SB Nation - Nerraw McCormack

Senior Day Haiku

BSD — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:33 -0000

by Carlos Osorio - AP

This Saturday will mark the fourth senior day in the history of this fine blog. Tomorrow afternoon 18 seniors will run out of the tunnel for the last time wearing the Blue and White. Some of them will go on to try to earn a roster spot in the NFL. Others will go on to lead successful careers in business and life. Some are stars. Some are little known walk ons. They got up every day at 5 AM for four years to lift weights and run sprints so they could put on a show for us twelve Saturdays a year. They are heroes. They are legends. They are Penn State football.

If you're new to BSD this season, we have a tradition where we honor all of the senior players, from the All Americans to the third string long snapper, with a little ditty we call Senior Day Haiku. Feel free to add your own Haiku in the comments. We'll go in alphabetical order.

P - Jeremy Boone

He must hate the ball
Holy Cow did you see that?
He just hit the moon!

QB - Daryll Clark

Roll out and go deep
Never good enough for some
Just short of legend

TE - Brennan Coakley

You might have been good
Just too many injuries
We will never know

DE - Tom Golarz

Did you notice that
Golarz rhymes with solarz?
That is all I got

DE - Jerome Hayes

I still remember
You sacking Jimmy Clausen
Man, that was awesome

LB - Josh Hull

Went from suck to good
It must have been the mustache
Bow-chicka-bow-bow

OL - Dennis Landolt

Quiet performer
Right or left doesn't matter
I got your back, Clark

LB - Sean Lee

Your torn ACL
Brought you back another year
We're thankful for that

WR - Patrick Mauti

Sorry ‘bout the knee
Wait, you're not the linebacker?
Your brother is good

OL - Nerraw McCormack

You waited your turn
Got your chance but hurt yourself
Wasn't meant to be

CB - Shelton McCullough

Ran out the tunnel
I would kill to do that once
Gradulations, dude

DT - Jared Odrick

You know I own you
Double team? Doesn't matter
Running back is mine

LS - Andrew Pitz

The unheralded
Long snappers are people too
You did a good job

OL - Ako Poti

Please don't let Clark die
Nightmares of Heyward haunt me
Please, God, make it stop

TE - Andrew Quarless

Crossing the middle
Missed a block and dropped a pass
Joe's dog house must suck

TE - Mickey Shuler

Like father like son
All you did was play steady
Paterno likes that

CB - Knowledge Timmons

What was that blue streak?
Knowledge gunning the sideline
Look out return man

CB - A.J. Wallace

High expectations
Joe says too loosey goosey
Cover-3 just blows

Michigan Penn State Question and Answer with Black Shoe Diaries

Maize n Brew Dave — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:39:40 -0000

We're two days away from the Michigan Penn State Game, and dammit, we're excited here at Maize n Brew. In the interest of gaining as much inside information as possible, we tracked down Mike from Black Shoe Diaries at his bunker in northern Siberia and forced him to answer some questions. Well. Not really. Mike tracked me down and roused me from my two week slumber and forced me to talk about Michigan. He also had me sign all sorts of papers, including something in hindsight I'm certain was a power of attorney. I'll deal with that later...

Mike's posted my answers over at Black Shoe Diaries for the Penn State crazies to pick apart. So now's my turn. Here's all you intel on Penn State.

On to the Questioning!!

Maize n Brew Dave: Injuries are going to play a big part in this game. Is Sean Lee actually going to play on Saturday? Who else is banged up for Penn State and who, if anyone, is out for the game?

Black Shoe Diaries: The word is that Sean Lee is going to play. Last week against Minnesota he saw the field for about 15 snaps before he felt a "twinge" in his knee and they shut him down. On Monday he said the knee is sore, but he's practicing this week so that's a good sign.

Stephfon Green is most likely out with an ankle injury. So there will be no repeat of last year's 80 yard screen pass. This probably means more carries for Evan Royster in the game. Penn State likes to limit him to about 15 touches, but now he'll probably get over 20. Durability has been an issue with him in the past, but he has held up pretty good this year.

