Blue-White Weekend

What a wonderful day for Penn State football!

You never know who you might run into . . .

 Look! I'm Jay Walking, ...er, Jay Standing!

I will offer a few more thoughts on the Blue-White game later . . . But this morning I will be running in the Beaver Stadium Run, sponsored by the Paterno family, and benefitting Special Olympics! The finish line is the 50-yard line! That has a vague ring to it! ;)

The New Big Ten Trophy

Jay Paterno

I'll be the first to admit that I've been hard on Jay paterno over the years, re his playcalling, coaching results on the field and qualifications for his current position.  But man, this whole situation just goes so far beyond football.  I can't imagine having my father go through something like this at age 75, let alone 84.

Say It Ain't Jay, Joe

While Penn State fans may ardently debate and be unable to agree on whether Bolden or McGloin should start, very few fans debate the obvious.  Penn State's Offense sucks.

The question is why?

I probably won't get many dissidents if I suggest one of the problems involves the coaching staff.  And namely, Joe's son, who coincidentally, became the Quarterbacks Coach in 2000 and has been calling offensive plays at least since Galen Hall joined the staff in 2004.

Here's how the Penn State Offense has performed (national rankings) since 2000:

Year			Offense		Record	Percentage
		Rushing	Passing	Total
2000		62	84	84	5-7	0.42
2001		88	54	79	5-6	0.45
2002		10	72	14	9-4	0.69
2003		90	86	103	3-9	0.25
2004		81	90	104	4-7	0.36
2005		14	74	33	11-1	0.92
2006		43	58	53	9-4	0.69
2007		29	75	55	9-4	0.69
2008		17	37	14	11-2	0.85
2009		41	39	37	11-2	0.85
2010		74	52	68	7-6	0.54
2011		66	106	103	2-1	0.67
Average		51.25	68.92	62.25	86-53	0.61
Paterno				pre-2000	317-83-3	0.79
				current	403-136-3	0.75

With the exception of 2002, Larry Johnson, Jr.'s senior year, no aspect of the offense has ranked higher than 14th.  They were 10th behind a senior laden line in 2002.

Proponents of Jay Paterno point to the "successes" of Michael Robinson and Daryll Clark.  I submit to you that these two athletes succeeded in spite of the system, not because of it.  Robinson had only one year, went 11-1, but the passing offense only ranked 75th in the nation.  For the most part, he was misused in the offense before that year.

Clark led the team for two years, 2008-9, and posted back to back 11 win seasons.  But he looked worse as a QB his senior year (IMHO) and the stats bear out that the offense as a whole was worse in 2009.  In other words, he was not developed.  He may have regressed a little.

The only quarterbacks who seem to succeed (as defined by winning, since none of the passing offense ranking support success) are those that can run the ball and make things happen when the play that was called falls apart.  A lot of that is instinct and athleticism--not coaching.  In fact, I remember when they tried to force Michael Robinson not to run outside a circle during practice.  How insane is that?

If you take Clark's numbers out of the list, the average passing offense ranking is 75.1 (out of 115-120 schools.)  Not even in the top 50% of all schools.

Two quarterbacks have left the program, and their loss may have hurt us, especially now in terms of depth.

No quarterback has been drafted by the NFL purely as a quarterback.

Is it the quarterbacks coach?  Is it the play-calling system of Hall calling running plays and Jay calling pass plays?  Is it a combination of these things?

Over the years, speculation and rumors have flown regarding the idea that Joe Paterno wants Jay to succeed him as the next Penn State head coach.

Ten years or so ago, I would have scoffed at that rumor.

Now . . . I'm not so sure.

Fran Ganter went from assistant head coach to a desk job.  Galen Hall has come in, but it seems pretty clear that Hall will retire when Joe does.  Tom Bradley was encouraged by Paterno to apply for other head coaching jobs.  Why would Joe want to replace a fixture on the sideline like Tom this late in his career?  Maybe it was to get rid of an obstacle to the succession plan?

Assuming that Dick Anderson, Galen Hall and Bill Kenney are either too old or not in the succession plan, the only person on staff with more seniority than Jay is Tom.  Had Bradley taken another job, Larry Johnson would likely have taken over as defensive coordinator.  He has 16 years of experience at Penn State.  Jay has 17.  THINK ABOUT THAT.

Paterno has insisted or insinuated over the years that he wants the next coach to come from within the program--that is, when he's willing to talk about it.  How can you be 84 years old and never thought about retiring?  I'm not saying there aren't people 84 and older who are still active in their profession, but surely they have at least given the thought of retirement some consideration at some point.  Slowly but surely, the various candidates to replace Joe have fallen along the wayside, leaving Jay one Tom Bradley away from being the most likely candidate FROM WITHIN.

