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Penn State 30, Illinois 13 Postgame
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<blockquote data-quote="aaeismacgychel" data-source="post: 1942591" data-attributes="member: 748794"><p>After watching the game, a few notes:</p><p></p><p>1. Our defense was quite good and there was a night and day difference from Kansas and Toledo. Great aggressiveness, outstanding push, tight coverage with Newton being the best player on the field. This was the defense we expected to start the season.</p><p></p><p>2. Matthew Bailey was a big difference maker, especially with respect to run support. We need him healthy and to stay on the field, as he covers a lot of the defensive issues from the LBs we saw in the first 2 weeks</p><p></p><p>3. The Scotts are only sophomores. They were good and they're only going to get better.</p><p></p><p>4. Reggie Love needs to get more touches. He's been solid for us, averaging over 5yds a carry with what has been a subpar line in front of him. He's our #1 RB and yet he's only getting 11 touches per game. Lunney has to get him more involved.</p><p></p><p>5. Josh McCray. Not sure what to say at this point. It seems that opposing defenses are keying in on him and just shooting the gaps whenever he gets the ball like they know the play call before the snap. He shouldn't be blamed too much for that fumble as you don't expect to be immediately drilled by an unblocked defender after the handoff. At the same time though, he's showed no burst, no elusiveness, and limited power any time he's been on the field. It's getting difficult to continue running him out there. Sadly, it seems his injuries might just be too much to overcome for him.</p><p></p><p>6. The O-line. Honestly, when you consider PSU has one of the best D-lines in the country, they actually performed better than they did in their first 2 games. That said, it was still quite bad, and not only are they giving Altmyer no time to throw out there, the free unimpeded lanes they're giving up are allowing opponents to just tee up on him. Something needs to be done before Luke leaves the field on a stretcher.</p><p></p><p>7. Pat Bryant- Really poor last 2 games. Coming off of a great game against Toledo, these past 2 games have been sloppy. He needs to be better because...</p><p></p><p>8. Elzy is the real deal. He's good. Really good.</p><p></p><p>And finally, and maybe most controversially,</p><p></p><p>9. Luke Altmyer. He had an awful game and made some even worse throws, however, I actually don't think his game was as bad as it looked. While I'll get to his struggles soon, he once again was very good with his quick timing routes. He is outstanding at throwing slants and his decisions off of 1 and 3 step timing is very sharp, very accurate, and usually the correct decision. When Lunney has called these plays, Luke has been surgical all season including against PSU. But where Luke has struggled, it's when he's been forced to improvise or wait for longer routes to develop. First, his line isn't giving him the time needed to allow those late developing plays, so as soon as he feels the inevitable pressure, he rushes the throw without seeing the full coverage. As well, when he's forced out of the pocket, he almost needs to tuck the ball and run, or just throw it away, as he is trying too hard to make the great play or perfect pass that just isn't there. Really Lunney needs to start calling more plays that cater to what the offense is capable of. Call more runs, call more slants and 1 to 3 step timing plays, if there's blitz recognition, call screens or shovel passes. Luke is a really good quarterback- he just needs some help from the OC right now as his line just isn't capable of giving him much.</p><p></p><p>Overall, this was a much better game. Gives me hope we can still win the West as the West absolutely stinks. As in historically stinks. There is not a game left on this schedule we can't win (@Maryland is our toughest left imo). Play smarter with some better play calling and we can do it</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="aaeismacgychel, post: 1942591, member: 748794"] After watching the game, a few notes: 1. Our defense was quite good and there was a night and day difference from Kansas and Toledo. Great aggressiveness, outstanding push, tight coverage with Newton being the best player on the field. This was the defense we expected to start the season. 2. Matthew Bailey was a big difference maker, especially with respect to run support. We need him healthy and to stay on the field, as he covers a lot of the defensive issues from the LBs we saw in the first 2 weeks 3. The Scotts are only sophomores. They were good and they're only going to get better. 4. Reggie Love needs to get more touches. He's been solid for us, averaging over 5yds a carry with what has been a subpar line in front of him. He's our #1 RB and yet he's only getting 11 touches per game. Lunney has to get him more involved. 5. Josh McCray. Not sure what to say at this point. It seems that opposing defenses are keying in on him and just shooting the gaps whenever he gets the ball like they know the play call before the snap. He shouldn't be blamed too much for that fumble as you don't expect to be immediately drilled by an unblocked defender after the handoff. At the same time though, he's showed no burst, no elusiveness, and limited power any time he's been on the field. It's getting difficult to continue running him out there. Sadly, it seems his injuries might just be too much to overcome for him. 6. The O-line. Honestly, when you consider PSU has one of the best D-lines in the country, they actually performed better than they did in their first 2 games. That said, it was still quite bad, and not only are they giving Altmyer no time to throw out there, the free unimpeded lanes they're giving up are allowing opponents to just tee up on him. Something needs to be done before Luke leaves the field on a stretcher. 7. Pat Bryant- Really poor last 2 games. Coming off of a great game against Toledo, these past 2 games have been sloppy. He needs to be better because... 8. Elzy is the real deal. He's good. Really good. And finally, and maybe most controversially, 9. Luke Altmyer. He had an awful game and made some even worse throws, however, I actually don't think his game was as bad as it looked. While I'll get to his struggles soon, he once again was very good with his quick timing routes. He is outstanding at throwing slants and his decisions off of 1 and 3 step timing is very sharp, very accurate, and usually the correct decision. When Lunney has called these plays, Luke has been surgical all season including against PSU. But where Luke has struggled, it's when he's been forced to improvise or wait for longer routes to develop. First, his line isn't giving him the time needed to allow those late developing plays, so as soon as he feels the inevitable pressure, he rushes the throw without seeing the full coverage. As well, when he's forced out of the pocket, he almost needs to tuck the ball and run, or just throw it away, as he is trying too hard to make the great play or perfect pass that just isn't there. Really Lunney needs to start calling more plays that cater to what the offense is capable of. Call more runs, call more slants and 1 to 3 step timing plays, if there's blitz recognition, call screens or shovel passes. Luke is a really good quarterback- he just needs some help from the OC right now as his line just isn't capable of giving him much. Overall, this was a much better game. Gives me hope we can still win the West as the West absolutely stinks. As in historically stinks. There is not a game left on this schedule we can't win (@Maryland is our toughest left imo). Play smarter with some better play calling and we can do it [/QUOTE]
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