The Penn State Football Show

Glad to see the brothers Albright on the blog. Now all we need is Rich and Rulebook. I am honestly way too exhausted to do this right now. I just worked from 5:30-7:30 and I have to do it again tomorrow. I haven't even read the last few post. But here's my take on Iowa and Illinois. At the end of the game I turned to Rudy and asked, "What did we do if we didn't hand this game to them on a silver platter?" I don't think Iowa won the game, I think we lost it. I don't think Kirk Ferentz has some ridiculous control over us, we're just prone to screwing up.

One thing I do want to mention, the reoccurring theme of a strong offensive first half and a slow second one has to be more than coincidence. I hate to start the conspiracy theory but my thought until proven otherwise is that Galen Hall is calling the first and Jay Paterno is getting the second. Sounds stupid but so does having one guy call runs and the other guy calls passes. And after 5 years of that system has the question ever been answered as to who determines if we are going to run or pass? Enlighten me please.

For Illinois I just don't think they can get it done against our defense. Juice Williams looked like a solid prospect who never panned out and that great recruiting class Ron Zook put together a few years ago has yet to blossom. I like the Lions is a very boring game.

-I got off the weekend for Ohio State. Who's going?

I just failed a test in aerospace not because I didn't know how to do the problems, but because the jackass gave us lengthy difficult problems to complete in only 50 minutes. Somehow segwaying into Penn State football....this team has talent. Great talent. Top ten talent. But certain things are holding them back from greatness. If I had 2 hours to do that test I would've gotten a 100% and if Penn State had a year of preseason to get prepared for the season, they'd be a top 10 team...but that's not how it is. Illinois is a mess right now, and it's possible that they could come out of their funk against Penn State, but with the defense that PSU has, no team is going to put up huge numbers. Daryll and Co. could easily be left sulking about that loss just as I could be curled up in a ball crying about this exam, but both Daryll and I have something in common, we forget about the past. This team still has a Big Ten title to play for, and I see them coming out on fire this Saturday. Getting away from Penn State might be just the thing they need. Sometimes 110,000 fans isn't the greatest thing, especially when they are crtiquing every block you make, every throw, catch, and cut. Champaign will be docile, their team is 1-3 and can't see them having much of a home field advantage.

Illinois surrendered 236 yards on the ground against OSU at 5.1 yards per carry. Juice threw 3 interceptions and they were held to 170 yards of total offense. Can Penn State shut down their offense like Ohio State did? Certainly, I think the two defenses are comparable. Can PSU run the ball? They will be able to. Illinois does not have a great pass rush, and Clark will be able to open things up. The Illini have given up an average of 254 yards through the air and QB's have an average rating of 145 against them. The pass sets up the run sets up the pass...etc. The offense will be able to execute, and the defense will be solid once again. A loss here would be crushing, but this team goes out and plays to win, not to avoid losing. Things could get ugly in East-Bumble, Illinois, but never count Juice and Arrelious Benn out of anything except a trip to L.L Bean. Zook can sure bring in some talent, but his coaching on the other hand could use a little help. Let's go

This could be a tough test for the Lions. Coming off a tough loss, going on the road for the first time, playing an Illinois team that has given Penn State trouble the last few years. I could see either team winning this game.

Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn have had a lot of success against Penn State, and I expect that to continue. I don't expect Sean Lee to play, and that will hurt. We will find out how good of a leader Clark is this weekend. How well will he bounce back after his worst game? Can he get the team to forget about the loss and move on, or will it affect their play? M-Rob was the ultimate leader. Remember how the team performed after their only loss of the season in 2005? They absolutely demolished Illinois. Hopefully Clark comes out and plays with some anger and takes it out on the Illini.

Neither team has played well this season. Penn State has not really shown me anything to make me pick them to win this game. But neither has Illinois. I'll give it to PSU in a close one, but wouldn't be surprised either way. This game could be the truning point in the season. Does PSU enter the Eastern Illinois game 0-2 in the Big Ten or 1-1?

