The first game of the season is around the corner, along with the excitement of the new season comes a lot of uncertainty. No one ever knows what to expect, everyone has their rave reviews, but there is always that excitement to see what the team looks like on that first Saturday of college football. There are two glorious things about the first game this year, we get a first look at the team's final depth chart and we get to do it against the likes of Youngstown State.
No disrespect to Youngstown State, but the fact of the matter is that we all know, as well as you all know that this game is a give me game. It's a great payout for the program as they cash in on a visit to Happy Valley, their kids get to play in a big time stadium, and they get to see how the measure up to a division I program. That's about as far as it goes for previewing the threat that we face against Youngstown State. Thank you for being our warm up for the season.
The truth though is that this is going to be one of the most exciting season openers we have had in recent years. There was so much competition in the offseason at a variety of positions, that this is going to be a competitive game throughout. For some players, it is a continuation of an audition for a starting spot for the upcoming season. Players are going to be fighting for spots all the way til the final bell this Saturday.
Yes, the first week depth chart was revealed this week, but if you take a close look we have three players listed at the starting QB position. This means one thing, that the first team offense will be playing the entire game this Saturday. We, as Nittany Nation, are going to get an in depth look at what each player has to offer for the upcoming season. We are actually going to be using the first game to build off of, rather than just taking care of business as usual and coasting till the final whistle.
For this Saturday, I would definitely keep a close eye on the QB race. What I would be looking for is not just the performance of the QBs throughout the game, but how we use each one. What does the play-calling look like for each guy, how does the rest of the team play under that guy, and what does the chemistry look like. My suspicions are that Newsome will be starting, with Bolden coming in to spell him at times. I would look for these guys to get the most repetitions. My reasoning behind this, the obvious, they each give us an edge that McGloin does not. They possess raw tools and potential that McGloin does not, and especially Newsome, he has an X factor in his ability to hit a home run at any given moment.
As for the rest of the offense, the only thing that I would keep an eye on would be the battle between Pannell and Troutman at left guard. Look for a nasty streak to develop from both of these players as they try to position themselves for a start in week 2 against Bama. Another thing I would be on the lookout for would be the chemistry of the wide receivers and the QBs. Lets see how this veteran group adjusts and builds confidence in our young QBs. Possible breakout players for this season in this group would include Shawney Kersey, and my personal favorite, Justin Brown. Look for Brown to come in and wreak havoc all over unsuspecting secondaries all season long, freeing Derek Moye to stretch the field vertically, and open up the underneath routes for Zug. Brown's coming out party will be key for this wide receiving corps.
Now for the defensive side of the ball, for once, I have absolutely no worries. We have a bunch of no names, excluding Astorino in the secondary, and Ogbu on the d-line, but I have never been so excited for a group of guys. This is possibly going to be the most athletic and exciting defense we have had in recent years. Especially with guys playing to make a name for themselves this year, it will be an absolute delight to watch.
To keep the breakdown simple, the defensive line has never been as big, fast, athletic, and deep as it is this year. The smallest guy at any DT position is listed at 300 pounds this year, and he's the most experienced in Ollie Ogbu. As for our starting ends, they top out at no less than 270 pounds, and are far more explosive across the board. Look for these guys to be in the backfield all day and opening up holes for all the Linebackers this Saturday.
As for the linebackers, I do not even need to go into any details. We have 6 starters and go about 7 to 8 players deep. No wonder they call us "Linebacker U"! Look for all of these guys to be all over the field, and look for Gerald Hodges to make a name for himself quick, as his playing style and explosion will make him a fan favorite from the get go. As for the secondary, this is the most consistent secondary we have had all around in the past 10 years. Consistent in size, physicality, speed, and ability. With one exception, Stephon Morris is listed at 5'8", but his physical style, speed, and athleticism makes up for what he lacks in height. One surprise though on the depth chart this week, is Chaz Powell listed at the starting CB ahead of Morris on the opposite side of D'Anton Lynn. This will be an interesting position to watch as both are starting caliber quarterbacks, however, Morris is more versatile as he matches up greater with guys in the slot.
Other than that, just enjoy the game this Saturday, and try not to give up on our guys too early if they make some mistakes. If adjustments need to be made, I'd rather see those mistakes against YSU than against Alabama. It'll be a great opportunity to make an assessment of our team, as well as enjoy one of the last winding Saturdays of the Summer.
Predictions:
- Look for Newsome and Bolden to further separate themselves as the top two candidates for the QBs for our team. (Possibly, make a case for a two QB system for the upcoming season)
- Look for a balanced attack on offense, as the coaches try to build come confidence in these young QBs.
- Look for Royster to get his fair share of touches, but what will be most intriguing will be the use of Dukes in goal line situations.
