Penn State Snowflakes: The Offense
October 19th, 2019 at 11:48 PM ^
Shea's best all around performance at the University of Michigan. Thanks for your hard work and perseverance. GO BLUE!
October 19th, 2019 at 11:49 PM ^
Now that the season is over can we play Dylan so maybe we don’t fucking suck ass again next year?
October 20th, 2019 at 12:13 AM ^
No you try and win out and hope something wacky happens with psu losing and osu loses one before UM. Highly unlikely but keep playing for this year until your eliminated. Also this team still has the chance to change the narrative about struggling with rivals.
October 19th, 2019 at 11:49 PM ^
Will Bell ever catch a ball in the fucking endzone?
October 19th, 2019 at 11:50 PM ^
October 20th, 2019 at 12:00 AM ^
I expect at least a couple will grad transfer into a "more favorable" offense for them and disappear into the ether.
October 19th, 2019 at 11:51 PM ^
Better. But coming back from 3 TD's is hard to do. Another slow start.
October 19th, 2019 at 11:51 PM ^
Perfect offense in the second half. I really really hope it doesn't go away but I'm so certain it will
October 19th, 2019 at 11:52 PM ^
Charbonnet ran really hard.
Best play calling of the year.
But still could use more deep shots. But at least we saw a fair amount of intermediate passing in this game.
They did put more effort into going tempo, not great at it but better than they have been (which is fucking terrible so really low bar).
Fairly good game by Shea, WRs did let him down.
October 19th, 2019 at 11:52 PM ^
The perimeter stuff really seems to get us in rhythm, wish we would make that our go to to start the game.
October 19th, 2019 at 11:52 PM ^
The perimeter stuff really seems to get us in rhythm, wish we would make that our go to to start the game.
October 19th, 2019 at 11:54 PM ^
The offense looked so much improved. Taking advantage of PSU weaknesses by exploiting the edges by quick passes to receivers. Receiver blocking looked solid. Shea was a winner tonight overall. Still dances, but he was much more determined and focused on getting the job done well. His throws were mostly accurate.
charbonnet looks like a promising future at RB.
no fumbles!
gattis has designed some creative plays. It’s just taking time to get the rhythm down. Tonight was very encouraging overall.
October 19th, 2019 at 11:55 PM ^
Shea had one horrible pass. Suffered numerous key drops and still played a very solid game overalll.
but then Don Brown got bitch schooled and gifted the whole fucking game away.
shame
October 19th, 2019 at 11:55 PM ^
I'm not even mad, our offense was outstanding, the refs fucked us early, between, and late... and we still made it a game in the hardest atmosphere possible.. I'm proud of what the future holds... I'm Back on the Harbaugh train!
October 19th, 2019 at 11:58 PM ^
Never off it, but I don't understand why we're never ready in big games esp. on the road. Save for 2016 in Columbus, its an uphill battle the whole way.
And its a microcosm of our season where we look incredibly shaky the first 6 weeks of the year.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:03 AM ^
I actually think we looked prepared outside of the first play. I genuinely believe that we'd be tied or leading in the first half if it weren't for 3 bad calls.
October 20th, 2019 at 1:03 AM ^
Yeah, the refs were pretty slanted against us. If they had been for us, the score would have been reversed, at least.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:16 AM ^
We come out and on the first play of the game we have to call a timeout. We are never ready for these big games. Waiting until we are down 21-0 then we start to get things going.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:26 AM ^
They were largely down 21-0 because of the officials. I am not sure why people are having such a hard grasping how much they changed the game/altered the momentum in the first half. Call the PI on Black and they have the ball on the 25, not wipe away Collins bomb and they have the ball at 15. Besides the first play they did absolutely look ready to play despite the deficit. The yards in the first half would have been almost dead with the Collins bomb. Let's not even get into PSU getting away with an offensive PI on their first td. Game was largely played evenly at half regardless of the score.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:51 AM ^
Because it’s a weak take? You’re assuming Michigan would have did something if those calls weren’t made? Judging from what happened in 2.5 quarters the answer is no. And you’re talking 3 plays out of how many?
October 20th, 2019 at 1:45 AM ^
No I am taking it from a game where UM had 26 first downs to 14 first downs for PSU. Again you seem to operating from the assumption that UM wasn't moving the ball in the first half or wasn't capable of cashing those chances in, they had almost 200 yards of offense even without Nico's called back bomb. Those were huge calls that swung the game in the first half, people can be idiots and excuse the officials all they want, but it doesn't change the fact that in terms of actually moving the ball the game was evenly played at half and in the grand scheme of things UM was more consistent moving the ball in the game. PSU's offense literally came from 4-5 plays where UM's defense got caught in bad matchups.
October 19th, 2019 at 11:56 PM ^
PSU defensvie coaches should get grilled this week, they stopped blitzing and running around like mad men and Michigan started moving the ball, we did very little different maybe some better execution here and there.
Our 3rd and 4th down play calls at the goaline at the end were below average and PSU was obviously looking for them.
