QB menarik allar untuk tidak disalahkan atas kesengsaraan ofensif Penn State, kata Joel Klatt
Penn State has a lot of problems after losing its second straight game, but quarterback Drew Allar isn’t one of them.
FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt came to the defense of the 21-year-old signal-caller following PSU’s 42-37 upset loss to UCLA on Saturday, saying that he was “the best Nittany Lion” on the field in that game.
“He was … the only reason that Penn State had a chance to win that football game in the first place, and that’s even being in an offense and trying to execute a scheme that he’s not necessarily fit to execute,” Klatt said on his podcast, “The Joel Klatt Show.” “That dude plays hard. Now, that’s not enough, and I’m not suggesting he was perfect, either.
“I don’t want to get the two conflated, because no one played great for Penn State, but he was certainly the reason that they were in that game, and I believe that the criticism coming his way is not appropriate.”
Statistically, Allar had a strong game against UCLA. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns, adding 78 yards on the ground. However, it took a while for him and Penn State’s offense to get going. The Nittany Lions recorded just 92 yards of total offense in the first half, putting them in a 27-7 hole at halftime.
Penn State’s first-half struggles on offense against UCLA highlights one of the problems the Nittany Lions have, according to Klatt, as they only recorded 68 total yards of offense in the first half of their loss to Oregon a week prior.
“When you look at the last two weeks and you look at what the game plan was — I’m talking about base downs, first half, what they spent their entire week in preparation getting ready to do — it has not worked,” Klatt said. “It didn’t work against Oregon in the first half, and it certainly didn’t work against UCLA. … You can’t just chalk this up to, ‘Well, they weren’t ready to play.’
“I will just tell you that something in the plan is not working, because you can prepare yourself schematically for success.”
Following Penn State’s loss to Oregon, Klatt said that its coaching staff had to adjust its offensive scheme to better fit Allar’s profile as a strong downfield passer rather than forcing him to make throws in the quick game.
But that didn’t happen, and that could be because of the surrounding personnel.
“He was playing outside the X’s and O’s several times just in order to get the team to where it was, scrambling for first downs because the offensive line played very poorly,” Klatt said. “They didn’t run the ball well. The wide receivers are not playing well.”
Allar was only sacked once Saturday, but the ground game has struggled to get going for Penn State when it needed it to. Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton combined for 89 yards on 19 carries against UCLA after rushing for 75 yards on 23 combined carries against Oregon. That’s certainly an underwhelming number for a duo that many thought was one of the best running back tandems in recent memory. Additionally, Allar was taken down in the backfield on a designed run on a fourth-and-2 as Penn State was trying to tie the game.
Klatt’s biggest gripe was with Penn State’s wide receivers, though, saying that their issues go beyond the stats.
“[Allar is] Melihat korps penerima yang luas saat ini yang berlanjut, bahkan dengan pemain yang berbeda dalam daftar yang dibangun kembali, untuk menjadi unit yang berkinerja buruk, “kata Klatt.” Saya tidak peduli siapa yang menangkap sepak bola, dan tidak ada yang menarik. Inilah yang peduli dengan quarterback: gambar. Apakah mereka bersih? Apakah mereka tepat waktu? Apakah Anda membuat? Bill Belichick pernah mengatakan hanya ada dua hal yang benar -benar dia pedulikan dengan penerima yang luas: dapatkah Anda membuat pemisahan, dan apakah Anda menangkap bola, kan? Saya akan menambahkan yang ketiga. Apakah Anda tepat waktu dan membuat pemisahan?
“Inilah yang saya lihat dengan penerima luas Penn State. Mereka tidak terbuka. Mereka tidak berlari dengan urgensi. Kecepatan yang mereka mainkan adalah takik yang terlalu lambat. Mereka tidak bisa melepaskan liputan benjolan, jadi mereka macet terus -menerus pada garis scrimmage, jika itu adalah teknik yang dilempar ke dalam dan kemudian lompatannya, itu adalah hal itu untuk dilemparkan ke mana -mana. Garis ofensif berkinerja buruk. “
Kyron Hudson memimpin Penn State dalam menerima dengan 208 yard melalui lima pertandingan. (Foto oleh Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Tentu saja, dengan Penn State menyerah 42 poin ke tim UCLA yang berada di urutan ke -134 dalam mencetak gol memasuki pertandingan hari Sabtu, pertahanan juga tidak bisa disalahkan. Menambah total poin UCLA, Bruins mencetak atau mendapatkan bola ke wilayah musuh pada delapan dari sembilan kepemilikan pertama mereka, memasang 446 yard dari total pelanggaran.
Penn State memiliki tiga karung dan 9,5 tekel untuk kehilangan, tetapi juga memiliki 12 tekel yang terlewatkan, yang tiga kali lebih banyak dari UCLA dalam pertandingan hari Sabtu, per fokus sepak bola pro.
“Mereka tidak menangani dengan baik di luar angkasa,” kata Klatt. “Mereka tidak bermain dengan baik dengan garis pertahanan mereka. Punggung pertahanan mereka tidak bermain fisik.”
Pertunjukan buruk Penn State bisa dibilang merupakan sepak bola perguruan tinggi yang kesal baru -baru ini dan bahkan telah menyebabkan pertanyaan pelatih kepala James Franklin. Klatt belum yakin tentang itu, tapi jelas bahwa dia memilikinya banyak untuk memperbaiki.
“Ini menggambar waktu papan untuk Penn State Nittany Lions,” kata Klatt. “Gajah di ruangan itu, jelas, akan menjadi pelatih Franklin dan semua orang berbicara tentang pekerjaannya. Inilah kesepakatannya. Dia tidak akan khawatir tentang itu sekarang, karena apa yang akan dia khawatirkan adalah semua itu [problems I pointed out].
“Pada akhirnya – dan dia tahu ini, dia bahkan mengatakan demikian pada akhirnya – dia akan bertanggung jawab untuk memperbaiki semua hal itu.”
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