Here's what alarmed me and made me sit right the hell up and say, "there is something wrong that goes way deeper than talent" this is a bit long.

I'll start this by saying I am not an alarmist nor do I ever advocate throwing shit out on the internet to get people's goats,  who are having a hard time with a loss.  We know the people who do that, and well, whatever, they are so living vicariously through a sports team that they take their anger out on the internet.  Good for them.  Better that then something else.  
Anyway.  The blocked field goal.  

I can't tell you how simple it is to block from the center to the tackles.  You spend maybe 10 minutes a day on it.  You quiz your kids maybe two days before the game.  You go over when they're running out there, what the call sequence will be and you have them line up, and rote memory the hell out of it.  ITS FUCKING EASY and all it takes is reps. Like teaching a kid to walk.  I could take a 270 to 300 LB h.s. kid and teach them in a day enough to keep aggressive college kids off the ball from tackle to tackle, from there out, it's different, but that's not what I'm talking about.  

So:  Here's the technique:

1.  Guards and tackles have the same damn responsibility.  It's this easy.take a six-inch jab step with the inside foot. Not a big step, just a fucking small jab step, sideways and a bit backwards.  That's done at the snap of the ball.  Simple. You then have interlocked your leg with the guy next to you.  You then brace with your back foot and you reach down and quickly, you bring your inside arm up and and give the lineman over you and upper cut just below his inside shoulder like you want to separate his arm from the rotator cuff.  That's it.  Think about what you have to teach a kid. A. Snap  B.  Jab Step inside and back.  C.  Brace back foot  D. Upper cut like a mother fucker.  

Mind you, the ball is already back there and being held and the leg is swinging while you're probably on C.   definitely by D.  It's not complicated.  

If I gave you Mustafa Khaleefah as an inside lineman to teach, ten  minutes daily and he's been lifting and is strong and is 6'5" 305, could you make that work from tackle to tackle?  

Where is this fucked up if it goes wrong?  Practice?  Repitition, dumb ass player that is out there in a crucial moment but not focusing on a dance step that takes 1.5 seconds?  What is it that a guy forgets and doesn't give a shit enough to do this?  How does that happen?

Is it coaching?  We don't know, these coaches might go over this shit 15 minutes daily, might quiz them on it, might make them know the tight end assignments on it.  who knows.  Not throwing anyone under the bus.  But the kid that blocked the field goal, did it with his head.  HIS FUCKING HEAD not hand.  Go back and look at it.  He was so far inside on our guy, by the time the ball was put down it was over.  I mean Mustafa looked surprised.  You can take a slow kid and have him do A-B-C-D on snap.  

There is something up.  I don't know if it's fixable.  I think it is.  It starts with leadership and it's not just the coaches.  It's the players. Who is going to hold their team mate responsible.  This team does not want to win very badly.  How is that fixed. If you are messing up on a simple assignment, what is going on with our backs, WR's?  Qb's?   Coaches?  

It was a big play and it would have kept us in the game and changed thought patternes.  

Sorry it's this long.  I'd love to know the answers. I'd ask  Dantonio, "If linemen are messing up what might be their easiest assingment, are they prepared for blitzes, for stunts?   How does that happen.

Vent over, thanks for reading it if you did all the way.

Heat Miser wrote:Throw in the dumb ass penalties and you're on to something. It's pretty clear that something is missing. Complacency? The attention to detail seems to just not be there anymore. And that's on the coaches. It's not talent and injuries. It's coaching.

It very well could be. I don't know. the 13, 14, 15 teams, held each other accountable. It takes special kids to do that. In my example, I don't know if the coaches go over this shit ten 15 20 minutes daily, weekly, whatever. But for a play that takes 1.5 seconds to snap and kick before the ref blows his whistle to have players stop, it's fucking amazing that that could happen. I sear to god, a teammate or a coach should have met the kid on the field. I don't get it. Just casually ran to the ball that was downed and then everybody just jogged off. Coaches need to be lucky and have players that keep and hold each other responsible. could very well be coaching, but where are the seniors on this team asking a sophomore WTF is wrong with you? Maybe they are doing that too. But if simple plays are fucked up, I'm thinking it's a feeling in practice we don't have to attend to detail. That's not only a coaching problem, but it's a player problem.

steveschneider wrote:

Heat Miser wrote:The players on the roster are ultimately the responsibility of the coaches who recruited them. If they recruited a bunch of meatheads, that's on them.

Maybe they got lucky with those 2 star NFL guys rather than it being an eye for talent. Maybe that luck has run out.

I don’t follow recruiting at al but I wonder if what ever evaluation model we had at one point if the secret is out and those kids are getting better offers now? Kind of reminds me of Joe Dumars. Dude pulled together unbelievable teams and everyone was like where the fuck did he find these guys. At he end it was clear he had lost it and he was taking chances on diamonds in the rough that would never turn out to be superstars. Another thought I wonder if the game has just evolved beyond the type of players these guys wanted to play? The nba was moving more towards offense and freedom of movement. For NCAA Tressel Ball is painful to watch and I dont think it’s going to get it done in the modern era Also, I watched a bit of Pitt yesterday. Sign me up for Nadduzzi. Yeah, I know they lost but his team looked like they were playing hard, they were moving the ball well from what I saw and I think he’s our best bet to restore the glory. I think he’s doing about as good a job as someone can do at Pitt.

Tressel ball pretty much buried Notre Dame last night.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

DWags wrote:

Tressel ball pretty much buried Notre Dame last night.

That was in a hurricane for 3/4 quarters.

Wait, the rain effected the blocking scheme Notre Dame didn’t have an answer for? That was a hell of a display by Michigan’s team in blocking at point of attack and blocking down field. Staying on the ground and using the pass when needed. You’d think the great Brian Kelly would have figured the weather into a defensive game plan.

And to Those of you who have the ability to keep a healthy perspective when we’re in the rose bowl and when we’re a below average team, ( which I believe are most on thls board. It’s why I love this board), I know and appreciate what CMD did at MSU. We were six phony interference penalties away from playing for a NC, which is just crazy. There isn’t a coach in football, in my mind that could take MSU to those heights considering our 4 decade prior history. It wasn’t luck, it was grinding. Every day. It was keeping yourself and your co worker accountable. That attitude seemed to spread down to kids on the team. Max Bullough partied but he was a film room geek. So was Cousins. So was our Roaebowl fullback from Kentucky (name slips me). But he would always insist on taking the tight end test on Thursday night along with the fullback quiz. Narduzzi would tweet out “Friday night family movie, I’m making popcorn it’s called Indiana offense, get your ass up here now”.

Does that edge still exist? I have no idea. I’m not saying it doesn’t but I’d bet a donut to a dollar the linemen on those teams don’t miss an assignment like the one I saw yesterday. We’re kicks blocked? I’m guessing yes, but I bet it wasn’t in that manner. PSU converted on third and long’s in three touchdown drives. Had we just stopped two of them it’s a different game.

I don’t know if it’s fixable. If I had to pick a guy to fix it, I’d love to pick 2007 Mark Dantonio. I believe that guy still exists in him but I don’t know how many factors are involved.

duffy munn wrote:

DWags wrote:

Wait, the rain effected the blocking scheme Notre Dame didn’t have an answer for? That was a hell of a display by Michigan’s team in blocking at point of attack and blocking down field. Staying on the ground and using the pass when needed. You’d think the great Brian Kelly would have figured the weather into a defensive game plan.

BK has never been good making decisions involving weather.

Ouch.