MSU Red Cedar Message Board

Maxwell has better physical tools than Cousins. Yes, the mental part of the game will slow him alittle bit. The offense is based around a solid running back and short passes. That is ideal for a young, inexperinced quarterback.

SCum fans are morons.

Delusion is bothersome

I like our chances with Maxwell. Three year apprentice. Cousins was very generous with teaching the lad, and one thing I noticed on the sidelines, Cousins often sought out Maxwell when the series was over and had words with him about whatever. What does that prove. Fricken nothing. However, I like our chances. We know he has the tools, we know he's smart, we know as a freshman he started on one of the best Class A programs in our state. Again, proves squat till he gets on the field, but for a "new" qb, we shouldn't be complaining.

It's odd that they discount the ability of an unproven redshirt junior who was quite highly rated coming out of high school.

Especially when they have a QB that has proven time and again that he isn't very good (despite highlight reel runs against crappy opponents).

Besides, even if Maxwell falls short of any knowledgeable persons expectations, I point to Alabama as a team that has had some success with elite defenses, and QBs who simply manage the game.

I thought this was kind of interesting from today's B!G chat on espn.com. I think Rittenberg hits the nail on the head. Other schools do not realize that MSU now has B1G caliber players backing up B1G caliber starters. They are used to MSU rising up basically once a decade when the pieces fall into place and then falling apart when those pieces graduate. This is the Dantonio Difference that the rest of the league is going to learn about first hand this fall. Not sayiing there won't be a bit of a learning curve, but MSU is still going to be competing for league titles for the forseeable future.

Robert from Atlanta writes:
Adam, first I love the blog and continue the good work. Please explain to me why you feel Michigan State will be a strong team again. With so many key losses at QB, RB, TB, several WR's, and on defense, I see a group that will struggle quite a bit. If any team lost as much as they did they would be doomed. MSU doesnt reload like other schools. What am I missing here? I see the entire B1G taking steps back except for OSU and Michigan's losses are minimal. I see MSU ranked #7 in preseason polls. This has to be an oversight or I could be wrong on the key losses. Educate me please.

Adam Rittenberg:
Robert, this is a fair question. The part I disagree with is: "MSU doesn't reload like other schools." While this has been true in the past, Michigan State is at a point where I believe it can reload, especially at some key positions. The Spartans have recruited extremely well at spots like wide receiver and defensive back, and the 2012 class might be the best lot yet. The level of athleticism has improved substantially under Mark Dantonio, which allowed Michigan State to beat a team like Georgia in the Outback Bowl. The Spartans have enough athleticism and depth on defense to replace a few key departures (Jerel Worthy, Trenton Robinson). It actually wouldn't surprise me if MSU is better on defense in 2012. While I agree the offense has some holes to fill, I like Michigan State's young wide receivers (especially if transfer DeAnthony Arnett becomes eligible immediately). The offensive line could be a lot better after dealing with inexperience in 2011. Losing Kirk Cousins is huge, but Andrew Maxwell has been groomed for this role. Michigan State will have to be a defense-driven team in 2012, and while the Spartans could win 10-11 or 7-8, I like their D.

Exactly, I was reading one of their threads today and they were saying how there is no way we can succeed with a new QB and a brand new O line. O line? We've got 7 of our top 8 O linemen back.

They have no clue how deep our team is right now and that 80% of their starters couldn't even crack our 2 deep in 2012.

I'm really glad Rittenberg gets it. You can win football games with a great defense and an OK offense. Alabama just won the national title with a first-year starter at QB. Ohio State under Tressel ran the most boring offense known to man and still owned the B1G for years. Wisconsin won a ton of games with a very pedestrian Scott Tolzien under center. It's demonstrated year after year but people just don't pay attention to it.

wait, didn't a team just win the BCS Championship as a first year starter?

Completely agree. I don't understand why fans want their teams to be like Oregon or any NFL team. Look at the successful programs in the SEC, Alabama or LSU for instance. Unbelievable defenses with a QB who goes out and DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES. That's the winning formula, but they'd rather see Denard Robinson running for 500 yds. against San Diego State. Love the direction our program is headed.

when did we get a Chef smiley?

Maxwell is no Folgers

While that is funny, he had MAWELL in the headline at first. He corrected it.