Hey y'all, as they say down here in Texas. Isn't Galen doing a great job of filling in for me this week? I'm still on my vacation business trip, but I couldn't pass up another round of the Blue-White Roundtable. Last week I pointed out how the Georgia Tech bloggers were ripping off our roundtable idea. I threatened legal action and they basically gave us the finger. Now the Alabama bloggers are getting in on the action. As if broadcasting their spring game throughout Pennsylvania on the day of our spring game, which I had to watch over the crappy tubes of the internets, wasn't insulting enough. Now this. I swear if the Georgia or Michigan bloggers start doing this I'm taking my blog and going home. Now I'm all flustered. Let's get to the question provided by Run Up The Score.
By now, we've all either seen the video of the Virginia Tech tribute or were there in person. Was it too much, not enough, or just right?
The block VT was awesome. I think it was a nicely done. My only possible complaint is I saw a lot of kids wearing maroon shirts with Penn State logos on them. If the shirts were printed and handed out for free then I think that's great. If they were sold for ten bucks and the proceeds went to the families, I'm all for it. If someone was selling them for ten bucks to make a profit I hope they rot in hell.
Should NBC have aired the videos and pictures the VT shooter sent to the network?
Let me ask you this. Why did the kid choose to send the video to NBC? Why not the police? Or the president of the University? The answer is he wanted the video broadcast on television for the world to see. Shame on NBC for giving the dirtbag exactly what he wanted.
Who were the most impressive performers during the Blue/White game?
Unquestionably Chris Bell was the star of the game. His four catches, 116 yards, and two touchdowns will have Nittany Lion fans salivating from now until September.
I also thought the starting offensive line did a good job for the White team considering the position changes for Cadogen and Shaw and the fact Eliades and Landolt are new additions. They struggled to open up interior running lanes, but did everything else pretty well. I was excited to see some nice outside pitch runs working well and I thought they did a great job of protecting the White quarterbacks.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Paul Cianciolo was amazing showing up all the other quarterbacks in going 8-of-9 for 126 yards and 2 TD. He has no chance of winning the starting job, but it's nice to see we have depth at the quarterback spot this year if we need it. Remember last year it was Just Morelli and four other guys nobody ever heard of again. Now we have three other quarterbacks we could plug in there without having to put half the fan base on suicide watch.
Do you feel more or less confident in the Penn State offense after watching the spring game?
Definitely more confident. I already felt like if we could just have the offense we had at the Outback Bowl we would be ok. I think the offensive line looked better than they did at this point last year. I think Austin Scott can't do the little things Tony Hunt did well, but I also think he gives us a big play ability that Hunt never could. With the added depth of Royster I think overall we're upgraded at the running back position, but just barely. But what makes me think this is going to be a more potent offense this year is the emergence of Chris Bell and Brett Brackett to provide some big targets. Combine these two with Andrew Quarless and Penn State should have a much more formidable redzone offense this year.
Having said that, I'm really nervous over our kickers. Kevin Kelly hit both of his short range field goals, but Paterno didn't sound like he had much confidence in him in the booth. Jeremy Boone hit one great kick and one not so great kick. In his defense, he was kicking from his own endzone on the not so great kick, but it's not like the defense was rushing the kicker. I also thought the time from when he caught the snap to the time he kicked the ball away was a bit slow. I didn't have a stop watch, but if I'm right look for him to take a lot of heat against Notre Dame early in the season. A blocked kick or two can really change a game for the worse.
What are your favorite non-game related memories from this year's Blue/White weekend?
I thought it was really touching when Paterno relayed the story of Jeremy Herbstritt's parents and girlfriend presenting him with Jeremy's Virginia Tech baseball cap. You could tell Paterno was choking up talking about it. His quote, "It's a better world than we think it is," is classic Paterno. Always providing perspective. Always a voice of reason in the midst of chaos. I think that's something I will always remember. Years from now (hopefully many many years from now) people will be talking about that moment in his eulogy.
Lightning Round
Penn State plays Notre Dame, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Purdue at home this season. If you can only pick one game, what is the "can't miss" event on the schedule?
Hands down the Notre Dame game. We play the Big Ten teams every year. It may be another decade until we play Notre Dame again.
From a personal standpoint, what game is more important to win this season, Notre Dame, Ohio State or Michigan?
They are all equally important given the public goal this team has set to win a National Championship. If you tell me I can only win one of those games, I want the Michigan game. The psychological hump that game has become is hindering the perception of Penn State football in the pecking order of the Big Ten.
We still have four months until REAL football. What are you going to do until then?
Boogidy Boogidy Boogidy!!!
Be sure to throw in your $0.02 in the comments. Then be sure to check out Run Up The Score and The Nittany Line to get their take. Also, if any other Penn State bloggers wanted to copy these questions on their blog and join the roundtable I don't think anyone would be opposed to that. Leave us a link if you do.