All due respect PSU happened because we didn't execute worth a **** offensively. The O-Line didn't handle blitz pick up particularly well, Vandenburg made several mistakess, and Coker isn't as explosive as we thought he would be.
Couple that off with a top ten in the nation Defense and you get 3 fricken points.
Duff, I totally agree with you on this - we lost because we didn't "execute" and made many, many mistakes. My small gripe, though, is that it was obvious by midway through the 3rd quarter that we weren't physically capable of executing the gameplan. We were not able to pick up blitzes, PSU was playing insanely aggressive, flowing hard to the ball and Coker was slow getting to the line. PSU's D was as good as advertised.
I realize we need to "execute" to win games, but that's not the first part of the equation. The first part of the equation is determining "are the players capable of executing what we are asking them to execute?" That answer at least on Saturday was an obvious, "No." That's where the gameday/X's & O's coaching comes into play which frankly we seem to lack. We were not physically capable of executing the blitz pickup, not physically able to handle PSU's aggressive flow to the ball, so let's try something to slow them down/get them out of position - a screen, counter, roll-out, quick toss out to the wideout, hard count to get them to jump offsides a few times, a trap play, etc. None of that occurred and that's on the coaches.
If a player simply lacks the tools/talent/strength etc. to "execute" a play, than simply telling him to "execute" isn't going to get it done. To me the best game coaches are the ones who can move the chess pieces around enough to allow their undermanned players a chance "execute", which usually entails getting an overly aggressive opponent out of position or finding the 2 or 3 matchups where we are better than the opponent and exploiting them. This is Northwestern football 101, and it's obviously easier said than done.
As the game wore on it was obvious our guys simply did not have the ability to "execute" what we were asking them to do, so at that point, for there to be any chance to win, the coaches needed to adjust and try to put the players in a better position to allow them to "execute" - i.e. a screen pass, a counter, a couple of roll-outs, simply taking the snap and tossing it out to McNutt or Davis to see if they could make a play, etc.
Our players simply did not have the ability to "execute" a mano-a-mano gameplan. So sitting here saying, "we just need to execute" is the same as putting me in at left guard and telling me to "just execute". If I physically can't do it, than we need to try something else.
This was a 3 point game late in the fourth. As horrific as we played, there was a chance to win, but from my perspective instead of moving the chess pieces the coaches kept asking players to "execute" plays they physically were not able to "execute" against this particular opponent.
