So far the season has kind of played out as expected from a record standpoint. Just some general thoughts on this.
QB play - looks incredible at home, but Drew is struggling on the road thus far. BP seems like he does have a bright future, hopefully he can stick it out at PSU...fan or not, these kids at QB in particular have tough decisions sometimes.
RB play - The home runs are lacking, we all see it and it's discussed daily/weekly. A couple have been close, but it seems we aren't getting any blocks on the second level and nobody is making people miss there. Potts has been a nice surprise as the frosh there are recovering from an injury or need to add some weight.
WR play - Outside of KLS, it's been a bit of a disappointment. Hopefully Wallace does get healthy, but nobody took these few weeks to step up in his absence. That is pretty concerning as the reps were there for someone to step up. Cephas and Drew aren't on the same page it seems. Liam Clifford seems like he could be that 3rd WR to move the chains in time.
TE play - 44 has been a stud. Theo to me should be making his $$$'s this year for the NFL and simply isn't thus far. Hopefully his best days are ahead. Dinkins starting to come on as well.
OL - Pass Pro has been pretty good, run game is hot and cold. It seems like we are struggling to get to the second level to free up those home runs. I think losing Juice Scruggs really hurt here more than I anticipated, but others break down the OL in more detail.
DL - Excellent thus far, but let's face it the interior of the OL against a better OL (UM...cough, cough) will have some issues. We saw it against WVa who probably has the second best OL we will see this year...3rd at best. DE's and the depth there all seem to be making plays at a crazy high rate. Even when they drop into coverage they are all around the ball.
LB - King has to stay healthy....we all see it. 43 has played a bit better the last 2 weeks, but he just doesn't have that Thud hit a Mike should have. Carter and CJ are fine. Deluca is awesome for his size, love watching him play. Rojas we know has a bright future, but how about Wylie on Saturday with back to back plays including a sack.
CB's - as expected a strong unit that can tackle pretty well. Hell even the frosh Tracy had a big stop on a TE on the 4th down. Shed his block and dropped him.
Safties - rotating all day long and they all seem to just be getting better. I do miss Tig Brown for sure as he just had that knack for a big play, but hopefully someone delivers that in time.
Special teams....just not very strong. Inconsistent KO's so far. Punting game is a bit scary...not sure how else to say it. FG....slowly getting better, but who really feels confident there?
Bottom line is PSU is where they should be with a lot of hype coming into the season. Knock on wood they have been relatively healthy thus far, but a couple of knocks were picked up this weekend. I think this team has a punchers chance at tOSU as well as at home versus UM, but I think from a matchup standpoint UM is the much tougher out. They are the most physical team in the B1G and PSU is geared more to stop tOSU than they are UM. I'm still thinking best case scenario is a split somehow there, but they could just as easy win both or drop both. The margins at the top are pretty close, but UM's line play is just better than everyone else right now. Everyone in the top 8 or so has looked vulnerable outside of UW so far I guess. Lots of drama yet to come as upsets can and will occur.
QB play - looks incredible at home, but Drew is struggling on the road thus far. BP seems like he does have a bright future, hopefully he can stick it out at PSU...fan or not, these kids at QB in particular have tough decisions sometimes.
RB play - The home runs are lacking, we all see it and it's discussed daily/weekly. A couple have been close, but it seems we aren't getting any blocks on the second level and nobody is making people miss there. Potts has been a nice surprise as the frosh there are recovering from an injury or need to add some weight.
WR play - Outside of KLS, it's been a bit of a disappointment. Hopefully Wallace does get healthy, but nobody took these few weeks to step up in his absence. That is pretty concerning as the reps were there for someone to step up. Cephas and Drew aren't on the same page it seems. Liam Clifford seems like he could be that 3rd WR to move the chains in time.
TE play - 44 has been a stud. Theo to me should be making his $$$'s this year for the NFL and simply isn't thus far. Hopefully his best days are ahead. Dinkins starting to come on as well.
OL - Pass Pro has been pretty good, run game is hot and cold. It seems like we are struggling to get to the second level to free up those home runs. I think losing Juice Scruggs really hurt here more than I anticipated, but others break down the OL in more detail.
DL - Excellent thus far, but let's face it the interior of the OL against a better OL (UM...cough, cough) will have some issues. We saw it against WVa who probably has the second best OL we will see this year...3rd at best. DE's and the depth there all seem to be making plays at a crazy high rate. Even when they drop into coverage they are all around the ball.
LB - King has to stay healthy....we all see it. 43 has played a bit better the last 2 weeks, but he just doesn't have that Thud hit a Mike should have. Carter and CJ are fine. Deluca is awesome for his size, love watching him play. Rojas we know has a bright future, but how about Wylie on Saturday with back to back plays including a sack.
CB's - as expected a strong unit that can tackle pretty well. Hell even the frosh Tracy had a big stop on a TE on the 4th down. Shed his block and dropped him.
Safties - rotating all day long and they all seem to just be getting better. I do miss Tig Brown for sure as he just had that knack for a big play, but hopefully someone delivers that in time.
Special teams....just not very strong. Inconsistent KO's so far. Punting game is a bit scary...not sure how else to say it. FG....slowly getting better, but who really feels confident there?
Bottom line is PSU is where they should be with a lot of hype coming into the season. Knock on wood they have been relatively healthy thus far, but a couple of knocks were picked up this weekend. I think this team has a punchers chance at tOSU as well as at home versus UM, but I think from a matchup standpoint UM is the much tougher out. They are the most physical team in the B1G and PSU is geared more to stop tOSU than they are UM. I'm still thinking best case scenario is a split somehow there, but they could just as easy win both or drop both. The margins at the top are pretty close, but UM's line play is just better than everyone else right now. Everyone in the top 8 or so has looked vulnerable outside of UW so far I guess. Lots of drama yet to come as upsets can and will occur.
