- I was originally going to make this my last point, but I've decided to make it my first point: Yesterday sucked. It sucked giving up 62 points. It sucked losing to OSU, not making the B10 championship again, and losing a shot at the CFP. But it's important to remember that it was only one game in what was an overall pretty successful season. We are clearly not Alabama and frankly, I don't think we will ever be given the academic and priority differences between our two institutions. But as badly as we lost to OSU, let's have some perspective. OSU came up with there best game in two at the wrong time. Last week. OSU got shredded by a bad Maryland team (giving up 51 points and being lucky to win) and earlier in the season got blown out by a mediocre Purdue team (giving up 49 points). I wouldn't exactly say their football program is so far ahead of our's. It's important not to overreact because of one bad game. In today's football world, it happens.
- A lot of blame to go around for this loss (well, except maybe against Jake Moody). But in my opinion, the biggest problem is we got beat bad in the trenches. On offense, our o line did not pass block effectively (which did not allow us to really "open it up" on offense because Patterson didn't have enough time to throw and routes didn't have enough time to develop). On defense, we got zero pass rush. I mean, did Haskins even so much as get touched once behind the line of scrimmage? The biggest reason for the results we saw yesterday was relative pass blocking effectiveness. Most offenses are going to look good when you have a good QB, good receivers, and all day to throw.
- The second play of the game really was symbolic of what happened yesterday. We had a second and 2, Patterson went back to throw, had no time to throw and was sacked - creating a third and long. We couldn't protect him.
- I tried posting criticism about Don Brown during halftime of the Indiana last week and I got mercilessly attacked by other posters (which I think led to the entire thread getting deleted). For some reason, his defenses seem to lose effectiveness at the end of seasons. We've seen this in past years. This year, we saw some cracks against Rutgers, some bigger cracks against Indiana, and total collapse yesterday. I think a big reason for that is a deteriorating pass rush. We got very little/inconsistent pass rush against Indiana last week and yesterday it was non-existent. Gary, Paye, Winovich, Dwumfour . . . I barely noticed those guys out there yesterday. Playing aggressive man-to-man coverage is dependent on your pass rushers getting to the the opposing team's QB, hitting him and/or otherwise disrupting his rhythm and progressions. Brown's defenses struggle when doing this against offenses with strong offensive lines and passing games.
- I don't disagree with Harbaugh's philosophy of trying to establish the run, a power game, and clock control. I actually like that philosophy as a way of dealing with high octane offenses (i.e., .the best defense is to keep them off the field). And he has shown that he is willing to tweak that philosophy by adding in RPO and QB run option concepts. But I do have my concerns with his offensive coach construct including Pep Hamilton. Something is wrong when we can't get offensive plays called in time. Something is wrong when can't ever change pace and play no huddle. Something is wrong when we can't effectively run 2 minutes offenses. I think there is a combination of too many cooks in the kitchen offensively and perhaps not all the cooks being the right ones. I do hope he takes a look at this before next season.
- I like Shea Patterson. I think he has some nice skills and is gritty. But I don't see him as a sure fire NFL starter. He is somewhat undersized. He probably has a less than average arm (by NFL standards). He has repeatedly been short with throws throughout the season (including to open receivers yesterday). I don't think he's ready to play QB in the NFL. He needs to get stronger, more accurate and smarter. We'll see what he does.
- I am questioning some other guys and whether they should leave early for the NFL. I'm assuming Gary is not 100% but he really has never become a "great" defensive lineman since he's been with us. He certainly has not demonstrated that he's a great pass rusher. IMO, he's a guy that needs to get a lot stronger and learn to play on the interior. I know many people predict he will be drafted early in the first round but we'll see. I don't think Devin Bush can do anything to improve his stock but I do question where he'll play in the NFL. I simply don't think he's big enough to play linebacker and take on NFL linemen. I hope Hill and Long consider returning. I don't see either as being high picks (neither have elite size or speed) and think both could benefit from another year in college.
- Higdon has been a tough, pretty solid runner and I'm sad to see him go (he'll get some time in the NFL IMO). But I think Harbaugh needs (1) more of a game breaker at the running back position and (2) more of a 220+ power runner. Hopefully, Turner or one or more of our incoming recruits helps with this.
