Obli's Observations

[PhillipintheValley]

It started out that way at the UCF game but something went wrong with the headsets (yea imagine that and it wasn't at the Patriots) so he came down on to the field.
I think he went back up to the booth for a few games but when things started to go bad he spent the rest of the season "handling" Hack.

I don't remember it that way. I think he started the season on the sideline and then went up to the booth the last 1/3 of the season and Rahne came down to be with Hack on the sideline.

 

[BBrown]

Some additional notes:

1. Barkley was a hurdler in HS, and a very, very good one. You saw that Saturday... it looked like he was 4 feet off the ground when he went over that defender, the acceleration after was due to being a hurdler
2. When Nelson went down I was VERY concerned. But the addition of Barkley in the backfield took some of the pressure off Palmer (he could just play his game), on a few of Barkley's runs to the left Palmer flat out man handled his man!
3. We were playing Buffalo... not Alabama, not tO$U, not MSU... they have a lot of improvement to do before they are ready for the big guys
4. I did not see Franklin with the playbook during much of the 1st half, the 2nd half he had it the whole time
5. In the Temple game I thought Mahon was trying to play LG and LT, and I felt on a number of occasions Palmer was distracted by this and it hurt his game. A number of times during the Temple game Palmer has his man locked up then Mahon would be standing around or would then try to 'help' Palmer and would end up freeing the defender from Palmer (he would get in Palmer's way). Did not see that happen in the 2nd half on Saturday.

IMHO Palmer looked like a guy playing his 1st FBS game against Temple, on Saturday he looked like it was the 1st game of his 2nd season... if he improves on that pace and he starts Saturday against Rutgers that would mean he should be on track to being a big contributor on the OL.

>>4. I did not see Franklin with the playbook during much of the 1st half, the 2nd half he had it the whole time<<
Thats very interesting.

>>5. In the Temple game I thought Mahon was trying to play LG and LT, and I felt on a number of occasions Palmer was distracted by this and it hurt his game. A number of times during the Temple game Palmer has his man locked up then Mahon would be standing around or would then try to 'help' Palmer and would end up freeing the defender from Palmer (he would get in Palmer's way). Did not see that happen in the 2nd half on Saturday.<<

Good observation thanks for pointing it out.

I think Palmer will be ok and maybe even good towards the end of the season.

 

[Obliviax]

Ob,what is your feeling regarding a rb hurdling a player at the D1 level. I was under the impression it was something not encouraged because of the loss of momentum and being venerable while in the air.

I am hardly and expert but thanks for asking! I suspect the book is to run around or through the defender. In this case, the defender went very low (seeking to not take the punishment). Barkley saw this and jumped over the guy (I noticed this but failed to write it down). Three thoughts: 1) SB had the vision and the athleticism to do this. Not many do. So the rules are probably different for him than anyone else. 2) A Div 1A guy might not get that low so the decision for SB, and any RB, is different. If he's too high, punish him; two aggressive, juke him. What makes SB impressive was his recognition and ability to go through, over or around. 3) Vision. You've got to know that his is the open field and nobody else is going to take a shot at you. Don't know if you say the CLE Browns QB get helicoptered and suffer a concussion in the first drive of the game.

 

[BBrown]

I don't remember it that way. I think he started the season on the sideline and then went up to the booth the last 1/3 of the season and Rahne came down to be with Hack on the sideline.

You might be right but I did find this link that he was on the Sidelines for at least the Michigan and tOSU game.
Also I'm almost positive he came down to the sidelines when the headsets went out in Dublin.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/college...offenses-sideline-dynamic-20141023-story.html

 

[Obliviax]

You might be right but I did find this link that he was on the Sidelines for at least the Michigan and tOSU game.
Also I'm almost positive he came down to the sidelines when the headsets went out in Dublin.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/college...offenses-sideline-dynamic-20141023-story.html

That is correct on the Dublin game. IIRC, the headsets were fixed for the second half but he liked being on the sideline.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Finally finished watching the game - I simply can't believe how many passes Gesicki dropped. At least three, and one would have been a TD and one would have been a big gain. Everyone else had to catch the ball in the rain and did, so I'm really disappointed with his play. The OL looked better as noted - on Barkley's 'leaping' play there was a hole big enough for Obli to drive his Range Rover through...

 

[bjf1984]

"I had a hard time seeing"

Well....at least you got that one right.

 

[zwick99]

Just random observations from Saturday....

