Nitt Links Thinks 108 Straight Is Pretty Legit
by Ben Jones on Sep 6, 2010 8:00 AM EDT
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You know you've done a good job when you make David Jones backtrack and say his 6-6 prediction might be incorrect. 20-29, 239 yards, 2 Tds, 1 Int. You know the stats. Now we've got a week to combine faith in coaching and an understanding for our opponent to come out with a mix of respect and anticipation that allows us to honestly like our chances, but not disrespect the situation. Got that? Ok, cool.
Before we get to the that, lets see how the rest of the blogosphere took the Lion's beat-down of the Penguins. Monday's are going to work as a combination of recaps and the usual Nitt Links. Lets hop to it.
---Recaps---
(If you blog on a regular basis and review the games be sure to let us know, I just did a quick run down of the blogroll, if you want some credit for your work let us know. The more viewpoints the better)
I'm going to leave sarcastic comments out of this section. Not going to knock our fellow bloggers.
Penn State-Youngstown State Player Interviews | NittanyWhiteOut
Penn State–Youngstown State Review | Victory Bell Rings
Linebacker-U.com :: Review: Penn State 44, Youngstown St 14
The Lion's Den: PSU Powers Past Penguins
--Hot Topics---
PSU's focus turns to No. 1 Alabama | PoconoRecord.com
Go ahead and write Penn State off already. I understand why you would. I think this team has 60mins of upset minded football in them though. We are...
PSU volleyball streaks keep going - Center Daily Times
If you win 108 games in a row I'll give you some love.
The Associated Press: No. 1 Alabama rolls past San Jose State, 48-3
Rumor has it Jesus Tim Tebow gave a halftime speech to the already God-like defense of Alabama.
---Best Of The Rest---
Penn State: Penn State's quarterback decision two years in the making - mcall.com
Story time-- About a third of the way into the game I yelled to one of my friends within earshot.."Hey, where is that Devlin kid?" This question apparently offended my fellow classmates who responded 3 times to " He left Penn State and went to Delaware" Now I know...my bad.
WDEL 1150AM - Devlin throws for three as UD whips WCU
I'm only posting this to catch up with our man Pat. He's making a name for himself which is all anybody should ask for. I'm positive this will lead to some sort of epic 2 year Devlin, Newsom, Clark battle.
Coaches opposed to Big Ten divisions - ESPN
This is two days old, but it's a nice take on what will happen to Big Ten basketball post Big Ten Division-ClusterPryor
Thats all for today. More will be out tomorrow after everybody and their brother is done copying AP articles reviewing the game and pretending thats the same thing as writing their own peice.Zing..
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Perspective from a Bama fan
So excited about the “black shoes” coming to town this week. Believe me, we have a great respect for the PSU program that goes back decades. I mean, how can anyone have anything to say about Joe Pa? The PSU program is somewhat of a mirror of the formula that Bama used under Bear Bryant. Tough sound TEAM defense and smart mistake free football on the offense. Fundamentals. Also it is always a glorious sight when you look out on the field and see the same uniforms that have transcended time. When I think of the PSU program, CLASS, is the first thing that comes to mind. If you all think the average Bama fan doesn’t have any respect you are not wrong. But if that is what has everyone motivated this week then so be it. But at the end of the day, win or lose, this Bama fan will have the same respect for the program.
That said, on to the game. Vegas has just installed the Tide as an 11 point favorite. If I were a betting man, and I’m not, I would certainly take the points. I believe the game will be a hard fought contest. Real estate will not be given away by either team. Our offense against your defense does not really need much analysis. You guys will play tough on that side of the ball. We have a great running game, but I still expect a very hard hitting game when those units are going at it. We will be able to run the ball, but I don’t expect to see TR running wild either. Your secondary will have it’s work cut out but just as I predicted with the running game, I don’t expect to see Gmac lighting it up either. Julio Jones is a bit of an enigma. Mr Everything, has yet to deliver on the national stage like many believe he will. When the PSU defense and Bama offense is on the field he is the best athlete on the field. But like I said, he hasn’t delivered big numbers yet on the national scene. He is dangerous and he will eat up at least 2 defenders on every play.
