Linking Laconically Has a Chip On Its Shoulder

After the Gavin Cupp release (rescinding?) I have updated the Football Projected Roster. Until further notice, I'll presume Delton Williams isn't on scholarship. There now appears to be at least one spot open for 2016, possibly more if Jack Conklin leaves early.

We hadn't covered this previously, but Alvin Ellis got MIP'ed earlier this month. Likely nothing to see here; it's unlikely that his punishment will be much more than missing the Italy trip.

ESPN released their FPI rankings, and MSU slides in at fourteenth behind seven(!) SEC teams. Projecting MSU at about 9.5 wins is reasonable, but only in the case where they are ahead of Tennessee. Since I broke down the FPI system, Dean Oliver (founding father of the Basketball Four Factors) mentioned on Twitter that they'd release a new version of FPI, then left ESPN. We know virtually nothing about these rankings, and now we don't even know who is behind them. Good luck with that, ESPN.

Peter Berkes looked at how good teams have been since current recruits started watching. MSU comes in at 24, one spot behind Michigan at 23. This is too simple. Are the earlier years more important than more recent years? I don't know. If the question is, "How do recruits value offers?" then you should be looking at RankByOffer's team weightings. MSU actually comes in worse there, at 40.

Elsewhere in #DISRESPEKT, MSU was placed behind Iowa and Wisconsin on the drunk scale. I can't tell if this is flattering or embarrassing, but I feel like I should take it as a slight.

I had to do this:

#Spartans fans! Pick the leaders of your all-time MSU football team. You too, @joerexrode. pic.twitter.com/zUNgYONnaL

— Freep Sports (@freepsports) July 23, 2015

Here's my team: Cook, Ringer, Daugherty, Plaxico, Webster.

First, and this is perhaps a pretty hot take, but Connor Cook is a better quarterback than Kirk Cousins. Cook bests Kirk in pretty much every statistical category. It feels like there's a big drop-off after Cousins, as well.

At running back, all five players are total studs. Javon Ringer gives by far the best value.

At coach, Duffy Daugherty won multiple national titles and gives a little better value than Mark Dantonio. You could argue that Biggie Munn also gives you a national title at a $1 discount.

At receiver, you could make good arguments for B.J. Cunningham, Plaxico Burress, or Charles Rogers. B.J. has the best career stats by virtue of a lengthy career, and the best individual season stats based upon a more pass-heavy offense. I ended up at Plaxico because he and Chuck had similar track records, and Plax adds more value.

At defensive player, I grabbed George Webster because I had $3 left to work with and it feels like there's not a ton of difference between Smith, Snow, Webster and Dennard. All are good choices.

What's your team?