justwin
05-13-2014, 03:20 PM
Watched the spring game for the first time last night on hailstate tv. It was the CSS version.
1. I liked that JWS moderated. He was very good and his explanations were to the point & on topic. He did get lost a few times, but for the most part I thought he kept it more to observing plays/personnel vs your standard opinions & coined responses. At the end of the 1H during the long FG kick, I thought his entire explanation and perspective was fantastic in terms of how to play the %s and the objective when to send out the FG kicker.
2. I?m much more relieved about our FG kickers than I was..probably not saying much though. Sobiesk was 2 of 3 and Graves was 1 of 2. Sobiesk should?ve been 3 of 3 and all of his kicks were in the 2H. Sobiesk?s first attempt was from ~35 yards on the left hash and he missed it. He?s a right footed kicker. Ball snaps and Dak fumbles the snap, then ball bounces from Dak?s hands then behind Dak, etc and finally Dak gets it down. So, Evan has already taken his first step, then has to stop for a whole second or more for Dak, then take one step and kick once Dak gets it down. He had plenty of leg, but just hooked it b/c he had to delay. His ball flight is exactly what we need for his role ~ DePasquale. I think he?s going to be the kicker 40 yards and in & should be. His ball is usually ? up the field post and normally pretty straight and dependent upon his alignment. Next kick was about the same distance maybe slightly longer, but was marked between midfield and the right hash I believe. He split it right down the middle with a rush. Last kick was most impressive to me and was last play of the game reminding me of the end of the 2010 Ark game. Tie game with a running clock and his team has a 28 yarder on the right hash to win. So, entire team runs out, gets set, and he has a funky angle of being really close where he has to pull it and sticks it right down the middle to win as time expires. It was cool & a good thing to build off of during the summer. The other kicker, Graves, kicked both of his in the 1H and had a 47 yarder he pushed right and then split another 47 yarder down the middle. So, I?ll take 50/50 from that distance. Graves will be the long range option it appears. What I like about both of these guys is that they don?t have a big time leg like Bell. Bell?s leg is so powerful that he can kick it above the field goal posts which can?t be good. That kind of power can drift on you if you?re not fundamentally sound. I don?t think Sobiesk will have that problem of an overly powerful leg and it?s more about getting the right alignment pre-kick. I wouldn?t be surprised if Sobiesk was 70% or better this year within the 40 which is all we really need. The heartbreakers are misses from 35 and closer that Bell would miss. 4 down territory with Dak on anything longer than 40.
3. I thought the DB #25, Sills, looked really good. His physique and aggressiveness was nice. He locked up on Wilson, Brown, and others several times.
4. Nick Griffin is back. He?s back. No brace. Swagger, confidence, extremely powerful. He?s the guy that we need to beat LSU/Bama...the 1-2 punch of power. Wouldn't be surprised if he's our #2 rusher this year over Shump. Early on, he made a few cuts and spins which showed me he?s back. I like how he drives through people and carries LBs with him on the second level. It?s like he punishes them like the powerful MSU rbs of old. His only holdback will be if Mullen doesn?t give him the ball.
5. It?s going to be so nice having 3 big RBs that can get it done on any play. Robinson could be special this year. He's on another level from the other RBs we have.
6. I didn't notice Nick James
7. Holloway played a bunch and is just too small to be a RB. He was on punt return though.
8. I thought #77 the white team RT looked pretty good and agile. I thought it was Jocquell Johnson at first, but looked at the roster and it was Rufus Warren, the converted TE. I think Johnson was injured for the game. #74 was Flowers @ guard....he looks raw to me. Overall, we should have enough OL to be good even if we have 2-3 injuries to be ok.
9. Fitzgerald looks the part of an SEC D1 qb. I guess if you wanted a raw QB to mold, he would have everything you would want. He doesn?t throw a pretty ball, but that will probably change with time. He's big though. He might be the biggest MSU QB I've ever seen.
10. All of our players just look more fit than I?ve ever seen them look. Our team looks like an upper level SEC team. I watched a small amount of the OM spring game and none of their players looked fit to me...no real arm definition. MSU is the complete opposite. Nick Griffin is very fit. Speaking of looking the part, Joe Morrow really does. He looks like that tall, graceful, gazelle type WR that we?ve never really had. He made a few nice catches & runs....yes, I know it's the spring.
