MSU vs CMU 2nd Half Defense Review

by DrDetroit on Sep 17, 2009 6:10 AM CDT

[Ditto: Autobump. See concluding thought at the bottom. -KJ]

This was the first time I watched a game to take notes on performance. I learned something very important, shut the sound off. When you watch one play 5 or 6 times hearing the announcer say "1st down" or "Central Michigan" over and over again gets old very, very fast. I do not think the defense played badly, there was just a lot of missed tackles and defenders falling down. Hopefully formatting this post doesn't take longer than creating the text.

~~Update: I am in formatting hell. I am going to post this as is then edit it to modify the formatting. I would prefer to have the information available in a bad format rather than unavailable.~~ Updated: now with video!

My offensive set play calling is going to poor until I learn the names better. CPT Hoolie and I will be using a standard format from now on. In my rush to get this posted I do not want to wait to have the formatting done first. CPT Hoolie includes the names of the CMU players, I am not that motivated. I did include the number of the MSU player so as we keep doing this and everyone reads it that should help identify players during the game.

Time	Quarter	Down	Offense Set	Play	Defense Set and Play	Result
14:54	3	1-10	Shotgun 3WR, TE, HB WS of QB	Read Option Run	4-3	HB 4 yard gain
CMU runs a read option to the HB to the strongside. Not sure what the defense is in. DB 29 L. Rucker is in man coverage, but WLB 34 Denson looks like he is in zone. It is a read option so DE 89 Neely is left unblocked so the QB hands to the RB. Both safeties have come up to within 7 yards of the LOS. 58 Anderson is blown back by the RT. The DTs are doubled. MLB 53 Greg Jones reads the play and shoots into the backfield but misses the tackle. SLB 43 Gordon avoids a block by the TE and makes the tackle for a short gain.
14:30	3	2-5	Shotgun 3WR, TE, HB WS of QB	Option Weak	4-3 Zone	HB 9 yard gain, CMU Holding negates the play.
29 L. Rucker is staring into the backfield, indicating to me its zone coverage. He also backs off so I am guessing it is a soft zone, Cover 3 maybe? Both DEs are unblocked, play is to the weakside. 89 Neely attacks the QB, so the QB pitches to the HB. WLB 34 Denson gets blocked by the slot WR. HB runs to the outside of him avoiding FS 39 Robinson on his way. HB runs to the outside DB 9 Ware who is being blocked by the WR. Ware forces the HB out of bounds. A hodling penalty negates the play. The hold was on the WR who was blocking 34 Denson. Which is good, because I was going to blame Denson for this play. A LB shouldn't be help up for long, if at all by a WR. Denson is the only player available to stop this to a short gain, and since the WR held him, he was not able to get to the HB.
13:56	3	2-12	Shotgun, 4wide trips right, HB L of QB.	Screen	4-2 Nickel, Man?	HB screen for 3 yards.
The outside DBs are in press coverage. The Nickel back is lined up directly in fron of the safety, 5 yards off the LOS. One LB is offset to the trips while the LB is set where he should be for the 4-2 alignment (between DE and DT) away from the trips. 99 Worthy reads the screen immediately and runs to the flat but misses the HB. LB 10 Norman gets blocked by the WR and LG. 70 Wilson comes in to make the tackle. SS Hyde is also there at the end of the play. Worthy was juked by the HB, which should happen when a DT tries to tackle a HB in space. LB 10 Normon probably should have gotten of the block of the WR. Because of the WR he couldn't avoid the LG. Which prevented him from attempting a TFL. Overall, I think the defense read this play very well which is important because ND runs a lot of screens.
13:24	3	3-9	Shotgun 4 WR, Trips R, HB FLanker	Pass	3-3 Zone, LB Blitz	Incomplete Pass
MSU lines up with 3 downlineman but blitzes MLB 53 Jones. Jones blows by the LG forcing a quick pass by the QB which sails out of bounds. 55 Decker, who is listed as a MLB on the two deep is lined up as a DE and blows past the LT. The other DE, couldn't see his number but I think its 58 Anderson, gets chipped by the HB but still gets a power rush to be close to the QB when the ball is thrown. I think Jones made a smart play, instead of hitting the QB he jumped to try to knock down the pass. The incompletion forces a 3 and out. Good series by the defense.
