The young guys on offense are expressing a lot of confidence.
Good point ... and one that I think bodes well for the fall. I'll admit that until the first punt/fumble/interception/opponent TD, I am in full-bore B&W glasses mode.
But goodness gracious, look at the weapons this offense has:
1. A 6-2 QB who is touted for accuracy. Yes, we all love Trace, but there were numerous swing passes to Saquon or Miles that had they been more accurate would have led to huge gains or scores. If Sean can hit Slade/Brown/Ford/Cain (and more so, perhaps, KJ) in stride on those short tosses. defenses will be in deep @#$%.
2. At RB, at least 3 of the guys are definite home run threats from anywhere. Maybe Cain is also, but I have not seen his speed reported yet. Might have just forgotten it. But a RB who can turn that 6-yd run into 60 just destroys a defense's psyche.
3. The WRs are almost certainly going to be improved at catching the ball this season. The younger guys -- Dotson, KJ, George, S-Brown, Shorter -- were not so prone to drops as the older ones. While I wish JJ had stayed, he was anything but a TD catching machine. Carr was an AA at his level and catching a pass is still catching a pass no matter who is defending you. And if Sean's passes are more accurate than Traces's from last season, these WRs have the speed to make significant strides in YAC.
4. The TE position is now manned by more experience than last season when PF was a true frosh. If Bowers is healthy, those 2 plus an older Kuntz should add tremendous firepower to the passing game. And we know that Pat and Nick can block.
5. Then comes the seemingly eternal PSU offensive ? -- the OL. After the thousands of games I've watched, I should be able to assess the OL better than I can. I just don't really know what to look for ... I tend to follow the ball rather than notice an OG's footwork or an OT's arm strength. But I expect Menet, Gonzo, Fries, Thorpe/Miranda, and Walker to be solid enough to not be a hinderance to the explosive playmakers mentioned above.
The current Board negativity seems directed mostly at Rahne. While Moorhead clearly energized the PSU offense in 2016-17, he still was the play-caller who couldn't get 1st downs against USC, OSU, or MSU when we needed them. It was also Moorhead who called that handoff to Saquon in OT vs Minnesota ... you remember, the call that was stuffed about 23 times all afternoon. But then, Barkley took it to the house and Joe was a genius. Maybe if Sanders did likewise on that infamous "4th-and-5," Ricky wouldn't be the subject of so much criticism. I don't know. I'm not wise enough to even recognize who all the great play-callers in CFB are. James worked with both Gattis and Rahne since Vanderbilt, and he picked the latter. But then Franklin gets quite a bit of flack here, as well.
It's July 14th. We haven't punted ... or thrown an interception ... or dropped a sure first down pass ... or fumbled at our 14 yet. So I am all in that the offense will be as explosive as it was in 2016-17.