11. I think we're gonna be able to throw the ball this year & the ability to complete passes will either make or break the season. Both Dak & Williams looked good, and Fitz will only get better. The patterns seemed more complex, too, in that we seem to be working towards making opposing defenses choose b/w what pattern to cover. There was one pass play in 1Q where we had like a mid-drag route and an underneath where you saw the secondary not sure as to whether what route they should cover. Dak ended up tossing to DeRunnya on the drag that he likely could've turned around & scored on had he not fallen right as he caught the pass. RJ was up top & had his cb blocked & covered. I like that they were incorporating the TE seams over the middle, too. The 3rd or 4th play of the game was an over the shoulder seam route completion to Wilson with Wells on his hip.....that play was scary good on many levels.
I didn't really see a wr that looked bad to me, though, Ross, Brown stood out. Wilson made some nice plays, but he also had a few drops and some routes that he didn't look polished on. Christy possibly will push for PT, he had a few good plays and a few that he looked lost on...I think he'll do better on passes within 20 yards of the QB to start out. I don?t know what to think about Fred Brown. He had several nice catches, but he had one big drop b/c he got tripped up on a 4th down. Plus, he was playing against the scrubs mostly, I think, but you're supposed to make plays against scrubs which he did. He had a very good 2H. Either way, he has (hold for it?.) breakaway speed. It just seems that we always have the same type of player for the last decade or so in that Taye Bowser, CoEric Riley, McKinley Scott, Chris Smith, RoJo, Brandon McRae, type player that has pretty good hands, but not too clutch or extremely fast. All of those dudes lacked swagger as well. Well, this guy seems to have what those guys lacked. You?ll notice some of the catches and moves he made. I think his HS was unfamiliar with the forward pass like so many MS HSs so he was never utilized and now he is amped that he's finally getting his shot. He?s been on campus for 2 years and seldom used, but something is different about him. He does have a swagger unlike the other guys we?ve had which I think we desperately need. Maybe he's just a spring MVP too. I would love to have multiple, legit, respected wr threats for once.
1. I liked that JWS moderated. He was very good and his explanations were to the point & on topic. He did get lost a few times, but for the most part I thought he kept it more to observing plays/personnel vs your standard opinions & coined responses. At the end of the 1H during the long FG kick, I thought his entire explanation and perspective was fantastic in terms of how to play the %s and the objective when to send out the FG kicker.
2. I?m much more relieved about our FG kickers than I was..probably not saying much though. Sobiesk was 2 of 3 and Graves was 1 of 2. Sobiesk should?ve been 3 of 3 and all of his kicks were in the 2H. Sobiesk?s first attempt was from ~35 yards on the left hash and he missed it. He?s a right footed kicker. Ball snaps and Dak fumbles the snap, then ball bounces from Dak?s hands then behind Dak, etc and finally Dak gets it down. So, Evan has already taken his first step, then has to stop for a whole second or more for Dak, then take one step and kick once Dak gets it down. He had plenty of leg, but just hooked it b/c he had to delay. His ball flight is exactly what we need for his role ~ DePasquale. I think he?s going to be the kicker 40 yards and in & should be. His ball is usually ? up the field post and normally pretty straight and dependent upon his alignment. Next kick was about the same distance maybe slightly longer, but was marked between midfield and the right hash I believe. He split it right down the middle with a rush. Last kick was most impressive to me and was last play of the game reminding me of the end of the 2010 Ark game. Tie game with a running clock and his team has a 28 yarder on the right hash to win. So, entire team runs out, gets set, and he has a funky angle of being really close where he has to pull it and sticks it right down the middle to win as time expires. It was cool & a good thing to build off of during the summer. The other kicker, Graves, kicked both of his in the 1H and had a 47 yarder he pushed right and then split another 47 yarder down the middle. So, I?ll take 50/50 from that distance. Graves will be the long range option it appears. What I like about both of these guys is that they don?t have a big time leg like Bell. Bell?s leg is so powerful that he can kick it above the field goal posts which can?t be good. That kind of power can drift on you if you?re not fundamentally sound. I don?t think Sobiesk will have that problem of an overly powerful leg and it?s more about getting the right alignment pre-kick. I wouldn?t be surprised if Sobiesk was 70% or better this year within the 40 which is all we really need. The heartbreakers are misses from 35 and closer that Bell would miss. 4 down territory with Dak on anything longer than 40.
