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Film Study: PSU Run Defense vs. Michigan

CaliLION79

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Sep 27, 2020
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PSU RUN D vs. UM FILM STUDY

...or lack thereof. See Link. Really enlightening video. One of his best imo. Shows that all the leaks in the run game were due to more than just getting bullied up front, or that our d-linemen are small and need to bulk up like Franklin suggested. Coach really lays out how Michigan outcoached and outschemed Franklin & Diaz and how ill-prepared our LBs were to handle Michigan's run game wrinkles. Really bad look, especially coming out of a bye.
 
Two things: First, we suck coming out of the bye. Not sure why. The ILL debacle was after a bye last year. Second, our LBers are our weakest link. That is no surprise as it was written about in spades coming into the season
 
Two things: First, we suck coming out of the bye. Not sure why. The ILL debacle was after a bye last year. Second, our LBers are our weakest link. That is no surprise as it was written about in spades coming into the season
Lack of focus. We start the season locked in. Franklin seems to cut them some slack during the bye week and they tend to lose focus. I mean they have entire practices run by GAs. That's not serious.

I get that we want to recruit but is that one week of recruiting worth the pattern of poor bye week prep? Wouldn't it help recruiting more to be 6-0? I think he eases off the gas too much during bye weeks and the kids follow suit. It's hard to get serious and regain the focus.
 
I see defensive tackles easily manhandled by one offensive lineman and no penetration at all. Not many linebackers can defeat OL coming at them.
 
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More play breakdown. Not all the plays favorable to Michigan. Penn State made some nice plays, especially the defense down towards the goal line, and the long Clifford run.

 
I see defensive tackles easily manhandled by one offensive lineman and no penetration at all. Not many linebackers can defeat OL coming at them.

LBs are just poor LBs. They don't fill gaps quick enough. They tend to fill the wrong gap. When they finally get those 2 right, they are then poor tacklers.

DL was very poor at winning their battles. On those pin and pulls, we didn't win a single gap playside. Inside zone, Corum vs Elsdon and our guy got beat every time while the DL got shoved wherever.

Let's see how we respond to Minnesota. If we are back in the exact same 4-2-5, Ibrahim will be 20 for 130.
 
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LBs are just poor LBs. They don't fill gaps quick enough. They tend to fill the wrong gap. When they finally get those 2 right, they are then poor tacklers.

DL was very poor at winning their battles. On those pin and pulls, we didn't win a single gap playside. Inside zone, Corum vs Elsdon and our guy got beat every time while the DL got shoved wherever.

Let's see how we respond to Minnesota. If we are back in the exact same 4-2-5, Ibrahim will be 20 for 130.
I dont think its a question of if Ibrahim will get his yards. We need to limit them to fgs and actually score some points on offense.
 
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LBs are just poor LBs. They don't fill gaps quick enough. They tend to fill the wrong gap. When they finally get those 2 right, they are then poor tacklers.

DL was very poor at winning their battles. On those pin and pulls, we didn't win a single gap playside. Inside zone, Corum vs Elsdon and our guy got beat every time while the DL got shoved wherever.

Let's see how we respond to Minnesota. If we are back in the exact same 4-2-5, Ibrahim will be 20 for 130.

There is one play included in the above video where a Nitt LB puts this HUGE lateral hit on Corum, but he doesn't even try to wrap up. Corum just bounces off the hit and keeps going.
 
Lack of focus. We start the season locked in. Franklin seems to cut them some slack during the bye week and they tend to lose focus. I mean they have entire practices run by GAs. That's not serious.

