Penn State Snowflakes: The Offense

Submitted by LSAClassOf2000 on

This will be the repository for your thoughts and hot takes on the offensive performance in our game versus Penn State.

LSAClassOf2000

October 21st, 2017 at 11:07 PM ^

Well, I don't know about burning the whole thing to the ground - there are bits and pieces that, in some other situation, probably could be useful, but I agree otherwise that playcalling that fools exactly zero people is something I certainly didn't expect nor desire and sitting here now, it still irritates the shit out of me. 

Lil boy blue

October 21st, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^

We have no identity. I get it, likely our best WR is out (who is a freshman), Speight is gone (he was the last QB we clamored to have benched), our OL is young or Hoke recruits but man something has to give.

Most teams with shitty lines realize this and adjust their play calling accordingly. The Drevno presser tells us all we need to know. Too damn stubborn to not try something else like a college offense opposed to pro style.

Have to trust it's better for us in the long run and give up on pipe dreams like beating OSU.

This year is officially fucked

Wolvie3758

October 21st, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bigku22

October 21st, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^

O'Korn really wasn't as terrible as I thought he was going to be, and we still lost by 30, so that gives you my level of expectation for his performance coming in. 

I Like Burgers

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:03 AM ^

Yes. If you're going purley off a bad plays/busts vs. good plays, I thought O'Korn either outplayed the defense or played to the same level.  I don't remember any truly bad passes from O'Korn, and there were a couple of sacks that might be his fault but when the pocket is collapsing and there are no open WRs, I'm not sure what he's supposed to do.  Out of all the problems on offense tonight (dropped passes, bad blitz pickups from RBs, bad pass pro from the OL, bad play calling, etc) O'Korn wasn't one of them.

Bigku22

October 21st, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^

O'Korn really wasn't as terrible as I thought he was going to be, and we still lost by 30, so that gives you my level of expectation for his performance coming in. 

turtleboy

October 21st, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^

So...the offense... it was better than the last two games. It was not good enough. Last year we had a better offense, but last year we also had better play calling. We scored zero lines in the second half, but we also have up 42 points.

abertain

October 21st, 2017 at 11:11 PM ^

I don't know. I was a such a zealot for the passing spread, but I think any scheme can work if it's run well. That said, PSU using RPO's and motion to kick Michigan's ass was a bit sigh inducing. Michigan's off season work on inside zone and pro style routes seems to have been a bust, which sucks. That time was when they needed to develop an identity. They didn't. Now they are in the middle of a season with no discernible identity. It's Hokesque right now. 

They would be crazy to not start exploring some younger guys like Walker and Peters in the next few weeks. It's time to see what those guys have to offer. That said, having zero offensive idenity is a huge issue. 

Pkf97

October 21st, 2017 at 11:11 PM ^

O'Korn played with some grit and gave us a chance.  Was he perfect?  Of course not, but he made some decent throws and kept us going by using his legs.

The WRs gave him no help.  Aside from that Crawford redemption over-the-shoulder catch along the sideline, no one made a game-breaking play.  Compare that to McSorley who threw about ten 50/50 balls where his receivers came down with it.

The O-Line is our major weakness, especially in pass protection.  Higdon and Isaac showed some stuff on the ground, but they are still weak in pass protection, just exacerbating the fundamentally poor O-Line play.

I'm puzzled why so many people were calling for Peters tonight.  O'Korn was fine.  Not great, but also not the real problem.

The real problem is Drevno, Hamilton, and to some extent Harbaugh.  The scheme is just not there.  Too many cooks in the kitchen.

I'm puzzled and infuriated.  Penn State made moving the ball look easy with misdirection and pre-snap motion; we get none of that all night.  Maybe that one McDoom swing pass but that's just about it.

Fuck.

NRK

October 22nd, 2017 at 2:28 PM ^

I thought he had a good first half - looked off his first read, and was really decisive in stepping up and scrambling.

Second half I felt as though he regressed a bit - less step ups, and held onto the ball too long on a few ocassions.

 

All that being said, the WRs (drops) and the playcalling did him no favors.

Blueblood2991

October 21st, 2017 at 11:13 PM ^

Have to give O'korn credit. He didn't play nearly as bad as I expected in a really tough environment. His receivers let him down a ton with dropped passes. Had some really nice scrambles.

When we grind it out with the run, the offense can be effective. It's not made to come back from being down multiple scores. That is a big issue. Playbook seems to be the same whether up 14 or down 14.

Also I miss De'veon Smith and his badass pass protection.

MGoStu

October 21st, 2017 at 11:13 PM ^

I'm just wondering why every pass play seems to be so slow developing. Probably not completely true, but it feels like the QB is just holding the ball way too long on every pass.

enlightenedbum

October 21st, 2017 at 11:13 PM ^

It's not adapted to our players, which is on the coaches.  No real bright spots tonight.  O'Korn looked better in that he was an average QB, but it was still a one read offense for the most part.

DPJ dropping that screen that was going to go big and would have put us in position to score and make it a one score or tie game and blunt some of the PSU momentum was a big, big play.  He did some nice things, but that was a very freshman error.