The Snowflake Thread: Defense

Submitted by LSAClassOf2000 on

This will be your thread - for this evening - to discuss any issues you may have with the defense and defensive playcalling. 

bigego150

November 2nd, 2013 at 6:39 PM ^

Needs to go....anyone trying to say otherwise is just not dealing with reality....games against Akron, UConn, PSU and now this beat down vs MSU....lack of X's and O's...lack of player development and lack of preparedness

bighouse22

November 2nd, 2013 at 8:26 PM ^

I am not an all or nothing guy, but very disappointed this year with the coaching.  This game was lost when the defense allowed Cook to sit back in pocket and march down the field before the half and immediately after.

I think we saw the difference between an old school coach (Mattison) with a conservative style and Narduzzi who blitzes (run and pass)  and uses press coverage the entire game.  The Narduzzi defensive scheme is about playing to win and leaving it all on the field.  Mattison's style is about playing not to lose and avoiding giving up big plays.

Which style did you like better?  And on top of that Narduzzi has done it with mostly 2 and 3 star players.  

I have always been a proponent of playing aggressive on both sides of the ball.  It is the same style the National Championship teams play.

bighouse22

November 2nd, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^

Today was about an aggressive style of defense vs a passive style.  You saw what playing to win (MSU's style) can accomplish with 2 and 3 star talent.  

The other team in the Big Ten that plays that way is OSU but they do it with 4 and 5 star talent.  That is the biggest reason they have not lost a game since he became head coach.  Urban Meyer is not stupid, he will see this game and coach the defense and offense with the same aggression.  That game concerns me a great deal!

WMUgoblue

November 2nd, 2013 at 6:45 PM ^

Put in terrible field position all game long and held up fairly well. Poor drive going into halftime though, and in hindsight was the kill shot.

Ok nice effort Taylor lol WTF was that?

ChuckWood

November 2nd, 2013 at 6:48 PM ^

The D is playing terrible. MSU does not have an offense that should be scoring more than 20 on us. I don't know if it's preparation or coaching but we should have capitalized on MSUs horrible QB. In stunned that this game turned out the way it has."

bighouse22

November 2nd, 2013 at 8:45 PM ^

They didn't start on our side of the field just before the half or to start the 2nd half.  I was at the game and it felt over as soon as MSU went up by 10 after marching down the field on those 2 drives.  

Tired of seeing every QB we face sit in the pocket and throw the ball like a first team all american.  It has happened all year (Akron, Uconn, Penn State, Indiana, and now MSU).  These teams are not offensive juggernauts.  If it was an aberration, then I buy it, but it is now a pattern.

Lac55

November 2nd, 2013 at 6:49 PM ^

They were on the field way to long and in bad position at that. They did miss some plays wether it be a sack or a pick, but they made a few plays also. To many 3rd down converts, but its been like that year. We just can't get off the damn field.

HollywoodHokeHogan

November 2nd, 2013 at 6:56 PM ^

     22 more points than Purdue's defense.  They aren't good.  The D-line is almost as shitty as our O-line.  Incapable of generating organic pressure, they have to blitz which exposes a mediocre secondary.  Same as last year.  People should realize that it's year 3 for Mattison too, not just Borges, and the defense is no juggernaut. 

Mannix

November 2nd, 2013 at 6:57 PM ^

Opening drive do second half went 75 yds and the final drive went 93 yds. Mattison doesn't get a pass here.

Sparty has been terrible and Cook looked great, like most every QB vs UM

CR7

November 2nd, 2013 at 6:58 PM ^

One of the worst offenses in the country had it's way with this defense. Unacceptable that they managed to move the ball with genuine ease. Field position or not, you've got a repeat of the PSU game. Make the kid uncomfortable. Make him move. Don't let him set his feet. OR, in Mattison's case, rush 3 and 4 and give him all day to find a hole in the defense. I think I recall one blitz, in the 3rd(?) quarter when they brought a double A gap blitz and Cook threw and incomplete. That should've been the plan until they did something about it.

