Looking ahead to SMU, is our defense any reason to worry?
- Thread starter TheWizardofCamelot
- Start date
LOL. I'll stop when they call this holding or more accurately tackling. What would you call it?
Jesus Christ some of you are incredible. No, SMU is NOT a "mini Oregon". SMU has nothing in common with Freaking Oregon. Oregon would beat Clemson 42-7.
Stop freaking out. Come to play next Saturday, belt to ass, get it done and advance. Period.
Our 'defensive issues' were one game against the best team in the country. It's hardly been a year long problem.
Dominant defense just doesn't exist hardly anymore either. You need 35 pts to be safe now and capable of 49+.
We had issues, but that happens against really strong teams. I've seen some posts about "should PSU replace Tom Allen after Oregon game?" Strange enough, I've seen nothing about Oregon replacing their DC.
My issues with Tom have to do with lining up against Tempo. He needs to fix that shit right now. I don't want to see anyone standing around waving hands looking for the sidelines. Other teams can line up without a god damn congressional filibuster meeting, we should be able to also. Imagine how good our defense could be if they weren't conducting a fu#$+ng" Avon lady social club before every snap.
Line the f@#k up and play defense.
I disagree that it was just one game. BGSU, USC, MINN, and ORE all had success scoring on PSU. To be fair MINN scored 25 pts with only 281 yds of offense but they did so with 4 explosive plays.
PSU plays an aggressive defense that goes for sacks and TOs. That along with weaknesses at LB and S makes them susceptible to explosive plays against more talented offenses.
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I'm not sure about "dominant" but most playoff teams have pretty good scoring defenses:
OSU 10.9 ppg (1st)
TEX 12.5 ppg (2nd)
ND 13.6 ppg (3rd)
TEN 13.9 ppg (5th)
IND 14.7 ppg (6th)
PSU 16.4 ppg (8th)
ORE 17.8 ppg (13th)
GA 20.4 ppg (23rd)
SMU 20.8 ppg (28th)
AZ ST 21.3 ppg (30th)
CLEM 21.8 ppg (35th)
BOISE 21.9 ppg (37th)
Thanks for that info. the issue is that a lot of it is based on Strength of Schedule. While some would argue our SOS was weak, SMU played against low-defense teams like Pitt, Louisville. TCU, and F State. I think SMU is a good team that can win but they've not played a defense like ours.
My concern in this game is that PSU will play like Clemson in its 4th quarter with SMU. We will play "bend but don't break" and allow SMU to dominate the number of plays and time of possession. That sets up our defense to be gassed during the 4th quarter.
No, we do not want a shootout. We want to get Carter on their QB's back. We need Carter guarding the line of scrimmage and rushing the passer if he breaks towards the sidelines. That will let the other guys to play the pass. I would make sure that King or a safety keeps track of the RB, who usually leaks out into a pass pattern to provide an outlet.
We will need to play more man and less zone. We don't want them dumping the ball off in short patterns all the way down the field. We want them off the field.
We should win this game easily if we don't allow our defense to get gassed. But I am concerned about that. Allen seems to think "Prevent D" is the way to play defense, especially early and late in games. Too often all this does is to allow first downs no matter the down and distance.
We need to come out to play in the first quarter rather than attempt to feel out the opponent. There were far too many close calls this year against teams we should have beaten handily. You don't play like that in the playoffs.
No, we do not want a shootout. We want to get Carter on their QB's back. We need Carter guarding the line of scrimmage and rushing the passer if he breaks towards the sidelines. That will let the other guys to play the pass. I would make sure that King or a safety keeps track of the RB, who usually leaks out into a pass pattern to provide an outlet.
We will need to play more man and less zone. We don't want them dumping the ball off in short patterns all the way down the field. We want them off the field.
We should win this game easily if we don't allow our defense to get gassed. But I am concerned about that. Allen seems to think "Prevent D" is the way to play defense, especially early and late in games. Too often all this does is to allow first downs no matter the down and distance.
We need to come out to play in the first quarter rather than attempt to feel out the opponent. There were far too many close calls this year against teams we should have beaten handily. You don't play like that in the playoffs.
