Why Penn State's defense could go from good to great this season

[anacreon3]

This is part 2... after the McSorley article

http://247sports.com/Bolt/Why-Penn-States-defense-could-go-from-good-to-great-this-season-53156509

 

[83wuzme]

This is part 2... after the McSorley article

http://247sports.com/Bolt/Why-Penn-States-defense-could-go-from-good-to-great-this-season-53156509

The problem with the 2015 defense was the Red Zone.
I would not say our defense was worse in 2016 than 2015. Last year, you almost have to throw out the games where the LB corps was decimated, which would include the losses to Pitt Michigan and USC ( no Bowen and Bell was lost at a critical time ). The defense was dominant against tOSU when it mattered.

 

[mgkpsu]

Eh. Opponents probably had alot more possessions and plays considering the higher scores, including some quick scores, so obviously the numbers are not perfectly comparable from year to year.

 

[PS4814]

Comparing Part 1 to Part 2 of that series makes me think the author blew his load on the first one and got nothing left in the tank for Part 2. This sentence sums up the whole article, "Penn State has plenty coming back on offense. But it is more than likely going to need more from its defense if it is going to successfully defend its Big Ten championship."

I can appreciate the attempt at strict number crunching to make comparisons on a year over year basis - but when you ignore some outliers (rose bowl), and not others caused by playing 4th string linebackers, it makes the numbers crunched seem less relevant.

 

[Art]

Kinda hard to give credibility to an analyst who doesn't realize that John Reid won't be available for most, if any, of the season.

 

[hotmetal]

A waste of time.

 

[royboy]

Comparing Part 1 to Part 2 of that series makes me think the author blew his load on the first one and got nothing left in the tank for Part 2. This sentence sums up the whole article, "Penn State has plenty coming back on offense. But it is more than likely going to need more from its defense if it is going to successfully defend its Big Ten championship."

I can appreciate the attempt at strict number crunching to make comparisons on a year over year basis - but when you ignore some outliers (rose bowl), and not others caused by playing 4th string linebackers, it makes the numbers crunched seem less relevant.

Agree. So much can change from one season to the next in college football with personnel and coaching emphasis that this kind of analysis has little predictive value.

 

[djr4rebs]

This is a year where our improved recruiting should shine through.

 

[bjf1991]

Fortunately, the article wasn't very long

 

[Manxome_Lion]

As has been pointed out elsewhere, we changed defensive coordinator two years ago and offensive coordinator last year, so this is the first year where neither side is installing a new scheme. Hopefully it leads to improved "complementary" football. It has all the makings of an exciting season.

 

[BobPSU92]

Forget it. Penn State never defends itself.