Phil Steele's preseason All Big Ten teams

[gotime909]

Wanted to make sure this forum was still working so I figured I'd post this link that I came across today.

VERY early for rankings, but oh well.

http://www.philsteele.com/Blogs/2013/JUN13/DBJune03.html

No offensive players(not surprising)

DE Rush, LB Bullough, CB Dennard and S Lewis all made first team.

P Sadler also made first team

Teams with multiple 1st teamer's were:

OSU-6
MSU-5
Northwestern-5
Nebraska-3
Wisconsin-3

 

[JScottWriter]

Hoping the offense doesn't have to be carried by the defense this year. Maxwell and the wideouts will have to be a lot better.

 

[Sbee]

a lot of great teams have had the defense carry the offense.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

a lot of great teams have had the defense carry the offense.

And there you are, glad to see you over here.

 

[Green and White 95]

a lot of great teams have had the defense carry the offense.

Yep. We were in most of our games last year because of our D. Just need any improvement on offense and we will be in for a real good year. Especially with our schedule.

 

[Michchamp]

except you weren't a great team last year, and your defense won't be as good this year.

 

[gotime909]

except you weren't a great team last year, and your defense won't be as good this year.

Who's saying we were great last year???? And why wouldn't the D be as good this year????

 

[Green and White 95]

except you weren't a great team last year, and your defense won't be as good this year.

Hi Champ. :cheers:

 

[Michchamp]

a lot of great teams have had the defense carry the offense.

Yep. We were in most of our games last year because of our D. Just need any improvement on offense and we will be in for a real good year. Especially with our schedule.

i took this to mean he considers MSU was a great team last year.

Who's saying we were great last year???? And why wouldn't the D be as good this year????

 

[Sbee]

my point is that we could be a great team without having a great offense, it's not a necessity. if we could have made field goals, we could have been great last year without piling up a ton of yardage.

not saying this team will be great but we have a chance to be very good, with our schedule, I don't see more than 3 losses in the regular season.

 

[Michchamp]

oh, okay.

 

[Sbee]

oh, okay.

my assessment about this years team is that our record will be better but i'm not sure the team will be. losing sims and bell will hurt us a lot but we were also down 3 OL for most of the year and Sims was injured for two close losses (UM and Iowa). the defense will be stellar, I think the guys we lost won't really be missed. Norman was a starter but Jones got more snaps, Adams was a good corner who didn't have a good year and Gholston looked lazy, Calhoun should be more productive.

our schedule will be much, much easier. No OSU, no Wisconsin, adding Purdue and IL who are both terrible, also having UM at home helps a little bit.

field goal kicking is a big part of what did us in last year, we had a number of games that we lost by a point or two with a missed FG like OSU, UM, Iowa, etc. not saying that you make every kick but Conroy had an awful senior year.

MSU should win more games this year, we won 11 for two straight years, then 7 last year. most national analyst would agree with me

also, vegas has us as the favorite for the legends

 

[johnny2x2x]

my assessment about this years team is that our record will be better but i'm not sure the team will be. losing sims and bell will hurt us a lot but we were also down 3 OL for most of the year and Sims was injured for two close losses (UM and Iowa). the defense will be stellar, I think the guys we lost won't really be missed. Norman was a starter but Jones got more snaps, Adams was a good corner who didn't have a good year and Gholston looked lazy, Calhoun should be more productive.

our schedule will be much, much easier. No OSU, no Wisconsin, adding Purdue and IL who are both terrible, also having UM at home helps a little bit.

field goal kicking is a big part of what did us in last year, we had a number of games that we lost by a point or two with a missed FG like OSU, UM, Iowa, etc. not saying that you make every kick but Conroy had an awful senior year.

MSU should win more games this year, we won 11 for two straight years, then 7 last year. most national analyst would agree with me

also, vegas has us as the favorite for the legends

A healthy O line is the key for us. We'll miss Bell, but look for the offense to be more balanced, and losing Roushar was a huge plus.

