ALTOONA, Pa. -- James Franklin addressed a number of interesting topics during a media availability following practice Wednesday night, but a good bulk of it kept coming back to the offensive line and how it impacts the entire offense, and thereby the entire program.
Franklin has said a couple of times already that he isn't going to talk up or over promise about the offensive line during the preseason. He wants the group to go out and prove itself once the season starts, in exactly three weeks.
But in this setting, he went into some good detail about what the team's offensive identity is and needs to be in order to be successful. Clearly, the O-line was not at all successful last season, leading to enormous problems running the ball, so the coaching staff spent a lot of time trying to pinpoint what the identity has to be.
"(It's about) really kind of figuring out what our identity is," Franklin told reporters in University Park, via video from On3. "What do we do well, and what can we build on up front? Are we a zone scheme, are we a gap scheme in terms of the running game and the play-action pass off of it?
"You guys have heard me say in the past, there's some things that we can do to help our offensive line and to help our quarterback, and that is consistently being able to run the ball. That will help us in red zone, help us in short yardage and goal line. That will also help us in pass protection."
Franklin had mentioned making some staff changes and was asked what that had to do with coming up with the team's identity on the O-line.
He made a good point of noting it all comes down to finding some different perspectives -- more sets of eyes from people who know what they're looking at and how to address any problems.
"Additions, some different perspectives and different people that we've brought into the program that have significant experience on the offensive line. Because that offensive line coach, a lot of times you know -- in some circles in coaching they call it the mushroom society; don't know if you guys have ever heard that expression; I won't get into details of why. A lot of times you're in that room on your own, and it's a little bit like quarterbacks, where a lot of people have opinions, but unless you've coached that position, there's a lot that goes into it.
"So, having some other experienced people that they can sit in a room and talk through issues and solve problems on top of the existing staff, those things have been really, really valuable for us."
Now, Penn State can have a system in place -- whatever it may be -- but then the coaches have to figure out a way to stay true to that system on any given game day in order to find a way to win the game.
Sometimes it works. But sometimes we see situations like at Michigan State last year -- not throwing enough despite playing a terrible pass defense -- and then also in the Outback Bowl against Arkansas -- (abandoning the run when it finally seemed to be working a bit.
It comes down, then, to being able to make the right decisions about your system and your identity depending on the circumstance.
Franklin was asked about that specific distinction, with Thomas Frank Carr of On3 bringing up what is the difference between having a system compared to things the coaches want to do in a game.
That's where Franklin gave a pretty candid and detailed response. At least, as detailed as he possibly can without getting out a white board and going over a ton of Xs and Os.
As you're reading over the lengthy response, it's tough not to wonder if Franklin might be referencing offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich to a degree with regards to putting ego aside and doing what's best for the team instead of what the coach might like to do for himself.
"That's the trick, right?" Franklin said about the difference in identity vs. game realities. "Like, you have a system, and your system needs to have enough flexibility in it to take advantage of your personnel. Now, everybody says that. And what happens, a lot of times is people want to call what their identity is and what they've done in the past. That's on offense and defense.
"But the reality is, you have to be flexible enough and put your ego to the side to do what's best for your team. And that's easier said than done. Because you may want to be a 10 personnel team with four wides on the field all the time. But if you got a bunch of really good tight ends, you better have the flexibility to use them. I think you see some of the stuff that we're doing with the tight ends. That's kind of what I'm talking about. You got to be willing to play to your strengths, no matter what.
"Maybe in a perfect world, if you kind of could build your Frankenstein offense exactly the way you want, it doesn't always play out that way. So you got to play to your strengths."