Keep in mind that this conspiracy theory is not predicated on whether this scenario could happen.  Rather, the whole thing is based on whether or not Joe thinks he could make it happen.

Several other things have surfaced this year which have me concerned.  One is the sudden press that the younger Paterno is receiving.

The September-October issue of the The Penn Stater has a feature article on Jay.

They don’t like his politics. They don’t like his hobbies. And they’re pretty sure he can’t coach. Jay Paterno hears the critics, but he pays them no mind. He’s got his hands full as a father, husband, writer, political activist, and, yes, football coach.

Imagine how they’d feel if he one day inherits his father’s job. This is the nightmare scenario of Penn State football conspiracy theorists, the thought of Jay Paterno someday ascending to the throne. At this, the alleged heir apparent just laughs.

"Who wouldn’t want to be head coach here? Yeah, that would be fantastic, but it’s going to be somebody else’s decision," Jay says. "The worst thing you can do to put Joe in a bad mood is say, ‘Hey, when you retire…’, so we don’t talk about it. There is no great conspiracy, there is no plan, and I’m in no hurry to see it happen."

And then the Nittany Lion Club Newsletter featured Jay Paterno as well.

Heʼs one of the most visible assistant coaches in major college football—the head coachʼs son, a Penn State alumnus and a former Penn State football letterman who has coached at three other schools and helped produce numerous standout performers during a 21-year career.

Doesn't that sound like we're padding the resumè?  The other three schools were Virginia (3yrs as graduate asst.), Connecticut (wide receivers and tight ends-1yr.) and James Madison (quarterbacks-1yr.)  He 'played' for Penn State, but I'm not sure he ever threw a pass in that capacity.  He was not a starting QB.  Numerous stand out performers?  Clark and Robinson aside (and I'm not convinced they stood out because of Jay,) who are these standouts of which they speak????



And then this past week, Joe Paterno said this about his son and the non-loss over Temple:

Fourth-down confusion: It was widely reported after Saturday's game that most of the assistant coaches wanted to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Temple 3, a decision that helped PSU win the game. JoePa remembers it differently and gave all the credit to his son, the quarterbacks coach. "Everybody wanted to kick the ball except Jay Paterno," he said. "We would have kicked that ball if it wasn't for Jay. Jay said, 'No, we'll put it in, we'll get it in.' And he said something to the quarterbacks about, 'Hey, you tell those guys they've got to get it in.' And we got it in."

So why didn't he tell them to do that earlier, instead of waiting for fourth down in the closing minutes of what would have been a devastating upset to this program?  Seriously, why did Paterno feel the need to point this out to the media?  Is there a hidden (maybe subconscious) agenda?

What do you think?

Play Calling in the Red Zone

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

Who will be next to get the ball?

While at first glance, the options seem wide open--Newsome, McGloin, Bolden, Jones, and I even heard a rumor of Brett Brackett reprising his role as QB--Penn State fans might as well accept reality.

Newsome will be our starting quarterback.

While that isn't the end of the world, it isn't necessarily the best option.

According to Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Newsome may not be ready.

Penn State sophomore quarterback Kevin Newsome has plenty of work to do to convince his teammates and coaches that he is the right man for the starting job.
But, with spring drills set to start today, many of those same people have privately questioned whether he is the top candidate to lead Penn State's offense.

I heard similar rumors--he wasn't ready--at the end of the season last year. 

Historically, Penn State (read: JOE PATERNO) plays the more senior QB.  There have been exceptions, but if you are a gambling man, the safe money is on Newsome.

Newsome is the only one of the group with any significant collegiate playing time, but he barely edges out McGloin in that category.  Bolden won't even be on campus until the fall, so you can pretty much write him off now.  Think redshirt for him.

The only reason to move Bracket back to QB is if you are planning on reshirting both Jones and Bolden, and you want to strengthen the depth chart.

But between you and me . . . it doesn't matter.

I am normally the Kool Aid drinker.  I look at the world through blue and white colored glasses.  I predicted an undefeated season in 2000.  I usually chastise writers/bloggers who predict doom and gloom in the preseason.  But even I can't stomach enough Kool Aid or find glasses blue enough to make this season look good.