- Freshman to keep an eye on: Silas Redd in mop up duty as he makes a case for early playing time, Mike Hull and Khairi Fortt as they shore up special teams play, and Daquan Jones and Hailes working their way in on the defensive front.
- Gary Gilliam catches a touchdown pass and works the middle of the field.
- Lynn grabs an interception.
- Hodges hitting the gaps faster than the other linebackers.
- Better special teams play than last year.
WE ARE!!!!!!!!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
PSU Football 2010
Summer is ending, classes are starting, and college football is arriving and the season opener is just around the corner. We're now about halfway through preseason practice, which generally means one thing for Penn State football......speculation, speculation, and more speculation.
The number one problem going into camp as a member of the Penn State football team will always be speculation. This is a sad truth because the focus should be on the players, the position battles, and how these battles will affect the outlook of the upcoming season. However, there are two major factors that cause this cycle year in and year out.
The first, is the mindset and insecurity of the majority of those that follow Penn State football. A majority of the sports fans that follow Pennsylvania teams are just born with a major insecurity, a natural anxiety, and contagious negative mindset towards their sports teams. You can argue that this has developed over time due to the enormous amount of heartbreak that these fans have suffered, but that argument is not good enough for a state that boasts a self-titled "City of Champions" and the most recent success of Philadelphia teams in a plethora of professional sports (Philly fans speak for themselves).
This worry and negativity transfers over to the second and biggest contributor of speculation around a young and promising Penn State program. To make it plain and simple and to put it right out there, its terrible journalism. A majority of the writers and bloggers that cover Penn State Sports are also natives of the state of Pennsylvania. Their method of writing and presenting facts and the voice behind their narratives further instills negativity into their readers minds and hearts.
This type of journalism is terrible for a college sports program and does a great injustice to the players on this Penn State team every year. The way that these journalists report position battles does not always present the correct facts, spell out the progress of the players, or even give you a clear picture of what is truly happening in camp. The position battles are really one writer picking their favorite for that position, supporting their arguments based on potential and their judgments, and not reporting the facts of what is truly happening in camp. This is the first of many dominoes.
The next method to this madness are the hundreds of bloggers who read this initial article, make their own assumptions based on that writer's opinions, and provide their "own insight", which is truly the way they define another writer's opinion. In simple terms, they are not basing their articles and opinions on facts, but basing them off of another writer's "facts". They are stretching a minimal amount of information into their own truth, and no one is formulating their own opinion or breakdown of the truth because they fear being wrong.
That's what sports blogging and writing these articles is about. It's about writing stories based on the facts that you are given rather than the "facts" that you find. It's about reporting the truth and then coming to a conclusion of what you got from the truth, rather than turning your insecurities into safe assumptions out of the fear of being wrong. You report the truth and present your conclusion, pretty simple.
Okay, so now what is the purpose of making this argument in this post. It's short and simple, I'm sick and tired of all of the reports surrounding the Penn State Quarterback battle this fall. I have read over 50 different articles the past two weeks, and every single one of them have used the same quotations, made the same assumptions, and had the same conclusions. It's getting pretty tiresome and exhausting, it's like listening to a broken track on the radio.
Be honest, how many times since the beginning of camp have you read the following information:
"McGloin has the best leadership and command of the huddle....this makes up for the physical attributes he lack...blah blah blah, etc."
"Newsome has not secured the job yet, he is the best runner of them all, does not possess the leadership in the huddle, etc."
"Bolden is the best equipped of them all, most poised in the pocket, evades the rush, makes the right throw, just needs time in the playbook and offense, etc."
They are all saying the same thing because no one is looking at the facts and coming to their own conclusions. Because none of these writers want to be wrong in their conclusion, they come up with a safe resolution where they wont be proven wrong, and the safe way out is by creating speculation.
This is not fair to these guys that are competing for these spots. Poor guy Kevin Newsome has not even taken a snap as the first team QB and Penn State fans are calling for his head. The truth is that all of them have been making strides throughout preseason camp, and that neither of them have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. The truth is that the competition in camp will provide us with the best option to win.
No more assumptions that JoePa will not play a freshman, no more assumptions that McGloin will start because he brings more leadership, and no more assumptions that Newsome has been written off because they could have given him the red-shirt this year as well. They all bring something different to the table, and all their skills will be on display against Youngstown State on Sept. 4th.
As for my outlook for the Quarterback rotation for the first game of the season. Truly it depends on what happens throughout the rest of camp, but based on the facts now, I would say the Newsome would start, but McGloin and Bolden would also get reps. Whether we blow them out or not, look for the first team to get a lot of action in the first game as we are breaking these guys in. As for the starting Quarterback for the Bama' game, we'll just have to wait and see how the opener goes against Youngstown State.
