I stand corrected! Last week, I stated that Franklin has lost
- Thread starter Sooner Lion
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I am not white knighting for Franklin here but we get it, you're not happy.
Guess what, I don't think anyone, including Franklin, is happy with this past season.
The reality is that the University now has 75 million reasons he is not going anywhere unless someone else is dumb enough to hire him away. I wouldn't have minded seeing him go but since he's our guy, I'm going to hope he makes the necessary improvements in himself and around him to improve the team.
Guess what, I don't think anyone, including Franklin, is happy with this past season.
The reality is that the University now has 75 million reasons he is not going anywhere unless someone else is dumb enough to hire him away. I wouldn't have minded seeing him go but since he's our guy, I'm going to hope he makes the necessary improvements in himself and around him to improve the team.
I like watching sports, but I think too many fans let it run their life.
I was thinking about doing a year end Obli's Observations but haven't. In the end, the two worst-case scenarios hit this year. An SC injury (and we had no idea our backup QB couldn't even take a snap without a false start..perhaps CV was hurt and Roberson was our 3rd team guy?) and losing our only one technique DT. On top of that, we lost an unforgivable loss to ILL. Horrible coaching, preparation, leadership...a complete collapse after a bye week and a sickening loss to Iowa.
Good people don't pout.
Michigan State? It is really hard to get a bead on the team in those conditions. Nobody expected it, practices in it, understands it.... But again, good leadership wins those kinds of games. We had several bone head moves. Lee is now known as a fumble and will never be a feature back if that keeps up. The OL, after playing better against Rutgers, couldn't move anyone. We get a pick six and still lose. We have a FG kicker, normally reliable, sucked. But again, there should have been some upper class men (3rd, 4th, 5th) year players that added stability and confidence. We look very shaken, very unsure, and very panicky.
I said, coming in, that this was a very important year. CJF has lived off of the Saquon & McSorley years. SC is a third year starter. We were pretty good, on paper, at every position. We were just thin at QB and DT. I don't know how anyone can see this year as anything but a failure. We should be, at the very least, 8-3. We will lose a ton of talent for next year and I'd be shocked to see anything better than a 3 loss year. That all ends up being on CJF. The program is not on solid footing. Is Yercich a decent OC? Does he need to hire his own OL coach? Is that talent on the team to improve? Do we need a new S&C coach as we are clearly weak on both lines as well as injury prone?
It is going to be a very interesting off season. When you throw in the portal (BTW, the QB that lost out to tOSU's starting QB is in the portal) and NIL 2022 is free for all in college football. It sure would have been nice to have a one or two loss year, a NYD 6 bowl, to remember as we enter that uncertainty.
lost so many close games that were right there for the taking.
The Illinois game was the worst.How do you not make adjustments earlier to shut down their jumbo clock bleeding offense?
Also the qb sneaks?
No getting around that game it was awful .Followed by Iowa and a totally unprepared backup qb.I really thought this was going to be a b10 championship year but the boat sprang many leaks and the coaches couldn’t keep up the repairs.
Eternal Rose colored glasses fan that I am says onto next seasons championship .
The Illinois game was the worst.How do you not make adjustments earlier to shut down their jumbo clock bleeding offense?
Also the qb sneaks?
No getting around that game it was awful .Followed by Iowa and a totally unprepared backup qb.I really thought this was going to be a b10 championship year but the boat sprang many leaks and the coaches couldn’t keep up the repairs.
Eternal Rose colored glasses fan that I am says onto next seasons championship .
Great post.
I actually thought on Saturday watching the Ohio State/Michigan game that for once this year I thought another team was hit by the unlucky bug and that Penn State for once didn't go in to a game less lucky than their opponent. Then I turn the game on and see the wonderful driving snow and immediately that thought went out the window. Poor weather becomes the great equalizer.
I chuckle as @Obliviax is another person mentioning strength and conditioning. It was 2-3 years ago this board was overly concerned that Galt’s achievements and results on display at NFL draft workouts would have professional teams trying to hire his talents away.
Now, he’s taken dumb pills and needs replaced.
OL
Now, he’s taken dumb pills and needs replaced.
OL
We all keep hurtling along looking for scapegoats. Bad luck? Snow? Galt? Pry? MikeY? Cliff? The Offensive Line? Injuries? Even Will Levis?
After 8 years, it is time to look at the head guy. I think everyone comes at this reluctantly. But it seems obvious after a large body of work.
Of course, rather than hold him accountable, what do Sandy and Sir Onion Dip do? Give him a raise and a 10 year extension. Incomprehensible!
You don't think the head guy gets any blame? All I see is hate for the guy.
well, I was just mentioning it as an option to consider. Right now, three freak athletes in the NFL are excelling: Barkley, Parsons, Oweh. But for whatever reason, that isn't happening on the OL>
What is the deal with the weather in East Lansing? Recall the lightning game fiasco.
This is probably not a hot take, but on a dry field PSU wins that game by 3 scores. The snow badly affected the defense and I think made the play calling overly conservative.
I thought that CJF clung to making the running game work too much. it is really hard to block in those conditions as it is to rush the QB. Why? Neither the OL or DL can get a firm footing. So they end up leaning against each other and that's about it. As long as the QB can throw a ball, the passing game is much more effective. SC passed the ball really well in the first half and OK in the second. But the scheme didn't seem to want to throw the ball that was conducive for the conditions. Slants, seam, and dig routes work best. Screens don't because you have to change directions. One cut and go routes are best.
It is also like CJF was way too focused on playing SC all year. If he'd have developed a #2 we probably would have one Iowa and ILL. Hell, just having a QB that can get a snap, hand it off, or run with it would have been better than Roberson against Iowa or SC against ILL.