Let's consider the schedule:

YOUNGSTOWN STATE
@ Alabama
KENT STATE
TEMPLE
@ Iowa
ILLINOIS
@ Minnesota
THEM
NORTHWESTERN
@ Ohio State
@ Indiana (Fed Ex Field)
MICHIGAN STATE

Pretty sure wins:  (2) YSU and Kent State
Probable wins: (2) Temple, Indiana
Can we really be sure?: (5) THEM, Northwestern, Minnesota, MSU, Illinois
Likely losses (3): Bama, Iowa, OSU (not coincidentally, all three are on the road!)

The success of the season, at least in terms of wins and losses, will come down to the category "Can we really be sure?"  I think you can argue that we should be able to win all of those games.  But I also wouldn't be too eager to wager money on any of them.

I submit to you that said success is not wholly dependent on which QB wins the job (and it will be Newsome.)  Instead, I fear the offense will be subjected to Paternoism.

Joe Paterno doesn't play the best QB--but the most experienced.  Of course, the job will be "wide open" until opening day.

Joe Paterno doesn't want an inexperienced QB (and even Newsome is inexperienced) to get rattled.  I would be surprised to see any passes over the middle.  I think we will see handoffs on first and second down and QB draws on third and long.  We will cheer for two yard pass plays thrown to the sideline.  I pray that I am wrong, but I have followed Paterno's formula far too many seasons to expect anything else.
 
I forsee this formula turning into an ugly mess in Tuscaloosa.  Our defense will be good enough to keep us in most games, but I think the offense is going to be scaled so far back that we will be getting plays from stone tablets instead of PlayStation.
 
Jay Paterno played Q and A with ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, Part 1 and Part II.  Here's a sprinkling of responses . . .
 

Jay Paterno: When we go out Friday and Saturday to practice, they're [the new QBs] not going to be able to handle everything that Daryll did, but you continue to build toward that. You have your base building blocks, things that are bread-and-butter plays for you [handoffs and draws], and things that they ran last fall, so you've just got to build off that.
 
How different will this spring be for you with so many young guys on the field?


Jay Paterno: Obviously, it's a lot different. You can't immediately do all the things we did last year with Daryll. [Roll back the playbook like they roll back prices at Walmart!]

What are your expectations, realistically, for these guys, and where would you like to see them at the end of the spring?

JP: It's hard to say where you want to see them. . . hopefully we can get those guys to move beyond that and be able to add some things and continue to grow. And I think they will be able to.
 
JP: You always wish you'd played the second guy and the third guy more than you did. There's really nobody in the country who would tell you differently.  And the answer is, "Well, do you want us to stick him in there in the third quarter against LSU when we're in a tight game? [No, but there were a lot of other games they could have gotten more playing time!]

 
Granted, no coach knows for sure how any replacement is going to perform.  So words like "hopefully" and "I think" should not be over-read.  But wouldn't it have been comforting to read some quotes about how great the progress is already?

If you watch how other schools handle things like this--think of Colt McCoy's replacement in the Texas title game--you didn't see the offense go into a shell, playing not to lose, and holding things back to make the new guy comfortable.  Things are different at Penn State.  The starter goes down, and the staff scrambles to change the plays to protect the new QB.  Again, I don't want to deal in absolutes--sometimes you have to change things because different QBs have different styles.  But for the love of God, can we at least call some innovative plays that have a chance of success, and perhaps the team can learn from any mistakes made?  I'd rather go down whiffing on a fast ball than taking the final pitch.  TRY TO WIN.  Is it possible that the reason we seem to take so much time developing QBs is that they never have a chance to learn from mistakes--that the playbook is spoon fed to them too slowly???

So what do you think?

Coaching Carousel

Penn State fans don't understand these coaching changes. For Nittany Lion fans 44 years old or younger, they only know of one coach ever at PSU. For those as old as 60, there have been only two coaches at Penn State. Notre Dame had three in one year, if you count O'Leary!

We have been immune to these upheavals, spared the gut wrenching emotions and pure anger that fanbases across the nation are dealing with.

22 schools will change coaches (maybe more before all is said and done.) For 120 FCS schools, that's 18% of the representation.

Jay Paterno reflects on the situation:

As a professional lifer in college coaching I am unhappy about the current state of my profession. The big money and media attention has altered the pressures and the dynamics of the job.

The word "coach" has been a title of respect. A college or high school coach has a great responsibility; he or she needs to remember that the sport is a part of a larger academic life for the student-athlete. The word "coach" should encompass the roles of educator, mentor, guidance counselor and manager of on-field duties.

The past few days have seen seismic movements in the world of college football coaching where vacancies have occurred at two of the more notable programs in the country.

This profession has lost touch with the reality of the world around us, and some coaches have lost touch with what the mission of our profession should be.

