The Crushing Defense Continues in 2013

Pat Narduzzi has done one thing consistently since bringing his defensive philosophy to Michigan State:  make the meanest defensive team in the B1G Ten.

(link here to see the preview on the Spartan offense).

What is even more amazing is the 2013 team may be the best Spartan defense since the 60s.  We’ve had incredible defensive efforts the past four years… and if you attended any game in the painful season last year, the only reason you would keep coming back was to watch the crushing Spartan defense.

The linebacking corps is fast, disciplined, and rock-hard.  Max Bullough continues a family blood-line for MSU of vicious hitting, but smart LBs. It’s tough to think that Max may be better than Shane, Chuck, or Hank. But, he is certaily of that all-star caliber.   Thank God for the future: Riley Bullough and Byron Bullough continue the tradition.

A look at the three incredible LBs for MSU:  Bullough is at the middle (in 2012: 111 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 10 TFL, 1 INT), hard-hitting Denicos Allen at SAM (79 tackles, 3 sacks, 7 TFL, 1 INT), and Taiwan Jones (38 tackles, 1 sack, 4.5 TFL) at WLB.  That’s the best LB trio in the big ten.  Add in the opportunistic Kyler Elsworth (2.5 sacks)… and you have a LB corps filled with experience and very good play. 

Along the defensive front, the past two years we’ve lost Jerel Worthy and Will Gholston to the NFL, but we have depth to make up for the concerns.  Marcus Rush (38 tackles, 2 sacks, 5.5 TFL, 5 passes broken up/PBU) and Drenzel Drone (10 tackles, 1 PBU) have starting experience and have been a force on the DE and can use a bit more speed this year to hit QBs. Tyler Hoover (13 tackles, 0.5 TFL), Michajah Reynolds (19 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PBU), and James Kittredge (14 tackles, 4.5 TFL) have plenty of experiene filling the holes along the interior.  What is insteresting is moving Lawarence Thomas back to defense (from TE last year) to his natural abilities on the defenive front. He has the pedigree and blue-chip status to be a breakout player on defense:  a playmaker.  Early reports are his improvement over the summer will pay major dividends for the Big Green in the season.

Along the defensive backfield, Darqueze Dennard (52 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 7 PBU, 3 INT) returns after such a strong year in 2012; add to it Isiaiah Lewis (80 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 6 PBU, 2 INT) and Kurtis Drummond (53 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 4 PBU, 2 INT) to make a very solid trio on defense.  The newcomer, redshirt frosh Demetrious Fox, looks to add a lot of talent to the safety position.

There just aren’t many holes on defense.  While MSU will likely make things very very stingy to run the ball, they will need to get some pressure on opposing QBs – particularly on third downs – to stop opponents and give our offense a short field.  Hopefully Lawrence Thomas and Marcus Rush can lead the way with an improved pass rush.  Our offense needs all the help they can get.

BOTTOM LINE:  Lots of returning experience from one of the Big Ten’s best defenses last year… but the defense did not have much help from the offense to give them a rest off the field.  What do yo do?  Michigan State will have the best defense again this year in the conference.  Even with a sputtering offense last year, the defense gave up less than 100 yards per game on the ground, with an average of 30 carries for 99 yards (3.3 ypc).  That’s stout. And, if you can believe it, MSU averaged 85 more yards per game than their opponent (averaged 60 yards per game more than their opponent).  What does this mean?  The problems aren’t on defense at all.  This is one unit that can be relied upon all year long.

Spartan fans will hate to see the defense leave the field if the offense sputters at all like in 2012.  Can we put the defense on offense, too?  

If you love defense, come on out to Spartan Stadium in 2013.  We may see lots more 13-10, 17-13, or 10-9 games all year long.  Hopefully it's the Spartans on the front end of the ledger.   

Next report:  ES will look at coaching, special teams, and some of the rules changes in NCAA football.  We'll also look at the initial USA Today coaching poll....

Spartan Defense Blossoms, Learning Lessons Are Over. Dantonio Press Conference

ES had dinner with former MSU President John DiBiaggio the other night - he was at the Iowa game and he and I agreed on one thing: that was an excellent football game on Saturday, but "we should've won, dammit!"

First let the ES lay the criticism: Why DC Pat Narduzzi has to feel like he needs to scrap what is working for him all game long and go to a prevent defense on the last drive of the game is puzzling. Why Narduzzi couldn't keep after Iowa earlier in the drive is questionable (it didn't work) and unfortunate -- because the Spartans had bottled him up all game long. MSU jettisoned its game plan with the lead. Tisk, tisk. On the last series with 15 second left and from the 12 yard line and in, the Spartans sent eight defenders at Stanzi for four straight plays, and it worked for three of them, but unfortunately not the last play. The change in strategy was maddening, and yet another lesson learned.

But, enough negatives. Michigan State has a DAMN FINE football team. They're better than last year's team, although it is tough to tell at 4-4. It is a better team. Michigan State is three plays away from being 7-1 and in the Top 10 itself. It played even, or better, than Iowa, Notre Dame, and CMU. All three losses on the last play of the game.

I loved how Mark Dantonio handled the media after the game. He seems focused and determined. Best presser he has had since being a coach. Today's is scheduled for 11:30 am (watch live)

The defense is VASTLY improving, game by game. The Michigan State defense we saw on Saturday was dominant, and it was the best defensive performance in a decade by the Spartans. It was a slugfest, a bear-knuckles-brawl. We laid two Hawkeys out on a stretcher. They left with a W, but battered and bloodied. The defensive secondary played its best game since the glory days of George Perles -- you'd have thought Harlan Barnett dropped his earphones and climbed back onto the field. Excellent secondary play all game long. The pressure was in Stanzi's face all game long.

