Tag Archives: P.J. Walker

11.22.15
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Temple’s Wacky, Wonderful Throwbacks

 

Did anyone notice that 1 of the 17 guys stopping Lynch on the sneak was Freddy Booth-Lloyd? The Owls’ future is bright along the DL.

One of the nation’s top quarterbacks was on display at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday afternoon.

Paxton Lynch was also there.

If a random fan not following college football was told one of the two quarterbacks had six NFL scouts watching him, they could have only assumed one thing after three hours of play:  It had to be the Temple guy, P.J. Walker.

statstuum

In reality, Lynch, of Memphis, was the guy all of the NFL scouts came to see, but he was clearly outplayed by Walker, who just might have punched Temple’s ticket to a New Year’s Six game. Walker completed 14 of 26 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Lynch was 25 of 34 for 156 yards, but no touchdowns. Credit that to a spectacular performance by the defense, led by Tyler Matakevich, who, with 11 tackles, recorded his fourth-straight 100-tackle season. Lynch will probably be either the first or second QB drafted in the first round, but he was the No. 2 quarterback on the field on Saturday or, from Temple’s standpoint, that’s all that mattered.

While Lynch will be headed to the pros next year, in all probably Walker will return to Temple and that will suit the Owls just fine.  They need only to beat UConn on Saturday night at home to clinch the AAC East title. While the Huskies have played better of late, Temple beat UConn last year, 36-10, and the Owls are a much better team this season.

pjtm

One of the great photos of the season, P.J. Walker with Tyler Matakevich. Photo by Morgyn Siegfried.

Stylistically, Walker’s game is very reminiscent of current Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. He can make all of the throws Bridgewater makes, and might be a little more elusive in the open field.

The Owls dominated a team that had been dominated only once before—in a 45-20 home loss to Navy—because Walker was better than the more hyped quarterback on this day. The Owls streamlined their offense down from the trendy multiple wide receiver formations most of the Power 5 conference teams use and the style seems to suit Walker well. They establish the run, pass off play action, and use the speedy Walker to get to the edge on read-option plays. It’s a style that helps them run the clock, keep opposing offenses off the field and their defense fresh. It suits the Temple TUFF brand.

It is a no-nonsense style of throwback offense derided by some, but if it helps the Owls hoist that AAC trophy on Dec. 5, it will be both wacky and wonderful. Just the kind of team that Harry Kalas would have loved.  We all should.

 

09.12.15
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A Logical Look at the Cincinnati Defense

captain

As bad as the Temple offense was a season ago, that’s about how bad the Cincinnati defense was over the same four months.

If Mr. Spock or Leonard Nimoy or anyone taking a logical look at this game tonight might conclude, how much Temple improved on offense vs. how much Cincinnati improved on defense really  are the only important variables in determining a winner. The Bearcats were the nation’s 54th-rated defense in 2013 but followed that up by dropping to the No. 69th-ranked defense.

weather

It’s hard to judge anything by a 52-10 win over Alabama A&M because that was a 4-8 FCS team a year ago. Last year, though, Cincinnati gave up 34 points to Toledo, 24 to Miami (Ohio), 50 to Ohio State, 41 to Memphis, 55 to Miami (Fla.), 46 to East Carolina, 31 to Houston and 33 to Virginia Tech. The fact that Temple scored only six was more of an indictment against Temple than praise of anything the Bearcats did.

Obviously, head coach Tommy Tuberville knew defense was the side of the ball he had to address last year so he either didn’t address it or the bandages he applied to the defense did not stop the bleeding. Let’s work on the first part of that theory. Tuberville, at Texas A&M, was a noted offensive mind and his teams won by concentrating on that side of the ball. Maybe he doesn’t place a whole lot of emphasis on defense.

Great photo of Temple AD Pat Kraft (with tie) going nuts. Those Thomas sweeps should be there tonight.

Great photo of Temple AD Pat Kraft (with tie) going nuts. Those Thomas sweeps should be there tonight.