Why aren't you complaining about the countless holds we committed? See Rucci. It was called the same way
The "defensive issues" seemed to be Oregon. Defenses look less competent against better offenses and against some matchups. No more cupcakes so the defense will likely give up some plays and scores.
Does anyone know how SMU compares to Oregon and uh-high-ya in regards to the size and athliticism of their Oline and DL? It seems they have lots of Speed, just as Oregon does, but they likely don't have the same OL and DL talent that Oregon does. And PSU's running game seems to be in top form which will help PSU put together scoring drives that eat up some clock which is always good against a quick strike team.
Oregon is giving up a little over 4 not 5.8. Indiana gives up 2.5 but is that because their run D is good or their schedule was weak? You have to factor in SOS
I don't understand continue to try to make teams better than they are just because we're playing them. We are clear favorites in this game. Anything less than a win shouldn't be tolerated. Same for ND and Texas in round 1.
Did Penn State rushing suddenly get fixed, or does Oregon's run defense suck lol.
Copy paste:
The Oregon Ducks have given up an average of 5.80 yards per carrythis season.
Here are some other recent stats for the Ducks:
Copy paste:
The Oregon Ducks have given up an average of 5.80 yards per carrythis season.
Here are some other recent stats for the Ducks:
- Yards per play: 4.89
- Average per game: 36.9 points
Statistics should back that up after 13 games but they don't. We rank 15th in Yds/completion allowed and 16th in passing yards/game. Looking at advanced stats we rank 23rd in overall effective pass defense (don't ask me how they define this).
It's just amazing how different the defense has played in almost every game this season in the first half and second half. Even against Oregon, they only gave up 14 points in the second half, which probably was as much as you could ask for against that team. However, in the first half, they looked totally inept and unprepared, much like they did in the first half against Bowling Green. In the first half of most games this season, not only has the defense put the offense in a hole by giving up the first points, but they also have given the offense terrible field position because they just can't get off of the field, and then everything changes in the second half.
There were probably more than a dozen plays in that game in which Clemson missed a tackle on him, or blew a coverage, and gave up 10 yards on third and 8. Clemson completely and totally dominated that game at the line of scrimmage. Both sides of it.
I counted 8 plays alone in the first half when Penn States defense was all 11 men standing up looking at the sidelines while Oregon snapped the ball and ran the play. Pathetic.
It seems like they struggle to adapt to the speed and schemes of a team at the bginning of games like against Bowling Green and Oregon. However, once they do adapt, they're pretty good. Unfortunately, against a team like Oregon, you can't take until late in the first half or the second half to adapt like in most of the other games. They remind me of a great starting pitcher who will struggle in the first inning and then be unhittable for the rest of the game; Steve Carlton was like that.
I don't get where the lack of love for the PSU Safety's comes from. Reed has played at a very high level and was 2nd team All B10, and Wheatley is a very good player as well, good enough to consider a jump to the NFL. PSU would likely have had the best Safety group in the country if Winston had been healthy, but Lane has gotten better with playing time playing as a true freshman and it doesn't seem like a weekness as LB seems to be where the only sure tackler is King.
I think that's a good assessment. This game really has the look and feel of the Cotton Bowl game against Memphis. Memphis had speed, speed and more speed, but couldn't contain our running game and Micah kept relentless pressure on the QB. We eventually just outscored them.
Reed would have been the nickel not starting opposite of Winston but yes our safeties are fine if not a strength.
Memphis was a meaningless scrimmage that didn't mean anything. Doesn't feel like that at all. It feels like an ACC team that lost their only two games of the year against good/decent teams is coming here with far less talent on both sides of the ball and we should win...easily.
Good heavens! We put up almost 300 yards rushing vs Oregon at an astonishing 8.3 ypc. Reports are that SMU's DT's are one of their weaknesses. We should run up and down the field all day on them.
Agree. I wasn't referring to feeling like the Memphis game from a significance standpoint, but rather from a matchup standpoint. I expect the talent differential especially on the line of scrimmage to be significant. Same on depth at almost every position. Weather and field conditions could also be a big speed equalizer.
