The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Home 2010 Archives for September 2010

Archives for September 2010

Lions shut out Kent, drop in rankings

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Yeah, you read that correctly. After whipping the snot out of the Kent State Golden Flashes Saturday, 24-0, our old friends, the sports media men and women, have rewarded Penn State with a drop in the Associated Press ranking from #22 to #23. Isn’t that wonderful?

I mean, the Nittany Lions actually covered the spread this time, contrary to this Turkey’s prediction, and they played a dull, but lopsided game. Oh, sure, the opponent is a proverbial cupcake, but should the ranking drop after a victory, any victory? This Turkey thinks not, but I won’t dwell on it because it doesn’t really matter in the greater scheme of things, especially at this time of the year.

After the first quarter, in which the Lions scored a couple of quick touchdowns, the first on a Rob Bolden sneak from the one and the second with Evan Royster punching it in from the three, things settled down. After the second touchdown, I was fielding some impertinent comments about my prediction being way out of whack with reality. What did they think? Penn State was going to score 56? Not this team with this offensive line. My prediction turned out to be about 9 points too high. That’s more like it for PSU.

So, we fell asleep in the second quarter. Hell, it was the right thing to do for me. I was fasting for Yom Kippur while Jackstand and Zbeard were cramming down food and guzzling wine. It was significant deprivation this year, because it was Jackstand’s cooking I was missing, not my own. He does a helluva job with his souped up barbecue, which produces a 700 degree steak cooking environment instead of the typical 450. (I will not divulge Jackstand’s true name or location, lest his insurance underwriter find out.) I’ll bet it will do hot dogs in, like, 30 seconds, especially if you like that Cajun treat, Blackened Wiener. But I digress. Nothing happened in the second quarter. The score was still 14-0.

The first two Penn State drives of the third quarter ended in disaster. The first disaster was a fumble on the PSU 46 by Evan Royster after a three yard loss on first down after the second half kickoff. Kent State took the ball to the 30 and then missed a 47 yard field goal. The next abomination occurred after PSU started moving the ball, when Rob Bolden was intercepted on the PSU 46, his second of the day. Then the Lions added three by way of a Collin Wagner chip shot when they stalled at the 10 yard-line after a long drive during which they took almost 10 minutes off the game clock. During the drive, Royster was benched in favor of splitting the running duties between Stephfon Green and Silas Redd. Head Coach Joe Paterno said only that he wanted to try some other things out to jump start the running game. Royster sat out the rest of the game looking dejected.

That is kind of interesting, because Royster was the main thrust of the running game last year. What has happened to him? He hasn’t rushed for over 40 yards in any of the three games this year. Some say that he has gained weight and is slower. Others blame the offensive line. No doubt, both play a role in this continuing drama. However, what about attitude? Is Royster still the gung-ho guy he was last year, or is he flapping in the breeze? This brings up the question of team leadership, which also might be involved in Royster’s decreased productivity. A freshman quarterback is nobody’s leader. He has to earn the respect of the upperclassmen over time. Brett Bracket, a senior, was elected captain, but he’s a backup wide receiver. I’m not saying that Brackett is not a natural leader, and I’m not saying that Bolden will never be one, but for right now, I think the leadership vacuum is quite noticeable and it represents a valid concern. Perhaps Royster needs someone to grab him by the testes and tell him to get his head in the game. I dunno. What do you think?

Anyhow, I’m certain that the Royster situation has been on all of your minds, given the poor start he’s suffered this season. He left the game with 11 rushes for 38 yards. Green had 11 for 59 and Red, 6 for 24. So, something is obviously wrong.

Going into the fourth quarter, Penn State led 17-0. They were able to add one more touchdown on a spectacular 48-yard pass play from Bolden to Devon Smith at 8:37. After that, Kevin Newsome took over at quarterback and Silas Redd became the feature back. And that was all she wrote, with the final score 24-0.

It was a perfect late summer day, with temperatures in the mid-70s and a sunny blue sky. Yet paid attendance for this game was only 100,610, some 7,000 under capacity. This was easily seen on the TV screen, as about the top third of the student section was empty. It was a noon game, and I warned you about those in my preview post. There is decidedly less energy in da house for noon starts with non-conference cupcakes.

