CJF shortcomings now obvious. Can he get better?
- Thread starter LealandLoyal
- Start date
A key point in this post in referring to the specific WAY those early wins were picked up.
So many people talked about those 5 turnovers like this was something that could be counted on to be there every game, instead of a freak occurrence against a weak opponent, which is what it actually was.
Even Franklin in his comments sometimes refers to flukey occurrences like they’re all part of his master plan. And I sit here going, “Bro, you can’t plan on getting 3 picks and a fumble recovery. That’s mostly luck.” It concerned me at the time of the Illinois game that JF seemed to think getting turnovers was a key part of the strategy going forward. If you’re counting on turnovers to save you, you’re not playing to win.
It’s down right embarrassing to see a high-profile coach like Franklin not grasp the basic concepts you mentioned.
I think part of the problem is that there is no one on the offensive staff who has a strong enough personality to tell the boss he has been consistently making illogical bad decisions which hurts the team.
As i have said before.....CJF states that "WE" decided to go for two....i wish i knew who "WE" are/were making that decision.
Spot on. It's okay to compliment the defense and acknowledge that turnovers are part of the game, but to at least suggest that the offense was not efficient enough. That the didn't seem to play to the standard. Maybe privately he is telling his players it's not good enough, but publicly saying it's a "damn good win," but why? They turn the locker-room into a dance club even after pathetic wins(indiana), so I think the message that is sent, which maybe isn't wrong, is that "wins are wins" they should be celebrated always. Then Franklin will offer a little meat to the press "sure, we got a few things to get cleaned up." Which if history is taken into account, they don't. When we can't pass in the early part of a season, we typically can't pass all year, when we can't run the ball against the very worst defenses early part of the season, typically we don't end up having big gainers on the ground later in the season against the Michigans/OSU. It's one thing that Franklin can't coach, but the bigger concern to me is that he is almost always late to the party noticing real trends with his football team. Some are in season, some are in game, and others, like his offensive line, have been endemic.
Those who don't think CJF is worth his salary need to stop paying him immediately!
Still there is no reason to go for two in either situation. Just take points.
Last edited:
Agreed. I think that in both those situations (though one could make a fairly thin argument for them) they were, all-in-all, poor choices.
A new colleague on mine is a Michigan alum. Well connnected, season ticket holder, sideline access type. Went to the game with some PSU colleagues of mine. Commented that Beaver Stadium is the loudest place he’s ever heard. Also said fans by and large were very nice. After some discussion about the game he said he sat in disbelief at the decisions/play-calling - namely not punting for field position and the two point conversion in the 2nd half. Said he’s never seen anything like that. Also he was at the UM team hotel the night before with Harbaugh and said JH was confident his assistants could win.
Retain a consultant who can teach CJF when he should/not go for 2, and who can explain field position, momentum and clock management to help him know when to go for it on 4th down and when to punt/trust our top 5 defense. Basically teach him how not to make bonehead decisions.
Why should he retain a consultant… all he needs to do is listen to the coaches on this board every game day!
This presently reminds me of the 1974 -1976 era, 10-2, bowl game etc.
The issue then was only the lack of skill speed at receiver and
running back. Joe recruited a monster class with Millen, Clark, Suhey, Guman, Dorney etc.
The loss of George Welsh and Booker Brooks
was noticeable. Joe usually promoted within, seemed to work for about 20 years, he recruited speed ( Warner, Jackson) , as a coach he
was more adaptable than one would think.
My point with JF is if he has a vision of how an offense is run, it's not working. The wishbone was fantastic for teams who had the athletes,
but not everyone could run it. I hope between JS and TH they can get on track with the PSU offense, i'm pleasantly surprised with Deion Barnes. Get back to Penn State football and identity.
The issue then was only the lack of skill speed at receiver and
running back. Joe recruited a monster class with Millen, Clark, Suhey, Guman, Dorney etc.
The loss of George Welsh and Booker Brooks
was noticeable. Joe usually promoted within, seemed to work for about 20 years, he recruited speed ( Warner, Jackson) , as a coach he
was more adaptable than one would think.
My point with JF is if he has a vision of how an offense is run, it's not working. The wishbone was fantastic for teams who had the athletes,
but not everyone could run it. I hope between JS and TH they can get on track with the PSU offense, i'm pleasantly surprised with Deion Barnes. Get back to Penn State football and identity.
First thanks for this post. I am a die hard Franklin supporter who is for the first time rethinking what his ceiling is as a coach. We all know Paterno in his prime would have won one if not both of those two games. We also can see that Franklin does not adjust as quickly as required. MHJr crossing patterns and Meatchicken going "heavy" on the third series shows us his deficiencies. Since the days of Parris Campbell vs Indiana, we have seen OSU win games with this strategy. Where is that from Franklin? That is rubicon to elite that James should have crossed by now. Madden was right, great players play great in big games. That is what James must do as well as keep Allar!
I think it works this way. Cash out your retirement and send it to the school's NIL. Then CJF will stop going for 2 and going for it on 4th down at inappropriate times.
Reminds me of Troy Aikman. He first signed with Oklahoma back when they were all about the wishbone. They had games where they might throw it more than 5 times. While a prize recruit, probably a bad fit for Aikman.
Aikman transfers to UCLA and the rest if history.
I think with this offense, a 3 start Trace McSorely type QB would do far better than the 5 star drop-back type.
If you have to learn this as a coach, it probably means you got fired somewhere else and thus learned these lessons. He should have listened to Ralph more instead of undermining him
We deserve better, considering what WE are paying Franklin. I assume at 5 million per...the criticisms evaporate?
Who knows? If they don’t go for it with 4 minutes to go, who knows. If they put it in the end zone early, who knows. If they have better ball security who knows. If they had beaten OSU, USC etc when they had them on the ropes. Who knows. After this amount of time he shouldn’t be making theses mistakes.
People miss the point entirely.
A bad decision is a bad decision whether it resulted directly in losing the game or not.
Its the movie, not the snapshot.
As far as the 4th and six.....i don't know about winning, but that's definitely where we LOST.
I think this board collectively needs to apply for the Offensive Coordinator Position. Since PSU has to post the job availability, w can keep an eye out for the posting and then we should be able to cobble together a really good resume between all of us.
Get unlimited access today.