Jason, I must say that was a tremendous debut, on par with Anthony Morelli coming out throwing a 42 yard touchdown against Akron on his first pass of his first career start back in 2006. Of course, we all know where it went from there. Don't let that happen to you.

First, let me describe the play by play of my reaction to your post. When I first read the opening introduction, I assumed this post was by your brother, the infamous Ryan Albright. I quickly scrolled to the bottom to confirm my hunch, saw the name Albright at the bottom of the post, and didn't even think to check for a first initial.

So I go back to reading the post, and the more I read, the more confused I get. This does not sound like Ryan Albright at all. First of all, it is way too positive - there are not nearly enough complaints. Second of all, Ryan would never have the patience to sit and write a post that long. Sure, if he's sitting in traffic, he's likely to call you and rant about the game for hours on end, but he won't waste his precious free time at the computer writing for a blog. Third, and most importantly, this post was way too insightful to be made by Ryan. By the time I finished it I refused to believe what I had just read was written by your brother, and then I took a closer look, saw the J. Albright, and suddenly everything made sense once again and all was right in the world.

Now, on to your post. I found myself agreeing with most of the things you said. Most notably: Clark throwing flat-footed all the time. This really annoys me and I don't know why they haven't fixed this yet. I also agree that while the outcome would have been the same, Sean Lee was greatly missed. The play-calling was poor as you mentioned. Screens would have worked well, the play action bootleg should be a staple of the offense (USC runs that play all the time) and a reverse could have helped too. And seriously, what happened to Brett Brackett? Even if the other guys are better pass-catchers than him, he was very effective as a blocker last year. Why don't we at least use him in the role this year? Stephfon Green is fast but is not a natural running back. He lacks the necessary vision and lateral mobility. I share your concerns about Wagner, especially in a close Big Ten game against a team like OSU or Michigan.

There were a few things I disagreed with. Yes, the blocked punt and the Royster fumble killed Penn State. But, you can't say that the game came down to those two plays. Penn State's overall inability to put points on the board and protect the football cost them the game. Once again, I believe this goes back to the offensive line. They had plenty of wasted opportunities, and should have been able to overcome those two mistakes, but could not get anything going offensively. When they went into half-time with only 10 points, I knew they were in trouble, and you could sense where this one was going.

I haven't really seen much to like out of Sukay. Maybe I need to go back and watch the game again to see what you saw. I think his tackling needs to improve first and foremost. Forgive me, but hearing that Sukay is the next Anthony Scirrotto didn't exactly leave me filled with excitement. To me, the seondary still has not been tested, so I have no idea how good they are.

Hayes is clearly nowhere near 100% after the two injuries, and you can't really blame him. I don't expect much out of him this year. Which is a shame because hew as great.

Iowa is now in the past and the team has to move on. I am anxious to see how they perform this weekend. I think the Illinois game will go a long way into determining how the rest of the season plays out. I would not be surprised at all to see them lost this game. If they do, they could be in trouble. If they bounce back and play well, they can still go on to have a great season.

First of all, Welcome Jason and Ryan Albright. I agree with a lot of the things Jason mentioned and in particular the depth that Clark gets in the pocket. He needs to learn to get more of a drop and if he feels pressure to come up into the pocket. That would help his linemen as well and allow him to see the field better. This was a rough loss that Penn State simply handed over, and being at the game only about 10 columns of people away from the Iowa section was not a pleasant experience.

Some good things:

1. That first quarter was nearly perfect. Great defense, good playcalling, and the only bad spot was settling for a FG.
   
2. Linebackers: Bowman played well and is only going to get better. He might be the best LB in the country. Josh Hull had another great game, and Bani Gbadyu was decent, but we all got to see how hard this kid can hit. He's going to be a good player next season.
   
3. Derek Moye: Penn State hasn't had a WR like him since Bryant Johnson, and by that I mean a guy that can do it all. He's fast, tall, attacks the ball, and uses his size to his advantage. He's going to have a big year.
4. Corners: This was a big question, but these guys are pretty good. Morris is a big time guy, Wallace seems to have his stuff together, and Timmons I can deal with simply because he likes to hit...unlike Anwaar Phillips whose best friend was the sideline (without that he would have 2 career tackles).