10:44	3	1-10	Shotgun, 4WR, Trips Right, HB L of QB	Pass	Nickel Defense Zone	Incomplete Pass
This is similar to an earlier set by the D. 9 Ware has press coverage on the single WR. The nickel is lined up directly in front of the safety. 29 L. Rucker is playing off the other outside WR. The LBs show blitz but back out of it. 89 Neely is blocked by the HB, but he is only slowed as he does a power rush to the QB. I think he gets enough pressure that the QB has to throw early. The rest of the d-line is blocked by the o-line. I have not been impressed with Neely throughout this game and this is another play that I do not like. He is blocked by the HB, he should be able to pick him up and throw him out of his way without slowing down, instead he tries a speed rush which doesn't work then he rides him to the QB. DEs should not be slowed down by a HB. Still, it is an incomplete pass.
10:39	3	2-10	Shotgun 4WR, Trips Right, HB L of QB	WR screen	Nickel	7 yard pass
DE 54 Rolf is standing on this play and MLB 53 Greg Jones is lined up on his hip to blitz. The DBs are off the WRs. Its Nickel coverage again with the nickel back lined up almost in front of the safety on the inside WR of the trip set. Rolf gets crushed by the LT. Gets up and gets crushed again. Then the LT jumps on him. That is very good pass blocking, too bad its for CMU. The rest of the d-line doesn't do much since its a screen. 10 Norman is lined up as a MLB before the play. For some reason he goes to the short side of the field at the start of the play, I am guessing the HB is his responsibility on this play. I really have no idea what is going on with the defense. LB 43 Eric Gordon is lined up as the nickel back. So I am guessing MSU has really been in a 4-3 the entire game. 43 Gordon is blocked by a WR and 70 Wilson tackles the WR from behind. This is a nice play by CMU. The WR starts towards the sidelines which draws 43 Gordon that way, then the WR cuts back into the field to catch the pass. The movement to the sideline has allowed the other WR to get into position to block 43 Gordon. I think this is the second time 70 Wilson has read the screen pass correctly. He is on the ball. This play works well for CMU because MSU had called a LB blitz.
10:16	3	3-3	Shotgun, 5WR	Rollout Pass	4-3 Man, delayed LB blitz	36 yard pass
Still in a 4-3 defense. SLB 43 Gordon is line up at the bottom of the screen in coverage. CMU rolls the pocket towrads the short side of the field. 58 Anderson does not pass rush, but follows the QB down the line of scrimmage and looks like he is in pass coverage, the LT follows him down the LOS. 99 Neely is not blocked on this play, but since the QB rolls away from him so he has a long way to run and almost gets to the QB. The delayed LB blitz (can't see a number) is picked up by the C/LG. 70 Wilson pushes the RG down the LOS and starts to beat him before he is picked up the by LT. The coverage in the secondary is pretty good. 29 L. Rucker jumps just a shade late and the WR makes a nice catch. Rucker turned to the inside to make a play, if he turned towards the outside he might have been able to knock the ball away from the defender. The receiver juggled the ball, so if Rucker had turned towards him he would have easily knocked it away.
9:42	3	1-10	Shotgun, 3 WR, HB SS of QB	Defensive Penalty	Oops, didn't write it down	Offsides on the defense. 99 Worthy
9:30	3	1-5	Shotgun, 3WR, HB WS of QB	Pass	4-3, looks like Zone	PI on Offense
LB 43 Gordon is lined up on on a WR. CMU keeps the TE and HB in to block. 54 Rolf engages the LT and is able to get off of his block. I really like how he is playing. The rest of the D-line is doubled. The pass coverage was blown, but there was a pick to get the WR so open.
9:19	3	1-20	Shotgun, 4WR, Trips Left, HB L of QB	Quick pass	Nickel Man	Incompelete pass
This is actually a nickel coverage, a LB has been replaced by FS Kendell Davis-Clark. The DBs are in press coverage on the outside WRs. I think this was either a good fake or an option play for CMU. The O-line blocks like it is a screen to the HB, but the QB throws the ball in the flat to a WR instead of waiting for the screen to develop. 89 Neely is unblocked and gets a hit on the QB (I think this also helped the QBs decision to throw to the WR). The QB had to rush his throw and misses the WR, but it wouldn't matter because the safeties, 39 Robinson, and 38 Kendell Davis-Clark are there to great him.
