Concerns

[creamery]

3 concerns for me:

1. The O line - abysmal in the run game all day but Indiana was able to get 2 yards when they needed it. And they seemed lost on some pass plays when IU blitzed. There’s no push from this ‘deep’ line

2. Allar looked like Hackenberg on the interception. He had happy feet and was all over the place to avoid the rush. Plus there was no pocket to step into at times. That’s concerning.

3. Speed at receiver … on the Go routes we ran, there was no separation. McClain had no separation and didn’t make a good play on his and KLS had to slow down but the db was right there - he did make a nice play on the ball.

Whatever happened to Omari Evans (Blue White game star) and Malik Meiga (#4) - he’s the first one downfield on every kickoff. That speed could help at WR.

 

[psu1969a]

3 concerns for me:

1. The O line - abysmal in the run game all day but Indiana was able to get 2 yards when they needed it. And they seemed lost on some pass plays when IU blitzed. There’s no push from this ‘deep’ line

2. Allar looked like Hackenberg on the interception. He had happy feet and was all over the place to avoid the rush. Plus there was no pocket to step into at times. That’s concerning.

3. Speed at receiver … on the Go routes we ran, there was no separation. McClain had no separation and didn’t make a good play on his and KLS had to slow down but the db was right there - he did make a nice play on the ball.

Whatever happened to Omari Evans (Blue White game star) and Malik Meiga (#4) - he’s the first one downfield on every kickoff. That speed could help at WR.

But do Evans/Meiga catch the ball and run routes correctly? I don't have an answer because I was not at practice last week?

 

[creamery]

But do Evans/Meiga catch the ball and run routes correctly? I don't have an answer because I was not at practice last week?

Perhaps not - nobody knows. But Cephus, McClain, and Clifford haven’t stood out thus far.

 

[PSU Soupy]

Had much higher hopes for Evans/Cephus and Saunders for this year. Allar is not anticipating the WRs getting open.......on the wide open TE Touchdown to Dinkens.....Dinkens was open for about 4 seconds before the ball got released......I get it, he threw a good ball and Dinkens caught it but it was apparent that Dinkens was getting open.

His best throws seem to be to the TEs in fairly small windows, not to the WRs.

Question could someone like Hardy help on WR screens or end arounds....even RB where we pitch the ball to Hardy? In 3 games he has returned 3 punts for TD, one called back. He has that quickness.

This O Line seems much softer than I would have thought.......Nelson and Wormley seem to have a little dog in them.....our C does not snap well and gets beat with speed 3 or 4 times a game where a DT or Inside LB gets past him before he is out of his stance. Would like to see a little bit more nastiness in our OL.......without the penalties, but some pancake blocks........ would like to see Dawkins get a few series at C and Shelton at OT.

Our O Line does not pull or challenge the boundaries.......it is the slow developing runs where it seems like we gain about 2 yards per run. Pull a guard and get to the outside saw tOSU do this at will to Wisconsin last night in 2nd half as Wisconsin was clogging the middle and tOSU had trouble running up the middle.

The offensive staff has got to get Allar more comfortable with quicker throws.......with getting our athletes the balls in their hands in more favorable positions.......screen passes, running wide....having Allar keep the ball on 3rd and 2........get the first down have the defense respect the option somewhat........ go back and look at the Auburn tape last year about how we got Singleton into space........... TEs have caught the ball well, but their blocking is not very inpired.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

Stop the other BS delayed handl offs to Singleton and Allen. Throw intouch of screens and and a few pitch outs. Spread that eight man front, and play actions actually work. And the wide receivers and the offensive line are no longer an issue.

I was actually happy when Allar tossed his first int. Why?, you ask. So it push himself beyond the cocoon that the OC and our head coach have placed him. It worked, he sped up the play and used his gun.

I am curious about Omari Evans and Miega though.

 

[KCLion]

Yo

Had much higher hopes for Evans/Cephus and Saunders for this year. Allar is not anticipating the WRs getting open.......on the wide open TE Touchdown to Dinkens.....Dinkens was open for about 4 seconds before the ball got released......I get it, he threw a good ball and Dinkens caught it but it was apparent that Dinkens was getting open.

His best throws seem to be to the TEs in fairly small windows, not to the WRs.

Question could someone like Hardy help on WR screens or end arounds....even RB where we pitch the ball to Hardy? In 3 games he has returned 3 punts for TD, one called back. He has that quickness.

This O Line seems much softer than I would have thought.......Nelson and Wormley seem to have a little dog in them.....our C does not snap well and gets beat with speed 3 or 4 times a game where a DT or Inside LB gets past him before he is out of his stance. Would like to see a little bit more nastiness in our OL.......without the penalties, but some pancake blocks........ would like to see Dawkins get a few series at C and Shelton at OT.

