And since I’m saying what’s on my mind, I’m going to curse just as my mind suggests I should. And I’m going to go ad hominem on ya, too. So, if you are easily offended, do not read on.
Penn State lost a crucial road game to Illinois today. The final score was 27-20. It sucked.
Look at the bright side. We put 20 points on them. Coincidentally, so did Syracuse, in an earlier contest. SO, big deal!
Morelli sucks. He bites the big one. He is a liability.
At least one of my fellow bloggers has declared that he’s sick and tired of the knocks on Morelli, particularly those pertaining to his intelligence, declaring it racial stereotyping or some such bullshit. Yeah, right. This guy must be Morelli’s brother-in-law or something. ????? ??? ???? Wait, Morelli’s brother-in-law knows he’s stupid. But I digress. There have been no quarterbacks of Italian heritage who actually were smart, right? Guys with distinguished pro careers like Marino, Testaverde, and Pastorini were not idiots. We didn’t hear too many complaints about Tony Sacca (except maybe when he threw that interception against Miami). No, this is strictly a knock on Morelli. If he were black, he’d be an idiot; if he were Jewish, he’d be an idiot; and if he were a WASP, he’d be an idiot. He’s just an idiot, and he needs to sit. Besides that, he’s an immature schmuck who couldn’t lead a girl scout troop—and yet somehow he was chosen as a tri-captain of this team.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisburger attributed some of this year’s success to he perception that the game has slowed down for him. Analogously, it must be true that the game has sped up for Morelli. He doesn’t read coverages, doesn’t see open receivers, and he doesn’t react to pressure.
People blame the coaches for the crappy game plan. Sorry, but if you handed Morelli a perfect game plan, he’d screw it up. Morelli would fuck up a free lunch. Throwing three crucial interceptions would be bad enough, but this asshole, for the second week in a row, allegedly taunted the opponent’s fans with obscene gestures and his big, stupid mouth. Sit the fucker down, Paterno. Let us declare the Morelli Era OVER. Goddamnit—what the hell does it take to make a change on this team?
This was Illinois’ first win against a ranked opponent since 2001. WTF?? Is this a distinction this team wants? Where the hell are we going from here?
This time, the offensive game plan was not all that bad. Although there were a couple of shaky calls, this one was on the guys on the field. This loss was on Morelli.
The defense proved that they, too, were not as wonnnnnderful as all you Rebeccas of Sunnybrook Farms thought they were. Come on, folks. They gave up over 300 yards and 20 points. Freelancing is anathema to defending an option offense. Defenders have to stick with their assignments, watch their lanes. Ours didn’t. Furthermore, the missed tackles were atrocious. These guys are not that great. However, let me not dwell on our defense, for it is the offensive offense that is the diffuse focus of this sharply dull excoriation.
Jesus, what does it take to make some changes on the offense? Morelli has that canon of an arm, but he cannot throw accurately, he stares down his primary receiver, and he can’t move in the pocket to save his own ass. In other words, stupid. Couple all that with taunting fans in losing efforts at both Michigan and Illinois, and he needs to be picking pine splinters out of his ass.
I don’t think our coaching staff is likely to do anything about Morelli. Joe likes to reward his patient seniors, you know. OK, so if nothing is done about Morelli and the offense’s general suckage, we’re looking at 6-4 against Iowa next week, and we get the four.
Could this offense (or lack of same) be any more exasperating? Even so, if we had a positive sign from the coaches, like sitting Morelli, we might be able to maintain some level of interest. However, if changes are not made, it is not only the fans, but also the team that will be affected. Negative attitudes are pernicious and destructive.
Instead of team leadership, there is a vacuum. Morelli is not suited to lead; Golden was also implicated in the fan taunting at Michigan. ????? ???? ??????? These guys are captains. That’s leadership? Only high school geeks playing electronic football games would consider that leadership. There is no real senior leadership other than Connor on defense. The offense is flapping in the breeze, leaderless.
