Nitt Picks Is Running Scared
by Adam Bittner on Aug 20, 2010 10:00 AM EDT
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PrintWith the news that Paul Jones will redshirt in 2010, fans can take one name out of the running for Penn State's starting quarterback job.
As Bob Flounders observes, though, the winner of the race might not matter if the offensive line continues to struggle.
I hear none of the quarterbacks — sophomores Kevin Newsome and Matt McGloin and true freshmen Robert Bolden and Paul Jones — stood out. Because none of them had any time to make plays.
The Lions’ defensive front overwhelmed the PSU offensive line on most snaps. And at this point, after listening to Paterno express serious concern with regard to the O-line throughout the spring and again last Thursday, you have to wonder if the defensive line is that good or is the Lions’ offensive line going to be the worst thing about the 2010 team.
Regardless of how good Penn State's defensive line is, this is really bad news for the Lions. The offensive line struggled big time against monsters like Adrian Clayborn of Iowa and Cameron Heyward of Ohio State on their respective defensive lines last season. If Penn State can't handle its own guys in practice, how are things going to get any better against solid opponents who are scheming against it?
Still No Pitt-Penn State
As was mentioned in Nitt Links earlier, Athletic Director Tim Curley was asked about Pitt yesterday...
Games that are scheduled include visits to Temple next year and Virginia in 2012. Penn State also recently announced a game against Syracuse in 2013 in the New Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., and a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2021.
"There are 500,000 Penn State alumni, and, depending on where I am, whatever part of the country, I am catching it everywhere," Curley said. "Our alums on the West Coast, which we have a lot of, want us to come out and play out there. We have a great base in Florida, and they want us to play there.
"We had a really great series with Pitt and, certainly, with all our alumni in (Western Pennsylvania), we do hear it."
More of this please.
The "seven home games" excuse has been hammered to death in this discussion, and many on both sides agree it's kinda bogus. Notre Dame-Michigan and the Florida rivalries are all examples of recurring out-of-conference matchups that have been maintained with seven home games remaining in the equation for everyone involved, and there's no reason that if they really wanted two, Penn State and Pitt couldn't do the same thing.
Hit them with the truth more, Tim. Pitt fans and media have an inflated sense of self-worth and a blurred vision of what the rivalry means (or should mean) to Penn State and college football. As a Pittsburgh guy, sure, I'd love to see them play every year, but that'd be selfish. As Curley noted, Penn State has alumni everywhere. You can't focus on one old rivalry in one area every year and expect the rest of your alumni base to get excited about it. You have to spread the love to the Syracuses and Virginias of the world.
Does that mean Pitt and Penn State should never play again? Of course not, and the sooner they do, the better. But Pitt got a 4 year run that ended in 2000. Penn State was due to play teams like Notre Dame, Syracuse among others they hadn't seen since the '90s or earlier. That's just the way to cookie crumbles. Sorry Pitt-ers.
Mountain Whacky
Things are getting nutty out west. BYU wants to go independent, threatening the Mountain West's BCS auto-bid hopes. The Mountain West just poached Fresno State and Nevada, threatening to crush the WAC, which is now down to six schools, and Sen. Orrin Hatch is threatening to crash the party for everyone if they don't play nice.
Wonderful.
The MWC might not be done yet, either, as some are talking about UTEP, Tulsa, and Houston as possible candidates for further expansion beyond the 13 teams currently committed to the league. If that happens, and the league gets an auto BCS bid, look out. Superconference No. 1 will have been formed, and it could only be a matter of time before the wheels of realignment really get going with the big boys once again.
In Scores Of Other Games...
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Excited about Syracuse/UVA (and Buttgers/Temple)?
Was that sarcasm?
Curley keeps talking about a national schedule, but we haven’t left Big Ten country/the Northeast since Miami in 1999… and when was the last time we played out west other than a bowl?
by PennStateBasketball on Aug 20, 2010 10:11 AM EDT reply actions
An exception to the rule.
After that, nothing of note OOC overall… and nothing outside the mid-Atlantic.
by PennStateBasketball on Aug 20, 2010 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions
Those are in Big Ten country, as I stated above.
by PennStateBasketball on Aug 20, 2010 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Nebraska has been "Big Ten Country",
For all of a Jerry Garcia “Dark Star” Jam. Eastern Seaboard is kind of vague too. Your point is basicly that Penn State’s has, since 1999, limited itself to games in a geographical sphere that encompases 45% of the continental United States.
Also, it doesn’t count when when teams from outside that sphere come into it to play, like Oregon and USC both did. And Bowl Games don’t count either. So yeah, it’s an interesting point without about six relevant footnotes attached to it.