9:16	3	2-20	Shotgun 3WR, HB WS QB	Screen	4-3 Man	Pass for -1 yards
Well, I hope no one wants a position analysis. MLB 53 Greg Jones is lined up at DE. DE 58 Anderson is lined up as a DT. Anderson blows past the RG with a swim move and puts a hit on the QB, just missing a sack. WLB Brynden Trawick reads the play but misses the tackle. SLB 43 Gordon is there to make the TFL. Poor tackling appears to be a theme in this game.
8:40	3	3-21	Shotgun, 4WR, Trips Right, HB L of QB	Pass	3-3-5 or 3-4 Zone, LB Blitz	Pass for 15 yards
MSU lines up in what could be a 3-4 and blitzes a LB. The blitz disrupts the pocket, but doesn't put any pressure on the QB. He steps up and delivers the ball. The MSU defense swarms and stops the WR from getting any YAC. Even with the blitz there really was no pressure on the QB. He had time to setup and throw. Fortunately the DBs were in place to prevent the first down and force a FG attempt, which was missed.
2:28	3	1-10	Shotgun, 3WR, HB WS of QB	Pass	4-3 Zone	Incomplete Pass
CMU keeps the TE and HB in to block. 58 Anderson blows by the RT and then misses the sack. The rest of the d-line is doubled. The LBs are all in zone coverage within 5 yards of the LOS. DB 29 L. Rucker times this right and gets a hand on the ball to break up the pass. Great play by Rucker.
2:20	3	2-10	Shotgun 4WR, Trips Left, HB Lined as a flanker	QB Run	4-3 Zone, Double LB blitz	Personal Foul on SS Hyde Unnecessary Roughness
MSU sends 6 on the blitz. The blitz is picked up by the o-line and HB. 70 Wilson drives the RG back and makes the tackle of the QB. Contact is in the backfield, but the QB goes forward for a small gain. MSU is called for defensive holding. The penalty is for Hyde with helmet to helmet on a defenseless player. I think this is the wrong call. The QB for CMU isn't down when he is hit by Hyde. The replay shows that a player is under the QB, and that neither of his knees touch the ground. The QB at this point is not down.
2:02	3	1-10	Shotgun 4WR, HB L of QB	Pass	4-3 LB and Corner Blitz, Zone	17 yard pass
I think its DB 29 L. Rucker blitzing on the QB's blindside. The SLB 43 Gordon blitzes as well. Gordon engages the RT allowing Rucker a free run to the QB. He hits the QB after the ball is released. WLB 34 Denson had underneath coverage and the ball was thrown over his head to the WR who makes a 1 handed catch. There are two WRs to the long side of the field, one is not on the screen. I am assuming he went long and took the DB and Safety deep which is why the WR was so wide open. If you blitz and do not get there, this is what happens. The replay from another angle shows that the DB 9 Ware had gone deep with the other WR. It was zone coverage and the other safety, can't see his number, had the middle of the field.
1:44	3	1-10	Shotgun 4WR, Trips R, HB R of QB	QB Read Option	4-3	4 yard run
This is a read option run for CMU. The unblocked DE is 58 Anderson. The QB sees him and hands off to the RB. DE 57 Strayhorn is just buried by the LT. That ends up being a good thing as it creates a pile in the HB's way. The HB turns upfield. This is enough of a delay for the SS Hyde to read the play and make the tackle for a 2 yard gain. 96 Pickelman does a good job of riding the C down the LOS. He was in a position to make a play until the HB turned upfield and ran behind the C. The LG got a good second level cut block on 43 Gordon. This is what really had opened up the space for the HB to gain what he did. MLB 53 Greg Jones does a good job of avoiding the block and get to the ball carrier.
1:13	3	2-6	Shotgun 4WR, HB R of QB	TRICK PLAY!	4-3	PI MSU
CMU ran the trick play where you need highly discipline offensive lineman. The C snaps the ball then no one on the o-line moves. MSU was off sides and had a pass interference penatly on this play. It looks like no one on MSU was fooled by the O-line. Both penalties look correct to me. DB 9 Ware got into the path of the WR while the ball was in the air making no play on the ball.
1:05	3	1-10	Shotgun 4WR, HB R of QB	HB Option R	4-3 Double LB blitz	12 yard run
DE 91 Hoover is unblocked on this play. He forces the QB to pitch to the HB. It is a double LB blitz so the LBs basically run themselves out of the play. WLB Denson gets blocked enough by the WR to allow the HB to get by him. FS 39 Robinson makes the tackle. This play worked mostly because of the double LB blitz, but also because MLB 53 Jones trips over the feet of DT 96 Pickleman when he changed direction from blitzing to pursuing the run.