When PSU has the ball, Bolden really got my attention this week. Whether or not he delivers the kind of game the PSU faithful would like this week or not, you guys have a good one there. As much as I hope for our defense to play like last year, I don’t really believe they will. But our front 7 will be very good. The secondary is green but talented and could possibly be exploited. But with a freshman qb, playing in that enviroment, I don’t expect him to light it up. He will face a lot of pressure and some very complicated blitzes from a very fast linebacking unit. As much as I worry about our secondary, the area of our front 7 that concerns me more is that we may be able to be exploited in the middle of our run defense. Last year, Cody ate up 2 and sometimes 3 blockers and with Rolando in the middle he could run free. This year, we have Hightower, who Saban says is the most athletic linebacker he has ever coached. He will do fine. The part that worries me is Harris who most thought would play on the outside. He is not a big linebacker but is very athletic. I believe Penn State has any opportunity to run the ball somewhat effectively. That is the key to the entire game. If PSU can run the ball, they have a chance. The chances of PSU against this defense lies between the tackles. Of course field position, special teams and turnovers will also play a big role in the outcome as if with any football game.
Good luck this week. Of course I hope the Tide wins. However, which ever way it goes, I hope that we can both get out of the game without any serious injuries and move on to our respective league schedules.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Sep 6, 2010 8:56 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Bama's front four will be the key
If they can get consistent penetration / pressure by themselves, I think it will be a long day for PSU. If they cannot, I think PSU has at least a 50/50 shot
All those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
Bama plays a 3-4
the “jack” linebacker is a hybrid. If Bama can stop the run between the tackles on 1st and 2nd down and put Bolden in 3rd and long, then Bama will be coming from everywhere. DC, Kirby Smart likes to blitz and they come from different angles and blitz a lot to spaces. That is how they handled Tebow last year. They blitz to the areas that they expect him to be after the penetration forced him to move. Bolden will get some complicated looks. Penn State will have to move the ball on the ground. Bolden will not be the difference although he will need to play well.
Roll Tide!
Question for you though.
And I’m asking because I honestly do not know. Is the experience level of the defense a factor in executing all the defensive schemes? I understand that “starters” is misleading, and that maybe 6 or so of your defenders have a lot of experience from last year. Hell, call it 7. If there are 4 or so inexperienced defenders, can the blitz schemes leave you exposed to some big plays? I would think if so that the complexity would be dialed down a bit.
And, if the game really depends on us running between the tackles, then we might as well not show up. I think the more important matchup will be the RBs ability to pick up blitzers and give Bolden a chance to throw down field.
by PSUinBOSSton on Sep 6, 2010 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
the experience question is legitimate
Of course if you get caught in a blitz ,big plays can and will happen. Our secondary is “green” but we do have an all sec and budding AA back there playing safety. Speaking of experience, Bolden has played exactly one game and while he is very talented he will be experiencing something he has never seen before.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Sep 6, 2010 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
That's exactly the point.
The best way to test him is to throw a lot at him. If the defense can’t handle all the complexities the coordinator wants, then it neutralizes that to some degree. Bolden vs. the secondary I think will be the deciding factor. To that end, how well they can throw different things at him, and how poised he is in the face of them will be the game.
by PSUinBOSSton on Sep 6, 2010 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions
I think what you will see from Bama
this weekend is a crowded line of scrimmage. We will play up tight with the corners. Both of our corners are new, but they are very big for corners and Dre Kirkpatrick has freakish size combined with speed. Bolden is not going to have all day to throw. We don’t play a bend but don’t break style. What remains to be seen is will we give up a lot of big plays. I still believe you guys will need to run the ball to beat us. Our defense is not going to lay back and let plays happen in front of us. The Saban philosophy is to contest every ball in the air. We play a lot of nickel and dime packages on first down. We count a lot on our front seven. You are going to need to slow down the rush to have a chance. One thing is for sure. What a classic match-up. Two programs steeped in tradition with bascially the same uniforms as the 50s. I love the old school looks.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Sep 6, 2010 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't see a lot of opportunity for success for us
If we go down there and try to run on 1st, run on 2nd, and then throw on 3rd down. However the truth of the matter is we might see a pass-heavy offense, not the run-heavy offense you might expect. Bolden threw the ball 29 times and didn’t play the whole game. This might be a sign the coaches trust Bolden to make a lot of high-percentage throws. Instead of run on first, you might see a lot of screens on 1st, trying to work our WR’s against your new corners especially on man coverage. Against LSU we saw the screen to Moye was an automatic 5 yard gain on 1st down.
I wouldn’t rule out Bolden throwing 25 passes down there, with most being short to intermediate passes. I think our only hope is to establish a passing attack early and attack that green secondary. If we simply run right into the teeth of that front 7 we’ll be in for a long night because that’s exactly what you guys will be expecting.
McGloin Despite Them
Preaching the McGospel since Aug. 2nd, 2010
Agree with this.