Shea played well, he's just not an elite qb. Our receivers did not beat PSU deep once in the game, everything was on the edges
October 20th, 2019 at 12:19 AM ^
FFS shea threw a td pass on that series. It was just dropped.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:28 AM ^
Probably because Penn State was actively trying to take that away, which is why the short and intermediate stuff was there.
October 20th, 2019 at 9:29 AM ^
Michigan moved the ball the entire game and if they would have gotten a few PI calls they would have easily had 550+ yards. Also Michigan started calling screens and quick hitters to back off the blitz. PSU didn’t just randomly decide to stop blitzing. Sometimes I wish fans would just watch the game and not try to be experts. Especially when they don’t seem to understand what’s happening.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:01 AM ^
Shea didn’t play crap in the first half, our receivers need to hold on to the ball. We supposedly have 3 NFL bound receivers compared to Penn State’s 1. Yet they were hitting on all their big passes. Penalties and dropped balls led to us getting down 21-0. With the exception of his first pass Shea was throwing balls that should have been caught. Lay off the Shea bashing, you’re not helping.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:07 AM ^
I think Shea played about his best game and kudos to him. The WR corps has to be better
October 20th, 2019 at 12:38 AM ^
I would say the first half looked vintage scared Shea. But the second half, oh my. He made up for a ton of past transgressions. Patterson won me over in the second half. I hope he keeps his chin up and plays like THAT the rest of the season. If he does we will do a ton of damage. I am drained and saddened by this loss but strangely I feel good about the next five games.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:10 AM ^
I want to focus on the positive side of things. First and foremost, we may have a quarterback. I did not think Patterson had that in him, but he played with a lot of heart and, in the second half, with surprising pocket presence. The Shea we saw in the second half can win some big games.
The OL, Charbonett, and Haskins were pretty tough in the second half. That was fairly impressive given the opposition. I hope it gives them confidence going forward. I would still love to see more Patterson keeps to help them out.
October 20th, 2019 at 9:26 AM ^
Twice in the first half Shea had obvious reads that he should have kept. Potentially a third one, but I wasn’t there live nor him so I won’t say for sure. I think if he keeps those few obvious reads defenses become more honest. Second half was much better. Just need to get Shea to use his legs even just a few times. Like I said, there were two obvious ones in the first half. That’s the only negative I can say about his play from last night.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:13 AM ^
Patterson with a good game finally. He still misses reads. There were a few times he should have pulled the ball. Sometimes he takes to long to make a decision. But the receivers need to hang onto the dam ball. No excuses for Bell dropping that pass. Big time players make big time plays. You have to catch the fucking ball. DPJ with his worst game 4 dropped passes.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:14 AM ^
It was better. I felt like there was progress in the playcalling. WRs had way too many drops. Haskins got way too many carries, Charbonnet is much better. Would rather see Turner too but I don't think they trust him with ball security right now. Eubanks needs to get his head out of his ass when it comes to run blocking. Shea played better but still doesn't know how to read a read option and gets skittish.
Seems like Harbaugh definitely has input on offense. Goalline under center with Mason at FB is pure Harbaugh, and i'm glad to see it.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:25 AM ^
Eubanks balled out. That's a prime example of a guy who never gives up on a play.
Despite Bell's drop, it's clear he has skills. He always fights for extra yards, he's not rondale Moore but he has a little shiftiness to his game. I see him being productive in the NFL.
Playcalling wasn't perfect but there was more good than bad. Made some quick passes when they played off. People will bitch about the running but Charbonnet started to pay that off towards the end.
Shea had one terrible terrible play but otherwise he played well.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:32 AM ^
They put up 26 first downs and 417 yards on a very good defense. Would have scored 30+ if not for the officials costing them 10-14 points potentially in the first half. Huge improvement from Wisky. I do think the coaches should have had Zach at the feature back far sooner he was clearly the better back tonight , averaged 5.5 a carry and was breaking a ton of tackles.
October 20th, 2019 at 9:22 AM ^
Last week Haskins looked much better, so I think they were just trying to roll with him to start the game and see what they had.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:34 AM ^
I have been a sharp Patterson critic but that kid balled out today. Too bad our receivers dropped so many balls. I feel bad for both Patterson and Bell. They both fought like hell and deserved to win this game on their efforts alone.
The first half sucked but I was really impressed with our resolve on offense. We dictated the pace of the game and played really hard. We are not going to win the B1G, obviously, but we have three more huge opportunities on the schedule to finish strong.
October 20th, 2019 at 12:56 AM ^
I missed most of the second half. How many bombs did Gattis call after the one to Nico? I'll guess, zero. Right? This is why we suck. Even that Nico had, we need to keep throwing it deep....such a shame.
October 20th, 2019 at 1:52 AM ^
You know people keep saying this, but do we know that PSU wasn't doing things to take that away afterwards. UM was finding a ton of holes in the second half in the short and intermediate game, I am going to guess PSU was giving that to them. Why would they risk a longer dropback against PSU's pass rush when they were having success with the short and intermediate game in the second half?
October 20th, 2019 at 9:21 AM ^
Like you said, you missed the second half so maybe sit this one out. It’s not good to talk about things that you don’t know. You’re just assuming with no facts and of course you’re wrong. You know what they say about assuming?
