Member for

15 years 8 months
Points
207.00

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
Wait, did Kechaun Bennett…

Wait, did Kechaun Bennett really play 49 snaps (and DNC) or is that a typo in the charting?

The list is generally…

The list is generally released ~36 hours after the deadline.  There's not a live public list of who has declared.  

Collins seems more "shorter…

Collins seems more "shorter Darius Morris" than "bouncier Xavier Simpson" but who knows.

My fear of extended Eli PG time is that the on/off splits from last year having some John-O'Korn-vs-Purdue effect, where once it gets scouted more it won't be nearly as good.  

Any timeout called out a…

Any timeout called out a dead ball (eg, inbounding the ball) uses a TO but teams are not allowed to huddle up.  The ref simply starts the inbounds play over and the 5 second count resets.  

If a coach wants to call a different play after seeing the defense or something, he'll need to prep that with his team ahead of time.  

Torvik has Rutgers by 2. …

Torvik has Rutgers by 2.  Rare case of the Vegas nerds disagreeing.  

Feels like Livers' goal is…

Feels like Livers' goal is to leave.  Like all other people, it's going to be easy to accept evidence that supports what he wants to do anyway.  Seems like most people are saying that he won't get drafted (Vecenie said on a podcast with Brendan Quinn his best-case scenario is a 2-way deal), but I agree he is by no means a lock to return.

If he does come back, he should strive to play ~220 lbs and prove he can be an acceptable athlete for the league while maintaining his shooting.  

If Todd and Christopher do…

If Todd and Christopher do end up coming, I don't know who starts, but I would bet that the five guys who close out games are DDJ, Christopher, Franz, Livers and Todd.  There may be situational opponents where Castleton or Dickinson are needed to defend a big post player, but those guys are few and far between.  I'd love to see a close game scenario where the offense is a JC/IT pick-and-roll and DDJ, Franz and Livers space the floor.  That would be brutal to stop.  

Abuse our DTs up the middle…

Abuse our DTs up the middle until we have to commit more bodies there, then hit the edges.  Make McGrone cover guys in space.  He's a heat seeking missile when he can track down ball carriers, but is not nearly as effective in coverage.  

For their D, I'd try to pressure Shea.  

Great work Ace! 

One tip -…

Great work Ace! 

One tip - the audio is very quiet. I had to almost max out my car stereo to hear some parts. 2x higher than the other MGoBlog pods. 

Does Kenpom allow you to…

Does Kenpom allow you to break out MSU's offensive efficiency during fast break vs non-fast break possessions?  I imagine all teams are more efficient on the break, but I'm guessing MSU's difference is bigger than most.  Would love to see data on that if it's possible.  

Heads up - Jersey numbers in…

Heads up - Jersey numbers in the lineup card are incorrect.  I noticed this was true for the IU game preview as well.  

Can't afford to put all your…

Can't afford to put all your eggs in just that one basket, no matter how good it looks.  

During the John Cooper days,…

During the John Cooper days, he refused to schedule OSU because they would't join the B1G.  That was when the B1G was pushing for them and they declined, so Cooper vowed that OSU would never play them as long as he had a say.  He actually pushed for all B1G teams to refuse to schedule ND until ND agreed to join the conference, but was unsuccessful.  

Not sure why that has remained that way, but I guess once it was established, it was easy to keep going.  

I have Youtube TV and it's

I have Youtube TV and it's not a problem following Brian/Ace/etc on twitter.  Maybe 2-5 times per game something will be ruined, but that's it.

If you have ESPN open on your laptop and are watching CBB, occasionally the score will update before you see it, but not all the time.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the decision to switch.  

It'll be interesting to see

It'll be interesting to see how the offensive staff changes (or doesn't) this offseason.

Harbaugh isn't going anywhere

I doubt Frey goes anywhere

Drevno?

Pep back to the NFL?

Jay ?

Jim's got a great history of grabbing good up and coming coaches, so I feel confident he'd get great replacements.  

Really want Iggy.  Can play

Really want Iggy.  Can play lots of different spots for us.  He and Jerome Hunter were maybe the top two (realistic) targets, so would be rough to lose out on both.  

Thing that makes me feel the

Thing that makes me feel the best about this game is that we should be able to put pressure on their QB only bringing 3-4 guys, leaving plenty of guys to cover.  Their OL is not great and Winovich and Gary should both have big games.  

Would love to know how AF

Would love to know how AF lines up when an opponent goes 5 wide, as we seem to like to do that lately.  

