Football gurus, can you answer: where did this PSU offense come from?

[tboyer]

Help me out here, how can an offense look so different from one game to the next?

All these short quick throws, curls and slants, all the involvement of the running backs in the passing game -- it's devastating because PSU has such speed. Where was it the first three games? Did they just install that all using the extra week?

Were they prepared to run these plays against Pitt but Rahne didn't include them in the game plan because he didn't think they'd work?

Was it Clifford's readiness? Or the backs or the OL?

Or was it just how they matched up with the Maryland D -- which doesn't have much of a DL and has to cover for it with a lot of linebacker blitzing?

This is an offense that can do some damage in the Big Ten. It really reminded me of the PSU team that took apart a pretty good Michigan D in 2017. That offense was super hard to defend becasue it had speed everywhere and it used every inch of the field. Well this offense was like that last night.

Where did it come from?

 

[Pennstate52]

Opossum game is strong

 

[fairfaxlion2]

I think beating Locksley was very important to Franklin. He may have held back vs Pitt

 

[BBrown]

Help me out here, how can an offense look so different from one game to the next?

All these short quick throws, curls and slants, all the involvement of the running backs in the passing game -- it's devastating because PSU has such speed. Where was it the first three games? Did they just install that all using the extra week?

Were they prepared to run these plays against Pitt but Rahne didn't include them in the game plan because he didn't think they'd work?

Was it Clifford's readiness? Or the backs or the OL?

Or was it just how they matched up with the Maryland D -- which doesn't have much of a DL and has to cover for it with a lot of linebacker blitzing?

This is an offense that can do some damage in the Big Ten. It really reminded me of the PSU team that took apart a pretty good Michigan D in 2017. That offense was super hard to defend becasue it had speed everywhere and it used every inch of the field. Well this offense was like that last night.

Where did it come from?

Ok call me crazy, many have and will continue too, but I thought it reminded me of some of Bill O'Brien's Offense. They way he was using the TE's and the swing passes to the backs and the curls across the middle. Then on at least 2 series I swear they were running the Nascar because it looked a lot faster than anything JoMo or RR had run before.

 

[sluggo72]

I think beating Locksley was very important to Franklin. He may have held back vs Pitt

I doubt he held anything back. Different game one mistake could cost u the game.
How did the Maryland game start??
Much easier to call plays in that situation

 

[BBrown]

I think beating Locksley was very important to Franklin. He may have held back vs Pitt

I think it was but believe me if Franklin could have wrung up on the Dooshnozzle he would have.

 

[tboyer]

That did occur to me, that there might be some sandbagging going on. But they sure could have used some of this vs Pitt.

Opossum game is strong

 

[83wuzme]

MD had a lot of defensive deficiencies, some of which were personnel, in it’s middle. Credit RR for fully exploiting it at a high tempo.

 

[tboyer]

I's true. Bill O'Brien took that offense to Iowa City and just broke the Hawkeye defense. Given that Iowa plays that same defense now ... It also resembles what Ryan Day does at Ohio State -- mobile quarterback, spread the field, take advantage of blazing speed at the skill positions. Any team that doesn't have really fast linebackers and safeties, it's really had to defend.

Ok call me crazy, many have and will continue too, but I thought it reminded me of some of Bill O'Brien's Offense. They way he was using the TE's and the swing passes to the backs and the curls across the middle. Then on at least 2 series I swear they were running the Nascar because it looked a lot faster than anything JoMo or RR had run before.

 

[tboyer]

I think it was the 247 pregame analysis that said the Maryland safeties didn't have great speed and had problems vs. Temple. That really turned out to be the case. Though Nick Cross had a few really nice plays.

MD had a lot of defensive deficiencies, some of which were personnel, in it’s middle. Credit RR for fully exploiting it at a high tempo.

 

[GreatBasinNit]

Help me out here, how can an offense look so different from one game to the next?

All these short quick throws, curls and slants, all the involvement of the running backs in the passing game -- it's devastating because PSU has such speed. Where was it the first three games? Did they just install that all using the extra week?

Were they prepared to run these plays against Pitt but Rahne didn't include them in the game plan because he didn't think they'd work?

Was it Clifford's readiness? Or the backs or the OL?

Or was it just how they matched up with the Maryland D -- which doesn't have much of a DL and has to cover for it with a lot of linebacker blitzing?

