Well, the game started out as I hoped. On the first offensive and defensive drives MSU looked set to do whatever it wanted on both sides of the ball. But then mediocrity set in.
Observations
The coaches need to take some blame. The defense looked sloppy. The players seemed confused too often, as if play calls were coming in late or as if they had no clue what they were supposed to do. The defense also lined up poorly on several plays, including the touchdown they gave up. On offense they ran the ball too much. Furman is the kind of team against which they should be practicing a balanced attack. This is the kind game in which you let your quarterback find his legs. If they can't establish a balanced attack against Furman, they won't do so against Notre Dame. And if they don't have a balanced attack, they won't win any of the big games this season.
The receivers looked good. Madaris and Davis looked like they should have good years. Shelton looked good too, the few times he touched the ball. Hope there are no injuries (let's pray Shelton and Davis are not out long) because the freshmen looked like freshmen. Stewart and Corley look super talented, but they are a year away from being stars.
The running backs looked pretty good, but not outstanding (compared to Bell and Langford). They look to run to the outside too often and they just don't have the speed to do that consistently. That approach will fail against more athletic defenses like Notre Dame's (and like Alabama's last year). I think the coaches think the running backs are dominant, because they used them too often. They're good, but they're not Bell or Langford, yet.
The linebackers were not as dominant as I was expecting. Chris Frey is the best linebacker out there. He's everywhere and should be considered a starter, not an OR player. He's a star. Riley Bullough went the wrong way a few times and didn't show the consistent aggression I was hoping to see.
O'Connor had a decent game. He made some great throws and some decent runs. But he definitely struggles when when plays go off script. And he has to stop staring receivers down. Furman took advantage of that, and more athletic secondaries will take even greater advantage of that. This is one skill that Connor Cook seemed to have been taught well, by his quarterback guru. Either future MSU quarterbacks need to go to that same guru or the MSU quarterbacks coaches needs to focus on that skill more intensively.
The O-line has a ways to go. They didn't look terrible, but this was Furman. I was hoping to see them dominate. They had trouble opening holes, but they did protect O'Connor pretty well. Notre Dame will be the true test of where this line stands.
The D-line was disappointing. McDowell looked great and he looks like he's committed to having a big year, but the rest of the line didn't seem to do much. Furman ran the ball way too well. If they don't improve a lot in the next 2 weeks, they could get dominated by Notre Dame's O-line. Maybe they'll have to let Lyle's have a few snaps on the D-line.
The secondary held it's own. Hicks was the most tested defensive back and he played pretty well. Needs to learn to look back for the ball, but otherwise, he can keep up with speedy receivers and sticks to them pretty well.
The game was sloppy. There is a lot to clean up. The penalties and turnovers have to be addressed. The kickers need to be better than they were last year. Guess we'll see how much progress they can make in 2 weeks.
I still have high hopes for this team, but the scales have fallen from my eyes on a couple of things. I am particularly more disappointed in the D-line and the linebackers than I had hoped to be after the first game. On the other hand, I am actually more hopeful about the receivers (if the injuries are not serious). Lots can change over the course of a season, so let's see what unfolds.
No comments:
Post a Comment