0:43	3	1-10	Shotgun 3WR, HB WS of QB	Pass	4-3 Man	Sack -3 yards
This is an odd defense to me. The DBs are in man coverage but the LBs are in zone. Not much to say about this play. 89 Neely gets around the LT and sacks the QB. 96 Pickelman pushes the LG back and is getting off the block to hit the QB when he is sacked. The QB had time to throw, so the secondary must have had good coverage on the play.
0:03	3	2-13	Shotgun, 5WR	Pass	4-3 Zone	Pass for 9 yards
This is another quick pass that gets out before the D-line can get pressure. It looks like the D-line has all backups in. I think Dantonio wanted to rest everyone on the last play of the quarter. The NT (couldn't see his number) starts to split the C/LG block when the ball is thrown. The DBs were in a deep zone and the ball is thrown underneath the coverage for 9 yards.
15:00	4	3-3	Shotgun, 4WR, HB R of QB	Pass	4-3 Zone Blitz	Pass for 4 yards
This is a zone blitz. 58 Anderson is lined up as a DT. 53 Jones blitzes to the outside. Anderson starts to pass rush but then drops back into coverage. Jones is unblocked but the ball is released quickly into the flat to the HB. The HB is underneath the zone coverage. He gets the first down yardage before the defense arrives. I have no idea why MSU was in a zone with every defeneder 2 yards passed the yardage needed for the 1st down. Shouldn't they be at the 1st down line?
14:41	4	1-10	Shotgun 5WR	Pass	4-3 Zone	Pass TD
The LB show blitz, then back out into zone coverage. Not sure what type of zone. The DBs go deep with the WR while the LB are stay within 6 yards of the LOS. Both DEs speed rush past the CMU tackles. The tackles get enough of them to allow teh QB to throw the ball before they get there. 54 Rolf is called for roughing the passer. He did, which is too bad. I thought he was having a great game up to this point. The zone coverage looked good. One of the LBs started to go with a WR towards the sideline which opened up the window for the QB to throw through. I do think anyone did anything wrong defensively on this play.
7:27	4	1-10	Shotgun, 3WR, HB WS	Read Option Pass	4-3 Zone	5 yards pass
CMU runs a QB read option, the third option is taken which is a pass to a WR in the flat. This is a play that Michigan will be using, so I hope State learns from it. 99 Neely is the unblocked DE. He attacks the QB who sees him and throws the ball to the WR. The MSU defense swarms to the play, but 29 L. Rucker slips allowing the WR to get 5 yards.
6:46	4	2-5	Shotgun, 4WR, Trips Right, HB R of QB	Read Option Run	4-3 Zone	9 yard run
58 Anderson is the unblocked DE, and the QB sees him and hands off to the HB going the other way. I think this is actually the wrong read as it looks like Anderson is attacking down the LOS rather than the QB. The o-line releases well and gets good blocks on the LBs. The LT has a good seal on 99 Neely allowing the HB to get to the outside and turn upfield. 53 Jones does a good job fighting the O-lineman on him. His effort force the HB out of bounds even though Jones never touches him. The d-line was buried on this play and that allowed the o-line to get quality second level blocks.
6:11	4	1-10	Shotgun 4WR, HB R of QB	PA Pass	4-3 Zone	Inc pass
This is the same defense MSU has been running all game. I am not sure why they have not changed it up at all and put in more DBs for man press coverage. The d-line is blocked effectively by the o-line and the QB has time to set and throw. 99 Neely is starting to beat the LT when he falls down. 39 Robinson is beat deep on this play but the ball is thrown to far and falls incomplete. Nice. The WR pushes off of Robinson to give himself more room to attempt the catch.
6:03	4	2-10	Shotgun 5WR	Pass	3-3-5 Zone	QB run for 5 yards
53 Jones is spying the QB on this play. He starts to rush the QB when he sees 58 Anderson about to get a sack. The QB avoids both of Andersons attempts and runs to the outside. Since Jones started rushing he gets a block by the LG pushing him inside while the QB runs outside. This springs the QB for the gain. 58 Anderson made a nice move on the RT but the QB steps up in the pocket to avoid the sack. Anderson falls on the attempt and makes a lunging attempt at him from the ground. Both fail. I think this is something wrong with Anderson's pass rush. He keeps attack directly at the QB. So the QB just steps up quickly to avoid him. I doubt anyone can step back quickly, so I think Anderson needs to adjust his rush to attack a little more towards the front of the QB.
