QB = A- Lee was extremely accurate, extremely decisive. The one drive that they took the restraints off, he delivered a touchdown drive that pretty much put this one out of reach. The one interception was about the only blemish. RB = A Ware was in beast mode again. Even with 8 and even 9 constantly in the box, Ware (and Ford at times) willed their way to nice gains. WR = B+ It was a solid night for our receivers. Minus the one big drop, Randle made it 2 solid outings in a row. Beckham is going to be a force for this offense by year's end. TE = C- Peterson was nowhere to be found in this offense and the one attempt was not very well thrown. Blocking was decent. O-line = A- Run blocking was really good considering the 8 and 9 men box sets. Pass blocking was absolutely stellar, the best I have seen in quite some time. Penalties were a bit of a problem at times and caused the demise of a couple of our drives. Overall Offense = B+ The only knock was the conservative play calling that had this team in a 6-6 tie midway through the 3rd quarter. So, nothing of note against the offensive players themselves, but a call for slightly more aggressive play calling is in order. D-line = A What a great job these guys did up front, setting the tone. They kept their assignments beautifully again and helped bottle up Relf the entire night. Also kept Ballard at bay. LB = B- Solid job again. A couple of missed assignments and some catches by the backs that went for a sizeable gain was about all that was a mark against this unit. DB = A+ I can't count how many times Relf had more than ample time only to see everyone covered. The only passing effectiveness was to their backs. The wideouts were shutout for the most part and never mounted anything threatening. Claiborne will be a first round draft pick in 2012, he is pretty special. The safeties laid the lumber when they got the chance and covered up anything mid range or deep all night long. Overall Defense = A+ A team averaging 585 yards per game had only 135 with a little over 2 minutes to go in the game. 16 tackles for loss. Enough said. Special Teams = B Kick coverage was really sketchy and something to watch from this point forward. Why we cannot kick inside the 15 is bothersome to say the least. Punt coverage was good but we had little return game. Alleman looks like he is following in the footsteps of Colt David. We needed him big time tonight, and he delivered. This unit would have rated out as a C/C+ had it not been for Alleman being perfect on his field goals. Coaching = A- The only gripe is being so safe with Lee that we were in a 6-6 tie midway through the third. I hope Les and Stud look at what ended up being the back breaking drive in which Lee was 5-5 for 67 yards and reconsider how to approach teams going all out to stop our running game. The defense was yet again prepared for a spread offense.
Although Lee didn't look like a future NFL hall of famer, I'd have to give him an A+. Even the int was a miscommunication and the offensive play calling was atrocious. OL I'd give a B and the coaching a C. Everything else I agree with.
O-line played their best game in quite some time. Lee was hardly ever pressured and we ran against 8 in the box constantly and still had a great night with 35 carries for 157 yards (Ware/Ford). That's impressive. Coaching has to be both offense and defense. While you can grade out the offensive side as a C, you have to grade the defensive side as an A, so no less than a B overall.
Agree with everything. I may have been a LITTLE bit harder on the OLine in their grade--but nothing drastic. A- or B at worst. Thought they had some very bad mental lapses concerning penalties--all correctable. Holding happens. Chop blocks, false starts, etc. are absolute drive/momentum killers. We've been very solid in the penalty area thru the first 2 games--and that was great to see. Took a step back in that reguard tonight though. In terms of offensive production...I'm no too worried at this point. Our defense is lights out and perhaps the plan is to make sure that Lee remains confident? Sure, you can't play scared and at some point, have to take shots, so I agree with you.
The loss of Faulk hurt. Blackwell was pulled and #74 Williford was brought in. #74 played a good game.
Definately NOT one of Blackwell's best games....but, it happens. Just get your head back straight, #60!
Which goes to show how great the reserves played. Forgot about the couple of big penalties on the O-line that killed a drive or two. I adjusted them down to an A-.
Lee played very well, he looked comfortable, which is in large part due to O-line giving him time. One bad decision resulted in int, but I will blame that on ESPN's production crew which was clearly trying to jinx him into an int by repeatedly showing the state about his consecutive passes without an int. RBs ran hard and wore down the MSU defense, I love the ground and pound in the fourth quarter when the defense cant stop what it knows is coming right at it. Ford looked better picking up the blitz. Randle ran a great route which led to his TD reception. Beckham, wow. Landry was blocking hard all night, very physical for his stature, reminds me a bit of Hines Ward, just a physical smallish receiver. Oline and Defense both dominated. Kudos to the Shaw for stepping in and the line did not miss a beat. I am not surprised Miles went with senority over Collins on the road in a load environment. Kick offs have to be deeper. Punting game was sketchy without Wing.