This is an offense that can do some damage in the Big Ten. It really reminded me of the PSU team that took apart a pretty good Michigan D in 2017. That offense was super hard to defend becasue it had speed everywhere and it used every inch of the field. Well this offense was like that last night.

Where did it come from?

I believe the answer is simpler than perhaps you think. The offense used shorter throws yesterday because that’s what the Maryland D was allowing. This PSU offense has always been there, but the offense still wants to hit explosive (20 yard+) type of plays. It’s the underlying philosophy because the analytics show that teams who hit those plays win football games more often than not.

Against Pitt the offense attempted longer passes more frequently than against Maryland. It’s because Pitt was playing man against our receivers and bringing pressure. Rahne probably believed our receivers could take them one on one. Unfortunately Clifford wasn’t accurate in that game with the long ball. If he had been the Pitt game would’ve ended up more like 24 or 31 to 10 instead of 17-10.

 

[pointingdogsrule]

I saw "more mis-direction" last night then in the previous three games. Had MD off balance.

 

[Nitt1300]

It was game #4 with a very young offense that is just starting to hit it's stride.

 

[83wuzme]

I think it was the 247 pregame analysis that said the Maryland safeties didn't have great speed and had problems vs. Temple. That really turned out to be the case. Though Nick Cross had a few really nice plays.

Ditto on Cross. Wish he was one of ours. He looked like the best one out there for MD.
I can only guess he wasn’t starting is because he is a true freshman

 

[BBrown]

I's true. Bill O'Brien took that offense to Iowa City and just broke the Hawkeye defense. Given that Iowa plays that same defense now ... It also resembles what Ryan Day does at Ohio State -- mobile quarterback, spread the field, take advantage of blazing speed at the skill positions. Any team that doesn't have really fast linebackers and safeties, it's really had to defend.

Thanks, I thought I had heard somewhere that the MD DC uses the same Defense that Iowa does. Thats good for us.

 

[SUPERTODD]

I think people overthink things. We had a QB going into his 3rd start of his career against Pitt and the OLine struggled against all out blitzes. The bye week is huge for a young QB. It is so much easier to learn and improve with time to dissect one’s own mistakes. We might not see another identical leap from Clifford as the season goes on, but if Clifford actually attempts to read his progressions, in large part because he had time to do so, this offense is nearly unstoppable given the talent of our skill position players.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Help me out here, how can an offense look so different from one game to the next?

All these short quick throws, curls and slants, all the involvement of the running backs in the passing game -- it's devastating because PSU has such speed. Where was it the first three games? Did they just install that all using the extra week?

Were they prepared to run these plays against Pitt but Rahne didn't include them in the game plan because he didn't think they'd work?

Was it Clifford's readiness? Or the backs or the OL?

Or was it just how they matched up with the Maryland D -- which doesn't have much of a DL and has to cover for it with a lot of linebacker blitzing?

This is an offense that can do some damage in the Big Ten. It really reminded me of the PSU team that took apart a pretty good Michigan D in 2017. That offense was super hard to defend becasue it had speed everywhere and it used every inch of the field. Well this offense was like that last night.

Where did it come from?

-------
Its pretty simple actually. Rahne spent the bye week reading and taking notes from the McAndrew football board. He finally did what we have all been telling him to do.

 

[BoulderFish]

Ok call me crazy, many have and will continue too, but I thought it reminded me of some of Bill O'Brien's Offense. They way he was using the TE's and the swing passes to the backs and the curls across the middle. Then on at least 2 series I swear they were running the Nascar because it looked a lot faster than anything JoMo or RR had run before.

Speaking of that, anyone remember anymore that they came out and ran a few series of hurry-up/NASCAR? That was the first I remember them doing that under Franklin when it wasn't an actual hurry-up situation.

 

[marisa45]

I think you’re seeing the maturation of Clifford. An offense tends to copy the identity of its previous self until clear patterns arise.

As Clifford’s confidence grows so will the dynamics of this offense as it takes on its own identity. I love Trace but there is something about Clifford that reminds me a lot of Baker Mayfield (sorry). It’s a brash confidence, cocky confidence the kind that sometimes wins you championships.

You all need to slow down though, this offense will probably need a while to cook. Next year is probably gonna be the year even without KJ.

 

[tboyer]

We say it here, it comes out there. Rahne gets to keep his job another week at least.

-------
Its pretty simple actually. Rahne spent the bye week reading and taking notes from the McAndrew football board. He finally did what we have all been telling him to do.

 

[ga.lion]

Help me out here, how can an offense look so different from one game to the next?

