Watching an Atlanta Falcons game with any rooting interest this year has been a tough watch, as they’ve bumbled their way to an 0-3 start in the NFL season by blowing big leads and botching basic plays.
But as grim as the Falcons have been, their travails can help Penn State win a big game in this bizarre year if special teams coach Joe Lorig has anything to say about it.
Like many Americans, Lorig surveyed in terror two weeks ago while several Falcons players didn’t even try to fall on the ball as an onside kick fluttered 10 yards, allowing the Cowboys’ C.J. Goodwin to easily grab the pigskin. The Cowboys drove down the field and hit a game-winning field goal that cemented another Falcons collapse.
That moment when the Falcons watched an onside kick as if its about to roll foul pic.twitter.com/GhUmgnFceD
— Reese Waters (@reesewaters) September 20, 2020
Lorig couldn’t handle the epic fail.
“Watching a play like that makes me want to start crying, then I start to pray that it doesn’t happen to me,” Lorig said via Zoom conference on Wednesday. “It made me want to go throw up. Do you think the Falcons weren’t taught that stuff? Everybody teaches that stuff. At the time, with all the distractions, anything can happen.”
Football games don’t come down to one play. Lorig knows that. He also knows how deflating a mistake like the Falcons’ can be. If it can happen to a group of professional athletes, imagine what can happen to an 18-year-old playing in a game for the first time?
If that isn’t horrific enough, add to the mix that the Nittany Lions didn’t get any spring practice and haven’t had a lot of physical contact since the end of last season.
Astute observers of the game know that special teams combine offensive and defensive players into an assembly. Players who would otherwise have nothing in common share meeting space to get better at the critical tasks of winning the possession battle. Global pandemics don’t care about special teams, though, so Lorig has the extra challenge of teaching without his group getting together on the field until this week.
“The separate practices work for offense and defense. They don’t work so well for special teams,” Lorig said. “The key is to keep things simple. We have less time to prepare. We try to make that time up in the meeting room and other teaching situations.”
Lorig will rely upon experienced players. He will make tweaks to keep opponents on edge, but many of the formations will be familiar to eliminate dreadful mistakes. The 47-year-old coach will soon practice with his assemblage on field goals, extra points, punts, and kickoffs. He will also hope to learn from the mistakes of the Falcons and others.
“I’m pretty sure every special team’s coach from high school to the pros will use that film,” Lorig said. “When we can meet, we will show the video. We will ask players what they will do in that situation. We have to make sure all of our guys know all the rules.”
After Lorig addressed reporters, the university announced that out of 987 COVID-19 tests of athletes conducted between September 19-25, there were 16 positive test results and nine pending. We don’t know the sport or gender of the positive tests. However, if the school and its Big Ten opponents can continue to flatten the curve, football will be played in less than a month.
The Nittany Lions have high hopes. The team can’t afford special teams lapses if it wants to make the College Football Playoffs. Lorig is ready for the challenge.
“We have to have our best guys on the field for those moments,” Lorig said. “Every weekend I see so many mistakes in special teams. It keeps me up at night.”
“If a lineman loses focus and the quarterback takes a big sack on first down, then it’s just going to be second down. Nobody wants to take the sack in a big situation, but you can overcome it. If a player loses focus on punt or kickoff, there is no second chance. We have to have a one-play focus, or it can be a catastrophe.”
That pathetic Falcons moment reinforces Lorig’s obsession. Time will tell if the players will get the point.
Parsons won’t return
Earlier this month, head coach James Franklin would not rule out a return for star linebacker Micah Parsons, who declared for the NFL draft amid the coronavirus uncertainty.
But on Wednesday, he killed the dream
“We’re actually in a really good place. We had great conversation with Micah and both his mom and dad,” Franklin said. “I think there was a legitimate possibility for that to happen. But as we continued to talk, the timing of it made it challenging.
“That won’t be happening. We understand the decision. Just like we were on the front end, we’re supportive of the decision.”
Nubyjas Wilborn: nwilborn@post-gazette.com and Twitter @nwilborn19
First Published: September 30, 2020, 9:21 p.m.
