GaryPinC

Depends how and when it's done. From my youth coaching days, some kids preferred to be coached hard. Josh had no problem with Daboll yelling at him, but probably Daboll's temper was part of why he was fired. Josh taking him to task and trying to light a fire under him in practice might really help. Especially given Keon's apparent lack of brain power.

He should keep an open mind. Jim Trestle really laid the foundation and started the OSU transformation to the well-respected powerhouse it is today, expunging the meathead thug stink of Earle Bruce and John Cooper, lol.

Cignetti came from the smaller schools. I remember Jim Trestle having dominant teams at Youngstown State and no one would take a chance on him until OSU did. There's more options than just the highest profile names, Kraft just has to have a firm idea what he's looking for and enough evidence of coaching acumen on film.

I don't disagree with any of your points, but after 12 years, Franklin consistently clenched up and coached small in the biggest games. Time to find a coach who can really maximize his talents and rise to the occasion in the biggest games. Yes, they may hire a mistake or two, but stick with it.

Well then, it's a good thing no one is talking about consistently surpassing OSU, lol. 1-10 vs OSU, 4-17 vs OSU/Michigan, 4-21 vs top 10 opponents. We simply want to do better than this.

Great discussion I am late for! The thing for me is creativity in the playoffs on both sides of the ball and in the big games. Josh, to me, purposefully seems to avoid his scramble runs at this point. There have been multiple plays I see on TV where he's got space to run but he holds longer to throw the pass. I do wonder and hope that we will become more diverse and creative in the playoffs. Like Josh scrambling more for yardage, or hitting more of those deeper midrange throws. Plays are there downfield but we seem locked into this short yardage balanced attack with a few mid-range throws. I'm willing to be patient and see if things change when the games really count. I do wonder how much Brady is hemmed in by McDermott's risk averse edicts? Babich certainly was and arguably Leslie Frazier. McDermott had to step in both times and the defense immediately became more creative.

Maybe, but Soloman wasn't running it as effectively as Hoecht was. Of course the change of coaching oversight may be the difference also. It seems clear to me McDermott doesn't like to stunt his DL much and so the marauder role is critical in keeping the offense off balance. Hoecht's aggressiveness and effectiveness empowered and energized the entire defensive along with the secondary finally getting on the same page. They need to figure out SOMEBODY who can fill that role even half as well as Hoecht.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/it-s-time-for-penn-state-fans-to-stop-being-afraid-of-their-own-shadows/ar-AA1PWX3K?cvid=690dd191d76649dba4828289108a19e3&ocid=hpmsn Just a fantastic take on the situation: stick to your guns PSU for firing a good coach because you expect greatness.

Well, now they can fight over who gets the cloned version in the divorce. Is this an improvement?

Yeah, I would think that will be Bass. In all fairness, I wasn't very familiar with Prater's career so I did some research. Held longest field goal 64 yards in 2013 until last week. Best career FG % over 50 yards and most from that range in NFL history. Most 50+ in a season (2023). Meniscus tear cut short his season last year after 4 games but he had hit a 57 yarder. So given all this, I was wrong and you are right, he should have hit the 52. Had the leg for it. OTOH to your other point, I don't think we are moving on from him anytime soon given his pedigree. Who knows, maybe his calf injury is having a small effect? He certainly didn't miss the kick by much.

The kid's going to make some mistakes but hopefully we keep risking those in hopes the game will slow down for him by the playoffs. Happy McDermott wasn't afraid to get him in there yesterday!

Prater was sitting at home because his ability to connect from 50-55 probably hovers around a coin flip at best. But he's so experienced I believe the FO chose to give up some long distance range/reliability for being able to consistently make shorter and high pressure kicks. He's 1/3 so far on kicks over 50. I think the FO would be foolish to expect him to make those. Maybe 5-8 years ago.

I agree in principle if this was Tyler Bass, but he's our stopgap 41 year old semi-retired kicker. You can't trust him 50-55 and I wouldn't even put him out there over 55 yards. Let's hope the coaches don't share your opinion and game plan(ned) accordingly.

My biggest gripe was not being a little more aggressive with the playcalling to get another first down. Run one play-action out of that formation. Game over and you get Prater a better range.

I think it's been critical in Bishop's development. You could see him coming on last week and I think Poyer helping set the defense and in-game decisions have buoyed Bishop's confidence. Kudos to McDermott for making it happen. It settled the entire secondary. Now utilize Poyer to get Hancock up to speed and hopefully we can roll into the playoffs with Bishop/Hancock.