Thoughts on the offense?

[TheWizardofCamelot]

I want to start a discussion about what seems “off” about the offense thus far through 5 games. There have been spectacular moments and drives, but a majority seems to be clunky and/or mostly opportunistic with regard to the defense getting turnovers.

Is Allar, dare I say, streaky? Or just a product of a first year starter learning the ropes. WRs aren’t helping either.

Singleton seems to be in a slump. I’ve seen a lot of discussion around his speed lacking vs last year, but he’s at the same weight roughly compared to last year’s official roster. Feels to me that he’s overthinking it rather than being instinctual.

I think Potts deserves more meaningful reps, guys is a bowling bowl out there. Hopefully Allen’s injury isn’t serious.

Injuries are piling up on the OL, but they still haven’t seem to put it together for long stretches. I actually think pass protection has been good, but the run game hovering at 3/carry is not a good sign.

WRs are average. KLS has been productive but will eventually be double teamed because there are no other threats. Need Wallace back 100%. The others are inconsistent and have trouble with the tough catch in traffic.

TEs have been solid so far IMO - I think they go quiet in the pass game because the need to block added pressure being brought on Allar. I don’t think we fully understood what a weapon Strange was in the blocking game. Johnson/Warren aren’t bad blockers but they struggle getting to the second level.

Yurcich - I don’t know what to think here. Is he being purposefully vanilla? They have no identity and the lack of big plays passing and running are cause for concern. Why don’t we get Allar on the run and out of the pocket? That’s where he’s at his best. 1st and 2nd down play calling has been inconsistent as well.

 

[ncgolfer]

“Is Allar, dare I say, streaky? Or just a product of a first year starter learning the ropes. WRs aren’t helping either.”

Allar plays better at home. He plays with more confidence and better execution. When he’s on the road things get a little more shaky for him as a first year starter. His comfort level drops. That will improve with time and repetition.

 

[bourbon n blues]

At the end of the day they are scoring points, but they obviously can improve.

 

[LMTLION]

We are not stretching the field with occasional deep throws to keep the defense honest and instead seem content to play in a smaller box. Regardless if they’re completed or not, we must stretch the field downfield. And here’s finally a quarterback in Allar that can do that well and we’re not using him for that purpose. Singleton is obviously having an inexplicable sophomore slump. Potts looked more decisive in limited action.

 

[LMTLION]

At the end of the day they are scoring points, but they obviously can improve.

You are right. And I took the liberty to compare to historically good seasons like 2005 and 1994, and both those seasons saw some real head scratchers with much tighter scores vs inferior opponents. It is certainly not the end of the world to win 41-13.

 

[Obliviax]

I think the defenses are coming in with two goals in mind: Stop the run and Keep from Giving Up the Big Plays. So they cheat down the S and tell the CBs not to get beat deep. What does that leave? Mid-level passes. Once the O gets into the Red zone the CBs don't have to cover the deep play anymore so the defenses get more stout. The Steelers used to beat the Marino Miam Dolphins and the Smurfs with this year in and year out many years ago. It is easy to beat, actually, but the team has to be patient and take what the defense is giving. You take those mid-route plays until you get into the red zone. Then you run a different offense to get a TD or take the FG.

PSU hasn't been able to cultivate their #2 and #3 receivers. So the passing game has been the TE or KLS. It hasn't looked like Clifford has been able to separate other than crossing routes, McClian has had the dropsies and Allar/Cephas haven't been on the same page in reading route options. Allar said, post game, these are correctable.

• Wallace being out has been a problem. Is he ever coming back? He's been listed as "questionable" for the last two games but hasn't played.
• With the bye and UMass week, maybe more reps for Cephas in practice. He wasn't at spring practice and hasn't had great work with Allar until August. So they are still fresh.
• McClain is an interesting story. Did he play Saturday? If not, why? If he's hurt, he wasn't on the list of questionable players.
• meiga? Evans? Saunders? Driver?