5:27	4	3-5	Shotgun 5WR	Pass	3-3-5 LB Spy, Zone	Pass for 7 yards
MSU again only has 3 D-linemen. 53 Jones is again spying on the QB. He just stands at the LOS and watches to make sure the QB doesn't run. The rest of the defense is in a soft zone. I do not like only sending 3 after the QB. The blocking is 5 on 3. So you only have 1 player single blocked. And it looks like MSU had the secondary again sitting beyond the yardage needed for a first down. 9 Ware does wrap up and make a nice tackle.
5:05	4	1-10	Shotgun, 3WR, HB WS of QB	Read option run	4-3	5 yard run
89 Neely is the unblocked DE who attacks the QB, so the QB hands off to the HB. 58 Anderson is chipped by the TE who releases to get a second level block on 43 Gordon. Anderson spins off of that then fights off the RT and runs down the LOS to tackle the HB. The HB gets 3 yards after he makes contact with Anderson. This is pretty much the day the defense had. The defense continues to swarm to the ball. 99 Worthy makes a great swim move on the LT and is in the backfield, but he can't get to the HB. The d-line is penetrating, it just seems like it is never at the right time.
4:31	4	2-5	Shotgun 3WR, HB WS of QB	HB Option	4-3	4 yard run
89 Neely is unblocked on this play and attacks the QB who pitches to the HB. The LT goes straight to blocking MLB 53 Jones. He misses badly, but causes Jones to studder step. WLB 34 Denson is blocked by a WR allowing the HB to get outside for the gain. It is not much of a block, but it is enough to prevent Denson from making a play. Denson drove the WR back, I think he should have tried to shuck him to have a straight shot at the HB. 9 Ware is blocked by a WR and kept out of the play.
3:51	4	3-1	3WR, 1TE, 1HB	QB Sneak	4-3	Rush for 1 yard
CMU is not in the shotgun. I think this is the first time the QB has lined up under center. I also think this is an Ace formation. Anyone know? My knowledge is only from the EA Sports game so feel free to correct me. Or is the Ace formation for double TE? It is really like a 3rd and a half a yard. CMU doesn't get much of a push at all. 99 Worthy jumped early all but taking himself out of the play, he was resetting his stance when he was crushed by the RG. The QB goes over the top of the pile. I really don't think there was anything the defense could have done to stop this play.
3:37	4	1-10	UH????? 3WR? 2HB?	End around	4-3 LB, CB Blitz	3 yard run.
This is an odd formation. CMU has two HBs in the backfield, one is to the L of the QB, the other HB is in front of the first HB. A WR comes in motion and takes the hand off. Now for the bad news. MSU was blitzing and sent the blitzers directly at the two HBs, who are the blockers on this play. One keeps Neely inside, not that it mattered the play was past him and it was basically a two hand touch block. The other helps the WR seal 29 L. Rucker. The safety 11 Ware comes up to make the tackle. 43 Gordon is the blitzing LB. He rushes inside, if he had rushed more upfield before cutting in he probably would have had a TFL or forced the WR to adjust his path. Either way, that would have been better fro MSU. The d-line does ok on this play, but since it is a quick run to the outside they are not really part of the play at all.
3:07	4	2-8	Shotgun, 3WR, HB WS of QB	Screen	4-3 Zone	Pass for -2 yards
Its a screen so the d-line blows by the o-line. MLB 53 Greg Jones reads it correctly and avoids the block to make the TFL. MSU was again in the soft zone. This was a good play by Jones.
2:22	4	3-9	Shotgun 4WR, Trips Left, HB R of QB	Pass	3-3-5 zone, LB blitz	9 yard pass
MSU goes with 3 down linemen, blitzes 53 Jones and gets no where near the QB. The secondary looks as if they are in a zone. Which doesn't matter because 29 L. Rucker fell down. He was covering the WR who caught the ball. Is something wrong with the field?
1:56	4	1-10	Shotgun 3WR, HB, TE	Pass	4-3 Zone	Incomplete pass