The bad:

1. Turnovers: Yes we got two picks...but both were off deflections. I want to see breaks on the ball or linebackers dropping back in the zone and reading the QB's eyes...those kind of picks. And where are the fumbles? Iowa has a bunch of frosh running around with the ball and no one can pry it out of there on a rainy day? They have to work on that, as well as not giving the ball away themselves. Clark needs to throw in lanes not right over some defenders head...some people have arms, Daryll and they might put them above their head once in a while. The Royster fumble was killer, but he's learned his lesson so I don't want to harp on that.
2. Offensive line: Duh. I just don't get how they're so bad. I think they have improved over the fall, but they need to pick it up and start pushing people around. You have to give a lot of credit to Iowa though. Every year they seem to be stacked on the D-line. And here I was all happy that Mitch "My long blond hair is making you crap your pants in fear" King was gone. Well they reloaded.
3. Colin Wagner: Dude, give me a break. I can understand that he is the place kicker...he has some experience, and maybe is more accurate than freshman Fera...but on kickoffs? Get him outta there! Fera has a huge leg, and I'm sure he could kick the ball into the endzone, and why not give the kid a shot at longer FG's? If Wag can't kick the ball 45 yards, I don't care how accurate he is...he can't physically make a 45 yarder. Remember in 2000 when they put in Kimball to try to make a 60 yarder to try to beat OSU? That's what I'm talking about. USE FERA
4. Playcalling: Jason I like the waggle pass, that's Groton School bread and butter, but Clark waits too long to make his decision, and by the time he throws the DB's have corrected themselves and the WR's have run out of room to run. Do the playaction, and get rid of the ball. The TE is going to be open underneath. I'd also like to see some timing patterns like they used to run with Williams all the time. It's an easy throw and it doesn't need to be too accurate.
   
5. Where is Beachum? I'm telling you, this kid needs to touch the ball. He is a Penn State running back and I know the coaches know what they're doing, but what has this kid done to NOT deserve some playing time? Give him a shot

All in all, depressing simply because the dream season is over, but let's be honest: this team isn't as good as last year, and the only reason we were ranked so high was because everyone and their mother has been losing this year. Iowa was ranked to start the season and dropped out, now they're back where they belong. That is a good team, but one we beat in a game where neither team has turnovers. I am not concerned about this team as they showed last year that they could bounce back from a tough loss, and I feel like they are getting better. I see the season ending 10-2 with a loss to OSU. Michigan will be a test, but their defense is sloppy, and Penn State's defense is about to start shredding. Can you believe that Sean Lee and Navarro Bowman have NEVER started the same game? This will be exciting.

This has been a tough week to endure, but this team is young, and with an offensive line like this, Evan Royster is going to be in the backfield for his senior season. I'll be at my sister's engagement party this Saturday, and will feel slightly guilty about sitting in front of a TV for the first few hours watching Penn State regain some confidence and run for 200 yards against Illinois.

Joe Paterno calls Juice Williams "The Juice"

With this being my first post, I'd also like to thank the members of the PSFB for allowing me to join in on the fun and express my thoughts on Penn State Football and the ever-growing media machine known as College Football.

Acknowledging that I am not a technician of the game nor did I ever play the game, I look forward to covering the broader picture in my posts. My intentions are to capture the general feelings as both a loyal PSU fan as well as an enthusiast of the sports business industry. I will offer some brief post-game analyses, but primarily focus my posts around the external aspects of the game such as the media, the atmosphere, and the implications.

Five days have passed now since the Lions dropped a tough one on a nationally televised game. There are a number of places to point our fingers at such as a blocked punt, timely turnovers, and a struggling running game, but in the end, the bottom line was the lions didn't have their best day against the Hawkeyes.

Since the loss, the media has thrashed the lions in every way imaginable, exposing each and every one of their weaknesses. Penn State fans and beat writers are already jumping ship on a team that going into the game, had several questions. Which leads me to ask, if we didn't know much about them coming into this game, how can we assume we know it all now? The season is young and each week seems to present more and more wrinkles that will once again con volute the Bull-Chit-Systems (BCS).

