Okay, here we go, I don't know how to say this, but I have to stop breaking down the game based on what we are capable of doing and start previewing the game as if I was JoePa. I have noticed that week in and week out I have been breaking down the games based on our capabilities, potential, and how we would play if I was the coach. The fact remains though that this is a Joe Paterno coached team, a team that tries to minimize risks by a coaching staff that loves to micromanage the game. I do not even need to go into any more depth on this notion, I think the breakdown of this past weekend's game is enough of a statement.
The Good:
It's pretty simple, we came out with a fire, an attitude, and a will to win this game. The defense starting us off with a much needed turnover, and it came on a great defensive play where Lynn masked his zone coverage as man to man coverage and made a great break on the ball. From that turnover, the offense came out firing, with Bolden throwing on first down, and Royster running with a purpose. The offense was moving the chains effortlessly, the play book had been opened up, and Bolden was making great decisions.
The first two drives were very exciting and we capped both of them off with rushing TDs from Bolden and Royster. The best play, however, had to be the 55 yard connection between Bolden and Moye as they capitalized on Kent State stuffing the box with eleven defenders. Moye simply blew past his man on single coverage and made a great play.
As for the defensive side of the ball, it seemed as if the defense was playing inspired football. They were getting to the quarterback, shutting down plays in the backfield, and caused two turnovers by the end of the first half. Massaro and Stanley looked great flying off the edges, and nothing is better than Still and Crawford getting on board with their first sacks of the season. Did anyone else notice the quality of play by RS Freshman cornerback Derrick Thomas? Talk about shutdown corner for years to come, I don't think that they'll be able to keep him off of the field for much longer.
The final thing that impressed me about this weekend was the fact that we posted a shutout. Yes it was against Kent State, but a shutout is a shutout. It means that the defense played with a purpose all game and worked hard through four quarters, does not mean that they played with motivation the whole game, but they still wanted that shutout. Anytime we can get a showing like that from the defense, I'll take it, and hopefully we can ride it into our next game and keep it going.
The Bad:
The first quarter came to a close at 14-0 and it seemed as if PSU was on its way to a route, so I'm going to go ahead and say that the final three quarters were the bad. I mean, there's not much you can say about the defense since they posted the shutout, but the fact is that they could have played with a little more emotion. I can understand losing a step after dominating the first quarter, but they should have wanted it the whole game. This defense could have easily gotten four more sacks and two more turnovers by the end of the game, but they played without inspiration and lack of a threat after the first quarter. Again, this doesn't mean that they did not execute, it just means that they under-performed by my standards.
The rest of the bad has to deal with the coaching staff and their attitude starting in the second quarter. The team was getting into a rhythm, dominating the line of scrimmage, running the ball well, and moving the chains. So what happened? JoePa and Company put the chains back on what seemed to be an offense that was just gaining some "swagger". They went back to the same old conservative play calling that has plagued Penn State teams over the past decade. With the exception of a couple plays in the second half, this offense was rather stagnant.
Did you notice that Kent State's defense had 10 men within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage on more than half of their plays in the second half? They were begging and daring Bolden to throw the ball down the field, and when he did it resulted in big plays: the 55 yard completion to Moye and the 48 yard TD pass to Smith in the second half. So why did they abandon this game plan and put Bolden in a position where he had to force the issue the rest of the game? Simple, because Joe Paterno and Company love control, and they don't realize that this is what kills their teams.
Also, why did they abandon the run game so quickly? Yeah, Royster fumbled at the start of the second half, but give him the ball and let him gain some consistency this year. They kept him out of Spring and Summer workouts, and now they are giving him an inconsistent workload and are questioning why he does not look the same. It is because they made another conservative decision to keep him from getting injured in the offseason, and now the poor guy is getting ridiculed in articles all over the country. Give him the ball, run him in practice, and let him gain some consistency with the O-line and he'll be the same Evan Royster from the past couple of years.
The Ugly:
- The play calling on offense after the first quarter.
- Bolden threw for two interceptions.
- Pannell's holding call in the fourth quarter that negated a beautiful TD catch by Brown in the end zone.
- Royster's fumble at the beginning of the second half.
- Astorino, formerly our best open field tackler, missing tackles left and right.
- The fact that we only scored 24 points.
WE ARE........................................
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