The second part of the theory is that maybe the Bearcats do not have a whole lot of good players on that side of the ball and that seems to be also true. The strength of the defense appears to be the two interior tackles, while the Bearcats have not had acceptable play from the ends. That probably means the same kind of sweeps that worked for Jahad Thomas against Penn State will be there in abundance tonight.

In the secondary, Zach Edwards is arguably the best safety in the conference and will probably take away the middle of the field but those sideline patterns that worked so well for P.J. Walker to Robby Anderson in 2013 will be big-play opportunities.

If the Owls attack the edges with Thomas, then hit Anderson and Adonis Jennings with play-action plays away from the middle of the field, they should be able to get points off of this defense. Those quick outs that Anderson got tackled on against a good Penn State defense could turn into explosive plays downfield for Temple.

Hard to believe that a Cincy defense that dropped from 54 to 69 is going move from 69 to decent any time soon. At least, as Spock might say, it’s just not logical. Expect Temple to score 31 points tonight. Hard to believe even a good Cincinnati offense is going to get more than three scores against the Owls’ defense and probably less.

09.10.15
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We’re On To Cincinnati

Matt Rhule correctly set the tone last week when, while talking about PSU, said Cincy was more important.

The calendar says the AAC championship football game is scheduled for Dec. 5 in an as-yet unnamed location. Calendars cannot speak, but at least this time the calendar lied. All signs point to the winner of the Temple at Cincinnati game (Saturday, 8 p.m., ESPN News) as the favorite to come away with the league’s championship.

If there was any question of a letdown for the Owls after an emotionally and physically draining win, this trophy will probably go to the winner of Saturday's game. Win now and it's a clear path to a home AAC title game on Dec. 5.

If there was any question of a letdown for the Owls after an emotionally and physically draining win, this trophy will probably go to the winner of Saturday’s game. Win now and it’s a clear path to a home AAC title game on Dec. 5.

For Temple fans willing to make the trip, though, the game should be one of the most entertaining of the season in any league. Cincinnati came into the game as the favorite to win the AAC East and the winner of the East plays the AAC West champion for the overall title. Taking that thought process a step further, if Navy—as expected—were to win the West, it would probably be an underdog to both the Owls and the Bearcats so the importance of this game cannot be understated.

Even without the above narrative, this is an intriguing matchup of counterpunchers in that it pits the league’s top defense, Temple, vs. the league’s top offense, Cincinnati. The game will probably be determined by which of the weaker sides of the ball have improved more, the Owls’ offense or the Bearcats’ defense. The Bearcats’ major advantage is having arguably the league’s best player, quarterback Gunner Kiel.

Temple has proven to be the league’s most ready for prime time team, having pummeled two members of the Power 5 in the last two seasons. The Owls had a SEC scalp last year, a 37-7 win at Vanderbilt, and added a Big 10 one this year in a 27-10 win over Penn State last week. In that same time frame, Cincinnati’s only win over a P5 team was 42-7 over Big 10 member Purdue a year ago.  It’s hard to tell anything about the Bearcats, who beat overmatched Alabama A&M, 52-10, last week.  The Bulldogs were 4-8 at the FCS level a year ago.

Great photo of Temple AD Pat Kraft (with tie) going nuts as he watches Jahad Thomas score a TD.

Great photo of Temple AD Pat Kraft (with tie) going nuts as he watches Jahad Thomas score a TD.

There were signs last week that the Owls did more to fix their offense than the Bearcats have to fix their defense, as Jahad Thomas rushed for 135 yards on 29 carries in the win over Penn State and quarterback P.J. Walker, rejuvenated by the return of wide receiver Robby Anderson and the addition of four-star Pitt transfer Adonis Jennings, went 15 for 20 in the passing game.

Whether that is enough to overcome a home-field advantage is the key question in a game where the key answer probably means a championship for the winner.

