Hard Knocks: Michigan State Spartans

 

By Sean Gagnier

@SeanGagnier 

So, it's not exactly the HBO "Hard Knocks" series, but "Behind the Scenes" captures the same uniqueness of that series when the Spartans prepare for their game against Boise State. The video quality is brilliant, as is the content. Enjoy.  http://footballscoop.com/news/7260-behind-the-scenes-michigan-state-vs-boise

Le'Veon Bell: Heisman Hopeful?

Bell hurdles Boise defender with ease.

COurtesy of GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES

By Blain Bradley

After his monster game against Boise State (210 yards, 2 touchdowns, 44 carries), Le'Veon Bell has been gaining national attention as a Heisman hopeful. While it was well deserved hype, it was premature as well. The Spartans season is long and only gets harder from this point. 

Realistically Bell won't carry the ball 40 times a game. It's just not possible due to the physical beating a running back takes during a season. Spartan fans should look for Bell to be a 20 to 25 carry back. He has an excellent frame and pure athleticism (this was evident when Bell hurdled a Boise defender). His 210 yards were impressive, however it's more impressive that he averaged 4.7 yards a carry. 

Bell showed breakaway capability. He had a 35 yard rush that showcased his open field speed and vision. He possesses the skills of a small framed back and the power of a big body back. It's a deadly combination. Bell showed great scoring ability as well. He scored both touchdowns for the Spartans. His receiving numbers weren't too bad either (6 receptions, 55 yards). Bell draws comparisons to Saint Louis Rams running back Stephen Jackson. He has a low center of gravity for such a big back. This helps him get through small gaps and create big plays. 

What really makes Bell special is his ability to be a pure leader. He took the team on his back and carried them to victory. He bailed out Andrew Maxwell, who struggled a little in his first start. He was able to eat up clock on crucial fourth quarter drives. If Bell gets stuck in the backfield he'll fight his way forward for an extra yard.

It's far too early to place Bell amongst top Heisman hopefuls. He certainly is in the top ten right now. Football realists know that he will have to cut his carries down and continue to utilize his big play potential. Bell had a great game against a Boise squad that only returned seven starters in total. The Spartans still have to go up against top caliber teams. Bell will be the leader this season. The Spartans are questionable at quarterback and receiver, however there is no question at running back. Bell is a special player who can lead the Spartans to a successful season.

How the Spartans Could Have Easily Lost Against Boise

via isportsweb

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

The first defensive stand by the Spartans against Boise State on Friday night was impressive, as was the first offensive drive by Michigan State and Le'Veon Bell played out of his mind, but there were glaring problems throughout the team that could have easily cost them the game.

To start, quarterback Andrew Maxwell performed as expected. He didn't wow anyone, but he didn't completely implode in his first start. Maxwell showed that he has excellent arm strength and that he isn't afraid to stay in the pocket under pressure, but he consistently made poor choices all night.

His three interceptions jump off the stats page, but examining each of them shows that only the last of the three was truly Maxwell's fault. The first was in his receivers hands and somehow Tony Lippett was unable to make the catch. A couple of tips lead to the second INT that was intended for Larry Caper. It was the third pick that Maxwell made a mistake, he threw behind his receiver and right into the arms of a Boise defender.

Offensive coordinator Dan Roushar tried to get Maxwell's confidence up by having him dump the ball short to tight end Dion Sims and to running back Bell. Those easy passes that were able to get yards-after-the-catch, buoyed Maxwell's confidence and he played a bit better in the second half.

Maxwell would have been able to play much better though, if he wasn't on the run every time the ball is hiked. The Spartan offensive line, touted in the preseason as being "seasoned", looked anything but. Boise defenders were in the backfield and rushing Maxwell or blowing up running plays with regularity.

Most of the blame should be heaped on the shoulders of walk-on sophomore TE Andrew Gleichert, who was unable to block pretty much anybody on his side of the line. This weakness on the line forced an inexperienced QB to make rushed decisions and could have cost Michigan State the game.

The offensive line was also unable to get any push whatsoever in the running game. Give Bell credit as he salvaged many rushing plays by hurdling players, spinning off tackles and even reversing field. If it wasn't for the brilliance of Bell on Friday things would have been much worse.

Bell cannot, and will not, perform like his did every game, it's not possible. And because of that the offensive line needs to push up front so that they can give their running back the holes he needs and not have to put the entire team on his back.

The wide receivers were also less than stellar last night, but again, that was to be expected as they are inexperienced. But the absence of B.J. Cunningham on Friday night was noticeable. Lippett misplayed pass after pass allowing the defender to get the inside lane on him and when the ball was catchable, he found a way to either make it look difficult or missed it entirely.   