If the blitz is on, the screen passes, swing passes, quick slants will become the running game.
by PSUinBOSSton on Sep 6, 2010 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes..
He didn’t really throw deep at all. Wonder if we will see some double moves and try to catch the ’Bama secondary jumping routes.
If only I had an enemy bigger than my apathy. . .
by Esteban d' Amur on Sep 6, 2010 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions
We better not go in there and play the run, run, try to throw, punt scheme.
Bolden gets rid of the ball pretty quickly AND he runs through his progressions. Several times he completed passes to his third option. I think if our line can give him time, he’ll be able to throw well. The run game will then augment the passing game.
For the glory
Your poing is valid
if you can open it up and have sucess on first down throwing it, that would effectively be the same as a running game. I am by no means familiar enough with what kind of weapons you have on offense outside to say what the game plan will be. I guess my point is that 3rd and long will not get it done. But I guess that is stating the obvious. Keep in mind that I pointed out what our weakness on defense is. Our strength is the speed of our linebacking corp. I don’t believe you will be able to exploit our front seven from sideline to sideline. We will play a very controlled and disciplined style on defense and you will need to have us off balance to have success. I don’t believe Bolden will be the difference. I think you will need to run the ball and keep our defense on the field. One thing that Saban has been able to do is dominated teams in the 4th quarter. You will have to run the ball to win or at least have a consistent short passing game. You guys all make good points.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Sep 6, 2010 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions
You will see around 7 WRs
ranging from 5’7" with the fastest 60m time in the nation his senior year of HS, to 6’5" with very good speed, to 6’6" 235lbs with very little speed but crisp routes. So there is something for everyone.
I think you are going to be surprised with how quickly Bolden can get the ball out of his hands. Hopefully, that can augment the running game and can be what keeps the defense on the field. If it has to be just the running game, and if this previous Sat is any indication, we are in major trouble.
by PSUinBOSSton on Sep 6, 2010 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions
He will definitely have to get rid
of the ball quickly. I think you guys will get some big plays. Our secondary is very athletic and I believe that Dre Kirkpatrick will be a household name by the end of the season. You’re going to have to run the ball. Whether is is pass to set up the run or run to set up the pass makes no difference. You will need to shorten the game. I can tell you right now ,we are going to try to run the ball. You won’t be able to load the box, because we have a pretty good WR corp. I think the only way you slow our offense down is to keep them off the field. The real concern I have going into a game against PSU is that I know we will be facing a very disciplined defense that won’t beat themselves.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Sep 6, 2010 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope you're right,
that you will see a very disciplined defense. We played a very vanilla cover 3 soft zone all this previous saturday, but it’s not because of our corners. Those who follow PSU the way we do around here will tell you this is the most talented and athletic secondary we have seen. I just hope we see the Jones that makes your fans wonder why he is squandering all that talent (kidding).
Knowing what little I do about Alabama, I would rather take my chances airing it out. Being a Bama fan as long as you have, I know the PSU type of team you expect. Trust that it is not the PSU team you will see. This iteration is loaded with athletes at WR and RB. The line is struggling and we will have to throw a very wrinkled offense to take advantage of the athletes we have all over the field, get it to guys in space.
I would give us a 0% chance to win if we had last years special teams. The early indication is that they did some serious work this offseason and got the best talent on the field there. If last year’s STs come back, you will have a major field advantage and beat us handily. If the special teams is sharp, I think we have a dog fight on our hands.
Believe me ,I'm not expecting
a slow plodding team. I know you guys have great speed. I watch quite a bit of football and although i don’t know the inside baseball on PSU I know what you have basically. I appreciate your take on the upcoming game and while you say you’ll take your chances in the air, I like our chances if PSU relies heavily on a freshman qb. I guess we’re at an impasse. LOL.
Julio has not been completey healthy until this year. He looked phenominal last week and was making the kind of plays we have been expecting him to make. Don’t be surprised to see JJ drop a ball or two however and then make a catch that leaves you scratching your head. While he has been somewhat of an enigma ,he has been clutch when we needed him the most. Against LSU he left a vapor trail down the sideline on a little short pass to put us ahead for good in the 4th quarter and he was clutch in the drive against Auburn when we were on the ropes. Trust me ,Joe Pa and the gang will have him double covered next week. JJ always draws a crowd. Even though he hasn’t quite lived up to what was possible unreal expectations, Mel Kiper has him listed as a first rounder if he chooses to come out. Freakish size with freakish speed.
Anyway, I believe PSU has a chance. I am not foolish enough to think that a program like that with quality athletes will be a walk in the park. If it was in Happy Valley, I’d really be worrying.
