Improvements you'd like to see CJF make this year...

[LionsAndBears]

Let's keep this civil please. I'll start.

I'd like to see CJF recognize that punting in order to maintain the advantage of field position isn't bad. In the past I think he's put our defense in bad spots by turning the ball over on downs on a short field. This has inevitably led to easier scoring opportunities for our opponents which has put excessive pressure on our offense.

Joe knew the value of field position and making the opponent work as hard as he could in order to score. I miss that mindset.

 

[Bones80]

Run the ball!

 

[s1uggo72]

I’d like to see them run 2 double teams at hole ( dual play).
I’d like to see backs block and get the correct blitz pick up
I’d like to see the TE hook over the football about 9 yds deep and just hit him

 

[centaur94]

Win more games

 

[pap]

Let's keep this civil please. I'll start.

I'd like to see CJF recognize that punting in order to maintain the advantage of field position isn't bad. In the past I think he's put our defense in bad spots by turning the ball over on downs on a short field. This has inevitably led to easier scoring opportunities for our opponents which has put excessive pressure on our offense.

Joe knew the value of field position and making the opponent work as hard as he could in order to score. I miss that mindset.

I would like to see more fundamental football be played

 

[BobPSU92]

Dress shirt, tie, sport coat, dress slacks.

 

[EricStratton-RushChairman]

Take a correspondence class on time management inside 2 minutes

 

[Nohow]

A new head coach.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

I would like to see more fundamental football be played

This really sums it up. Good football starts at the LOS. Our teams have been woefully mediocre (at best) in the trenches. 3 yards and a cloud of dust may seem boring and out of date, but how many drives have been squandered over his tenure because we couldn’t convert 3rd & 2? How many splash plays would any of us trade for a 3rd & goal inside the 5 that didn’t end in a FG?

 

[Classof09]

Emphasize tackling! Put Poz, Sean Lee, Brandon Short, etc on a loop in every defensive meeting you have. Head up, see your target, wrap arms, drive legs. Gang tackle. The same exact things we heard in midgets, junior high, JV, varsity…

 

[Ceasar]

I would like to see us develop and play a legitimate two deep at every position on the field. If a starter is not playing well I would like to see the backup get an opportunity to at least play a few series; it will develop depth, send a message to the number two guy that if he works hard he will have a chance to play, and will send a message to the starter that no job is guaranteed. I would like to see two RBs get 80% of all carries. And I would like to see us refrain from fake punts and FGs and, as the OP said, recognize it is okay to punt the ball and play for field position on occasion. Perhaps most importantly, if we lose a game, win the next one. Don't allow the season to collapse because we lose a game. Oh, one more thing - do not lose to any team we are better than. Specifically this refers to Minnesota, Nebraska, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan State....

 

[grinagrin]

I would like to see him acknowledge that Time Of Possession is not a meaningless stat.

 

[nittanyfan333]

I’d love to see him go HANDS OFF the offense. The more I see, it seems like when things aren’t clicking he doesn’t let his OC figure it out, he seems to micromanage. At least in my observations anyway.

 

[psu31trap]

Coach Franklin’s job is not that easy. Trust me, he has his hands full. There are several reasons why recruiting 5* HS athletes is a major advantage. The most obvious is that they’re usually superb athletes but a close second is that they require less time & effort to develop and make a successful transition to college football. Everyone else (3* & 4*) usually requires much more time and attention.

Here’s what I would like to see from coach Franklin. Focus on his assistants as well as his coordinators. I want to see him hold his coaching staff accountable and if necessary lean on them as much as he can. He needs to get into the weeds and scrutinize the playbook, help prepare the game plan and have a say on who is starting. This is just a feeling on my part as I do not have any proof, but to me coach Franklin has become more of a recruiter/coach/administrator. This means he’s delegating way too much responsibility to his coordinators and coaches with a moderate amount of oversight, no good!! The reason errors occur during games is because he is not completely in sync with his coordinators.

 

[psykim]

2 recommendations- first, backup QBs need to get lots and lots of attention and be ready. We know our young QBs have much greater potential
than Clifford and if Clifford starts he should be replaced if hurt at all or ineffective. Second, ditch whatever third or fourth and short plays you had last year-they almost all stunk. We need quick passes to te, WR, or RB. not thirty yard out plays!

 

[Lacklions]

Many know I’m a supporter of Franklin, but my biggest criticism and thing I hope he fixes is that we seem to let 1 loss turn into a lost season instead of rebounding and finishing strong. We’re going to lose games but we can’t let one bad loss turn into a disaster.

 

[PSUMichFan]

Better success addressing the huge holes we currently have at several positions via the Transfer Portal. Michigan State is reloading again via the transfer portal.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

Improve the ground game, period.

 

[Ten Years After]

Effectively run-block

 

[WSTLion87]

More focus less fluff... In Rocky III, Clubber Lang had "The Eye of the Tiger" when we worked out alone while Rocky rented a gym where people came to see him while Paulie sold "Rocky Robes." The result was a full-blown disaster and Clubber pounded Rocky. In order ro beat Clubber the next time Rocky (and Apollo) had to return to their roots to get "The Edge" they had lost. This football team needs that same mentality. While it is nice to invite the Little League World Series team to practice (and have the head coach do pushups if one of their kids make a field goal) it does not show any focus or seriousness on the coach's part which in turn reflects on the team. That's just one example...

 

[TFrankCarr]

Let's keep this civil please. I'll start.

I'd like to see CJF recognize that punting in order to maintain the advantage of field position isn't bad. In the past I think he's put our defense in bad spots by turning the ball over on downs on a short field. This has inevitably led to easier scoring opportunities for our opponents which has put excessive pressure on our offense.

