Grading the Offense - Youngstown State Edition
by QBsneak12 on Sep 5, 2010 3:18 PM EDT
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Before we can completely look ahead to Alabama, let's take a moment to review the performance of our offensive Nittany Lions.
Quarterbacks
If you didn't know that true freshman Robert Bolden (or Rob as the BTN announcers were calling him) was the real deal, now you do. Bolden looked the part and had the stats to back it up, finishing the day 20-29 for 239 2 TDs and 1 INT. The INT seemed to be his only mistake of the day. He threw the ball to a spot (he was staring down Moye the entire time) but Moye was already on the ground and the Youngstown State corner made the play. He wasn't asked to run at all, which is probably a good thing considering he looks like he weighs somewhere in between Devon Smith and Derek Moye.
As we saw yesterday, Bolden has an absolute cannon for an arm and he is smart enough to go through his progressions, no small feat for an 18 year old. He seemed to make big throws all day. The most impressive throws were the post corner routes he threw to Zug (incomplete) Moye and Brackett (completed.) If you were at the game, you were able to see that Bolden threw those passes before the receiver made the break for the corner. That is some impressive stuff right there. It also looks like, at least early on, that the coaches are going to use screen passes and quick passes to get Bolden confidence early in games. Bolden has arrived at the front door, if he can kick it in against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, there will be no one doubting his ability the rest of the season.
We did get a chance to see Kevin Newsome late in the 4th quarter. We also got to see the reason Bolden was named the starting QB. Newsome did what we already knew he could do, run the ball like Michael Robinson. He carried three times for 21 yards and 1 TD (QB sneak.) His most impressive run of the day came on a busted play which he turned into a gain of 13 yards and took a big time shot. However, on his only pass attempt, Newsome stared down his intended receiver from the snap and was late (and high) on the throw. Luckily for him, the defender interfered with the WR on the play.
McGloin continued his free fall from presumed starter to third string mop up QB. He entered the game with less than a minute left and handed off to Curtis Dukes for a gain a five. This is the present and the future for Matthew McGloin.
Final Grade: A
Running Backs
As impressive as Robert Bolden was, the running game was equally unimpressive. Evan Royster was never able to get going finishing the day with 11 carries for 40 yards with a long of 13 yards. YSU was obviously focused on making Bolden beat them, stacking the box for most of the game, but the run blocking, especially up the middle with Pannell and Klopacz. Nothing seemed to go right with the running game and that is a major concern. Luckily for Penn State they were only playing YSU and not Alabama. A lot has been made of the weight Royster put on this summer. Suffice to say, it wouldn't have mattered what he weight yesterday, the holes simply weren't there (except on draw and misdirection runs.)
Stephfon Green finished the day with 6 carries for 32 yards and a TD. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the running game was the glimpse we got to see of true freshman Silas Redd. Redd came in with Newsome in the 4th quarter and immediately took the hand off and bolted for 13 yards (the magic number for longest run of the day.) On his next carry, Redd displayed some sick moves, including an amazing jump cut that left the defender clueless. In total, Redd finished the day with 3 carries for 20 yards. The future is bright for Silas Redd, hopefully he get some more opportunities this season. Against YSU, he was the best RB on the field.
Penn State rotated fullbacks with Joe Suhey getting the start and Michael Zordich seeing significant playing time during the game. They each got one carry and gained a total of 6 yards.
Final Grade: C-
Wide Receivers
At first glance against Youngstown State, it looked like Joe Jurevicius still had some unused eligibility. Your eyes did not deceive you, Brett Brackett was a beast on offense finishing the day with 8 catches for 98 yards and 2 TDs (Brackett only had 3 catches for 13 yards and 1 TD all of 2009.) Bolden found Brackett early and often. Brackett lined up at the slot WR, but he looked almost like a hybrid TE. It was great to see Bolden find someone he can trust, hopefully captain Brett can keep it up.
The usual suspects didn't quite have the days you would expect. Graham Zug finished the day with zero catches and an almost TD on a slightly overthrown pass from Bolden. Former starting CB, now 5th receiver Chaz Powell did not have a catch, but did have the biggest play of the day; a 100 yard kick return TD at the start of the second half. Moye finished the day with 5 catches for 61 yards and everyone's favorite little man, Devon Smith finished with 1 catch for 27 yards.Justin Brown emerged as a potential candidate to fill the Graham Zug role from 2009. Penn State displayed good depth with eight players seeing action when the game still mattered.
