Offense following same pattern as last year.

[tboyer]

Whole offense not looking confident. Playing tentatively in 1st half.

Bombs for cheap points in blowouts.

Using explosive plays and points against weak teams to justify poorly coached O.

No sense of overall strategy or game plan.

Not getting ball to the players who could potentially beat high caliber corners, ie Shorter.

Setting up for futility against good defenses.

This year is looking a lot like last year. So many new players but OC is the same.

 

[ram2020]

Whole offense not looking confident. Playing tentatively in 1st half.

Bombs for cheap points in blowouts.

Using explosive plays and points against weak teams to justify poorly coached O.

No sense of overall strategy or game plan.

Not getting ball to the players who could potentially beat high caliber corners, ie Shorter.

Setting up for futility against good defenses.

This year is looking a lot like last year.

Pretty much sums it up. Sort of try a few concepts, the same recycled ones that we don't particularly block well or or execute, and then desperation sinks in and our QB needs to make some sort of scrambling miracle. Much like trace last year, Clifford will be counted on to make miraculous escapes and heaves to generate "chunk plays," because nothing else works. RR is a terrible play caller and the offense lacks confidence again.

 

[83wuzme]

FWIW, our biggest “ chunk “ play came off of a run that appeared to be called with the purpose of giving the punter more room.
JF is not particularly stubborn. He has shown he can make changes, if needed. I think when Moorhead was brought in, it was the right move, given our offensive problems which continued to stem from a depleted roster. We are in a different situation now. We need an offense that isn’t predicated on “ chunk “ plays but is able to generate them based on the people we have on the field.

 

[Grass]

Whole offense not looking confident. Playing tentatively in 1st half.

Bombs for cheap points in blowouts.

Using explosive plays and points against weak teams to justify poorly coached O.

No sense of overall strategy or game plan.

Not getting ball to the players who could potentially beat high caliber corners, ie Shorter.

Setting up for futility against good defenses.

This year is looking a lot like last year. So many new players but OC is the same.

Speaking of Shorter. That kid can fly. I re-watched parts of the game last night and on Brown's long run Shorter hits another gear toward the end of the run that was amazing.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Speaking of Shorter. That kid can fly. I re-watched parts of the game last night and on Brown's long run Shorter hits another gear toward the end of the run that was amazing.

Unfortunately he just ran, if he had thrown a block on the Pitt defender right behind him it would have been a TD.

But yeah, he was moving!

 

[Grass]

FWIW, our biggest “ chunk “ play came off of a run that appeared to be called with the purpose of giving the punter more room.
JF is not particularly stubborn. He has shown he can make changes, if needed. I think when Moorhead was brought in, it was the right move, given our offensive problems which continued to stem from a depleted roster. We are in a different situation now. We need an offense that isn’t predicated on “ chunk “ plays but is able to generate them based on the people we have on the field.

I'll take 4-5 yard runs the entire way down the field if that's what the defense is allowing. Why force something that isn't there? Slow methodical drives down the field demoralize defenses. Cain always seems to fall forward for an extra few yards. What is wrong with that?

 

[b&w1987]

It is depressing some time to think that we exist in the big ten only to show up at the OSU game with an undefeated or close to undefeated record just so OSU can have a seemingly legitimate win on their schedule and have an an argument to be included in title the playoffs.

I wish we would stop trying to have a great running attack from the shot gun. Hate it. I know it works a lot but sometimes lining up in the I and shoving it down their throats is the right answer.

 

[83wuzme]

I'll take 4-5 yard runs the entire way down the field if that's what the defense is allowing. Why force something that isn't there? Slow methodical drives down the field demoralize defenses. Cain always seems to fall forward for an extra few yards. What is wrong with that?

Nothing wrong with it as long as you have the time to do it and it is a good way to finish close games.

 

[KnightSlayer]

FWIW:

What PSU is running is most certainly not "Moorhead's Offense".
It is a trimmed-down, dummied-down grab-bag version of the offense of the offense Moorhead brought in.

Moorhead's offense was busy losing to K-State this weekend.

 

[RickinDayton]

FWIW:

What PSU is running is most certainly not "Moorhead's Offense".
It is a trimmed-down, dummied-down grab-bag version of the offense of the offense Moorhead brought in.

I heard a 13 yr NFL veteran make a very important statement today on Rich Eisen show: He said the best coordinators not only have a good game plan, but know when/what calls to make in game. He said many are smart but cannot make play calls in game. Does that sound familiar?

 

[KnightSlayer]

What - exactly - does that have to do with what PSU did on Saturday?

Ya' missed me with that one

Maybe that Moorhead's offense isn't the be all and end all of offenses.

 

[blion72]

Whole offense not looking confident. Playing tentatively in 1st half.

Bombs for cheap points in blowouts.

Using explosive plays and points against weak teams to justify poorly coached O.

No sense of overall strategy or game plan.

Not getting ball to the players who could potentially beat high caliber corners, ie Shorter.

Setting up for futility against good defenses.

This year is looking a lot like last year. So many new players but OC is the same.

I was thinking exactly what you stated. then I went and looked at the data, which I posted today (2018 vs 2019 offense). I would now say that iwe are much worse than 2018. we are getting 8 fewer offensive snaps per game than last year at this time and ypc rush is down.

we are 3-0, but right now a lot is being masked. Maryland game is going to be interesting to see what issues got resolved.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

All of the above is a byproduct of modern day football where everything is called from the sideline. It’s hard to completely read the flow of a game when you’re not on the field, no matter how great a coach is. There are no more field generals even in the pros. The game has become too mechanical.