- The offensive line improved this year but got exposed yesterday against a strong, athletic front. If Bredeson returns, I expect to see an improved line next year. This usually takes some time.
- I am very happy with our returning receivers. Both DPJ and Collins are high end guys who made plays yesterday. I expect Black to also be once he's fully recovered from being hurt. Those are good building blocks.
- A lot of blame to go around for this loss (well, except maybe against Jake Moody). But in my opinion, the biggest problem is we got beat bad in the trenches. On offense, our o line did not pass block effectively (which did not allow us to really "open it up" on offense because Patterson didn't have enough time to throw and routes didn't have enough time to develop). On defense, we got zero pass rush. I mean, did Haskins even so much as get touched once behind the line of scrimmage? The biggest reason for the results we saw yesterday was relative pass blocking effectiveness. Most offenses are going to look good when you have a good QB, good receivers, and all day to throw.
- The second play of the game really was symbolic of what happened yesterday. We had a second and 2, Patterson went back to throw, had no time to throw and was sacked - creating a third and long. We couldn't protect him.
- I tried posting criticism about Don Brown during halftime of the Indiana last week and I got mercilessly attacked by other posters (which I think led to the entire thread getting deleted). For some reason, his defenses seem to lose effectiveness at the end of seasons. We've seen this in past years. This year, we saw some cracks against Rutgers, some bigger cracks against Indiana, and total collapse yesterday. I think a big reason for that is a deteriorating pass rush. We got very little/inconsistent pass rush against Indiana last week and yesterday it was non-existent. Gary, Paye, Winovich, Dwumfour . . . I barely noticed those guys out there yesterday. Playing aggressive man-to-man coverage is dependent on your pass rushers getting to the the opposing team's QB, hitting him and/or otherwise disrupting his rhythm and progressions. Brown's defenses struggle when doing this against offenses with strong offensive lines and passing games.
- I don't disagree with Harbaugh's philosophy of trying to establish the run, a power game, and clock control. I actually like that philosophy as a way of dealing with high octane offenses (i.e., .the best defense is to keep them off the field). And he has shown that he is willing to tweak that philosophy by adding in RPO and QB run option concepts. But I do have my concerns with his offensive coach construct including Pep Hamilton. Something is wrong when we can't get offensive plays called in time. Something is wrong when can't ever change pace and play no huddle. Something is wrong when we can't effectively run 2 minutes offenses. I think there is a combination of too many cooks in the kitchen offensively and perhaps not all the cooks being the right ones. I do hope he takes a look at this before next season.
- I like Shea Patterson. I think he has some nice skills and is gritty. But I don't see him as a sure fire NFL starter. He is somewhat undersized. He probably has a less than average arm (by NFL standards). He has repeatedly been short with throws throughout the season (including to open receivers yesterday). I don't think he's ready to play QB in the NFL. He needs to get stronger, more accurate and smarter. We'll see what he does.
- I am questioning some other guys and whether they should leave early for the NFL. I'm assuming Gary is not 100% but he really has never become a "great" defensive lineman since he's been with us. He certainly has not demonstrated that he's a great pass rusher. IMO, he's a guy that needs to get a lot stronger and learn to play on the interior. I know many people predict he will be drafted early in the first round but we'll see. I don't think Devin Bush can do anything to improve his stock but I do question where he'll play in the NFL. I simply don't think he's big enough to play linebacker and take on NFL linemen. I hope Hill and Long consider returning. I don't see either as being high picks (neither have elite size or speed) and think both could benefit from another year in college.
- Higdon has been a tough, pretty solid runner and I'm sad to see him go (he'll get some time in the NFL IMO). But I think Harbaugh needs (1) more of a game breaker at the running back position and (2) more of a 220+ power runner. Hopefully, Turner or one or more of our incoming recruits helps with this.
- The offensive line improved this year but got exposed yesterday against a strong, athletic front. If Bredeson returns, I expect to see an improved line next year. This usually takes some time.
- I am very happy with our returning receivers. Both DPJ and Collins are high end guys who made plays yesterday. I expect Black to also be once he's fully recovered from being hurt. Those are good building blocks.