Going into Iowa, Penn State was favored by most analysts to win the Big Ten, and if not, be a top contender. Following the Iowa loss, many are predicting a tailspin and a mediocre bowl bid with a potential 4 loss season. This situation seems to happen all too often, not just in college football, but the sports world in general. The media jumps on a bandwagon, runs it into the ground, invites College Gameday to a game featuring a non-ranked team, and then acts like the world is shocked when things don't play out accordingly.

People are wandering how Darryl Clark will respond to the Iowa loss and if he can pull himself back together and lead this team to a BCS game. The kid is an athlete. You win some, you lose some, you wake up the next day, and the sun comes up (or in State College, it rains again). Clark has proven himself for a year and a half now as a solid leader and sound college football quarterback. Whether he leads this team to an amazing run, or they lose four games, you can be sure that he will be doing everything in his power to put his team in a position to win. You will never see a player in the entire country play as hard....wait...no...that's not the Penn State way.

Outside the lines - lets look at some items aside from the game...

• "Welcome to the Great Show" - PSU has proven itself as one of the most hostile environments in College Football. Much of this credit goes to the gameday marketing guru Guido D'elia. The Whiteout, Zombie Nation, the whole-nine-yards. However, is it completely necessary to remind the fans of this by pasting it on the scoreboards and loudspeakers throughout much of warmups and the game. This somewhat goes against "The Penn State Way" in that actions do the speaking and there is no name in my jersey. It's amazing how the Great Show, turns into the Quiet show in the face of adversity.
• Stadium Music - Did you notice that once PSU fell behind, the pump-up music on defense and even the tone of PA announcer Dean DeVore significantly changed? This was definitely felt in the stadium and the crowd was eliminated for a large portion of the second half.
• Replays..What Replays? Beaver Stadium refuses to show questionable replays on the scoreboard because we don't want to hurt the officials feelings? These days are well past us, the officials will get booed once they announce the call anyway, so show the damn replay. Additionally, few (if any) replays were shown following PSU turnovers (i.e. Royster Fumble and Clark's last interception).
• The Pennsylvania State Sitting Blue Band - Sloppy weather usually means the Blue Band does not get to perform their pregame ritual. I never understood this, every alum and their respective entourage is allowed to field punts for the third-string punter during pregame warm ups, but the band can't perform? I was never a band-wally, but c'mon, these guys get a couple times a year to go out there and perform, not only that, it is a PSU ritual that plays into the whole "Great Show" agenda. Oh well, I guess they can just pull another pump-up video off of YouTube featuring the '05 Hali Sack and the sun rising over Beaver Stadium to the music of Gladiator and it does the same justice.
• TV Timeouts - Iowa touchdown - TV Timeout - Iowa Kickoff - TV Timeout. The media timeouts are prolonging the game, not only killing the intensity of the crowd.

In conclusion, the Lions disappointed us on the national stage, but the season is not over. We still have a lot of questions to answer about this team, and it's unfair to write this season off after a sloppy performance under sloppy conditions. 19 of 21 points on turnovers.

A road game in Champaign will be a tough week for the Lions to bounce back, but the 3:30pm kickoff will be a bit of relief as they usually have trouble getting their legs going for noon-time kickoffs.

Just as this team is not nearly as good as the band-waggoners talked them up to be, they are not nearly as bad as many are making them out to be.

Hello World! As the newest member of the Penn State Football Show Blog, I would first like to thank the fore-fathers for allowing my insight and opinions on PSU Football....

After watching the Iowa game for a second time, I have concluded that the game came down to two plays...the blocked punt and the Evan Royster fumble. I feel that PSU would have come out of that drive with some type of points and put the game back within one score and excited the defense as well as the deflated Beaver Stadium crowd.

Nevertheless, this was just a typical old-fashioned Big Ten style, battling the elements football game...solid defense and a battle for field position with the hopes of a big special teams play.