It looked to me like he decided he was going to run the ball no matter what. In the post game he said he kept running because they needed to keep the pass rush honest. Who can pass rush when you've got an inch of ice under your feet? If you look at the stats, PSU tried 34 passes and got 313 yards. We ran the ball 26 times for 86 yards without factoring in sacks. (4). One sack was 14 yards IIRC, in the last two minutes where SC had a brain cramp and ran out of bounds instead of throwing the ball away
Excuses excuses excuses . If if and buts were candy and nuts we all would have a great holiday. If we had a backup, if the weather wasn’t bad if if if. Winners tend to find a way.
Except not everyone wins all the time.
Bama lost to TAMU in a game they should have won.
Notre Dame lost to G5 Cincy.
Pitt lost to WMU (LOL)
Even great teams trip up. The "great" Dabo Swinney lost three games this year.
I think this is one of the the two big factors that make the last few years particularly frustrating. The other is how close many of these losses are. I can't remember a time where I could rattle off names of PSU players that are doing well in the NFL: Barkley, Godwin, Robinson, Freiermuth, James, Oruwarie (sp?), Amos, Nassib, Oweh, Parsons, Sanders, etc. all comes to mind quickly without doing any research. The NFL has a lot of PSU talent right now, meaning that PSU has had a lot of individual talent recently. But that talent still hasn't gotten us over the hump. In many ways being so close in individual games and seasons and repeatedly not winning the conference or making the playoff can be more frustrating than just clearly being a 2nd tier team in the conference.
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No argument on that from me. Honestly, the OL has been the Achilles heel since mid-90’s.
Think back to Saquon and Miles. A slightly above average OL, and those two would have given us even more smiles.
That, and hand off the ball as they are running towards the designated hole and not standing and waiting.
OL
That's been my conclusion as well, the OL seems to be the consistent theme. Even with all of this talent, even with a generational RB in Barkley, we still seem to have a ton of plays where we are pressured immediately or tackled for a loss. Opposing defenses seem to live in our backfield. There hasn't been consistency in the running game in a long time, and this year it came to a full head where there basically wasn't any running game at all. Inability to close out games late. All of those things can be attributed to OL play. Games are won/lost in the trenches, especially in the physical Big 10 and SEC. Look at how Michigan's line play controlled the game vs. what is likely a more talented OSU team. PSU's line play has to improve or we will continue to face an uphill battle.
I agree. Lots of talent. Two things that occur to me: that development is NOT in the area of QB. While Trace was a great field general and used his tools well, no way he can be confused with some of the better QBs of his college era (Murray, Lamar, Mayfield, Herbert, Burrow, Allen, Tua). The second is depth. We really got killed when we lost SC and Mustepher. I don't think the tOSU's or GA's have that kind of injury exposure. Heck, if we kept Levis I am willing to bet we'd have ended the season with our only losses to tOSU and Michigan. That wouldn't have been great but it would have been acceptable.
You see criticism man, not “hate”, and deservedly so. JF is lousy coach.
Barkley had a great rookie year and then injuries set him back. He is not excelling.
Your list speaks for itself. No OL or DTs. Until that changes, the team will suffer in mediocrity.
UM game. Don’t have our two defenders collide on the crosser that went for a 47-yard Tuddy, and that’s turning to a win. Heck, our HS kids know better on crossers.
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When looking at Franklin next year, ask how Harbaugh had absolute $hit team in 2020 yet turned it into championship caliber in one off-season. They are strong on both sides of ball this year. Either Franklin is close or not..2022 can't be excuses and rebuild. McNamara played a few games last year. You either can coach up talent or not.
true....but after last year, this year's team said that they were focused and hell-bent not to get embarrassed again.
Honestly, it seems like the team just imploded after Iowa. The next game was ILL. And our only decent game was Rutgers. It may have been that SC was injured.
I didn’t even bother watching Saturdays game. I have never been this disinterested in Penn State football.I found it hard to watch this year.I feel bad for the players because, I believe they are putting in the work in the off season, and play hard and don’t give up
Honestly, I think we were all living in fantasy world. When we got stonewalled running the ball against Villanova then it was clear sign that team was not strong or balanced enough compete at high level.
Yes they do. Way too many missed opportunities. Players make the key plays and you win. You don’t and you lose. Blame Franklin for the Illinois debacle but in all the other games with the possible exception of OSU, if a few key plays were made, Penn State would have won.
I am sure he does…that comes with the title…but apologists here just look for excuses.
I have often wondered about the number of non contact ankle foot and knee injuries.
The obsession with lifting great weights.
Why did Barkley have to lift 450 pounds what playing advantage was gained.
Yep. QB has become vital. As much as I'm not on the fire Franklin train, his job stability might end up linked to the success or failure of Allar. Regarding depth, don't forget about the loss of Journey Brown. Despite all of the recruiting star accolades the RB room this year didn't seem to have "it," but Journey did. He would have helped make a questionable OL look better.
True, but unless those positions are absolutely dominant players they aren't really household names either. From memory, I do think we may have at least a couple of starting OL in the NFL, maybe AQ Shipley and Connor McGovern?
That's strange. I don't recall MSU having that many problems. They both played on the same field.
I know a Pens scapegoat that goes by the initials MA4GOALF.
You know of him, don't you?
I'm not sure that's really weather related, maybe slightly. They're passing D was awful to begin with. Plus not too many teams could cover Dotson at least.
There is always next year. Michigan came off of a 2-4 year and found a way to motivate their coach enough to end up in the playoffs. Maybe we could find out what they did and follow $uit. : )
They renegotiated his contract in a way that would allow them to fire him cheaply if he didn't perform, we went the opposite direction and made the most overpaid coach in the country untouchable. How do you think this ends?
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