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tdiddy said...
Thoughts...
Atmosphere and a slight Temple thought: Listed crowd was 57k+, but I'd say it was more like 50k. It was still a good atmosphere. In my day, Temple offered students free tickets, free shuttle, a T-shirt, a hot dog, and a bottle of water to go to a game...and still they could barely fill 2 school bus loads to Franklin Field/The Vet. It was nice to see 10k TU students there today. My fear for the program, though, is that the past 3 years is the high water mark with the talent that Al developed. Addazio is really living off Al's players, and I think his horrific gameplan today displayed the sad future of TU football. They will lose the entire OL this year, all the few remaining impact players on defense, and probably Pierce early to the Draft if he has a big season. He is NOT a good coach, and I think darker days are ahead for TU under his watch. JMO. Other than that, despite it being a far lesser occasion for PSU fans, the game long atmosphere was much better than last week...just due simply to a more competitive game. Good crowd.
Anyways, onto the game... QBs: I hate to say it, but McGloin didn't play too poorly. But, both kids made some tough throws when they needed to. Bolden's INT...he stared down that route from the snap. Frankly, both kids stare down their primary routes...A LOT. Better teams with better talent will keep sitting on that. I just don't understand why they aren't taught to either look off their primary route or disguise the primary route by looking elsewhere before reading back. There is virtually no deceptiveness, and again, better teams will feast on that (Bama did). That's coaching, and it's obvious neither kid is being coached well. That said, both kids made some clutch throws. Neither was great, but they were OK considering the circumstances.
RBs: Redd looked terrific, as usual. Had a few opportunities to make even bigger plays if he could've shook off some shoestring tackles. I liked the fact that Beachum got 10+ carries. I ignored his stat line. Most of his plays were straight up the gut with NOWHERE to run. But I'm at least encouraged that the staff recognized his existence...we could've used him last week. Ditto on Zordich.
WRs: Kersey has NO hands. NONE. It was nice to see Devon Smith hang onto a ball (he ran a really nice route on that play). Justin Brown had his first nice day of the season (any word on his injury?). And Moye had a nice day, even without the called back TD. He had 5 yds of separation on that hail mary at the end of the 1st half while TU was in a prevent D. We could've thrown him the ball downfield all day long and had it. Disappointing. He could've had a 200 yd day had we decided to force it. Also, any reason why he's removed on so many 3rd downs?
OL: Honestly, didn't key in too much during the game. They opened up a few huge holes on plays attacking between the guard and tackle. Plays straight up the middle went nowhere. Plays extending toward the edge went nowhere. Between guard and tackle...huge hole. Pass protection was decent as usual.
DL: Devon Still is a STUD. I take back any questions I had about his NFL Draft potential. He's playing like a 1st/2nd round pick. He's just a force. He was repeatedly taking on double teams and beating them. He's SO physical at the point of attack. It's really a joy to watch him disrupt a team's run game. Outside 1-2 plays, we really neutralized Pierce with the front 4, and they COMPLETELY dominated Stewart's scheme. Hill was very solid as well. One other comment...Latimore is playing better than Crawford guys. Much better.
LB: Mauti had possibly the best game of his PSU career. He was everywhere...in coverage and against the run. He played with incredible intensity. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the LB corps. They weren't bad, but they weren't great either. Carson was OK. Hodges is just lost...a lot. He misses a lot of tackles. He gets beat in coverage. He's hesitant. He had a clear shot on the tipped pass 3rd down conversion...completely untouched...and he actually HELD UP from hitting the QB. He did make a nice tackle on the reverse, but he's still not there yet. One other thing...Mike Hull is getting a lot of snaps.
DB: Weird day for them. Lynn was solid. Morris still isn't a great tackler. Powell made a dope move on the Pass Interference (he could've INTed it had he simply turned around) but made another big play later. I feel a little bad for Astorino. If you watch his responsibilities, he's often left covering two zones on completely opposite sides of the field. There are times he's required to run 30 yds to cover a route. That's not fair to any player, and it's poor design in general. We complain that our safeties are a step late. It's valid for Sukay, but not always for Astorino's responsibilities.
