Will Demens Help Mouton Play Better?
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:20 AM ^
Maybe
October 22nd, 2010 at 9:50 AM ^
Indeed.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:27 AM ^
will be very telling
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:35 AM ^
if they play poorly. PSU is a below average offense. If we play poorly against them, then it will say something. If they play well, it is a positive sign but I won't be comfortable just yet. Now, if we play Wisconsin and contain their running game, my personal next year expectation hype machine with be cranking up.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:47 AM ^
furiously taking notes...may need a flowchart
October 22nd, 2010 at 6:56 AM ^
this is the best answer ever, i am still laughing
October 22nd, 2010 at 7:14 AM ^
oh! found the flowchart on the interwebs.
October 22nd, 2010 at 9:44 AM ^
+1 to you good sir for my morning chuckle.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:57 PM ^
Thanks coach! I can stop looking now. That's the finest thing I've seen come out of New Brunswick in a couple of years!
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:29 AM ^
It'll certainly give him a little less to worry about, coverage wise.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:34 AM ^
One of the reasons Ezeh may have stayed as a starter for so long is that the coaches thought others played better when he was in, and were willing to trade his bad play as the price for better play elsewhere. So it's possible that putting Demens in gets us better MLB play at the expense of others.
Team chemistry is funny that way. They're not independent parts - particular combinations of players often work together better in ways that wouldn't be at all obvious from their individual abilities.
So if Ezeh played so much for so long in order to lend some stability to a bunch of scared freshmen, we'll have to hope that they've gained enough self-confidence by now that they can handle things without Ezeh's leadership on the field. We desperately need the improved LB play, so they'd better have their acts together.
And if Ezeh wasn't on the field for his leadership abilities, then we should see an immediate improvement all around. Everyone can get back to doing their own jobs and not having to worry about covering for Obi anymore.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:45 AM ^
If Ezeh was making predictable mistakes and Mouton was covering them up, then Demens could have a negative effect on the defense. I hope this isn't the case and Mouton can adjust. It did seem like he was trying to do too much this last game. It's funny in the bad way.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^
come on. Ezeh made rafts of mistakes, and it is hard to call any "predictable".
the "predictable mistakes" seem to be the frosh CBs constantly leaving their zones.......but Obi has been doing it all.
October 22nd, 2010 at 1:20 AM ^
I suppose that is possible, but I think unlikely in this situation. Ezeh's struggles seem related to timidity and an inability to avoid mental errors. It's hard for me to believe Ezeh was playing the role of coach-on-the-field when he seemed to lack confidence and couldn't master his own job.
Also, usually when you hear about a player "making his teammates better" it's because he is so dominant that opponents must adjust their game plans to contend with him, such as by diverting blockers or limiting their play-calling options. This wasn't exactly the case with Ezeh.
October 22nd, 2010 at 3:55 AM ^
Ezeh's problem, from what I've seen, is that he stands there and waits for a blocker to block him. It seems like he has to know who's trying to block him to diagnose the play.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:35 AM ^
I would expect that it'll help. But one thing I know for sure, it sure as hell won't hurt.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:42 AM ^
No. How in the hell is he gonna make his teammates better?
Sincerely,
Allen Iverson
October 22nd, 2010 at 2:05 AM ^
If I should +1 you for your comment or your avatar. I wish it could be both, but alas.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:52 AM ^
Practice? We talkin practice? Not a game man, not a game....practice
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:59 AM ^
(crowd laughing)
I know, it's funny to me too. I mean, we're talking about...practice.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:55 AM ^
Ripple in still water...when there is no pebble tossed...nor wind to blow
October 22nd, 2010 at 1:38 AM ^
how to keep contain on his side of the field. Demens on the field will have no affect on that.
From my observations, Mouton and Kovacs have severe communication issues, esp when Kovacs blitzes.
October 22nd, 2010 at 1:53 AM ^
October 22nd, 2010 at 2:44 AM ^
I've written 2 posts on demens. (One was moved to diary by the mods, but here they both are: http://mgoblog.com/diaries/upon-further-review-kenny-demens and
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/demens-vs-ezeh#comment-716323)
I'm not sure about how much time I'll be having because I've got some stuff to do this weekend (2 midertms+drinking=time fuck).
However, I will try to make a diary out of this. My thoughts are that I write a mini UFR on Mouton from last game and compile that with his UFR stats from previous games. I'll also try to add in from my Demens mini UFR all the plays that Demens being in the correct position made the RB cut back to Mouton. Also, I'm thinking about adding a chart/table/whatever that shows how much Mouton has been able to stay "at home" when Demens is in. If you have any further ideas then please reply and give me them (including if you think this is stupid.) Also, this might not happen over the weekend b.c of the aforementioned shit (and, I think I might have to bail out two stupid friends from jail...YAY!)
October 22nd, 2010 at 8:14 AM ^
Mouton is such a home run hitter, will make a great play followed by bad angles and lack of contain
October 22nd, 2010 at 9:40 AM ^
If Demens can improve on his Iowa performance, that will be good. If he happens to help Mouton play better, that would be a bonus. If neither goes down, it would be par for the course this season.
October 22nd, 2010 at 9:55 AM ^
I had a very similar thought to this post. I'm not sure there is cause and effect or just wishful thinking.
I think Mouton has Shawn Crable like qualities to him - he's great in space, has some freakish athletic ability, and is capable of great plays.....but he's not consistent and doesn't stay within the framework of the defense.
The real question is this - has Mouton's tendency to play outside of his assignments gotten worse because he's been in a bad defense his entire career? But at this point if you expect Mouton to change his habits in the last half-season of his career I think you're going to be disappointed.
October 22nd, 2010 at 9:56 AM ^
I am very encouraged by Demens first start, but I still think he's like the one moderately cute girl in my department of mechanical engineers - he looks better in context than he really is. But it is a starting point with hope for the future.
October 22nd, 2010 at 11:39 AM ^
Mouton makes big plays from time to time. With a more decisive and competent side-kick, perhaps Mouton will be free to perform more disruptive activities and TFLs?
Then again, these hallucinogenic drugs I am taking are probably affecting my view of reality.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^
I don't see LB reactions with Mouton. IMHO he still plays like a safety just in a bigger body.
October 22nd, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^
"Reply hazy, try again"
"Outlook not so good"
Have to agree based on the last game. Mouton's performance drifts wildly depending on some factor that nobody has pinpointed. Maybe he needs glasses like Stonum and Roundtree.