Obli's Observations; Missed Opp (or not)

[bsmith51]

I agree with everything you said. But I am not trying to be hard on TMc - just realistic. Let's not make Pitt out to be the Denver Broncos on defense. While I agree that work will be done to clean up mistakes and that might be evident against the Pitts and Temples and Akrons of the world, it will not cut it against the meat of our schedule.

As the competition levels rise, I suspect that the talent shortcomings will be further highlighted.

And remember, if nothing were to change, Penn State may be signing up to three years this level of play - slightly improving but with a very low ceiling. Acceptable? Perhaps to some, but not enough to fill a stadium of 107,000 people.

Good point. If a kid with his talent level were to face the No. 1 pass defense in the country, then we are in trouble because he can't play against that kind of competition with his skill set. Oh wait, that already happened in his first meaningful playing time against Georgia and he fared quite well once he got his feet wet. Is he going to struggle at times? Absolutely. Just like any new starter, there will be growing pains. But that does not mean any struggles he may have are due to a lack of talent. We will see.

 

[Obliviax]

Good point. If a kid with his talent level were to face the No. 1 pass defense in the country, then we are in trouble because he can't play against that kind of competition with his skill set. Oh wait, that already happened in his first meaningful playing time against Georgia and he fared quite well once he got his feet wet. Is he going to struggle at times? Absolutely. Just like any new starter, there will be growing pains. But that does not mean any struggles he may have are due to a lack of talent. We will see.

I think you need to take GA out of the equation. GA was geared to play a pocket QB and had a lead they were protecting. TM played well, but its not like GA had film on him. For example, to beat Hack, you put a lot of pressure on him in the pocket, didn't care about the short game, and played the WR's to go deep. If they tried something short, so be it and Hack would probably miss him anyway (and nobody bothered to cover Gisiki because he couldn't catch a cold last year). To beat Trace, you play the underneath stuff and if he wants to flutter up a deep 50/50 ball, so be it. Totally different defenses.

 

[bsmith51]

I think you need to take GA out of the equation. GA was geared to play a pocket QB and had a lead they were protecting. TM played well, but its not like GA had film on him. For example, to beat Hack, you put a lot of pressure on him in the pocket, didn't care about the short game, and played the WR's to go deep. If they tried something short, so be it and Hack would probably miss him anyway (and nobody bothered to cover Gisiki because he couldn't catch a cold last year). To beat Trace, you play the underneath stuff and if he wants to flutter up a deep 50/50 ball, so be it. Totally different defenses.

While I agree you can't put too much into a half of football, Penn State was running the same offense GA was prepared for and most of TM's bigger throws were from the pocket. And it was not the first time GA played a mobile QB. It was the 13th game of the year. If you played that many games as a unit, you can adjust pretty quickly to a different style of QB. I know from my experience that it is a lot easier to adjust to changes later in the season because everyone was used to playing with each other and were usually communicating better. If Penn State pulled out a triple option offense that GA never saw coming, then I think the argument that they were solely prepared for a pocket passing offense led by Hack would have some merit. But that was not the case against GA. If TM was 2 or 3" taller, I don't think people would be questioning his talent or arm. But if he were taller, he probably would have been a national recruit and might not even be at Penn State. We will see. Way to early to know how things will shake out.

 

[Obliviax]

While I agree you can't put too much into a half of football, Penn State was running the same offense GA was prepared for and most of TM's bigger throws were from the pocket. And it was not the first time GA played a mobile QB. It was the 13th game of the year. If you played that many games as a unit, you can adjust pretty quickly to a different style of QB. I know from my experience that it is a lot easier to adjust to changes later in the season because everyone was used to playing with each other and were usually communicating better. If Penn State pulled out a triple option offense that GA never saw coming, then I think the argument that they were solely prepared for a pocket passing offense led by Hack would have some merit. But that was not the case against GA. If TM was 2 or 3" taller, I don't think people would be questioning his talent or arm. But if he were taller, he probably would have been a national recruit and might not even be at Penn State. We will see. Way to early to know how things will shake out.

Can't agree. TM made some nice plays with medium passes and his feet. GA wasn't game planning for that. They also were playing with a big lead. That means they were even more willing to give up the underneath stuff. Trace played good, but lets not get carried away.

And while I like him and he's only played a couple of games, that "bomb" at the end was horrible both in terms of decision and in terms of execution. Just a horrible play.

also, I chalk up the two fumbles to the Oline, but TM had his part too. Can't have three turnovers on the road against a good team and expect to win.

 

[royboy]

Can't agree. TM made some nice plays with medium passes and his feet. GA wasn't game planning for that. They also were playing with a big lead. That means they were even more willing to give up the underneath stuff. Trace played good, but lets not get carried away.

And while I like him and he's only played a couple of games, that "bomb" at the end was horrible both in terms of decision and in terms of execution. Just a horrible play.

also, I chalk up the two fumbles to the Oline, but TM had his part too. Can't have three turnovers on the road against a good team and expect to win.

Yeah, like to have that one back, and I'm sure Trace would, too. He was going for the win but had the time to do that more gradually, and worst case leave a makeable FG for the tie and go to OT.

 

[Obliviax]

Yeah, like to have that one back, and I'm sure Trace would, too. He was going for the win but had the time to do that more gradually, and worst case leave a makeable FG for the tie and go to OT.

I also think it was dumb to go for the TD with 1:30 left. Why leave that kind of time on the clock, even if successful? Just doesn't make sense. But, again, young team not making great decisions under pressure.