Mealer claims snap count problem vs. MSU fixed
In this morning's annarbor.com, Elliot Mealer is quoted saying the MSU snap count problem has been fixed. LINK: http://annarbor.com/mi/wolverines/2012/10/elliott_mealer_says_michigan_h/
That extra jump helped the Spartans shred Michigan's offensive line, which led to increased pressures faced by quarterback Denard Robinson and a stifled rushing attack. That could have been Michigan's downfall in the 28-14 loss.
Mealer says the snap-count problem was addressed last year and shouldn't be an issue again Saturday.
"They did a good job at timing that up and keying us," Mealer said. "We got that under control. It was more a recognition thing -- being able to recognize the defense before you snap the ball -- and it's something that we've been doing ever since that game. I'm not too worried about that."
I hope that Mealer is right. It killed me watching their DL and Worthy in particular just explode in on Michigan's OL the last couple years. If Michigan can avoid having their count predicted, and better yet, draw MSU offsides with hard and varied counts, it could be the deciding factor in imposing our will and MANBAWW on MSU.
October 18th, 2012 at 9:33 AM ^
The Power of the Beard.
October 18th, 2012 at 3:02 PM ^
Did you know that he has a tire iron hidden in the beard? You know, just in case Tom Gholston decides to try any more arm bar chicanery . . .
October 18th, 2012 at 9:43 AM ^
October 18th, 2012 at 9:43 AM ^
Sort of related, sort of not, but my favorite part of this week and to a greater extent this year has been watching State fans try to reconcile their team in actuality with their pre-season expectations of it. They see the line for the game set at 10 points and their major struggles moving the ball and many are saying, "Excellent, this team performs so much better when they're the underdog!" But this relies upon some sort of warped assumption that there's just this switch they haven't been flipping that will somehow turn on against a highly motivated Michigan team with a singular focus on a Big Ten championship. You had 3 points at the half against Eastern Michigan! Adjust your expectations already.
October 18th, 2012 at 9:52 AM ^
October 18th, 2012 at 10:03 AM ^
belief that performance up until this point has anything to do with what to expect in this game should be immediately dispelled. All that this season thus far has done is make this game even more important to State and Dantonio than it already was. Michigan State is 0-0, Michigan is 0-0 and there is no point spread. State is going to come to play. Just win Blue.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:32 AM ^
October 18th, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^
personal right now between these teams, more so than it has ever been. I am telling you, you can concentrate on their shitty offense if you want, but what you have seen from State so far is not going to matter on Saturday. They will personal foul and neck twist their way to competing in this game if they have to. This is going to be a brutal game for both teams. Just win baby.
October 18th, 2012 at 11:20 AM ^
We've lost four years in a row. There is NO way Michigan State should be more angry going into this game. I'm tired of you in-staters and your irrational fear of MSU. (I hope i'm right, knocking on wood.)
October 18th, 2012 at 11:23 AM ^
scared of MSU, just know that I am going to be pacing back and forth with a knot in my stomach at about 6:15 on Saturday evening and want to be ready for it.
October 18th, 2012 at 12:04 PM ^
haha, i get it, i'm just teasing. I'll probably be doing the same thing.
October 19th, 2012 at 9:36 AM ^
because MSU has won 4 years in a row, and the Division could ride on this game (and we play Nebraska away).
Agreed that if MSU loses, they are looking at a 6-6 season right in the mouth. However if we lose, and lose at Nebraska, then all this talk about B1G Championship and Rose Bowl may be another year of wishing.
It is time to just win baby!
October 18th, 2012 at 11:11 AM ^
That's only been true the last few years. Remember, we beat MSU six years in a row recently, and never lost two straight to them for 40 years (1968-2008). I don't necessarily look at the last four years as MSU playing its best, just that they were better and we failed to pull the upset.
October 18th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^
October 18th, 2012 at 9:43 AM ^
Wasn't just the last couple of seasons, I'm pretty sure they did it in '09 as well. They can't allow that to continue or it's going to be a long day.
October 18th, 2012 at 9:46 AM ^
It hasn't been just their DL that has timed our snaps for the past three years. The LBs coming on the cursed double A gap blitz have also been well timed.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:20 AM ^
October 18th, 2012 at 9:51 AM ^
Why would we have had a snap count that could be predicted PRIOR to that game last year?
October 18th, 2012 at 9:53 AM ^
This will probably get negged to Bolivia. But I live in Okemos, right next to the shit hole of Mid Michigan. Some guy at Kroger saw my Michigan jacket I was wearing and started chatting up the game. I guess he was a student still and was friends with Chris Norman who plays some position at MSU that I don't care about. Anyways, he said he was hinted that MSU might bust out some Pro Combats again for this game like we tried to do last year.
Yes I know, cool story bro, troll, whatever. I'm just bringing it up cause I sure as hell would not start a thread on this topic.
Also, I would hope to GOD we fix the snap count problem. Lord knows they figured it out on that 4th and 1 play that changed the game.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:28 AM ^
I guess he was a student still and was friends with Chris Norman who plays some position at MSU that I don't care about
Chris Norman is the STAR position linebacker and team captain who lost his starting job to Taiwan Jones this year.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:32 AM ^
Isn't there a Taiwan Jones that plays for the Raiders as well?
October 18th, 2012 at 10:39 AM ^
Correct. He was on my fantasy team at one point this year.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:18 PM ^
Heard a couple people say they were wearing new helmets in practice today (they generally wear the new helmets the week before the game to get used to them) and that there will be jerseys too. I saw one picture of the supposed helmet and it looks very ugly from that picture. I've learned to trust Nike though
October 18th, 2012 at 9:54 AM ^
Only took 5 years. Nice
/trolling
October 18th, 2012 at 9:57 AM ^
Unies can't save Sparty this year.
