Reasons for Optimism About MSU's Offense, Shout Out to Beastman Steve
Was looking through my twitter timeline today, & saw that Beastman Steve was breaking down the game & he hit on some very good points that are reasons for optimism about this offense.
Some on hear, have feared that this offense resembles the Tyler Russell offense of 2012, &, while I get that comparison, there is a huge difference between the two, due to how defenses are defending that offense versus how they are defending this one.
Basically, what has happened is that we now consistently seeing the "Dak Prescott Defense"
Here is how Beastman describes it in his tweet:
SixPackSpeak @sixpackspeak 3h3 hours ago
@BeastManSteve Our OL protected well but how many times did Auburn rush more than 4?
Beast Man @BeastManSteve 3h3 hours ago
@sixpackspeak They rushed 4 a lot but thats b/c they spied Dak. It's a give or take. Can't spy & bring consistent blitzes unless you go 0man
SixPackSpeak @sixpackspeak 3h3 hours ago
@BeastManSteve gotcha. I havent watched replay from last night and was shocked they didn't bring more pressure as Dak was picking them apart
Beast Man @BeastManSteve 3h3 hours ago
@sixpackspeak Teams have decided spying him is the way to go. If MSU is going 4-5 wide & you respect the WRs, tough to bring more than 4.
Beast Man
@BeastManSteve
@sixpackspeak if we just do the math: 5 in coverage + 1 spy + 4 rushers= 1 (potentially) deep safety. You see the dilemma Dak gives w/5 wide
Ok, if you had trouble following that, here is basically what is happening: Teams have decided to put a spy on Dak, rush 4, 1 deep safety, & 5 defenders matching up on our 5 WRs.
This is why Dak is having trouble running the ball, but also why Dak has all day to throw & eat a few sandwiches back there before finding his receiver.
As for the running game, it looks pretty damn good when Holloway runs the ball. Unless our offensive line makes a conscience decision to block better for Holloway than Shumpert, I think it's pretty easy to see what the problem is.
Anyway, defenses are playing us differently than they did when Russell was our QB. With Russell at QB, teams didn't designate a defensive player as a spy & could thus rush another player or drop another player in coverage, thus making it tougher for us to move the ball. Not to mention our WRs are light years better now than then.
If Dak continues to sit by in the pocket all day with no pressure & our offensive line continues to improve, teams are going to be faced with a real decision defensively about either potentially rushing the spy & giving up a big play or dropping another guy into coverage & basically giving Dak & our running game free reign.
The key to beating our offense will be a defense keeping everything in front of them & getting pressure on Dak with 4 rushers. If that happens, we should be embarrassed.
I thought this was great insight by Beastman & something that needed to be shared.
