Are we a QB away from 10-2, or am I dreaming?
by The Booster on Oct 3, 2011 7:26 PM EDT
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PrintAhh, the love hate relationship that is college football. As every week goes by I try and find a shred of hope that this is it, this will be the week that the 2011 version of Penn State football finally gels. It's painful. I hope the athletic department is ready to field a call from my lawyer when my stomach ulcers and high blood pressure they've finally burst. Needless to say the past season and almost a half I've probably shortened my life expectancy by more than a few years.
I really do feel like this team is one of those that could be 5-7 or 10-2 which is crazy. Defense wins ball games and we have a world class defensive unit once again (hats off to you boys). One thing I've loved about this years team is the front 4 cause havoc (something that didn't happen last year). Last year was supposed to be a coming out party for Jack Crawford and now I don't hear anyone even mention him when they talk about our defense (Noah Spence, are you listening? This could be a sweet home for you). Our defense can compete with any team in the nation and has kept hope alive this year. And yes, I'll say it, we still gave Alabama their toughest test this season.
Now if we could only get other side of the ball to wake up. The O line and QBs HEEELLLLOOOO!!! The rest of the team is already on the bus anytime you're ready join us won't you (Hey Gunner Kiel and Devin Fuller, you want a shot to start next year for a team with a shot? Do what Skyler did). I mean it's not like the #11 or #1 are running for their lives this year like last. Pass protection has actually been pretty good allowing only 1 sack. These guys are standing back there and just not hitting targets. Let's take a couple examples from Indiana alone. 1st quarter Bolden underthrows a wide open Moye who was behind the entire defense and could have crawled in the endzone instead he's tackled. Later in the drive Bolden misses a wide open Szczerba (who was practically standing still) inside the 10 resulting in a tipped ball and an INT. And for god sakes man, someone teach Bolden how to throw a screen pass. Can anyone find film of a good one he has thrown this year? Now a little dig on the coaching staff. Why do you draw up QB runs for McGloin and not Bolden? Matt just looks funny scrambling is that your way of making a joke? I think we could get a little more productivity out of Bolden if we let him dance around like he used to in High School. It's not rocket science, he's having trouble hit open targets, so get him comfortable doing other things besides listening to Metallica in the headset because god knows no one is coaching the young man. Now Matt, don't go getting all bushy tailed over there. Yes, you have made a few more plays than any other QB on the roster but you're not exactly hitting guys in between the numbers either. I'm only left to wonder if Paul Jones could've got his act together in the classroom perhaps the 3rd time would've been a charm and we'd have a leader on offense (probably a stretch but I'm a positive guy what can I say).
I'm heading up to the Iowa game this weekend. A game that will finally tell the fan base what kind of team we have this year. I've heard all the opinions but until we see our team on Saturday no one really knows. This is definition Saturday for the 2011 season and here is to hoping we finally get the formula right.
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You are dreaming
but it appears that the B1G is all sorts of not that great outside of Wisconsin, so some marginal improvement might go a long way. It’s just that through 5 games, we’ve seen nothing to suggest that any improvement is forthcoming.
I am more worried about the O line
The QB are not the most glaring problem.
Oline and coaching are the main issues
I blame HITS
Exactly
All of our angst over the QB situation is nothing compared to the problems with the O-line ability to block. Without running lanes and without pass protection, the best QB in world can only make so much of an impact.
"Illegitimus non Carborundum!" (Don't let the bastards wear you down)
With a better O line, my grandma could be the QB.
This year, we should be a running team. We have a fast, shifty back who is a threat as soon as he is in the open. We also have a big, beastly back who just loves to truck defenders. Not to mention the FBs, and an anxious Green waiting to escape the doghouse. Sure we have Moye, but he’s dropped more passes from Bolden than I would ever care to see. We should only throw about 15% of the time. If the O line improves, we will move the ball and win games.
Chuck Norris had a battle with Lance Armstrong over who had the most testicles. Chuck Norris won by 5.
The O line's main problem is.....
coaching…..having a different set of plays for each QB is crap and the coaches not being able to adjust to the talent is bogus…..and as far as dreaming goes, Elvis once sang, “You gotta follow that dream wherever that dream may lead you…” Nothing wrong with that at this point in the season.
"The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God." The Government is like the Mob, you can check out, but never leave.
Seems like you haven't been around a lot
usn_kologi. How are you?
"It's never a bad thing thing to vote for the suckiness of tOSU." -RWReese
Follow @Paige2PSU
After the 05 OSU game
I was talking with one of my best friends, then an OSU student, now an alum. He said something that stuck with me, “I’m not sure PSU was the better team, but they were definitely the better team when it mattered.” Backhanded compliment aside, he was absolutely right.
