Michigan on ‘high alert’ for MSU’s ‘Super Bowl’

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Let the back-and-forth begin. It’s hate week in Ann Arbor, with in-state rival Michigan State coming to town on Saturday. The Spartans come in reeling, while the Wolverines are flying high, with the former having just melted down, …

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Let the back-and-forth begin.

It’s hate week in Ann Arbor, with in-state rival Michigan State coming to town on Saturday. The Spartans come in reeling, while the Wolverines are flying high, with the former having just melted down, having surrendered 27 points in the fourth quarter to Illinois to fall to 4-5 on the season, while the latter is just now putting it all together at 7-2.

But, that doesn’t mean that the Wolverines are expecting to cruise to an easy victory.

It is a rivalry, after all, and as Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh says, there’s no letting up, regardless if it seems that the two teams are moving in different directions.

“On high alert for everything,” Harbaugh said. “Specifically, yeah — we understand that Coach Dantonio is a master motivator. There could be trick plays. Special teams, punt fakes, field goal fakes. Everything needs to be alerted and prepared and ready for.”

But coaches coach in games, and players play in them. So getting the players’ perspective is key.

For the local Michigan products, this game means a little bit more, because they grew up playing with and against a lot of the players on the other side of the ball. Such is true for former Detroit (MI) King standout Ambry Thomas, who played alongside MSU LB Tyriq Thompson and against WR Cody White while in high school.

While there’s chirping back and forth the week of the game, Thomas says he understands what this game means, especially for the reeling Spartans.

“You can’t let them get a heads up,” Thomas said. “You’ve gotta step on their throat and stay there all game. We know they’re going to treat this game like their Super Bowl. We’ve gotta be prepared and just attack them, like they’re gonna try to attack us.”

Of course, talk and the action borne thereof fuels this rivalry.

Last year, it started with the pregame stunt by MSU, as they were late doing their traditional field walk, meaning Michigan was already on the field warming up. The Wolverines refused to vacate, so the Spartans walked through, refusing to unlink for some — like Devin Bush — while others like Khaleke Hudson didn’t make physical contact. After that incident, Bush famously tore up the Spartans logo with his cleats, and after the game, then-defensive end Chase Winovich spoke on FOX about MSU being ‘little brother,’ harkening back to the words spoken by Mike Hart after the 2007 contest.

Those words continue to be spoken in regards to the rivalry, including on Monday, in terms of how both teams treat it.

“Right now, it’s the most important game on our schedule,” Thomas said. “It’s about who’s the big brother, who’s the little sister in this state. That’s what it’s really about. We plan to give it our all, just like they plan to give us their all.

“You come to Michigan to play in this game right here and that team down there in Ohio. But you come to Michigan to play in these two games and these are must wins for us.”

The Spartans may be reeling, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but that’s not the team that the Wolverines see.

Perhaps it’s an added respect given, knowing that the two teams can prove it on the field this Saturday. But MSU’s offense has been nothing short of erratic, with the Spartans gaining 526 yards in the loss to Illinois, but struggling to get much of anything going against the Wisconsins, Penn States and Ohio States of the world.

Still, Thomas sees an offense that could be tough to stop, should everything come together.

“I see a team with a lot of talent, honestly – they just haven’t figured it out yet,” Thomas said. “They have a lot of talent. We know we just have to show up, ball out, do what we do.”

Michigan hosts MSU at The Big House with kickoff set for noon EST on FOX.

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Who was emergency OL for Chiefs in Week 10 against Titans?

We now know who would have played if the Kansas City Chiefs needed an emergency offensive lineman vs. the Tennessee Titans

The Kansas City Chiefs suffered some attrition along the offensive line late in the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans in Week 10.

Back-to-back injuries occurred at the right tackle position that left the Chiefs dangerously thin along the offensive line. First, starting right tackle Mitchell Schwartz suffered an injury, which ended his long consecutive snap streak. A play later, it was left guard Martinas Rankin who had shifted to right tackle. He was injured on his first snap at the position.

Kansas City only had seven offensive linemen dressed to play on Sunday. Starting left tackle Eric Fisher and starting right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif were both ruled out ahead of the game. With the two injuries to Schwartz and Rankin, the Chiefs would be faced with an emergency situation had they suffered another injury.