But for now, keep your mind open, do not keep filling your mind with the same information from different articles, and watch the negativity. If you wonder why you are doubting the team, and hear yourself making the same arguments, you now know why. Be on the look out for terrible journalism, and get excited for the fall because Penn State football is headed in the right direction.
WE ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The number one problem going into camp as a member of the Penn State football team will always be speculation. This is a sad truth because the focus should be on the players, the position battles, and how these battles will affect the outlook of the upcoming season. However, there are two major factors that cause this cycle year in and year out.
The first, is the mindset and insecurity of the majority of those that follow Penn State football. A majority of the sports fans that follow Pennsylvania teams are just born with a major insecurity, a natural anxiety, and contagious negative mindset towards their sports teams. You can argue that this has developed over time due to the enormous amount of heartbreak that these fans have suffered, but that argument is not good enough for a state that boasts a self-titled "City of Champions" and the most recent success of Philadelphia teams in a plethora of professional sports (Philly fans speak for themselves).
This worry and negativity transfers over to the second and biggest contributor of speculation around a young and promising Penn State program. To make it plain and simple and to put it right out there, its terrible journalism. A majority of the writers and bloggers that cover Penn State Sports are also natives of the state of Pennsylvania. Their method of writing and presenting facts and the voice behind their narratives further instills negativity into their readers minds and hearts.
This type of journalism is terrible for a college sports program and does a great injustice to the players on this Penn State team every year. The way that these journalists report position battles does not always present the correct facts, spell out the progress of the players, or even give you a clear picture of what is truly happening in camp. The position battles are really one writer picking their favorite for that position, supporting their arguments based on potential and their judgments, and not reporting the facts of what is truly happening in camp. This is the first of many dominoes.
The next method to this madness are the hundreds of bloggers who read this initial article, make their own assumptions based on that writer's opinions, and provide their "own insight", which is truly the way they define another writer's opinion. In simple terms, they are not basing their articles and opinions on facts, but basing them off of another writer's "facts". They are stretching a minimal amount of information into their own truth, and no one is formulating their own opinion or breakdown of the truth because they fear being wrong.
That's what sports blogging and writing these articles is about. It's about writing stories based on the facts that you are given rather than the "facts" that you find. It's about reporting the truth and then coming to a conclusion of what you got from the truth, rather than turning your insecurities into safe assumptions out of the fear of being wrong. You report the truth and present your conclusion, pretty simple.
Okay, so now what is the purpose of making this argument in this post. It's short and simple, I'm sick and tired of all of the reports surrounding the Penn State Quarterback battle this fall. I have read over 50 different articles the past two weeks, and every single one of them have used the same quotations, made the same assumptions, and had the same conclusions. It's getting pretty tiresome and exhausting, it's like listening to a broken track on the radio.
Be honest, how many times since the beginning of camp have you read the following information:
"McGloin has the best leadership and command of the huddle....this makes up for the physical attributes he lack...blah blah blah, etc."
"Newsome has not secured the job yet, he is the best runner of them all, does not possess the leadership in the huddle, etc."
"Bolden is the best equipped of them all, most poised in the pocket, evades the rush, makes the right throw, just needs time in the playbook and offense, etc."
They are all saying the same thing because no one is looking at the facts and coming to their own conclusions. Because none of these writers want to be wrong in their conclusion, they come up with a safe resolution where they wont be proven wrong, and the safe way out is by creating speculation.
This is not fair to these guys that are competing for these spots. Poor guy Kevin Newsome has not even taken a snap as the first team QB and Penn State fans are calling for his head. The truth is that all of them have been making strides throughout preseason camp, and that neither of them have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. The truth is that the competition in camp will provide us with the best option to win.
No more assumptions that JoePa will not play a freshman, no more assumptions that McGloin will start because he brings more leadership, and no more assumptions that Newsome has been written off because they could have given him the red-shirt this year as well. They all bring something different to the table, and all their skills will be on display against Youngstown State on Sept. 4th.
As for my outlook for the Quarterback rotation for the first game of the season. Truly it depends on what happens throughout the rest of camp, but based on the facts now, I would say the Newsome would start, but McGloin and Bolden would also get reps. Whether we blow them out or not, look for the first team to get a lot of action in the first game as we are breaking these guys in. As for the starting Quarterback for the Bama' game, we'll just have to wait and see how the opener goes against Youngstown State.
But for now, keep your mind open, do not keep filling your mind with the same information from different articles, and watch the negativity. If you wonder why you are doubting the team, and hear yourself making the same arguments, you now know why. Be on the look out for terrible journalism, and get excited for the fall because Penn State football is headed in the right direction.
WE ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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