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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Once, twice, three times a lady…

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No, we’re not writing about Lionel Ritchie. The subject today is former Nittany Lion All-Everything tailback Larry Johnson, Jr., who finds himself in yet another scrape with the law involving assault on a woman, according to the Kansas City Star. This is the third time in the past five years that he has been arrested for similar offenses; hence, the title of this article.

Is it any wonder that the hopeless NFL Kansas City Chiefs have repeatedly tried to trade their brooding, misunderstood, pain-in-the-ass All-Pro star? And is it any wonder that in spite of Johnson’s size and proven ability on the field, no NFL team has expressed any interest in him? With the trade deadline looming, Johnson has been on the block, but no one cares. Meanwhile, several teams are clamoring to obtain the services of Larry’s teammate, Tony Gonzalez, who requested a trade.

Johnson has repeatedly criticized each of his coaches, just on general principles. Much of the time it relates to how many carries this prima donna is getting. He also criticized his college coach, Joe Paterno, and his first NFL coach, Dick Vermeil, for being old. Since joining the NFL, the big halfback has always viewed the glass as half empty. He pulled the same crap back at Penn State during his college career.

The man known as gran-mama is a study in contrasts with his father, Penn State defensive line coach Larry Johnson, Sr., who is a gentleman and a positive influence.

Johnson, Jr. managed to avoid conviction for his two previous assault charges. I suppose he has enough money to make things happen in his favor. Just a thought.

Is the Steelers’ season over?

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On Monday night, the Steelers lost right guard Kendall Simmons and running back Rashard Mendenhall for the season. Simmons tore his right achilles tendon and Mendenhall had his left shoulder shattered by a clean hit by Ray Lewis.

Earlier in the season, Willie Parker had gone down with a sprained knee. The Steelers are down to one healthy running back, Mewelde Moore, who didn’t impress this Turkey very strongly with his performance in the Ravens game. Furthermore, fullback Cary Davis also went down with an ankle injury, so the Steelers are down to former Nittany Lion Sean McHugh, who isn’t even listed on the depth chart at that position but played some fullback on Monday night. McHugh was signed as a third-string tight end.

Now, the Steelers have re-signed Najeh Davenport, who they had dumped, and they might bring back Gary Russell, a Minnesota product who played on the practice team.

Parker will not play against Jacksonville on Sunday and it is not known whether he’ll be ready to play Cincinnati on October 19. The bye week in between is fortunate, but it won’t heal Mendenhall and Simmons.

Try and pick up a starting right guard at this point in the season, willya?

It looks like the Steelers are in trouble, but when life is dealing lemons, guys like Tomlin make lemonade.