Quarterback: B+
I give him a B+ because he pretty much did everything he was asked to do. For his first start, I thought he was superb. I know he wasn’t perfect so I can’t quite get him to A range, but he didn’t really make any big mistakes (especially at critical times). Below is a more detailed assessment.
First Half: Its hard to argue with Weis’ strategy here keeping Clausen throwing short passes. He was very accurate on these passes but threw for under 100 yards. The last 6 drives were pretty much unproductive. Weis did not let him loose at all which I was surprised with. I know you have to keep it short and safe, but it become clear early on that he was going to have to stretch the field. He did throw a very nice looking ball down the sideline just out of the reach of George West where only he could catch it (great coverage on the play by Justin King).
Second Half: It just looked like Clausen had no time to throw or no guys open. It appeared to me that he stayed cool in the pocket or on the roll. He moved pretty well but just couldn’t find open guys. Finishing 17/32 with one INT was not a bad result after trying to make some things happen in the second half.
Overall: I will say the kid just looks cool under pressure. Yeah, he held the ball too long a couple of times. Yeah, he didn’t make any huge plays. But in front of 107k people, to perform like he did was pretty admirable. He almost always made the smart decision and didn’t force many balls (he had a couple of times he missed his guys but put it only where they could have gotten it in the first place). This kid is going to be good, there is no question.
Running Backs: D
The running backs still couldn’t do much today again. They generated 25 yards on 16 carries (actually had 0 factoring in Clausen’s 10 attempts for -25 yards). Weis began the game using Armando Allen as a receiving back on a lot of swing passes and that was somewhat effective on the first drive, but didn’t work after that.
Interesting to see Armando Allen start the game today. Rob McColgan, you got your wish. Travis Thomas is definitely not the most talented guy on this team, but he sure runs hard north and south. I still think these guys have talent, but aren’t getting the chance to develop a rhythm or hit holes (as there have been very few of them).
Fullback: C
Schwapp laid a sick block on a PSU defender on a Clausen scramble in Q1. Past that I didn’t see much of him yesterday.
Tight Ends: C-
Yeatman and Carlson combined for 2 catches for 11 yards. I really don’t get this here. With a young QB you would figure that these guys would be over-utilized. I have a feeling as Weis loosens the reigns in future weeks these guys will catch more balls. All I know is if I am John Carlson right now, I am wondering why I came back for this.
Wide Receivers: C
I thought the wide receivers looked ok in the first half. They really didn’t have much of a chance to show their stuff as pretty much everything was a swing pass to a RB. In the second half they caught a few more balls (9 total). David Grimes pulled in 5 balls for 45 yards and looked solid catching the ball but did nothing after the catch. George West also caught 2 balls but they were also not much to speak about.
Robbie Parris really looks good to me. He has the size that we need on the field and seems to have a bit of the Shark’s instinct after the catch (that was a great run on his 35 yard catch). He did tip a ball that caused Clausen’s only interception. Yes, it was thrown high, but he has to catch that. Kamara dropped a touchdown in the end zone that would have made things a little more respectable. Also, the Golden Tate catch that was called back showed some awesome athleticism.
Offensive Line: D-
Paul Duncan looked shaky to me on the blind side. He got beat a couple of times in the first half and had a false start on the first play of the game. Besides a few of those plays, I thought the line did a better job pass blocking in the first half (though they were only blocking for swings). They gave Clausen ok time (not great but ok). I will say
The second half they looked crappy. They consistently pressured Clausen rushing only 4 or 5 guys. Also, Sam Young had a couple of huge penalties (especially on the Golden Tate Catch that came back downfield). I think they generated 7 of the penalties we had yesterday. These guys are so far away from being good it is nuts.
Defensive Line: B-
I thought we consistently got ok pressure from the front guys in the first half. In the second half they wore down (and rightfully so, they were on the field a ton). Scott had a good day running the ball, picking up 116 yards with a 4.1 average per carry. They just grinded and there is only so much you can do with the limited bodies we have to throw in there. I will say that Trevor Laws looked very, very good today.
Linebackers: C
Do we even know who started at LB? I don’t think I heard these guys names called at all today. I thought they did a better job containing the back on the outside and they have helped limit any huge plays, but they haven’t done much else. I really want to see these guys generate some big defensive plays and get more physical.
Cornerbacks: B-
Great coverage and pick by Darrin Walls on his first half interception. I loved the return as well, he showed great patience and vision (maybe he should be returning kickoffs). Otherwise, I thought our corners played well. Morelli, who in my opinion is a pretty decent quarterback, was only 12/22 for 131 yards with one td and one int. I thought coverage was good, especially given the time he received at the end of the game when our D-Line was beat.
Safetys: C
David Bruton went for a play on the ball on Bell’s big catch that led to the one big play we have given up on the year. This was just a bad judgment call that gave up huge yards. Otherwise, these guys played ok, but again not seeing the game-changing plays being generated from these two guys.
Special Teams: D
Giving up the punt return to Derrick Williams was horrible. It killed our momentum in Q1. The second half kickoff return was also horrendous. They get the ball on the 27 to start the second half and immediate momentum. We were lucky to hold them to a 3 and out field goal.
On the other side, Zibby’s return was awesome. That was classic sophomore Zibby and he definitely looks faster than he did last year. That was a huge play for us, even though we could only generate a field goal.
The missed field goal in the first half by Whitaker was not a bad miss and boy did he show off his leg. That was good from 60 and was just slightly off. Considering it was his first kick ever in a game, I was not upset. The Brandon Walker kick was solid from 22 and I was happy to see him get another easy opportunity with low pressure.
Geoff Price had a much better game today. He averaged 45 yards per punt and showed that big leg we love. He still isn’t in great form yet, but he was more of the weapon that we thought he would be this year.
Coaching: B-
I somewhat liked the first half game plan. We came out conservatively on offense and that was probably smart. I thought they should have opened up the game plan a bit at the end of the half (when Clausen was a little more settled), but being down by only 7 at the half was a great position for a young football team in a hostile environment.
The second half is a tough one to assess. I thought Weis continued to make decent calls and opened up the playbook a bit. My only complaint was that he was late in doing so. Also, I would have liked to see him let Clausen loose a bit more downfield and get his feet wet.
Corwin Brown had the defense prepared well for this game. 10 of the points given up were directly related to special teams and we let stuff slip a little bit at the end. That said, the D essentially gave up 14 points in the three quarters we were in it. I am happy with that considering the amount of time we spent on the field defensively and the fact that this was a pretty talented offense.
Other
Penalties killed us in the first half. We were flagged 8 times. Again, 8 times in the first half. I realize that PSU was a hostile environment, but 8? Not good. Also, what was up with the Travis Thomas personal foul? I don’t know if I missed something, but definitely looked like Thomas basically attacked the PSU guy. I do not like our guys doing that.
Also, Anthony and I had a very brief discussion post the game last night. He and I disagree on Clausen’s ability to have the big Brady Quinn type arm to really stretch the field. I have a feeling he is still not at 100% velocity and I think he will be more impressive with his arm strength moving forward.
Wow, what has happened to Michigan? They were DESTROYED by Oregon today 39-7. I just don’t know what to think here. I will be very interested to see how they come out and play us next week. They have got to be desperate. Henne also got hurt and it will be interesting to see if he plays next week (actually, late word says that freshman Ryan Mallett will play against us).
Conclusion
Well, it seems like Weis has gone into rebuilding mode. I know he says he hates that word, but it seems as if he is building for the future. I hope that these kids will build on this experience quickly (I still think we can win 6 or 7 games this year if they can). Here’s to wishful thinking.