 

[tboyer]

I don't have a problem with the scheme or formations. Some form of shotgun and read-option and multiple looks essentially IS college offense these days. Nobody's going to back to the power-I or the Wing-T that I'm aware of.

My problem is that, three games into the season, you can't really tell what this offense is trying to be when it grows up. It is just not clear what Rahne is trying to do. And I think if it's not clear to us, then it's not clear to the players. And lack of clarity leads to all kinds of problems with morale and concentration.

There have been plenty of sporadic bright spots. The running backs have all done some good things. The O-line is pass-blocked well at times and run-blocked well at times. Clifford has thrown well at times.

But I just don't see an overall vision for the offense. Of course this is pure (and probably worthless) speculation but it seems like it's an operation being run by someone who smart but a little over his head and not getting enough sleep. Rahne's been given the keys to a Ferrari but he's never even driven a Toyota.

Ultimately if the offense is to succeed it will succeed because players make plays. But it is absolutely the offensive coordinator's job to set them up to make those plays. Rahne just is not succeeding in that very important function. The fact that Shorter has only been targeted 1-2 times a game is just impossible to overlook at this point.

There's been a lot of attention paid to how they rotate the tailbacks and why wasn't Cain playing late. But meanwhile they have a huge 6-5 receiver who can clearly run like a track sprinter, he's a player who could really help them against the toughest defenses on their schedule, and it's almost like Rahne loses track of him.

Maybe that Moorhead's offense isn't the be all and end all of offenses.

 

[NJPSU]

I was thinking exactly what you stated. then I went and looked at the data, which I posted today (2018 vs 2019 offense). I would now say that iwe are much worse than 2018. we are getting 8 fewer offensive snaps per game than last year at this time and ypc rush is down.

we are 3-0, but right now a lot is being masked. Maryland game is going to be interesting to see what issues got resolved.

You think that might have something to do with the fact that in 2018 we had a 5th year multi-year starter at quarterback instead of a sophomore making his first 3 starts?

 

[Grass]

You think that might have something to do with the fact that in 2018 we had a 5th year multi-year starter at quarterback instead of a sophomore making his first 3 starts?

Some of the issues have been Clifford. That sack when he got blindsided was 100% on him. Freiermuth pretty much pointed the blitzer out to him and he still didn't see it.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

I heard a 13 yr NFL veteran make a very important statement today on Rich Eisen show: He said the best coordinators not only have a good game plan, but know when/what calls to make in game. He said many are smart but cannot make play calls in game. Does that sound familiar?

Are you talking about the Lions or the Steelers?

 

[tboyer]

Some of the issues have been Clifford. That sack when he got blindsided was 100% on him. Freiermuth pretty much pointed the blitzer out to him and he still didn't see it.

For sure. Clifford is making the mistakes that an inexperienced quarterback will make. But he's also making some good plays and for the most part making good decisions and not generating turnovers.

The play where he began the slide too early -- I thought it showed good judgment because I'm sure the coaches were on him during the week about not putting his body in jeopardy -- it's very hard to keep that in mind AND remember where the 1st down is -- the yellow stripe on the field that we see isn't there for them.

There are must a lot of things that a young QB can only learn by playing and making mistakes. Clifford looks right on schedule to me. McSorley was a little rough around the edges too his first few games.

 

[drblue1977]

FWIW:

What PSU is running is most certainly not "Moorhead's Offense".
It is a trimmed-down, dummied-down grab-bag version of the offense of the offense Moorhead brought in.

Maybe RR is not able to...........comprehend the fine points of Moorheads attack? Perhaps, we should raid some school for an OC/head coach type during the buy week. All it would cost is...........money. I am sure someone would bite (Buffalo, UCF) if the price is right. I know.........................

 

[NJPSU]

Some of the issues have been Clifford. That sack when he got blindsided was 100% on him. Freiermuth pretty much pointed the blitzer out to him and he still didn't see it.

Yeah I'm happy with the way Clifford has been playing for a guy with only 3 games under his belt. People just need to have a little patience with the offense.

 

[uhlerlion]

Well.... if there was ONE OFFENSE (or defense) that assured success, I'm sure everyone would run it

Obviously, it is not so much "the offense" as it is the expertise of the person at the controls (both wrt teaching it, and with respect to managing and utilizing it).
I can't imagine ANYONE would contend that Rahne of 2018/2019 - whether one "rates" him as Good, Bad, or Indifferent - is as proficient as Moorhead was in 2016/2017.

I would think we should also prefer the OC to not be learning on the job isnt that what MAC schools are for? PSU OC is not a learn as you go job period.

 

[BudatPSU]

I'll take 4-5 yard runs the entire way down the field if that's what the defense is allowing. Why force something that isn't there? Slow methodical drives down the field demoralize defenses. Cain always seems to fall forward for an extra few yards. What is wrong with that?

I seem to remember a guy who was famous for three yards and a cloud of dust right down the center of the field. It served him pretty well for 409 wins.

 

[rmem]

I seem to remember a guy who was famous for three yards and a cloud of dust right down the center of the field. It served him pretty well for 409 wins.

Because the game is the same as it was back then right?

 

[Mudge1026]

I seem to remember a guy who was famous for three yards and a cloud of dust right down the center of the field. It served him pretty well for 409 wins.

Boy, you’re really a dumb guy.