This week's defensive theme seems to be the underwhelming starter at middle linebacker: Curtis Grant. The theme for MSU's offense is Bell vs. Maxwell. Bell makes people nervous; Maxwell does not. Which leads me to my question regarding the base defense for this week. Our defensive line showed up in a big way last week, and is widely acknowledged as the strength of the D. Does a 5-2 base defense make any sense to you (at least against MSU) if the middle linebacker isn't producing?
Five defensive linemen: Simon, Goebel, Hankins, Moore, Williams (Schutt, Spence, Washington, Bennett, etc.)
Two linebackers: Sabino and Shazier (Grant, Klein, etc.)
Let me know what you think.
No
No
I think we will see a 4-3 but we commit a 3rd safety, MSU isn't going to flex us out so a hybrid safety to commit into the box may be plausible.
whatever we do id def put 8 in the box...
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
It's not a terrible idea, really. I could see a line of Simon-Hankins-Goebel-Spence, and using Williams as a roaming VIPER style player who has the freedom to drop back in coverage. Spence won't have the experience to cover passes in zone coverage, but will be effective as an edge rusher.
Any news on Michael Bennett?
Bennett would be nice next to big hank.
8 in the box and a rotaion for fresh legs....and for God's sake, Wrap up on tackles! Please!!
Bennett is supposed to play.
Traditionally, when we run our 4-3 base, often times one of our outside linebackers plays the VIPER position. Carpenter probably played it most famously, at least from the LB corps. Gholston had some time and success there as well.
I guess what I'm saying is, our 4-3 base gives us the flexibility to have a 5th "lineman" if necessary. So far this season it appears we've played primarily with the "star" position but that is due to the offenses we've faced to date.
I fully expect to see much more of our base 4-3 with Grant/Klein, Sabino, and Shazier all on the field the majority of the game.
I am more concerned with our safeties to be honest. As long as Barnett is healthy he is obviously starting and I don't worry about him. However, the other spot is open to O. Johnson or CB2.
Based on how the coaches view CB2s performances to date (coaches very high on him) I would expect we see Bryant over Johnson, but whoever is out there needs to REALLY support and stop the run.
We need our linebackers to tackle but if (and probably when) Bell gets to the second level, it is crucial that our DBs can bring him down before too much damage is done
Simply putting in 5 down lineman isn't as easy as it sounds. Any defense has its own set of zone, gap, and blitz responsibilities and expecting to implement a new base look to pay immediate dividends is a recipe for disaster. Rick hit the ol nail on the head. OSU should play 8 in the box until Sparty can show they can 1) Block long enough for 2) Their QB to drop back and 3) throw a deep, accurate pass to a 4) open wideout capable of taking the top off of OSU's d. They can't do that. OSU should commit 8 to the run and if they tackle in packs, Michigan State won't get much of anything offensivley.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
If Bell has less than 125 yds and Maxwell has at least 220 I'm betting we win. MSU has yet to have a consistent downfield passing attack. Sure they can complete 2 or 3 but it is not quite the threat it should be. I agree with packing 8 in the box. I mean if MSU ran Dave almost 20 times I feel like agianst BSU and ND... so we should have experience in stopping that.
If MSU is not going to get tricky and stick with something close to 22 personnel, I'd throw Chris Carter in the middle of the d-line next to Big Hank.