My big concern is at right tackle where Penn State is basically down to the ham sandwich. DeOn'tae "Insert Random Punctuation and Capitalization Wherever You Want" Pannell and Nerraw McCormack are both trying to recover from ankle injuries. Last week Penn State had to start junior college transfer Ako Poti in their place. I'm sure Poti was just thrilled to see Evan Royster getting Brandon Graham fired up in the media this week.

MnB Dave: How good a feel do you have for this year's Nittany Lion Squad? We all knew there'd be turnover this year, but I've seen so many different things out of PSU (good and bad) that I really don't know how to gauge them. At 6-1, Penn State has only one marquee game on the resume and that was a loss at home. Minnesota and Temple are arguably your best wins (both at 4-2). Are you satisfied that you know what to expect game in, game out from this squad?

BSD: So far the season has pretty much gone like I expected. I knew there were going to be games where the offensive line didn't look so good. That's just part of replacing four starters. I was hoping they would use this soft schedule in the beginning of the year to come together, and for the most part they have done that. They're playing well now and Evan Royster has averaged 112 yards his last three games. He only managed 102 yards against Akron and Syracuse combined.

I did not expect the receivers and secondary to perform as well as they have. Derek Moye has been a pleasant surprise. He's fifth in the conference in receiving yardage and he has become Daryll Clark's favorite target. The secondary is leading the conference in pass defense and held Eric Decker to just one catch last week. D'Anton Lynn and Stephon Morris have played really well at cornerback which was the position I most worried about on this team before the season.

Penn State has used the soft schedule to play themselves into a good team, but unfortunately they weren't ready in time to play Iowa.

MnB Dave: I have to do this. Why do Penn State fans call one win a "streak"?

BSD: I agree with you. That's ridiculous. That's why I prefer to call it 761 days since Michigan last beat Penn State.

(more questioning after the jump....)

MnB Dave: As much as I fear Royster, Clark seems to consistently be the PSU player most responsible for Penn State's wins and losses. Whether this premise is right or wrong, give us a brief look at Clark's positives and negatives. Where does he excel and where does he come up short?

BSD: First and foremost, I love Clark's leadership. The team really responds to him and believes in him. It's completely evident in their play. He's tough. He'll lower his shoulder and fight for that extra yard, or he'll run down field and throw a block if the play comes back his way. Players love that in their quarterback. On top of that, he's just a good quarterback. His mechanics are sound and for the most part he makes the right decisions.

But he does have some flaws. He's a really emotional player. In big games he tends to come out a little too amped up and he'll overthrow some guys until he gets settled down. And sometimes he will have a mental breakdown if you can get him frustrated. Teams that can get pressure on him can force him into making some unadvised throws. Iowa did this very well as did USC and Ohio State last year. The manual for defensing Daryll Clark should say "GET TO THE QUARTERBACK" in big bold letters at the top.

MnB Dave: What game this season is most representative of this PSU team, good and bad? Why?

BSD: That's a tough question to answer because this team is so different than they were at the beginning of the season. They're playing much more like a unit than they did against Akron and Syracuse. But at the same time, their best games have come against Illinois and Minnesota...not exactly World beaters, so I'm a bit hesitant to get too excited. So I'll cop out and answer in cliche. You're only as good as your last game, which happens to be a 20-0 shutout over Minnesota.

MnB Dave: I'm gonna turn the tables on you, what part of the Michigan offense and defense do you think you can take advantage of?

BSD: On offense I think Penn State should be able to pass the ball against the Michigan secondary. Clark is good at spreading the ball around and finding the open man. If Evan Royster can get going in the running game, Penn State could get some big plays off of play action.

On defense, I think Penn State should be able to get to Tate Forcier and pressure him into making some quick decisions. They have a good pass rush, and the linebackers are always active in their blitzing. Penn State has even been mixing in some corner blitzes here and there which is new for a Tom Bradley defense. If they can fluster Forcier, I think the defense can come away with a few turnovers.

MnB Dave: Let's go the other way, what part of the Michigan offense and defense causes you consternation and heart palpitations?

BSD: I'm worried about the Michigan running game. I must admit I did not realize how good they were until I looked at the stats this week. The zone read options are going to test the linebackers and defensive ends. If Sean Lee is healthy, I'm not one bit worried about he and Navorro Bowman defending the edges. But our defensive ends are still pretty green and haven't seen a lot of zone read option offenses. They did a good job against Juice Williams and Illinois, but Michigan is more athletic with their running backs.