I get that we want to recruit but is that one week of recruiting worth the pattern of poor bye week prep? Wouldn't it help recruiting more to be 6-0? I think he eases off the gas too much during bye weeks and the kids follow suit. It's hard to get serious and regain the focus.
CJF and the staff were all out recruiting, be that a good or bad choice. But he may be putting too much emphasis on recruiting over the team. Easy for me to say but they need to improve coming out of bye weeks
 
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CJF and the staff were all out recruiting, be that a good or bad choice. But he may be putting too much emphasis on recruiting over the team. Easy for me to say but they need to improve coming out of bye weeks
Yeah I think its pretty clear he needs to focus on the game. He also said that they would use the buy to get a head start on other future opponents. Dont know how you donr focus 100% on Mich.
 
PSU RUN D vs. UM FILM STUDY

...or lack thereof. See Link. Really enlightening video. One of his best imo. Shows that all the leaks in the run game were due to more than just getting bullied up front, or that our d-linemen are small and need to bulk up like Franklin suggested. Coach really lays out how Michigan outcoached and outschemed Franklin & Diaz and how ill-prepared our LBs were to handle Michigan's run game wrinkles. Really bad look, especially coming out of a bye.

We are buying the narrative, my god. Please point me to the quote where dear leader said we were undersized at DT prior to this a$$-beating. Here are four guys with experience of one year or more that weigh close 300 or more than 300. Why could they not plug up middle if simply a size issue? It was not. UM was simply better prepared with scheme and execution. That is coaching. Please people. This is on CJF.

PJ Mustipher
Jordan van den Berg
Dvon Ellies
Coziah Izzard
 
Sutherland is not a LB, he is not a S either but he seems to be one of JF's favorites because he is a good kid and he probably practices great but just cant get it done when the lights are on. Elsdon is not a Big ten starting LB and Kobe King has not progressed enough yet to be more than a backup. PSU has 2 big ten type LB's Jacobs and Carter. They need to play every down. Maybe a kid like Buddin can step up but most of the young guys need to gain some weight.
 
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The sad thing is that Franklin probably held 12 "strategy" meetings with his staff about how to handle the bye week and he still screws it all up. The guy over thinks everything. He probably had some minute by minute detailed plan yet it was essentially the same crap he has done in other years but he doesn't see the forest through the trees.

Beyond that, the crappy bye week prep is not why we lost. Did not help but not the reason. The reason is because he can't develop linemen on both sides of the ball and forgot to recruit a decent linebacker the past two years. He instills zero toughness and physicality into the program. He is way too much of a players coach. Oh and I don't think he can develop a linebacker either even if they do have talent. Let's see what happens to Abdul Carter in a year (insert cringe).
 
I do - because as usual we have a Head Coach and staff that does not understand that there are 3, and only 3, and only these 3 success metrics for PSU football:

1. Beat Michigan
2. Beat Ohio State
3. win the conference championship.

Franklin, and all of his assistant coaches over his tenure, have never embraced this. He is a 3 card Monty dealer: when we lose, it’s due to recruiting issues, or some bs metric, or players not playing well. It’s certainly not because he and his staff are taken to school on game plans, in- game adjustments or asinine in game decisions. Perish the thought.

we’ve seen the best this guy has: 2017 and 2019. That’s the ceiling for PSU football under this coach. And since 2019, he is 1-2 vs UM, and 0-2, soon to be 0-3 vs OSU. Completely unacceptable. Conference record of 10-11, losing to Indiana, Maryland, Illinois in the process. He doesn’t have a clue about winning the big games in this conference, and in the process, loses a lot of the small ones! what’s next - he loses to Rutgers?

Mr. Kraft is watching, and is not a fan of Franklin, and even less of a fan of that contract extension. The times are a-changin, an incompetent pc alternative lifestyle failure is no longer in charge of Penn State Athletics. Franklin better start winning…
 
Really terrific video.
Harball really took it to Diaz, he could never make the right adjustment. The coordinating was a step behind on defense. Penn State's defense being on the field for 3/4 of the game was a more effective defense to Penn State's offensive continuity and gameplan than the Michigan defense itself.
 
