Re-watching '11 Gator Bowl

[PSYCHO(thesis)DEFENSE]

mainly to re-acclimate myself w/ Manny. Things I noticed.

1. Cowbells

2. The D-line gets penetration & makes plays. I believe it was CJ who mentioned Diaz would let the D-line make plays this year rather than holding up blockers for the LBs. He definitely did that w/ the 2010 D-line, as at least one lineman is in the backfield pretty much every play. Of course it's easy to tell your line to go make plays when you're talking to Fletcher Cox, Pernell Mcphee, & Josh Boyd. We have 5 DL who can win 1-on-1 SEC match ups and I think that will be plenty to build off of.

3. We had at least one, but often two, stand-up ends pretty much all game. I wonder if this is a product of having two lighter, quicker ends w/ Mcphee & Sean Ferguson, or a preference of Manny's? Do we see R Brown, Jefferson, or the C & C Sack Factory coming out of a 2 pt stance more often than not this season? I may be wrong but I don't remember seeing much of that last yr. I think I like Brown & AJ better w/ a hand in the dirt.

4. Diaz's defense can be successful w/o high end safeties. Charles Mitchell & Nickoe were great but we had Zach Smith & Wade Bonner playing just as many snaps. If safety actually ends up being a soft spot this year, I think Manny can scheme to keep them out of bad positions.

5. It's unbelievable how much we have upgraded our WR corps. Not only in terms of talent, but having guys w/ different sizes and skill sets. That said, Arceto Clark had a great game. Also, Michael Carr touchdown.

[Tbonewannabe]

Yes. All our guys on that team were slot type WRs. I don't remember one over 6'1"

[BrunswickDawg]

mainly to re-acclimate myself w/ Manny. Things I noticed.

1. Cowbells.

That was a loud crowd that day. Our seats sucked, but I lost my clapper about the end of the first quarter. We had gone to the game at UF, and my kids were convinced they were good luck charms after the Gator Bowl.

To flip the field a bit - screens to the RB. We destroyed Michigan with those. Wish we did more of that.

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

I don't see that big of a difference between Brown/Jefferson and McPhee/Ferguson size wise. Do they play differently?
McPhee 6' 3-4", 280
Ferguson 6' 3", 250
Brown 6' 6", 260
Jefferson 6' 3", 270

[BeardoMSU]

His in-game adjustments are what stand out to me about that game. They score 14 points relatively easily, then get shut the 17 down for the rest of the game. That was bad ass.

[Bama_Dawg]

His in-game adjustments are what stand out to me about that game. They score 14 points relatively easily, then get shut the 17 down for the rest of the game. That was bad ass.

And this is what I'm most encouraged about. Collins had no clue how to make in-game adjustments. Diaz seems to learn and adapt, pretty quickly.

[CadaverDawg]

Here's a few defensive plays from Manny's Tech defense last year

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l_tGvJu2Kw4

[PSYCHO(thesis)DEFENSE]

I don't see that big of a difference between Brown/Jefferson and McPhee/Ferguson size wise. Do they play differently?
McPhee 6' 3-4", 280
Ferguson 6' 3", 250
Brown 6' 6", 260
Jefferson 6' 3", 270

Good point, not a big difference. Ferguson seemed more finesse to me, & McPhee can do anything he damn well pleases, but I considered him more of a quick-twitch pass rush specialist in college. I think of Brown & Jefferson more as physical DEs that can stone and shuck blockers. Jefferson's ability to get leverage may be his best asset, and Brown is already at a leverage disadvantage being 6'6", so I just don't see Manny standing them up like he did in '10-11

I was mainly wondering if stand-up ends were a trade mark of Manny's scheme or if he was making an adaptation based on something, be it personnel, opponent, etc. I don't see him standing anybody up in that La Tech clip, so it may just be an aberration vs. Mich. That La Tech clip shows a lot of 3 man fronts, which were also prominent in the Gator Bowl (vs. the spread). I could see us running a lot more 3-3-5, esp. vs. the spread, in order to replace Matt Well's role w/ a corner.

[CadaverDawg]

Good point, not a big difference. Ferguson seemed more finesse to me, & McPhee can do anything he damn well pleases, but I considered him more of a quick-twitch pass rush specialist in college. I think of Brown & Jefferson more as physical DEs that can stone and shuck blockers. Jefferson's ability to get leverage may be his best asset, and Brown is already at a leverage disadvantage being 6'6", so I just don't see Manny standing them up like he did in '10-11

I was mainly wondering if stand-up ends were a trade mark of Manny's scheme or if he was making an adaptation based on something, be it personnel, opponent, etc. I don't see him standing anybody up in that La Tech clip, so it may just be an aberration vs. Mich. That La Tech clip shows a lot of 3 man fronts, which were also prominent in the Gator Bowl (vs. the spread). I could see us running a lot more 3-3-5, esp. vs. the spread, in order to replace Matt Well's role w/ a corner.

Yep, I'm expecting a LOT of 3 man fronts. I actually think we'll see a good bit of Ryan Brown, CJ, & AJ as our 3 DL. I love it. Plus it immediately adds significant depth at DT when you're only running 1 out there on most plays.

[Todd4State]

Yep, I'm expecting a LOT of 3 man fronts. I actually think we'll see a good bit of Ryan Brown, CJ, & AJ as our 3 DL. I love it. Plus it immediately adds significant depth at DT when you're only running 1 out there on most plays.

How about a d-line of Ryan Brown, Nick James, and Chris Jones? I know- gasp at Chris Jones playing DE.

[Barking 13]

How about a d-line of Ryan Brown, Nick James, and Chris Jones? I know- gasp at Chris Jones playing DE.

you just made my sticker peck up... lol

[BeardoMSU]

How about a d-line of Ryan Brown, Nick James, and Chris Jones? I know- gasp at Chris Jones playing DE.

[archdog]

That may have been the best game for an MSU qb I can recall. Relf absolutely smashed those guys. Hell I think he only had like 2 or 3 straight up incompletions that game. 1 was an interception on a hail mary to end the half. 2 were throw aways when there was nothing there and 3 straight up incompletions. He smashed those guys. One of my favorite games from the Relf era.