Trace maybe the problem

[delcoLion]

One of the issues that Joe always mentioned was leadership. It’s found usually in the upper classes but maybe this year is different. Or, maybe, McSorley took on too much in that area. Something has happened, at least on the offense. Maybe JoMo had such a huge impact that was never replaced.

If they can just generate one well-played game this week, I think that would turn it around for the last 3.

 

[Obliviax]

Trace is a problem to PSU's offense as boobs are a problem for Pam Anderson.

 

[roswelllion]

This. They let that game derail the season. There isn’t really much left to pull together at this point. Third place in the division?

Well, I agree they have struggled mightily since tOSU but to suggest you must win the division or the season is a failure is on the coaches.
First this team is young with almost everyone except Trace coming back. They should be focused on getting better.
Second 10 years from now when all but 1-2 of these guys are getting on with their life it will make a difference if they finished 9-3 and a NY6 bowl or 7-5 and a "stinkpot bowl" game.

 

[roswelllion]

Liked your post but in all honesty I think some of these recent fumbles with Sanders are on Trace.
We now know his knee is hurt worse than we thought.
I also think he has a hand injury that might have initially happened on the TD against Indy.
And now we are hearing of a possible shoulder injury.
Bottom line there is something definitely wrong. I can probably use 2 fingers to count the times I've seen Trace miss a pass
like that to Thompkins.

This plus 1,000
We all love the kid but for goodness sake he is hurt. I mentioned the hand injury the week after the indy game and no one agreed with me. I don't understand how some think to suggest this is too somehow disrespect Trace.
So to some extent he has a knee [serious] and likely something with his hand or shoulder or both. With all these injuries don't you think he might pull it down and run a second or two early or rush a pass etc. Unfortunately, I don't think Tommy playing will change much. This offense has become so dependent on Trace i don't think TS ignites us.

 

[dbsteel]

I don't think its all about him being hurt. His passing has been way off this year. I think he's one of those guys that needs really good receivers around him that get separation. He doesn't have them. Sure- you can say that might be the case with any QB, but the fact is, that's not totally true. He's not that accurate, as his 52% completion attests. his arm is average. One of these years we'll have a true passer in there, and you'll see the difference.

And now when he gets flushed, he can't run as well. I'd rather see someone else in there but Franklin will never do it.

 

[BBrown]

I've been saying for several years, there are other ways to block these plays so you wouldnt get the whiffs and not knowing who to block. There is no way any of our OL need to be pulling and trying to trap. I could care less about the subs, if they could play they would be playing, but I do know, if we dont change our blocking style you will see more of what hurts us.
People point to the 4th down call vs OSU. The call wasnt the problem, heck Purdue ran the same play 50 yds for a TD, the way we blocked the play was the problem. And why werent prepared for what OSU did keeps we wondering why we werent prepared, they showed that same stunt many times in the past.

Thats where we disagree. I care about the subs because what we are now doing is putting or rotating 2 injured or "dinged" up players i.e. Fries/Wright. You mean we don't have anyone good enough to come in and at least try and help out? This isn't 2015 anymore. If thats the case then we have been sold a bill of goods on the OL coach and the (*) ratings.
Everything else I agree with.

 

[BBrown]

This plus 1,000
We all love the kid but for goodness sake he is hurt. I mentioned the hand injury the week after the indy game and no one agreed with me. I don't understand how some think to suggest this is too somehow disrespect Trace.
So to some extent he has a knee [serious] and likely something with his hand or shoulder or both. With all these injuries don't you think he might pull it down and run a second or two early or rush a pass etc. Unfortunately, I don't think Tommy playing will change much. This offense has become so dependent on Trace i don't think TS ignites us.

I don't know why they wouldn't agree. I mean after he scored the TD he came over to the side lines holding his hand.

 

[2020 is Our Year]

Honestly, some people overhyped Trace and now can't acknowledge that his play is a contributing factor into the issues our offense had. Trace isn't THE problem but he is A problem

 

[lionroar88]

It isn't spin. Until we fix our OL problems , we will continue to have problems. We have the players to have a good OL.