I'm sick of Mattison getting a pass when his conservative defense is breaking more often than it's actually stopping the opposition.

kirbylax10

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:00 PM ^

Played okay for the most part. The two drives at the end of the 1st half and beginning of the 2nd half were killers. It is what it is. They drew the short end of the stick today.

bighouse22

November 2nd, 2013 at 9:31 PM ^

MSU was just the better team.  The disappointing part is that they have done it with a first year QB (Cook), re-tooled offensive line and first year running back.  Oh yeah, and they don't have their best receiver either, but I see improvement with their team as the year goes on.  On top of that their players are all 2 and 3 star.  They were/are the better coached team.  

Hoke and staff deserve at least 2 more years, but MSU and OSU are the hurdle.  If they are not beating either of those teams in 2 years, then it is evaluation time.  

The other part that bothers me is how often I hear how bad the RRs players were and we haven't seen Hoke's guys yet.  I think it is important to remember that Hoke's best record so far 11-2 was with RR's players.  

Let's see how the season plays out, but this is one more data point in the evaluation.  OSU is the next data point.  If the OSU game is a blow out, then it will be fair to start questioning the staff.

All of the debate on the board revolves around the end of the honeymoon phase! 

 

KBLOW

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:04 PM ^

I hated the 3 man pressure.  That was a HUGE mistake.  Cook would panic and rush throws when 5 came at him.  Still, the D did pretty well given the field position and total lack of help from O.

buddhafrog

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:09 PM ^

frankly, our defense sucked since the end of the first half drive.  We gave them 23 points in just over one half of football.  Our offense gave them good field position, but still, their offense is not very good.  We should have stopped them but couldn't.

I think our pass rush is HORRIBLE.  and our play calling is not wise knowing our weaknesses.

BayWolves

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:09 PM ^

Defense was solid under the circumstances but everytime we go to rush 3 it is a freaking unmitigated disaster.  We also continue to look a step slow in getting to the QB and not as tough as I thought we'd be this year.

 

jdub55

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^

I really thought this was the year we would become a really dominant defense but instead we have taken a major step back. Young guys don't seem to be developing like you would expect and nobody has stepped up as a playmaker.

Heck a lot of teams have had close to their best points or yard output of the year against us.

buddhafrog

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^

Japanese solution - when leadership has failed, ritual suicide.

Kill oneself with a sword in the gut.

That's what I would have the coaches do.  Line up at midfield and symbolicly, with imaginary swords, gut themselves.  That would be awesome and we'd then talk about something else that was less stressful than the same old snowflakes we've been bitching about all year BUT KNOW FOR A FACT will not change.

LSAClassOf2000

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:13 PM ^

Well, I will say this - the numbers don't look happy. We gave up 397 yards, which is more than average, as well as 6.51 yards per snap, which is also more than average. That being said, we were gassed by the end and were doing OK for much of the game. I didn't mind that performance for the most part. Like others, the 3-man rush had me scratching my head though. 

snowcrash

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:32 PM ^

It looked to me like they quit on the last drive, which is disappointing but irrelevant because the game was already effectively over. If you ignore the last drive it isn't an awful performance, just a mediocre one. If the offense had been able to do anything at all, this would have been a close game.

rob f

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:33 PM ^

While we kept state out of the end zone (except that momentum-changing drive at the end of the first half) until the 4th quarter, this is what I find fault with when it comes to a defensive game plan that is too much bend-but-not-break and not often enough aggressive and attacking.  Our weak 3-man rush gives opposing QB's too much time and comfort.  We made Cook look better than he really is, as he had all day to throw too much of the time. 

Can't flip the field when you don't get 3-and-outs.

PDX Blue

November 2nd, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^

M can not get opposing teams offense of the field. This has been a consistent theme all season. accountability has to beer placed somewhere and I, for one, will not blame or on youth or inexperience; or that the players need to execute better.

funkywolve

November 3rd, 2013 at 12:23 AM ^

It wasn't a turning point but man, it would have been nice if the D could have forced MSU to punt after UM went 3-0.  Borges comes out slinging and UM goes up 3-0.  What happens?  Massive breakdown by the defense and in one play MSU is in FG range.  Like others have said, that drive at the end of the first half was huge.