Head asplodes: Narduzzi named National Coordinator of the Week by Rivals
[Bumped. Credit where credit is due . . . --LVS.]
This is an unbelievable turnaround after taking so much of the blame for last year's mediocre season. Let's hope this continues and it's not just a fluke that the D has improved.
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Well deserved IMO
I wish I had time to do MSUFRs again, it would be interesting to see how MSU changed the defensive gameplan for Michigan.
Nardo claimed that they had just played their base defense cough bulls**t cough. Run blitzes; DE’s crashing; OLB spy; forcing Robinson to make the “wrong” choice on the zone reads; and keeping Robinson to the middle where they could pursue and head him off. Robinson was held to 4.1 yards/carry average and a long of 16 yards. MSU’s defense deserves the credit for that.
Other than the passing TD to Webb, Michigan’s receivers were covered tightly — I don’t remember seeing much cushion given. On all 3 of the picks, the MSU DBs were right there; there was very little margin for Denard to make an error.
So congratulations to Narduzzi. And please keep it up.
UFRs
The good news this week is that Mr. Cook will do them for us. Will be interesting to see what he says MSU did that previous UM opponents didn’t to force Robinson out of his comfort zone. Big picture, building the lead obviously helped, forcing him to think pass first in the second half.
Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!
by KJ@theonlycolors on Oct 11, 2010 10:45 AM CDT up reply actions
Knowing the Michigan fanbase
I’m sure it’ll focus less on what MSU did well and a lot more on how Michigan beat themselves and we just allowed them to lose rather than our team winning.
Es gibt keine Freude wie Schadenfreude
When you go into the level of detail Brian does,
it’s hard not to arrive at something approximately reality pretty closely. The attitudes and knowledge of the commenters at MGoBlog obviously vary widely, but, make no mistake, Brian knows his football.
Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!
by KJ@theonlycolors on Oct 11, 2010 11:03 AM CDT up reply actions
Um, so,
bad time to post a defense of Brian Cook’s blogging skills, given this.
I still expect the UFRs to yield some useful analysis, though.
Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!
by KJ@theonlycolors on Oct 11, 2010 2:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Honestly, I don't have a problem with that piece.
I thought “Boom, Tila Tequila’d” was actually clever construction and some self-deprecating humor.
Note that while he implies that the juggalos are all typical of the State fanbase, he never says as much. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt that those meatheads he refers to weren’t really State fans, but Michigan-haters.
Besides, let him have his primal scream blog therapy. It’s good for his psyche. If he wants to call MSU “Stiffler U”, well, ha ha, very clever. Good luck with the rest of the season and see you next year.
Plus he mentioned TOC as being solidly in the “reasonable” category [though linking to it may not be the free pub you would particularly want based on the target audience of the piece.]
I *do* have a problem with it
Normally, his postgame recaps are fascinating reads (his ‘07 MSU-Mich recap, for instance … I had to laugh at the bit about RoboHenne declaring “GOAL COMPLETED” and executing nailcoeds.exe even as I was cursing the general bloody-mindedness of the universe for allowing it to happen). This one? 2/3 of it is a weird cross between "waah, the fans we’ve trash-talked non-stop for over a decade are trash-talking us" and “it’s ok, we’re still superior in every way despite the evidence on the field”.
Michigan’s arrogance was irritating when it was actually merited; now it’s more amusing. Bottom line, don’t talk smack if you can’t take it when the shoe is on the other foot.
(That’s not to say he doesn’t have a point regarding the Unenlightened Spartan. Between the fact that he thinks repeating “scUM” and “Yellow Bellies” is a substitute for analysis and the apocalyptic disaster of a site layout, that site is a first-ballot HTML Hell Hall-of-Shamer. And though it shouldn’t need to be said, any morons vandalizing cars – there was a photo posted there of spray-painted “STATE” on somebody’s car – or breaking into apartments needs to spend a few nights, or weeks, in jail. But if you insist on calling somebody “Little Brother” even after two seasons in which they beat you head-to-head and went to bowl games when you did not, and then they beat you again, if “WHO’S THE LITTLE BROTHER NOW?” is the worst you hear, consider yourself beyond lucky.)
by SpartanDan on Oct 11, 2010 7:09 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
See, I didn't take any of it seriously.
Maybe that’s the difference. I initially took it as a Gonzo jounalism story of Brian’s descent into a swirling maelstrom of despair. It reminded me of a sportsblog version of Less Than Zero, with Brian as the Robert Downey Jr. character; an unhealthy relationship with a sporting event replacing an unhealthy relationship with drugs.
As I reread it, though, it may insrtead be read as a brilliant but unwitting self-parody, featuring a guy who takes things beyond his control way too seriously, emphasizing the irony of being an atheist but believing that cheering for/writing about a football team somehow influences that team’s outcomes.
Or it could be, y’know, just Brian being Brian.
by CPT Hoolie on Oct 11, 2010 7:28 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I live in Ohio
And I’ve tried – without much success – to explain to Buckeye fans the difference between our rivalry with UoM and theirs. Now I have a link I can send them to.
Yeah
That’s my point. No matter how normal and reasonable the majority of State fans are, it always devolves down to some horrible stereotype of white trash in the minds of Michigan fans, never mind that there’s a reason Walmart Wolverine is thrown around as a term so much.
Es gibt keine Freude wie Schadenfreude
And I'll say this too
I respect the hell out of Brian Cook for his writing abilities and his work is legitimizing blogging in sports, but at the end of the day he still has the stupid biases of a Wolverine.
Es gibt keine Freude wie Schadenfreude
Oh, the Freude...
….is so so very strong this week. Like Everclear strong. Brian even calls himself out in it but stops short of naming himself Scott Tenorman of the Week.
Meh
Could’ve been better, but that garbage he put on his own site marred it for me.
This, this is what Schadenfreude looks like: http://michigansuperfan.com/
Es gibt keine Freude wie Schadenfreude
Sorry
I was referring to the quantity of ’freude across the blogscape. Penn State, Florida, and Michigan in particular.
by CPT Hoolie on Oct 11, 2010 7:37 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Stay as classy as we all expect you to be, UM fans.
Tonight's going to be a good night.
by Spartalytical on Oct 11, 2010 6:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Question?
Who from UM would start for MSU this year?
Denard (at WR)
Martin on the DL
1 or 2 OL
State has a talent advantage at every other position on the field. When was the last time we could say that?
by Spartan D on Oct 11, 2010 3:57 PM CDT reply actions 3 recs
That says it all, right there
It basically sums up where each program is, and hopefully is heading. Rec’d!
Decent point
which also speaks to how bad they are at the spots MSU is still iffy (secondary, DL ends, right side of OL). Also true last year, I guess, take away Denard and add Graham and Warren, and probably Minor healthy.
I still think the Denard difference could have made up for all that, though, the kid is that good and amazing what he has shown he has learned over the offseason.
Denard is a helluva player....
….and I was also impressed with him in the post-game interviews. Seems like a smart, humble kid. He should be a Spartan!
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