Well, that was fun, not. But revealing. Yes?

[DrJC]

First, be a little cautious in your comments, as potential recruits often visit these sites.

That said, there are some things I do not understand and not just because of Michigan. Throw in MSU and OSU.

The offense does not seem to be creative, or courageous for that matter. With the rush that Michigan had, I would think that it would be time for draws, screens, reverses and some sweeps. I have not seen but a few draws and especially few screens all year! A few years ago, screens were our bread and butter. Also, where is Ricky Slade (great target for a screen) and Justin Shorter (his speed and height would be a great plus!) There is little time for "doghouses" when playing OSU and Michigan.

Trace is a great QB, one of the greatest in PSU history. But he was hurt. Not only could he not run as well as usual (credit some of that to Michigan), but his passes were not as accurate as in the past. That may have to do with his leg and faulty motion due to injury. Not sure. I would have let Stevens have a good shot at a quarter or more. The kid behind him is no slouch either. Michigan and OSU have little trouble pulling their QB's if not performing. We seem to be hesitant. As a head coach you need to have a "win mentality." JF plays big games a little too scared for my taste. And I need him after the game to stop saying: "We need to fix some things and make some changes." He sounds like Dick Kotite!!!!

Before the loss of JoePa, PSU was known for offensive linemen and defensive linemen. Are we not recruiting well at those positions OR are we not developing the talent well that we recruit?

Lastly, I am not impressed with the dropping of passes. You cannot win when you drop passes especially against ranked opponents. This I put right on the head of Rahne and the wide receiver coaches. Rahne is a rookie, sad to say. He needs more seasoning and courage in his play calling. I think JF needs to consider a more experienced and creative OC if available.

And yes, there were a few "suspect calls" - block below waist for one) by the refs. But then again, that always happens at Michigan.

It is a rare day in hell when I leave a game early or turn the TV to another game. For the most part, I watched only a little of the second half. Shame on me, but my masochism only goes so far.

As far as Michigan taunting us, we do a pretty good job ourselves. That crap would not happen with JoePa, and you know it.

 

[bdgan]

First, be a little cautious in your comments, as potential recruits often visit these sites.

That said, there are some things I do not understand and not just because of Michigan. Throw in MSU and OSU.

The offense does not seem to be creative, or courageous for that matter. With the rush that Michigan had, I would think that it would be time for draws, screens, reverses and some sweeps. I have not seen but a few draws and especially few screens all year! A few years ago, screens were our bread and butter. Also, where is Ricky Slade (great target for a screen) and Justin Shorter (his speed and height would be a great plus!) There is little time for "doghouses" when playing OSU and Michigan.

Trace is a great QB, one of the greatest in PSU history. But he was hurt. Not only could he not run as well as usual (credit some of that to Michigan), but his passes were not as accurate as in the past. That may have to do with his leg and faulty motion due to injury. Not sure. I would have let Stevens have a good shot at a quarter or more. The kid behind him is no slouch either. Michigan and OSU have little trouble pulling their QB's if not performing. We seem to be hesitant. As a head coach you need to have a "win mentality." JF plays big games a little too scared for my taste. And I need him after the game to stop saying: "We need to fix some things and make some changes." He sounds like Dick Kotite!!!!

Before the loss of JoePa, PSU was known for offensive linemen and defensive linemen. Are we not recruiting well at those positions OR are we not developing the talent well that we recruit?

Lastly, I am not impressed with the dropping of passes. You cannot win when you drop passes especially against ranked opponents. This I put right on the head of Rahne and the wide receiver coaches. Rahne is a rookie, sad to say. He needs more seasoning and courage in his play calling. I think JF needs to consider a more experienced and creative OC if available.

And yes, there were a few "suspect calls" - block below waist for one) by the refs. But then again, that always happens at Michigan.

It is a rare day in hell when I leave a game early or turn the TV to another game. For the most part, I watched only a little of the second half. Shame on me, but my masochism only goes so far.

As far as Michigan taunting us, we do a pretty good job ourselves. That crap would not happen with JoePa, and you know it.