With all of that, we are one of the highest-scoring teams and have beaten the spreads. If we can just clean up some of the passing issues, we'll be fine.

 

[olelion]

This is a very good team that needs to improve to compete with OSU and UM.

Offense is indeed struggling. I feel Allar is still on the learning curve and is growing with experience. OL pass blocking is damn good, perhaps to stress development of Allar. The right side of the OL in the run game is not up to par yet most of the run plays go that way. Singleton was criticized last year for being too impatient and maybe hitting the wrong hole at times. There were definitely times yesterday where he hit the wrong hole and ran into a crowd. I don't know if he's overthinking it or what but he is off. Allen seems to look the same but struggling also with YPC. Ergo it's the O line. Strange for sure is sorely missed in the blocking scheme. I saw missed blocks yesterday from both Warren and Johnson that prevented plays from going big. Some have also mentioned the loss of Tangwell and that could be one of the problems. So far this year I felt that anytime 71 went in that he was an upgrade. Two weeks until OSU to work out what I hope are the kinks. to see if it's an upgrade. Are there any freshman receivers? If so bring them on for a couple of games.

 

[bvillebaron]

You are right. And I took the liberty to compare to historically good seasons like 2005 and 1994, and both those seasons saw some real head scratchers with much tighter scores vs inferior opponents. It is certainly not the end of the world to win 41-13.

Probably would help immensely if Yurcich stopped calling predictable plays. Repeatedly kept running on first and second down early in the game. Then when they get the lead by a couple of scores in the 4th quarter he starts throwing the ball. I don’t share the view by many that Singleton is having a sophomore slump. Might help if you got the ball to him in space like on the TD pass yesterday.

 

[bourbon n blues]

You are right. And I took the liberty to compare to historically good seasons like 2005 and 1994, and both those seasons saw some real head scratchers with much tighter scores vs inferior opponents. It is certainly not the end of the world to win 41-13.

Go through a deep dive in 1985, I posted it in Jerry’s thread. I 6 games and roller PSU wins by less than a touchdown, or a touchdown..

I’ll give you another example of a game, I like to play, according to my recollection, I saw Penn State play certain amount of perfect games. Great offense, solid defense, total control of the game.

One that comes to mind is I wish you were 1994, but look back at the actual gameplay there. I believe it was 7-7?some period of time, even though we had a big lead at halftime. I still swear we could’ve scored 100 points that game if we wanted to.

That may be the best game I saw against the quality opponent because if you recall, Ohio State was ranked in the top 20 or 25.

The next, when it comes to mind is Penn State 23 to 3 victory against Alabama on the road in 1986. They had great defensive play combined with very efficient offensive play.

There are a few other ones, but I’m talking about my examples of perfect games, the games we were totally satisfied with the outcome.

If you remember Alabama, what is the number two ranked team in the country at that point so a 20 point victory on the road when a long way to getting us at national championship.

I’ll go back to my point spread thread, there’s a lot of smart guys in Vegas using a lot of smart calculating to decide what the point spread is. I’m guessing that those computers or their models taking account so much information that go into their spread. But when we see a game that doesn’t go entirely our way we default to our own bias of why aren’t we playing perfect.

So for me, I assume Penn State isn’t winning the national championship since we only have done so two years in our history. However, our chance is better this year because we only have to be one of the four teams instead of hoping to be voted number one. That in this team obviously looks talented, but I can recall 10 to 20 teams of this talent level that didn’t win a national championship if we looked at where we are right now.

So I just try to enjoy every game, watch the replay the next day and smile, and hope for the best.

 

[bourbon n blues]

Probably would help immensely if Yurcich stopped calling predictable plays. Repeatedly kept running on first and second down early in the game. Then when they get the lead by a couple of scores in the 4th quarter he starts throwing the ball. I don’t share the view by many that Singleton is having a sophomore slump. Might help if you got the ball to him in space like on the TD pass yesterday.