This is a top 5 defense. The offense is top 15 capable, seriously, they are, but they absolutely suck when it matters. In the red zone. On third and short. Executing screens called at exactly the right time when they should go for 30+ yards. They bungle that stuff.
So I wouldn’t say PSU is a QB away, I’d say PSU is a little bit better offensive play when it matters away from being a top 10, maybe top 5, team. Better QB play would certainly help. Yes, and/or O-line play. Yes, and/or playcalling. Yes, and/or bad drops.
If PSU can just get a little better at a couple of those things at critical moments, this is a BCS bowl level team. If not, I still think the defense is good enough and the offense isn’t so bad that this team will go 8-4, but they won’t look good doing it.
GO IOWA AWESOME, now and forever
Except Saturday
Beat Iowa
YES!!!
This was the underlying point of my fanpost about Dan Persa. This is a 10 win team last year and this year at minimum with a QB of Dan Persa’s quality or better. This OL isn’t actually much worse than the 2008 OL. People forget, but that line couldn’t get any push on 3rd and 2 against anyone either. And I mean ANYONE. They failed routinely when they lined up in the I and tried to jam it up the middle. People blamed Green, but Royster got stuffed most of the time too – the OL just did not push people out of the way. Most of the big running plays came from pass fake runs, and screen and option fake draws. But, like this OL, they were very good at pass protection, and could sort direct the DL out of the way enough (without moving them) for the various draws to work.
This OL, just like the 2008 OL, needs a competent passing game to open up the run. The skill positions on the current team are actually BETTER IMO than the 08 team, because of the variety of WR targets – instead of having essentially a slightly different version of the same guy three times and a TE. You give this team Daryl Clark or Dan Persa, and NO ONE is bitching about Joe Pa, Jay Pa, or the offensive staff in general. We MAY EVEN have beaten Alabama. That’s right, I said it. We would have had a shot with a really good QB.
How good would they be with Sam Bradford?
Or Tim Tebow? Or Y.A. Tittle?
David, Shhh...Listen to Ohio State getting booed. It's like angels, singing Phish, covering Steely Dan.
by jesse. on Oct 5, 2011 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Tebow wouldn't have been an improvement over Clark.
Bradford, maybe. Then again, he had less stars than Devlin!
"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."
newsome?
Remind me again why Kevin Newsome couldnt beat out these 2 qb’s. I went back and watched some highlights of him when he was Clarks backup his freshman year. I was pretty impressed with how he ran the option plays, he was pretty quick. Was not the best passer but i think he could have made some great plays with his feet. Which gets me wondering why Bolden is not running the spread offense like Clark did a few years ago? Wasn’t he a dual threat QB coming out of high school? If they didnt want a dual threat guy, why did they recruit him. I definately dont agree with McGloin running option plays, that was a disaster. If I was Paul Jones I would working my butt off while sitting out this year. Because if this doesnt improve I would have to think he has a great shot next season
He took too long to learn the offense, and apparently managed even worse accuracy than
our current two. Apparently, he’d really started to make some strides in those areas in the spring and summer, but not enough to beat out the other two early on – so he quit.
He was a raw prospect who would really have benefited from a RS year. Unfortunately we didn’t recruit well enough for that to happen (no QBs 2007 or 2008, and moved one of our two 06 QBs to WR), and I don’t think Newsome would have com here with another talented prospect in 09.
Allow me to rephrase your almost-last comment.
“A game that will finally tell the team what kind of fan base we have this year.”
I fled the CBSSports boards because of the internecine fighting amongst the Penn State fanbase, and thought BSD was a huge, positive change. There have been times and threads when I have re-examined that latter assessment.
If the spectrum runs from “blind homer” to “jaded fan who is really a closet hater”, I admit to being far closer to the former than the latter. Penn State is my team; the players are playing for me and my alma mater. Yes, I am frustrated about some aspects of this team, but I strive to avoid calling out specific individuals or generally trashing the team’s efforts.
Not picking on anyone in particular — each is entitled to his/her own viewpoint — but I feel there have been posts that have been horribly negative about specific individuals. Not right, imho.
"Make haste to reassure us, I beg you, and tell us that our fellow citizens understand us, support us, and protect us as we ourselves are protecting the glory of the Empire.
"If it should be otherwise, if we should have to leave our bleached bones on these desert sands in vain, then beware the fury of the Legions."
by PSU_Lions_84 on Oct 8, 2011 9:09 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
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