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We are buying the narrative, my god. Please point me to the quote where dear leader said we were undersized at DT prior to this a$$-beating. Here are four guys with experience of one year or more that weigh close 300 or more than 300. Why could they not plug up middle if simply a size issue? It was not. UM was simply better prepared with scheme and execution. That is coaching. Please people. This is on CJF.

PJ Mustipher
Jordan van den Berg
Dvon Ellies
Coziah Izzard
Mustipher is the best of the bunch, yet he was getting knocked 3-4 off the LOS and making tackles after a 5-6 yard gain. Take a look at the "extra flab" PJ has handing over his gut. PJ is 6-4, 320; Mazi Smith is 6-3, 337, yet he is solid with no fat hanging off him. As for Van Den Berg, he got mauled the entire time he was in there.
 
Mustipher is the best of the bunch, yet he was getting knocked 3-4 off the LOS and making tackles after a 5-6 yard gain. Take a look at the "extra flab" PJ has handing over his gut. PJ is 6-4, 320; Mazi Smith is 6-3, 337, yet he is solid with no fat hanging off him. As for Van Den Berg, he got mauled the entire time he was in there.
Mustipher is not the same since injury. Will be interested if he even gets drafted.
 
Mustipher is the best of the bunch, yet he was getting knocked 3-4 off the LOS and making tackles after a 5-6 yard gain. Take a look at the "extra flab" PJ has handing over his gut. PJ is 6-4, 320; Mazi Smith is 6-3, 337, yet he is solid with no fat hanging off him. As for Van Den Berg, he got mauled the entire time he was in there.
I agree but then it is not size but body type. This is not something that just happens. CJF wanted it for his style of play. He probably stresses agility and technique but not brute strength. Harbaugh has built brute strength and so has OSU. Nearly all the programs in the BT build brute strength. I would start there but this is what happen with Terps mentality, like Locksley and Franklin. Focus on passing, big plays and scheme mis-matches. It worked in old ACC but not BT. Using that philosophy, you need all forces in universe to align with compete with BT big boys. They don't align very often.
 
Look
I do - because as usual we have a Head Coach and staff that does not understand that there are 3, and only 3, and only these 3 success metrics for PSU football:

1. Beat Michigan
2. Beat Ohio State
3. win the conference championship.

Franklin, and all of his assistant coaches over his tenure, have never embraced this. He is a 3 card Monty dealer: when we lose, it’s due to recruiting issues, or some bs metric, or players not playing well. It’s certainly not because he and his staff are taken to school on game plans, in- game adjustments or asinine in game decisions. Perish the thought.

we’ve seen the best this guy has: 2017 and 2019. That’s the ceiling for PSU football under this coach. And since 2019, he is 1-2 vs UM, and 0-2, soon to be 0-3 vs OSU. Completely unacceptable. Conference record of 10-11, losing to Indiana, Maryland, Illinois in the process. He doesn’t have a clue about winning the big games in this conference, and in the process, loses a lot of the small ones! what’s next - he loses to Rutgers?

Mr. Kraft is watching, and is not a fan of Franklin, and even less of a fan of that contract extension. The times are a-changin, an incompetent pc alternative lifestyle failure is no longer in charge of Penn State Athletics. Franklin better start winning…
Look out for Indiana on the road. Classic game Franklin will blow...and most likey the fighting Mel Tuckers take him to school.
 
I agree but then it is not size but body type. This is not something that just happens. CJF wanted it for his style of play. He probably stresses agility and technique but not brute strength. Harbaugh has built brute strength and so has OSU. Nearly all the programs in the BT build brute strength. I would start there but this is what happen with Terps mentality, like Locksley and Franklin. Focus on passing, big plays and scheme mis-matches. It worked in old ACC but not BT. Using that philosophy, you need all forces in universe to align with compete with BT big boys. They don't align very often.
This premise says it will never change under Franklin. Sadly I think you are right. Different philosophy that does not work well against the big boys. Problem is, scUM and and O$U also look equally fast and athletic and we can't generate any explosive plays but scUM sure as hell did against us. In a nutshell we are nowhere.
 