The passing game wasn't all roses. Bolden was a victim of several dropped passes, which might not be a big deal against YSU, but they will be against Alabama. Unless you consider Brackett a TE (he isn't) they were nonexistent during the game. Garry Gilliam had more penalties (1) then catches (0).
Final Grade: Brett Bracket A+, everyone else B
Offensive Line
They were a concern in the summer, and they are still a concern today. Let's start with the good. The pass blocking was excellent for Robert Bolden all day long. He had plenty of time and was not sacked.
The run blocking, well that is a completely different story. With the exception of a few draw plays or delays, no holes were to be found. Much of the pressure came up the middle over center Doug Klopacz and left guard DeOn'tae Pannell. The coaches are obviously trying to find the right combination still, since Johnnie Troutman was subbed in during the third series of the game. In the end, it was the same result. Hopefully they can get this thing figured out before next Saturday, or else Bolden is going to be in for a long evening.
The second team line did see some action, but it wasn't much to make any judgments off of. The line was who they said it would be all summer Okoli, Urschel, Stankiewitch, Troutman, Farrell.
Final Grade: C+
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Very pleased....
and very disappointed with the OL. Like last year, they seem good to great during pass protection but they aren’t getting any push for Royster. I’d like to think that they have yet to coalesce, but I tried convincing myself that for 4 games last year before it came crashing down.
I hate to be so negative, but I really feel like we should be more dominant on the OL.
Pass protection....
…IMO wasn’t close to good/great. Bolden was on his butt and stomach on numerous occasions just after he released the ball. Against a D1 (or SEC/Big10) defense those hits will be sacks.
There is a mistake here
You gave our quarterbacks an A. I think you meant to give them an F because our quarterback situation is a disaster. It’s true. I read it on a Michigan blog.
by BSD on Sep 5, 2010 3:33 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs
Yeah, Bolden is awful. He even ties his shoelaces.
Luring recruits with my new "Posting HD" scheme since '08.
For some reason....
West Virginia was playing UConn at the Big House yesterday. weird, huh?
by Artiefufkin10 on Sep 5, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions
You have to admit...
Robinson looked very Pat White like. Almost 200 rushing yards? That would worry me. Penn State struggles with running QBs…
Colasanti…13 tackles…we plug and chug at LBU
Joe
Know what would worry me?
Denard Robinson had almost 200 rushing yards yesterday and looks like he weighs less than many high school footballers. Wow, he made a Big East defense look bad… that’s tough stuff right there.
I bet he lasts… maybe a game and a quarter through the Big Ten schedule until he gets blown up.
John has a long moustache
Can't wait to see them play Notre Dame
I don’t know what the line is on that game, but if they set the over/under at 100 points, I might take the over.
by BSD on Sep 5, 2010 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree...
Robinson (I refuse to call him by his nickname) is the guy Richrod needs to run that offense against a BEast opponent. And I remember them having similar excitement last season with the Tate/Robinson combo and everyone was excited/worried.
But then the B10 schedule rolled around and they couldn’t keep running those two through B10 defenses. It will be interesting to see if they can keep up that style of play for the whole season. From the highlights, it looked like they showed all their cards to put away UConn.
Honestly, PSU does well with most running QB’s. Those teams will get their yards, but traditionally our fast LB play as limited their success. Will we win all those games, probably not, but Bradley knows how to scheme against the spread.
by Artiefufkin10 on Sep 5, 2010 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
no it was deleware
did you see their helmets and the play of our old qb?
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils
I give them a B+
"Alabama is foldin' thanks to Robert Bolden." - Brad Nessler
by ReadingRambler on Sep 5, 2010 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Here's the question for me
and I’ve alluded to it on almost every post so far. Why did Green have better numbers than Royster?
The answer is because Green gets to the holes faster than Royster does. It’s not that Royster’s slow (he’s not), but he needs to adapt his running style to get to the hole FAST because it won’t be there long.
John has a long moustache
funny...
in 2008 and some of ’09, we all praised Royster for his patience and criticized Green for his lack of. Now the tables have turned.
I agree that he needs to adjust his style a bit for this OL.
by Artiefufkin10 on Sep 5, 2010 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
That's what I've been saying
and it’s a shame because everyone’s saying “Royster sucks and he’s slow and fat” and I can tell it’s getting to him… his frustration through his twitter is just palpable. But he needs to step up and lead this team.