The snap count jumping was obvious and I was surprised we weren't ready for that. That's on Brady. Why Mealer comes out and talks about it in interview is beyond me. Why not just let them think they can do it again and let them jump offsides?
I also wanted to mention the bush league BS that Nardouche- bag stated in the papers yesterday about asking the B1G Refs to watch the game closely. Are you kidding me? Now that they are being watched again after the eye gouging against Ohio they want the game watched closely in case we twist Gholston's neck off in the pile or chop block him into taking his knees home in a bag.
State is bush league all the way. These few years have been brutal.
Spuck Farty!
October 18th, 2012 at 10:28 AM ^
I was going to write the same thing. Why bother even commenting on the fixed snap count? Effing with their heads on snaps could have been (still could be) worth about 20 yards of offense in this game, including a critical 3rd down conversion or two.
I have full faith in the coaches that this is fixed, and perhaps manipulated to our advantage.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:46 AM ^
If it's extra yards, I'm pretty sure 60 minutes of unneccessary roughness will provide plenty.
October 18th, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^
What are we, 5 years old and/or an Illinois fan?
October 18th, 2012 at 10:04 AM ^
I'm sorry but I coached football for over 10 years and this should NEVER be a problem. In fact the "problem" was fixed about 75 years ago the first time a coach decided to vary the snap count and go on different counts depending on the game situation.
"Snap count problems - fixed" (home game - low crowd noise)
1. Hut
2. Hut, hut
3. Hut, hut, hut
4. Hut, hut..............hut
"Snap count problems - fixed (away game - high crowd noise"
1. Go on first sound
This only becomes a "problem" when a coaching staff forgets to vary the count and falls into predicable patterns. I love our team and our coaching staff but getting all excited about fixing snap count problems to me is like getting all excited cause we figured out how to get the play call in without it getting stolen.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:15 AM ^
Actually, it had nothing to do with the sound and everything to do with the ball getting snapped every time Molk lifted his head after peaking at Denard between his legs.
A 4th grader could have figure out when the ball was getting snapped.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:22 AM ^
Either way (and you're right - I had forgotten that) your assessment of the relative football knowledge required to fix the problem is correct. A fourth-grader.
This is NOT something we should be patting ourselves on the back about.
October 18th, 2012 at 12:30 PM ^
Nor should you be patting yourself on the back because you bashed your own strawman argument that someone was claiming here that solving the snap count issue was back-patting worthy.
Even fourth graders can recognize the smell of straw.
October 18th, 2012 at 1:46 PM ^
Snap Count Fixed Bitches!!! Yeah! What now!! WHERE YOU AT NOW?!?!?
October 18th, 2012 at 10:30 AM ^
before snap could EASILY be used against MSWho.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:58 AM ^
1. Hut
2. Hut, hut
3. Hut, hut, hut
4. Hut, hut..............hut
That's sounds pretty damned predictable. Did you coach peewee league?
October 18th, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^
I think he means those are four options, not necessarily that they would be done in that order.
October 18th, 2012 at 12:56 PM ^
Exactly-multiple options (and there's a slew of others that you can use). Let's go back to pretending we've really done something remarkable here.
October 18th, 2012 at 12:41 PM ^
October 18th, 2012 at 10:05 AM ^
What I don't understand is why this was only a problem against Michigan State. We played other good teams last year, why didn't they capitalize as well? On the flip side, if other teams haven't jumped the snap against us this year, what magical powers does State possess that would allow them to do it?
October 18th, 2012 at 10:08 AM ^
If I had to guess, I would think it is one (or both) of two reasons:
1) Worthy had an incredible talent for it that is rare among d-linemen for some reason
2) It is something that takes a lot more preparation than a typical week of college practice time, and given the fact that MSU clearly spends more time preparing for Michigan when they should be preparing for Iowa or CMU, etc, this gives them a "unique" advantage.
Other than that I'm out of ideas.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:16 AM ^
I think it's more #2. And IIRC, the problem wasn't Worthy so much as the inside linebackers.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:20 PM ^
I think its more of a practice thing and they prepared for that. Worthy would jump the snap alot, but only because he would try to jump it on a ton of plays. Probably had more offsides penalties than jumped snaps.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:19 AM ^
Link: Snap timing death was the write-up Brian did on this last year.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:15 AM ^
Worthy has been getting some run with the packers as raji has been out, and that coupled with timing that snap count well drob's got some people in his grill awful fast.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:26 AM ^
I quite like the fact that Mealer likens the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry to a "brother on brother" affair. He has learned well.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:33 AM ^
MICH!
October 18th, 2012 at 10:41 AM ^
October 18th, 2012 at 11:13 AM ^
We've got to fix more than the snap count against MSU. They have absolutely, positively, kicked the living shit out of us at the line of scrimmage the past five years. MSU has outrushed us 203 to 91 in the Dantonio era. This is unbelievable domination. Even in the Tressel era, we didn't get completely slaughtered at the line of scrimmage every single year. We have gained more than 100 rushing yards one time in that period. They have looked like USC against us. This is why I don't feel good about this game, despite the fact that the year-to-date indicators and the extra motivation from last year suggests that this one should be easy.
October 18th, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^
It seems to me that, as MSU likes the A-Gap and Corner blitz so much, changing up the snap count has the potential to turn those otherwise effective plays into situations where the defense has to check out of it after committing (and MSU's tendency to come crashing burns them in this scenario). If the protection has shifted accordingly on the O-line, we see what's coming and we can get running plays into the second level on a regular basis. Yeah, I would say that this could be a key (one of many, of course) to winning on Saturday if it does rattle them.