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What I think...

So it's Sunday and I'm bored out of my mind.  I just finished reading a college football "preview," and thought if I write a long post about my thoughts on the upcoming season.  Feel free to read all of them or none of my thoughts.  All of the following is my opinion and mine alone. 

1.  I think Penn State has the POTENTIAL to go 11-1 this season.  If you match up player for player with all the other teams on our schedule, only one college has more quality players than PSU.  I also believe that potential is a good thing but reality is different, therefore I am predicting a two loss season with a Capitol One Bowl appearance.  My guess on the second loss will be either @Iowa or @ Wisconsin since we never play well outside the Beaver (except for bowls).

2.  I think we have less than a snowballs chance in hell of beating OSU in Columbus.  PSU hasn't beet OSU in Columbus since 1993.  They only lost three starters from last year and they are at home.  That losing streak will continue, however there is another losing streak of PSU's that will end after nine games.

3.  I think James Laurinaitis would have been the second best Linebacker until the injury to Sean Lee.  I also think he was the third best linebacker last year and the Butkis Award was rigged. 

4.  If I had to pick two unknown names from both the offense and defense who would be household names, they would be: offense- Evan Royster, Stephfon Green defense-Bani Gbadyu, Chris Colasani.  I can see Royster and Green being the next great duo of Running Backs for college football.  Royster running over defenses and tiring them out, meanwhile Green will come in and run around the defense.  Gbadyu will lead the team in tackles since he is the will start for the whole season and is the fastest linebacker on the team.  Colasanti, because he will start once we play in the Big 10 foro his athleticism and his name sounds like a great linbacker name.   

 5.  I think our defensive line is the best line in Penn State History, maybe even college football.  I see the starters, the backups, the third stingers (Devon Still, Aaron Maybin) even the ones in the dog house could start on 95% of the other college teams at this point.  I can see PSU averageing over five sacks a game and leading the nation. 

6.  I think if Lydell Sargeant starts at corner, we should give him a stick of butter because he is going to get burned. 

7.  I think Daryll Clark will play 70% of the snaps with Devlin playing 30% throughout the year. 

8.  I think the 2008 recruiting class has some big brass.  I am very excited about: Brandon Beachum (next Tony Hunt, running over players), Jack Crawford (he's huge and has a great motor, even though he hasn't played football for a long time; neither did Tamba Hali), D'Anton Lynn (great athlete who really picked up momentum grabbing offers from big time schools at the end), Michael Mauti (Army All-American who really lit it up with the best), Mike Zordich (loves the game and comes from a father who did pretty good in college and the NFL).  My sleeper pick of the class is Brandon Ware.  If he learns the game he will be a beast who will throw lineman to the turf, but he has to work hard. 

9.  Finally I will conclude with what I think about JoePa.  I think he should retire after the season.  It is time for this team to turn a new leaf.  That being said I wouldn't mind if he stayed for ten more years.  I mean how many times do you get to watch a living legend.  He may be past his prime, but how many times does it bring a smile to your face when he gives it to a ref?  Watching him on the sideline is like watching Cal Ripken Jr. at the end of his career.  He was starting to lose it, but once he is gone, he's never coming back.  That's it. 

Once again sorry for the rant about random Penn State topics.  Feel free to criticize me and say how much of an idiot I am, but I love this site, I love tlaking about sports and most of all I love Penn State. 

Go State, Beat Chanticleers 

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If Joe Gets His Way

Jan 2010 by Kevin HD - 22 comments

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Ohio State

Penn State has not won in Columbus since 1978, although it is refreshing to know it has happened.

For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994

by jesse. on Jun 30, 2008 9:28 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

11-1 is too optimistic

PSU should have a good team, but Lee is a huge loss. Connor/Lee combined for rearly 300 tackles last year. Without Lee, our top returning LB had 18! The good teams will give PSU fits passing over the middle this year.

Illinois will be improved (especially on the LOS). Best hope is that the game is at home and our yound LBs will have gained some experience by game 5. Wisky is going to be very strong, and MSU will also be improved. I think that we lose at least one of these three games, and also lose to a team we shouldn’t. That’s 9-3. Not bad, but not great given teh amount of returning talent.

by bdgan on Jun 30, 2008 10:10 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I am curious about Illinois

Why do you think Illinois will be improved, my perception is that without Mendenhall and Lehman they are going to go back to being an average team. I don’t know much about them, but was looking forward to a solid W for the week.

Boom goes the dynamite.

by psu on Jun 30, 2008 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I agree.......

I am a firm believer that you don’t just suddenly learn how to throw the football. I predict Juice takes a step backwards this year and without Mendenhall, that is a bad thing for Illinois.

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Jun 30, 2008 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Also agree

Illinois is gonna be weak. Zook wears people out, and this year could see some combustion out there. I’ve said it before here, I’m predicting MSU to be this year’s danger squad.

Convivite Nudem!

by jtothep on Jun 30, 2008 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

D-Line Rotation & Depth...

1st/2nd/3rd stringer rotation should REALLY keep the opposing O-lines gasping. We should be able to get MAJOR PRESSURE on the QB’s and keep the entire O off balance. Pretty hard to pass & run when the line-is-a-leaking…

Hopefully, the first (4) games will give the younger LB’s the reps they need & the confidence boost when the get the feel of the more seasoned D-Line pushing people around!

