MAXWELL WILL START AND WIN IN 2013. Read Why Here...

The following post is a response I entered on M-Live to a reader debate on Andrew Maxwell. Some fans seem to think he has earned a spot on the bench. Some defend him. Some want Connor Cook. Some want Damion Terry who is breaking records in Pennsylvania HIGH SCHOOL football. Others want to can Dan Roushar, the offensive coordinator. There won't be much drama around any of this stuff in the "off season" - at least not by design.

People amaze me with their tunnel vision and inability to see the "inter-contectedness" of the many parts of a system. Here is the post...

The offense is an eco-system. When one part goes bad, it contaminates the rest. The nightmare started with the receivers dropping passes and running bad routes which affected the flow for play calling (consistent negative down and distance situations and available options to deal with it - coaching did not adapt well). The drops and negative down distance and poor flow to play calling complicated Maxwell's development and reduced confidence. When he did make a bad throw or bone head mistake (some, that every QB makes), the stakes were higher - the receivers had already used up the margin for error, making each throw more and more critical (causing fans to further increase the pressure with each sailing pass) as the "3 and outs" kept rolling in. Then the injuries started coming in waves along with the pressure of mounting losses and the emotional drain of close, "woulda-shoulds-coulda" games. Mix it all in and I'm guessing that only a few very special QBs would have impressed in their first year starting - especially as compared to the expectations surrounding the program (and even some trash talking/tweeting from inside the program). Don't get me wrong - Maxwell still played poorly. The coaching had oversights and flat out misses. There is no avoiding those facts. I just think it snowballed on Maxwell as the "eco-system" (of which he was a part) deteriorated around him.

Here is why Dantonio will not make a change:

    Coaches are, by nature, conservative (avoid the big mistake - avoid the unknown). With only one senior starter on offense by year's end in 2012, my guess is that we won't see a lot of planned personnel changes next year - including QB and OC. I think Dantonio's thought process will be something like this:

"The line and full back should be healthier, more experienced and better. The receivers should be stronger, more experienced and much better. We've got more help on the way. We can learn from mistakes in some play calling and be better without changing coaches. Even if Maxwell stays the same, which is unlikely - he should improve significantly, the offense will be better. No need to add an unknown factor in a new QB who will have to learn from mistakes in 2013 that Maxwell already made in 2012 under unusual circumstances. I'll stick with a known commodity with a experience, who will have every receiver coming back (opposite of 2012) and allow my 5th year senior QB to lead this offense in 2013."

    If Bell goes early - that hurts no matter who is QB. If Sims goes early, that hurts (although MSU did not use him nearly enough and 2013 will have way more depth at TE - maybe even Lawrence Thomas).

    Looking at the depth chart and players returning next year, including those coming off injury and red shirt years, the number of seniors who will be in the playing group and then considering the schedule (no Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin), Maxwell's 2-year record could look very much like MSU's record in Cousins sophomore and junior years (17-9 ~ I know KC did not start all the games. I'm looking at "the program".). I expect MSU to make a return visit to Indianapolis in 2013. I expect the eco-system on offense will be much more favorable for Maxwell and combined with the experience of 2012, growth in other position groups, schedule, etc., he will deliver stats among the best in the Big Ten next year - Not because he is great or special or anything, but because (barring more unforeseen bummers) the offensive eco-system won't have so much going against it in 2013 as it did this year. It will simply function better, which means better down and distance situations, they move the chains, reduce risk of turn overs, possess the ball, improve field position, keep the Spartans' defense off the field and fresh, more momentum, chew up more time on that final drive with a lead, get that much closer for that end of the half/game field goal, settle for field goals less frequently; FUNCTION BETTER. 

   If each component (the eco-system) of the offense were even slightly better (or "less contaminated") in 2012, MSU would be headed to Indy this year too. Forget that one play in each game or the bad call - simple functionality is all that was needed. Coach D sees that. There is no way he will scrap any major component of it. He will work on improvement tweaks and count on experience to carry the Spartans a second division championship in three years. He keeps it simple.

  A more specific break down of the depth chart and 2013 schedule, here is a post from earlier in the season: http://spartanresource.blogspot.com/2012/10/there-is-hope-for-spartans-really-read.html

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