I am going to call this piece perspective because most of you Penn State fans need some. I know that I am coming right at you right off the bat, but I think that some of you need a nice serving of respect. It is 5 games into the season, in a rebuilding year and a majority of you are already calling for the head of JoePa, JayPa, and even Bolden. This leaves me to ask you one simple question, what is wrong with all of you???
Let me start off by saying that I completely understand where you are coming from. I know that a lot of you are frustrated by the way the team has been playing this year and the fact that the scores of those two games do not reflect the quality of our team. I know that a lot of you are pissed off by the poor defensive tackling, the lack of a figure in "Linebacker U", and most of all, the red zone struggles. I know that a lot of you believe that we should be doing a better job with the amount of talent and speed on this team as well. So I wanted to start off by letting you know that I know exactly where you are coming from.
Now here's the kicker, you ready for it? Open your eyes and lower your expectations, here's an idea, come back down to Earth. Realistically, what more can you expect out of a team that possesses 57 scholarship players (a division one team has 85 scholarship players) that are classified with freshman and sophomore eligibility. Yeah, we have the talent and the skill players at every position, but there is one thing this team does not have. They do not have the experience, PERIOD. The good news is, that they have been coming out and competing and working through their struggles, week in and week out.
No matter what has been happening this year, you all have been calling for the heads of the coaching staff and Bolden. You are the same people that were chanting for Morelli in 2005 after the South Florida and Cincinnati games. That same lot of you are calling for the head of JoePa and Bolden after two tough losses to arguably two of the top five teams in the country. I'm not saying that it is not okay to criticize the coaching staff, but be reasonable. It is one thing to question some of the decisions they made one week, but another to call for their careers. What you really need to do is put things in perspective and take a nice long look at yourself.
As my good friend Ed would say, "Take off the Blue and White Lenses and take a closer look", and what I'll say in return is "You really need to buy Les Miles a stop watch (Ed is an LSU fan)", but his point is a little more valid in our situation. The truth is that we have a very young team that is capable of very big things in the near future. The truth is that this very young team is facing the toughest schedule in the nation this year. This is the first time in BCS history that a team has had to play three defending BCS Bowl Champions (Iowa-Orange, Ohio State- Rose, Bama- National Champs) from the prior season, and if that is not enough, they have to play all three of these teams on the road during a rebuilding year. You getting it yet?
Turn the lens again. Refocus.
This young team has gone into two hostile environments and played very well. Some of you may argue that because you base success on wins, but that is because you're lens is clouded with emotion. Think about it, Penn State moved the ball well and had plenty of chances to score in both the Bama game and Iowa game, which is your main source of frustration, but you're missing the fact that they had success in two very hostile environments against two elite defenses. They did it all with a limited playbook and a true freshman at the QB position. Do I think Newsome would give us a better chance to win? Here's the point, it does not matter what I think about that because JoePa has never had a true freshman start at QB, and if Newsome gave us a better chance to win, do you think Bolden would be the starter?
Refocus.
There are reasons for these things, there is a reason why Bolden is started, and there are reasons why they are calling plays the ways they are. Granted, I don't agree with all the calls that they make, but I keep reminding myself to be patient, just as you should be. There is no way you win 400 ball games and coach for over 40 years if you don't know what you are doing. Yeah, some of you may have questions about JoePa being outdated, and maybe he is, but you need to refocus and realize that he has earned to right to call it quits on his own terms. The man is a great icon for the Penn State University, and if he didn't have it anymore, than we wouldn't have won more than fifty games since the year 2005. The worst record we've have since 2005 has been a 9-4 season, so obviously this guy knows what he's doing.
Turn it again.
Take a look at what we've got on the field rather than what we've got on paper. Yeah we have a bunch of four star and five star guys all over the field, but those ratings are based on raw talent and need development. The coaches have done a great job at developing players at Penn State, if you don't believe me, ask the likes of Josh Hull, Poz, Lee, Jay Alford, Hali, etc. Catch my drift, these were players that came into Penn State as unknown prospects that are now playing on Sundays. Just be patient and let these guys develop, build some chemistry, and get some experience.
Take another look.
Last week at Iowa there were a number of true freshman that were playing all over the field. Daquan Jones, Khairi Fortt, Glenn Carson, Kevin Haplea, Bolden, and a few more, and that is a good sign by the coaching staff. They could easily redshirt half these guys and get another year out of them, but they are getting them game time experience during a rebuilding year. When you're playing guys like this there are going to be some growing pains, miscues, and adjustments will be learned the hard way.
Also, when you're fielding a team that consists of that many underclassmen, it means that there is a lack of depth with experienced players, or injuries at key positions. If you take a closer look, Penn State has lost a lot of players to the Injury Report, including starters like Drake, Gilliam, Hodges, Szczerba, and Eliades. There's a saying that when you are playing thin, you are playing young, and when you play young, you sometimes play stupid. It does not mean that you go out there with a dumb game-plan, it just means that a lot of these players have a lot of learning to do.
Here's the upside, in a couple of years, we are going to have a team that is deep with talent and leadership. A team that is going to have the experience of tough games on the road and the knowledge to go with it. They will match any team in the country with their football IQ and will have chemistry like no other unit in the country. They will be one unit, knowing each others tendencies, playing at the same level and speed, and no more second guessing. On the eve on the National Championship game in a couple years from now, you will all look back and say, ""Man, who would've seen this coming, especially after that disappointing season in 2010". Myself and others who put things in perspective will be able to say, "I did" and smile as we get ready for kickoff.
Have a little faith, a little more patience, and at least some perspective and you will see it happening too. Then you too will be able to say that you saw it coming.
WE ARE............................
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