October 20th, 2019 at 1:08 AM ^
UM has been touted as having a great WR core and NFL WR talent. Why then, did all of them have 2 drop passes? Sure, Shae isn't throwing dimes, but he's getting it into the hands of these players. Not saying this was the reason we lost. However, the top dogs aren't having these issues. Idk, nothing makes sense on this offense.
October 20th, 2019 at 3:59 AM ^
On the contrary, I do think it’s the reason we lost. Of course officiating is also the reason we lost, but receivers and refs combined.
It’s like all of our receivers came together and collectively decided to play the worst game of their years all in the most important game of the year.
Our QB was excellent. RB had the best game of his career. OL was extremely stout. TEs caught everything especially on 3rd down. Even fucking Ben Mason contributed and helped score a TD. Playcalls were generally good. The only things dragging this team down was our so called four “NFL receivers,” who as you said, each dropped 2 passes if I remember correctly. And they weren’t just normal drops, each of them had easy catches and crucial catches to make. None of them came through.
October 20th, 2019 at 1:10 AM ^
I am really excited about the rest of the season. Not sure we can beat OSU but it's at home, so I think we have a legit chance to win out.
Next week's game is crucial. If we beat ND next week, we get three likely wins.
And, one small silver lining, PSU could be 10-0 going into Columbus a week before OSU plays us.
(Yeah, I smoke some good stuff :-) If I see good things, I am very optimistic.)
October 20th, 2019 at 2:01 AM ^
The difference tonight is we were able to execute enough to have a flow to the offense. Still not crisp. Drops killed us. Especially because they weren’t caused, but, unforced errors. Shea is still like a first year starter. Very sharp when he’s confident where to go with the ball. He’s in a funk with no feel in a pocket. I’d love to see that clock in his head include a couple ticks in the pocket. It’s first read, survey rushers, find an exit, then look up again right now. The guys are giving him those extra ticks consistently. He’s got to force himself to stay focused downfield while flowing up. Do that and then find an exit to run.
October 20th, 2019 at 7:21 AM ^
DPJ is a bust. At this point I think it’s safe to say.
October 20th, 2019 at 11:01 AM ^
Put Peoples-Jones on a team with an even average QB and he’d light it up.
Put him in the TOSU WR rotation with Haskins last year or Fields this year and his talent would shine. He’s a big fast athlete who hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to play WR. He’s mired in a system that has forgotten how to use big, fast athletes. Granted, there aren’t that many on the roster, but he’s one of the few they do have.
It’s not his fault that he is stranded in Harbaugh’s archaic offense with mediocre QBs throwing the football.
Transfer Portal anyone?
If you want to call someone a bust, start with the Head Coach and then work your way through the QBs.
October 20th, 2019 at 7:51 AM ^
time to quit hating on Shea played tough . Did very well against a tough very well coached defense
October 20th, 2019 at 8:15 AM ^
October 20th, 2019 at 9:04 AM ^
This may not be popular, but I really don’t want to hear another thing about how Shea isn’t getting the ball to our “3 NFL WR.” At least 2 of our big 3 WR are WAY overrated by this fanbase. Every time Shea took a long time to get the ball out it was because none of his WR were open. DPJ gets no separation, and Black isn’t much better. Also sick of DPJ catching the ball and just smoothly running out of bounds. Drop your shoulder and get those extra YAC that add up over the course of a game. The only who really impressed me - key drop aside - is Bell. And Nico is still good at being big and jumping high - not a burner and doesn’t get much separation, but at least he can use his physical gifts well.
October 20th, 2019 at 9:16 AM ^
This is why Shea looks for Bell. He looks for him too much sometimes, but Bell can get separation and once he has the ball he makes things happen. One play last night Nico got a huge chunk and easily could have gotten another 20 if he would have made a play on one defender. The defender was 7” shorter and about 50 lighter and Nico allowed him, by himself, to run Nico out of bounds. When you’re fighting to prove you are elite you have to try and do something there. You have 50 pounds on the guy, at least try a stiff arm or something. Instead he just ran out of bounds. I’m not knocking him, but sometimes players have to make plays. Not every play can be perfect, but sometimes our guys are avoiding the plays to be made and going out of bounds.
October 20th, 2019 at 9:13 AM ^
In the second half they threw to open up the run. If they continue that Michigan will again will ten games this year. If they continue trying to establish the run on first down with no threat of a pass or QB keep things will continue to stay stagnant. The coaches have to see this. They started attacking PSUs blitzes with good screens and then worked in some deep balls. Once they hit some screens and Shea ran three or four times in the 3rd quarter ZC started having room to run. Once he has room to run he can make yards.
If the coaches build on the second half, you can see where this offense gets a lot better. If we continue running up the middle on first down, the offense will be holding itself back. Michigan has to break some tendencies. I will say though that last night looked like a team that could be top 15. I have supported the team all year and have been up for two games, I never understand how people can say they’re giving up. But I could also realistically see the offense needed some work. Last night it seems like they took the right step. Let’s see what happens next. There was at least some promise.