Tomorrow:  The Concept of a Letdown

Saturday: Cincinnati’s Defense

08.27.15
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Room for Improvement

When Temple head coach Matt Rhule talks about “room for improvement” and includes the coaching aspect of it, that has got to be a heartening sign.

In the 2-10 first season, there was not a whole lot of coaching responsibility being taken other than, after the loss to Fordham, Rhule saying that the loss was embarrassing and “it will get fixed.” Two weeks to get ready for a worse foe, Idaho, and it did not get fixed.

The lack of experience of the Temple coaching staff, especially offensively, reared its ugly head that first year and the numbers after halftime were so stark they could not have been ignored.

Halftime Adjustments?

Game First Half Points Second Half Points
Notre Dame 6 0
Houston 13 0
Cincinnati 20 0
UConn 21 0

All we can say is wow.

Things got only a little better last year, but not much in losses to teams the Owls should have been more competitive with, like Houston and UCF.

Those things have got to improve.

We’ll find out against Penn State. I have the feeling that the Owls match up physically well, but a 6-3 game got out of control a year ago after halftime and you have to wonder what went on in both locker rooms during the intermission. Penn State made the adjustments and Temple did not.

Another thing that cannot be denied is the Owls’ lack of previous winning experience among the current  Owls’ staff.

Coach Team Before TU Last Record

Before TU

 Position

With

Team
Matt

Rhule, HC

 NY Giants 9-7 Asst. OL
Phil

Snow, DC

 Eastern Mich. 2-10 DC
Marcus

Satterfield, OC

 Tenn.-Chatt. 6-5 OC
Glenn

Thomas

QBs

 Atlanta

Falcons

 6-10 QBs
Ed

Foley, STs

 Fordham 7-15

(2 yrs.)

 HC

Penn State has a head coach, James Franklin, who won nine games against a largely SEC schedule before he came to State College. He’s not getting paid $5 million a year because he’s a chump.

So far, Rhule has said all the right things about establishing a running game behind a two-back, two tight end system but, in recent days, he backed off the two backs and said the Owls might not use a fullback. Hopefully, that’s a ruse because we’d like to see, say, Jager Gardner following a lead block by, say, Nick Sharga behind Kyle Friend or Dion Dawkins.

Just once.

On the first play of the modern series with Penn State, coach Wayne Hardin tried a similar off-tackle play with world class sprinter Bob Harris following a crushing lead block by fullback Tom Duff through the hole. Seventy-six yards and 3.2 seconds later, Temple led, 7-0. That’s Temple TUFF. That’s Temple football right there. Harris behind Duff; Paul Palmer behind Shelley Poole; Kevin Duckett behind Mark Bright; Bernard Pierce behind Wyatt Benson and Montel Harris behind Kenny Harper.

Trivia question: Who led Temple in average punt return last year (21.0) but only got one chance?

Trivia question: Who averaged 21 yards per punt return but only got one chance?

Rhule also said he was at a loss to find out why the team had such a poor return game post-Delaware State but it was his  decision to use a slow possession receiver as the principle punt returner all season after Delaware State.

Duh?

Nate L. Smith, who is not a slow possession receiver, got one chance for a punt return last year and he returned it for 21 yards against Memphis. Smith is only the leading punt returner in Pennsylvania schoolboy history.

The leading punt returner in Pa. schoolboy history.

The leading punt returner in Pa. schoolboy history.

Sometimes, you wonder if these guys are looking at the same things we are but, again, there is room for improvement and personnel awareness is apparently one of those areas.

The running game to set up the play-action passing game and the punt return game are the two primary areas where the Owls have a lot of room for improvement.

The Penn State game will tell a lot about both. The Owls are physically there with Penn State. Mentally, it was another story a year ago. Losing a close game to Penn State will not cut it anymore. Establish the run with a tailback behind a lead fullback block, bring the safeties and the linebackers up to the line of scrimmage to respect the run game, then fake the ball into the belly of the tailback and go play-action. Under that scenario, P.J. Walker will have so many Temple receivers running free through the secondary he will not know which one to pick out. If he doesn’t get hurt taking back a punt first, Robby Anderson will be one of them.