So who would have been the emergency backup offensive lineman for the Chiefs had they suffered an injury? Andy Reid let us in on the doomsday plan during his Monday conference call.

“It would be one of the tight ends,” Reid said via 810 Sports Radio’s Soren Petro.

Reid didn’t exactly say which tight end it would be for the Chiefs, so you’ll have to use your imagination on that. Blake Bell would stand to reason, given his usage in blocking scenarios, but he was also banged up with an ankle injury. Travis Kelce is the most veteran tight end on the team and probably the most comfortable with the blocking schemes.

Luckily, the Chiefs didn’t have to try this out. Schwartz was able to return to the game after just a few snaps. I have a feeling this scenario would be much less enjoyable to watch than seeing emergency third-string QB Anthony Sherman run the Chiefs offense, which could have happened in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos.

Report: Giants have no plans to fire Pat Shurmur

The New York Giants reportedly have no plans to fire head coach Pat Shurmur or force a coaching staff shakeup.

Following a 34-27 loss to the New York Jets in Week 10, New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said he did not envision making any coaching staff changes during the bye week, which is something he doubled-down on during a Monday afternoon conference call.

“Having slept on it, no, I am not going to make any coaching changes,” Shurmur told reporters. “It’s important that we coach and play better, period. In terms of coaching changes during the season, I think you have to look at each one independently. Some situations they help, others they don’t.”

Although Shurmur made sure his staff knows they are safe, there’s still a belief that he could soon meet the firing squad. However, if he’s been given that indication (or anything to the contrary), he’s not spilling the beans.

“Obviously, we are less than 24 hours out from the game, this is the second time you’ve asked me this question in less than 24 hours,” Shurmur said when asked about meeting with owners. “If I would’ve had that conversation, it’s not obviously something that I would share publicly.”

While no one at the Giants will publicly address Shurmur’s job status, they are apparently talking about it in private. And unsurprisingly, Shurmur is in no danger of being fired in-season, reports Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.

A team source confirmed, though, that there were no immediate plans for ownership to either fire Shurmur or to force any staff shakeup in the wake of the Giants’ 2-9 record – at least until the end of the season.

. . .

It’s much more likely, the source said, that the Giants will revisit Bettcher’s status after the season, especially if the rookies and young players don’t show signs of improvement in the final five games.

As for Shurmur, he seems safe for now too, and very likely into next season as well. Giants GM Dave Gettleman seems to believe the franchise is headed in the right direction and he has always been one of Shurmur’s biggest supporters. And though the final call will belong to co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, Gettleman is obviously a powerful ally for a head coach to have.

For those who have followed the Giants for decades, this shouldn’t even cause a batted eye. Firing Ben McAdoo in-season was the exception to the rule and not the rule itself — Mara has never been shy about his desire to avoid repeated shakeups.

If the Giants lose out, that could obviously sway the opinion of ownership, but even at 2-8 entering the bye week, Dave Gettleman, Pat Shurmur, James Bettcher and Mike Shula are all safe and staying put.

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The secondary is primary for Wisconsin if it wants to beat Minnesota

A look at the Wisconsin Badgers’ secondary heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

There is a difference between playing poorly and playing “not well enough.” This reality is a good framework to use when assessing the Wisconsin Badgers’ secondary the past few weeks.

Solid and competent through two and a half or three quarters, the Wisconsin secondary has let down its guard in the fourth quarters of recent games against Illinois in October and then this past Saturday against Iowa. The similarities between the two games are very obvious, and they inform how the Badgers need to improve before the clash against the Minnesota Golden Gophers later this month. Beating Minnesota will enable this season to be remembered with a sense of satisfaction. If the Badgers are to build themselves to a point where they can withstand all of P.J. Fleck’s arrows and spears, the secondary — which hasn’t been bad — needs to be a lot better.

If a team or position unit does its job for two and a half or three quarters, it doesn’t deserve extremely low grades, but if that unit has enough lapses in the final 15 to 20 minutes of a game, no one will care how good the first two and a half quarters were. Such was the reality for Wisconsin after the Illinois game. That scenario very nearly unfolded again versus Iowa, but Chris Orr’s tackle on the 2-point conversion spared the Badgers an overtime period and a possible crisis.