We were all questioning why Royster wasn’t named a captain of this team, and why the heck Brackett was, and I’m sure Brackett felt the pressure all week. Royster turned back to Twitter to complain, Brackett had the game of his life.
There’s a way to go about this effectively, and I really really hope Evan gets there, because I really really like him, and I want him to break the record.
John has a long moustache
I don't twitter...
but what has he been complaining about?
I also want to see Royster break the record, but I really want to see him have a big year and lead the team. He doesn’t have to be a captain for that.
by Artiefufkin10 on Sep 5, 2010 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions
samples
Wow
Instead of tweeting he should be getting in shape or something.
In his defense
he actually doesn’t tweet too much (though he did tweet about 70 minutes before kickoff on Saturday). It’s not the volume for me, it’s the content.
Thank you for making me feel like a stalker
John has a long moustache
He's also tweeted a couple of times that he's tired of classes.
Hope that he doesn’t slack off in academics.
For the glory
So he must be in graduate classes, then.
I don’t blame him for getting tired of it. Everyone gets senioritis (or tired of classes toward the end). As long as he pushes through, goes to class, does his assignments, etc., that’s all I care about.
For the glory
Tebow
had graduated last year and only took a gym class or something in the line of basketweaving during the season. The rest of the time he had some type of film session for credit with his bff urban.
I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?
That's it?
I don’t see anything OMG SKY IS FALLING-worthy there. He must get eleventy thousand twits from Audibles and PennLive jagoffs every time there’s something negative said or believed about him. The only fault I can actually put on him is actually responding to idiots who question his stamina.
As popular as twitter and facebook have become (and I’m sort of guilty on facebook of following or “friending” players, although I never say anything to them), the huge negative is that the common idiotic casual fan now has a direct line of contact to a college football player and can post whatever drivel they can muster out of their pea sized brains to a place where the player will have to see it and read it.
It's not "sky is falling"
I’d just rather see him shut them up on the field than on Twitter.
John has a long moustache
Redd looked money
But he has a bit of Austin Scott in him, instead of constantly trying to bounce it outside you sometimes want to just drop the shoulder and pick up a few yards.
The 5 yard gain he gave up 3 or 4 yards in an attempt to go backwards and hit the edge. Sometimes you can’t hit the edge, drop the shoulder.
He's not that kind of back though
He’s a true freshman, and probably has similar (or less) weight than Green. Redd has incredible lateral movement, which is his strength. He’s got the speed of Green with the shiftyness of Royster. When he’s in the program for a few years and possibly the feature or Green-style back, maybe that’s what he’ll do, but right now he does what he does best, and if it works, fantastic.
I think this is right on.
On one of his runs, he juked the hell out of 2 defenders, and if he put his head down and upfield, he would have picked up an extra 5. Instead, he bounced outside again and gave back 2 yards he already had. He has freakish ability, once he learns when to cut and when to square up, he will be fine.
no, don't even compare him to scott please
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils
From the stands
Bolden was even better then he looked on TV. Those quick screens he throws look better then any QB we’ve had in the Jay era. Going into Alabama that will be our bread and butter, 1st down throw the quick screen to the outside and let Moye or Brown work for an automatic 4-6 yards, it worked great against LSU. Bolden’s the real deal, and it’s clear why he won the spot, but I would still expect Newsome to be used in redzone situations as a wrinkle (especially next week). His QB sneak is vicious.
The line looks about the same as last year, maybe a tad better. Last year we had no problem pass blocking inferior d-lines but we couldn’t open up any room for Royster. They’re just not athletic enough to drive the d-line forward, but they’re big and strong enough to stand their ground on pass plays. As AdamShell pointed out, Green is more suited for this offensive line because of his style. Royster looks his best when he’s used as a WR, and I hope we see a lot of that next week.
With what we saw yesterday, the truth is we’re good enough to beat lesser teams, and not quite good enough in the trenches to beat the really good teams. Expect Alahiowa to make our O-line look silly, but in the other games we’ll be good enough to win.
McGloin Despite Them
Preaching the McGospel since Aug. 2nd, 2010
Our Offensive Line vs Alabama
Bama is running a 3-4 correct? I feel we’ll be able to handle them fine. The 4-3’s are where we seem to have trouble with pass protection. Against Bama’s very questionable secondary, if we rush for 150 yards total and throw for 200+ I think we’ll be fine. Yesterday proved we can definitely move the ball through the air, and really, we didn’t see much of the playbook at all. There were no long bombs, almost every pass was under 20 yards. I think Brackett’s one TD catch was the longest of the day. We all know Bolden has the arm to stretch the field, so I’d expect to see a couple of Play Action’s to hit Moye/Zug/Smith deep and catch Bama off guard early.
