I have to believe the Terry Smith is on a short leash......our DB's make turn average QB's into Heisman Trophy winners. Losing Spencer to the Giants hurt quite a bit. I dont see Pry getting the heave-ho just yet. In regards to Scrap and LJ; didnt we show them the door and then kick them in the ass on the way out?? I dont see either one of them returning.
@lionbacker99: Steelers fan eh??
@tsuga I think the DB’s are pretty good we just ain’t gettin to the QB. Most colleges QB’s in the big 10 will pick you apart if you let ‘em sit back there and not put any pressure on’em. We ain’t had a DE since Miler Time that’s got big time pressure on the QB and I mean get after his azz. Until we get some NFL DE in here we will struggle at covering WR’s. Our DE’s are gettin killed most plays. Toney is pretty good but he’d be 3rd string at best playing on the old Paterno teams. BTW guys it wasn’t Bradly the reason behind all them great Penn St defense, it was joe Paterno Bradly just done what he was told to do. I like scrap but he didn’t do much at WV or UCLA and in all honesty LJ’s defense line at Ohio St ain’t been all that great considering all the 5* players they get they’ve been struggling just like everybody else they are just loaded with talent. Remember 31-0 against Clemson 😁. The greatest of all time Joe Paterno is what made Penn States defense not anybody else he just hired them to do what he wanted but he did let them take the credit.
Southern, I don't think you give Bradley enough credit. JoePa chewed his azz out plenty of times on the sidelines when Tom's defense bent a little too much. That tells me he let Tom pretty much coach the defense. Also, it's a little known fact that Scrap was the one that recruited Shane Conlan. He had a heck of a time convincing old Joe to give Conlan a scholie. We all know how Shane worked out (especially Vinnie in the Fiesta Bowl).
@rip. I liked Bradly and he was a good DC but it was joes defense Bradly was put in charge of. Like you said he got his butt chewed if the defense bent to much that means he didn’t call what Joe thought he should’ve called. Joe was a numbers percentage guy he thought the longer the offense was on the field the more likely they were to make a mistake and IMO he was right and since joe won 409 games Mr bob he definitely was right lol. Scrap was a great recruiter
@southern-psu-fan LJ has put a boatload of DL players on the NFL at both schools. His DL has been very good at OSU. Just because he is with the enemy doesn’t mean we can’t give him credit. I would take him back as DL coach or DC in a second.
@lionbacker99. I would love to get LJ back but Ohio States defense hasn’t been all that great the last few years and it’s pretty bad this year. Limegrover put a few guys in the NFL as well and he got fired lol
Just because a guy is really good at coaching DL players, doesn't mean he can scheme and coordinate a defense.
I think LJ knows what he's good at and so do his bosses. There's a reason he's been a DL coach this long.
What is your opinion on whey he left.... not given the chance for HC? Lured to OSU for money? Wanted to escape the Sandusky debacle?
I agree he is good at what he does and not beyond, sort of like a Romeo Crennel.
@rip. I liked Bradly and he was a good DC but it was joes defense Bradly was put in charge of. Like you said he got his butt chewed if the defense bent to much that means he didn’t call what Joe thought he should’ve called. Joe was a numbers percentage guy he thought the longer the offense was on the field the more likely they were to make a mistake and IMO he was right and since joe won 409 games Mr bob he definitely was right lol. Scrap was a great recruiter
Can't argue with 409, Southern!
I don't know if LJ would be a successful coordinator or even HC. It's hard to say unless he was given a shot, IMHO.
What is your opinion on whey he left.... not given the chance for HC? Lured to OSU for money? Wanted to escape the Sandusky debacle?
I agree he is good at what he does and not beyond, sort of like a Romeo Crennel.
I think he may have left because Penn State didn't even give him any real consideration for it, which he probably viewed as disrespectful to someone who was there that long (also how they did Paterno dirty). Couple that with the Sandusky stuff and OSU knocking on his door with the possibility to work with a bunch of 5* guys? Gone.
Don't blame him one bit
You're right Roam, and on top of all that, I believe he received a very nice salary increase.
Just because a guy is really good at coaching DL players, doesn't mean he can scheme and coordinate a defense.
I think LJ knows what he's good at and so do his bosses. There's a reason he's been a DL coach this long.
Fair points roam. I’m just throwing ideas out there for discussion. I do think the defense has declined since he left.
