Film Study: Christian Veilleux Debut

[CaliLION79]

VEILLEUX vs. RUTGERS

Hey, that rhymes! See Link.

Anyway, the thing that stood out to me last week was Veilleux's willingness to throw up 50/50 balls and trusting his guy to out-athelete the guy in red. For as well as Clifford played pre-injury (and even post-injury at Ohio State) it felt like he was hesitant to take chances downfield because he was (is) so considered with correcting his lopsided TD-INT ratio from last year. Think about it...other than the deep shot to KLS in the Wisconsin game, can you recall many deep balls that Clifford threw where his receiver wasn't wide open? In everything I read about Yurcich's offense in the offseason, it said that his QBs always had the green light to throw McSorley-esque "jumpballs" and we didn't see a lot of that this season from Clifford...but we did with Veilleux on Saturday.

 

[Wallace Breen]

VEILLEUX vs. RUTGERS

Hey, that rhymes! See Link.

Anyway, the thing that stood out to me last week was Veilleux's willingness to throw up 50/50 balls and trusting his guy to out-athelete the guy in red. For as well as Clifford played pre-injury (and even post-injury at Ohio State) it felt like he was hesitant to take chances downfield because he was (is) so considered with correcting his lopsided TD-INT ratio from last year. Think about it...other than the deep shot to KLS in the Wisconsin game, can you recall many deep balls that Clifford threw where his receiver wasn't wide open? In everything I read about Yurcich's offense in the offseason, it said that his QBs always had the green light to throw McSorley-esque "jumpballs" and we didn't see a lot of that this season from Clifford...but we did with Veilleux on Saturday.

We don't have the receivers to go after jump balls against good defenders. Did you see how easily Rutgers contained Dotson with single man coverage and no safety help? He had three catches, two of which were due to mental mistakes by the corner. The kicker is that corner is nor very good. This is where not having a legit #1 receiver kills us with this offense. And no, Dotson is not a legit #1 receiver. He is great and constantly finds ways to get open against zone defenses but is forced to rely on mistakes to make an impact against tight man coverage. That book was written two years ago which is why he is likely to wash out of the NFL very quickly.

 

[Rhino80]

We don't have the receivers to go after jump balls against good defenders. Did you see how easily Rutgers contained Dotson with single man coverage and no safety help? He had three catches, two of which were due to mental mistakes by the corner. The kicker is that corner is nor very good. This is where not having a legit #1 receiver kills us with this offense. And no, Dotson is not a legit #1 receiver. He is great and constantly finds ways to get open against zone defenses but is forced to rely on mistakes to make an impact against tight man coverage. That book was written two years ago which is why he is likely to wash out of the NFL very quickly.

This might be the worst take I have seen on a message board and that is saying something.

 

[creamery freak]

We don't have the receivers to go after jump balls against good defenders. Did you see how easily Rutgers contained Dotson with single man coverage and no safety help? He had three catches, two of which were due to mental mistakes by the corner. The kicker is that corner is nor very good. This is where not having a legit #1 receiver kills us with this offense. And no, Dotson is not a legit #1 receiver. He is great and constantly finds ways to get open against zone defenses but is forced to rely on mistakes to make an impact against tight man coverage. That book was written two years ago which is why he is likely to wash out of the NFL very quickly.

The only weakness that I've seen in Dotson's skills was against Iowa, on the long pass near the goal line, where he needed to play DB and not allow an easy INT. Dotson has great hands and speed and will be a star receiver in the NFL for many years.

 

[bvillebaron]

We don't have the receivers to go after jump balls against good defenders. Did you see how easily Rutgers contained Dotson with single man coverage and no safety help? He had three catches, two of which were due to mental mistakes by the corner. The kicker is that corner is nor very good. This is where not having a legit #1 receiver kills us with this offense. And no, Dotson is not a legit #1 receiver. He is great and constantly finds ways to get open against zone defenses but is forced to rely on mistakes to make an impact against tight man coverage. That book was written two years ago which is why he is likely to wash out of the NFL very quickly.

A first round draft pick isn’t a #1 WR? Okay whatever you say. You must have missed the 2 one handed grabs for TDS Dotson had against OSU last year where he out jumped the FB.

 

[KC-KS-Lion]

A first round draft pick isn’t a #1 WR? Okay whatever you say. You must have missed the 2 one handed grabs for TDS Dotson had against OSU last year where he out jumped the FB.

'Versatile' may be more appropriate. I don't seem him having the same game as Allen Robinson or Godwin...and maybe not fending off more physical play from DBs and its impact on 50/50 balls. He does have great hands and doesn't shy away from running in traffic. I would have liked to see what the recruit Lonnie White could have done at Penn State-his physical type (that could consistently catch) is lacking other than Robinson and Godwin, and has contributed more than a little for losses against Ohio State.

 

[Texas Lion]

Let me ask the experts something......is what this guy saying common sense or is he really good? If he is really good why is he at a high school in texas? I feel like I get a lot out of his videos.

 

[PearlandLion]

This might be the worst take I have seen on a message board and that is saying something.

