Penn State Allowed Too Many Big Plays Last Season. So What's the Fix?
Penn State, which is so dedicated to its big-play offense, lapsed on the other side of the ball last season. The Lions allowed too many explosive plays defensively, which proved particularly costly in one game.
For defensive coordinator Brent Pry, that prompted an offseason discussion.
"The biggest area of concern to me was explosive passes given up," Pry said. "And why those were occurring."
Penn State ranked near the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision last year in explosive passing plays allowed, particularly those over 30 yards. The Lions allowed 24 of those, tying for 111th nationally.
Minnesota gave Penn State the most problems, totaling 11 explosive plays (run and pass) in a 31-26 victory. Receiver Rashod Bateman delivered the lasting image of Penn State’s coverage concerns, scoring on a 66-yard touchdown catch in which he was left uncovered. The Lions called that particular play a communication lapse, but it was part of a larger issue.
So after "hanging my hat every time I walk by him in the hallway," Pry chatted with Penn State offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca (who led the Minnesota offense last year) about how he exploited the Lions. Pry also sought deeper answers as to why his defense gave up more big plays than the previous season.
In 2018, Penn State allowed 28 pass plays of 20 yards or longer. That number jumped to 47 last season.
Further, the 24 pass plays of 30 yards or longer that Penn State allowed was more than double its 2018 total (10). Penn State was among the nation’s top 15 teams in pass plays of 20+ yards allowed in 2018. Last year, the team ranked 96th.
Pry had a host of questions.
“Was it a lack of rush, was it inexperience at the position, was it quarterbacks being able to identify coverage too easily?” Pry asked. “Was it not enough coverage variety, was it too many coverages and not playing any of them quite well enough?
"That was a strength of ours the year before. Obviously, we improved in our run defense in 2019, which was a big goal for us in the offseason, so did we overcommit to the box? Did we get too aggressive in supporting the run and create some liabilities?”
So during the offseason, Pry and his defensive staff broke down those breakdowns, along with studying teams that defended the pass well. He called it "certainly a good study for us."
Will it make a difference?
"Obviously each year there will be areas you need to see improvement," Pry said. "That’s one right now that’s at the top, or near the top, of our list. We’ve got a lot of confidence in our guys back there. We’re excited about the improvements we can make in that area.”
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