Oh lord.

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

At the end of the day they are scoring points, but they obviously can improve.

Yes but the defense is giving them amazing field position and we're still struggling to score vs bad teams. Yes we're scoring points but a big part of it is that opposing defenses are getting tired bc of how quick their offenses go 3 and out. Not gonna happen vs OSU and Mich.

 

[AWS1022]

Yes but the defense is giving them amazing field position and we're still struggling to score vs bad teams. Yes we're scoring points but a big part of it is that opposing defenses are getting tired bc of how quick their offenses go 3 and out. Not gonna happen vs OSU and Mich.

Well if we’re struggling to score, then every team in the nation is struggling more than we are since we have the longest streak of 30+ point games.

 

[Jerry]

I want to start a discussion about what seems “off” about the offense thus far through 5 games. There have been spectacular moments and drives, but a majority seems to be clunky and/or mostly opportunistic with regard to the defense getting turnovers.

Is Allar, dare I say, streaky? Or just a product of a first year starter learning the ropes. WRs aren’t helping either.

Singleton seems to be in a slump. I’ve seen a lot of discussion around his speed lacking vs last year, but he’s at the same weight roughly compared to last year’s official roster. Feels to me that he’s overthinking it rather than being instinctual.

I think Potts deserves more meaningful reps, guys is a bowling bowl out there. Hopefully Allen’s injury isn’t serious.

Injuries are piling up on the OL, but they still haven’t seem to put it together for long stretches. I actually think pass protection has been good, but the run game hovering at 3/carry is not a good sign.

WRs are average. KLS has been productive but will eventually be double teamed because there are no other threats. Need Wallace back 100%. The others are inconsistent and have trouble with the tough catch in traffic.

TEs have been solid so far IMO - I think they go quiet in the pass game because the need to block added pressure being brought on Allar. I don’t think we fully understood what a weapon Strange was in the blocking game. Johnson/Warren aren’t bad blockers but they struggle getting to the second level.

Yurcich - I don’t know what to think here. Is he being purposefully vanilla? They have no identity and the lack of big plays passing and running are cause for concern. Why don’t we get Allar on the run and out of the pocket? That’s where he’s at his best. 1st and 2nd down play calling has been inconsistent as well.

Good observations.

I've been wishing for years now that our running attack would feature more stretch-the-field action...pitches...getting backs to the edge.

I know you need a power game and a respectable between-the-tackles game, but the deep hand-offs in the backfield give even mediocre Ds soooo much time to react and fill holes.

 

[94LionsFan]

Probably hard to read anything into it, but Wallace was listed as a starter at the beginning of the game (by the broadcast). Does that mean healthy, but doghouse?
🤷‍♂️

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

Well if we’re struggling to score, then every team in the nation is struggling more than we are since we have the longest streak of 30+ point games.

You don't agree that the offense is struggling? That everything is just fine?

 

[AWS1022]

You don't agree that the offense is struggling? That everything is just fine?

I think we struggled a bit yesterday in the first half, but other than that, not really. Michigan and OSU seem to be struggling more than we are if we judge them by the same metrics we judge our team by.

 

[Gitzit]

My only question is, why is Franklin running Drew when the game is well in hand??

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

I think we struggled a bit yesterday in the first half, but other than that, not really. Michigan and OSU seem to be struggling more than we are if we judge them by the same metrics we judge our team by.

I wouldnt say Michigan is struggling. They look to be in prime form.

 

[ncgolfer]

I wouldnt say Michigan is struggling. They look to be in prime form.

I went over to ESPN to compare PSU vs Michigan in terms of offense for the season. And I don’t see where they’re doing any better than us. If you look at scores, competition level and YTD statistics they’re not doing any better on offense than we are. Allar has a small lead over McCarthy in total passing yards. He has 9 TD’s to McCarthy’s 10 but Allar has 0 interceptions to McCarthy’s 3. Our 2 top RB’s havr 590 yards rushing to Michigans 582. And we lead them in receiving yards as well. Not by much but we still lead them.