This premise says it will never change under Franklin. Sadly I think you are right. Different philosophy that does not work well against the big boys. Problem is, scUM and and O$U also look equally fast and athletic and we can't generate any explosive plays but scUM sure as hell did against us. In a nutshell we are nowhere.
Yup
 
No game is a gimme, not even Rutgers.
I am an alarmist and think time to get rid of Franklin but not here yet. We got man-handled by one of two best in BT, with best OL in country last year. We are built to beat the little guys, barring major injuries. We are ok with 8 wins and trip to Outback.
 
Was fascinating to watch. Their O line was very athletic, not just brute force. Their pulling was textbook....getting off the line quickly, moving with speed and agility to the point of attack, not getting caught up in traffic, and finding and making the key blocks. Great work by the line.

Hard to stop but can be done. As a D lineman......when the guy opposite you pulls quickly follow. And if they are pulling a lot like this game then you need to quickly charge into the lineman as he pulls and knock him down. Or at least off stride and slow him down.

And the LBs need to learn how to shed blocks. Can’t take a lineman on shoulder to shoulder or chest to chest when that dude outweighs you by fifty pounds. The players are playing standing up to look for the ball. Get under him, knock him down and plug the hole. And step into the guy, not give ground. Stack up the line of scrimmage so the backs have to make cuts there, not eight yards downfield.

And this didn’t look like a pressure defense in the selected plays. The LBs weren’t blitzing at all. No stunts or x rushes. Just straight on, head to head with guys much bigger. Not smart.
 
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UM's center played lights out, the transfer I believe from UVA who wasn't rated very high out of high school. His pulling and sealing the edge was text-book. And, after his initial line blocks, he was knocking our LB's around like pinballs. Kid will be a high draft choice for sure, big, tough, and mobile. What more could you ask for in an OL.
 
I am an alarmist and think time to get rid of Franklin but not here yet. We got man-handled by one of two best in BT, with best OL in country last year. We are built to beat the little guys, barring major injuries. We are ok with 8 wins and trip to Outback.
I am already planning my trips for the next 10 years to the Dukes Mayo bowl.
 
UM's center played lights out, the transfer I believe from UVA who wasn't rated very high out of high school. His pulling and sealing the edge was text-book. And, after his initial line blocks, he was knocking our LB's around like pinballs. Kid will be a high draft choice for sure, big, tough, and mobile. What more could you ask for in an OL.
Player development for football players. A foreign concept in University Park.
 
Sutherland is not a LB, he is not a S either but he seems to be one of JF's favorites because he is a good kid and he probably practices great but just cant get it done when the lights are on. Elsdon is not a Big ten starting LB and Kobe King has not progressed enough yet to be more than a backup. PSU has 2 big ten type LB's Jacobs and Carter. They need to play every down. Maybe a kid like Buddin can step up but most of the young guys need to gain some weight.
Carter seemed to be scarce last Saturday. I thought he would have earned more playing time
 
Two things: First, we suck coming out of the bye. Not sure why. The ILL debacle was after a bye last year. Second, our LBers are our weakest link. That is no surprise as it was written about in spades coming into the season
Been a fan for quite a while, having gravitated to college football and away from pro basketball (too much player drama and lack of basics) and baseball (for the same reasons plus the impact of poor ownership and management-long time Pirates fan, no need to say more) AND I don't consider myself an expert (why I enjoy boards like this) To me the film review showed a lack of maintaining one-on-one assignment/contact between offensive blockers and defenders-the proverbial 'hat on a hat', as well as lack of awareness between defenders (who/where/what)-several instances where one of our defenders tripped or blocked another out of the play or multiples lunged...inaccurate or late. The one play on offense that stood out to me was when 3 offensive lineman were engaged with ONE defender-not going to win many games with that execution regardless of who outweighs who.
 
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