Blue White Illustrated

So are his teammates and coaches, all of whom are struggling to make their way through what most observers agreed was going to be the toughest of the un- der-sanction seasons. But, while trying to figure out what can be done to solve all of Hackenberg's performances as of late, people have lost sight of the actual issue. Plainly, the Nittany Lions' inexperi- ence, depth, injuries and, yes, their shortcomings on the offensive line, have been debilitating. Those problems will not be fixed this season, although im- provements can be made. But it's as if the conversation about the offensive line – and the sanctions, for that matter – has gotten stale, prompting critics to turn their attention to Hackenberg. That's unfortunate, because it ignores the realities that Penn State is facing. "He's getting way too many pressures and way too many hits, and when those things happen, that's when you really have to be mentally tough," Franklin said. "Overall, I think he's doing some really nice things. The most important thing is, we've gotta protect him, we've gotta keep him upright, we've gotta keep people off of him." In Penn State's loss to Michigan, the offensive line allowed six sacks and countless hurries and hits. The North- western game was nearly as bad, with the Wildcats tallying four sacks. Through six games, the Lions have al- lowed 20 sacks. That figure put them dead last in the Big Ten heading into their second bye week, and 116th out of 125 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivi- sion. And considering how often Hack- enberg was able to evade pass rushers, Penn State's sack total in the first half of the season was a fraction of what it might have been. One of the problems that Hackenberg will have to face in the coming weeks is that his overall ability will be questioned more and more as the punishment con- tinues. This is flatly unfair, as Franklin has noted. "It's hard to call a game when you can't consistently run block and you can't consistently protect the quarter- back," he said. "I'm not just saying it's the O-line. It's the tight ends. We weren't able to get separation at wide receiver today in the passing game. There are a lot of things that factor into it, but if you're having a hard time pro- tecting in the passing game and consis- tently running the ball, it makes it chal- lenging to call a game." Given the state of the Nittany Lions' offensive line, along with the team's oth- er problems on offense, Hackenberg's success in leading Penn State to a 4-0 start should be celebrated even more than it has been. His teammates certain- ly appreciate what he's accomplished. "One thing that I know for sure is that people who criticize him a lot of the time really don't know football and they don't know the positions that he's put in," cornerback Jordan Lucas said. "So their W E B S U R V E Y This all goes back to "expectations" being unreasonable by many. OFFENSE C- The struggles were "ex- pected" but that doesn't alter that the offensive production has been sub- par. Things aren't going to get better this year because of the OL and the in- experience of the WRs. You can only do so much with limited talent/expe- rience. DEFENSE A- They've been far better than I expected, but a lot of that has to do with the competition. We'll see how they do against Ohio State, Mary- land, Indiana and Michigan State. That will tell us how good this defense truly is, but so far there's not much to complain about. SPECIAL TEAMS D This is a direct tie to the lack of depth. COACHING B- Our record is better than the talent this team possesses. How some don't see that is beyond me. Every win this year is a bonus. OVERALL C We're pretty much an av- erage team sitting at 4-2. Hopefully we can go 2-4 the rest of the way. That would be a huge "win." mkilvanik DEFENSE A- Hard to ask for more out of what's there. Wonderful job. OFFENSE D- Only reason I don't give it an F is Hack and depleted O-line. SPECIAL TEAMS D The punting game kicking and receiving is ?? psubowhunter OFFENSE D or D- Youth and lack of ex- perience are killing us. Average run- ning backs running east-west don't help the inexperienced offensive line. Worthless use of the wildcat inside the red zone every game has cost us points just about every game against true Di- vision I opponents. Young QB and young receivers don't have a rhythm yet, and the tight ends have really been a major disappointment. DEFENSE B or B+ They keep us in the game, every game. Better coordination than we had last year. Still, playing walk-ons is hurting no matter how much those kids give. COACHING Incomplete What they see in the wildcat inside the red zone is extremely baffling. SPECIAL TEAMS D They are nothing special: a couple of Ficken's attempts blocked, punting is terrible, punt re- turns are nonexistent, kick returns, still waiting for one that makes a difference. Our punt and kick defenses keep this from being a D- or worse. psuken OFFENSE C- …and getting worse. DEFENSE B Keeping PSU in the games. SPECIAL TEAMS C As good as Ficken is doing, punting is hurting. BrianS What letter grade would you give the Nittany Lions at midseason?

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