And on offense, like I said before, as long as the offensive line keeps Daryll Clark upright and gives him time to throw, they'll be fine. The offense is balanced enough that they can take advantage of whatever the defense is trying to do.

MnB Dave: I've made my prediction, now it's your turn. Make your prediction.

BSD: Well, I have to go with Penn State. On paper they have more talent, more depth, and more experience than Michigan. I feel good about this game, but then I felt good going into Ann Arbor in 2005 and 2007. Something about Maize and Blue makes Joe Paterno pucker up. I think this game will be close, but like I said, I have to go with the good guys. Penn State wins 27-24.

Special thanks to Mike at Black Shoe Diaries for putting this together and for his great answers. I hope his whole team comes down with swine flu prior to the game.

Grading The Penn State Offense Against Minnesota

BSD — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:22 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

2 months ago: Penn State running back Evan Royster (22) runs for a gain after taking the hand off from quarterback Daryll Clark (17) as Minnesota tackle Brandon Kirksey (96) dives during the second half of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Penn State won 20-0. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Though 20 points may not look like much against a pedestrian defense like the Golden Gophers, further drilling down into the stats shows just how much Penn State dominated this game. The Nittany Lions amassed 464 yards of total offense to Minnesota's 138. They accumulated 21 first downs to Minnesota's 7. They held the ball for just shy of 42 minutes with no turnovers and no sacks. The only thing keeping the score down on Saturday was the weather, lousy field position, and some inopportune penalties that stopped some drives just short. But overall it was a solid performance by the offense. Let's grade them out.

Quarterbacks

Daryll Clark started a little slow and had trouble connecting with his receivers in the early going. He only hit one of his first four passes for just six yards to Graham Zug in the first two drives, and both of them stalled. But then he got things going and led Penn State on drives of 12 plays, 10 plays, 12 plays, 6 plays, 13 plays, and 10 plays. He showed terrific pocket awareness and he checked down to the open man instead of trying to take deep passes that weren't there. At the end of the day his stat line looked like this.

vs Minnesota / 10.17.09	Passing					Rushing
	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD
Daryll Clark	21	32	70.0	287	1	8	8	1.0	1

I can't really complain about that. Maybe it's not appropriate after the poor game he played against Iowa, but it's not unrealistic in this year with no clear front runner to think that Daryll Clark might have a chance to climb back in the Heisman race. He'll have to keep performing on this level through tough games against Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State coming up.

Final Grade: A

Running Backs

I thought Evan Royster looked as good as he has all year. He was decisive and patient in using his blocks well. After the game Joe said Royster had a tough time shaking the flu which drained his energy. This week he finally looked like the Royster of old effortlessly ripping off some nice runs. It's good to have him back.

vs Minnesota / 10.17.09	Rushing				Receiving
	Rush	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Evan Royster	23	137	6	0	2	23	11.5	0

Stephfon Green left the game with yet another ankle injury. No word yet on how serious it is. Of course this meant more carries for Royster who had a season high 23 on Saturday. With 641 yards on the season he's on pace to finish around 1100 yards before the bowl season, but if Green can't go you have to figure Royster's carries are going to go up so we may have to revise that total upward.

Final Grade: A

Receivers

Who's the best wide receiver in the Big Ten? I would say Eric Decker. But right after him it might be Derek Moye. Moye is fifth in the conference in receiving yards despite having nearly 20 catches less than the guys around him in the standings. He's averaging less than four catches per game, but a whopping 17.5 yards per catch. He is clearly Clark's favorite target and it's easy to see why. He's got speed to get open deep. He has the size to outjump most defenders. He has great field awareness as shown on that touchdown catch where he dragged the foot to stay in bounds. And he makes tremendous adjustments to the ball. It's time Moye start getting the recognition he deserves.

Zug and Quarless were also key to the game making several grabs for first downs to keep the sticks moving.

Final Grade: A

Offensive Line

I'm really impressed with the progress the offensive line has made in the weeks since the Iowa debacle. It looked like it was going to be a long season, but they came together and have played really well since. Ako Poti did an ok job, but he did look overmatched at times. It'll be interesting to see what happens when DeOn'tae Pannell and Nerraw McCormack come back from their ankle injuries. It looks like we still don't have the right tackle position nailed down yet.