3. I thought the DB #25, Sills, looked really good. His physique and aggressiveness was nice. He locked up on Wilson, Brown, and others several times.
4. Nick Griffin is back. He?s back. No brace. Swagger, confidence, extremely powerful. He?s the guy that we need to beat LSU/Bama...the 1-2 punch of power. Wouldn't be surprised if he's our #2 rusher this year over Shump. Early on, he made a few cuts and spins which showed me he?s back. I like how he drives through people and carries LBs with him on the second level. It?s like he punishes them like the powerful MSU rbs of old. His only holdback will be if Mullen doesn?t give him the ball.
5. It?s going to be so nice having 3 big RBs that can get it done on any play. Robinson could be special this year. He's on another level from the other RBs we have.
6. I didn't notice Nick James
7. Holloway played a bunch and is just too small to be a RB. He was on punt return though.
8. I thought #77 the white team RT looked pretty good and agile. I thought it was Jocquell Johnson at first, but looked at the roster and it was Rufus Warren, the converted TE. I think Johnson was injured for the game. #74 was Flowers @ guard....he looks raw to me. Overall, we should have enough OL to be good even if we have 2-3 injuries to be ok.
9. Fitzgerald looks the part of an SEC D1 qb. I guess if you wanted a raw QB to mold, he would have everything you would want. He doesn?t throw a pretty ball, but that will probably change with time. He's big though. He might be the biggest MSU QB I've ever seen.
10. All of our players just look more fit than I?ve ever seen them look. Our team looks like an upper level SEC team. I watched a small amount of the OM spring game and none of their players looked fit to me...no real arm definition. MSU is the complete opposite. Nick Griffin is very fit. Speaking of looking the part, Joe Morrow really does. He looks like that tall, graceful, gazelle type WR that we?ve never really had. He made a few nice catches & runs....yes, I know it's the spring.
11. I think we're gonna be able to throw the ball this year & the ability to complete passes will either make or break the season. Both Dak & Williams looked good, and Fitz will only get better. The patterns seemed more complex, too, in that we seem to be working towards making opposing defenses choose b/w what pattern to cover. There was one pass play in 1Q where we had like a mid-drag route and an underneath where you saw the secondary not sure as to whether what route they should cover. Dak ended up tossing to DeRunnya on the drag that he likely could've turned around & scored on had he not fallen right as he caught the pass. RJ was up top & had his cb blocked & covered. I like that they were incorporating the TE seams over the middle, too. The 3rd or 4th play of the game was an over the shoulder seam route completion to Wilson with Wells on his hip.....that play was scary good on many levels.
I didn't really see a wr that looked bad to me, though, Ross, Brown stood out. Wilson made some nice plays, but he also had a few drops and some routes that he didn't look polished on. Christy possibly will push for PT, he had a few good plays and a few that he looked lost on...I think he'll do better on passes within 20 yards of the QB to start out. I don?t know what to think about Fred Brown. He had several nice catches, but he had one big drop b/c he got tripped up on a 4th down. Plus, he was playing against the scrubs mostly, I think, but you're supposed to make plays against scrubs which he did. He had a very good 2H. Either way, he has (hold for it?.) breakaway speed. It just seems that we always have the same type of player for the last decade or so in that Taye Bowser, CoEric Riley, McKinley Scott, Chris Smith, RoJo, Brandon McRae, type player that has pretty good hands, but not too clutch or extremely fast. All of those dudes lacked swagger as well. Well, this guy seems to have what those guys lacked. You?ll notice some of the catches and moves he made. I think his HS was unfamiliar with the forward pass like so many MS HSs so he was never utilized and now he is amped that he's finally getting his shot. He?s been on campus for 2 years and seldom used, but something is different about him. He does have a swagger unlike the other guys we?ve had which I think we desperately need. Maybe he's just a spring MVP too. I would love to have multiple, legit, respected wr threats for once.