Then you haven’t been reading much that this guy’s written. He’s pure gold.

 

[IANit]

Let me ask the experts something......is what this guy saying common sense or is he really good? If he is really good why is he at a high school in texas? I feel like I get a lot out of his videos.

Since you're from Texas, are you telling me that Texas high school football isn't all that? Because I thought it was just a step below FBS based on Friday Night Lights.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Then you haven’t been reading much that this guy’s written. He’s pure gold.

Methinks it’s time he go in for some serious brain scans or related tests.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Let me ask the experts something......is what this guy saying common sense or is he really good? If he is really good why is he at a high school in texas? I feel like I get a lot out of his videos.

I don’t think he is all that. He makes a lot of mistakes or incorrect analysis. On that fumbled snap....it WAS NOT a screen. Earlier in the year he said a lot than wasn’t accurate. I remember one time he criticized Clifford for not stepping into a throw when in fact Clifford had to jump up to get over the linemen because he did have a passing lane. Was actually a good throw by Clifford.
Have seen several other times he was wrong about plays. Once he said the blocking scheme was wrong but it was just that the right tackle missed the MLB. I would give him a B grade.

But for the most part, these are good to watch. One the film angle is so much better than TV as you see the routes and the coverage. And since he can stop it or play it back and forth it really gives you the ability to see both the scheme and just what is going on.

Wonder where he gets the film? Is this part of some contract with Penn State? are these films available to anyone? How was a high school coach selected to do this?

 

[Texas Lion]

Since you're from Texas, are you telling me that Texas high school football isn't all that? Because I thought it was just a step below FBS based on Friday Night Lights.

Oh, it's plenty big and what they pay their coach and put in their stadiums in beyond belief. Head Coach/Campus AD is probably around $130,000-$140,000.

As far as players, it is also very good. The districting and levels are wired to me though still after 12 years here.

 

[RaymondReddington]

We don't have the receivers to go after jump balls against good defenders. Did you see how easily Rutgers contained Dotson with single man coverage and no safety help? He had three catches, two of which were due to mental mistakes by the corner. The kicker is that corner is nor very good. This is where not having a legit #1 receiver kills us with this offense. And no, Dotson is not a legit #1 receiver. He is great and constantly finds ways to get open against zone defenses but is forced to rely on mistakes to make an impact against tight man coverage. That book was written two years ago which is why he is likely to wash out of the NFL very quickly.

All he does is score touchdowns.
I thought you died a few years ago, Coach Ryan.

 

[gogolion]

One the film angle is so much better than TV as you see the routes and the coverage.

Wonder where he gets the film? Is this part of some contract with Penn State? are these films available to anyone? How was a high school coach selected to do this?

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Every video I've seen of his he uses the TV video.

 

[PearlandLion]

Oh, it's plenty big and what they pay their coach and put in their stadiums in beyond belief. Head Coach/Campus AD is probably around $130,000-$140,000.

As far as players, it is also very good. The districting and levels are wired to me though still after 12 years here.

I can confirm. Grew up in PA, coached in NC and GA before moving to the coaching Promised Land.

 

[Obliviax]

I really liked what I saw of CV Saturday. He hasn't taken a single college snap. You could just see that he gained better control and confidence in every single drive. He had good pocket presence, kept his eyes downfield and was a better runner than I expected. He is as good a runner as a healthy SC IMHO.

The first TD pass was a dime over a defender and dropped into the Dotson's hands who had a half step on the defender. Long and it was OOB. Short and it was knocked away. And he had to "touch" it in there while running to his right. This was after a 10 play drive.

The second TD was the result of back to back 17 yard completions (Warren and Washington).

The Third TD was the broken coverage on Meiga but he saw him and threw a simple pass short so Meiga could slow down, catch the ball and still score. No need to hit him in stride. Good real-time decisioning by CV.

The fourth TD was the result of a 14 play drive.

While it was only Rutgers, they are still better than ILL. (They beat ILL, Indy and Syracuse). So it is certainly not the second coming of Trevor Lawrence but hard to fault him in any meaningful way in his debut.

 

[Trose75]

1. Yeah high school coaches in Texas make more than what the TE coach will make in the MAC or Sun Belt. They're highly sought after, 100-150k a year jobs.

2. I think what Spin was referring to as far as film was that all the off-season videos feature All-22 film. To me, those are a lot cooler than these week to week in-season videos because he can see everything and really digs into them. That film is usually shared at coaches clinics etc over the spring and summer so I'm guessing that's where he gets it. I always see random "nfl draft experts" on YouTube using it on player evaluations, so it must leak out somehow.

3. Ask Shaun Wade and the millions of dollars he lost in 2020 if Penn State's receivers can catch contested balls lol

4. I wish CV would start on Saturday. He won't but I wish he would. On the road, in a probably 70 percent full stadium against the worst pass defense in college football seems like a good safe way to keep getting your feet wet.