Our O Line does not pull or challenge the boundaries.......it is the slow developing runs where it seems like we gain about 2 yards per run. Pull a guard and get to the outside saw tOSU do this at will to Wisconsin last night in 2nd half as Wisconsin was clogging the middle and tOSU had trouble running up the middle.

The offensive staff has got to get Allar more comfortable with quicker throws.......with getting our athletes the balls in their hands in more favorable positions.......screen passes, running wide....having Allar keep the ball on 3rd and 2........get the first down have the defense respect the option somewhat........ go back and look at the Auburn tape last year about how we got Singleton into space........... TEs have caught the ball well, but their blocking is not very inpired.

Your first paragraph regarding the TD pass - right on. This is happening a lot with the wide receivers as well. They are open a lot more than they are given credit, but the anticipation at QB isn’t quite there yet.

 

[AWS1022]

3 concerns for me:

1. The O line - abysmal in the run game all day but Indiana was able to get 2 yards when they needed it. And they seemed lost on some pass plays when IU blitzed. There’s no push from this ‘deep’ line

2. Allar looked like Hackenberg on the interception. He had happy feet and was all over the place to avoid the rush. Plus there was no pocket to step into at times. That’s concerning.

3. Speed at receiver … on the Go routes we ran, there was no separation. McClain had no separation and didn’t make a good play on his and KLS had to slow down but the db was right there - he did make a nice play on the ball.

Whatever happened to Omari Evans (Blue White game star) and Malik Meiga (#4) - he’s the first one downfield on every kickoff. That speed could help at WR.

1. The RB’s averaged 4 yards per carry…the OLine was not great, but not as bad as you’re making them out to be.
2. Allar got killed on that INT….he didn’t have happy feet, more like crushed feet. And it was his first INT all year, so it was bound to happen.
3. Agree with you on this one. It doesn’t look like the receivers cuts are very sharp. Every replay I saw showed the receivers just running and casually turning and keep on running. No one came back to the ball with any urgency when Allar was in trouble. Lazy route running.

 

[tboyer]

The main problem is wideout. The OL is taking a lot of abuse today, but Indiana was packing the box especially on Penn State's left side where they like to run.

PSU just doesn't have enough diversity in its offense so defenses cheat, and that makes it harder. And I certainly didn't have it on my bingo card that PSU would only be using one running back at this point in the year. Singleton is having some sophomore slump year and who knows why we haven't seen more Trey Potts.

Wideouts and tight ends are not getting open and getting knocked off their routes. Allar doesn't trust them to get to their spots so he doesn't want to throw unless he sees someone wide open.

 

[Crusher1950]

It’s simple to beat Psu stack the box and one and one on the receivers

 

[mcpat]

It’s simple to beat Psu stack the box and one and one on the receivers

Yep. That’s why they’re 7-1 with a one TD loss on the road to the 3rd ranked team in the country. Cause they’re easy to beat.

 

[Jerry]

3 concerns for me:

1. The O line - abysmal in the run game all day but Indiana was able to get 2 yards when they needed it. And they seemed lost on some pass plays when IU blitzed. There’s no push from this ‘deep’ line

2. Allar looked like Hackenberg on the interception. He had happy feet and was all over the place to avoid the rush. Plus there was no pocket to step into at times. That’s concerning.

3. Speed at receiver … on the Go routes we ran, there was no separation. McClain had no separation and didn’t make a good play on his and KLS had to slow down but the db was right there - he did make a nice play on the ball.

Whatever happened to Omari Evans (Blue White game star) and Malik Meiga (#4) - he’s the first one downfield on every kickoff. That speed could help at WR.

The red flags on O have been there to see in pretty much every conference game, and the hard fact is that the situation is not getting any better.

The word is out all over the league: pinch the LBs and safeties in, take away the run, and make an increasingly rattled Drew and his crew of WRs without big-time playmakers beat you.

30-point underdog Indiana came shockingly close to pulling it off. Take away some short fields, 12 points off turnovers, a missed FG, and Tom Allen's idiotically conservative play-calling near the end...and who knows what happens.

Rays of hope: Kaytron seemed to get untracked in the 2nd half, we finally got a few big plays, and Drew hit the long pass in crunch time, which should boost his confidence. Plus we are 7-1 and ranked in the top-10 after all. A lot of teams would be thrilled to be in our place.

That said, I really thought we had a chance to beat Michigan at home, but it's getting hard to see how this happens barring a fairly major turn-around on O. Yet hope springs eternal. Find a way to get it done at home on November 11, and all this gloomy talk will instantly sound silly.

Meanwhile, there's the little matter of Maryland...

 

[CJFisJoePaII]

The main problem is wideout. The OL is taking a lot of abuse today, but Indiana was packing the box especially on Penn State's left side where they like to run.