Dropped Passes: I don't think it's coaching. If it was we would have been dropping passes for the last 4 years. I think it's just one of those things we have to work through. There's no doubt that our WRs lack toughness. Not just dropping passes but also getting separation.

Slade, Shorter (& JJ): I give the staff the benefit of the doubt. We don't know what is due to injury vs. academics vs. behavior issues. I don't care if it's Michigan or OSU. You don't risk a kid's health, take short cuts in the classroom, or tolerate poor behavior. Never compromise your principles.

Play calling: From interviews it's apparent to me that Franklin knows his stuff. IMO the problem is that he plays "by the book" but lacks a "feel" for the game. It seems that when a play fails he keeps coming back to it hoping that players will execute better instead of trying something different. He's been doing that since he got here and IMO it has cost us at least 4 games. The MSU game this year is a perfect example of what Franklin does not do. Dantonio knew that his team was outclassed and he had to try some different things in order to win that game. He couldn't win going head to head. That's why we saw things like the fake FG for a TD. PSU wasn't going to win running between the tackles vs. Michigan. Had to spread them out and use our speed to keep them off balance. Like you said virtually no flair passes, toss sweeps, screens, etc. Just keep running the same plays and hoping for better execution. It's very frustrating.

That said, PSU is only 2 plays away from being 8-1. We have 8 new starters on defense. The offense returned 7 starters but the 3 they lost were really good (Barkley, Hamilton, Gesicki, Mahon). Next year we potentially return 10 starters on offense. Find a QB, get Shorter, maybe JJ get straightened out. We have 8 starters returning on defense. Parsons & Matos are up and coming stars and our highest rated recruit is a 5* LB (Smith). Maybe we get Hansard & Jordan back healthy. Looks like 10 wins to me. Maybe more if the staff does a better job.

 

[sss]

As a counterpoint, not sure where OSU has pulled a QB who is not performing. Many fans were calling for Barrett to be replaced last year. The only game where he looked like a competent passer was 4th quarter vs PSU. He started every game he was healthy for 4 years. Sure UM has changed QBs, but they have had little choice. Their guys were playing terrible and had no history of playing well.

As far as the screens, I have been saying this for 2 years now. Teams do not line up to defend the WR bubble screen. But we have not run it since Moorehead came along. We ran them all the time when Hack was here with Donovan as the OC, but most were abysmal failures. For some reason, they are not in the Morehead playbook, but I wish Rahne would add them, at least to make the defense attempt to defend them.

A lot of the problems on offense seem to me to stem form WRs inabilty to create separation and get open. This was not new yesterday, it has been a problem all year. It was also a problem before Morehead arrived. Is it personnel or coaching, I don't know. But having been at every game, there is often nowhere to throw the ball for McSorley. Literally nobody is open.

The OL "issues," if you want to call them that, IMHO come from the scheme. When your base play is an RPO, you are run and pass blocking on the same play. It is impossible to develop maulers on the OL with this type of blocking. OSU has the same problem now. The offense can be incredibly effective (Oregon, Oklahoma, etc) but you need a mobile QB.It is just a different style.

 

[Obliviax]

PSU should not have started Trace. CJF is loyal to a fault. There are worse things. not sure we have any better chance winning with 2 at QB the entire game, but it couldn't have been worse.

Agree that catching a ball isn't coaching. I mean, its not like it is rocket science. Perhaps they were hammered too hard and its gotten into their heads. But not being able to catch at WR is like not being able to walk.

We don't know what is going on with JJ. he didn't make the trip. Hurt or something else? That's a problem. But with three true freshmen playing at WR and TE, how much creative offense can you have? With a true freshman, you are just happy they run a route and catch the ball when thrown to them.

 

[sss]

If McSorley was healthy enough to play, he plays. That’s what happens. If #2 had started and the score ended the same, the same Sunday morning armchair coaches would have asked how you could possibly not play your record setting QB. We lost the game for the same reasons we lost the Osu and MSU games and made the Iowa game much closer that it needed to be. And it is not the QB. Wisky will be a struggle because of the middle of our d. If we win that and end up the regular season 9-3, so be it. We will then be a couple of plays from being. 10-1 , but also 7-5.