Joe knew the value of field position and making the opponent work as hard as he could in order to score. I miss that mindset.

Franklin actually talked about this mid-season. While the analytics say that you should go for it (a very long discussion about that always happens), he cited other stats about scoring from a long field and the advantage of making a team drive the length of the field. I think you'll still see him be aggressive but not nearly as aggressive as he was.

Also, this is a great topic and one that doesn't always come up. I appreciate this.

 

[TFrankCarr]

I’d like to see them run 2 double teams at hole ( dual play).
I’d like to see backs block and get the correct blitz pick up
I’d like to see the TE hook over the football about 9 yds deep and just hit him

What makes duo more effective? Just curious as your thoughts/philosophies.

 

[marshall23]

Why in the world would I want CJF to change? What would everyone do with their spare time? IMO, he's hopeless. After more than 19 years of D1 coaching and snagging a contract good for 9 or 10 million a year.....he knows and has learned nothing. I don't know about everyone else but I'm exhausted from coaching this team for him....year after year!

 

[s1uggo72]

What makes duo more effective? Just curious as your thoughts/philosophies.

Compared to what we have been doing, it just seems more effective more consistent
Plus I think it would make us much more physical. After we are able to run this , I think more of our run game would open up

 

[bbrown]

Let's keep this civil please. I'll start.

I'd like to see CJF recognize that punting in order to maintain the advantage of field position isn't bad. In the past I think he's put our defense in bad spots by turning the ball over on downs on a short field. This has inevitably led to easier scoring opportunities for our opponents which has put excessive pressure on our offense.

Joe knew the value of field position and making the opponent work as hard as he could in order to score. I miss that mindset.

Less obsession over "explosive" plays.
Getting the QB's as much work as possible and not just handing the keys to Clifford.
The ability to bounce back after a loss and not have the rest of the season go down the drain.

 

[TFrankCarr]

Compared to what we have been doing, it just seems more effective more consistent
Plus I think it would make us much more physical. After we are able to run this , I think more of our run game would open up

So it's the double team blocks that you want or the scheme?

 

[s1uggo72]

So it's the double team blocks that you want or the scheme?

Arent double team blocks a scheme

 

[Lacklions]

Better success addressing the huge holes we currently have at several positions via the Transfer Portal. Michigan State is reloading again via the transfer portal.

Msu overachieved this year. They won’t be able to reload every year. Some years the guys they bring in will work sometimes not, but they can’t sustain success while playing 15 transfers every year.

 

[Midnighter]

Let his OC do his thing. Moorhead looks like a genius but Barkley more often than not made something (sometimes big) out of absolutely nothing. Total boom or bust offense. It's not practical unless you have All American RBs, WRs, TEs, and a decent QB. Franklin wants his OCs to be like Moorhead, but he doesn't have the horses. Just look at what Yurcich did and let him run the offense.

I am sad that we won't have the 'CJF to X school' rumors this year.

 

[marshall23]

So it's the double team blocks that you want or the scheme?

I'd like to see all teams run a 2 man front vs. PSU.....that way we can double team everyone.....LOL
So if double team is a "scheme" and the defense has 5 defenders on the LOS.....how many double teams do we have?

 

[TFrankCarr]

Arent double team blocks a scheme

Double-team blocks are a type of block found within many schemes. Penn State runs a lot of inside zone, which is predicated on double-team blocks by the center and guard.

I think you're referring to man, or gap blocking which is a different scheme that heavily uses double teams as well.

 

[TFrankCarr]

I'd like to see all teams run a 2 man front vs. PSU.....that way we can double team everyone.....LOL
So if double team is a "scheme" and the defense has 5 defenders on the LOS.....how many double teams do we have?

If you're asking for stuff, why don't you also have them use a 5-7 linebacker and a 135 pound safety.

 

[s1uggo72]

Double-team blocks are a type of block found within many schemes. Penn State runs a lot of inside zone, which is predicated on double-team blocks by the center and guard.

I think you're referring to man, or gap blocking which is a different scheme that heavily uses double teams as well.

no we do very little 2 double teams at the hole. double the 1 with the C&G, double the 3 with the G&T. I know what a double team is, and I know how PSU blocks, I don't see them use much of this. The other thing I'd like to see them do, is keep their shoulders square to the LOS, and not turn their hips to the sideline so much.

 

[Midnighter]

If you're asking for stuff, why don't you also have them use a 5-7 linebacker and a 135 pound safety.

*Gerald Filardi has entered the chat*

 

[Nitt1300]

massive recruiting emphasis on lineman- on both sides of the ball

 

[81BandW]

I've yet to understand how an obviously intelligent man doesn't realize how bad that word sounds coming off over and over

 

[FTLPSU]

Why in the world would I want CJF to change? What would everyone do with their spare time? IMO, he's hopeless. After more than 19 years of D1 coaching and snagging a contract good for 9 or 10 million a year.....he knows and has learned nothing. I don't know about everyone else but I'm exhausted from coaching this team for him....year after year!

Lol….I was going to suggest making in game and half time adjustments when obvious plays or defensive schemes aren’t working but guess that’s out the door

 

[marshall23]

Lol….I was going to suggest making in game and half time adjustments when obvious plays or defensive schemes aren’t working but guess that’s out the door

Just what I mean.....if it's obvious to us how stupid is he?

 

[BW Lion]

Posting his resume on Ziprecruiter.com

 

[johnmpsu]

I'd like 2 things, neither of which is very difficult:
1: Stop going for it on 4th down near mid field.

2: A more imaginative run game.