So if there's a talent disparity then how were we winning? Oh yeah, superior coaching. And we only lost by one so how did we do that with the talent disparity? Oh yeah, superior coaching. Winning or almost winning with less talent is good coaching. Winning with more talent is not, especially if you almost lost.
I think part of the reason was due to Ohio State's sloppy play early. Poor special teams play, penalties, dropped passes. Why they played like that early, I don't know. What I do think is that they aren't that much better than Penn State that we should have allowed such a big lead to evaporate. We took advantage of the early gifts, but gave it all away when it mattered most. You may not agree, but there is no way we should have lost this particular game. I generally like the coaching staff, but like everyone, they're not infallible or beyond criticism. Why so many of you guys are so sensitive to this baffles me. As for me, I've been as big a Penn State fan as there is for over 50 years. I really don't need some of these know nothing Pollyanna types and hipsters attempting to apply their particular version of loyalty to me.
We took advantage of early gifts and they took advantage of late gifts....it has to go both ways. I just get tired of coaches getting blamed every time a team loses....I'm not sure when that trend started but go look at any message board after any loss and you will see the coaches being blamed. At some point the players have to shoulder some of the responsibility. Or sometimes the other team should just get credit for winning. Then throw in the fact that 90% or more of the critics know very little about coaching or football other than just watching games.
Childish, weak, and irrelevant. Neither I nor anyone else on this or any other thread claimed to be "qualified to replace Franklin." I've never played Tecmo Bowl, and don't even know what it is. The "straw man" you've created is another weak-minded attempt at disputing a point nobody has made. Kudos for jumping and feeling compelled to stop by.
You criticize for a straw man then drop a straw man that's not even close to being similar. By the way, I enjoyed Ishtar, so there you go...some people liked it. But spending as much as a year to make something with 100's of people giving input is far different than making split second decisions when there's an equally qualified person on the other side trying to stop you from doing what you're doing.
Franklin is an excellent coach and I'm glad we have him. He is not infallible. This is a Penn State football message board, where people discuss Penn State football. PSU had the game in its grasp, and let it slip away. One of the reasons it slipped away, in the opinion of many, is poor play calling. Penn State football fans on this Penn State football message board are discussing that. You and others are not better fans because you think that all coaching decisions are somehow above reproach, or because you refuse to consider the possibility that mistakes were made.
The question is not whether posters can question the coaching, the question is are the posters qualified to question the coaching. I certainly had questions about many of the decisions, but I also realize that I'm not nearly as qualified to make those decisions as Franklin and his staff. If I was, I would be coaching.
So then, you, Mary, Bushwood and others deem it necessary to personally attack anyone who may post questions about coaching decisions. Got news for ya, that is what sports fans have been doing for as long as I can remember. If we all would just conform to your way of thinking, Tom can shut down the message board. No need for discussion.
I see a whole lot of bitching and complaining and very little discussion. We laugh at Ohio State fans and Bama fans who cry after a loss yet we've won 16 of our last 18 and many on here are crying.
Saw very few cases of that, although I admittedly didn't follow the actual game thread having watched the game itself too intensely to participate. Now what I did see was a blanket attack on anyone questioning coaching decisions. Now, I suppose I'm not perceptive or "classy" enough to assess someone's life accomplishments, or for that matter his or her sexually related proclivities, simply based on posts they may make relative to a football game.
I think much of that has to do with the way the game was lost and what was at stake. And you know that as well as I. Anyway, time to move on from this game.
I think most will agree with you from a macro viewpoint. That said, the future holds no guarantees. Most of the discussion in this thread is relative to this particular game, which shouldn't have been lost. It was a golden opportunity thrown away. Still, good and respectful post. Appreciated.