• I was shocked that the staff went with three changes on the O-line. I mean, here is a game week, with very limited practice time, and the staff moves three guys around. Seems to me they either weren't paying attention in the spring and fall or they were in panic mode.
• Bulls tried to bring a lot of people but the line picked it up pretty well on pass plays, not so much on running plays. Several first half plays were blown up on missed assignments. While the Bulls don't have a ton of talent on D, they do on O. And, this is a very well coached team. I expect them to challenge for the MAC. BTW, Toledo beat a ranked opponent (Arkansas). BG handily beat Maryland. MAC teams should be beaten but are no longer a walk over.
• How the heck did we not block that punt? That would have been huge. Looked to me like the defender was caught between tackling the punter and blocking it (he was there so early). I am sure he had nightmares on that.
• Refs were clearly flag happy. Bulls put up a video showing a flagged false start on their team and there clearly was no false start. PI on PSU was a really ticky tack call and change field position early. It was third and long, IIRC.
• Barkley was clearly the game changer. What was interesting to me was his speed and acceleration. Bulls defenders took bad angles and were surprised by his speed. On his leap, he hit the ground and accelerated back to close to full speed very quickly. Not a surprise here but this kid could be very special.
• Paris Palmer did a really nice job in the second half after Nelson went down with a knee. I watched him very closely and its hard to understand assignments without being in the huddle, he handled who he thought was his assignment very well. In fact, he dominated several times. Nelson, word is, did not suffer structural damage and will be back. If PP works out, might see the original line back in place.
• I watched Temple. Cincy had a package for T's blitzes and played it very well. Still unsure as to how and why PSU didn't anticipate this. However, T does have a very good D-line and their MLB is "Linebacker-U-ish". After watching the Buffalo game, I am convinced that our line struggles were a combo of first time game speed (Palmer) and not being prepared by the staff (unforgivable).
• As such, I noticed CJF was MUCH more involved on offense than he was last game. Instead of delegating, it looked like he was deep into the O game plan, play calling and in-line adjustments. We'll see but the Temple O game-plan may have fallen into the "unforgivable" category. Something to watch moving forward.
• First half was in very difficult conditions. However, CH's passes seemed much crisper. His bullet passes had some zip on them and his deep throws were fairly accurate.
• Great to see the TE's involved; both of them. Gesicki's drops were weak but understandable. The sideline pass was in heavy rain and CH had some zip on that throw. The second one, MG saw the defender and was focused on trying to run him over to get into the endzone and forgot to secure the ball. Word is that he has good hands so hoping this is a learning experience and an anomaly.
• You can see the depth of the squad improving as we come out of sanctions by watching special teams. Right now, looks to be the strength of our team (aside from our punter). Coverages have been good (hope I didn't jinx it against R) and FG and returns have been as good as we've seen in several years. I suspect CJF will start to work in more true Frosh as the season goes on.

Overall, for some weird reason, I felt encouraged after the game. First, it sounds like Nelson is going to be OK. Second, the team played a much crisper game after mid-third quarter when the rain cleared. Did the Bulls just wear down? It looked to me like they were executing better. And, PP looked good (or much better). They seemed to gain some confidence and the Barkley runs got them into an aggressive, offensive mood (instead of being scared to screw up). If we can improve against a really struggling Rutgers team and then win the next two, that would allow us to gain a lot of experience and confidence before hitting the meat of the B1G season. At this point, I am not looking to win double digits but just want to be competitive in B1G.

A good game recap, from the Bulls perspective is here (including some odd Ref calls).

The fans that picked them to go 10-2 were not paying attention.


The staff was paying attention and may have been in panic mode. They reality is they don't have experienced talent on the depth chart. Who is your backup OTs? Do you have anyone you are confident in? Last year Albert Hall was the backup LT. That was until they actually needed him to play and then they moved Nelson. This year we have more talent but not experienced. It will take couple more years. Notice how everyone looked better with Barkley in the game. The Ol will look better once Menet, Bates and company are on the field.

 

[Marshall30]

Finally finished watching the game - I simply can't believe how many passes Gesicki dropped. At least three, and one would have been a TD and one would have been a big gain. Everyone else had to catch the ball in the rain and did, so I'm really disappointed with his play. The OL looked better as noted - on Barkley's 'leaping' play there was a hole big enough for Obli to drive his Range Rover through...

He always seems to be turned the wrong way, then he has to reach, and misses.

 

[Richard the LIONhearted]

Obli: these are great observations and make the forum worthwhile. Keep it up, you da man!

 

[delcoLion]

Just random observations from Saturday....

