Monday, September 14, 2009

2-0 (1-1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Ohhhhhh Matty. Ohhhhhhh Matthew.

I saw it, I saw everything. I wish I could have been there to collect your tears.

I saw the better Tate scramble 40 yds for the touchdown. I saw the lesser Tate drop the two touchdowns - "He doesn't bobble balls - they hit his hands and hes got possesion." I saw the cool 2 point conversion where you thought you might be Boise State for a night. I saw the poor defense when it mattered most. I saw the two seconds disappear in Ann Arbor as they often do in big games. I saw some truth, hopefully you did too.

However I applaud you for laying your balls on the table and posting the unedited game diary, I'm sure it was hard to do. Just know that it was beautiful. I couldn't just skip right to the end, I needed to read the build up, the hope, I needed to picture you riding the bull and saying "giddyup" right before you wanted to crawl into a hole. It put me at ease, it really did. Tough loss buddy.


Penn State "struggled" again. We did, but still took care of business, ultimately tough to argue with that. It was the offensive line again, the rushing attack managed just 2.2 yards per carry. It's actually erie how similar PSU is looking to my Eagles these days. The Lions look like they're going to have to pass to set up the run. Right now I'm not confident that we can line up and run it between the tackles for 2 yards if we need to. See our very impressive 1st and goal from the 2 series in the first quarter if you don't believe me. Royster had no room, I don't know what we are expecting this kid to do without any space. Syracuse was stacking 8 in the box and we just kept throwing our backs to the slaughter. This type of play calling is not going to build confidence in a line that desperately needs it. I'd like to see us run more out of the 3 or 4 wr set instead of marching out the I formation every first down. This is best stated by Jay Paterno himself, whom I follow on Twitter, "Doing analysis of our offense so we can avoid predictability in key situations next week (vs Temple.) The importance of this cannot be overstated." I just need to see this in big games, the most success we're having so far
is with the intermediate to long passing game, I hope the coaches see this. This team may have an identity that doesn't fall in line with the traditional Blue and White, but it's our identity no less.

Clark looked sharp again, but at times did force some throws. Graham Zug had another big game hauling in 6 catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Paulus was confused and trying to scramble too much, I'm still kind of impressed with the kid tho, he's basically a true freshman.

Speaking of true freshman, Forcier. The Michigan game is now marked on my calendar as toughest test of the year. We NEVER win in Ann Arbor, and we do not defend the option well. Bowman should be healthy by then and I will feel slightly more comfortable if we are able to play some 3-4 against this team, but Dick Rod's offense proved effective in his time at West Virginia and it appears he's transformed this team quicker than people expected. It's back to Ohio St, Michigan and Penn State as the powerhouses in the Big 10, but unlike the old days, we have 0 national powerhouses until we prove otherwise.




Some Recruiting News:

Welcome Zach Zwinak! PSU recieved it's 11th 4 star commit today when Zach Zwinak (#1 rated fullback) committed. Our recruiting class so far has been stellar, we're getting almost everyone we go after. Rivals has us ranked #10, not accounting for Zwinak, and ESPN has us #5 . We
should be able to land LB Khairi Fortt, and hopefully we land either 5 star RB Marcus Lattimore or 5 star DT Sharrif Floyd as headliners and mayyybe land WR Kenny Stills or safety Sean Parker out of CA. PSU's classes seem to be inconsistent in recent years as far as the authorities are concerned but I can't say I've been disappointed in youngsters so far, we recruit to our needs well. We would have help on our current line if it wasn't for the dismissal of blue chipper Antonio Logan-El (would be senior) a couple years back and JB Walton (would be junior) quitting due to personal reasons two seasons ago. These were some of our best O Line recruits and the loss of them forced us to go after a couple JUCO guys just to have enough depth.


1 comment:

  1. 2008 Syracuse Rushing D was ranked 101st in the country. They gave up an average of 5.01 per carry and 189.42 per game with 18TDs. You cannot rate how good Clark is doing "again" (Avg Pass Ds 75th). In the Lions first 2 games, they would have been better off scheduling 2 Blue vs. White games to get ready for Big Ten play. Akron (ranked 100 in 2008 rush D), Syracuse with their version of a Rudy story at QB...SOFT. Based on the performances of these two teams so far, I would much rather be the 1-1 Irish. They went into the Big House and played balls to the wall. In the end, they came up short but looked solid all around. Clausen looks like he for once may be the real deal...MAYBE. But hey, at least PSU finally straps up for a real challenge this week vs. the Owls of Temple. 2008 Rush D 87th. Pass D 80th!!!!! Its gonna be a crazy one. Is Gameday going to be there?

    ReplyDelete