How to slow down Ashton Jeanty…

[fastlax16]

Not taking anything away from Jeanty but they played a bunch of awful running defenses this year.

22	UNLV	115
35	Oregon	126.1
79	San Jose State	155.4
92	Hawaii	165.7
95	Georgia Southern	170
97	Washington State	173.7
110	Oregon State	185.8
112	Wyoming	191.7
114	Nevada	192.8
122	San Diego State	207.3
127	Utah State	214.5

 

[psu1969a]

How do stop Ashton? You use proper tackling technique.

• Look at his belly button; where it goes he goes.
• Don't try it use a cross block tackle!
• Don't lunge at him.
• Extend arms, aim at his belly button or lower; hit with your head in front of him; upon contact wrap arms and drive thru.

Help him up, give a pat on the arze; tell him next you'll try to hit him harder.

Remember: Always respect your opponent, then defeat them.

"Never fear your enemy but always respect them.” — John Basilone

“You have to respect your enemy. Never, ever underestimate them. The second you do, they’ll squash you. Be smart about them. Respect their abilities, even if they don’t respect yours.”​

— James Patterson

 

[b&w1987]

The best way to stop a good back is to win the line of scrimmage. That's the first focus. He is still going to get his, so the job is to limit him

The really best way however, is to run the ball and be balanced on our side of the ball offensively, and put points on the board that force them out of what they want to do.

Stop him in the backfield or at least slow him down. Guys like this get to the second level it’s a big problem.

 

[roswelllion]

Kotelnicki said something the other day that caught my attention. effectively he said we wear them down, the 2-3 yd in Q1 becomes 4-5 in Q2 and then 8-10 in 2nd half. That sounds great but IMO not if means we give away the first Q and half by wearing them out. As has been said we need a balanced attack and need to put points on the board. Make them impatient.
If we can lead early with passing and don't tire them out until late that is better than letting them be in the game into the 4th Q. Guys like Jaenty, the better they go the better they get. They get a feel, get confident and get better as the game goes on.

 

[bdgan]

Stop him in the backfield or at least slow him down. Guys like this get to the second level it’s a big problem.

The second level is a big problem when there's one less defender due to blitz or over pursuit.

 

[bdgan]

How do stop Ashton? You use proper tackling technique.

• Look at his belly button; where it goes he goes.
• Don't try it use a cross block tackle!
• Don't lunge at him.
• Extend arms, aim at his belly button or lower; hit with your head in front of him; upon contact wrap arms and drive thru.

Help him up, give a pat on the arze; tell him next you'll try to hit him harder.

Remember: Always respect your opponent, then defeat them.

"Never fear your enemy but always respect them.” — John Basilone

“You have to respect your enemy. Never, ever underestimate them. The second you do, they’ll squash you. Be smart about them. Respect their abilities, even if they don’t respect yours.”​

— James Patterson

Today's PSU defenders seem different than those from the past. Today's defenders seem to go straight for they target and shoot for the legs. In the past defenders broke down and form tackled.

 

[RickinDayton]

I have learned so much here, I will never have to read anything the rest of my life. 😂

Rip, you know you can count on us for insight. LOL

 

[RickinDayton]

Not taking anything away from Jeanty but they played a bunch of awful running defenses this year.

22	UNLV	115
35	Oregon	126.1
79	San Jose State	155.4
92	Hawaii	165.7
95	Georgia Southern	170
97	Washington State	173.7
110	Oregon State	185.8
112	Wyoming	191.7
114	Nevada	192.8
122	San Diego State	207.3
127	Utah State	214.5

Well then PSU "should" be able to at least limit his explosive plays.

 

[NittanyChris]

Moderate is a good expectation. He will get yards. PSU doesn't want him to have explosive plays for touchdowns.

Absolutely cannot allow him cheap yards after contact because of weak arm tackles or hitting and not wrapping up. Gang tackling is also key.

 

[Safety Blitz]

Gap integrity.
My biggest fear against very talented running backs is someone in the front seven over-pursuing and leaving a cutback lane. Those guys can hit that opening and quickly be at the second level and off to the races.
Disciplined play to set the front, then get a lot of white hats to the football.

 

[wilbury]

I have to imagine Tom Allen has been consumed with this question since he walked off the field last Saturday. And interestingly, there was a time in Penn Stare history when PSU had a reputation for holding great running backs in check (example - Herschel Walker ‘83 Sugar Bowl 28 carries 103 yds - can you think of others?). But this is 2024 and truth be told, PSU has had some issues against the run the last few years. Having just watched the Minnesota and USC replays from this season on BTN (yes, it was a rare PSU game being shown) and we did not handle the run well. Not to mention UM last year (2nd half) and OSU this year (last drive).

Given that, what must PSU do to contain Ashton Jeanty? All the pundits say PSU must stack the box but I think there are some things that come before that.

First, I sure hope they’re working on tackling form this week, specifically ‘wrapping up’ at the end of tackles. I find myself saying this (wrap, wrap, wrap) a handful of times every game now and it was an issue Saturday vs SMU. Rojas is front and center here but there are others. They have to get to the ball, come to balance, and finish the tackle (ie the fundamentals). A ball hawking Micah Parsons would be nice for this game - can Kobe King be that guy? Second, we need multiple hats on the ball every play. We’re facing a great RB and this is a must. Some good old ‘gang tackling’ will be critical. And lastly, I wonder if more zone coverage will be in play? This will give multiple layers on D to cut down big runs and allow PSU to stay balanced on the field.

This will be a great matchup and hopefully (for PSU fans) will be fun to watch.

I'm not that games played 40 years ago mean much to the team today.

He's going to get his yards. Even if he has 150-175, I'm not sure it matters. I don't think they can wear down our defensive line because their OL isn't big enough. And eventually you force them into 3rd and long and I can't see them throwing on us effectively. In the end I'd hope we just outscore them if nothing else.

 

[LMTLION]

I would spy Jeanty with Rojas and call it a day. Rojas merely has to turn Jeanty’s runs back into the teeth of the defense. Otherwise this is Boise St and we can definitely play 10 vs their 11.

 

[Obliviax]

Tengawell is coming out with a video on this today. I suspect PSU will play a lot of one-on-one coverage with 7 or 8 focused on stopping the run. PSU is going to try and stop Jeanty and make them pass. We saw this against PSU when Saquon was our RB. I recall all three of tOSU's linebackers simply going wherever Saquon went. For example, if Saquon went around the left tackle, even tOSU's left linebacker (tOSU's left, our right) sold out to get to the other side of the field to stop him. I've never seen an entire defensive backfield forget covering anyone else but Saquon.

From what I am reading, Boise's O is good because people are so focused on Jeanty it opens up a very pedestrian passing game. I am also hearing that we should be able to both run and pass against Boise. My expert says we will put up 40+ on Boise's defense. We'll see.

 

[OzLion]

Gap integrity.
My biggest fear against very talented running backs is someone in the front seven over-pursuing and leaving a cutback lane. Those guys can hit that opening and quickly be at the second level and off to the races.
Disciplined play to set the front, then get a lot of white hats to the football.

I thought one thing the Penn State defenders did really well against SMU in general, and the SMU QB in particular, is not letting them get outside to scramble. Instead of just going right for the diving tackle, they often kept their position and tried to hem them inside. I thought this was an improvement over earlier in the season.