One bad thing, there were entirely too many penalties this week. Some of them killed promising scoring drives. I'm not too worried though as Penn State came into this game one of the least penalized teams in the country. It was uncharacteristic to see that many holding and false start penalties by this team. For whatever reason they lacked focus, but unless I see a performance like that two weeks in a row I won't get worried yet.

I still see too many slow snaps from Wisniewski out of the shotgun. Paterno was asked about this the other week and he brushed it off, but I do think this is a problem. It's throwing off the timing of the offense. There was one play in particular I remember where Clark was going to fake a handoff to Royster cutting in front of him. Royster could have almost grabbed the snap himself, but he had to duck out of the way of it so Clark could catch it. Then on other plays it seems awkward for Clark to have to step up to catch the snap before he takes his drop. It throws off his timing and he shouldn't have to do that. I noticed last week it looks like Clark has taken a step forward to receive these snaps sooner. I wish Wiz would just fire it back there.

Grade: B

Offensive Coaching

I can't think of too much to complain about here. Penn State pretty much did what they wanted to do on offense. I didn't like the call to go for a 49 yard field goal in the second quarter. Wagner barely hit one from 47 yards in the opposite end of the stadium in the first quarter. With a 4th and 4 at the Minnesota 32 yard line, your quarterback in a bit of a rhythm and your defense controlling the game, I thought it made sense to go for the first down there instead. The chances of Wagner making that kick were slim, and Minnesota ended up getting the ball back there anyway. Why not take a shot with a screen pass or a dump off to Quarless over the middle?

Final Grade: B

A little help from my friends - Black Shoe Diaries helps us understand Penn State a little bit

GopherNation — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:40:44 -0000

I have asked Mike over at Black Shoe Diaries to help us out a little bit by answering a few questions about his favorite team.

TDG - I am kind of fascinated with expectations. Minnesota, record-wise, is about where people had thought they would be yet I'm hearing plenty of grumblings about how terrible we are. Clearly the Gophers are not a perfect team. Penn State is halfway through the season sits at 5-1 having beaten nobody significant. Factoring in preseason expectations and how people currently feel about the Nittany Lions, how has the season gone so far?

BSD - The Iowa loss was a tough pill to swallow, but I can't say there was a lot of shock on the Penn State side over it. Going into the season I think everyone knew that going undefeated would be difficult when you have to rebuild the offensive line as well as replace all of the wide receivers and the entire secondary. Iowa did a good job of exploiting the offensive line, and they capitalized on opportunities presented by the special teams and turnovers. Most people, including myself, predicted a 10-2 season and so far I think that record is still achievable. I had hoped that Penn State could sneak through the first half of the schedule and use the lesser competition to make themselves into a really good football team. I think they did that, but unfortunately they had the hiccup against Iowa.

In a way I think the program overall will be better because of the loss. I think it served to wake up some of the younger players on the team and made them realize they are going to have to work hard and show up to every game and every practice because nobody is going to lay down and take a loss just because the game is played at 8 PM in Beaver Stadium and everybody is wearing white. The team seems more focused now and has made some significant progress the past two weeks. I'm really pleased with the way they used to loss as motivation.

TDG - First in total offense, first in total defense, first in points allowed, first in third down conversions, first in 3rd down conversions allowed, first in sacks, first in sacks allowed...is there a weakness on this Penn State team? Or are these guady stats a function of their opponents.

BSD - I think to some degree you have to say the level of competition helps pads the stats, but they are very good. Ask yourself this: If any Big Ten team other than Ohio State played Penn State's schedule, would they also be ranked first in all of those categories? Probably not.

Penn State is a very good football team, but they're not really a great football team yet. They're getting there though. I already mentioned the concerns I had at wide receiver, offensive line, and secondary before the season. I think the wide receivers are fine. Chaz Powell and Derek Moye have exceeded my expectations. The jury is still out on the offensive line. They seem to be doing better since the Iowa game, but until I see them do well against a decent defense I'm still skeptical. And I'm still not 100% sold on the secondary. They have played well to this point, but they get a lot of help from the defensive line which doesn't give quarterbacks much time to throw. I think this week will be their first real test against Eric Decker. If they can hold him to just five or six catches and 60 or 70 yards I'll be pretty pleased.

