Life trimmed much of Film Room’s leisure time this week. Consequently, this week’s Film Room blog entry is going to suck even more than it usually does, friends. Please accept our apology.
Now then, let’s get to this week’s opponent, Sparty.
For most of the last decade, Sparty’s defense looked a lot like the gif below:
However, in the last 2 seasons, a few immutable facts of existence have exerted a significant influence on Mark Dantonio’s approach. Namely,
- the press-man version Dantonio favored requires difficult-to-find, highly talented DBs;
- if/when you locate those highly talented DBs, they’re gone to the NFL in 3 years; and,
- offenses have generally caught up, and incorporate a ton of man-beater route concepts into their attacks.