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

I went over to ESPN to compare PSU vs Michigan in terms of offense for the season. And I don’t see where they’re doing any better than us. If you look at scores, competition level and YTD statistics they’re not doing any better on offense than we are. Allar has a small lead over McCarthy in total passing yards. He has 9 TD’s to McCarthy’s 10 but Allar has 0 interceptions to McCarthy’s 3. Our 2 top RB’s havr 590 yards rushing to Michigans 582. And we lead them in receiving yards as well. Not by much but we still lead them.

They have the best OL in the country, our is mediocre. Their offense will be fine, ours I'm not so sure.

 

[tboyer]

I want to start a discussion about what seems “off” about the offense thus far through 5 games. There have been spectacular moments and drives, but a majority seems to be clunky and/or mostly opportunistic with regard to the defense getting turnovers.

Is Allar, dare I say, streaky? Or just a product of a first year starter learning the ropes. WRs aren’t helping either.

Singleton seems to be in a slump. I’ve seen a lot of discussion around his speed lacking vs last year, but he’s at the same weight roughly compared to last year’s official roster. Feels to me that he’s overthinking it rather than being instinctual.

I think Potts deserves more meaningful reps, guys is a bowling bowl out there. Hopefully Allen’s injury isn’t serious.

Injuries are piling up on the OL, but they still haven’t seem to put it together for long stretches. I actually think pass protection has been good, but the run game hovering at 3/carry is not a good sign.

WRs are average. KLS has been productive but will eventually be double teamed because there are no other threats. Need Wallace back 100%. The others are inconsistent and have trouble with the tough catch in traffic.

TEs have been solid so far IMO - I think they go quiet in the pass game because the need to block added pressure being brought on Allar. I don’t think we fully understood what a weapon Strange was in the blocking game. Johnson/Warren aren’t bad blockers but they struggle getting to the second level.

Yurcich - I don’t know what to think here. Is he being purposefully vanilla? They have no identity and the lack of big plays passing and running are cause for concern. Why don’t we get Allar on the run and out of the pocket? That’s where he’s at his best. 1st and 2nd down play calling has been inconsistent as well.

It's many things.
-- Allar kind of came back to earth and was off in the 1st half. He did play very solid FB in the 2nd half.
-- As Franklin mentioned in his postgame, the PSU coaching staff needs to make more of the playbook available to Allar. You can see they don't have enough variety right now.
-- Singleton is definitely nursing some mid-section injury - ribs, groin, something. He is not cutting or accelerating normally. It's a pity but hopefully he can heal over the next 3 weeks. Super fortunate they have Potts with Singleton and Allen both not 100%.
-- Yes the offensive game plan has been vanilla. I think what Yurcich has done is spot on. It's all about not overloading Allar, putting him position for success, teaching him patience. But at the same time having a playbook that could beat Iowa, which they did. Now of course they need a different offense for Ohio State and they have three weeks to make it happen.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

3 yards per carry and 50% completion rate scare me, especially because it was against a horrendous defensive team. And we saw this a few weeks ago at Illinois and for long stretches against WVU.

Right now I think this offense is more opportunistic than a dominating force. Yes, the points are there, but the defense (and special teams) has been incredible at getting the ball back.

Does anyone feel all that confident that this current offense can consistently move the ball against Michigan and OSU? I’m confident in the defense, but this is college football - you have to score points and a lot them.

 

[ncgolfer]

They have the best OL in the country, our is mediocre. Their offense will be fine, ours I'm not so sure.

The stats and comparative scores say our offense is doing just as well as Michigan‘s.

 

[jimarnp]

G

I want to start a discussion about what seems “off” about the offense thus far through 5 games. There have been spectacular moments and drives, but a majority seems to be clunky and/or mostly opportunistic with regard to the defense getting turnovers.