TDG - Which is more dominant the Penn State offense led by Royster and Clark or the defense?

BSD - So far you have to say the defense. They have been more consistent than the offense to this point. The defensive line led by tackles Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu has been just nasty. They're a little thin at linebacker until Sean Lee comes back from tweaking his knee, but Navorro Bowman and Josh Hull do a fine job. I already mentioned the secondary is doing well, even though I'm not sure they are as good as their stats suggest.

The performance of the offense centers around the offensive line. Royster and Clark are proven commodities at this point, and like I said, I'm pleased with the way the wide receivers have stepped up. When the offensive line can open up holes for Royster and Stephfon Green while keeping Daryll Clark upright, the offense is unstoppable. But Iowa showed that teams that get pressure on Clark can force him into turnovers. So it's important for the offensive line to do well. One thing that worries me about the game this week is that Penn State may be down to their third option at right tackle as DeOn'tae Pannell and Nerraw McCormack are both nursing sprained ankles. Last week they had to start Ako Poti who was a junior college transfer a few years ago.

TDG - Special Teams is maybe the one area that Penn State hasn't completely dominated this year (see the Iowa game!). And conversely the Gopher special forces have been very good this year. Can this actually be an advantage for Minnesota? And if so can it translate into a win?

BSD - Penn State is playing a lot of young players on special teams this year. Normally your coverage teams consist of a lot of second string linebackers and safeties...or in other words, guys who know how to tackle. But Penn State is thin in the secondary due to years of poor recruiting, and they are thin at linebacker due to injuries. So now when I look at the coverage teams I see a lot of backup running backs and true freshmen. So early in the year it took a few shoe string tackles to keep Temple and Syracuse from returning kickoffs for touchdowns. They've made a lot of improvement since then, but they're still not great. They're good at filtering the play inside and stopping it, but not before they give up a 30 yard return. Minnesota should be able to get some good returns on kickoffs.

Jeremy Boone is a fantastic punter, so he will hopefully pin Minnesota deep a few times. Place kicking is an issue though. I'm not happy with Colin Wagner. His kickoffs are short and I don't think he's made a field goal over 35 yards yet. That could be a problem they haven't really been faced with yet.

TDG - So the Gophers actually have a little recent history of pulling out big wins in Happy Valley. Does Saturday's game concern you a little? What will have to go right for Minnesota and wrong for Penn State for the Gophers to pick up their 5th win in the last 7 meetings between these two clubs?

BSD - I like how you spun that stat around to suggest Minnesota has won four out of the last six games between our two clubs. I could also ask you what the Gophers plan to do to break the two game losing streak against Penn State? If you consider three wins against some of the worst Penn State teams of the Paterno era to be "big wins", more power to you. (Granted, 1999 was a big win. I'll give you that.)

Kidding aside, I'm not too worried about this game. No disrespect intended to Minnesota or yourself, but Penn State is on a different talent level from the Gophers. I see an offense that is not just one dimensional, it's one-player dimensional. And the Gopher's are ranked 83rd in rushing defense and 77th in total defense. This is a game, in Beaver Stadium on homecoming, that Penn State should handle easily. If they don't I will be extremely disappointed.

Excellent stuff as always from the premier Penn State blog (that is saying a lot because there are about 346 PSU blogs out there). Thanks Mike.

Joe Paterno Press Conference Notes

BSD — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Pat Little - AP

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Here are the bullet points from Joe Paterno's weekly press conference.