Jerel Worthy (photo above -- 4 tackles, 2 for loss) played his finest game as a Spartan. He dominated Iowa's interior and the Hawkeye's did not have an answer. Greg Jones was DOMINANT (12 tackles), once again all over the field. He should be a First Team All America. He is easily the best linebacker wearing Green and White since No Mercy Percy Snow.

Michigan State's offense left too many points on the field, again. But, this against an undefeated, #5/#6 team in the nation. Down to one final play. Yes it hurt, but now Michigan State MUST WIN OUT the remainder of its games. A victory at home over JoePa would seal the deal and get the Spartans closer to a "signature win" under Dantonio than its had to date. It would be nice to get a warm bowl game, play a hardy opponent, and get that W to put the Spartans firmly on the map.

These Spartans are focused and playing hard. They just need to finish. My guess is they will for the remainder of the season, and be rewarded with warm weather. It's time to take the next step. Learning lessons are over. We've learned them all. Now it is time to win.

Spartan Nation, what is your profession? WHOOOP, WHOOOP, WHOOOP!

Michigan State defense: "is it soft?"

A few more thoughts on Michigan State heading into South Bend.

If (yes, "if") Michigan State had defeated CMU, likely there wouldn't be the amount of skepticism over the Spartans as there is currently. The Chips had the better game and deserved to win; but, they needed an onside kick recovery, soft Spartan defense, and a penalty to give them another shot at the winning FG. Let's be honest: if MSU wins, maybe ND would be favored by 3 or 4, but not by 11. That's a TD difference, and the Spartans only lost by two -- this doesn't add up. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, this is a ND team that was 7-6 last year that lost to an improved, but not invincible, 3-9 Michigan team from a year ago: that game last week wasn't USC vs Ohio State: it was a hype-fest of two "storied" programs both of which have coaches on the hot-seat.

As stated earlier, I think the CMU game was our first real game of the year; we didn't learn anything vs Montana State. Now, this week, is where MSU needs to make its biggest improvement; and it has the talent to do it. When folks state the Spartan defense is "soft," at this point I'm not buying it as the m.o. for the team -- with an experienced defense, expect them to play far better... which should be an improvement over last year. It was soft (vs CMU), not is soft (I hope). Don't get me wrong, the Spartan defense didn't play up to expectations... but D-ccordinator Pat Narduzzi needs to cut them loose and Lefevour had a solid game experience the week before (at Arizona) to adjust and improve for the trip to Michigan State. Against ND, the ES expects a tenacious Spartan defense that will play better - the Spartans gave up 7 points to ND last year (both teams with roughly the same players)... and y'all think we'll give up 30 this week? ???

The Spartan offense should be the major concern: can a team (ND) giving up 170 yards a game on the ground stop a rushing game (MSU) that has been relatively ineffective (3.4 ypc against CMU)? Can the O-line open a few holes, and can the RBs hit them for some gains and take some pressure off Cousins/Nichol? Can the O-line keep the ND defensive pressure at bay, and if not, can the offense better use its talented TEs and drop the ball to RBs in the flat (unlike last week)? Having Mark Dell and Joel Nitchman back are huge pluses... and hopefully MSU can stretch the field a bit more with its wideouts. They just need to hang on to the damn ball.

That said, this game really is in the coaches hands as far as how they handle their game plan for the Irish and focus this team to play how they are expected to play. Playing ND this week is perfect: we need to see how the Doctor handles adversity, and he's got it right in his face. The ES says, BRING IT ON!

SPARTAN PLAYERS MEETING
The ES doesn't read a whole lot into the Spartans having a players-only "team meeting" following the CMU debacle. That's all fine and dandy, and if that is how the captains determine they want to focus this team, then so be it. But, it isn't a panacea - rather it just shows that the players are taking ownership of the situation. They still need to block better, tackle better, catch better, and run better. A player's meeting won't fix that; but practice and focus will.

Biggest Dissapointment: DBs; Biggest Concern? Running game

The biggest disappointment on Saturday vs. Central Michgian? The play of the Spartan defensive secondary, being smoked left, right, and up the middle (CMU's LeFevour went 34-of-47, a blistering 73% completion rate, for 352 yards). D-coord Pat Narduzzi effectively tied their hands by playing a base defense... The ES kept yelling, "where the hell is the bump-and-run?" and, "where are the blitzes???" If this team has such damn good talent in the defensive backfield, why play scared? Where the hell is the aggressiveness? Tackle, hit, and get after the Goddam Irish on Saturday; the Spartan DBs better not be waiting, or they'll just get run over. Downright embarrassing.

The biggest concern? The Spartan running game. Let's start with the play of the Spartan offensive line. My God, they looked uninspired and couldn't run block as well as my grandma. They looked better in pass blocking, but not by much. John Stipek looked confused half the time replacing Joel Nitchman (sprained knee) at center. You wonder how much of an impact that had on the line - we NEED Nitchman back. At RB, at least Caulton Ray hit the holes going forward and had a few yards. Larry Caper needs to ditch the "I wanna look like Barry Sanders" dance moves and run forward and hit the holes or the Irish will break his ankles and eat him alive. Listen, ND gave up 190 yards rushing to the Yellow Bellies of Ann Arbor, so there IS room to run. But, MSU better find it.

Spartans... Touchdown Jesus is waiting for you. You want some, or you want to just give up? Here is the best opportunity to RUIN the Irish pride. What do you do when a rabid dog is in a corner? You grab it by the neck and stomp on it. Ruin their day, their season, their football tradition. I want it. Do you? Go out and do it. It will be sweet redemption and put the Spartan Nation back on track. 1-2 is unacceptable. Go get it done.