Suggestions to give our D more "swagger."
October 4th, 2010 at 9:54 AM ^
My feeling is swagger is earned. They can get swagger when they consistantly stop somebody.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:08 AM ^
Pirate eye patches and puffy shirts might do the trick
Also, if Cam Gordon can grow an awesome pirate beard, things will be perfect.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
How about the Braylon beard?
October 4th, 2010 at 9:54 AM ^
Name tags so they never forget...
October 4th, 2010 at 9:55 AM ^
I think we should dance as obnoxiously as possible and act like we just scorred a pick 6 every time the qb overthrows a wide open recever, just like they do in the SEC
October 4th, 2010 at 10:12 AM ^
I guess Boubacar can head to SEC land after he gets out of prison, then. I have never seen a player showboat as much over NOT having an impact on a play as he did.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:31 AM ^
Or we can be a certain SEC cornerback return a INT against Kentucky and pose for the heisman in September.
You stay classy LSU and remember their is only one Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard
October 4th, 2010 at 9:55 AM ^
They can get a BUNCH of swagger at Walgreens.
October 4th, 2010 at 9:55 AM ^
Boubacar Cissoko (I apologize for the name slaughter) had the most swagger in the Big 10. And its hard to have any swagger when you can't stop anybody. And no, having swagger won's stop people.
500
500
500.....
October 4th, 2010 at 9:58 AM ^
The play you're thinking of is when JT Floyd (about 5'11", 185 lbs) stood up to Tandon Doss (about 6'4", 220 lbs). Doss ran right through him, obviously. But JT stood up to him and made the tackle at the ankles.
To your question about GERG firing them up to play. I think it is part of his responsibility, but not being hootin' and hollerin' on the sidelines. Rather, I think putting our guys in soft coverage to avoid the deep ball takes away the Ds need to pump themselves up. The cushion doesn't force the need for aggressive play.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:29 AM ^
But I'm glad Floyd didn't separate a shoulder or give himself a concussion trying to Tandon Doss up. I'm also glad he didn't go for the big hit, bounce off, and watch Doss run into the end zone.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:44 AM ^
Swag and Swagger are not the same things, right? ;)
October 4th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^
Swag has been used as an abbreviation of swagger on this blog. Not 'swag' in the sense of 'free shit.'
Was particularly prevalent in discussing the finer qualities of Dorsey and the No Fly Zone that Never Was.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:52 AM ^
agreed. probably wouldn't have been practical on that play, but I would have loved to see it.
did they score on that possession anyway?
October 4th, 2010 at 9:59 AM ^
..."bend but don't break" philosophy we're using. It's reactive and more passive in nature -- like the old "prevent" defenses we've grown to despise.
When was the last time you saw our safety blitz? I can't recall.
I think GERG's primary objective is not to let anyone get behind us. This is job one. That means playing well off the line of scrimmage and giving substantial cushion until the opposition hits the red zone. Then we're forced to tighten up and make plays -- if we can.
I'd almost rather give up a big play or two every game to see a more aggressive posture by our defense.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:14 AM ^
It's reactive and more passive in nature
Sounds like we are training to use the Light Side of the Force...
October 4th, 2010 at 10:16 AM ^
Exactly. If we get burned, just puts our O back on the field sooner. I would love a more aggresive game plan, even if it means we get burned a time or two. As it is, most opposing drives end in scores anyway.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:37 AM ^
There were several times in the game Saturday at Indiana where the safety ran up to the line before the snap and showed a blitz and I thought to myself "wow, we're actually gonna send a secondary blitz?" But then as I expected the ball was snapped and he dropped right back into coverage.. Just trying to mess with Chappell reads.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^
...exactly how I feel, for what it's worth.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^
I want my CB to be part of a team that is 5-0.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:46 AM ^
raise your hand if you agree with this guy...
- every football fan in the country raises their hand -
next.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^
The thing about MSU v UM (also tOSU v UM) is that we will always come out with hardcore "swagger", "boldness", or just plain more aggressive.. We just need to keep it going through the 2nd half.. The secondary will play way better when they come out pumped in front of our home crowd.. IMO i see MSU scoring little in the 1st and 3rd quarter.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:05 AM ^
The angry michigan secondary hating god has removed all of our swagger
October 4th, 2010 at 10:06 AM ^
This is not a knock on the defense but you get swagger when you stop people and make big plays (earn it, like mentioned previously). You definitely have to have confidence to play defense, but confidence is different from swagger. And swagger is a slipperly slope - too much and it ends up either looking stupid and/or reflecting poorly on the school (see Patrick Peterson's heisman pose).
On that note, read what Les Miles said about Peterson:
Miles isn’t out there touting Peterson for the Heisman, but he did have this to say: “I think Patrick Peterson is as dominant a player at his position as I’ve seen.”