What would Joe Paterno do?
Great reference and agree with you completely
PSBB’s reason tatters as forces tear lose from the axis.
We played Oregon State
2 years ago. How quickly we forget.
I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?
in Happy Valley
I think the point is that we don’t actually travel anywhere further than South Bend to play a regular season out-of-confrerence game.
I wouldn't trust old rooster me neither.
And yes I know it was home.....
but it was still a game against a Pac-10 school. As a side note the coaches don’t like to do cross-country trips, especially early in the year, due to the travel time and time changes. Screws up the players.
I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?
The Flounders Story...
somewhat contradicts lions247 8/18 offensive report (of which i put more weight in). didn’t sound as bad as flounders makes it out to be. seems he can be a drama queen sometimes.
Flounders has been writing only negative articles for a while now
he didn’t used to be so bad but something has changed. Maybe PSU took away the good press table spread or stuffed the PennLIve crew in a crowded hole. Joe bashed the team pretty good so I guess Flounder believes it is true. PSU will suck! Penn Live knows PSU Sucks! That is usually what you get if your read there anymore. There coverage has actually been worse than the PPG this off season
I also found that odd
Lions247 said that Barham had already seemed to have “locked up LT” and seemed to say very positive things about him IIRC, especially that he had “exceeded all expectations”. Joe has said that “we’ve got problems on the offensive line”, but if we’re starting to solidify guys at positions like Klopacz at center, and Wiz back to guard, and Pannell (who jumped from second team to first) at left Guard, and Eliades, who we have heard good things about, I see the line forming as a net positive. We may not be the best, but players are standing up and solidifying themselves into their positions.
More often than not....
the DL is ahead of the OL this time of year.
Why? The reasons could vary I guess…LJ, talent, time to coalesce, etc.
IMO, not worth worrying about it until the Sept 4.
Because it's easier to attack than to block.
I agree. This always happens. If Joe says it’s worth worrying about, then it is. But you won’t know how bad until Sept. 4. If runs only average 4 ypc, and the QB has no time in the pocket, then you know we’re in for a long season.
Bacon is almost as great as being a Penn Stater
by NittanyTide on Aug 20, 2010 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Did you catch this story from Ritty?
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/14590/for-psus-barham-seeing-is-believing
I like the self motivation from Barham. Whether or not it works, we’ll have to see.
by Artiefufkin10 on Aug 20, 2010 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions
That's cool.
Doesn’t translate to industry, though. If I put the logo of a competing firm on my phone, everyone would question my loyalty.
Bacon is almost as great as being a Penn Stater
by NittanyTide on Aug 20, 2010 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Realistically what are our expectations of the O-line?
Is this a NC team? Are we poised to win the B10 this season? Well then I think we’re going to be just fine at O-line. With the interior looking to be pretty good in the run game. Sure, Alabama, Ohio State, and Iowa are going to give us big problems. That’s to be expected.
I just don’t think there’s cause for alarm unless you expect another 11-2 season, which by the way we were still able to achieve with a lackluster line.
McGloin Despite Them
Preaching the McGospel since Aug. 2nd, 2010
+1
don’t get caught up in the hype of Bolden and the skill position players and artificially raise expectations.
I hate to sound like Joe, but although the talent leve on this team is excellent they are young and raw.
by Artiefufkin10 on Aug 20, 2010 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Regardless of team expectations,
expectations of the O-line should be high. They return a ton of experience including one of the country’s best guards. Theoretically they should have had a long time to gel. If they don’t meet expectations, why? I find it hard to believe the talent isn’t there. In my opinion, it’s the coaching and the constant indecision on who plays where. That is why, realistically, few of us have high hopes for the line.
"Until somebody knocks you on your rear end, and pardon me ladies, but unless somebody knocks you on your rear end, you're never going to learn." - Joe Paterno
by Illegal Formation on Aug 20, 2010 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions
I just think until something changes with our system, or our coaching staff, we should be realistic and expect a superior O-line every 3 years. One year of domination, two years rebuilding. Expecting anything else is unrealistic IMO.
McGloin Despite Them
Preaching the McGospel since Aug. 2nd, 2010
I agree
I just don’t understand why. We lost one guy. One. Why does that necessitate going back to the drawing board? They should be cutting that cycle down to two years.
"Until somebody knocks you on your rear end, and pardon me ladies, but unless somebody knocks you on your rear end, you're never going to learn." - Joe Paterno
by Illegal Formation on Aug 20, 2010 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Preaching to the choir here. But I don’t know anything about coaching football or why we can’t establish continuity on the offensive line, all I can do is speculate and curse Joe when we’re playing badly. I imagine this year I’ll be doing a lot of cursing.