All these short quick throws, curls and slants, all the involvement of the running backs in the passing game -- it's devastating because PSU has such speed. Where was it the first three games? Did they just install that all using the extra week?

Were they prepared to run these plays against Pitt but Rahne didn't include them in the game plan because he didn't think they'd work?

Was it Clifford's readiness? Or the backs or the OL?

Or was it just how they matched up with the Maryland D -- which doesn't have much of a DL and has to cover for it with a lot of linebacker blitzing?

This is an offense that can do some damage in the Big Ten. It really reminded me of the PSU team that took apart a pretty good Michigan D in 2017. That offense was super hard to defend becasue it had speed everywhere and it used every inch of the field. Well this offense was like that last night.

Where did it come from?

I think you saw a coaching staff make adjustments and a QB step. I'm sure Trace had some words of encouragement with Clifford pregame and dang give the kid credit. Now you know why Franklin couldn't hand the job to Tommy..................

 

[IANit]

I think you’re seeing the maturation of Clifford. An offense tends to copy the identity of its previous self until clear patterns arise.

As Clifford’s confidence grows so will the dynamics of this offense as it takes on its own identity. I love Trace but there is something about Clifford that reminds me a lot of Baker Mayfield (sorry). It’s a brash confidence, cocky confidence the kind that sometimes wins you championships.

You all need to slow down though, this offense will probably need a while to cook. Next year is probably gonna be the year even without KJ.

It took about 4.5 games for Trace to really get the RPO down. He was overwhelmed by Michigan and down 10-0 vs. Minny the following week I think before he started to consistently make the right reads and from that point on the offense was practically unstoppable. I think Clifford is looking pretty good after struggling a bit vs. Pitt. If he continues to improve off this performance it will be a tough offense to stop.

 

[artsandletters]

I think you’re seeing the maturation of Clifford. An offense tends to copy the identity of its previous self until clear patterns arise.

As Clifford’s confidence grows so will the dynamics of this offense as it takes on its own identity. I love Trace but there is something about Clifford that reminds me a lot of Baker Mayfield (sorry). It’s a brash confidence, cocky confidence the kind that sometimes wins you championships.

You all need to slow down though, this offense will probably need a while to cook. Next year is probably gonna be the year even without KJ.

Hard to replace a talent like KJ. I thought he was a sophomore.

 

[indynittany]

It took about 4.5 games for Trace to really get the RPO down. He was overwhelmed by Michigan and down 10-0 vs. Minny the following week I think before he started to consistently make the right reads and from that point on the offense was practically unstoppable. I think Clifford is looking pretty good after struggling a bit vs. Pitt. If he continues to improve off this performance it will be a tough offense to stop.

This. Clifford became more of a running threat and it opened up everything else. Great game!

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

Help me out here, how can an offense look so different from one game to the next?

All these short quick throws, curls and slants, all the involvement of the running backs in the passing game -- it's devastating because PSU has such speed. Where was it the first three games? Did they just install that all using the extra week?

Were they prepared to run these plays against Pitt but Rahne didn't include them in the game plan because he didn't think they'd work?

Was it Clifford's readiness? Or the backs or the OL?

Or was it just how they matched up with the Maryland D -- which doesn't have much of a DL and has to cover for it with a lot of linebacker blitzing?

This is an offense that can do some damage in the Big Ten. It really reminded me of the PSU team that took apart a pretty good Michigan D in 2017. That offense was super hard to defend becasue it had speed everywhere and it used every inch of the field. Well this offense was like that last night.

Where did it come from?

Was a lot of things but that was among the most complete performances I’ve seen from PSU in a long time. Credit to all the players, coaches and staff. Let’s hope they can repeat it v the heart of the schedule. And take a second to stop and appreciate what we just saw.

 

[KnightWhoSaysNit]

Ok call me crazy, many have and will continue too, but I thought it reminded me of some of Bill O'Brien's Offense. They way he was using the TE's and the swing passes to the backs and the curls across the middle. Then on at least 2 series I swear they were running the Nascar because it looked a lot faster than anything JoMo or RR had run before.

No, you are not crazy. O'Brien did not have a good OL after the first year due to the sanctions, so we'll really never have a good comparison.

There is a lot of elation here by seeing the play variety of yesterday, but we were not going against a strong defensive line, and we still have questionable run-blocking.

Unless we really have a prolific pass offense, I think we will have trouble running the ball when we hit the meat of our schedule.