ST: My God, my God, my God. 2 missed FG's, 1 blocked FG, 1 blocked Punt, horrible KO coverage, the stupid fake KO returns. Nothing but a complete F.
Random thoughts: 1. This team is a lot like 2004. The defense is just outstanding. 115 total yards allowed after the first drive. That's really impressive. The offense sucks. But it's not due to a lack of talent. It's due to a lack of identity and typically horrid usage of said talent. 2. We FINALLY forced TO's!!!!!!!! At crucial times!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!! 3. The overturned pass interference was a joke. Bolden's arm was hit, but the pass wasn't tipped. 4. Steve Addazio killed Temple's momentum by removing Gerardi in the 2nd quarter with Chester Stewart. PSU was completely prepared for the scheme with Stewart on the field. When Gerardi came back into the game in the 4th quarter, he had clearly lost his groove and threw a couple bad passes as a result. 5. Why is it that we struggle on our first drive defensively, but adjust well...yet we do well on our first scripted drive offensively, but struggle for the remainder of the game with no adjustments whatsoever? 6. We are the worst screen team in the world...at any level of football. 7. Chaz Powell really lost his cool today...on several occasions. 8. There was a lot of head hanging...for the majority of the game...from the offensive guys. To their credit, BOTH QB's repeatedly were trying to pick them up. McGloin paces and yells. Bolden smoothly high fives the guys. Either way, the rest of the group doesn't really respond. Are they not allowed to pick a guy either? Man, this is a bizarre situation. 9. I'm glad we played for the win, but how much of that was caused by the lack of faith in the kicker? This is a horrible situation, which could easily cost us a few games this year. 10. Anybody still ready to so easily write off Iowa, Illinois, and NW?
Posted a pic too of our view. I really like sitting behind the endzone. You can read the plays so much better from that angle.
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tdiddy said...
Thoughts...
Atmosphere and a slight Temple thought: Listed crowd was 57k+, but I'd say it was more like 50k. It was still a good atmosphere. In my day, Temple offered students free tickets, free shuttle, a T-shirt, a hot dog, and a bottle of water to go to a game...and still they could barely fill 2 school bus loads to Franklin Field/The Vet. It was nice to see 10k TU students there today. My fear for the program, though, is that the past 3 years is the high water mark with the talent that Al developed. Addazio is really living off Al's players, and I think his horrific gameplan today displayed the sad future of TU football. They will lose the entire OL this year, all the few remaining impact players on defense, and probably Pierce early to the Draft if he has a big season. He is NOT a good coach, and I think darker days are ahead for TU under his watch. JMO. Other than that, despite it being a far lesser occasion for PSU fans, the game long atmosphere was much better than last week...just due simply to a more competitive game. Good crowd.
Anyways, onto the game... QBs: I hate to say it, but McGloin didn't play too poorly. But, both kids made some tough throws when they needed to. Bolden's INT...he stared down that route from the snap. Frankly, both kids stare down their primary routes...A LOT. Better teams with better talent will keep sitting on that. I just don't understand why they aren't taught to either look off their primary route or disguise the primary route by looking elsewhere before reading back. There is virtually no deceptiveness, and again, better teams will feast on that (Bama did). That's coaching, and it's obvious neither kid is being coached well. That said, both kids made some clutch throws. Neither was great, but they were OK considering the circumstances.
RBs: Redd looked terrific, as usual. Had a few opportunities to make even bigger plays if he could've shook off some shoestring tackles. I liked the fact that Beachum got 10+ carries. I ignored his stat line. Most of his plays were straight up the gut with NOWHERE to run. But I'm at least encouraged that the staff recognized his existence...we could've used him last week. Ditto on Zordich.