Losses to Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan State, and, perhaps, Iowa now seem likely. Hell, Purdue, too—this offense sure as hell can’t put up enough points to beat the Boilermakers! If the team psyche has gone down the toilet, we could see even more losses. I was an idiot to think that this team would only lose to Michigan and Wisconsin this year. My 10-2 pre-season prediction must have been formulated during an acid trip. ?????? ?????? ?????? This damn team could go 5-7, with a 1-7 Big Ten record. Sorry, but we can’t fly with the big birds. Not this year. Not for a long time.
We have an ineffectual offensive line, a quarterback who is a moron, and no leadership on offense. What happens now?
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JED says
Time to suit-up the McCabe sisters …..
The Nittany Turkey says
The McCabe sisters are undoubtedly lamenting the latest Notre Dame loss, to Purdue. You think we have problems, Jed? It is quite likely that the Irish will start the season 0-8.
—TNT
JED says
this is true, but I didn’t think that that a losing season was in the cards for ole’ PSU. Moreli is just the result of far deeper problems , that being said, he is the reason we lost the last two games. So Joe didn’t get the letter ;and considering that S&M isn’t one of my vices , and train wrecks are only entertaining for the first few minutes, dog and I will go off into the Pa. woodlands and kill defenseless but tasty critters and check the highlights in the Sunday papers. If something more interesting should happen with PSU , please contact me and I will check with the grand Turkey for words of wisdom.
The Nittany Turkey says
Happy hunting, Jed!
—TNT
Happy Hour Valley says
I still have faith in winning the majority of our home games. Iowa is terrible as well and as bad as our offense has been, it’s better than the 2004 edition so I feel we get a win there. I wouldn’t rule out an upset of OSU either, they ALWAYS have a rough time with us at the Beav, that will be a low-scoring defensive struggle for sure. Purdue has looked good no doubt, but they’ve gone up against nothing but crap defenses, I still think we can beat them at home.
At this point, I’m looking at 7-5, maybe 8-4. Still very very disappointing nonetheless.
Just hope and pray that Spanier and Curley succeed this time in making sure 2008 is JoePa’s swan song.
The Nittany Turkey says
I hear ya, HHV. I tend to get caught up in the post-partum melancholia when PSU sucks so badly in a game they should have won. I mull over the possibilities and see only potentially negative outcomes. I don’t really think we’ll wind up with a losing record this year, but we sure as hell could without stretching the imagination too far.
—TNT
M1EK says
You guys are crazy. What we saw this week is that even with a better gameplan, Morelli will find a way to lose – not just not to win it by himself, as he might have been excused for against Michigan, but to actively lose the game all by himself when we would have otherwise won.
And you think we can beat Ohio State? Without Hunt? Dear lord. OSU and Wisconsin are licking their chops – we’ve been downgraded to a tune-up for them at this point.
The Nittany Turkey says
M1EK, I think that’s pretty much what I said when I wrote the original article. I’ll admit to being crazy, but not for the reason you’re stating. We’re in basic agreement.
So, I don’t know who “you guys” are, but I stated that Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Purdue, and Moo U were all in doubt. Let my post-partum melancholia comment not mitigate my negative assessment of our chances against Big Ten schools other than Indiana. I don’t even know if Indiana is a sure thing at this point.
Temple, I’ll give you as an automatic. That’s all.
What has our program become when FIU, ND, Buffalo, and Temple are the only wins we can truly count on?
—TNT
M1EK says
“You guys” was referring to the previous commenters.
JED says
Been thinking about this for days, and have paragraphs that I’d like to write, but I’ll spare you the B.S…..All boils down to this question, Are we Penn State or are we Joe Paterno? The Woody Hays moment has arrived.
The Nittany Turkey says
Go ahead and write the paragraphs. I’ve been thinking along the same lines. I firmly believe that with Spanier and Curley at the helm, Paterno will be calling the shots long after he’s dead and buried. No doubt he’ll want to provide a legacy for JayPa, at least.
