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Football Does Penn State now have the best coordinator combination in football?

Will be inetersting to see what JK does with PSUs D. I can't see any PSU D being better than what Manny did. And JK schematically is the opposite of Manny. JK blitzed 4th least in Big 10 last season. He likes to just rush 4, which is great if your front 4 can get consistent pressure and he plays a lot of zone.

So how much was JKs great D attributed to OSUs talent with JJT, Sawyer, two great DTs?

He has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt.
 
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Will be inetersting to see what JK does with PSUs D. I can't see any PSU D being better than what Manny did. And JK schematically is the opposite of Manny. JK blitzed 4th least in Big 10 last season. He likes to just rush 4, which is great if your front 4 can get consistent pressure and he plays a lot of zone.

So how much was JKs great D attributed to OSUs talent with JJT, Sawyer, two great DTs?

He has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt.

We didn't blitz much this year, but Knowles is all about blitzing. He and Day had a falling out over exactly this issue......Day favored Larry Johnson and LJ's preferences in using the down 4 DL as the primary mechanism to get pressure. Knowles wanted to bring pressure from multiple angles and use the DL for contain. Our DL talent wasn't well suited for the 3-3-5 or the Jack position. Sawyer and JTT are big, traditional Bosa-like DEs and not the Jack types (like an Abdul Carter).

LJ's stubbornness was a breaking point for Knowles, understandably. Position coaches dictating terms to a DC won't sit well. Knowles was outstanding in adapting to the situation, and I don't think anybody can blame him for leaving given the way Day let LJ have full control over the DL.
 
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No way your offensive coordinator the superior to Chip Kelly. Ohio State's weakness over the last several years has been their inability to run. Even with a decimated offensive line, always she was able to run during the playoffs. After the Michigan loss, Ohio State changed their run scheme from a zone scheme to a gap scheme, which I understand is unheard of. The offensive firepower shown against very good defenses was top rate.

Chip Kelly was exactly what Ohio State needed after years of futility on the offensive line and poor recruiting. Seth McLaughlin went from being an average player for Alabama with The yips, to the Rimington award winner.
 
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No way your offensive coordinator the superior to Chip Kelly. Ohio State's weakness over the last several years has been their inability to run. Even with a decimated offensive line, always she was able to run during the playoffs. After the Michigan loss, Ohio State changed their run scheme from a zone scheme to a gap scheme, which I understand is unheard of. The offensive firepower shown against very good defenses was top rate.

Chip Kelly was exactly what Ohio State needed after years of futility on the offensive line and poor recruiting. Seth McLaughlin went from being an average player for Alabama with The yips, to the Rimington award winner.
Yes but they also currently have vacant as their DC.
 
Yes but they also currently have vacant as their DC.
I'm not saying that Ohio state has the best assortment of assistant coaches. Until Knowles left I think they did. But obviously without a defensive coordinator you can't make that claim. On the other hand, Seth McLaughlin said that Ohio State's offensive line coach was the best in the business and Brian Hartline, James laurinaitis and Tim Walton are all extremely good.
 
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The answer is no. They won't have the best combo in the Big Ten the second OSU makes a hire and they probably don't have it now either. Andy K has yet to prove himself. It isn't an accident that Notre Dame was able to control the O during the second half. It isn't an accident that Oregon beat us rather convincingly despite the score being close. Smoke and mirrors is the name of the game with Andy and once good coordinators see it, they tend to become less effective. The new DC is good but he certainly isn't the best there is by a country mile.
 

For offense the answer is NO so far. It’s way too early to declare victory for an offense that failed to score a single TD against Ohio State and an offense whose passing game was non existent against Notre Dame.

You can only become elite after you actually prove it on the field against top competition. Last time I checked, Penn State was 0-3 against the best 3 teams they faced.
 
We have a damn fine staff overall right now. How it stacks up to others is hard to say, but I'm happy with the vast majority of the staff top to bottom right now and it may be one of the better collections of coaches PSU has ever had.

How I'd rate them in terms of average, good, great, excellent.

Franklin (HC) - great
Kotelnicki (OC) - good (need more data, very high upside potential)
Trout (OL) - excellent (one of the best in CFB)
O'Brien (QB) - average to good (hard to rate)
Seider (RB) - excellent (one of the best in CFB)
Hagans (WR) - below average
Howle (TE) - excellent
Knowles (DC) - excellent (one of the best in CFB)
Barnes (DL) - great (high upside potential)
Connor (LB) - good (need more data)
Dex (safeties) - great
Terry Smith (corners) - great
Losey (strength) - great to excellent
Lustig (special teams) - good (need more data)

I never really know what to think of Danny O'Brien (QB) but it seems the players and staff like him a lot. Lustig at special teams is also a bit of an unknown for me, but did a great job getting a kicker that wasn't expected to start ready, and that kid had a great season after really shaking kicking early on.

That leaves Hagans (WR) that to looks like the only guy that may be holding us back, and even he has some excuses as he joined late in a recruiting cycle and hasn't really gotten a shot with his recruits yet, but I also don't think he did a good job with the upper classmen he inherited.
 