Old School... MEETS New School!

by BlueWhiteLife on Jun 30, 2008 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Got to..

say a few words to Sean Lee when I was working last week. He definitely seems like a cool guy, and he will be missed on the field. I just don’t think we are going to have to worry about any of our LB’s. I think they’ll step it up wit Lee as a tutor.

I’m predicting 9-3. This is based off of what I’ve seen that hasn’t been improved upon since 05. Horrible red zone numbers (as far as touchdowns go) and a stale offense that wouldn’t take a risk in a game against a tough opponent. Heck, we probably won’t try anything too complex with Coastal Carolina. And thats why we won’t beat Ohio St. this year. I’m sure we may struggle on the road, but its a matter of against who. I’m calling the win over Wiscy, they have a QB situation as well, and all we need to do is play solid to win.

I was out in the trenches, which enables me to paint such a powerful picture, like Apocalypse Now.-Cormega

by OMEGAMAN on Jun 30, 2008 11:57 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I disagree somewhat...

In terms of offensive production, I don’t think you can base red zone efficiency on the numbers from ‘06 and ‘07 teams simply because they weren’t running the option or using QB sneaks. With a quarterback thats built like a runningback (Daryll Clark) and some shifty, speedy backs, I think the red zone efficiency and touchdown production will be much better than the previous two years. The option is so effective if you run it correctly. With the return of a monster O-line and some athletic QB’s, Penn State should be vastly improved.

I definitely agree with your thoughts about Wisconsin though. Everyone is so high on the Badgers, but they’re starting their third QB in 3 years. Wisconsin’s running game is obviously their main strength, but it definitely plays into our greatest strength defensively (see the ‘07 homecoming game against Wisconsin). Pass defense is our greatest concern, in my not entirely informed opinion. I really think Tony Davis should start over Lydell Sargeant. Tony Davis is a natural corner and plays extremely physically no matter what the scheme. Also, I’m extremely concerned about Mark Rubin’s ability to defend the pass. Don’t get me wrong. He’s good at playing the run, but as someone here said previously, he’s just “one step slow” in pass defense. I remember him looking so confused during the ‘07 Ohio State game, but that might be due to the fact that he didn’t really get any meaningful playing time before that. What does everyone else think?

Oh OhOhOh Oh Oh!

by doctadas on Jun 30, 2008 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

For the team to improve

We need to get better play from the Quarterback position. But let me take a minute to try and quantify exactly what “better” means.

For there to be any improvement whatsoever, Clark/Devlin must account for over 2652 yards and do better than 19 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. Production is key, so before better attitude, smarter, tougher, works harder, yada yada yada gets in the mix, Clark/Devlin must improve on these numbers. This is hardly a given.

Michael Robinson threw for 2350 yards with 17 Touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He was not as good a passer as Morelli. Of course he added 806 yards rushing, and 11 more TDs. So the gold standard, as good as we can realistically hope for, is 3153 total yards with 28 TDs and 10 interceptions.

504 yards rushing, and 9 Touchdowns (all of them rushing) is the difference between Morelli and Robinson, from a statistical prospective.

It seems to me, that in order to improve on last years record, Clark/Devlin must either be as a good a passer as Morelli, or as good a runner as Robinson. I don’t really see either as a mortal lock in 2008.

Also, the Defense can’t blow any games. They cost us one in 2007 (Michigan State) and 2005 (Michigan).

For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994

by jesse. on Jun 30, 2008 5:45 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Also...

Between Rodney Kinlaw and Austin Scott, we lose over 1,600 yards of rushing production. Royster is going to have to be good, very good, just to break even on last years rushing statistics.

Did anybody really think we lost over 4200 yards in total offense at the end of the season. There are some bigger shoes to fill on the offensive side than people think.

For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994

by jesse. on Jun 30, 2008 9:54 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

also also

Stephon Green is probably going to have to make up Roysters 500 from last year.

For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994

by jesse. on Jun 30, 2008 9:55 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Good Analysis, Jesse

Consistently bringing a measured approach to analysis and predictions for our favorite team. Thow in the occasional lmao, and you’ve become one of my favorite posters in here.

Also, love the Ray Isom citing!

Convivite Nudem!

by jtothep on Jul 1, 2008 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Improvement

How about in the play calling as well? 2007 MSU could have been pulled out, despite the defense, had they stayed with what was working….

by 3Yardout on Jun 30, 2008 9:30 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

That's debatable

My theory is that if you score thirty points on the road and lose it’s the defenses fault. And all bellyaching aside, our defense let a sophmore quarterback complete a pass to a freshman wide reciever on the last play of the game against Michigan in 05.

Ray Isom must have puked.

Anyway you cut it, that is two huge games the Defense could have pulled out for us. It’s the difference between 12-0 & 10-3, and 11-1 & 9-4.

It’s not that your totally wrong, although I don’t think it’s nearly as cut and dried as a lot of people think, it’s just that in both games the unit we really depend on let us down. Penn State has to win games when they score 25-30 point, especially on the road. I think the focus has been placed too much on three plays at the end of the game, rather than the game as a whole.

For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994

by jesse. on Jun 30, 2008 9:45 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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