Let me give Kent State some credit, though. Although their running game was essentially shut down by the Penn State defense and by the absence of their star running back, their sophomore throwing machine, Spencer Keith, completed 20 of 36 passes for 170 yards with the Nittany Lion front seven providing constant pressure. Penn State had 382 total yards, but sloppily committed three turnovers—Bolden’s two interceptions and Royster’s fumble. Kent State hung in there for three quarters with the game in reach, but hope was lost when PSU scored its final TD.

Bolden is a rookie, and those interceptions were rookie mistakes. He’ll do better as he gains experience. In the meanwhile, he’s still on his honeymoon and no one is going to criticize him. He didn’t seem to let the picks bother him, and he rebounded quite well from last week’s pounding at Tuscaloosa. So, this Turkey thinks he’ll be fine.

We’ll be back later in the week to take a look at the next fine opponent, the Owls of Temple University, from the City of Brotherly love. There sure are a lot of brothers lovin’ it up there in Philly. Anyhow, catch y’all later!

Flash! Oops, is that a lightning bolt?

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Can you feel the excitement? Really? All right, enough of that! Noon games suck. We all know that. Players don’t want to get out of bed that early. The student section at Beaver Stadium doesn’t fill up until halftime, and even then, half of them are hung over and distracted. The damn game is on the Big Ten Network, which speaks for itself—we’ll be watching Velveeta/Ro-Tel commercials for three hours. ????? ??? ?????? ????????? All of this leads to a significantly lowered energy level both in the stadium and in Mike’s Garage, where our quasi-geriatric gang will convene once again for this week’s Penn State opus. ?????? ???

One more thing. It’s Yom Kippur so this sinning Jewish Turkey will be fasting while feeling guilty about watching football on this most solemn day. But I can atone for that sin next year.

The #22 Nittany Lions (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) meet the unranked Kent State Golden Flashes (1-1, 0-0 MAC) on home turf Saturday at noon. The Lions are coming off a beat-down at the behest of the Alabama Crimson Tide, while the Golden Flashes suffered a similar loss at Boston College.

In a primarily passing game, the Eagles defeated the Golden Flashes 26-13. Kent State allowed 212 yards passing and 87 running, while being able to muster a measly 4 yards rushing themselves. Top running back Eugene Jarvis, who also returns kicks, did not play due to a groin injury. He sat out most of last year with a kidney ailment. (Given that he was born with only one kidney—a condition known as congenital monorenareniolyticlackakidneyosis—that was not good.) Sophomore quarterback Spencer Keith is a throwing machine, however. He went 22-36 for 201 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Five turnovers and no running game to speak of dealt the fatal blow to the Golden Flashes. All in all, Kent State is not a complete patsy. They can be expected to put up a fight.

The defense returns seven starters and the offense, which had been decimated by injuries and illness last year, is healthy. Special teams are solid. Coach Doug Martin has not had a losing season. But Kent State is 0-9 all-time against the Big Ten and 0-3 against Penn State. The last time the two teams played each other was 2003.

So this should be a good game to continue working on the shoddy Penn State offensive line and anemic running game. Kent State’s experienced defense should provide substantial resistance. It would be interesting to see more of freshman running back Silas Redd, who looked impressive in the fourth quarter of the Alabama game, albeit against a tired defense. All indications are that doghouse denizen Johnnie Troutman will start at left guard instead of The Best Apostrophe (DeOn’Tae Pannell). This Turkey wants to see those guys pushing the defense around this time. No more of that crap we saw with the Penguins. Let’s see 180 yards rushing this game, guys.

Will Rob Bolden be over his rookie performance against Alabama? We’re all on the edge of our chairs hoping for a flawless game from the freshman. As with the running game, Bolden will face a veteran defense, so he’ll have to be on his toes, spread the ball around, and not telegraph his choice of receivers. And, of course, the much maligned offensive line will have to provide enough protection for Bolden to operate. It was interesting that not a single sack was recorded by Alabama. And one more thing—Zug will have to catch the damn ball.