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We have a damn fine staff overall right now. How it stacks up to others is hard to say, but I'm happy with the vast majority of the staff top to bottom right now and it may be one of the better collections of coaches PSU has ever had.

How I'd rate them in terms of average, good, great, excellent.

Franklin (HC) - great
Kotelnicki (OC) - good (need more data, very high upside potential)
Trout (OL) - excellent (one of the best in CFB)
O'Brien (QB) - average to good (hard to rate)
Seider (RB) - excellent (one of the best in CFB)
Hagans (WR) - below average
Howle (TE) - excellent
Knowles (DC) - excellent (one of the best in CFB)
Barnes (DL) - great (high upside potential)
Connor (LB) - good (need more data)
Dex (safeties) - great
Terry Smith (corners) - great
Losey (strength) - great to excellent
Lustig (special teams) - good (need more data)
There is a lot of average and good on that five point scale where average is a 2, not a 3. I see no excellence up there. Franklin is not great, he is good on a good day, average on some and below average on others. Andy K is average until proven otherwise. Trout is below average. O'Brien is average. Seider is good to great. Hagans is below average. Howle is good. Knowles is good. Barnes is good. Connor is maybe good. Dex is good. Smith is average.
 
We didn't blitz much this year, but Knowles is all about blitzing. He and Day had a falling out over exactly this issue......Day favored Larry Johnson and LJ's preferences in using the down 4 DL as the primary mechanism to get pressure. Knowles wanted to bring pressure from multiple angles and use the DL for contain. Our DL talent wasn't well suited for the 3-3-5 or the Jack position. Sawyer and JTT are big, traditional Bosa-like DEs and not the Jack types (like an Abdul Carter).

LJ's stubbornness was a breaking point for Knowles, understandably. Position coaches dictating terms to a DC won't sit well. Knowles was outstanding in adapting to the situation, and I don't think anybody can blame him for leaving given the way Day let LJ have full control over the DL.
I've read on a few Buckeye sites that Knowles had a falling out with LJ and Day but never went into detail like yours. Thanks for the info. Can't blame Knowles for leaving.
 
There is a lot of average and good on that five point scale where average is a 2, not a 3. I see no excellence up there. Franklin is not great, he is good on a good day, average on some and below average on others. Andy K is average until proven otherwise. Trout is below average. O'Brien is average. Seider is good to great. Hagans is below average. Howle is good. Knowles is good. Barnes is good. Connor is maybe good. Dex is good. Smith is average.
Right, the ole "average to good across the board gets you within 1 boneheaded play of playing for the Natty" situation. Imagine if we had excellence ... we'd be whooping up on Patty Mahomes in the Super Bowl in a couple weeks.
 
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Right, the ole "average to good across the board gets you within 1 boneheaded play of playing for the Natty" situation. Imagine if we had excellence ... we'd be whooping up on Patty Mahomes in the Super Bowl in a couple weeks.
What happens when we aren't teed up for a deep run by not be slotted into playing teams that don't belong in the top 25?
 
What happens when we aren't teed up for a deep run by not be slotted into playing teams that don't belong in the top 25?
Yeah, if only we had to face the juggernauts that were Clemson (SMU-equivalent) and ASU (Boise St. lite). Or maybe the fraudulent Hoosiers and the handicapped this-ain't-last-year's-Georgia squad.

LOL. GTFOOH with your nonsense.
 
Yeah, if only we had to face the juggernauts that were Clemson (SMU-equivalent) and ASU (Boise St. lite). Or maybe the fraudulent Hoosiers and the handicapped this-ain't-last-year's-Georgia squad.

LOL. GTFOOH with your nonsense.
I would say the same to you. We almost certainly lose to Clemson and ASU. What about Texas, Ohio State or Georgia. Do you think we beat any of them?
 
I would say the same to you. We almost certainly lose to Clemson and ASU. What about Texas, Ohio State or Georgia. Do you think we beat any of them?
Wow. You are a god damned idiot. Fortunately you have a lot of company on this board.
 
There is a lot of average and good on that five point scale where average is a 2, not a 3. I see no excellence up there. Franklin is not great, he is good on a good day, average on some and below average on others. Andy K is average until proven otherwise. Trout is below average. O'Brien is average. Seider is good to great. Hagans is below average. Howle is good. Knowles is good. Barnes is good. Connor is maybe good. Dex is good. Smith is average.
Howle is good? lol.

Literally filling NFL rosters with TEs. Even sent two last year.
 
I would say the same to you. We almost certainly lose to Clemson and ASU. What about Texas, Ohio State or Georgia. Do you think we beat any of them?
SMU had a more impressive regular season than Clemson and SMU battled to the absolute end against them to see who would win the ACC Champ Game ... they were the same level of squad. ASU was a turd sandwich of a squad. We would have throttled their RB - Skippitydoodaa, or whatever his name is - and that would have been the end of them. We would have handled Georgia without an issue, and likely boat raced Texas, too. OSU likely would have beat us, but it would have been a competitive game.
 