Joe wasn't ready to say the running game has turned the corner yet. He says it takes more than one game. Illinois was more concerned about the pass which opened some things up, but they did a better job of holding their blocks this week. Joe expects more blitzing from Eastern Illinois so we'll see what happens.
Not surprisingly, Joe did not want to discuss the Bobby Bowden situation.
Joe has been pleased with the performance of Jack Crawford and Eric Latimore. Overall, he thinks the defense played well against Illinois.
There was a somewhat heated discussion about scheduling. You can hear the unedited version here.
Joe gave a rambling answer in reference to the defensive tackle rotation. Basically he has been pleased with the depth at defensive tackle and defensive end. He's still worried about depth at linebacker, and he would like to see the secondary get a little quicker at reacting to the ball.
Joe is very pleased with Jeremy Boone. Says Boone has made things a lot easier on the defense by giving them good field position.
Injury Update: Devon Smith is probably out. Nerraw McCormack is doubtful with a bum ankle. Brent Carter, Stephfon Green, and Chris Colasanti are all "banged up", and DeOn'tae Pannell "has an ankle". Most likely they will all play except for McCormack and Smith. Also, Sean Lee is out.
Chaz Powell will play. There were rumors he had the flu or something last week.
Quarless and Shuler have been doing a good job. They have been blocking well, and they felt they were going to be able to get them involved in the passing game against Illinois.
Not surprisingly, Joe calls Eastern Illinois a "good solid football team."
Joe was really impressed with Stephfon Green. Says he's come a long way and credits Galen Hall for coaching him up.
Joe isn't thrilled with running Clark as much as they did against Illinois, but he feels that some of the younger quarterbacks are coming along, so they can take some chances with Clark. Illinois opened up some things that lended themself to running Clark more. Going forward they may not do that.
Joe wishes they could have found more time for Newsome to play. But they want to put him in situations where he can succeed, because if they put him in there and he struggles they worry it may set him back.
Lou Eliades is coming along. He's learning how to play hurt and getting better.
Stephon Morris is playing cornerback in the nickle package and D'Anton Lynn is moving over to the nickle back. He's playing well and the staff is pleased

Joe Paterno Press Conference Recap

BSD — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:54:54 -0000

More photos » by Pat Little - AP

2 months ago: Penn State coach Joe Paterno listens to a question during his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State takes on at Illinois in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

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Here are the bullets from Joe Paterno's press conference today.

Obviously, Joe was disappointed with the results on Saturday. He blamed turnovers and field position as the major contributors, but didn't want to take anything away from Iowa who played a good football game. He really liked the effort by the team.
When asked about the blocked punt Joe said he warned the kids all week it was going to come down to a kicking play. Joe reminded the team that the 1982 team lost to Alabama on a blocked punt and came back to win the national championship. Nice story, but I don't think this team has the umph in the schedule to climb that high in the polls.
Joe stressed the blocked punt was not Jeremy Boone's fault.
Obviously he was disappointed with the turnovers. Pointed out they came from some of their most dependable kids. Can't do much to fix it other than just work through it.
Sean Lee is still day-to-day. Lee says he can go, but it's up to the medical staff.
Joe thinks Collin Wagner is doing a good job on the kickoffs. Earlier in the year the coverage was bad and let a few opponents get back to the 40 yard line. The coverage was better on Saturday and he's pleased with the kickoff coverage game now.
Joe says when you get knocked down you have to get up angry and fight. Says we'll find out if this team has some fighters. He thinks they'll be alright.
Joe thinks the defensive line did an excellent job.
Some reporter asked Paterno if Joe Suhey was excited to be playing in his home state of Illinois this weekend which prompted this major piece of pwnage.

Really, you guys (laughing). You know we’ve got a football team that just got licked. If you think I’m going around saying are you happy? Are you happy? Are you happy? What would you like to do? Would you like to — me to come over and brush your teeth for you tomorrow morning because you’re going to be going home. No, come on, knock it off, will you.

When asked about Juice WIlliams, Paterno gave the canned "He's a heck-uf-a athlete" response.
Joe is pleased with the performance of Andrew Quarless
Joe sidestepped a question about Wisniewski's low shotgun snaps just saying Wiz is doing fine.
The conservative playcalling on Saturday night was more a function of the poor field position than wet conditions. Joe hinted that the Iowa defensive backs were doing some things that hindered the receivers, and the officials were letting them get away with it.
Brandon Ware is still a "couple weeks" away from being healed from his broken foot.
Stephon Morris is playing really well. The coaches are "anxious" to get him more playing time.
Joe appreciates the expectations of the fans, but he's more worried about the psyche of his team right now. Says a loss like this is harder because he thought they were pretty even with Iowa in talent and coaching. It's not like they got blown out by a superior opponent. He mentioned how he got in trouble years ago after a loss to a superior Texas team he made a comment in the press conference about how he was going to go home and beat his wife over it. Some people still won't let him live that down so he's more careful in how he responds to losses now.
Nerraw McCormack would be the starter at right tackle if they played today. He has earned the right to play in front of DeOn'tae Pannell.
Last week Joe mentioned he would like to see the defense force more turnovers. On Saturday they forced two. Joe thinks that's a good number and he's satisfied with it.
Joe thinks Nick Sukay played well on Saturday despite the punt block and roughing penalty. He thinks the loss will end up helping young players like him.
Joe thinks it might be a good time to take the team on a road game to get them away and focused.