Beilein will wait on Barrett

Beilein will wait on Barrett and Iggy and take either if they want to come, regardless of space issues.

Very happy to hear this - this hasn't always been JB's way.  I don't believe we have any real shot at Barrett, but Iggy we do.  

 I'd bet the odds are pretty high that one of those two end up transferring next year.

Hate speculating on transfers, but if Brooks passes X by, then I agree, especially as DeJulius and a TBD player will be fighting for backup minutes too.  

Position grades:
QB: B?  Lots

Position grades:

QB: B?  Lots of questions but at least they have some experience coming back.  

RB: A.  Scott will play in the NFL, and Holmes and London are above-average B1G backups.

FB: No idea.  

WR: D.  No experience, and Layne moved to DB.  

TE: B.  Sokol is a solid B1G TE.

OL: D+.  Would be a straight D if it weren't for Brian Allen.  Chewins appears to struggle maintaining weight worse than Pat Massey.

Overall, some good pieces, but football is a game where a huge weak spot hurts everything else.  A bad OL will make life tough on the RBs and the QB, especially without established WRs.  Wouldn't be shocked to see Sokol lead the team in receptions.

 

DE: D.  Cooper needs to step up and take a starting spot.  Willekes and Alexander will not bring much of any pass rush.

DT: B+.  Other than RB, this is probably the strongest spot on the team.  Both are solid B1G starters, and Owens and Jones are solid space-eating backups.  

LB: B.  Good experience but no real stars.  Could look good if the DTs hold up.

S: D.  Struggled last year, and these guys don't project to be much better.

CB: D.  Same as safety.

Overall, a team that should struggle against teams that can throw, as consistent organic pass rush should be tough and the secondary will struggle.  Should be ok against teams who want to run up the gut.  

 

I believe he is a freshman.

I believe he is a freshman.  Could theoretically be their starter when we host them in 2020.  

Wisconsin's very talented LB

Wisconsin's very talented LB group has been hard hit by injuries the past couple years.  Watt and Biegel missed a significant amount of time last year.

 

2013, I attended the Florida

2013, I attended the Florida @ LSU game in Baton Rouge with some buddies.  After, we were in a bar and I watched the utterly awful ending to the 2013 M @ PSU game when Brendan Gibbons missed the game winning FG.  I was pretty drunk by that point and found myself getting far too into the game, watching it on a tiny corner TV in a bar, with only an OSU fan buddy with me.  After that ended, my OSU buddy was like, "dude, what is wrong with you guys?"  

That was maybe the lowest moment for me.  

Seems likely that they will

Seems likely that they will only take 2 combo forwards, so if Johns commits, that means it's either/or for Hunter and Bradzeikis.  Not a terrible spot to be in - we're in the top group for both but not a clear leader for either, so it's risky to depend on getting them both.  

You think the streaming issue

You think the streaming issue is due to internet speed?  Or something else?  

Question for the cord cutters

Question for the cord cutters - my cable/internet bill has a pretty low headline number (like $89/month) but then they add all those extraneous fees and taxes on there, so in actuality it's like $120/month.

When Vue says $45/month, do they mean $45 plus fees & taxes, or is it truly only $45?  

Thanks!

I agree.  I spend most of the

I agree.  I spend most of the time we're on defense worried about knee injuries.  

MattD....
Have you seen Duane

MattD....

Have you seen Duane Washington from GR Christian much?  Any thoughts there?  

For '18 kids who can play the 5, have you seen either Marcus Bingham or Trevion Williams?  

Those guys don't seem like priorities right now, but may emerge if some of the top targets go elsewhere.  

I read JB has talked to

I read JB has talked to Bradzeikis about being a 2/3 wing, not really a 4.  

I'd be ecstatic about Nance-Johns-Hunter-Bradzeikis-DeJulius, but that seems like a best case scenario, so probably a pipe dream.  

The guy listed under Kalis in

The guy listed under Kalis in that evaluation spreadsheet - Alex Kozan - was also a recruit Hoke pursued really heavily before missing at the end.  Yikes.  

Yes, he has 119 fouls in 630

Yes, he has 119 fouls in 630 minutes, so 5.7 fouls per 30 minutes.  Hopefully we can go right at him with Moe early and get him out.  That would go a long way towards controlling the boards and keeping them in check on offense.  

Ward is noted in a generic

Ward is noted in a generic group of "others to watch" not numerically ranked.  

Ace, did he look like he has

Ace, did he look like he has the bulk to back up the 4 next year?  