McGloin Despite Them
Preaching the McGospel since Aug. 2nd, 2010
Yeah.
My criticism isn’t totally fair. It’s easy to sit here and evaluate a player’s career and the arc of the program, but the coaches have to put together the best team each year. Still, I suspect I will join you in your cursing this season.
"Until somebody knocks you on your rear end, and pardon me ladies, but unless somebody knocks you on your rear end, you're never going to learn." - Joe Paterno
by Illegal Formation on Aug 20, 2010 11:09 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree that this o-line should be good
and I accept that it might take some time, so we could look pretty weak against Alabama, but I’d hope by Iowa we’d have our s*&t together.
I think its entirely too early to judge—and one reporter’s opinion isn’t swaying me one bit. Our defensive line is damned good and my guess is that in these practices neither side is doing anything sophisticated, they’re just working on technique.
Run blocking is generally considered to be easier than pass blocking, and if these guys can block well for the run and decently for the pass, I’d be happy. This is why we need a qb who’s willing and able to throw the ball away early and often.
I wouldn't trust old rooster me neither.
They are "young" and "raw" every year
For the better part of this decade our O line has either been in a constant state of fluz or it has flat out sucked with 1 or 2 OK years mixed in.
I'm reading We Are Penn State 2010,
(I’m probably going to sound redundant in many threads, but I’m loving the magazine) and it looks to me like we will be stacked on the O-line for many years. I know it takes awhile to build a unit and you can’t predict injuries, but I didn’t realize how many recent recruits we have that are offensive linemen.
For the glory
Bottom Line
OL recruiting has sucked for awhile, and it’s showing now. We lost ALE, who would be a Senior this year. We lost Marks and Walton in the 07 class. It’s only started picking up the last couple years.
"I'm colonel cool! And I'm the captain on this rocket to the stars!"
by psuphiman80 on Aug 21, 2010 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions
we lost those guys because they either didn't work out or couldn't handle school
Not like any went anywhere and became great linemen. PSU weeded out guys that couldn’t hack it.
Also
If the line is really lacking, especially in pass protection, then you need two things to make up for it:
1. Quick, accurate delivery from your QB
2. Very mobile in the pocket (I’m not talking about running or rolling out, I’m talking about sliding around in the pocket)
Both are reportedly major strengths of Bolden over the rest of the group. He boasts the quickest delivery and best pocket mobility, according to the reports around.
3. Good running game to set up play action
We should have a solid running game with that backfield. This should take the pressure off the QB b/c the play action should buy a second or two. But the ball better be coming out of the QB’s hand fast.
McGloin Despite Them
Preaching the McGospel since Aug. 2nd, 2010
well
OSU won the B10 in 2008 without a QB. so maybe we’ll be alright.
just saying.
by Artiefufkin10 on Aug 20, 2010 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions
also
a mobile QB can mask the weaknesses of a suspect OL.
Sort of like in 2005…we ran a lot of option with MRob and Hunt because they can take the pounding.
Newsome looks like he’s built for that…I don’t think we’d want to do it with Bolden and McGloin..hell no.
by Artiefufkin10 on Aug 20, 2010 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah but I think MRob wasn’t a great QB because he could run, that was just a facet of his game. And I think it gets blown out of proportion in hindsight, because he really threw the ball well especially later in the season. He played WR and knew the routes and the system, that passing attack made his running so deadly and without it he wouldn’t have been able to run very effectively.
Mobility is a curse if your QB doesn’t know the system and can’t complete critical 3rd and long passes, because everyone just keys on their running. IMO the system we have is best suited for a pass first, run second QB, so McGloin or Bolden may be the best options but I haven’t counted Newsome out either.
McGloin Despite Them
Preaching the McGospel since Aug. 2nd, 2010
Am I wrong in thinking that tidbits from practices are not the best way to grade a line going into the season and that the real indications come from stuff like interviews with a frustrated Wiz (see last year, pre Iowa) and desperate switching by the coaches?
"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here"
by ReadingRambler on Aug 20, 2010 11:23 AM EDT reply actions
I'm with you
Last year I saw more line switching than any year I can remember, maybe 05 with Reed in and out of the lineup but that was only one guy. Wiz’s comment last year definitely showed problems. Other than left guard there hasn’t been any switching on this line. I have seen other guys move up the depth chart ranks as back up though. I think the coaches are very mad at Troutman for not being ready for the season.