I also think Calhoun will be more productive than Gholston, but only in the pass rush, Gholston was a great run stopper. Where I think our D will be much improved is the DTs, we have more depth and talent than before and should really have more plays made from that position this year. At LB, Jones was starting over Norman for the 2nd half of the season and is a great pro prospect. Trae Waynes played outstanding in the game against TCU at CB and showed he is a big time talent starting in place of Adams.

Funny you mentioned kicker, we have the nation's #1 kicker recruit joining the team and by all accounts he is the real deal and should win the job.

The schedule is much easier for sure, it's a 9+ win season, we'll be favored in every game except at Nebraska, ND, and Northwestern.

 

[Sbee]

A healthy O line is the key for us. We'll miss Bell, but look for the offense to be more balanced, and losing Roushar was a huge plus.

I also think Calhoun will be more productive than Gholston, but only in the pass rush, Gholston was a great run stopper. Where I think our D will be much improved is the DTs, we have more depth and talent than before and should really have more plays made from that position this year. At LB, Jones was starting over Norman for the 2nd half of the season and is a great pro prospect. Trae Waynes played outstanding in the game against TCU at CB and showed he is a big time talent starting in place of Adams.

Funny you mentioned kicker, we have the nation's #1 kicker recruit joining the team and by all accounts he is the real deal and should win the job.

The schedule is much easier for sure, it's a 9+ win season, we'll be favored in every game except at Nebraska, ND, and Northwestern.

OL will be big, Sims will be missed but he didn't play enough to make much of an impact, we actually didn't even use him that much last year.

the thing that I don't like is that nobody really separated themselves from the pack in the spring. Maxwell isn't the clear cut #1 QB, we have a ton of guys that could play RB but nobody is that much better than the others, we're looking at true freshmen to go along with Tompkis, Hill, Bullough, etc. From what I saw in the spring game, Burbridge is by far the best WR of the bunch and is primed for a big year, but aside from him, nobody stands out with Troup, Mumphrey, Fowler, Lippet, Madaris, Kings, etc.

maybe all of these guys are much improved but it seems like a lot of mediocre skill players unfortunately.

 

[Michchamp]

the weird thing is MSU was a surprisingly good road team, and a god-awful home team last year.

I honestly think last year you were much better than your record, but this year, you won't be. I think you're downplaying the talent you lost; even if some of them didn't have great seasons statistically, their presence helped other players on the team do so.

also, weren't you guys also all down on the OC Dantonio hired?

I think you go 3-1 OOC and 5-3 in conference, dropping a road game to Nebraska or Northwestern, and another one you should win (@Iowa maybe), and a close home game to us.

8-4 still better than last season, but mainly because you miss ohio. who knows how good UW will be with the new coach. that could've been an easy home win for you too.

 

[Sbee]

the weird thing is MSU was a surprisingly good road team, and a god-awful home team last year.

I honestly think last year you were much better than your record, but this year, you won't be. I think you're downplaying the talent you lost; even if some of them didn't have great seasons statistically, their presence helped other players on the team do so.

also, weren't you guys also all down on the OC Dantonio hired?

I think you go 3-1 OOC and 5-3 in conference, dropping a road game to Nebraska or Northwestern, and another one you should win (@Iowa maybe), and a close home game to us.

8-4 still better than last season, but mainly because you miss ohio. who knows how good UW will be with the new coach. that could've been an easy home win for you too.

MSU was really, really young last year. let's look at the talent we lost

Gholston, had a ton of talent, also took a lot of plays off. may have been a little overrated, he missed having Jerel Worthy alongside him big time. I think Calhoun

Norman provided leadership, solid linebacker but sat a lot in favor of Taiwan jones, our linebackers will be better next year, maybe the best in the big ten

Adams, got blamed for getting beat deep a few times, had little/no safety help. he will be missed more than some think, trae waynes looked good against TCU but they were far from explosive

Bell will be deeply missed, hopefully a freshman can come in and make an impact. he was our offense, very reliable, good with ball security, durable, etc.

Sims, got hurt against Indiana, missed all of the Iowa game, played 3 downs vs Michigan, hobbled through the next few games. he would have made a huge impact if he came back but he was hurt for most of the year

Conroy, he was terrible, good previously but 13/22 from 30-49 yards? terrible, cost us a lot of games. too many 1-2 pt losses with a missed FG

Mcdonald, solid OL but will be easily replaced by getting Fou and Jackson back

White, was ok at DT but we have a ton of depth there now with LT moving over

 

[Sbee]

the weird thing is MSU was a surprisingly good road team, and a god-awful home team last year.