Basically I see us having to use play action passes to establish the run, instead of how most of us figured we’d use the run to call play actions to establish the pass.
"This is being a Penn State fan. We’ll prove it, or we won’t. It’s not about proving it to them, it’s about proving to ourselves."
150+ rushing against Alabama?
We couldn’t get to 150 against YSU.
somehow I don;t think we were trying too hard though
I know it is a weak excuse but it seemed we spent a lot of time of letting Bolden get some comfort and confidence in the shorter passing game and really didn’t show much as far as the rushing gameplan was very vanilla. Of course I could be full of illegal shift (sorry Jesse.!)
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member
by TheMightyErik on Sep 5, 2010 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope that's true,
I also hope it’s true that we were running to our weak side all day to get them experience.
What if on the first play McGloin comes out under center and hands off to Royster running over the right side just to mess with them?
by PSUinBOSSton on Sep 6, 2010 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions
I think I kinda agree with you there
The immutable thing about the game of football (well, as long as there are 11 players on a side) is its reciprocity.
Robert Bolden is the antidote to Doug Klopacz.
I’m not certain he can be the same to the coaches platooning Left Guard.
Until our defense proves otherwise, it should be presumed they will be excellent.
From the stands, Part 2.....
I seem to think it was intentional, but RoBo was hit too many times in the mouth after pass plays for my liking….I know it’s easy to blame the OL, but if that’s a plan of attack by other teams because of youth, then PSU has to complain to refs that watched this happen …they could have thrown around 6 flags yesterday. Green and Redd are way different runners than Royster…holes were there, it will improve. WE ran left alot, so what’s that mean? and I was pleased with the game in general and with the patience showed by the staff with RoBo when they could have lost their mind early and changed QBs. Defense will be very good with that depth.
My guess(es) on favoring the OL left side...
that’s the supposed ‘untested’ side. Plus Eliades could most likely use a bi more healing on that calf sans someone potentially running up from behind on him.
Was there also a take-2 from this…less / limited film and focus on the OL right side…perhaps…
" When you cross that Blue Line, you are mine...Across the Blue Line, it's all football. " " And what you need to do in your life is paint Blue Lines everywhere. " - Joe Paterno 2009
by BlueWhiteLife on Sep 5, 2010 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Really? We ran left a lot?
That’s a really interesting catch, Derry. Don’t grill me if I have the terminology wrong, but that would be the weakside correct? With YSU trying to force Bolden to win with his arm (successfully, lol!) by stacking the box and blocking the run, do you think we were intentionally trying to make it difficult for the runners? After all, this game was essentially called a “scrimmage”, so if we used that extra practice against a hostile (except for the cute little penguins…awww) team, that would explain at least some of why the running game was teh suck. The coaches trying to challenge the weak (and this isn’t the football term) part of the line may have factored into a meh running game.
Not necessarily weak side (the strong side is the side with the TE)
But the weaker side, when you’re confident in the two starters on the right side of the line and know nothing about the center to left tackle. They were testing the new linemen.
"Every player we have, someone-maybe a parent, a grandparent, someone-poured their soul into that young man. They are handing that young man off to us. They are giving us their treasure, and it's our job to make sure we give them back that young man intact and ready to face the world."
-J.V.Pa.
I think that they went with their "weakest" side to get.....
more reps that way and whenever RoBo didn’t “fold”, they had their way with them….not great, but adequate. Once Troutman got in, they looked better. But that is PSU’s line use history, always experimenting, shuffling….and did you know that one of the cute Penquins was Clint Gyory serving his Dui sentence till October.
I saw them really working the left side too
It was funny, Green’s first carry was right over Wiz after Royster ran behind Pannell and Barham the first couple series. I thought I saw improvement when Troutman replaced Pannell but its hard to tell at the game without replay. I thought the second o-line did a nice job at the end. Granted that is garbage time and the other team is gassed but they obviously are working hard in practice. Urschel looked good, as did Farrell
"The line looks about the same as last year, maybe a tad better"
The running backs are improved….the wideouts are improved…..
The quarterback is BETTER….both passing and probably running.
This looks real good.
Handled the pick better than Clark
Clark had a bit of a meltdown every time he threw a pick.