Troutman
It’s funny. From some of things I’d read, I think even the other players were expecting Troutman to eventually get his act together and wind up starting at LG. But that doesn’t appear to be the case… I think the spot’s gonna go to Pannell. And, honestly, at least that means the entire O-line has been intact and practicing together since Spring. If they gave Troutman the spot, there’d be legitimate concerns about the line “gelling”. Now, those concerns aren’t vaild.
I don't care about alumni in other parts of the country.
Nothing personal, but the number of alumni in Pittsburgh is far greater than anywhere else except Philly, so they should see a game here much more often. On the linked map from the Alumni Association, I count 51,705 alumni in the 10-county Pittsburgh region. Compare that number with any state you want to look at in the country.
http://alumni.psu.edu/about_us/alumnimaps.pdf
The other issue is that the Pennsylvania State University is supported directly and indirectly by taxpayers of Pennsylvania with things like money for their budget and road construction to allow access to State College. Would 110,000 people come to Happy Valley eight times per year if Route 22 was still mostly two-lane and you still had drive through Altoona?
The taxpayer and public money issue is also why the BCS executives can’t just sit there and say “it’s nobody business but ours.”
I don't know how you can give Pittsburgh area 10 counties for one
Philly area has 82000 alunmi and that doesn’t include Lancaster Cty or anyone in NJ or Del. Even without Hampton, Lehigh and Berks it has 60000. Pittsburg is a 2 to 2 and a half our drive. Just get tickets and come to home games. Either that then Pitt gives PSU a 3 to 2. Bullcrap on the taxpayer stuff. If you want that then I say rotate Lehigh, Lafayette, and Villanova as the 1AA team each year. If Pitt gets in the conference, great, bring it back but the game does nothing for PSU. I even attended during the heyday, 77-80 and i could care less anymore. Its been over since PSU joined the Big Ten. I like the Big Ten teams and I like seeing a variety of teams on the schedule. There have been some crappy schedules over the years but a crappy Pitt team isn’t any different than a crappy Syracuse team, especially if stuck playing them every year. PSU will do one and one with Pitt, they refuse, they want long term $$$$$. Long term equals 6 and 4. Thats the way it goes.
I believe the 10-county region
is considered the metropolitan statistical area, and in any case it’s a pretty good approximation of the Pittsburgh TV market.
The other teams you mentioned are irrelevant because they’ve never had BCS-level football. And I do think it’s important to remember that the taxpayer supports so much of what we see out there.
The taxpayer does not support PSU athletics.
Your arguement is that PSU should play Pitt because taxpayers built roads to the largest universities in Pa? Even PSU didn’t have sports there should be good roads to get there. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia suck up soooooo much Pa tax money its horrible. The rural areas in the state deserve upgrades in utilities and roads and it has NOTHING to do with PSU funding Pitt’s athletic department. Had Pitt gone along with PSU in ‘82 instead of the Big East then there would not even be an arguement. Pitt decided not to help PSU basketball so let them go find someone to show up to their football games without PSU being on their schedule. If they just had fans at their own games they wouldn’t need PSU. PSU doesn’t need Pitt.
Philly and Pittsburgh
also generate the lion’s share of tax revenue in the state. Those two cities with their population of taxpayers, students, and alumni over the years have built the Penn State you see today.
That and the state’s mineral wealth. For a number of years (Until the steel and coal industries started to collapse), the state’s industry allowed Pennsylvania plenty of money to give to schools.
Turn your crank to Frank!
by ReadingRambler on Aug 23, 2010 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions
pretty interesting map
not only does allegheny county have more alumni than any other county, it has more alumni than any state except PA.
I wouldn't trust old rooster me neither.
alumni in other parts of the country
are willing to make a 2.5+ hour drive to see the team play once a decade (or realistically every few decades) that it is available. If the alumni in the Pitt area can’t do that when it is available 7+ times a year (not to count OSU not being that far away, either, every other year), well, then they are just lazy.
As for the roads: yes, people would still probably go. Bitch about it a lot more, yes, but still go. Just like people are bitching about the increased prices of tickets with the STEP plan, but I bet all those expensive seats are still filled anyway.
by The JuggerNitt on Aug 20, 2010 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Pitt had a chance to play every year
and they scuttled the eastern league. They get scraps when they get them. I’d rather see us play out of state anyways. We don’t need to be a Florida (never leaving our home state except for Divisional games).
Drive-by post: Boy that Kenney and Anderson really earn their paychecks!
These guys have been stealing their paychecks for years. Freakin bums.
Not sure what you mean. Kenny has 6 tightends in the NFL and a few tackles. Kenny has at least 3 starters I can think of. Anderson recruits NJ and does a decent job there. Kenny does NY and NE and has brought in some good players. What is your point?
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