Defense should be fresh and stout with lots of talented athletes. Allar is the wildcard. But the Rb's remind me of old duos' of yesteryear that you can ride to championships.
I think this group can do something special this year. Led by the RB Group.
- Thread starter Mr. Potter
- Start date
We shall see with the new additions along with KLS and if some of the younger players step up : Saunders, Evans & Wallace.
If I was an opposing coach I would load up to stop the run and blitz on obvious passing downs until Allar proves himself. If the kid is as good as projected it can be a very good couple of seasons.
I agree Allar is the obvious answer as to how far this years team can go...yet i hope CJF and MY get game reps for Pribula. I can hear the excuses for NOT inserting BP....yet a team needs a prepared backup....also i hope MY revamps our playbook to maximize DA strengths....many a HOF quarterbacks made their reputations on easy completions.
On defense....seems many teams last year played a cover zero against us....which brought back memories of the Chicago Bears great "46" defense. For those who weren't watching the Bears in 1985 run over the NFL...the "46" defense is a version of cover zero with 8 men in the box....named after Doug Plank...great SS with jersey # 46. Anyway, Doug had the defense calls for shifts and utilized the 4 down linemen to crash up field for max pressure, with the BEST lineman directly over the center, ( how the Rams use Aaron Donald). In short, the theory was to flush the QB one way or the other into the waiting arms of the edge rushers. Maybe Manny will incorporate some of those sets into a PSU "11" defense. On offense the only team to beat Chicago that year was Miami, utilizing Marino's quick release for short passes vs a running game into the teeth of the "46". As i said above....my hope for 2023 is our coordinators use the talent we have to overwhelm our opponents. I will add i have great confidence in both MY and MD and am sure THEY are considering this....they are both far greater football minds than me...maybe even equal to some board members!
As you mention the coordinators, and while discussing "returning talent" I think it's significant that 2023 will be the first season since 2019 where PSU/Franklin isn't breaking in a new coordinator on offense or defense.
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