I don't know where you're getting your "reports" but they could not be more wrong. They have 2-3 very good (and big) DTs that are very good run stoppers - transfers from Arkansas/Miami/Georgia. Their defensive line is the absolute strength of their defense.
2.8 ypc (#3 in the nation) & 98 rushing ypg (#8 in the nation). They've built a stout DL through the portal.
SMU's corners are the weakness of the defense - they give up close to 250 passing ypg (95th).
I don't think we should just expect to run the ball down their throat, because nobody has done that to them yet this season. I'd expect AK to test their secondary with Allar early, maybe sprinkling some Singleton speed in there out of the backfield. Then hopefully a more balanced attack as the game wears on.
If our OL plays like it did Saturday night we'll be able to run the ball some on them regardless of their stats.
Agreed. With the OL, Rucci and Singleton coming around, I would imagine the game plan will be to establish the running game and controlling time of possession on a sloppy field. But what do I know?
Interesting info.
After a season-high 16 tackles for loss and 10 sacks against Washington in the “Cascade Clash,” Penn State had season lows in sacks and tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei was asked if they had been challenged by any other team. “I feel like we played some good teams, but they definitely brought their ‘A-game,’” Uiaga
After a season-high 16 tackles for loss and 10 sacks against Washington in the “Cascade Clash,” Penn State had season lows in sacks and tackles for loss. Defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei was asked if they had been challenged by any other team. “I feel like we played some good teams, but they definitely brought their ‘A-game,’” Uiaga
I don't think we played well, as a team, early on vs Oregon. We basically gave them a pick six, which we haven't done all year. Then we had ~50 yards in penalties. Lastly, Allar missed some open receivers. We had to play an A+ game to win and probably played a B or B- game.
The top two tacklers are in fact safeties -- Reed (58) and Wheatley (51). This is typical as teams pass more in the modern game.
Good safeties, but they are often too deep to be effective (in zone) or stuck covering for the front seven to defend the run.
Root issue is not having enough linebacker depth. We have one reliable LB -- King. This is why Carter has to help in that area of the field. He needs to have the freedom to go sideline to sideline. We don't want him engaged at the line of scrimmage.
Allen's defensive calls and our lack of linebacker depth are the issues that need to be addressed.
That's the hope, yes. If I had to wager, I'd put the O/U at 150 yards rushing for this game.Agreed. With the OL, Rucci and Singleton coming around, I would imagine the game plan will be to establish the running game and controlling time of possession on a sloppy field. But what do I know?
Oregon statistically had a good defense, but their run defense was suspect all season - they gave up over 200 yards on the ground to Purdue, for example. Nationally, they ranked #56 in stopping the run.
One game on turf vs a former PAC12 team, doesn't have me surely confident that our run game is now dominant after a handful of weeks of borderline frustration.
The best thing about last week was a BALANCED offense. Todd Blackledge said it best this morning: If Penn State can balance their offense against SMU, it will be fine. SMU has been stout against the run, so it is not going to look like last week. The thing here is to run enough to be effective throughout the game. Looking for enough run game to keep them honest. This o line has improved and that can certainly be done this week...but again, it won't look like last week.
Me neither, but what DID make me confident was the balance in the offense. We need to show up to play football and play INTENSE, but not TENSE.
Against Oregon we spent the first 20 minutes of the game shitting our pants and pissing on the turf with late hits, facemasks, screaming at each other while Oregon was running plays, and in top of that, Knuepple was putting the jack hammer into our anal cavity.
Lets try to play football next week instead. I'm talking to you Rojas, and you too Dvon and Zane, and you too #14 on special teams.
that quote is rough, it is difficult to figure out who played what when, only through context in the article could I get it right
Rucci, wisely, held all game long just like most linemen on both teams. People just ignore it because it's not our guys. It's astonishing that people think someone Oregon is "allowed to hold" yet we we never due hence we weren't called for it either. The game was called the same for both teams. As per usual.
All the bodily fluids mentioned and not a peep about King puking on the second Oregon TD.