Is Allar, dare I say, streaky? Or just a product of a first year starter learning the ropes. WRs aren’t helping either.

Singleton seems to be in a slump. I’ve seen a lot of discussion around his speed lacking vs last year, but he’s at the same weight roughly compared to last year’s official roster. Feels to me that he’s overthinking it rather than being instinctual.

I think Potts deserves more meaningful reps, guys is a bowling bowl out there. Hopefully Allen’s injury isn’t serious.

Injuries are piling up on the OL, but they still haven’t seem to put it together for long stretches. I actually think pass protection has been good, but the run game hovering at 3/carry is not a good sign.

WRs are average. KLS has been productive but will eventually be double teamed because there are no other threats. Need Wallace back 100%. The others are inconsistent and have trouble with the tough catch in traffic.

TEs have been solid so far IMO - I think they go quiet in the pass game because the need to block added pressure being brought on Allar. I don’t think we fully understood what a weapon Strange was in the blocking game. Johnson/Warren aren’t bad blockers but they struggle getting to the second level.

Yurcich - I don’t know what to think here. Is he being purposefully vanilla? They have no identity and the lack of big plays passing and running are cause for concern. Why don’t we get Allar on the run and out of the pocket? That’s where he’s at his best. 1st and 2nd down play calling has been inconsistent as well.

Given the athletes, this offense has extremely high potential, and has shown “flashes” of being elite. The vast majority of the time, however, this offense has been “above average “ only. Chemistry needs to be developed between the QB and wide-outs, and the “interchangeable “ 7-8 along the O-line. TE’s are fine. —Things should slowly coalesce, but needs to be complete by the Michigan game.
The defense is elite, with rare lapses in coverage and/or execution. —As long as they stay reasonably healthy, they will only improve, and become more formidable….. regardless of the offense they are facing. — The defense will keep us in every game, even if our offense remains “above average “ only. If the offensive chemistry improves at all, we will be a playoff caliber team. — Our special teams are average to above average, and are the weakest part of our game. — Unlike the offense , I do not anticipate great improvement in special teams play this year…. We will be going for a lot of “ fourth and 5” or less, because of our FG/punting.

 

[GregInPitt]

The passing game still needs more consistent WR play. Cephus was blocking on one play when the ball was coming to him on a pass. Just one play, but those "one plays" cost drives and are the difference between good offense and mediocre offense. The WR's need to pick things up, and at this point 5 games in the coaches need to settle in to 4 or 5 WR's if they can. It seems injuries may be preventing that. Considering the injuries on the OL the pass protection has been decent, other than Wallace getting blown by way too often. Like most here I'd like to see Wallace on the bench but it doesn't seem to be what the coaches plan to do. If Trautwein had more OT depth he'd have more options. But I really don't see him going with Williams, and Shelton hasn't looked as good on the right side as he did on the left side last season.

The running game is average at best and the oline has had a good bit to do with that as well. Tengwall has been missed and really can't be replaced as I believe he was an all B10 Guard - a roadgrader we have been missing for years. An oline can improve significantly as players settle in to the players around them and play more as a unit, but the injuries are preventing some of that progress. And as discussed in another thread Singleton is not playing like an NFL draft choice. I love him because his heart is with PSU, but as a player I'd trade him in a blink of an eye for the VT RB who beat up on Pitt last night and likely will never play a down in the NFL. We need a RB that can make the best cuts and get extra yards and Singleton has done almost none of that in the first 5 games - almost half of the season. Katron is Katron, but now he's hurt. If one of the freshman RB's are ready to play I'd like to see some spark from someone running the ball other than Potts, although obviously Potts should be getting 10+ carries a game going forward.

 

[AWS1022]

They have the best OL in the country, our is mediocre. Their offense will be fine, ours I'm not so sure.

The best OL in the country had three games where they didn’t rush for over 179 yards against really poor teams.