Get ‘er done. It’s not rocket science.

One week and one day.

08.09.15
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Some Encouraging Words From Matt Rhule

Another great job by OwlsTV.

You have to take it with a large grain, maybe a boulder, of salt but this is the best quote we’ve heard in three years from Temple head coach Matt Rhule:

“How do we differentiate ourselves? How do we make ourselves hard to prepare for? Put two backs on the field. Put two tight ends on the field.

“This is what your roots are. These kids have made themselves really tough. And that’s the only way we’ll ever win–by being a really, really tough football team.”

“How do we differentiate ourselves? How do we make ourselves hard to prepare for? Put two backs on the field. Put two tight ends on the field. “This is what your roots are. These kids have made themselves really tough. And that’s the only way we’ll ever win--by being a really, really tough football team.”
“How do we differentiate ourselves? How do we make ourselves hard to prepare for? Put two backs on the field. Put two tight ends on the field. This is what your roots are. These kids have made themselves really tough. And that’s the only way we’ll ever win–by being a really, really tough football team.”

It was great to hear because two backs, not necessarily two tight ends, has been the essence of the “Temple Tuff” philosophy Al Golden took five years installing at Temple. By doing so, Golden paid tribute to the great Temple teams of the past under both coach Wayne Hardin and Bruce Arians in particular. Those were the Temple teams Golden remembered playing at Penn State, teams that would come at the Nittany Lions with a smash mouth approach and, though it took five years, Golden got it done at Temple.

When the Owls played UCLA in the Eagle Bank Bowl, Golden went with two backs and tried to ram it down the more talented Bruins’ throats. It would have been a successful approach had Bernard Pierce not pulled a hamstring at halftime. He beat Fiesta Bowl-bound UConn the next season with Pierce running behind a great blocker in fullback Wyatt Benson. The Owls did not have a quarterback people feared for either game.

In recent years, we have not yet seen what kind of offensive numbers this approach could lead to with a talented quarterback at the helm, but we might this season. Except for Adam DiMichele, who except for Joe Paterno’s pettiness would have been eligible for the Eagle Bank Bowl, the Owls have not had a quarterback perfect for this kind of offense. P.J. Walker is.

What we’ve seen offensively the past two seasons certainly has not been Temple Tuff. Too many empty backfields and single back approaches have not worked. Now the Owls have seemed to figure out that if you can attack a defense with more blockers than the defense has tacklers, you are giving your featured back a bigger hole to run through.

Whether that back is Jahad Thomas, Zaire Williams, T.J. Simmons or Jager Gardner, that extra lead blocker is going to make a difference. When the Owls show opponents they can run, everything else opens up. Watch P.J. fake it into the tailgate’s belly, pull it out and find Temple receivers open all day. That only works when the run is established first. I wonder what Wyatt Benson, who still has a year of eligibility, is doing these days?

If Matt Rhule is sincere about this approach, get your popcorn ready. It’s gonna be a show.

08.06.15
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Not Much to Choose Between Player A and Player B

Owls began practice today for the big showdown 9/5/15.

Owls began practice today for the big showdown 9/5/15.

One of the tricks of the trade David Murphy uses to compare players the Philadelphia Phillies might be after is to compare statistics of two guys and then unmask them at the end.

It is a useful exercise not only for baseball but for college football. One of the remarkable things about the first week of play this fall is that there are two quarterbacks with almost identical stats and almost exactly the same freshmen and sophomore years who will be playing that week.

One is talked about as being a first-round NFL pick in the 2016 Draft; one is not even in the discussion. A close look at both players indicates that there is nothing to separate them.