Howle is good? lol.

Literally filling NFL rosters with TEs. Even sent two last year.
He did leave Tyler Warren on the bench in 2023 in favor of Theo Johnson while we played a three receiver set with the worst players in history rather than a two TE set. He is part of that and you have to deal with it.
 
SMU had a more impressive regular season than Clemson and SMU battled to the absolute end against them to see who would win the ACC Champ Game ... they were the same level of squad. ASU was a turd sandwich of a squad. We would have throttled their RB - Skippitydoodaa, or whatever his name is - and that would have been the end of them. We would have handled Georgia without an issue, and likely boat raced Texas, too. OSU likely would have beat us, but it would have been a competitive game.
Crazy talk right here, especially given Franklin's record against good teams, which is beyond horrible.
 
Crazy talk right here, especially given Franklin's record against good teams, which is beyond horrible.
Go away, notorious Franklin hater and Joebot. Clemson beat SMU on a last second FG, and you claim SMU wasn't even worth a top 25 ranking, and Clemson would have beat us ... because it fits your nauseatingly repeated narrative that Franklin isn't good and PSU is just lucky whenever they're successful. You're a trash non-fan.
 
Go away, notorious Franklin hater and Joebot. Clemson beat SMU on a last second FG, and you claim SMU wasn't even worth a top 25 ranking, and Clemson would have beat us ... because it fits your nauseatingly repeated narrative that Franklin isn't good and PSU is just lucky whenever they're successful. You're a trash non-fan.
I would say the same to you as you are not a Penn State fan. You are a generic Walmart football fan whose opinion doesn't matter. And no, SMU did not have a more impressive season than Clemson. They played a horribly weak slate, as did Boise State. Neither team were top 25 caliber. You know this but won't admit it.
 
He did leave Tyler Warren on the bench in 2023 in favor of Theo Johnson while we played a three receiver set with the worst players in history rather than a two TE set. He is part of that and you have to deal with it.
And Theo Johnson and Brenton Strange are where now? Is Tyler Warren better? Seems so, but your suggestion is that Howle is good when his results at the position have become nothing but great. He’s the reason the best are coming here.
 
I would say the same to you as you are not a Penn State fan. You are a generic Walmart football fan whose opinion doesn't matter. And no, SMU did not have a more impressive season than Clemson. They played a horribly weak slate, as did Boise State. Neither team were top 25 caliber. You know this but won't admit it.
You nailed it again ... if by "Walmart fan" you mean a distinguished alum with a varsity letter from PSU. As to opinions ... you're the absolute buffoon trying to spin what actually happened into something much more negative. Your opinion doesn't matter. Reality matters. Reality is that we were one play away from playing for the Natty. Reality is that we're a top performing program, with an excellent coaching staff. Sad, desperate losers like you are the ones sitting there saying "yeah, but, uh, if you squint and look at it sideways, it really wasn't that good ... and the folks involved in the program aren't very good, either." YOUR opinion doesn't matter. Go away. You're a non-fan. You're sad and trashy. You're homeless, begging outside the Nordstrom, while you yell at all the customers that they're WalMart shoppers and aren't really better off than you.

The reality is, SMU beat Louisville and only had 1 loss during the regular season. Clemson lost to Louisville and had 3 total losses during the regular season. And when SMU and Clemson played each other, it was decided on a last-second FG. So you have performance against common opponents, and performance when they actually PLAYED EACH OTHER to let everyone sane know that Clemson wasn't much better than SMU ... that they were around the same quality of team. And then we have buffoons like you, who switched back to this name, because he was embarrassed under his other name, trying to cry that reality isn't real. You named yourself after an imaginary evil man for a reason.
 
You nailed it again ... if by "Walmart fan" you mean a distinguished alum with a varsity letter from PSU. As to opinions ... you're the absolute buffoon trying to spin what actually happened into something much more negative. Your opinion doesn't matter. Reality matters. Reality is that we were one play away from playing for the Natty. Reality is that we're a top performing program, with an excellent coaching staff. Sad, desperate losers like you are the ones sitting there saying "yeah, but, uh, if you squint and look at it sideways, it really wasn't that good ... and the folks involved in the program aren't very good, either." YOUR opinion doesn't matter. Go away. You're a non-fan. You're sad and trashy. You're homeless, begging outside the Nordstrom, while you yell at all the customers that they're WalMart shoppers and aren't really better off than you.

The reality is, SMU beat Louisville and only had 1 loss during the regular season. Clemson lost to Louisville and had 3 total losses during the regular season. And when SMU and Clemson played each other, it was decided on a last-second FG. So you have performance against common opponents, and performance when they actually PLAYED EACH OTHER to let everyone sane know that Clemson wasn't much better than SMU ... that they were around the same quality of team. And then we have buffoons like you, who switched back to this name, because he was embarrassed under his other name, trying to cry that reality isn't real. You named yourself after an imaginary evil man for a reason.
Which Walmart did you get your so-called varsity letter from? I doubt it was Penn State. Maybe Penn State Altoona.
 
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