 

[bvillebaron]

The passing game still needs more consistent WR play. Cephus was blocking on one play when the ball was coming to him on a pass. Just one play, but those "one plays" cost drives and are the difference between good offense and mediocre offense. The WR's need to pick things up, and at this point 5 games in the coaches need to settle in to 4 or 5 WR's if they can. It seems injuries may be preventing that. Considering the injuries on the OL the pass protection has been decent, other than Wallace getting blown by way too often. Like most here I'd like to see Wallace on the bench but it doesn't seem to be what the coaches plan to do. If Trautwein had more OT depth he'd have more options. But I really don't see him going with Williams, and Shelton hasn't looked as good on the right side as he did on the left side last season.

The running game is average at best and the oline has had a good bit to do with that as well. Tengwall has been missed and really can't be replaced as I believe he was an all B10 Guard - a roadgrader we have been missing for years. An oline can improve significantly as players settle in to the players around them and play more as a unit, but the injuries are preventing some of that progress. And as discussed in another thread Singleton is not playing like an NFL draft choice. I love him because his heart is with PSU, but as a player I'd trade him in a blink of an eye for the VT RB who beat up on Pitt last night and likely will never play a down in the NFL. We need a RB that can make the best cuts and get extra yards and Singleton has done almost none of that in the first 5 games - almost half of the season. Katron is Katron, but now he's hurt. If one of the freshman RB's are ready to play I'd like to see some spark from someone running the ball other than Potts, although obviously Potts should be getting 10+ carries a game going forward.

Thanks for the clown comments about Singleton.

 

[AWS1022]

The passing game still needs more consistent WR play. Cephus was blocking on one play when the ball was coming to him on a pass. Just one play, but those "one plays" cost drives and are the difference between good offense and mediocre offense. The WR's need to pick things up, and at this point 5 games in the coaches need to settle in to 4 or 5 WR's if they can. It seems injuries may be preventing that. Considering the injuries on the OL the pass protection has been decent, other than Wallace getting blown by way too often. Like most here I'd like to see Wallace on the bench but it doesn't seem to be what the coaches plan to do. If Trautwein had more OT depth he'd have more options. But I really don't see him going with Williams, and Shelton hasn't looked as good on the right side as he did on the left side last season.

The running game is average at best and the oline has had a good bit to do with that as well. Tengwall has been missed and really can't be replaced as I believe he was an all B10 Guard - a roadgrader we have been missing for years. An oline can improve significantly as players settle in to the players around them and play more as a unit, but the injuries are preventing some of that progress. And as discussed in another thread Singleton is not playing like an NFL draft choice. I love him because his heart is with PSU, but as a player I'd trade him in a blink of an eye for the VT RB who beat up on Pitt last night and likely will never play a down in the NFL. We need a RB that can make the best cuts and get extra yards and Singleton has done almost none of that in the first 5 games - almost half of the season. Katron is Katron, but now he's hurt. If one of the freshman RB's are ready to play I'd like to see some spark from someone running the ball other than Potts, although obviously Potts should be getting 10+ carries a game going forward.

You mean the guy that had 4 yards on 8 carries against Purdue? Great choice.

 

[GregInPitt]

Thanks for the clown comments about Singleton.

The only "clown comments" were yours. There has been 1 or 2 RB's that look better than Singleton in EVERY game I've watched this year. As I mentioned, the VT RB made many Pitt defenders grasp for air last night, and Singleton rarely has made anyone miss through 5 games.

Your welcome for enlightening you!!

 

[GregInPitt]

You mean the guy that had 4 yards on 8 carries against Purdue? Great choice.

Your talking about Potts?

Potts sure made the most of his run yesterday. Whereas Singleton chugged along at less than 4 yards a carry against one of the worst run defenses in college football. It's not all on Singleton as the OL is not setting the world on fire but he needs to use some quickness and cutting to make someone miss. And he hasn't done much of it so far through 5 games.