Roll Tide!
Actually Jones scares me more BECAUSE of how streaky he's been.
It seems that the players who are always solid we perform well against. The guys with freakish ability and a lapse of focus torch us (e.g. Arrelious Benn).
Maybe I am being a bit of a contrarian because I don’t like our chances running the ball, and it keeps me sane. I am encouraged by Bolden getting the ball out quickly, and stepping up and delivering strikes while getting hit. But it was YSU, so what do I know.
The wildcard for me in the running game is Newsome. I think he probably has a package of 10 or so plays, mostly consisting of options and zone reads. I hope we didn’t see him work in the game while Bolden was there so your defense didn’t know to prepare for it as much. Then again, we didn’t see Bolden run those plays either, and by all accounts he has great legs. But even with all that, I don’t like our chances between the tackles. So I hope your assessment is wrong. Bot I wish we could just drop the puck already.
Thanks for being so thoughtful,
it’s really appreciated. I feel like both teams have a couple of question marks— it really hasn’t been the best off-season for Bama, while Penn State’s off-season (from the media’s perspective, at any rate) has been a big pile of Oh My God, Oh My God, What The Hell Is Going On, We Don’t Have Any Recruits, Are We Really Putting In A Freshman, GASP Joe is OLD, Oh My GOD. Now that a couple of those questions have been put to rest, we’re (understandably) feeling a bit better about ourselves.
The thing is, though, Bolden has the be the difference. He’s our quarterback. Here in Happy Valley we love us a good defense, but I feel like a lot of this will rest on how Bolden performs in the air, especially considering how controlling your d line can be, and how everyone and their mother already has heard a bit about Evan Royster. With a freshman QB, people will expect us to rely on the veteran running back. If we want a vague chance at an upset, we’d better master the unexpected.
Lousy off season
Don’t want to get into who we don’t have. We have to go with what we have. We are not going to whine like Texas fans, if you guys beat us. That’s football. I’ll put it this way with regard to Bolden. If he comes in there and plays well enough to be the difference, then you guys are in for a special 4 years. BDS will be rocking and he will see speed that he has never seen before. I realize that the PSU defense is very talented but facing them in practice is not the same.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Sep 6, 2010 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
I really like your attitude.
Believe it or not, we’ve heard rumors that you guys are fast. Bolden’s got a pretty good laser, so we’ll see. I feel like we may be in for a special four years regardless of this game. And you’re absolutely right, practice just isn’t the same. We’re banking on our D pulling through regardless. Frankly, they’ve never really given us a reason to think otherwise.
I’m sure you can’t wait to see one of your guys blow straight past our D. I can’t wait to see Jack Crawford eat someone. We’ll probably both get what we want, and have a really fun Saturday.
watched a little of the PSU game
and I was impressed with Bolden. Enjoy Saturday. It will be a lot of fun. I have been a Bama fan since the late 60s and the program has been in the wilderness for so long, I made my mind up that I am going to enjoy being relevant again and watching them play in meaningful games. This one just has a special feel to it.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Sep 6, 2010 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
If you've been a fan since the '60s you've earned the right to feel good.
You definitely should enjoy it! And I feel the same way, this game should shape up to be something important. I’ll be watching the game on mute, so none of the commentors can ruin that special feeling for me.
Here’s to hoping that Penn State and Bama continue to play each other after this two game series is over.
Volleyball
If the ladies make it through next week unbeaten, Miami tennis is officially on notice.
All those dark and frantic transatlantic miles
I bet Miami would be favored by like 20
but have a million tennis turnovers to lose.
"Every player we have, someone-maybe a parent, a grandparent, someone-poured their soul into that young man. They are handing that young man off to us. They are giving us their treasure, and it's our job to make sure we give them back that young man intact and ready to face the world."
-J.V.Pa.
I think when Miami....
comes to the pre-match dinner wearing camo, the gals are just NOT going to take it!
by DerryPharmer on Sep 6, 2010 9:39 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
This statement wins.
The volleyball team would then win in straight sets.
Can Abbrederis shoot the long three and effectively distribute the ball to his big men?
"Because one of the great minds of the 21st century is raising glow-in-the-dark fish and weaving serapes..." -Leonard Hofstadter from The Big Bang Theory
For all the crap we give Wil Wheaton, he can still tackle better than Asante Samuel...
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Sep 6, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Same,
but the good kind of nervous. We haven’t got anything to lose, since most people did us the favor of brushing us off anyway. The Something Really Special Could Be Happening nervous, not the Holy Crap, I’m Going To Vomit nervous.