Limegrover is not a good OL coach and I certainly hope his employment is given a hard looking at after this season. This OL is loaded with talent across the board, and even 2 deep, yet we still struggle with absolutely no improvement. I also don't see this offensive scheme to be very effective against the better teams... it just takes too long to get moving. There is a reason no NFL team runs this offense.

 

[LuvDaLions]

I love Trace, one of my all time favorite players. That being said, he's obviously not 100% physically ready. He should sit until he is 100% and let Stevens run the offense. Stevens at 100% is better than Trace at 75%.

 

[Obliviax]

Limegrover is not a good OL coach and I certainly hope his employment is given a hard looking at after this season. This OL is loaded with talent across the board, and even 2 deep, yet we still struggle with absolutely no improvement. I also don't see this offensive scheme to be very effective against the better teams... it just takes too long to get moving. There is a reason no NFL team runs this offense.

I love Limegrover...but sadly agree. The OL has underperformed. It should have been a strength. I expected poor play from the LBers and DTs. I didn't expect poor play from the OL or WRs. Having said that, it puts the OL in a bad place when your WR's can't catch a ball and kill drives against little or no defense. The DL simply loads up on stopping the run and rushing the QB.

 

[drblue1977]

For starters, Rahne's the QB coach as well as OC. So...whatever has caused Trace to regress Rahne isn't able to fix. Then there's the game planning (or lack thereof) which puts a helluva load on Trace at a time when he's having a rough go, results in countless three-and-outs which puts back-breaking pressure on the D, etc., etc. These are the kinds of situations where an OC/QB coach earns his keep. Rahne hasn't done it...at all.

My favorite was when RR called a .........wildcat and it resulted in a delay of game. The call was sooooooooooooo good, RR called it again, shocking the Mich defense much like Penn State was shocked all year by .....fake punts. Ricky don't call that ..........number, oops, RPO.

 

[Obliviax]

Honestly, some people overhyped Trace and now can't acknowledge that his play is a contributing factor into the issues our offense had. Trace isn't THE problem but he is A problem

Trace is a great player. But he isn't a great athlete that can create on his own. He is a game manager, and one of the best at it. But when the WR's are dropping balls, your TE is a true frosh and you've been playing hurt its not a great combination. Again, we lost close games to tOSU and Sparty which could have gone either way. The only real ass beating we took is UM.

 

[fastlax16]

Well, I agree they have struggled mightily since tOSU but to suggest you must win the division or the season is a failure is on the coaches.
First this team is young with almost everyone except Trace coming back. They should be focused on getting better.
Second 10 years from now when all but 1-2 of these guys are getting on with their life it will make a difference if they finished 9-3 and a NY6 bowl or 7-5 and a "stinkpot bowl" game.

It’s pretty clear that the team’s goals were to make the playoff/win the division and win the conference. They came up short on all 3. I wouldn’t call that success... I don’t think Franklin thinks this has been a successful season.

The team is inexperienced but it isn’t young. The lack of development for players who have been in the program 3+ years is concerning (19 of 22 starters).

They aren’t making a ny6 bowl at 9-3 with that blowout on their resume and games against struggling Wisconsin, Maryland and the worst power 5 team in the country coming up. This team has trended the wrong direction since the 4th quarter against the buckeyes.

 

[sluggo72]

Limegrover is not a good OL coach and I certainly hope his employment is given a hard looking at after this season. This OL is loaded with talent across the board, and even 2 deep, yet we still struggle with absolutely no improvement. I also don't see this offensive scheme to be very effective against the better teams... it just takes too long to get moving. There is a reason no NFL team runs this offense.

I dont know if he's a good coach or not. Now if he's the one that has drawn up the blocking schemes, and if its his decision to block the way we block, I would agree. OTOH if those orders came from higher up (CJF or JMO and they just continued) then I wouldnt put his head on the block.