• I was shocked that the staff went with three changes on the O-line. I mean, here is a game week, with very limited practice time, and the staff moves three guys around. Seems to me they either weren't paying attention in the spring and fall or they were in panic mode.
• Bulls tried to bring a lot of people but the line picked it up pretty well on pass plays, not so much on running plays. Several first half plays were blown up on missed assignments. While the Bulls don't have a ton of talent on D, they do on O. And, this is a very well coached team. I expect them to challenge for the MAC. BTW, Toledo beat a ranked opponent (Arkansas). BG handily beat Maryland. MAC teams should be beaten but are no longer a walk over.
• How the heck did we not block that punt? That would have been huge. Looked to me like the defender was caught between tackling the punter and blocking it (he was there so early). I am sure he had nightmares on that.
• Refs were clearly flag happy. Bulls put up a video showing a flagged false start on their team and there clearly was no false start. PI on PSU was a really ticky tack call and change field position early. It was third and long, IIRC.
• Barkley was clearly the game changer. What was interesting to me was his speed and acceleration. Bulls defenders took bad angles and were surprised by his speed. On his leap, he hit the ground and accelerated back to close to full speed very quickly. Not a surprise here but this kid could be very special.
• Paris Palmer did a really nice job in the second half after Nelson went down with a knee. I watched him very closely and its hard to understand assignments without being in the huddle, he handled who he thought was his assignment very well. In fact, he dominated several times. Nelson, word is, did not suffer structural damage and will be back. If PP works out, might see the original line back in place.
• I watched Temple. Cincy had a package for T's blitzes and played it very well. Still unsure as to how and why PSU didn't anticipate this. However, T does have a very good D-line and their MLB is "Linebacker-U-ish". After watching the Buffalo game, I am convinced that our line struggles were a combo of first time game speed (Palmer) and not being prepared by the staff (unforgivable).
• As such, I noticed CJF was MUCH more involved on offense than he was last game. Instead of delegating, it looked like he was deep into the O game plan, play calling and in-line adjustments. We'll see but the Temple O game-plan may have fallen into the "unforgivable" category. Something to watch moving forward.
• First half was in very difficult conditions. However, CH's passes seemed much crisper. His bullet passes had some zip on them and his deep throws were fairly accurate.
• Great to see the TE's involved; both of them. Gesicki's drops were weak but understandable. The sideline pass was in heavy rain and CH had some zip on that throw. The second one, MG saw the defender and was focused on trying to run him over to get into the endzone and forgot to secure the ball. Word is that he has good hands so hoping this is a learning experience and an anomaly.
• You can see the depth of the squad improving as we come out of sanctions by watching special teams. Right now, looks to be the strength of our team (aside from our punter). Coverages have been good (hope I didn't jinx it against R) and FG and returns have been as good as we've seen in several years. I suspect CJF will start to work in more true Frosh as the season goes on.

Overall, for some weird reason, I felt encouraged after the game. First, it sounds like Nelson is going to be OK. Second, the team played a much crisper game after mid-third quarter when the rain cleared. Did the Bulls just wear down? It looked to me like they were executing better. And, PP looked good (or much better). They seemed to gain some confidence and the Barkley runs got them into an aggressive, offensive mood (instead of being scared to screw up). If we can improve against a really struggling Rutgers team and then win the next two, that would allow us to gain a lot of experience and confidence before hitting the meat of the B1G season. At this point, I am not looking to win double digits but just want to be competitive in B1G.

A good game recap, from the Bulls perspective is here (including some odd Ref calls).

I'm glad someone is encouraged. Right now, I'm trying to find 6 wins on the schedule

 

[MontereyLion]

Some additional notes:

1. Barkley was a hurdler in HS, and a very, very good one. You saw that Saturday... it looked like he was 4 feet off the ground when he went over that defender, the acceleration after was due to being a hurdler
2. When Nelson went down I was VERY concerned. But the addition of Barkley in the backfield took some of the pressure off Palmer (he could just play his game), on a few of Barkley's runs to the left Palmer flat out man handled his man!
3. We were playing Buffalo... not Alabama, not tO$U, not MSU... they have a lot of improvement to do before they are ready for the big guys
4. I did not see Franklin with the playbook during much of the 1st half, the 2nd half he had it the whole time
5. In the Temple game I thought Mahon was trying to play LG and LT, and I felt on a number of occasions Palmer was distracted by this and it hurt his game. A number of times during the Temple game Palmer has his man locked up then Mahon would be standing around or would then try to 'help' Palmer and would end up freeing the defender from Palmer (he would get in Palmer's way). Did not see that happen in the 2nd half on Saturday.