Specific Game Thoughts:

• The defense played very well minus Sean Lee. Bowman came out looking like he had not missed a beat. I like the play of the secondary (i.e. Sukay, Stephon Morris, Astorino, etc.). Although I don't think the outcome of the game changes, the absence of Sean Lee was felt. I think he helps get a little more pressure on the QB and aids in some of the run support. I cant want till this whole unit is healthy. PS...This is our secondary FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS!!!
  
• I SPY: Nick Sukay. I like the way this kid is developing as a safety. He is stepping right into the shoes left by Anthony Scirotto and has potential to be even better till its all said and done. He has great closing speed and is doing a good job breaking up balls over the middle and staying stride for stride on any deep threats. PS...I know, I know...I will just pretend like I didn't see you completely miss the block on Adrian Clayborn on the block punt, Nick.


• I like Stephon Morris at corner. He provides good relief for AJ Wallace and Knowledge Timmons, two players who I am still not sure how good they are.


• Not a whole lot of production from the defensive line. Looked like Jack Crawford had trouble getting consistent penetration. Lets not annoint him as the next Aaron Maybin just yet. Production from the DT's was poor too (Odrick-Ogbu-Still combined for 6 tackles). Iowa runs were getting to the second level too easy. This is where #45 would have been effective. PS...Where was Jerome Hayes??? I dont think he recorded a tackle. He needs to get some pressure from that hybrid LB-DE position.


• For the first three games, I thought Collin Wagner was a freshman and was giving him the benefit of the doubt when it came to the "learning and experience curve." But as I was parading through my PSU Media Guide Saturday night, I realized he is a redshirt Jr. I gotta plead ignorance on this one! Either way, not enough leg on a 45-and-change field goal??? Lack of consistency from this position could be a problem as the season progresses.


• Offensively, I thought we moved the ball pretty well between the 20's and aside from the interceptions. The offensive line was generating good push in the run game and it was good to see Royster picking up 7-8-9 yards on carries again.


• In terms of play calling, I would like to see more attempts at getting to ball to Chaz Powell. I think this kid can be the next Derrick Williams in terms of his versatility. Sure, he doesnt have the intelligence or intangibles that D-Will had, but the physical attributes are sure there. Furthermore, we have the personnel to run the "Spread HD" so lets do it. I think the play calling got way too conservative being up only 10-0 and 10-5. I will buy the argument that the weather impeded the passing plays, but cant we still run some reverses, options and screens?


• I would like to see that little play-action/counter/bootleg rollout play at least once per offensive series. You know, that play where Clark play-action/counter fakes and then rolls out on a naked bootleg to the weak side? The weak side TE and underneath crossing WR are ALWAYS open and the play goes for 8-10 each time. Even Morelli had success with this play.


• Derek Moye is a big time receiver. He has hands, speed, and, most of all, size...one thing last year's trio lacked. He has also proven he is willing to go get the ball in traffic. I'm anxious to watch this kid get even better over the next three years


• On another WR note...Did Bret Brackett get moved down to the JV team?


• Running Stephfon Green up the middle is as worthless as a Canadian quarter at a vending machine.


• We need to use Quarless even more...4-5 catches per game.


• Is it just me or does Clark not get enough separation from the line of scrimmage on his three step drops??? It seems like he is constantly throwing with a offensive lineman backing into him while he is standing flat footed. Why don't our QB coaches see this and correct this? And furthermore, why don't they advise him to get out of the pocket sooner? I see times where there is green room in front of him to run 8-10 yards but, instead, he tries to squeeze throws into small windows. We know Clark CAN run and I think he NEEDS to run to avoid some pressure situations when the pocket collapses.
  

In conclusion, I think Penn State is still a good football team. I think Iowa is a good football team. I think those last two sentences make me sound like JoePa in his weekly press conferences. Either way, I think both teams are headed for similar seasons. Both teams will probably lose a game or two that they shouldn't. I don't think Iowa has enough offensive power to dominate anybody and, as a result, will probably lose a few games they same way they beat Penn State. As for Penn State, I would be happy with a 9-3 season but I think that would be an underachievement for this team. I think PSU was and still could be a national contender, as nobody has shown yet that they are capable of going undefeated. I think they can and will be a Big Ten contender, as the Big Ten looks to have about 6 or 7 competitive teams. I just hope that late season showdown with Ohio State still has Big Ten title implications when the time comes...FIGHT ON!