PSU just doesn't have enough diversity in its offense so defenses cheat, and that makes it harder. And I certainly didn't have it on my bingo card that PSU would only be using one running back at this point in the year. Singleton is having some sophomore slump year and who knows why we haven't seen more Trey Potts.

Wideouts and tight ends are not getting open and getting knocked off their routes. Allar doesn't trust them to get to their spots so he doesn't want to throw unless he sees someone wide open.

Agree with that 1000%! The biggest thing ailling our running game (lack of big running plays), and our offense in general, is the complete lack of a downfield passing game. Our receivers are routinely being utterly shutdown with single coverage. Teams are loading the box and playing man-to-man on wideouts and slot receivers - every single week - and our downfield passing game has yet to make them pay (KLS in Indiana game is only example I can think of and that happened late in 4th QTR). Until we can consistently make teams pay for loading the box early in games, we aren't going to back them off opening up longer running plays - don't know how we're going to do that given that our wideouts and receivers get zero separation against man-to-man coverage and it doesn't seem to matter who the opponent is.

Definitely agree that it is not "what's wrong with the running game", but rather our downfield passing game scares NOBODY and EVERYONE loads the box on us and guards our receivers one-on-one.... and we routinely have zero separation even after 4 and 5 seconds.

 

[olelion]

Yep. That’s why they’re 7-1 with a one TD loss on the road to the 3rd ranked team in the country. Cause they’re easy to beat.

You saw it as a one TD loss. I saw it as an ass kicking

 

[ram2020]

Agree with that 1000%! The biggest thing ailling our running game (lack of big running plays), and our offense in general, is the complete lack of a downfield passing game. Our receivers are routinely being utterly shutdown with single coverage. Teams are loading the box and playing man-to-man on wideouts and slot receivers - every single week - and our downfield passing game has yet to make them pay (KLS in Indiana game is only example I can think of and that happened late in 4th QTR). Until we can consistently make teams pay for loading the box early in games, we aren't going to back them off opening up longer running plays - don't know how we're going to do that given that our wideouts and receivers get zero separation against man-to-man coverage and it doesn't seem to matter who the opponent is.

Definitely agree that it is not "what's wrong with the running game", but rather our downfield passing game scares NOBODY and EVERYONE loads the box on us and guards our receivers one-on-one.... and we routinely have zero separation even after 4 and 5 seconds.

The more video I see, there are receivers open and Drew is gun-shy. Not to say out WR group isn't a major disappointment, but either our line does not hold up well enough for them to get out of their breaks, or Drew just pats the ball when open. MY has done our passing game a big disservice though. We need quick hitters, quick routes, shallow flat crossers(OSU runs these constantly and has a ton of success). Last year we found a ton of success with little WR quick outs on the perimeter, you might only get 3 or 4 yards, but it stretches the defense and gets Drew in a rhythm. Those plays also set up the bigger down field plays. Our two staples are inside zone in the running game, and slow developing out cuts in the passing game. We really don't test the perimeter in order to make the inside zone effective. It's not just that teams put 8 in the box and dare us to throw, it's that the 8 defenders don't even concern themselves with plays outside the hash. With a hyper aggressive 8 man box, you should be able to run a RPO with quick breaking inside releases where drew just puts the ball through the earholes of the rush blitzing LB's for simple throws with the potential of big YAC. Sort of like we tried to do against OSU on that 3rd and 1 where the safety got his hands up and batted it. quick WR screens, outside runs, quick releases over the middle.

 

[KCLion]

The more video I see, there are receivers open and Drew is gun-shy. Not to say out WR group isn't a major disappointment, but either our line does not hold up well enough for them to get out of their breaks, or Drew just pats the ball when open. MY has done our passing game a big disservice though. We need quick hitters, quick routes, shallow flat crossers(OSU runs these constantly and has a ton of success). Last year we found a ton of success with little WR quick outs on the perimeter, you might only get 3 or 4 yards, but it stretches the defense and gets Drew in a rhythm. Those plays also set up the bigger down field plays. Our two staples are inside zone in the running game, and slow developing out cuts in the passing game. We really don't test the perimeter in order to make the inside zone effective. It's not just that teams put 8 in the box and dare us to throw, it's that the 8 defenders don't even concern themselves with plays outside the hash. With a hyper aggressive 8 man box, you should be able to run a RPO with quick breaking inside releases where drew just puts the ball through the earholes of the rush blitzing LB's for simple throws with the potential of big YAC. Sort of like we tried to do against OSU on that 3rd and 1 where the safety got his hands up and batted it. quick WR screens, outside runs, quick releases over the middle.

Your first sentence - truth.

 

[wilbury]

Your first sentence - truth.

There were multiple times vs Ohio State where we had guys open that could have been big plays if not TD's and he never threw the ball.