Lewan vs. Gholston

So much for that pre-season All-American, first round draft pick hype, Gholston.

I hate to be "that guy" but check the aftermath of the pass to Vincent Smith right around the 1:00 mark. Looks like Tom runs into the pile after Smith is down and works him over with his knees a bit. Classy guy...

Worthy made Gholston last year. Tom is no worthy.

I don't like the Sparty but this isn't a fair game to evaluate his pass rush. It's clear he wasn't going upfield by design so he could pinch down when Denard stepped forward to run. State plays Denard to stop the run on every play.

I caught the pregame coverage on satellite radio, of course I could only find the MSU radio coverage.  Anyway, they referred to Lewan as "the Convtroversial Left Tackle"

To Tom's defense, he was playing the entire game with the wind knocked out of him.

Why did you edit out all of Tom's sacks? MSU is going to report you to the Big Ten.

I thought Taylor Lewan played a very solid game.  I didn't see exactly what he did for that personal foul (which set us back deep in our own zone) on the first drive, because I was there, not watching any tv replay, and he was away from the play.

But let's give a hell of a lot of credit to our other tackle, Michael Schofield.  Because MSU's defense flips to the field side on every down, Schofield was lined up against Gholston as often as Lewan was, and Gholston had no more success versus Schofield.

I actually didn't think Gholston was awful; he was getting some pressure on Denard even without any spectacular sacks or personal fouls.  He was in on a bunch of tackles.  And yeah, I think Gholston is a filthy football player.   Thanks to our entire O-line, not just Lewan, Gholston looked pretty ordinary.

1:34-1:36 of the above Taylor Lewan video.

Patrick Omameh drive blocking.  ON HIS KNEES.

I love how after he finally completes that rotisserrie spin move, he's honestly surprised to see Lewan standing there waiting for him. He did seem to have a step on Lewan on a couple plays with a speed rush, but luckily Denard felt the pressure and stepped up into the pocket.

when he's unblocked. When even one guy blocks him, he's essentially neutralized. I'm amazed that they don't stunt him more.

BTW: Noticed this at the game, but while the anthem was playing and being sung, Tom raised his arms and helmet up 30 seconds before the end of the song (hard to miss his long ass arms) and started clapping them over his head and jawing to his teammates. He sure was pumped up and you could tell by his performance.

The funny thing is he will probably still go pro after this year, LeVeon, too. It's the Spartan thing to do.

I kind of feel like Gholsten played the same role Craig Roe is playing for Michigan.

State does an amazing job of staying disciplined, staying in their lanes and occupying their blockers to let their LB's run free.  I think if you put a camera on the other end, Rush?, you would see similar results.

I will say as a pass rusher Gholsten seems disappointing.

This was awesome.

I'm the first to admit my knowledge of football technique is low ... so this video gave me a reason to take some time and actually focus on the interaction, play-after-play, between a LT and a DE.

Someone with better knowledge of this stuff correct me, but it seems to me Lewan is really good at (a) keeping his legs out for better stability, (b) lots of foot movement with really quick lateral motion, (c) keeping his shoulders squared to the DE, and (d) pushing the DE away from the play, even if that means pushing in a wide arc.

I only saw one play where Gholston got around Lewan ... but ultimately it did little harm because the play was already winding down by the time Gholston go by.

If what Lewan did in that game is a good example of quality LT play, then this game we call football is even more fascinating to me now than before.  Freakin' awesome exercise in watching the details of a game.

That's how you shut down the All American.*

* preseason award hype is crap.

As for the missed Denard-to-Gallon pass, the more I watch it the more it looks like he was trying to throw it behind the ref while Gallon kept running.  It wasn't a great throw, but Gallon could have slowed down a bit and given him the bigger window.

This is criminal.  But remember guys, Gholston is still good, teams are just keying in on him.....

But what a block by Joe Reynolds on Fitz's big run. Cut him then jumped to his feet to get some more. Terrific stuff.