 

[sluggo72]

Thats where we disagree. I care about the subs because what we are now doing is putting or rotating 2 injured or "dinged" up players i.e. Fries/Wright. You mean we don't have anyone good enough to come in and at least try and help out? This isn't 2015 anymore. If thats the case then we have been sold a bill of goods on the OL coach and the (*) ratings.
Everything else I agree with.

to me it would depend on how 'dinged' they are. But would good does replacing the widgets do, if you ask them to do the same thing? And they do the same thing which we have seen for the past 3 years does not work on a consistent basis. Is my point about subs.

 

[klive]

Liked your post but in all honesty I think some of these recent fumbles with Sanders are on Trace.
We now know his knee is hurt worse than we thought.
I also think he has a hand injury that might have initially happened on the TD against Indy.
And now we are hearing of a possible shoulder injury.
Bottom line there is something definitely wrong. I can probably use 2 fingers to count the times I've seen Trace miss a pass
like that to Thompkins.

We definitely know he has a knee, but if he also has a hand, and now maybe a shoulder too; all of those combined would be puzzling to imagine that he'd still be a better decision over a healthy Tommy.

 

[2020 is Our Year]

Trace is a great player. But he isn't a great athlete that can create on his own. He is a game manager, and one of the best at it. But when the WR's are dropping balls, your TE is a true frosh and you've been playing hurt its not a great combination. Again, we lost close games to tOSU and Sparty which could have gone either way. The only real ass beating we took is UM.

He's just not accurate and has never really been accurate. He does a great job with pre-snap rec to determine the correct read on RPOs but a lot of these are poor throws. Yes, WRs need to make plays but he needs to be putting the ball in better spots. We were spoiled with Barkley, Gesicki and Hamilton. The last 2 years of Gesicki anyway.

It turned out Michigan State isn't very good and Ohio State isn't exactly elite. Those are still bad losses at home. Well, not bad, just not a loss that should be ignored. Trace played very well at Ohio State but undoubtedly hurt us at the end with his decision making.

It's a weird year in college football.

 

[Obliviax]

He's just not accurate and has never really been accurate. He does a great job with pre-snap rec to determine the correct read on RPOs but a lot of these are poor throws. Yes, WRs need to make plays but he needs to be putting the ball in better spots. We were spoiled with Barkley, Gesicki and Hamilton. The last 2 years of Gesicki anyway.

It turned out Michigan State isn't very good and Ohio State isn't exactly elite. Those are still bad losses at home. Well, not bad, just not a loss that should be ignored. Trace played very well at Ohio State but undoubtedly hurt us at the end with his decision making.

It's a weird year in college football.

maybe...its hard to know.

Passing isn't just on the QB. The WR and QB have to be on the same page on hot routes. At the same time, the WR needs to run crisp, predictable routes. Often, the QB throws the ball before or during the break so both need to be in synch. then the WR needs to fight for the ball....come back if need be, catch it at its highest point, use his body to shield the defender. Above all, he needs to CATCH the ball (which has been a big problem when the ball hits both of the WR's hands). Against, UM, he was often looking at first year WR's from Hamler to Dotson to Friermuth.

 

[KnightWhoSaysNit]

I can see Franklin playing Trace over Tommy even if he's hurt. I think it would be a bad decision, but patterns of bad decisions seem to be emerging here, and I'm sure Franklin's view is that it is "Trace's team."

That said the problems with this offense are far-ranging and deep, and will change only with some significant changes in coaching and scheme. Franklin being "fiercely loyal" I think buys Rahne at least one more year. Franklin's also a believer in this scheme. All of these factors combined leave me less than optimistic about this year and next year. This despite what I believe will be an upgrade at QB.

I really wish Franklin could adjust his beliefs, because down the road Clifford would probably flourish in more of a pro-style attack. You can see that his mechanics and footwork are polished. This is something very rare for PSU QBs even by the time they finish as seniors.

 

[2020 is Our Year]

maybe...its hard to know.

Passing isn't just on the QB. The WR and QB have to be on the same page on hot routes. At the same time, the WR needs to run crisp, predictable routes. Often, the QB throws the ball before or during the break so both need to be in synch. then the WR needs to fight for the ball....come back if need be, catch it at its highest point, use his body to shield the defender. Above all, he needs to CATCH the ball (which has been a big problem when the ball hits both of the WR's hands). Against, UM, he was often looking at first year WR's from Hamler to Dotson to Friermuth.