On the other hand, Joe’s smart enough not to punch a Clemson kid in the throat at the Gator Bowl. In fact, Joe is a helluva lot smarter than Woody Hayes and Bobby Knight combined. He won’t make a dumb mistake that will get him fired.
So, as I mentioned in a comment to RUTS, Cowher is just sitting in the studio getting fat. Wonder if he’d entertain an offer from us disgruntled fans?
—TNT
JED says
O.K…..here’s the B.S. I grew up with the Curley boys. A large Catholic family , all boys , all jocks . Old man was head of food service at PSU and boys all attended (God bless grant in aid) and all became Joe Pa groupies. Loved to call him” the rat” as only inter circle knew the name and worshiped Joe ( candles lit, prayers said). Bottom line, Tim Curley will do as Joe says. Next. the buckeyes. Never could figure out why they hated Cooper . I would tell them , Hey you guys are in the top 15 each year and go to a good bowl…what’s the rub? The rub was that they weren’t willing to put up with anything less than BCS champ, and beating Michigan every year. They demanded that of their team and got it with a new coach. Should we ask anything less of PSU. We have become used to being a “wanabee” Given the fact the Joe’s record for the past five or so years would lose him his job if he were not Joe Pa the football god, and a q-back to doesn’t know how to read the field, and running backs who were never taught how to hold a ball, how long can this program afford to tolerate this without the cost being great (money , good players)? Hmmm you say , lad’s got some good points, so let me take you a little further down the pike ; when we get to the point that Joe can no longer phone in the “H back up the middle from the power I “call form Centre Crest rest home, what’s next? I fear it will be some PSU hack who couldn’t make it in the big time , to come back and fiddle around for the next 5 or so years… I’m too damn old to wait that long. PSU has it’s passion for ex-players, hell Richie Lucas ( how’s that jog your memory) is still on the payroll.. So ,I Don’t think that we can blame 20 yr, olds for not being coached well and by “The Woody Hayes moment” I mean the tipping point, (Joe would never strike a player) I bring my case to rest. So that’s the rant….whada’ ya’ll think?
The Nittany Turkey says
I think the same type of bum’s rush accorded to Cooper at tOSU is on the horizon for Lloyd Carr at Michigan. Not being able to beat Ohio State will take its toll even after he is forgiven for the loss to Appalachian State.
So, Curley is in Paterno’s back pocket? What about Spanier?
I agree with you that the next coach is likely to be either a present or former member of the PSU family. Bradley, Schiano, and (oh, shit!) JayPa are the names most frequently mentioned. Galen Hall has stated that when Joe goes, he goes, not that he would be a solution, anyway. The unfortunate thing is that if Joe has his way, we’ll be seeing his style of play for many years that follow.
What will it take for the administration to realize that this is the wrong path to take? Only a significant decline in revenues would open their eyes. However, that is bound to happen when Joe retires, unless he hangs around as an Emeritus fund-raiser. (Can you imagine Bradley, with his Johnstown accent, walking into the CEO’s office of a multinational corporation and saying, “We don’t want your stinking $5 million; we want $100 million!” Paterno has been known to do things like that. His value to the university transcends the performance of the football team on the field.)
Here’s one for your memory: Milt Plum. (ANYONE can remember Richie Lucas, but what about Don Jonas?)
Suffice to say that the tipping point is not going to come about as a result of anything that Joe does consciously. His increasing curmudgeonliness with the press is a case in point. For other, less firmly entrenched head coaches, the PR liability of blowing off the media would resonate negatively in the ivory tower with serious, job threatening implications, but from Joe it is just regarded as a foible. As long as Joe is bringing in the millions, the administration can look the other way when people criticize Paterno’s teams’ crappy performance in the past dozen years or so.
But I’d love to see Cowher come in and clean house.