WRs: Kersey has NO hands. NONE. It was nice to see Devon Smith hang onto a ball (he ran a really nice route on that play). Justin Brown had his first nice day of the season (any word on his injury?). And Moye had a nice day, even without the called back TD. He had 5 yds of separation on that hail mary at the end of the 1st half while TU was in a prevent D. We could've thrown him the ball downfield all day long and had it. Disappointing. He could've had a 200 yd day had we decided to force it. Also, any reason why he's removed on so many 3rd downs?
OL: Honestly, didn't key in too much during the game. They opened up a few huge holes on plays attacking between the guard and tackle. Plays straight up the middle went nowhere. Plays extending toward the edge went nowhere. Between guard and tackle...huge hole. Pass protection was decent as usual.
DL: Devon Still is a STUD. I take back any questions I had about his NFL Draft potential. He's playing like a 1st/2nd round pick. He's just a force. He was repeatedly taking on double teams and beating them. He's SO physical at the point of attack. It's really a joy to watch him disrupt a team's run game. Outside 1-2 plays, we really neutralized Pierce with the front 4, and they COMPLETELY dominated Stewart's scheme. Hill was very solid as well. One other comment...Latimore is playing better than Crawford guys. Much better.
LB: Mauti had possibly the best game of his PSU career. He was everywhere...in coverage and against the run. He played with incredible intensity. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the LB corps. They weren't bad, but they weren't great either. Carson was OK. Hodges is just lost...a lot. He misses a lot of tackles. He gets beat in coverage. He's hesitant. He had a clear shot on the tipped pass 3rd down conversion...completely untouched...and he actually HELD UP from hitting the QB. He did make a nice tackle on the reverse, but he's still not there yet. One other thing...Mike Hull is getting a lot of snaps.
DB: Weird day for them. Lynn was solid. Morris still isn't a great tackler. Powell made a dope move on the Pass Interference (he could've INTed it had he simply turned around) but made another big play later. I feel a little bad for Astorino. If you watch his responsibilities, he's often left covering two zones on completely opposite sides of the field. There are times he's required to run 30 yds to cover a route. That's not fair to any player, and it's poor design in general. We complain that our safeties are a step late. It's valid for Sukay, but not always for Astorino's responsibilities.
ST: My God, my God, my God. 2 missed FG's, 1 blocked FG, 1 blocked Punt, horrible KO coverage, the stupid fake KO returns. Nothing but a complete F.
Random thoughts: 1. This team is a lot like 2004. The defense is just outstanding. 115 total yards allowed after the first drive. That's really impressive. The offense sucks. But it's not due to a lack of talent. It's due to a lack of identity and typically horrid usage of said talent. 2. We FINALLY forced TO's!!!!!!!! At crucial times!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!! 3. The overturned pass interference was a joke. Bolden's arm was hit, but the pass wasn't tipped. 4. Steve Addazio killed Temple's momentum by removing Gerardi in the 2nd quarter with Chester Stewart. PSU was completely prepared for the scheme with Stewart on the field. When Gerardi came back into the game in the 4th quarter, he had clearly lost his groove and threw a couple bad passes as a result. 5. Why is it that we struggle on our first drive defensively, but adjust well...yet we do well on our first scripted drive offensively, but struggle for the remainder of the game with no adjustments whatsoever? 6. We are the worst screen team in the world...at any level of football. 7. Chaz Powell really lost his cool today...on several occasions. 8. There was a lot of head hanging...for the majority of the game...from the offensive guys. To their credit, BOTH QB's repeatedly were trying to pick them up. McGloin paces and yells. Bolden smoothly high fives the guys. Either way, the rest of the group doesn't really respond. Are they not allowed to pick a guy either? Man, this is a bizarre situation. 9. I'm glad we played for the win, but how much of that was caused by the lack of faith in the kicker? This is a horrible situation, which could easily cost us a few games this year. 10. Anybody still ready to so easily write off Iowa, Illinois, and NW?
Posted a pic too of our view. I really like sitting behind the endzone. You can read the plays so much better from that angle.
And just who is going to coach the QB's? Jay???
Even if he had a clue, which he doesn't, he's too busy writing an Obaama article instead of coaching.
Moye also had a big drop on a deep play that hit him right in the hands on a perfect pass.
