Penn State Dominates the All Big Ten Team
by BSD
on Nov 24, 2008 10:36 PM EST
in Football
The Big Ten announced their All Conference team this evening, and Penn State cleaned house.
2008 All-Big Ten Conference Football Team
As selected by CONFERENCE COACHES
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE SECOND TEAM Daryll Clark, Penn State Quarterback Adam Weber, Minnesota Shonn Greene, Iowa Running Back Chris "Beanie" Wells, Ohio State Javon Ringer, Michigan State Running Back Evan Royster, Penn State Eric Decker, Minnesota Receiver Arrelious Benn, Illinois Derrick Williams, Penn State Receiver David Gilreath, Wisconsin A.Q. Shipley, Penn State Center Rob Bruggeman, Iowa Seth Olsen, Iowa Guard Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State Rich Ohrnberger, Penn State Guard Kraig Urbik, Wisconsin Alex Boone, Ohio State Tackle Xavier Fulton, Illinois Gerald Cadogan, Penn State Tackle Bryan Bulaga, Iowa Brandon Myers, Iowa Tight End Garrett Graham, Wisconsin Kevin Kelly, Penn State Kicker Brett Swenson, Michigan State FIRST TEAM DEFENSE SECOND TEAM MITCH KING, IOWA Line Jammie Kirlew, Indiana Corey Wootton, Northwestern Line Brandon Graham, Michigan Aaron Maybin, Penn State Line Willie VanDeSteeg, Minnesota Jared Odrick, Penn State Line Mike Newkirk, Wisconsin Greg Jones, Michigan State Linebacker Brit Miller, Illinois James Laurinaitis, Ohio State Linebacker Pat Angerer, Iowa Navorro Bowman, Penn State Linebacker Marcus Freeman, Ohio State Vontae Davis, Illinois Defensive Back Amari Spievey, Iowa Otis Wiley, Michigan State Defensive Back Traye Simmons, Minnesota MALCOLM JENKINS, OHIO STATE Defensive Back Allen Langford, Wisconsin Anthony Scirrotto, Penn State Defensive Back Jay Valai, Wisconsin Zoltan Mesko, Michigan Punter Ryan Donahue, Iowa
That's ten Nittany Lions on the first team and twelve overall. But this was the coaches poll. You can see how the writers voted after the jump.
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Grading The Offense Against Michigan State
by Kevin HD
on Nov 24, 2008 1:15 PM EST
in Game Reviews
Quarterback
I normally start with the offensive line because, well, the offense starts with the offensive line. Well today we start with Daryll Clark, who did in fact get his swagger back. His 341 passing yards were the most a Penn State quarterback has thrown since 2003 and that, along with the rest of his ridiculous stat line, was enough to earn him a Big Ten Player Of The Week award for the second time this season.
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Daryll Clark Wins Big Ten Player of the Week
by BSD
on Nov 24, 2008 11:56 AM EST
in Big Ten Conference
From the Big Ten Conference media room.
Daryll Clark, Penn State
JR, QB, Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline
Clark accounted for a career-high five touchdowns and 341 passing yards to lead Penn State to a win over Michigan State and a share of the Big Ten title. The junior quarterback completed 16-of-26 passes (61.5 percent) with a career-best four touchdowns and added a one-yard rushing score against the Spartans. Clark averaged 21.3 yards per completion, connecting on throws of 70, 49, 37, 33 and 32 yards. The Ohio native opened the scoring with a five-yard toss in the first quarter and his one-yard touchdown run and 32-yard scoring strike in the second quarter pushed the hosts ahead 28-0. He added touchdown passes of four and 70 yards in the third quarter before sitting out the final stanza. Clark’s 341-yard passing performance marked the most yards through the air for a PSU player since 2003 when Michael Robinson compiled 379 yards against Wisconsin. Clark picks up his second weekly accolade this season and for his career after being honored on Oct. 13.
LAST PSU OFFENSIVE POW: QB Daryll Clark on Oct. 13, 2008.
Wow. Not bad for a guy that a lot of people were saying should have been benched last week.
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The Players Hint At Dissent: What First Downs Have To Say About It
by Kevin HD
on Nov 20, 2008 10:00 AM EST
in Football
Some of the players on the team have been quoted discussing internal strife over play calling. It was a topic after the Iowa game, in which it seemed like the coaches weren't playing to win. Well now it sounds like the players are echoing some of the sentiment expressed on the interweb over the past couple of week.
"Obviously we've got a lot of guys on the team who have played a lot of football, we know what we're talking about when we see a defense thrown at us," Butler said. "Sometimes we got a little carried away with 'We should be running this play or that play.' Whatever play they call, let's execute it, and let's not get carried away with what plays we aren't running."
He's not the only one speaking up:
"We were running the ball a lot, and then these last two games, we've kind of gotten away from it a little bit," Shipley said. "We started to question that a little bit. We're all guilty of it."
[...]
"It's been a slight problem," Clark said. "We have to get away from it. Regardless of what the call is, it's not like it's new. ... If Jay [Paterno] calls it, if Galen [Hall] calls it, go out and make it happen. That's that."
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Until The Ride Comes To A Complete Stop
by Run Up The Score
on Nov 18, 2008 9:33 AM EST
in Football
The moment of truth for a nervous roller coaster enthusiast occurs at the loud clack of the safety harness locking into place. Protest all you want at that point, but you're in for the ride, no matter how harrowing it may be.
Like it or not, this is the point Penn State is at with respect to the quarterback position. Protest all you want, Joe Paterno has officially dug in his heels.
Q: Daryll Clark has three turnovers today, are you worried about his confidence?
A: No, that is one of the reasons I kept him in there. I figured he has to work his way through some of that. We are going to talk a lot about the fumbles. He had the two fumbles and that's just carelessness. Sometime you have those days. He has had some problems, but I think he needs to work his way through it.