Note to Miles: You must not have seen Charles Woodson play. Peterson is definitely not as dominant as Woodson.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:10 AM ^
Once they accrue enough Moxie Points they can trade them in for Swagger Badges. Duh.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:21 AM ^
I think what would help our defense have MOAR SWAGGERZ is if we started eight billion threads about our defensive woes.
But I like the puffy shirt idea also.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:32 AM ^
Listen to Al Green playing low and smooth in the locker room before each game. The offense will just hand the ball over.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:36 AM ^
This defense doesn't need swagger so much as it does the ability to create turnovers.
Watching the Bears play the Giants last night, it struck me how Chicago often goes for the ball before the tackle. Since UM's defense has trouble tackling to begin with, they should simply start going for the ball.
They won't strip the ball on every attempt, but give the best offense in the nation 1 extra possession and they win.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
start by tackling people. That helps a lot.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:41 AM ^
I feel like there is a Ke$ha joke in this post somewhere, I just can't stand listening to that crap long enough to have something snarky enough.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:44 AM ^
yeah..."swagger" wasn't the best word I could've used, but I went with it anyway.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^
Maybe on a nice suspender set
October 4th, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
they clearly need to do the arms folded lock down "straight jacket" symbol that Boubocar used so effectively against ND last year. And I would not mind seeing a hand waiving in front of their own facemask suggesting that they opposing receiver "can't see" the particular cornerback involved. A Mutombo finger waiving and an exagerated incomplete gesture would help as well.
Greg Robinson clearly needs to get on these things. Teach, Damnit, Teach!!!
October 4th, 2010 at 10:59 AM ^
I kinda miss the throat slash, personally.
But, maybe it's just me...but I want to see players demonstrative (within reason-no penalties) after a big play. It shows they're in the game.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:02 AM ^
the throat slash, that is both demonstrative and can actually be fairly disturbing. I forgot about stake through the heart as well, that one can be made pretty violent depending on who is using it. We are never going to have a competetive defense until we can incorporate some of these gestures.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
missing throat slash = joke.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:35 AM ^
= joke along with my response to your joke (which I liked until now). The question itself "what can the defense do to get more swagger" could have been a joke itself, but for some reason I get the feeling you were serious.
October 4th, 2010 at 12:37 PM ^
duly noted, bro... it's kinda hard for me to tell when folks are joking on here... as for the original post, I was serious, but my unfortunate choice of the word "swagger" has led to this thread's descent into madness.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
hahahahha ...yeah...I think flair and swagger are completely different. definitely don't want to see the defense out there with scarves, decorative buttons, and rhinestone jersey numbers. that might have the opposite of the intended effect.
October 4th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
Have the cornerbacks play within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. They start so far off the line that they can't even see the WR's jersey # they're supposed to be covering.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:18 AM ^
I always think it looks ridiculous when a defense "swaggers" without earning it or deserving it. This seems to me exactly what Spartie does, and I want none of it. When our secondary can regularly shut down a Grade A receiver, when our DL can regularly sack and terrorize a QB, when our LB corps repeatedly stuffs the run, THEN, and only then, can our defense "swagger." I also think the best kind of swagger is to figuratively "punch the mouth" of offensive players who yap about how they'll run and catch on our defense.
I remember when Woodson et al shut down a good OSU receiving corps, there was room for swagger.
But given how we played against Indiana, I see absolutely no room for UofM to mouth off.
October 4th, 2010 at 11:47 AM ^
Hair is what makes a defense not only effective, but full of swagger and bounce. Let's run down the list:
DC Gerg: pert, sheen, and vitality. HAIR OF A CHAMPION.
JT Floyd: dreadlocks. HAIR OF A CHAMPION.
Jordan Kovacs: crewcut. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
Mike Martin: close-cropped, curly. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
Craig Roh: sexy eyebrows, hair is a little limp. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
Jonas Mouton: close-cropped, buzzcut. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
Obi Ezeh: meh. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
James Rogers: crewcut. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
Cameron Gordon: fluffy, but nondescript. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
Carvin Johnson: mystery. PROBABLY NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
Ryan Van Bergen: crewcut. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS.
Gregaldo Bangesse: half crewcut, half nondescript fluffyness. NEEDS MOAR DREADLOCKS x 2.
...
Now, there's how you transform a defense into a championship defense. BOOM PROBLEM SOLVE'D.
October 4th, 2010 at 12:05 PM ^
How about open try outs for the DB Po-sis? I am sure their are kids on campus who could be better DB's than what we have.
October 4th, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^
I think the coaches have a lot to do with it. Nobody hits like Nick Saban teams do, i don't know what he does in practice, but those guys are always nasty hitters. It's basically an attitude of "you don't hit, you don't play." I have a feeling Floyd would have been pulled after the play you referenced.
October 4th, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^
I would love to see harder hitting. I feel we've been missing that here for years, even before RR took over.
October 4th, 2010 at 12:37 PM ^
Gerg should give each of his players a shoelace with a note that says, "They've got theirs, where's yours?"