Eh
DC was an emotional guy, but there were very few times when the emotion got the better of him. You have guys who make a mistake and internally just say to themselves “ok don’t do that again” like Bolden, and you have guys that let out a couple of four letter words and pissed at themselves a bit and force themselves to improve. I can’t remember a time where DC got so emotional that it effected his game.
And are we really going to start trashing DC because the new freshman did really well in his first game? The kid did a lot for PSU was a model representative of our school. Let’s just say thanks and move on.
by skarocksoi on Sep 6, 2010 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
^^^THIS
Are we seriously still debating Clark’s legacy at Penn State? It’s absolutely pathetic that some people can’t let this go.
by dawsonPSU10 on Sep 6, 2010 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
We're about to find out, right quick
For all DC’s merits, what’s the one word you rarely heard used to describe him?
For all we DON’T know about Bolden, what’s the one word we’ve heard over and over from observers and coaches?
Poised.
Sat night, we’ll find out if that’s more than ‘just sayin…’
Until our defense proves otherwise, it should be presumed they will be excellent.
I think we watched about the same game
Same one as QBsneak14. That Oline remains a mess. A mess, I tell you! Klopacs got rolled on more than three occasions, tho it’s probably fair to attribute some of that to box stacking others have noted. I cannot express how appreciative I am to have a frosh qb capable of making that strategy look silly. And he will. My favorite thing of all the stuff I saw from him was the Composure. An element I’ve harped on in here for years.. Second favorite was leadership. He missed Zug on a route near the end zone on what I first thought was an overthrow. As Wagner came on (how bout them Wagners!), I watched Mssrs 1 & 5 approach the sideline. Bolden met Zug near the edge, they had some words, then Bolden rubbed Zug’s helmet, like ’that’s alright little guy,’ and it had me thinking maybe Zug jacked the route. I still don’t know, but damn, how you gonna rub an Overlord’s head with a little brother rub like that? Very cool. Third favorite thing was seeing him obviously look around the field to one, two or three receivers.
Troutman / Pannell juggly bullshit? Not cool at all. Looks like the same petty assed crap from last year. Can anyone tell me what Johnnie Troutman has done ‘wrong?’ He’s not even Irish for chrissakes. I’m not looking fwd to this lineup against Dareus’ starred star backup.
Until our defense proves otherwise, it should be presumed they will be excellent.
Joe says the line will get tougher but he didn't give us a timeline.
I choose to be optimistic. We’ll be ready by Michigan.
"Alabama is foldin' thanks to Robert Bolden." - Brad Nessler
by ReadingRambler on Sep 6, 2010 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Hey, look at us wearing different hats
He’s right of course. They will get better. Last year’s Oline got better. LSU had some real talent at Dline, and we looked quite good against them.
Didn’t help us against OSU & Iowa did it?
/Negatron’d
Until our defense proves otherwise, it should be presumed they will be excellent.
Eh.
If you look at the stats, LSU was like around 80th in sacking the QB IIRC.
"Alabama is foldin' thanks to Robert Bolden." - Brad Nessler
by ReadingRambler on Sep 6, 2010 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Zug pulled up on that route
and he knew it. He slowed when he hit the open zone, had he ran the entire route out, it would have been a touchdown. It happened right below where I sit. The ball was thrown before the break and was right on the spot. Zug knew it too, you could tell when he was only able to tip it, his reaction was one of mad at himself.
I thought so too, it was hard to tell on tv due to the limited shot angle
Now that the QB race is a little clearer the receivers should develop a better rhythm with Bolden.
by Frank O'Brien on Sep 6, 2010 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions
At the game...
Zug did and the communication will get better…I know it’s onlyne game, but RoBo was so cool and actually read progressions…..I was impressed.
by DerryPharmer on Sep 6, 2010 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Cool, thanks all
18 years old. Actin like that. /tries to contain excitement.
Until our defense proves otherwise, it should be presumed they will be excellent.
That line is definitely a work-in-progress
They did a fine job protecting Bolden, but they got no push on the run plays. They can/will improve as the season progresses, but this was not an encouraging performance.
by Screen Name 20 on Sep 7, 2010 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Screen timing...
Just watched PSU football story and noticed that the screen passes from Bolden looked pretty good, but the timing of the whole play seemed off.
Each time…seemed like Royster was waiting for Pannell to pick up the block, which caused him to hesitate and allow other defenders to catch up.