Need to split v. Purdue and

Need to split v. Purdue and @NW, and win @Rutgers and @Nebraska.  10-8 B1G, 20-11 overall.  Even with a loss in the first round of the BTT, that should be enough to get in and avoid the play-in games.  

I thought the 10th coach rule

I thought the 10th coach rule had already passed?

 

Derrick Alexander and David

Derrick Alexander and David Terrell were both ranked the #1 receiver in their respective classes.  I believe Marquise Walker was #2 that year, too, so with Terrell and Walker we had the #1 and #2 ranked guys.  

Pants

My wife was watching the game with me and she's pretty sure Harbaugh was wearing Lululemon ABC pants.  These are the pants:

https://shop.lululemon.com/p/men-pants/ABC-Pant-Regular/_/prod3470051?r…

Note: I (a man) own two pairs of these and they are the most comfortable pants ever.  Track pant performance, khaki look.  

Let's just hope we can get

Let's just hope we can get through the game without any injuries from MSU cheap shots.  

http://mgoblog.com/content/up

http://mgoblog.com/content/upon-further-review-2016-defense-vs-wisconsin

First throw he gets hit, but only barely.  Alvarez must mean a different play, or he's full of it.  

Edit: maybe the 3rd pass?  Hurst gets right into Hornibrook's chest and Stribling almost has a pick.  

I know a player on a

I know a player on a different B1G team and this sounds about right.  They also have access to the "training table" basically all hours of the day, which is stocked with healthy options - chicken, fish, rice, fruit, veggies, etc.  Eggs at breakfast for sure.  A few desserts now and again, but most guys keep that to a minimum.  

I believe D1 scholarship kids also get some kind of stipend which I assume most spend on eating out (or beer...they are college kids).  

Seems to me that there are

Seems to me that there are four things you want when finding a head coach:

1) Be the face of the program/set the culture/etc

2) Recruiting

3) Player development

4) In-game tactical decision making

#1 is somewhat of a personal preference thing, but I think we can all agree that internally, JH has done an excellent job of instilling a sense of meritocracy, toughness and accountability.  I can't speak to how JF has done with that at PSU.

#2 - Seems like both are doing at least ok, maybe better.  With winning comes better recruiting.

#3 - We seem to be doing well in this regard.  Examples of kids who didn't do anything under BH and are now real contributors with NFL potentail are common.  From an outside perspective, it does not seem like this is true of PSU.  

#4 - JF is terrible in this regard.  JH is excellent.

Doesn't seem like it's even close as to who you should prefer.  

There are some of them

There are some of them confused why their title isn't leading to better recruits.  Sounds very much like a lot of people around here following the title game run a few years ago.  

I hope it's wrong but seems

I hope it's wrong but seems like Young to OSU is the general consensus.  How long do you wait on a kid that you aren't the top option for?  

Biggest question, to me, is

Biggest question, to me, is who will play the 4?

Wagner/Davis/Teske rotating at the 5.

1-3 spots will be some combo of Duncan, MAAR, Poole, Simpson, Matthews, Ibi, and, hopefully, Carmody (?).  Maybe Duncan bulks up enough to play the 4? 

If we add Cain and/or Livers, they'd have a chance to get some run at the 4 I'd imagine.  

My initial thought was a

My initial thought was a taller MAAR with better finishing and defense and maybe worse shooting.  

 

Graham was under 6' and about

Graham was under 6' and about 230.

He was also pretty stiff and moved out to defending slots not because he was particularly good at it, but because we refused to adapt to spread offenses.  He would have been better off as an undersized box LB.  

I agree with Brian - Denicos Allen is a better ceiling comp.  

Anyone else having an issue

Anyone else having an issue with this podcast not showing up in their iPhone feed?  

I live in Chicago and have

I live in Chicago and have Comcast XFinity...BTN GameFinder is still listing NW/Minn on the main BTN channel (256) and Michigan/Maryland on the overflow channel (694).  

 

What provider do you have?  Maybe Xfinity is slow to update?

One quibble

This characterization of GR3 is false:

 

[Chatman] should be an upgrade on the boards over Robinson, who possessed more athleticism but less length and feel for rebounding.

 

GR3 has the same wingspan as Chatman - 6'10".  As far the feel for rebounding, you are correct.  

 

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Glenn-Robinson-7185/

My word, a class of Coleman,

My word, a class of Coleman, McQuaid and Manuel (maybe 1 more guy?) would be great.  Emphasis on skills - JB's top prereq.