Wisconsin led Illinois 20-7 deep into the third quarter. Illinois scored 17 points in the final 16 minutes to win. Wisconsin led Iowa 21-6 after three quarters. Iowa scored 16 points in the final 15 minutes to very nearly forge a tie. The Badgers’ secondary is like LeBron James in his disastrous 2011 NBA Finals series against the Dallas Mavericks: He wasn’t worth a dollar because he always came a quarter short.

LeBron couldn’t solve the fourth quarter in that series, as a member of the Miami Heat. The Mavs raised their game, and LeBron froze instead of becoming sharper in the cauldron of pressure. Something akin to that has happened with the Wisconsin secondary against Illinois and now Iowa. The Badgers gave hardly anything away and put an opposing offense on lockdown for nearly 45 minutes, and then lost the plot in the final 15.

Iowa’s Tyrone Tracy got free on an intermediate/deep-intermediate pass and outraced the Wisconsin defense the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown which changed the tone and trajectory of Saturday’s fourth quarter in Camp Randall Stadium. Illinois produced pass plays of 48 and 29 yards against Wisconsin to fuel its comeback. The Illini also got a 43-yard touchdown run in their late rally.

The big pass plays which have struck Wisconsin’s secondary have not been long bombs, either. These are not cases of quarterbacks throwing 50-yard heaves and the receivers outleap Badger cornerbacks. These are intermediate or deep-intermediate throws which involve a long run after the catch is made. Angles, reactions, positioning, and responsibility all enter into these shortcomings. They keep recurring, and they have to be nipped in the bud.

Wisconsin has a 75-cent defense right now. Finding that fourth and final quarter of quality is primary for the Badgers and their secondary.

MSU star Cassius Winston shares emotional message to brother on Instagram (Spartanswire)

MSU star Cassius Winston shared an emotional message to his brother, Zachary, who died by suicide Saturday night.

MSU star Cassius Winston shared an emotional message to his brother, Zachary, who died by suicide Saturday night.

Browns starting to do the little things well more consistently

The Browns are protecting the ball, committing fewer penalties and focusing on the little things much better since the bye week

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Perhaps the most impressive figure from the Browns’ 19-16 win over the Buffalo Bills was the zero in the turnover department. Baker Mayfield and the Browns offense protected the ball and did not give it away for the second week in a row.

Sure, there were a couple of shaky moments. Mayfield once again mistimed a shovel pass that was initially ruled a fumble and Bills TD before being correctly overturned. Dontrell Hilliard muffed a punt he badly misjudged, but the Browns fell on the loose grenade before it exploded and the Bills could recover.

For weeks, Freddie Kitchens has been preaching accountability and focus on the little details. Taking care of the ball was a big point of emphasis. Putting action where his words rang out, Kitchens replaced Hilliard as the return man for the rest of the game. Tavierre Thomas took over for Hilliard and while Thomas wasn’t very impressive as a returner, he protected the ball and didn’t make mistakes.

The same is true on the penalty front. The Browns committed one bad penalty, the taunting foul that Jarvis Landry deserved after scoring the first touchdown. They were guilty of just four accepted penalties on the day:

  • Landry’s unsportsmanlike conduct
  • Denel Ward pass interference on Buffalo’s first offensive play
  • Chris Hubbard false start
  • Larry Ogunjobi roughing the passer

Ogunjobi’s foul was letter-of-the-law; more egregious infractions go uncalled in every game, but he was technically guilty.

Hubbard’s foul, which wound up forcing the Browns to kick an important field goal instead of going for it, was the only pre-snap penalty in the game. No offsides (a T.J. Carrie encroachment was negated by a Bills penalty), no illegal motions, no illegal shifts.

This was the second game in a row the opponent committed more penalties than the Browns. Buffalo was guilty of seven accepted penalties, roughly one-third of the number of times they were guilty of illegal blocks on Myles Garrett.