I’m worried about Fera’s punting game. Although he had a decent 45-yarder in the Youngstown State game, the crap flying off his foot in the Alabama game made it look like he was kicking cow pies or something. Having lost all our punters in the off-season, we’re making do with a converted place kicker here. Let us hope that he gets back on track.

I’m also worried about the defensive secondary. They didn’t show me anything at all in the Alabama game. I think Sukay is always a step or two too slow, which is a problem when runners keep getting into the defensive backfield because of the (thus far) disappointing front seven. I want to see this defense forcing some turnovers in this game. They’ve been acting like a bunch of tackling dummies instead of flying to the ball. Watch a Steelers game, willya guys? They’ll show you how it’s done.

Tomorrow will be a beautiful day in Beaver Stadium, sunny with a high of 76. I wish I were there. Weather will provide no excuses for either side.

And now, that moment you’ve all been waiting for: The Official Turkey Poop Prediction! ?????? ???? ??????? But first, did you hear how cranked up Joe Paterno got at the brief press session after the Alabama game? He jumped all over Mark Brennan from Scout.com when he asked if Paterno really thought he was outcoached (after Paterno had already said, “we were outcoached and outplayed”). I hope that carried over into the locker room where he gave the team “the dickens”, or “the business”, or maybe even “some heck”. But I digress. Las Vegas is reporting a current spread of 21 points with an over/under of 45, which suggests a final score of something like 33-12. But you know how bad Penn State is at covering the spread by this time, don’t you? Well, if you don’t, let me just say that they damn well are! So I’m going with Penn State 34, Kent State 13.

Alabama Post Mortem

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Let me be the last to ring in with my comments about the Alabama game. Let’s face it: yesterday was the first full day of the 2010 NFL schedule, so who had time to blog, already? Soitenly not dis Turkey.

As you know by now, the then #18 Nittany Lions traveled to steamy Tuscaloosa to square off with the #1 Crimson Tide of Alabama on Saturday night. The results were not pretty. When the final gun sounded, Penn State had been able to muster only a single field goal, while Alabama had visited the end zone three times and kicked one through the uprights for a final score of 24-3. I won’t go into excruciating statistical details. You’ve probably already reviewed all of them and were as disgusted by them as I was, particularly with the four turnovers.

As outmatched as PSU was, they would have had to play a near perfect game to have a chance to win. While the turnovers in themselves did not lose the game for the Lions, not committing them might have kept the game closer. However, good defenses cause turnovers, and I think we can conclude that Alabama has a pretty damn good defense.

Other screwups compounded the problems for Penn State. Anthony Fera showed his human side with a couple of shanked punts that weren’t about to win any field position wars. In my pre-game column, I had expressed a great, big question mark about Fera’s punting, given that he had logged only one punt against weak Youngstown State. And, of course, our offensive line, still truly offensive and not yet ready for prime time, did its share of screwing up. We observed that DeOn’tae Pannell, our best apostrophed name, but a screw-up at guard, was relieved by frequent Paterno doghouse resident Johnnie Troutman, with whom he had been rotating during the YSU game. Troutman came in and promptly screwed up.

Looking across to the other guys, one has to conclude that Alabama is a legitimate number one team. Without two stars, Heisman winning running back Mark Ingram, and defensive end Marcell Dareus, arguably their best players on offense and defense, the Crimson Tide functioned nearly flawlessly, making dispatching the hapless Lions look easy.

When Ingram returns, he’s going to have a battle with Trent Richardson for playing time. Richardson is a monster who bench presses 460 lbs and runs like a bull, only faster. When he ran at the Lions’ strength, it was like that bull was running through a picket fence. Richardson rang up 144 yards and a touchdown. Watching him carry defenders on his back, I could see this guy playing in the NFL—like next Sunday!

Recalling my prediction of 38-6, this Turkey expected a poorer performance from Penn State. The defense was putrid, not forcing a single turnover while allowing the Tide to roll up over 400 yards, but they could have been putrider. Allowing 24 points instead of 38 averts at least some embarrassment, as does the offense managing to get a 3-pointer to avoid the insult of a shutout.