@lionbacker99. I would love to get LJ back but Ohio States defense hasn’t been all that great the last few years and it’s pretty bad this year. Limegrover put a few guys in the NFL as well and he got fired lol
Again, this is a bit of a homer PSU perspective. LJ had a guy drafted #2 overall pick last year. NFL rosters are littered with guys he coached at PSU and OSU. Limegrover doesn’t even belong in the same conversation as LJ. In all his time at Minnesota and PSU, Limegrover had 1 guy drafted. Connor McGovern in the 3rd round to the Cowboys. The only other guys I’m aware of that are in the NFL from his time at PSU went undrafted, Ryan Bates and Brendan Mahon. There may be others, but I can’t think of any. Limegrover’s OL consistently underperformed at PSU. It was average at best. It was time to move on from him. The OL has shown some slight improvement over the last few weeks, however, the competition hasn’t been as good either so the jury is still out. Once Trautwein recognized that Will Fries was a liability at RT and moved Caeden Wallace to that spot, the OL showed signs of improvement. I also like Juice Scruggs at RG over Thorpe and Fries.
@lionbacker99. LJ track record speaks for itself I agree he’s been a great DL coach over the years I was just pointing out Ohio States defense has struggled the last few years having 5* players all over the field when Limegrover ain’t had near the talent we win 11 games 3 times and he got the ax so that’s blaming Limegrover for the few losses we had over the last 4 years. I don’t see any improvement on the OL this year but that’s just my opinion but we are 3-5 struggling to run the ball which puts more pressure on Clifford and that ain’t worked out at all. I told roam when James Franklin fired Limegrover it might come back to bite him in the butt and being 3-5 makes my case but I’m hoping it changes because I don’t mind being wrong as long as it benefits Penn St winning.
Records don't mean your line is good or not. It means your team as a whole is good or not.
Would you say our defense in 2004 was bad because our team was 3-9? You can't do that, constantly throw around records to prove whether one unit on the team was good.
Back to the topic fellas, I have mixed feelings on changing any coaches this off-season. I think Pry’s defense has gotten better over the course of the season, but it was directly proportional to the competition being weaker. If Franklin was to replace Pry, I would love to see a proven DC or highly regarded defensive coach hired. No up and comers. PSU would need an instant success guy. Muschamp made his career as a defensive coach. I’d take him as DC. Bud Foster? Both guys are unemployed at the moment. It would be a long shot, but I’d offer LJ the DC, Assistant HC position. He’s never had the reigns as a DC, but is more than qualified for the job. PSU would have to pony up the money to steal him from OSU though. He is the best DL coach in the country and losing him to OSU has hurt badly.
I think Foster is a good shot; unemployed, fairly local, good recruiter, smash mouth football, no nonsense, players coach and exceptional special teams play. I remember watching an interview and the reporter asked Foster/Beamer about special teams play and why was it so good; answer, simply put your best players on the field when running special teams.
Back to the topic fellas, I have mixed feelings on changing any coaches this off-season. I think Pry’s defense has gotten better over the course of the season, but it was directly proportional to the competition being weaker. If Franklin was to replace Pry, I would love to see a proven DC or highly regarded defensive coach hired. No up and comers. PSU would need an instant success guy. Muschamp made his career as a defensive coach. I’d take him as DC. Bud Foster? Both guys are unemployed at the moment. It would be a long shot, but I’d offer LJ the DC, Assistant HC position. He’s never had the reigns as a DC, but is more than qualified for the job. PSU would have to pony up the money to steal him from OSU though. He is the best DL coach in the country and losing him to OSU has hurt badly.
I think Foster is a good shot; unemployed, fairly local, good recruiter, smash mouth football, no nonsense, players coach and exceptional special teams play. I remember watching an interview and the reporter asked Foster/Beamer about special teams play and why was it so good; answer, simply put your best players on the field when running special teams.
I'm not sure about Foster, I think he's one of the DC's from the old days that had a lot of trouble adapting to the new styles of offense. He was a smash mouth blue collar type coach, and that doesn't work like it used to against spread offenses.
@roaminglion. Exactly what I was thinking his defense was gettin killed when he stepped down.
That is a point Roam. Maybe a couple years out of the game helps an old dog learn new tricks. hell the current staff hasnt figured out clock mgmt yet ....lol.
That is a point Roam. Maybe a couple years out of the game helps an old dog learn new tricks. hell the current staff hasnt figured out clock mgmt yet ....lol.
It's possible, but IMO defensive coaches tend to be much more stubborn than offensive coaches. I think OC's are definitly more willing to adapt to changes, but the old dog DCs just don't seem to budge in their style.