Can't it be both kinds of nervous?
I understand why Bama fans are cautiously and respectfully optimistic. Heck, if we were defending national champs, I would be too. I just get the sense that they believe they have some absurd athletic advantage. I know we have every bit the athletes they do, and the only way we don’t prove it is if we turn the ball over and soil ourselves. For that reason I am vomit nervous. For the same reason, I have some of the special nervousness too.
It could be.
I have absolutely no right to tell you which brand of nervous you’re allowed to feel. I agree about the athletic advantage— it certainly isn’t something that all Bama fans say, but a bit of it does tend to creep up in conversations. I think it mostly just comes down to different values. Their proud of being fast and offensively dominant, and they should be. But while speed and offense are certainly important to any football team, they just don’t steal the show here in LBU country.
Every guy on that field will be an athlete, and the game will be won by the better team. I’m sure once I see a fellow Penn Stater get dominated a bit of that vomit nervous will come for me too. But at this point I don’t really care about winning. I just want them all to remember our name.
Our team is not just about speed
we play a very tough brand of football in the trenches. The Saban era is only 3 years old but since he has come in we have had very good linebackers. Rolando was the 8th pick of the draft. Saban says Hightower is the best athlete he has ever coached at linebacker. As for domination. I don’t believe either will be dominated and as far as remembering PSU’s name….we already know it!
Roll Tide!
Not to stir things up
but we do have an advantage with the athletes. Maybe not on the surface, with your 11 vs our 11. But we have a lot more depth than PSU. We had the number one recruiting classes in the country in 2008 and 2009. We had a top 3-5 class depending on the service last year. We do have a loaded roster. Now I’m not going to act like an obnoxious Ohio State fan and say our 2nd and 3rd string is better than your starters. We have a lot of depth.
Roll Tide!
No worries, I hope we're not that sensitive.
You’re entitled to your opinion. But you will see two, and even three units deep of starting talent at WR, RB, LB, and DL. So I’m not worried about it.
Now, if we had even ONE unit deep of starting talent on the OL, I would feel like we will win.
If we could just replace the OL with a brick wall, I would feel like we would win.
as it is, that’s illegal, and probably a bit cumbersome.
I actually really like Jack Crawford’s “Recruit a Gorilla” idea.
There's still no running lanes
behind a brick wall
:P
http://unemployedsportsreporters.wordpress.com
Royster and Green would obviously have to leap over it.
Sure as hell would take the d-line by surprise.
No one's doubting the depth.
The impression has been be that the SEC has atheletes, and we have crap. There’s this idea floating around that we don’t do what you do because we suck at it. But it just isn’t the football we play up here. We like to hit a lot. We glorify it. It makes us super-happy.
Our roster does have a couple of question marks, but our coaches do not, and I’ll always rely on the coaches more than the recruits. Not to say that you don’t have a good coaching staff. I just really, really like ours.
Time to catch up on the running game
Per Wogenrich in the Morning Call article:
“Jay Paterno said that the offense threw 50 percent more passes during this preseason than it did in 2008, when Devlin and Daryll Clark chased the first start.”
Jay’s sometimes a bit hyperbolic, but if this is close to accurate and the special teams must have taking a lot of practice time then the running game could be suffering due to lack of practice.
Of course, that doesn’t explain last years struggles. This team is definitely a work in progress.
Jay charts every play in practice, so I bet his estimate is accurate.
Royster also sat out of a lot, so that probably didn’t help. As long as the O-line can gel, then we’ll be fine with the running game.
For the glory
Best coach on campus according to Paterno
by Frank O'Brien on Sep 6, 2010 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I honestly look for him around campus.
Can never find him, he’s pretty elusive. I just want to touch him in the hopes that some of the awesome will rub off on me.
Just hang out around Rec Hall or walk between Rec Hall and the HUB
I used to see him all the time around 11 o’clock on the Rec Hall patio benches… always really nice, always approachable… never really talked much though
John has a long moustache
I try,
but that stupid class thing I have to go to gets in the way. Eventually I will find him, and oh, it will be glorious.
I can't remember the time I used to see him walking from the HUB,
but it was always when I was on my way from one class to another one… so he seems pretty routine.
John has a long moustache
Thanks for giving me the information I need to effectively stalk this man.
I wish he got more credit for what he does, it’s pretty incredible. No hype, and he never sounds like he could give two craps about the record. He coaches to coach, and he wants his girls to just play.
Yea I saw him there a few times
Never had the guts to say anything to him though.
http://unemployedsportsreporters.wordpress.com
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