IMHO Palmer looked like a guy playing his 1st FBS game against Temple, on Saturday he looked like it was the 1st game of his 2nd season... if he improves on that pace and he starts Saturday against Rutgers that would mean he should be on track to being a big contributor on the OL.

Did anyone notice the pancake block Palmer had in the second half? He did OK to well on run plays. Blocking the right guy, which help create holes for Barkley.

 

[Nitwit]

I thought we struggled a bit on defense when Buffalo went into a hurry up mode. Nit are if this was mentioned but it gives me some concern going forward. The last touchdown by buffalo looked to easy.

 

[danvillenit]

Just random observations from Saturday....

• I was shocked that the staff went with three changes on the O-line. I mean, here is a game week, with very limited practice time, and the staff moves three guys around. Seems to me they either weren't paying attention in the spring and fall or they were in panic mode.
• Bulls tried to bring a lot of people but the line picked it up pretty well on pass plays, not so much on running plays. Several first half plays were blown up on missed assignments. While the Bulls don't have a ton of talent on D, they do on O. And, this is a very well coached team. I expect them to challenge for the MAC. BTW, Toledo beat a ranked opponent (Arkansas). BG handily beat Maryland. MAC teams should be beaten but are no longer a walk over.
• How the heck did we not block that punt? That would have been huge. Looked to me like the defender was caught between tackling the punter and blocking it (he was there so early). I am sure he had nightmares on that.
• Refs were clearly flag happy. Bulls put up a video showing a flagged false start on their team and there clearly was no false start. PI on PSU was a really ticky tack call and change field position early. It was third and long, IIRC.
• Barkley was clearly the game changer. What was interesting to me was his speed and acceleration. Bulls defenders took bad angles and were surprised by his speed. On his leap, he hit the ground and accelerated back to close to full speed very quickly. Not a surprise here but this kid could be very special.
• Paris Palmer did a really nice job in the second half after Nelson went down with a knee. I watched him very closely and its hard to understand assignments without being in the huddle, he handled who he thought was his assignment very well. In fact, he dominated several times. Nelson, word is, did not suffer structural damage and will be back. If PP works out, might see the original line back in place.
• I watched Temple. Cincy had a package for T's blitzes and played it very well. Still unsure as to how and why PSU didn't anticipate this. However, T does have a very good D-line and their MLB is "Linebacker-U-ish". After watching the Buffalo game, I am convinced that our line struggles were a combo of first time game speed (Palmer) and not being prepared by the staff (unforgivable).
• As such, I noticed CJF was MUCH more involved on offense than he was last game. Instead of delegating, it looked like he was deep into the O game plan, play calling and in-line adjustments. We'll see but the Temple O game-plan may have fallen into the "unforgivable" category. Something to watch moving forward.
• First half was in very difficult conditions. However, CH's passes seemed much crisper. His bullet passes had some zip on them and his deep throws were fairly accurate.
• Great to see the TE's involved; both of them. Gesicki's drops were weak but understandable. The sideline pass was in heavy rain and CH had some zip on that throw. The second one, MG saw the defender and was focused on trying to run him over to get into the endzone and forgot to secure the ball. Word is that he has good hands so hoping this is a learning experience and an anomaly.
• You can see the depth of the squad improving as we come out of sanctions by watching special teams. Right now, looks to be the strength of our team (aside from our punter). Coverages have been good (hope I didn't jinx it against R) and FG and returns have been as good as we've seen in several years. I suspect CJF will start to work in more true Frosh as the season goes on.

Overall, for some weird reason, I felt encouraged after the game. First, it sounds like Nelson is going to be OK. Second, the team played a much crisper game after mid-third quarter when the rain cleared. Did the Bulls just wear down? It looked to me like they were executing better. And, PP looked good (or much better). They seemed to gain some confidence and the Barkley runs got them into an aggressive, offensive mood (instead of being scared to screw up). If we can improve against a really struggling Rutgers team and then win the next two, that would allow us to gain a lot of experience and confidence before hitting the meat of the B1G season. At this point, I am not looking to win double digits but just want to be competitive in B1G.

A good game recap, from the Bulls perspective is here (including some odd Ref calls).

Good stuff. I was surprised there wasn't more conversation about Apke running past the punter. He would have either tackled him with the ball or blocked the kick if he went straight in. Could have been a big early play.

 

[mdg129]

I don't remember it that way. I think he started the season on the sideline and then went up to the booth the last 1/3 of the season and Rahne came down to be with Hack on the sideline.

