Reality check time for PSU

[marshall23]

I would hope the staff to keep him away from contact EVERY week!

Barkley hasn't been hit in practice in 2 years.

 

[tboyer]

I come in peace! I think you bring up valid points But it's the way you say it. It's like we are Akron and we are facing Alabama. Every game is lose able and different teams present challenges. PSU is not a perfect team by any standard but you would be better received if you stated concerns without making it seem we have no chance. I am sure our coaches have many of the same concerns but you do what you can with what you have......not fall on your sword.

I really do appreciate the advice, but I think I'm done. Three weeks now I've tried to start football discussions but I mostly get psycholanalyzed and called names. When I try to just lurk and read, it's mostly various hate threads, there's almost nothing that's actually about football -- which is why I try to start football threads. Anyway the environment is so intensely negative and personal -- it's toxic, sometimes a little scary. Talk radio quality. Some of these people I've ignored, I wouldn't want them to know anything about who I am. Not a safe place any more. It's been a lot of years lurking (and obviously way too many posts) but time to move on. You don't like the outputs, you gotta change the inputs.

 

[mn78psu83]

Barkley hasn't been hit in practice in 2 years.

Thanks for that tidbit.

 

[Lion8286]

Anyway the environment is so intensely negative

Hmm. Pot meet kettle.

 

[marshall23]

Well they didn't have him return the final and most important ko return of the night. So he was tired, hurt, of cjf had a complete change of heart.

Just my impressions.....returning kicks may be the only thing SB isn't superior at on the football field.
I like a returner who sprints to the wedge then cuts (once) until and if he sees daylight. SB runs slowly and looks to make his patented cuts....but KO teams are in their lanes and his slow mo has him getting contact on the 15.

 

[Osprey Lion]

It is always a gift to get a game that re-grounds a team without it costing you an L.

PSU played great at Iowa City in many ways, but the game also exposed quite a few fairly big weaknesses that they will have to address -- and address SOON.

1) PSU D has to learn how to play Pry's pressure schemes without giving up long easy TDs. That is mostly on the safeties. Safeties are called safeties for a reason. The No. 1 reason football teams have safeties is to prevent long easy TDs.

2) LBers have great aggressiveness, but they need to get better reading and positional discipline. Difficult balance but they have to do it. A spectacular TFL means nothing if the following play you overcommit and get caught inside and give up a 50 yard gain right through the spot that you were responsible for.

3) The whole offense has to get used to the way defense are going to play them this year -- Iowa, Pitt, and to some degree USC have shown how to do it. You play safeties back, take away the deep ball, you pressure McSorley IN the pocket but focus on containment rather than sacks. When McSorley uses his legs he is probably the best QB in the Big Ten but if you take that part of his game away, he is the short QB who lacks an NFL arm. So even if people are free downfield he won't see them and if you get him backpedaling he won't be able to deliver the ball 50 yards downfield.

Funny to say this after a 579 yard performance, but I think the O has a ton of work to do. There will come a game (and maybe it's this week) when Barkley is not good for 300 yards of offense. PSU has to have more of a downfield passing game than they had Saturday. I think personnel wise they should be able to do it, but they need help from Moorhead and the coaches on scheme.

There are offensive scheme responses to the Iowa-Pitt type defensive approach. But I don't think Moorhead has gotten them installed yet. They need to do that soon.

Moorhead's whole thing is to take advantage of aggressive blitzing Ds like PSU saw last year. But last year is last year. This year everything will be different. The Iowa game should make that clear just how different things are going to be this year.

Indiana is a hell of a good team. They have scary players. They have a LOT more matchup advantages vs. PSU than Iowa did. Even at the Beav, this game scares me. PSU is going to have to really be sharp to beat them.

I knew bdgan would like this. The D played great and if the O had been able to score in
the red zone, it would have been an easy win. That said, obviously our O was hampered
by an injury that forced someone to play that wasn't ready. Iowa was held to two late TD's.
There are few teams that will beat PSU by only reaching the end zone twice.

 

[Osprey Lion]

Just my impressions.....returning kicks may be the only thing SB isn't superior at on the football field.
I like a returner who sprints to the wedge then cuts (once) until and if he sees daylight. SB runs slowly and looks to make his patented cuts....but KO teams are in their lanes and his slow mo has him getting contact on the 15.

It is hard to run through people.