This Turkey was worried about injuries to PSU players’ bodies and psyches, particularly with respect to our young quarterback, Rob Bolden. Fortunately, Bolden avoided bodily injury, as his much maligned offensive line was able to provide protection such that through 29 pass attempts, he was not flattened a single time. The one serious physical injury occurred on the opening kickoff when Gerald Hodges, a decent special teams linebacker, rolled up his leg. It remains to be seen how deeply injured the Nittany Lions psyches might be, but was replacing Bolden with Kevin Newsome in the fourth quarter just a little stupid? Sure, Bolden is the starter and we don’t want to see him hurt, but wasn’t it a blow to his self-confidence? When you’re down in the fourth quarter, you want your starting quarterback in there with the game on his shoulders.

The game was a learning experience. It revealed the flaws in every unit, every component, every player the coaches put on the field.

Irascible head coach Joe Paterno declared in a turbid post-game free-for-all interview with the media that “We were outplayed and outcoached.” I think he might have been a little rough on himself and his staff. Frankly, I thought the game plan was fine, more aggressive than I thought it would be, given Paterno’s history of tightening up the anal sphincter for big road games. I had expected it to be a Woody Hayes style offensive game, but it was far from it. Bolden was given the green light to throw the ball downfield, pass on early downs, throw over the middle, and so forth. I think that the coaches realized that Alabama’s defensive line was not going to allow the struggling, suddenly ineffectual Royster any running room, particularly given the state of the PSU offensive line, so they knew they had to throw. Perhaps that this is what Paterno was so pissed off about after the game. They couldn’t play his kind of game!

Then again, there are haters like Ohio State homeboy David Jones of the Patriot-News, who gives me enough good reasons to pick on him, who say that Penn State’s game plan was too tight. Which game were they watching? Did they ever see a Paterno team with a green quarterback throwing repeatedly on first down? I didn’t think so.

I won’t dispute the notion that Penn State was outplayed. Hell, the results are right there on the scoreboard for all to see. Penn State players on offense, defense, and special teams were not sharp and couldn’t execute the plays given to them by the coaches. We want to blame the coaches when our team loses, but we can’t sit back acting stupid about a collection of players who as a whole lack the necessary talent and gumption to win big games. Desire can be coached only to a certain extent. If it doesn’t show up on the field, it isn’t the fault of the coaching staff. It’s da playaz, yo.

So, who of you perennial optimists out there are looking for an 11-1 season and a trip to the SSMNC?

I CAN’T HEARRRRRRRRRRR YOU!

Let me offer an apology, if I may. In my pre-game commentary, I got carried away in describing the adversity Rob Bolden would face in Bryant-Denny Stadium. “…[he] will be playing against the SSMNCs in a hostile stadium loaded with 100,000 rednecks yelling ‘Rooooooooll Tahd!!’ and hoping he gets his brains knocked out his nostrils.” Folks, that was offensive and I’m sorry I wrote it. Alabama fans have to be among the nicest, most football savvy fans in the nation. I can say this from personal experience over many years as well as the tweets from our fans who made the trip to Tuscaloosa. They’re not rednecks. They’re southern gentlemen and ladies who know the meaning of southern hospitality. If PSU is going to lose on the road, let it be places like Tuscaloosa where they have class and where they appreciate good football. Alas, there aren’t many such places left.

Back to what we learned from the game, our running game is in a shambles, and something must be done to shake up the squad. Sure, Alabama could make anybody trying to run on them look bad, but our backs sucked against the mighty FCS Penguins the previous week. What is it with Evan Royster. He had 32 yards on 9 carries. Stephfon Green couldn’t even top that, with 5 carries for 13 yards—a 2.6 ypc average. This is not even Woodyball. Two yards and a cloud of dust leads to three-and-out. Sophomore Devon Smith (2 for 8 yds) and freshman Silas Redd (5 for 26) yards looked better than their upperclassmen colleagues. Redd was particularly exciting, although by the time he got in, the game was well in hand for Alabama and their defense was getting weary. Nevertheless, I say give these two some more playing time and see what happens.

In summary, it was a beat-down. This was the wrong year to schedule Alabama, especially at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and especially on the anniversary of legendary Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s birth. Alabama comes to Beaver Stadium next year, and I hope to hell the Nittany Lions are ready for them by then. This year, they clearly weren’t.

I’ll be back later in the week with a look forward to the mighty Kent State Golden Flashes.