There was a pass up the middle intended for Bennie Fowler, who made every effort to get to the ball, but simply was unable to elevate himself enough to reel it in. Part of the blame for that miss lies with Maxwell, who put the ball a little too high, but Spartan fans are used to Cunningham catching anything remotely close to him, and Cunningham, Fowler is not.

A win is a win, but the game that the Spartans played on Friday was one that may not have deserved a "W." The offensive line needs to step up their game and the real success will follow.

Three Positives and Negatives from Last Night's Opener

By: Connor Wilton
@ConnorJayWilton

From ESPN Sportsnation

The Spartans kicked off their season in winning fashion yesterday defeating Boise State 17-13 under the lights. The Spartan performance was far from impressive though. Despite doubling the Broncos in both total offense and time of possession, Michigan State needed a late 4th quarter drive to pull off the victory.

Despite the shaky performance from the Spartans, there were definitely some positives to take away from the game.  Unfortunately, there are certainly a lot of things the Spartans need to improve on if they want to become Big Ten Champs.

Three Positives:

Le'Veon Bell 

I think this one pretty much goes without saying.  Le'Veon Bell was by far the best player on the field Friday night totaling 210 yards rushing on 44 carries. He also had 6 receptions for 55 yards as well as the Spartan's only two TDs.  He also had a pair of highlight-reel runs, including a play where he leaped over Boise defender Jeremy Ioane en route to a 23 yard run. Bell was a monster from start to finish for the Spartans and leaped himself into the Heisman race this year, literally.

Dion Sims 

It was no secret that there were a lot of concerns about the Spartan passing offense coming into this season.  Unfortunately, those concerns turned into reality for MSU as the passing game was ineffective for the most part. Sims was the lone bright spot for the passing game last night, hauling in 7 receptions for 65 yards. The most impressive part was all 7 receptions resulted in Michigan State first downs, and 5 were 3rd down conversions. Sims appeared to be the only target Maxwell was comfortable throwing to and he already has appeared to emerge as the security valve that Maxwell needs.

MSU Defense 

There was a ton of hype heading into this season about the MSU Defense, and they definitely lived up to it last night. The Boise State offense really had no success the entire night, as they totaled only 205 yards of offense. The defense held Boise State to 6 points, with Boise State's only TD coming from their own defense. MSU shut out the Boise State offense in the second half which was ultimately the reason why the Spartans won the game. My only complaint about the D was that they failed to register a sack and failed to put consistent pressure on Boise, but I'm confident that will change in the future.

Three Negatives:

Andrew Maxwell 

Maxwell's much anticipated debut was one that most Spartans will want to forget about.  After a nice opening TD drive, Maxwell had a perfect pass go through the hands of WR Tony Lippett and into the hands of a Boise State defender. Maxwell never seemed to recover in the 1st half throwing two more poor balls, one resulting in a Boise State pick six. The encouraging part for Maxwell was his 2nd half performance. He was by no means spectacular, but he made much better decisions with the football going 11-16 for 152 yards. That second half for Maxwell could really benefit him down the road as they head into Big Ten play.

The Wide Receivers 

After losing their top 3 WRs last season, the WR position was another concern heading into the season for the Spartans.  The Spartan WRs only accounted for 8 of the 22 receptions for MSU. Tony Lippett especially struggled for MSU.  He dropped a perfect pass from Maxwell which led to an INT for Boise, and fumbled the ball away killing a potential scoring drive for MSU.  It was also interesting that DeAnthony Arnett was hardly on the field for the Spartans last night.  He was talked about as being the potential best WR for MSU but he only entered the game a few times last night. Bennie Fowler had a couple nice receptions for the Spartans, but overall, MSU WRs must improve dramatically.

William Gholston 

Now, this may seem harsh to put Gholston as a negative last night since the D played great as a unit. He came out very strong batting down two balls in the first 2 possessions.  However, from that point on, he really became a non-factor for MSU, and did not have a tackle last night. In his defense, Boise State used a lot of quick 3 step drops yesterday which didn't give the pass rush a whole lot of time to wreak havoc. Gholston has all the abilities in the world and has the talent to become one of the best players in college football, but he needs to be consistent for the Spartan D to have success in Big Ten play.

The Spartans certainly have a lot work and improving to do this upcoming week. But beating Boise State is something that not a lot of teams have been able to do in the past 5 years and is something the Spartans can build on as they fight for the Big Ten Championship.