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post: Anyone notice how much playing time Stephone Morris (CB #12) got in the game? He was in there early and often, even during some critical moments in the game. This tells me the staff really likes this kid. It's not very common for a true freshman to have such a big role in the defense this early in their career. It's looking like they are transitioning him to be the nickel back on passing downs. Definitely a promising sign.

You are going to hear a lot of different people voicing their opinions about this game, but the simple fact of the matter is that Penn State is not that great of a team, and they got flat out beat tonight. The Lions played a terrible game, especially the offensive line. But I give all the credit in the world to the Hawkeyes. They came into a very hostile environment and seemed completely unfazed by the crowd. I think most teams would have really been in a tough spot after giving up the big play touchdown on Penn State’s first play. Then, the interception shortly thereafter that led to a field goal. That’s a hard hole to climb out of on the road at Beaver Stadium, and they managed to hold Penn State scoreless for the rest of the game.

Like I said in the preview, they always seem to play their best against PSU. I really think Ferentz just has JoePa’s number. Lloyd Carr had JoePa’s number, and so does Ferentz. It’s frustrating because Iowa always loses a few games every year, and they are not an elite program, but they own Penn State. And they do it the same way every time. Nothing flashy, strong defense, make plays when they need to, control the clock, and just hang around for long enough to put themselves in position to win the game.

I was frustrated watchinig Penn State’s performance in the game, but now that it’s over, I’m really not that devastated. I mean, they played poorly and they deserved to lose. This team was not going to win the national championship, and I expect them to lose at least two more games this season.

The defense played pretty well, especially without their best player. They were getting pretty thin at linebacker, but still managed to hold Iowa to just one offensive touchdown. There is one place, and one place only, where you can point your finger as to why Penn State lost this game: The offensive line. The o-line was just manhandled by Iowa defense all night long. Clark had guys in his face on every pass, and had no time to set his feet. Yes, Clark had a very bad game, but I blame that on the offensive line. The offense had no rhythm, no running game, no passing game, nothing. I would have liked to see them try some trickery to open things up a little. They also should have tried some screen passes. There was one third and ten I was begging for them to run a screen, and Iowa blitzed and forced Clark to throw it away… the screen would have been the perfect call against that blitz. The play call for the opening play of the game was perfect, exactly what I was hoping for, but it went all downhill from there. I don’t think Graham Zug had one reception all game. Again, the probably was the fault of the offensive line not giving Clark time. I did like that Penn State called some running plays for Clark. Some worked, some didn’t, but I was glad that they were in there.

Other notes:

I am now a 100% believer that Derek Moye is the real deal. He’s a good one.

The roughing the punter call was a joke, and that happens way to often. I can’t stand it when they call that for no reason, but it happens all the time. Let the kids play.

I could tell even when it was 10-5 that Penn State was not going to win that football game. If you couldn’t, you haven’t been watching PSU vs. Iowa in the past 10 years.

If the coaching staff sees anything at all in any of the backup centers, they need to consider moving Wis back to guard.

Clark needs to take off and run on some passing plays. Has he done that yet this year?

Eric Latimore had his best game yet. He made some nice plays.

I’m still not clear on how they were able to block that punt so easily. Was it Sukay that blocked the guy? Whoever it was, I know he didn’t completely stop him, and the kept coming through, but I would have thought the bump he gave him was enough to allow Boone to get that punt off. Did Boone take a long time to get rid of it or something?

Terrible tackling on Iowa’s TD run. Mainly from Sukay.

PSU will lost at Michigan.

I think that makes Penn State 2-8 this decade in Big Ten Openers. That’s a really mind-blowing statistic. Perhaps they need to prepare themselves better with stronger non-conference competition. I can’t wait for Alabama the next two years. Those should be great games.