Donovan and Rahne were up up in the booth at the beginning of the 2014 season. I forgot about Donovan coming down in Ireland because of headsets issues. They brought Donovan down on the sideline so Hack could talk things over because that is what he was used to with OB.

 

[PhillipintheValley]

Donovan and Rahne were up up in the booth at the beginning of the 2014 season. I forgot about Donovan coming down in Ireland because of headsets issues. They brought Donovan down on the sideline so Hack could talk things over because that is what he was used to with OB.

He went back into the booth for the OSU game and remained there the rest of the season.

 

[MrDibbs]

Thanks, Obli ... you observations prompt a lot of good discussion.

Overall, I was encouraged that the kids got up off the mat and played a decent game against an underwhelming opponent. It was a step in the right direction.

Losing Nelson (even for 6 weeks) puts a lot of stress on the remaining linemen. I was hopeful when TV showed Palmer getting ready to take the field in 2nd half and a number of teammates came to him to show support/encouragement. from a team perspective - a good sign.

Hack's accuracy struggles continue. Receivers' "hands of stone" plague continues. At least the offensive game plan included passes to the tight end so that is improvement.

I felt bad for Buffalo's penchant for getting flagged. Only thing thrown more at an event are beads at a Mardi Gras parade. It's hard to get any offense moving when you are continually moving back 5 yards for "false start".

On a side note ... glad to see Temple beat Cincinnati. Right now, they are the best team in Pennsylvania.

 

[sluggo72]

Really? I can't imagine an OC on the field. Way too much to see from the booth. If you've ever been on the sideline, you really can see anything on the far side of the field and depth perception is a problem. How do you see how a CB is playing a WR on the other side of the field? How do you determine spacing on the D? How do you detect line stunts?

Shocking. I'd say the OC has to be up in the booth while a few key position coaches are on the sideline tracking injuries, coaching their positions up (after getting direction from the OC in the booth) and assessing injuries/psyches...

Many OC on the sideline in the pros. Chip calls them from the sideline for the Eagles, and Todd calls the game from the sideline for the Steelers to name a few off the top of my head. While I agree you can see more from the booth, it is easier to get facetime on TV from there, and that is why many OC want to be on the sideline. They figure facetime on TV will get them a head job which is their goal. Publicly they will say something different, but that's the reason.

 

[Madsol]

Many OC on the sideline in the pros. Chip calls them from the sideline for the Eagles, and Todd calls the game from the sideline for the Steelers to name a few off the top of my head. While I agree you can see more from the booth, it is easier to get facetime on TV from there, and that is why many OC want to be on the sideline. They figure facetime on TV will get them a head job which is their goal. Publicly they will say something different, but that's the reason.

Kelly's already the head coach, so that can't be the reason he does it. Of course, as the head coach, I guess he really doesn't have a choice.

 

[tboyer]

Surprised to see so little mention of Godwin. Aside from Barkley he is the one guy on the O who is living up to the very high expectations. Godwin is really technically sound and athletically he is too much for corners. He can make plays in a variety of different ways and doesn't have to be open to make a catch -- he will fight for the ball. I think Godwin could be an ARob kind of player for PSU, not quite as big as ARob but with better speed. By contrast, Gesicki, Lewis and Hamilton have been consistently inconsistent. I hope they can play with a little more confidence and a little less jitters as the season goes on.

 

[tboyer]

I thought the refs were flag happy too. The last Chop Block call Ham thought was really iffy.

Yes I noticed that one too. That one chop block was marginal.

But with OL calls in general, you have to look at a series of plays, not just the one that gets flagged. Probably the ref had been warning Buffalo about dirty blocking all game, so when they didn't heed the warning, the ref is looking for violations so flags start to fly.

There's no question Buffalo was going after knees with their blocking -- regardless of the coaches' disclaimers it is part of their system to block dirty. The only way to get them to stop is flag them a LOT. You don't stop people from speeding without giving out a few tickets.

 

[danvillenit]

Surprised to see so little mention of Godwin. Aside from Barkley he is the one guy on the O who is living up to the very high expectations. Godwin is really technically sound and athletically he is too much for corners. He can make plays in a variety of different ways and doesn't have to be open to make a catch -- he will fight for the ball. I think Godwin could be an ARob kind of player for PSU, not quite as big as ARob but with better speed. By contrast, Gesicki, Lewis and Hamilton have been consistently inconsistent. I hope they can play with a little more confidence and a little less jitters as the season goes on.

Also Blacknall is invisible. No catches the first two games.