 

[BOSCO2]

The nice thing about Christian's performance is that, most times, when a totally inexperienced QB gets thrown into a game, all you see is flanker screens and dump-offs to the RBs. We saw the playbook, if not totally open, we saw a lot of it. Had Christian been thrown out there at Iowa or Illinois you might not have seen that.

 

[ram2020]

The nice thing about Christian's performance is that, most times, when a totally inexperienced QB gets thrown into a game, all you see is flanker screens and dump-offs to the RBs. We saw the playbook, if not totally open, we saw a lot of it. Had Christian been thrown out there at Iowa or Illinois you might not have seen that.

You heard a lot of posters talking about how MY should have changed the offense after Roberson came into the Iowa game, I happened to like that MY didn't. Like other positional players, everyone needs to be able to perform within the system and if they can't, they shouldn't be here. I agree, its good all round to me that CV was not simply asked to be a game manager, good for his development and good for the team.

 

[Wallace Breen]

Never mind the fact that is 100% accurate. Like it or not, it is true and we have several years worth of game film to prove it.

 

[mfb5053]

This might be the worst take I have seen on a message board and that is saying something.

He’s had some awful takes regarding Dotson. He was just bashing him a little over a week ago then Dotson was the only WR to make the Walter camp finalist list.

 

[Wallace Breen]

He’s had some awful takes regarding Dotson. He was just bashing him a little over a week ago then Dotson was the only WR to make the Walter camp finalist list.

But, I was right. Dotson is great against soft zone coverage, horrible against man. This has been obvious for years. Look what a MAC level corner did to him on Saturday with no safety support? Three catches, two of which were the result of a mental mistake.

 

[Wallace Breen]

Show us the film, dipshit. Helen Keller could see how great Dotson is.

Can't argue so insult. Nice.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

But, I was right. Dotson is great against soft zone coverage, horrible against man. This has been obvious for years. Look what a MAC level corner did to him on Saturday with no safety support? Three catches, two of which were the result of a mental mistake.

You do know he was barely able to play, right?

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

Can't argue so insult. Nice.

You haven’t backed up anything other than cementing yourself as a blind mental midget.

 

[CaliLION79]

Maryland plays more man coverage than any team in the Big Ten...(checks boxscore) Dotson had 242 yards receiving and 3 TDs lol. Come on, man.

 

[HartfordLlion]

VEILLEUX vs. RUTGERS

Hey, that rhymes! See Link.

Anyway, the thing that stood out to me last week was Veilleux's willingness to throw up 50/50 balls and trusting his guy to out-athelete the guy in red. For as well as Clifford played pre-injury (and even post-injury at Ohio State) it felt like he was hesitant to take chances downfield because he was (is) so considered with correcting his lopsided TD-INT ratio from last year. Think about it...other than the deep shot to KLS in the Wisconsin game, can you recall many deep balls that Clifford threw where his receiver wasn't wide open? In everything I read about Yurcich's offense in the offseason, it said that his QBs always had the green light to throw McSorley-esque "jumpballs" and we didn't see a lot of that this season from Clifford...but we did with Veilleux on Saturday.

Chucking the ball ups for grabs is what got Clifford in trouble last year. It worked out for CV last game but I guatentee you they will coach that out of him if he wants to remain the starter next year. For the RU game I cringed ever time he threw that ball up for grabs. He could of had a couple ball picked last Saturday. He got lucky.

 

[RaymondReddington]

But, I was right. Dotson is great against soft zone coverage, horrible against man. This has been obvious for years. Look what a MAC level corner did to him on Saturday with no safety support? Three catches, two of which were the result of a mental mistake.

Didn’t Maryland play man against Dotson? How did that work out for them?

 

[PearlSUJam]

Maryland plays more man coverage than any team in the Big Ten...(checks boxscore) Dotson had 242 yards receiving and 3 TDs lol. Come on, man.

Burn them then they go away...until tomorrow.

 

[ryoder1]

But, I was right. Dotson is great against soft zone coverage, horrible against man. This has been obvious for years. Look what a MAC level corner did to him on Saturday with no safety support? Three catches, two of which were the result of a mental mistake.

So he can't beat man coverage but is a projected first round pick? All these scouts don't see this yet you do and they will go all in on him to see him flame out. Got it.

Let's see, some other hot takes you have...I suppose Allar is a fraud and will be horrible, Singleton just plays against bad competition and won't be any good. Brisker is awful. Mustipher was lousy and blaming anything on his absence is ridiculous. And the capper, we will lose by at least 3 TDs against Sparty because MSUs dead last pass defense can play half asleep and still stop Dotson. All our other wide receivers can't put one leg in front of the other. Is there anything remotely positive about Penn State football? Anything? In your mind, clearly no.

 

[ryoder1]

Chucking the ball ups for grabs is what got Clifford in trouble last year. It worked out for CV last game but I guatentee you they will coach that out of him if he wants to remain the starter next year. For the RU game I cringed ever time he threw that ball up for grabs. He could of had a couple ball picked last Saturday. He got lucky.

I agree there were a couple pickable balls he threw. I thought Warren bailed him out with a phenomenal grab. Again he is a Freshman in his first game so over all a lot to be excited about.