Try to fathom the hypocrisy of a Government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured .but not prove they're a citizen
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Agree on just about everything. Still and Mauti were flat out animals today, more so the former.
Kersey is just a bigger Devon Smith. Also, Brown came back in, according to multiple posters here. I didn't see it, but I also wasn't looking.
I have to say, your use of the word "dope" is completely wrong. For example..
"Powell made a drop play with that INT he returned to set up great field position."
Gotta get with the times, fella.
We Are...Penn State!
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PK5 said...
Agree on just about everything. Still and Mauti were flat out animals today, more so the former.
Kersey is just a bigger Devon Smith. Also, Brown came back in, according to multiple posters here. I didn't see it, but I also wasn't looking.
I have to say, your use of the word "dope" is completely wrong. For example..
"Powell made a drop play with that INT he returned to set up great field position."
Gotta get with the times, fella.
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MTJLion21 said...
Good stuff tdiddy... thanks for taking the time to do that.
Agree with pretty much everything... just one question - why do you like that Beachum got 10+ carries? IMHO - Stats aside, he flat out looks slow. I agree there was nowhere to go on a few plays, but he is not explosive as he hits the hole.
Try to fathom the hypocrisy of a Government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured .but not prove they're a citizen
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getmyjive11
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md154 said...
Agree with your QB assessment. I thought both played better than it probably felt watching. I think because we all look at it as an audition on every drive....every mistake is glorified. I saw guys tonight, like Manuel from FSU, make worse throws and decisions than our guys today. Yet we respond as if our guys threw 8 picks today. Problem is, exactly what I feared would happen, is happening. EVERY mistake is glorified and made to be a big deal. Neither guy can feel that they can play loose.
MM played solid, a little better than RB until that final drive. RB having confidence to finish that last drive was huge. He needs that swagger and ability, which he shows he has at the end of games.
I just wish the coaches can form a gameplan for one guy (gee, wonder who i prefer), and work all week long with THAT game plan. This picking a guy after the change of possession is so moronic. I mean does jay literally just put one play sheet to the side after they choose the QB? "Hey Galen....hand me Matt's play book will ya?"
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SJLuvsLions said...
There's a reason why Powell shoved that kid on the pass INT. It's a coaching point I make all the time to our DBs. IF you are beat for a sure TD...tackle the kid while the ball is in the air. In H.S. and in college it's only a 15 yard penalty...not a "point of the foul" as it is in the pros. Powell was beaten and lost track of where the ball was, so he made sure the WR wasn't going to catch an easy TD pass. It's not a stupid play IMO...matter of fact it was a fairly intelligent play that he made AFTER he screwed up and got beat and lost sight of the ball. Just my opinion though...
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PSUjosh11 said...
Great analysis, diddy! The most troubling things for me with this team are the offense and special teams. God, we are horrific at both. We need to pick a freaking QB already but it seems that we will have one QB come B1G play based on Jay's post game comments. Speaking of Jay, he needs to get on his QBs and tell them not to lock onto their primary WR, this has been happening far to long with both Bolden and McGloin and is still occuring. As far as special teams go, we need Anthony Fera to take over field goal duties too.
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SJLuvsLions said...
Maybe I didn't write clearly enough...here is what I was referring to: Powell made a bad play because he lost sight of the ball. He had no idea that it was coming. What he COULD have and should have done was to look back and try to locate it. But obviously he felt that he couldn't do that ...so he blatantly shoved the kid. I knew it the moment he pushed the kid that it was intentional and that he felt it was the only way he could stop a sure TD. Of course he SHOULD have covered the kid better and he SHOULD have turned and looked up and he SHOULD have known it was short and uncatchable...but he didn't...so he did the next best thing in HIS mind at that split second. What I'm saying is that it wasn't a stupid physical blunder...it was calculated to stop an easy catch in the endzone AFTER he got beaten badly and lost sight of the ball. It wasnt a great play...it was a bandaid to prevent severe damage after he had made a BAD BAD play covering the kid.
Back from the game...