Clark's play has clearly declined since the Wisconsin game. However, a case could be made to support Clark in most of those games. Against Ohio State, the offense went conservative in a tough environment. The combination of Iowa's excellent defense and the wind made passing difficult last week. The Indiana game was played in a frigid swamp on Saturday. These things are all true. That said, it's going to be cold next Saturday and Michigan State is ranked 12th nationally in pass efficiency defense. As Daryll (and PSU fans everywhere) learned after the Iowa game, excuses really only fly after victories.
Besides, it's not just Clark's play that has dropped off. We have learned that the Penn State offense does not respond well to pressure. Opposing defensive coordinators know it, too. The offensive line has done a very poor job of picking up blitzes lately, which has led to Clark becoming increasingly jittery when things begin to break down. Receivers have dropped passes at very bad times. Wind. Rain. Faulty protection. Bad throws. Drops. All of that stuff has contributed to decreased offensive production. Does that mean Pat Devlin should stay glued to the bench?
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Grading The Offense Against Indiana
by Kevin HD
on Nov 17, 2008 1:39 PM EST
in Game Reviews
Another tale of two halves.. It's probably a little troubling, a start like this against even an average team could be trouble. But then again, it was a hangover game if there ever was one and it was the most points Penn State has been favored by against a Big Ten opponent since 1994.
Quarterback
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BSD Staff Predictions Against The Indiana Hoosiers
by Kevin HD
on Nov 14, 2008 12:56 PM EST
in Game Previews
The all important rebound game. Everyone seems to have calmed down after last week and, with two more in-conference games between this team and a Big Ten championship, there are still good things to be had. Oh, and don't forget your camouflage parka.
Staff predictions after the jump...
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Grading the Offense Against the Iowa Hawkeyes
by BSD
on Nov 9, 2008 4:15 PM EST
in Game Reviews
(AP Photo by Charlie Neibergall)
This isn't going to be pretty. Let's just get to it.
Quarterbacks
Daryll Clark had his game of the season. There is no other way to put it.
From the opening series he seemed tentative and unsure of himself. He seemed like he was struggling with his reads, his timing was off, and he often overthrew his receivers. This is a problem that has plagued him all season. This week it finally bit him with the interception in the redzone. Jason Avant had an eleven-foot-tall imaginary friend named Tacopants. Derrick Williams must have an eleven-foot-tall imaginary friend as well. Any ideas on what we should call him?
You have to feel sorry for the kid. It was hard to watch him being interviewed after the game. He manned up and took all the blame for the loss. You have to admire him for that. Sadly, he's correct in that his play was a large part of the reason we lost.
Final Grade: F
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Apocalypse, How? Aftermath Open Thread
by Run Up The Score
on Nov 8, 2008 9:00 PM EST
in Football
Photo: DesMoinesRegister.com
Over 700 comments in the previous thread, so here's another for your post-game reactions. Penn State could have done a lot of things differently, but Iowa won the game with their red zone defense and final offensive drive.
Daryll Clark had a nice stretch of completions halfway through the game, but he started and ended poorly*. The playcalling relied heavily on Derrick Williams in the backfield, and I think it's fair to wonder if the coaches were being too careful with Clark in light of his previous concussion.
The Rose Bowl is still within grasp with victories against Indiana and Michigan State, but a weekend of mourning and dissection is more than appropriate. What went wrong, in your opinion?
* - Upon slightly further review, Clark received next to no assistance from his offensive line. They were totally fine on rushing plays, but pass blocking was atrocious. That may not even be a strong enough word, and it was even worse when Iowa unleashed its blitz packages. You know how Penn State's defensive blitzes never work? Think the exact opposite of that.
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Royster Not Meeting Heisman Quota
by Kevin HD
on Nov 4, 2008 9:45 AM EST
This is not a post about how Evan Royster should be a Heisman winner. It is a post about why he shouldn't care about whether he is a Heisman winner or not.
A while back Penn State's QB offered up the following as food for thought:
"If you want to talk Heisman and you want to talk running backs, Royster should be one of the top names, no question," Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark said.
Adam Rittenberg goes on in that piece to explain that (in so many words) Royster doesn't really have a shot because he simply doesn't get enough carries. The thing is he's right, and that is why it's such a stupid award.
A quick look at Rivals' power rankings and you'll see Royster is sitting behind three different backs from his own conference: Shonn Greene (#4), Chris Wells (#6), and Javon Ringer (#7).
Some stats:
So I think it's pretty clear what the story is here. Penn State's tailback is getting by far the fewest carries per game, yet putting up very impressive yardage and a ridiculous ypc average.
Now this isn't an attempt to take anything away from these four runningbacks, as Paterno would say they are all pretty good football players. What we are getting at is how to judge performance.
The one thing I love about baseball is the way you can isolate statistics and get a true gauge on what the real story is. I hate football stats for their lack of this characteristic. No sport is as dependent on a "team effort" as football. The backs can't run without a great line, the quarterback can't pass without an honest run threat, the receivers can't catch balls unless they are thrown properly, and an offense can't win games unless the defense stops the other team from scoring. Despite all of this, a player cannot even be considered for the award unless his team is elite, which, to be honest, makes it a lot harder to tell if the ‘stars' are actually that good or simply a product of a great situation.
That being said, I think all four of these backs are very good at what they do, and Royster's ability to turn three yard gains into 7.4 yard gains is pretty impressive. He lacks the carries because of Green's involvement in the offense, and doesn't score as many TD's because of the effectiveness of the 230 lb QB sneak. It's because this is such a great team that Royster has no shot. Because of this, it's important to not let the description of the Heisman fool you into thinking it's a real award.
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