The TE is lined up in the backfield behind the LG. MSU sends 4, but 96 Pickelman and 58 Anderson beat the RG and RT and force a quick throw by the QB. Which is the only reason this was not a TD as the coverage was blown. The WR ran a (can't remember the name, windmill, cartwheel, he runs towards the sidelines then turns up the field). No one in the secondary gave him a second look. I think the safety, 9 Ware, had responsibility for this but he was covering the outside WR over the middle with the CB, 33 Fortener. Maybe plays like this are why Robinson is now listed as the starter over Fortener. The WR caught the ball, but he was out of bounds.
1:46	4	2-10	Shotgun, 4WR, Trips L, HB R of QB	Pass	4-3	9 yard pass
58 Anderson stunts with 99 Worthy and blows through the o-line. The HB and RG chip him enough to allow the QB to throw the ball. 34 Denson is spying on the QB. 29 L. Rucker is tight on the WR, but it is a hook route and he over runs the play. If rucker had bumped him at the line, this might have been enough to allow Anderson to get the sack, but the WR comes of the line cleanly and makes the catch.
1:08	4	3-1	Shotgun, 4WR, TE?	QB Run	4-3, LB blitz	2 yard run
The MSU DBs are all lined up 5 yards off the LOS. CMU has a TE in the backfield behind the LG. MLB 53 Greg Jones blitzes up the middle. Guess what that means? They play is to the outside. the QB runs between the LT and LG for the first down. If MSU had not blitzed I think Jones would have made the tackle and prevent the first down. The d-line does drive the o-line back, but the o-line does enough to open the hole for the QB to run for the first down. 43 Gordon makes the tackle, but he has to come from the weak side and that is enough for CMU.
0:41	4	1-10	Shotgun, 4WR, Trips R, HB L of QB	Pass	4-3 Zone	TD
This is the first time MSU really gets burned on defense. 43 Gordon has the HB in coverage. The HB just runs away from him and is open for the TD. 58 Anderson gets by the RT but can not get to the QB before the ball is away. There really was no pressure on the QB on this play. Even if MSU had been lined up in a nickel defense, I still think a LB would have been covering the HB. So, not much to say about the defense on this play except that the pass rush just wasn't good enough.
0:32	4	2 point attempt	Shotgun, 5WR	Pass	4-3 safeties up. Double LB blitz.	Incomplete pass
MSU lines everyone up within 5 yards of the LOS. Two LBs blitz. The QB feels the pressure and releases the ball early. No one was open so he could have just been throwing it up to make a play.
0:32	4	Special Teams	Onside Kick	Hands Team	CMU Recovery
We have not decided who is going to talk special teams, but I will discuss the onside kick. I think MSU screwed up on this one. They kept everyone on the line for the kick. I really think you need to send people passed the ball to block the other team. This would keep room for someone to get the ball safely. 25 White moves forward, which is what you would expect since the ball is on the ground. White tried to catch the ball, which you don't have to do. If it goes out of bounds it is MSU ball. He should have tried to block the CMU player. When White sees the ball go up he should have tired to block a CMU player rather than get the ball. It would have gone out of bounds and the game would be over.
0:28	4	1-10	Shotgun 5WR	Pass	3-3-5 Zone	9 yard pass
There was confusion on the defense which is bad. MSU should have called a TO. The d-line is probably gassed and didn't get any pressure. The pass is completed but 29 L. Rucker makes a nice play and prevents the WR from getting a first down forcing CMU to call a TO.
0:21	4	2-1	Shotgun, 4WR, HB L of QB	Pass	3-3-5 Zone	3 yard pass
MSU is again lined up with 3 downlinemen. 58 Anderson is chipped by the HB and there is no pressure. Pass is to the short side of the field and the WR runs out of bounds. Dantonio takes a TO. I think that is a good idea to give your defense a chance to rest.
0:16	4	1-10	Shotgun, 4WR, HB R of QB	Pass	3-3-5 Man, 3LB blitz	Pass for 7 yards
MSU sent the house and didn't get there. I don't think this was a good idea to blitz here. CMU doesn't need a lot of yards so the short throw is all they need. MSU would have probably been better off playing a zone and forcing CMU to throw underneath giving them less yardage and hopefully taking more time off the clock. MSU lined up trying to disguise the blitz. I think they should have just put all 6 guys on the line. The o-line did got enough oF everyone to let the QB get the pass off.