The astronomical explosion in coaching salaries continues at a time of 10 percent unemployment in America and exploding tuition costs burdening working class families.

I am not saying that every coach should take a vow of poverty or stay at his school for three decades, but we must remember what has made ours a noble profession. It is the mission of our profession: the use of sport to help young men transition from high school and prepare them for the world that awaits them after college.

To be fair, you can not solely blame the coaches. On the flipside, we have seen coaches fired after just two or three years — not even enough time to recruit a class that reaches its senior year.

The freedom to move around and the big paydays all come with a cost — you never get anything for free. What we’ve lost is the stability of our profession. In the end, the student-athletes are the ones left holding the bill.

I don't know that there is any easy answer to this. Legally, you have to respect the coach and the University to sign whatever agreement they see fit. Any kind of global cap on salaries might be in violation of Anti-Trust Laws. Remember, the NFL cap is a mutually agreed upon limit set on teams--not on individual player salaries. Are Universities going to agree to caps on their employees--ie if they pay their head coach more, they have to pay other personnel, such as the University President, less? Should coaches have to sit out a year? Could that even be enforced?

You might feel bad for the student-athlete caught in this transition. The new coach--not the one who recruited you--may have a system that you don't fit into. But that didn't stop Mallett from leaving Ann Arbor, and there is little loyalty when players are ready to jump to the NFL, sometimes in their SOPHOMORE year! The system is a viscious cycle feeding on greed.

Success Story

Jay Paterno has a story to tell, and this one is worth the read.

Saturday was the 3rd Annual Penn State Football Letterman’s Golf Outing and 128 former Penn State Football players took part. Student-Athletes from teams in the 1950s all the way through the current decade gathered for golf, but more importantly to catch up with former teammates and to meet other people who share a proud tradition.

At the dinner following the Penn State Football Letterman’s Golf Outing, Justin Kurpeikis got up to introduce a very special former Penn State Nittany Lion. It would turn out to be a moment that none of us there will ever forget.He introduced one of his teammates—Rick Slater. Most Penn State fans will not recall his name, number or what position he played—but they should know his name for what he’s done since college.

Rick’s path to becoming a Penn State Football student-athlete was an unconventional one. He graduated from high school in Flint, Michigan in 1988. Before coming to Penn State, he served 8 years in the military, primarily as a Navy Seal. He enrolled at Penn State in 1997 and decided to try and walk-on to the football team—at the tender age of 28 years old.

He made the team, and although he didn’t see a lot of game action he made lasting impression on all of us. He became a great influence on a lot for younger players who looked up to him once they knew this “old” guy’s story.

When I’d walk through the locker room, Lavar Arrington, Brandon Short, Justin
Kurpeikis and other guys who were big-time players for us would be gathered around his locker listening to him tell stories. I remember hearing one about a monkey in Panama who refused to get out of Rick’s jeep.In the summer work-outs the toughest part of the running is the phase when our guys finish by running twelve 300 yard sprints. To accommodate the team they used to have three running groups, one at 6 a.m., one at 7 a.m. and one at 8 a.m. Rick would show up at 6 a.m. and make all the times for the 300 yard sprints. Then he’d stick around and do it again and again—passing the times for ALL thirty-six 300 yard sprints.

Through that, he earned the respect of his teammates, but also in so many other ways.

He became the oldest college football player in the country during the 1999 season when he started camp as a 30-year old junior.In his senior year an injury ended his football career, but he went out for the boxing team. All he did was go out and win the National Championship in his weight class.

As Justin Kurpeikis introduced him, he explained that after college Rick was going on with his life until September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks on this country changed the course of Rick’s life. Rick knew what he had to do—he re-enlisted as a Navy Seal.

By the time he stood up to speak to the group assembled last night, he had completed a total of 5 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and will be heading back again. But even those facts aren’t what hit us all.It was what Rick said to all of us.“The fact that we all played for Penn State and for Joe Paterno, in my mind, makes us all brothers. My time on this team is among the most meaningful things I’ve ever done in my life. We are all better men for having played for Joe Paterno and these coaches.”

Then he pointed to the belt he was wearing, and we all recognized it as a belt you would wear in your football pants.“

This belt I’m wearing, is the belt I wore in my football pants on Saturdays at Penn State. I wear it today, but this belt has also been with me ever since I left here. It’s been with me when I jumped out of airplanes at 25,000 feet on oxygen at night, it has been on all my missions. I wear it for all the guys who played at Penn State—all the guys who played before me and all the guys who will play after me.”

All I can say is WOW.