Not sure if this was Bolden throwing it too early or Pannell taking too long. It just doesn’t look as crisp. The 2008 team ran that screen about as good as I’ve ever seen a team do it.
Are our wives related?
We were at the game and she called Pannell out on the screens.
Pannell was TERRIBLE every time he had to pull.
He looks lost out there. One play he couldn’t get a hat on anyone, and instead got in Royster’s way. Another he got to someone and right when Royster bounced outside he couldn’t hold the block.
by PSUinBOSSton on Sep 6, 2010 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
I give Spider a C
What was with all the guys falling down. The worst was royster who seemed like every time he had an opening he tripped over his own feet. But there were plenty of other guys who were slipping and falling to. In fact the Bolden pick came after a receiver slipped and fell down. This is our home field you’d think we’d know what cleats to be wearing.
As for the Oline I think there’s big time reason for concern. Last year we heard the same things through the first four games that all the out of conference teams were stacking the box and forcing them to throw. And then we got to the first big game against Iowa and the line got blown apart. It also concerns me a little that some of our big time recruits like Shrive aren’t pushing these guys from more playing time. I know they’re young but some of these guys on the line look completely lost.
As far as Bolden I’m impressed so far. I would like to see him run more and I think we’ll likely see that this week. Hopefully not because he’s running for his life. But a few designed QB runs will help the oline because the dline won’t be able to be as aggressive trying to get in the backfield. Those screens he threw will also help. I feel like he came out of the gate a little too amped up which isn’t a surprise hopefully though he manages it against Alabama as we can’t afford any mistakes in the early going in that one. That’s the one knock I always had on Clark in big games he was clearly pressing too hard and his throws always seemed high. Also I think already it looks like Bolden has as good or better accuracy than Clark. Which in my opinion was one of Clark’s biggest weaknesses. On the flipside Bolden doesn’t seem to have the timing/touch that Clark had either, which is understandable being his first start. And as much as love a guy who can throw rockets Bolden needs to take a little off some of those underneath throws. I think we’ll see far less drops when that happens.
by psuwresfan on Sep 6, 2010 8:37 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
then who will write the Spider’s Web column in the Nittany Lion Club magazine?
Joe Paterno - Not Unlike Hugh Hefner
I'm obviously being a wiseass......
but the Rambler might have time, eh?
by DerryPharmer on Sep 6, 2010 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions
rec'd for the whole qb paragraph
Until our defense proves otherwise, it should be presumed they will be excellent.
I watched the DVR of the game last night
Honestly, I didn’t see where the running backs could carry the blame for the ground attack. They did eveyrthing they could with what little running room they had. YSU played to stop the run. Their defensive strategy was to force the true freshman QB to beat them with his arm, and you would expect their coaches to do that. Little did they forsee that PSU’s OL would be very good in pass protection. So they got burned over the top. The real weakness is the run blocking and not the running backs. But now that opponents have this tape, they’ll be blitzing more in the pass game to rattle the QB, and that should leave a vacated spot on the field for a screen or draw play. It’s the old adage, you take what the defense gives you.
Agree
I can’t blame the RBs for awful blocking by the O-line. Royster/Green did what they could, but there was no where to run. Redd looked good….against D1-AA backups, or were they the starters who were exhausted after playing 3.5 quarters?
If you thought the O-line looked bad against the run, wait until you see them against Ala’s pass rush. Did you notice how many times Bolden had to pick himself up off the ground after completing a pass? Those will all be sacks against Ala, OSU, Iowa, and most of the Big10 defenses. If we want to keep the kid around to see his sophomore/junior years our first ten plays against Ala better be draw, screen, screen, 3-step, draw, bootleg, draw, etc. etc.
This reminds me
Yes, he picked himself up a few times after passes. Two were called personal fouls and a few others could have been.
I had thought during the game that their coach was of the douche variety. He seemed late getting calls into the QB (a pet peave of mine—and of Tyrod Taylor’s it looked like last night), and he totally botched their 4th down attempt inside our 35. Then, he double-douched the Chazz Powell TD issue by calling timeout to allow refs to review, instead of challenging it right away, then burned another one when they didn’t. All pretty dumb.
But in rewatching, I saw heaps and heaps of him doing the bark in kids faces, replete with holding their facemasks (a real disrespecting gesture imho). And his whole staff was that douche kind of intensity that most players these days don’t respond to. Xs & Os seemed sound, and they’ll likely do well the rest of the season, but I am not a fan.
Until our defense proves otherwise, it should be presumed they will be excellent.
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