Player A

  Games Comp. Atm. Pct. Yards TDs INTs Rating Year
2013 9 152 250 60.8 2,084 20 8 150.8 Fresh.
2014 12 203 381 53.3 2,317 13 15 107.8 Soph.
                   

By now, you might have figured out one quarterback is Christian Hackenberg and the other is P.J. Walker, but, except for the number of games involved, it is hard to tell.

In many respects, Walker—Player A—was the more productive quarterback as a freshman than Hackenberg was. He had just as many touchdown passes in three less games and two less interceptions. Hackenberg had more yards, but that could easily be explained by his three extra games. Walker’s QB rating was considerably better, 150.8 to 134.8.

Player B

  Games Comp. Atm. Pct. Yards TDs INTs Rating Year
2013 12 231 392 58.9 2,955 20 10 134.8 Fresh.
2014 13 270 484 55.8 2,977 12 15 109.4 Soph.
                   

The next year, was similar with Hackenberg getting only the slightest of nods, a QB rating of 109.4 to P.J.’s 107.8. Still, in one less game, P.J. had one more touchdown pass than Hackenberg.

Both will admit they had down seasons, but the numbers suggest that there is not much to choose.

To borrow a new NCAA basketball phrase, there is something called the eye test. Because of his ability to escape the rush, I think P.J. is the better college quarterback. Hackenberg is taller and might be the prototype quarterback, but I think P.J. will come out on top 9/5/15.

07.27.15
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Good Sign: Robby Anderson Sighting

Robby Anderson is on the far right, wearing his familiar No. 19.

Robby Anderson is on the far right, wearing his familiar No. 19.

Anyone who went to the Elmwood Park Zoo yesterday got a good sighting of a beast Penn State should fear the most and we’re not talking about a charging Rhino or an Alligator here.

Look who P.J.'s right-hand man is ....

Look who P.J.’s right-hand man is ….

We’re talking about Temple wide receiver Robby Anderson (and, yes, it is now officially Robby; more on that later). That has got to a be a good sign because Temple Summer Session II classes end on Friday and grades are released on Aug. 3. Temple head coach Matt Rhule said Anderson’s eligibility is tied to those Summer II grades. (His Summer I grades were more than acceptable.) This is not a case like Bernard Pierce in 2009, when the NCAA Clearinghouse waited until the week before the Villanova game to approve Pierce’s participation as a true freshman. In Pierce’s case, the NCAA was concerned about the Glen Mills’ course load, which was later approved. Pierce had 44 yards on six carries in his first college game. Had this issue been cleared up before then, he probably would have started and went for 100 plus.

robster

There is that best helmet in college football again with the buckle allowing the ‘][‘ to be clearly shown.

Penn State cannot cover him and I doubt it can even hope to contain him.

 

In Anderson’s case, his community college courses done in Florida were enough for him to be re-admitted to Temple and now his eligibility is tied to how he does here.

For Rhule to even allow Anderson to participate in a team function has to be a sign that the coach is satisfied with Anderson’s academic progress.

(Now to the spelling of Robby’s first name: Since he is now spelling it Robby, instead of Robbie, on his twitter account, that’s how we will spell it here henceforth and Temple Football Forever. Or at least until he changes his twitter account back to Robbie.)

Why is Anderson’s eligibility so important? Temple did not have a single game-changing offensive player Penn State could fear a year ago. Anderson is just such a player and his very presence in the Penn State game makes quarterback P.J. Walker a game-changing player and it makes running back Jahad Thomas a game-changing player and possibly SEC-talent-level tight end Colin Thompson a game-changing player. Heck, he makes Romond Deloatch more dangerous in the red zone. In my mind, Temple beats Penn State with him and it would be very difficult to win this game without him. Penn State cannot cover him I doubt it can even hope to contain him.

So, while Sept. 5 is the most important date in Temple football history, Aug. 3d is shaping up to be pretty darn important, too. Robby Anderson being at the Zoo made July 26th a good day for Temple football, just how good will be determined soon.