I agree with you regarding the players needing to be on the same page. Routes need to be predictable. WRs and the QB need to see the same thing to have success. I still believe Trace has never been overly accurate. I also believe his injury is making it even more obvious. What's the excuse on the overthrow to a wide open Thompkins? He's been throwing to Hamler & Friermuth enough now that they should be on the same page and Hamler's bailed him out on poorly thrown passes many times.

Again, Trace isn't THE issue or even the biggest issue but he hasn't been good enough and, truthfully, he may have been a product of an elite supporting cast. We'll never know. We can only speculate.

 

[PrtLng Lion]

Trace hasn't been the Trace we were used to the last couple seasons. But there's plenty of blame to go around, no way you can pin the team's overall lackluster performance on him. I saw plenty of times on Sat where the OLine didn't pickup a stunt. And of course the dropped passes (including the past several weeks in this one). But the lack of imagination in the playcalling hasn't helped either.

 

[DrJC]

I love the kid. A warrior. He certainly has won us a few games through the years. I hate saying this but he has hurt us a lot this year. Many of us have complained about receivers not getting separation thus concluding this being one of the reason for our inept offense . Is this really the case? I believe Trace is not seeing the field very well and for some reason has not had confidence. I have seen many receivers running wide open this year but the ball was not thrown to them. C'mon, are you telling me our receivers can't get open every single game. Why do less talented teams pass more successfully on our opponents than we do? I hate saying this, the problem could be Trace.

I really do not think that Trace is the problem. I think an injury that has left him less than mobile and has effected his throwing accuracy is more likely the issue. If I am correct, then he should have been sidelined for Stevens. That is a coach problem. I also think that the offensive scheme was inadequate for the Michigan rush, as well as blocking schemes. Here the problem is not Trace, but maybe Rahne. He does NOT have the experience that we need in an OC to handle big games and top level times. That offense was unimaginative and lacked courage. I suggest that Franklin needs to find a big time OC, receiver's coach. Wish that was not the case. Moorehead loss may be greater than we realized.

 

[corkster999]

This team has had a couple of bad breaks, and seems to not have "it"- that combination of luck, solid play, and the best players having a good year. You can blame anyone or anything you like, but it's never one guy or one thing.

If it was easy, nobody would ever lose a game.

I think Trace was hurt on that run play in the Ohio State game where he almost scored but was slow to get up. Don't know if it was a head shot, or shoulder or hand.... he hasn't been the same since... plus the knee.... The coaches did no favors by playing him if he was not healthy enough to be effective. I think the knee injury hurts when he tries to push off with this right foot and as a result, some passes sail on him....

 

[Nitt1300]

I think Trace was hurt on that run play in the Ohio State game where he almost scored but was slow to get up. Don't know if it was a head shot, or shoulder or hand.... he hasn't been the same since... plus the knee.... The coaches did no favors by playing him if he was not healthy enough to be effective. I think the knee injury hurts when he tries to push off with this right foot and as a result, some passes sail on him....

I do think that is true.

Another poster said that Tommy at 100% is a better choice than Trace at 75%. We don't know for a fact that Tommy isn't better- period. I think Trace won the job by a hair and then had the hot hand for quite awhile- he doesn't have the hot hand now. I'd start Tommy.

 

[KnightWhoSaysNit]

I think Trace was hurt on that run play in the Ohio State game where he almost scored but was slow to get up. Don't know if it was a head shot, or shoulder or hand.... he hasn't been the same since... plus the knee.... The coaches did no favors by playing him if he was not healthy enough to be effective. I think the knee injury hurts when he tries to push off with this right foot and as a result, some passes sail on him....

It's clear that Franklin wants an offense that runs the QB, but it's also clear that he is very slow to take the starting QB off the field. He's going to have to adjust one or the other, or get very lucky. Otherwise, this will lead to his undoing even if he does get better coaches for the offense.