I honestly think last year you were much better than your record, but this year, you won't be. I think you're downplaying the talent you lost; even if some of them didn't have great seasons statistically, their presence helped other players on the team do so.

also, weren't you guys also all down on the OC Dantonio hired?

I think you go 3-1 OOC and 5-3 in conference, dropping a road game to Nebraska or Northwestern, and another one you should win (@Iowa maybe), and a close home game to us.

8-4 still better than last season, but mainly because you miss ohio. who knows how good UW will be with the new coach. that could've been an easy home win for you too.

also, I predict 9 wins, you predict 8, it's not like we're that far off

 

[johnny2x2x]

the weird thing is MSU was a surprisingly good road team, and a god-awful home team last year.

I honestly think last year you were much better than your record, but this year, you won't be. I think you're downplaying the talent you lost; even if some of them didn't have great seasons statistically, their presence helped other players on the team do so.

also, weren't you guys also all down on the OC Dantonio hired?

I think you go 3-1 OOC and 5-3 in conference, dropping a road game to Nebraska or Northwestern, and another one you should win (@Iowa maybe), and a close home game to us.

8-4 still better than last season, but mainly because you miss ohio. who knows how good UW will be with the new coach. that could've been an easy home win for you too.

As it sits, we're 3 point favorites over Michigan at home. The defense will be better if anything. Offensively, it's all about the O line, we were playing backups all year and it showed, we couldn't give Maxwell any time and were shitty at the goal line. If tha O line is healthy, I don't care who we lost, our offense will be better. It all starts up front. And for the record, I think Michigan lost a helluva a lot more than us on both sides of the ball from a team that needed a last second FG to beat us at the Big Hole last year.

 

[Michchamp]

... The defense will be better if anything. ...

why? You're certainly entitled to your opinion, and if your reasoning is "because I say so" I don't have anything to add, but I've seen a few other spartans make this claim, and I'm not sure what will be the source of the improvement. they should be decent. could possibly be better... but more likely they'll drop a bit. they lost some solid players, didn't seem to replace them with anyone comparable, and it's not like MSU has a new coach coming in who could lead to improvement (like we did with Mattison).

I'm not as concerned with our losses, aside from our interior OL and losing Roundtree.

While we don't have any experienced wideouts with height or speed, I think Gardner's passing ability will more than make up for it. basically, Gardner with avg. receivers is a better passing game than Robinson with great receivers. Funchess could have a huge season.

as far as Vegas' odds, I'll take a look at those again when each team has played a couple games.

 

[Sbee]

why? You're certainly entitled to your opinion, and if your reasoning is "because I say so" I don't have anything to add, but I've seen a few other spartans make this claim, and I'm not sure what will be the source of the improvement. they should be decent. could possibly be better... but more likely they'll drop a bit. they lost some solid players, didn't seem to replace them with anyone comparable, and it's not like MSU has a new coach coming in who could lead to improvement (like we did with Mattison).

I'm not as concerned with our losses, aside from our interior OL and losing Roundtree.

While we don't have any experienced wideouts with height or speed, I think Gardner's passing ability will more than make up for it. basically, Gardner with avg. receivers is a better passing game than Robinson with great receivers. Funchess could have a huge season.

as far as Vegas' odds, I'll take a look at those again when each team has played a couple games.

it's hard to be statistically that much better when you're top 10 in almost every category, the one big area for improvement will be takeaways. that was a focus in spring but who knows if that will lead to improvement.

our two deep was very young last year and we have a ton of quality depth, especially in the trenches. Linebackers should be the best in the big ten, DB's are very solid as well with Denard, Lewis, and Drummond but don't be shocked if Cox makes a run at the SS position. LT going over to defense full time will help as well, he's a beast.

it might be more accurate to say that our defense won't take a step back, since it's hard to be that much better. we might improve a little statistically but that could be attributed to the easier schedule