And my comment about Potts getting carries is assuming that Katron is hurt. But even if Katron is playing Potts showed enough to warrent some carries based on how he did yesterday.

 

[AWS1022]

Your talking about Potts?

Potts sure made the most of his run yesterday. Whereas Singleton chugged along at less than 4 yards a carry against one of the worst run defenses in college football. It's not all on Singleton as the OL is not setting the world on fire but he needs to use some quickness and cutting to make someone miss. And he hasn't done much of it so far through 5 games.

And my comment about Potts getting carries is assuming that Katron is hurt. But even if Katron is playing Potts showed enough to warrent some carries based on how he did yesterday.

No, I’m talking about the guy from Va Tech who had 4 yards on 8 carries against Purdue. He also had 55 yards against ODU.

 

[GregInPitt]

No, I’m talking about the guy from Va Tech who had 4 yards on 8 carries against Purdue. He also had 55 yards against ODU.

He looked great against Pitt breaking tackles and cutting away from defenders. 24 carries for 109 yards against Duzzy's defense.

 

[AWS1022]

He looked great against Pitt breaking tackles and cutting away from defenders. 24 carries for 109 yards against Duzzy's defense.

So one game and you’d trade him for Singleton? Wow.

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

Most of our offensive scoring is on short fields bc of our D.

 

[GregInPitt]

So one game and you’d trade him for Singleton? Wow.

Where did you read that? Might want to read what I wrote not what you imagine.

But it's obvious to the casual observer that part of the running game issues is that the PSU RB's have not been making defenders miss. Along with defenses loading up against the PSU running game to make Allar and the new PSU WR's beat them, and the very average performance of the PSU oline compared to the preseason build up, and.....

Lots of reasons, but the RB's bear some of the responsibility for the less than average running game of the first 5 games.

 

[lurkerlion]

I think Singleton is still figuring who he is as a runner. I thought he was a home run only kind of runner early last year but was figuring it out at the end of the year by making sure he got positive yards when the home run wasn’t there. This year he seems to be forcing himself to stay inside the tackles. Hopefully, he learns when to bounce which would make him elite. He needs open space more than Kaytron.

 

[olelion]

I just rewatched it. I have to walk back much of what I said. The holes were there but timing issues abounded in this game. I don't know if it's RPO stuff or what but it seemed several times the handoff was a fraction of a second late. However, Singleton definitely seemed to hit the wrong hole and the tight ends need to step it up on blocking. At least two plays were wrecked because of missed blocks . But I do want to stress that the line was better than I thought

 

[LMTLION]

I just rewatched it. I have to walk back much of what I said. The holes were there but timing issues abounded in this game. I don't know if it's RPO stuff or what but it seemed several times the handoff was a fraction of a second late. However, Singleton definitely seemed to hit the wrong hole and the tight ends need to step it up on blocking. At least two plays were wrecked because of missed blocks . But I do want to stress that the line was better than I thought

I have thought the holes have been there the entire season and still think this is our best Franklin OL. Our rbs are just not seeing the field to break long runs.

 

[lazydave841]

But I do want to stress that the line was better than I thought

RBs just haven't made anybody pay yet. TEs, WRs definitely need to block better, but our backs have got to get the first couple of yards as well. We aren't being blown up for TFLs, so that is a good thing. Perhaps great.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

RBs just haven't made anybody pay yet. TEs, WRs definitely need to block better, but our backs have got to get the first couple of yards as well. We aren't being blown up for TFLs, so that is a good thing. Perhaps great.

This is a really solid point and something I’ve noticed as well - the RBs aren’t taking many TFLs at all, just feels like most runs go for 1-3 yards. So it’s not like our OL is getting pushed around like it was in the Barkley years or even 2021. Which makes it seems like a timing and/or RB issue.

It’s not like we’re fighting for our lives with 3rd and 14 every series, more like 3rd and 6-8. The RBs might need to be better identifying the hole with some better second level blocking.