Saturday, October 22, 2011

The Defense of East Lansing

Maybe this is a false assumption on my part, but I've always thought the questions being asked by the media have some correlation to what's on the mind of a sports team. If this supposition holds any merit, MSU is going to have it's work cut out for it tomorrow.

See when you get to speak with the GameDay staff and 60 percent of the questions revolve around the game and aftermath of last week's game, you're missing a great moment to talk about the present and very immediate future. Although, in fairness Howard might have brought it on himself a bit.



People did not really care for his Lions hat.

What conversation did focus on today's matchup with the Badgers centered on this one key element. The defense is the marquee unit of the Michigan State Football team. Yet, they're the ones with the most to overcome in terms of moving on from the past to the present. Will Gholston was suspended on Thursday and then Friday Pat Narduzzi was admonished for his 60 minutes of necessary roughness comments. Both Herbie and Howard supported the suspension of William Gholston and were willing to spend a few minutes talking the fallout of MSU's dirty play.

Yet it's clear that the Spartans have earned the respect of both Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. Herbstreit said: "Their mentality and the way they play, if you're a defensive guy, you've gotta love that." Howard said: "The Michigan State defense is one of the statistically best defenses in the nation." Gritted teeth were involved for Howard, but definitely some respect.

Still, what remains clear after our meet and greet with Howard, Herbstreit and Erin Andrews (more on that later), is that this game is about one thing. The Defense in East Lansing defending East Lansing. Defending East Lansing from media jib-jabbing, defending their suspended players from more criticism and defending the goal from a ferocious Badger offense. (Obligatory Badger Reference) With so much attention placed on the style of the Defense this week, how could the game come down to anything but their play? Tonight, tune in and view the Defense of East Lansing.

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