People keep wondering why our offense suffered so much this year under a veteran all timer in Trace, and its pretty simple, look at the NFL. They are 4 guys(Godwin, Hamilton, Sawuan, Gesicki) playing on Sundays who played major roles on the 2 previous offenses. Saquan's pass receiving skills are at a Canton level(we knew, NFL folks are finding out) while Miles' were below average. Hamilton picked up right where Godwin left off, and most thought Juwan would do the same. But IMO no player had a more disappointing season compared to preseason hopes than Juwan. Of course injuries kept him off the field, but this was a guy viewed as a future #1 NFL pick and he isnt a first option on an average college team.
Watching the Eagles and Penn State its all about picking up first downs, ESPECIALLY the initial one. A major difference between the Eagles under Foles and Wentz is the ability to pick up first downs, but also not to get into 3rd and longs. Foles doesnt have Wentz' skills but he is all about rhythm and getting the ball out on time, and staying in front of the sticks. Far too often Wentz would misfire on 1st down, we get a 1 yard carry on 2nd and then Ertz would catch a 7 yard pass on 3rd and 9 and we punt. Foles hits that first down pass for 5-6 and then we get 2-3 on 2nd, and it brings up 3rd and 2 and he hits Ertz/Jeffrey for 4 yards and do the same thing over and over all the way down the field.
This year Sanders did a better job than Saquan when it came to not having negative carries. But the problem was our WRs dropped WAY TOO MANY 1st and/or 2nd down passes, which would put us into 3rd and longs and we have never been a good 3rd down team since Trace was here. IMO Trace was better at throwing up 50/50 balls then consistently hitting 11 yard passes on 3rd and 10. But the inability to pick up 5-6 yards on 1st or 2nd down throws doomed us because it constantly put us behind the sticks. Btw, Trace was never the most accurate QB to begin with, so we were going to end up in 2nd and long or 3rd and long from a missed throw more often than other teams anyway.
Watching the Eagles and Penn State its all about picking up first downs, ESPECIALLY the initial one. A major difference between the Eagles under Foles and Wentz is the ability to pick up first downs, but also not to get into 3rd and longs. Foles doesnt have Wentz' skills but he is all about rhythm and getting the ball out on time, and staying in front of the sticks. Far too often Wentz would misfire on 1st down, we get a 1 yard carry on 2nd and then Ertz would catch a 7 yard pass on 3rd and 9 and we punt. Foles hits that first down pass for 5-6 and then we get 2-3 on 2nd, and it brings up 3rd and 2 and he hits Ertz/Jeffrey for 4 yards and do the same thing over and over all the way down the field.
This year Sanders did a better job than Saquan when it came to not having negative carries. But the problem was our WRs dropped WAY TOO MANY 1st and/or 2nd down passes, which would put us into 3rd and longs and we have never been a good 3rd down team since Trace was here. IMO Trace was better at throwing up 50/50 balls then consistently hitting 11 yard passes on 3rd and 10. But the inability to pick up 5-6 yards on 1st or 2nd down throws doomed us because it constantly put us behind the sticks. Btw, Trace was never the most accurate QB to begin with, so we were going to end up in 2nd and long or 3rd and long from a missed throw more often than other teams anyway.