Nevertheless, yesterday was a big step forward.

 

[Madsol]

Hard to replace a talent like KJ. I thought he was a sophomore.

He's a redshirt soph so technically he'd be eligible for the draft in 2020. Is he NFL ready? I'll let others debate that.

 

[Raffycorn]

No, you are not crazy. O'Brien did not have a good OL after the first year due to the sanctions, so we'll really never have a good comparison.

There is a lot of elation here by seeing the play variety of yesterday, but we were not going against a strong defensive line, and we still have questionable run-blocking.

Unless we really have a prolific pass offense, I think we will have trouble running the ball when we hit the meat of our schedule.

Nevertheless, yesterday was a big step forward.

That 2013 line had John Urschel named first team All-B1G, Ty Howle and Donovan Smith makes honorable mention, and Garry Gilliam go on to a pretty decent NFL career. Compared to the 2014-2017 lines, the 2013 line was functionally elite.

 

[fastlax16]

When a mommy and daddy love each other...

 

[katchthis]

Help me out here, how can an offense look so different from one game to the next?

All these short quick throws, curls and slants, all the involvement of the running backs in the passing game -- it's devastating because PSU has such speed. Where was it the first three games? Did they just install that all using the extra week?

Were they prepared to run these plays against Pitt but Rahne didn't include them in the game plan because he didn't think they'd work?

Was it Clifford's readiness? Or the backs or the OL?

Or was it just how they matched up with the Maryland D -- which doesn't have much of a DL and has to cover for it with a lot of linebacker blitzing?

This is an offense that can do some damage in the Big Ten. It really reminded me of the PSU team that took apart a pretty good Michigan D in 2017. That offense was super hard to defend becasue it had speed everywhere and it used every inch of the field. Well this offense was like that last night.

Where did it come from?

 

[KnightWhoSaysNit]

That 2013 line had John Urschel named first team All-B1G, Ty Howle and Donovan Smith makes honorable mention, and Garry Gilliam go on to a pretty decent NFL career. Compared to the 2014-2017 lines, the 2013 line was functionally elite.

I thought Howle was kind of average, but I'll give you 2.5 out of 5. Who were the others? I think Mahon was a freshman. We were not very deep.

There was a drop off in Hack's performance after his freshman year. My memory could be wrong, but I thought a lot of it was pressure. He could not throw a short pass to relieve it.

No doubt the drop off after that was steep, and that could be what was driving my memory of the losses in OL performance due to a depleted roster.

 

[sluggo72]

What actually changed - two things actually - was pretty obvious, I would think.

Lol SMH NORM

 

[SR108]

Help me out here, how can an offense look so different from one game to the next?

All these short quick throws, curls and slants, all the involvement of the running backs in the passing game -- it's devastating because PSU has such speed. Where was it the first three games? Did they just install that all using the extra week?

Were they prepared to run these plays against Pitt but Rahne didn't include them in the game plan because he didn't think they'd work?

Was it Clifford's readiness? Or the backs or the OL?

Or was it just how they matched up with the Maryland D -- which doesn't have much of a DL and has to cover for it with a lot of linebacker blitzing?

This is an offense that can do some damage in the Big Ten. It really reminded me of the PSU team that took apart a pretty good Michigan D in 2017. That offense was super hard to defend becasue it had speed everywhere and it used every inch of the field. Well this offense was like that last night.

Where did it come from?

Perhaps it’s just a young team with some talent watching film, correcting mistakes, getting experience and getting better.

With that said, Maryland did not look very good. We will know what we have when we travel to Iowa in two weeks.

In the mean time, Purdue Purdue Purdue!

 

[ChiTownLion]

 

[BostonNit]

-------
Its pretty simple actually. Rahne spent the bye week reading and taking notes from the McAndrew football board. He finally did what we have all been telling him to do.

Still no fullback.

 

[Hotshoe]

Still no fullback.

It's called an H back, the tight end.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Still no fullback.

I am sure Rahne incorporated that from the board's suggestions....he is saving that for a tougher game.

 

[ChiTownLion]

Talking about 3rd down conversations...

 

[Hotshoe]

I am sure Rahne incorporated that from the board's suggestions....he is saving that for a tougher game.

We don't need a fullback when you have tight ends that block. They can also catch very well and can stretch the field. Our very first play against Maryland ran a two TE set. One at the line, the other off the line and then put KJ in motion. It totally took the Maryland linebacker out of the play for an easy touchdown.