The little things, like wideout KhaDarel Hodge finishing his block to the whistle on a nice Nick Chubb run instead of the token effort too often seen from others (read: Antonio Callaway), make a huge difference. Kitchens’ Browns still commit some mistakes, but the attention to detail is striking in the three games since the bye week. It didn’t result in a victory until Sunday, but the Browns are definitely playing better, smarter football.

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Ravens Week 10 snap counts: Some interesting substitutions going on

The Baltimore Ravens made some interesting substitutions against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10 according to the snap counts.

The Baltimore Ravens beat up on the Cincinnati Bengals so bad, we got the see the backups enter the game and play nearly a full quarter. In their 49-13 drubbing of the Bengals, the Ravens managed to score both on offense and defense, throwing some new wrinkles on the field for future teams to have to gameplan against. When looking at the snap counts for Week 10, we see some interesting changes occurring on both offense and defense.

Offensively, we’re beginning to see tight end Hayden Hurst dip into Mark Andrews’ snap counts at times. The same thing happened last week where Hurst played 40% of the offensive snaps compared to Andrews’ 34%, compared to Week 10’s 57% to 51%. As previously predicted, Hurst offers value as both a pass catcher and blocker, allowing offensive coordinator Greg Roman to use more misdirection and catch defenses off guard rather than lining Andrews up and tipping off the play.

It’s also interesting to see how the wide receiver snap counts adjusted this week with Chris Moore inactive and a gameplan that favored the tight ends. By looking at the box score, it seemed pretty obvious the tight ends got far more looks in the passing game, catching 12 of Lamar Jackson’s 18 completions. Naturally, they got far more playing time than the wide receivers to fit that narrative.

Marquise Brown seems to still be on a limited snap count as he returns from injury, playing just 40% of the offensive snaps. But fellow rookie Miles Boykin supplanted Seth Roberts this week, getting the second-most snaps behind Willie Snead. Though Boykin didn’t get targeted in this game, it could point to the team’s growing comfort level with him in the lineup. Given his size and speed, he seems like a natural for cold-weather football to help spell both Moore and Roberts down the stretch.

Ravens offensive snap counts:

Player Position Snaps Snap %
Bradley Bozeman G 47 100%
Orlando Brown T 47 100%
Matt Skura C 47 100%
Nick Boyle TE 36 77%
Ronnie Stanley T 36 77%
Lamar Jackson QB 36 77%
Marshal Yanda G 36 77%
Hayden Hurst TE 27 57%
Mark Andrews TE 24 51%
Mark Ingram RB 23 49%
Willie Snead WR 22 47%
Miles Boykin WR 21 45%
Marquise Brown WR 19 40%
Patrick Ricard FB 18 38%
Seth Roberts WR 18 38%
James Hurst G 14 30%
Justice Hill RB 12 26%
Robert Griffin III QB 12 26%
Gus Edwards RB 11 23%
Patrick Mekari G 11 23%

Click on the next page to see the defensive snap counts and analysis on what it means.

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Stock up, down after Giants’ 34-27 loss to Jets

Whose stock is up and whose is down following the New York Giants’ loss to the New York Jets in Week 10?

The emotions are still settling in after the New York Giants lost to their equally inept co-tenants, the New York Jets, 34-27, on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Several players flashed while others crashed. Here’s quick rundown from Sunday’s game.

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Stock Up: Wide receiver Darius Slayton

Slayton, coming off a down week against Dallas (one reception for six yards), exploded all over the Jets’ secondary grabbing 10 of 14 targets for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Slayton, a fifth round pick out of Auburn in this year’s NFL Draft has forged a sold rapport with quarterback Daniel Jones and now has five receiving touchdowns on the season, tied for the NFL lead among rookies.

Stock Down: Running back Saquon Barkley

No question Barkley’s performance is concerning. He’s been back from his high ankle sprain for three games now and does not appear to have fully recovered from the injury.

Barkley carried the football 13 times against the Jets, gaining just one yard and his pass blocking, an aspect of his game he prides himself in, has taken a step back. He was blown up twice by Jets safety Jamal Adams, with both plays resulting in fumbles by Daniel Jones. One was recovered by Barkley. The other was taken on for a touchdown by Adams.

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