying air conditioning and jello, and playing shuffle board by 10 am.
MSU - 41
FAU - 20
*Above: "Can't you see, it's time for my pills!"
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