—TNT
JED says
Keireer Powier not likely for PSU …Heed be down at Piermaanies haven’ a samich an at’…..But ex-NFL would be all good.
The Nittany Turkey says
Now it’s YOUR Boalsburg accent I can’t comprehend. My Altoona-born comprehension mechanism is getting a little crusty around the edges.
Parkeyboy says
If I am not mistaken, Jed sounds like he has a Duncannon twang, that definitely aint Altoonain.
The Nittany Turkey says
Hmmm, I think Duncannon is too far east for Jed, though he might be fakin’ the accent just to throw yins. Thing is, I was born in the ‘toona and grew up in the ‘burgh, and ain’t never heard no accent like that!
—TNT
JED says
E-sliberty, thank you very much….you know ;dowintown. Not over at the civi-kerena, yins know …the Burgh!
The Nittany Turkey says
I grew up in E-sliberty and useta go Dahntahn Pittsburgh on the 73 Negley streecar. Dahntahn Sliberty was easier ta get ta from my hahs, like Penn Av-nue and Sahth Highland where da big church is (or was).
Max in Fairfax says
You may be nuts if you think Morelli is the problem. Morelli was a top recruit, as was Michael Robinson, and many other QBs lacking the hype they were brought in with. Michael Robinson developed in spite of his coaching, and it took him until his senior year, and it involved raw talent and the ability to run, not pass, notice he is not a QB in the NFL, his skills never developed. Morelli can’t run, so you see his fate this year. This is a case of PSU nation getting screwed by entitlement. There are many examples of children of brilliant folks getting a job from entitlement and not skill, we have one of those as out President now, but I digress. Jay Paterno would not be a QB coach at any other D1 school. Just because Dad is a coaching genius, does not a son make (see example Bowden). If one top talent recruit turns mediocre, that is one thing, but a continuous string, you may need to look at coaching. It is simple logic. How does Jay Paterno have the credentials to take QB’s to the next level? Simple, he does not, and he has not succeeded. I have not doubt that Joe is still an amazing figure head and the key motivation to his team, his community, and his university, but he is using emotion to keep his son on the coaching staff, and not business logic or Jay would be gone. It is not fair to the 110k that fill Beaver Stadium, it is not fair to the Alumni, it is not fair to that nasty defense, we see each year, and it is not fair to top QB recruits who sign their name with PSU.
The Nittany Turkey says
So you don’t like JayPa. Why not just say so.
Whether Morelli was “ruined” or merely lacks the emotional maturity to ascend to “the next level” is arguable. Fundamentals can be coached but character cannot. Michael Robinson had character, which transcended coaching. The team respected him as a leader. In Morelli’s case, this is not true. He has exhibited signs of immaturity from the time he first set foot on campus, and he continues to demonstrate his immaturity by such actions as taunting opponents’ fans in their home stadiums, as he did during both the Michigan and Illinois games. The team does not respect his leadership.
How do you solve that problem through coaching? My opinion: As coach, you strip him of his tri-captaincy for the taunting crap and you sit him on the bench for his ineffectual play.
Seems that the “amazing figure head,” the senior Paterno, wanted to bench Morelli for Clark during the Michigan game, but he was overruled by son Jay. Who’s the head coach?
I never said that Morelli is the problem. He sure as hell is part of it, though. As much as his performance is not a black and white issue, so also does the coaching have its good and bad points. Agreed that the game plans are too conservative and that the player development is not the greatest. However, by the time a quarterback becomes a senior with a full year’s experience under his belt, he should be a lot more comfortable in the pocket than Morelli, and he should have mastered fundamentals. He should be a leader, not a dork who insults opponents’ fans to cover for his own insecurities.
We have questionable leadership on offense. The other captain, Golden, was also involved in the fan taunting episode at Michigan. Crotch-grabbing for the fans is not coachable.
These are my opinions. You have yours.
—TNT