Conclusions: I really do not think the defense played badly. I think the game plan was ok. MSU kept 3 LBs are on the field for almost the entire game. It seemed like no matter what, when MSU blitzed it was the wrong call. The blitz either didn't get there or the offensive play was away from the blitz.

The d-line does not get much of a pass rush outside of 58 Anderson. The LT for CMU seemed to be in control of 89 Neely the entire game. The rush defense from the d-line was very good. MSU subbed well on the defensive line and the backups performed well outside of a roughing the passer penalty. Even with the penalty, I think 54 Rolf should have earned more playing time. Whenever he was in the game he was always doing something, including being decimated by the LT on one play. Hey, at least he was noticeable. Isn't that a good thing?

The LBs played well all game especially since they were covering the HB and WR in pass coverage. They read the plays well and were only occasionally held up by blockers. A little work on either getting off blocks or avoiding them is all I can suggest for this unit.

The secondary was never really challenged. CMU threw short routes all day. The safeties and DBs were at least in positions to make plays or made plays. This was the unit that seemed to fall and miss the most tackles. Hopefully the falling down is a one week fluke and the unit works on tackling this week in practice.

Here is a couple of the plays that I talked about in the various reviews, including this one. ~~If someone can tell me how to make a better quality video on youtube I would love to know. Unfortunately, I can only record in SD.~~ Evidently quality gets better after YouTube has finished processing the video.

This is a FanPost, written by a member of the TOC community. It does not represent the official positions of The Only Colors, Inc.--largely because we have no official positions.

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Comments

Nice work! Couple of thoughts:

1. Who do you think was the best player on D line? LBs? Secondary? I was surprised by Pickelman, I thought he played well and is only a sophomore, which bodes well for the D line for the next couple years. Gordon and Jones both played well, Gordon more quietly than Jones. Denson wasn’t very good but he had a thankless task of being in zone cover as well as keeping an eye in the backfield. Robinson earned his start and Hyde looked good (considering). The corners were made to look bad more by the scheme than any lack of talent.

2. I thought the personal foul penalty on Hyde was awful. As you say the QB was not down. Hyde came in and hit, not particularly hard. Unfortunately the tackler was twisting simultaneously and turned LeFevour over to put him on the ground, which made Hyde’s hit look harder than it was. Unfortunate.

3. On the 36 yard gainer, the WR first pushed off, then held Rucker down with arm on his shoulder before jumping to catch the pass.

4. The route you were thinking of where the receiver runs out toward the sideline then rounds the corner and goes upfield is a “wheel” route.

5. I personally hated the 4-2-5 look. I think a 3-3-5 with a LB up on the line would have worked better. The up LB could blitz, delayed blitz, rush with hand down, rush standing up, drop back into coverage, etc., in order to disguise what he was doing, etc.

6. And on that note, I don’t think the defense ever really disguised coverages with blitzes and switches. The most they did in terms of trickeration was walk up to the line and show blitz. Did you see the same thing? Seemed to me that it was DBs hanging on for dear life without much opportunity.

by CPT Hoolie on Sep 17, 2009 2:51 PM CDT reply actions

Interesting

The best on the d-line was 58 Trevor Anderson, without a doubt. The DTs played well, but Anderson just stuck out to me. The LBs was 53 Greg Jones. He did a great job in coverage, tackled well, blitzed and played DE. 34 Denson had a few mistakes and 43 Gordon was pretty much invisible because he was basically playing a DB. I have no idea on the secondary. CMU really didn’t throw the ball deep at all and never challenged the secondary. The safeties were good in run support. The tackling was poor all around in the secondary.

I would have liked the 4-2-5 look if it was an actual 4-2-5. This was a 4-3 with a LB in coverage. I think if MSU had gone to a 4-2-5, lined up the DBs in bump coverage and played a cover 2, the game might have gone better. The defensive game plan was not agressive at all. MSU really just stayed back and forced CMU to put long drives together. Which, unfortunately, they did.

Some of the players would move around a little, showing blitz and backing out etc. There really wasn’t anything MSU could do to disguise the coverage. With 3 LBs on the field, it was pretty much guaranteed to be a zone of some sorts.

by DrDetroit on Sep 17, 2009 8:51 PM CDT up reply actions