Michigan State Football: A fired-up Mark Dantonio is exactly what Spartans need
Mark Dantonio was less than pleased in his weekly Michigan State football press conference and that’s exactly what Spartan fans need to see.
A stoic, level-headed Mark Dantonio is what fans and the media are used to seeing at weekly Michigan State football press conferences, but there was a different feel this time around.
Dantonio was not happy.
Not only was he unhappy, but he was angry. He had a different feel about him in the press conference that sent a message to his players as well as the fanbase. His players got the feel of accountability and impending changes if the offense doesn’t pick up and the fans felt like the head coach was serious about fixing things.
No, he wasn’t happy about the offense against Tulsa even though there were some positives — such as Brian Lewerke looking healthy. His receivers were running some lazy routes and didn’t create separation and the offensive line wasn’t getting a push.
Dantonio asked about lack of push on OL: "Not good enough. Gotta get on the right people." Adds that he was disappointed in offensive effort, WR not running full-speed routes, OL missing assignments.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) September 3, 2019
While the missed assignments and half-speed routes were obvious from casual observations, Dantonio mentioned something that maybe not a lot of people noticed: effort.
Dantonio: "Football is a game of effort, toughness and knowing what to do. Half of our team figured that out."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) September 3, 2019
Dantonio may not be ready to hit the panic button, but he knows that there’s plenty of work to be done.
Dantonio: "I'm not in a panic situation about" the offense. "We need to get busy."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) September 3, 2019
The veteran head coach was unhappy, and for good reason. And this is exactly the type of attitude the Spartans need from him. No more making excuses or talking about guys getting nicked up, but rather vowing change or else there will be depth chart moves.
Next. MSU Football: 10 bold predictions for 2019. dark
The offense didn’t play up to the hype and the head coach isn’t happy about it. Expect some changes to be made for the right guys with the right mindsets to be on the field.