Grading The Offense: Nittany Lions Put The Turd In Saturday

Run Up The Score — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:06:50 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

2 months ago: Iowa's Broderick Binns (91) closes in on Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark (17) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Seemed like it would be a pretty easy night after that first offensive play from scrimmage and the 20-play, ten-plus minute field goal drive, didn't it?

First, the drive chart (from espn.com):

When you hear the old cliche about football games being won in the trenches, Exhibit A should be Saturday night's game. On the 20-play drive, Penn State wasn't necessarily dominating Iowa's defensive line, but was certainly getting a consistent push. That trend slowly eroded toward the end of the drive, as Iowa generated increased pressure on Clark when Penn State entered the red zone. You can see what happened throughout the rest of the game.

Quarterback Grade: D. The numbers are horrific. 12/32, 198 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT. The opening strike to Chaz Powell was a thing of beauty, and Clark was perfectly fine on the field goal drive. As Iowa began getting pressure on Clark, however, he clearly couldn't deal with it. By the second half, Clark was simply imagining pressure in the rare instances that Iowa's defensive linemen weren't in the backfield. This led to a number of plainly awful throws on what should've been relatively simple throws. Even on Clark's final interception, which was deflected at the line by the tenacious Karl Klug, Clark tried to impossibly fit the ball into an area between three Iowa defenders. It never would've had a chance even if Klug didn't get a piece of it. Clark remains an above-average college quarterback, but he just doesn't perform well when things start to break down around him. Too many physical and mental mistakes under pressure. He's not a superstar, and it's time to acknowledge it.

Running Backs Grade: C-. Royster ran for 69 yards on 17 carries, but his fourth quarter fumble squashed Penn State's last, best chance at tying the game. It seems that the lack of blocking has taken its toll on Royster's decision making, as well. He's known for making the right cut at the right time, but it's not happening for him so far this season. His mishandling of a short Clark pass led to a backbreaking interception. Stephfon Green got a few series as the feature back. Nothing really happened.

Spectacular 100mph Train Crash Test (via diagonaluk)

Offensive Line Grade: D-. Yes, Iowa deserves credit here, but it's hard to oversell how awful Penn State's offensive line was in the final three quarters of the game. DeOnt'ae Pannell was utterly owned by Broderick Binns on two plays, the second of which led to Iowa's safety. Nerraw McCormack came in for Pannell on the next series and promptly drew a holding penalty that wiped out a big gain to Derek Moye. Stefen Wisniewski often looked lost, and his shotgun snaps are still consistently low, making Clark work a little harder to scan the field. His move to center seems like a worse idea as the weeks go by. This section could go on forever, so here's the summary: too often, the offensive line doesn't know who to block, and when they do know their assignments, they aren't getting the job done with alarming frequency. Temple caused them problems, so it's no surprise that Iowa blew them up. Spells big trouble against a team like Ohio State.

Wide Receivers: B-. Hard to get a read on their performance because there were so many breakdowns by the offensive line and quarterback. Chaz Powell created nice separation on his long touchdown catch and run. Derek Moye still looks very, very good. Everyone else was missing in action.

Coaching Grade: D. Hey, it's easy to say that the players on the offensive line aren't getting the job done, but it's up to the coaching staff to get the proper personnel on the field and make adjustments in protection. That never happened. Passing plays often too slow to develop, given the pressure that was being put on Clark. A stunning lack of emotion on the field, even when things were still going well.

Next Week: Illinois' defense was bad before they lost Martez Wilson for the season. If Penn State can't move the ball and score points against them, start planning on a third-tier bowl game in Orlando or Tampa.

Potential Penn State Problem #2: Musical Chairs For Dancing Bears

Run Up The Score — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:00:12 -0000

We're down to the last two possible pitfalls for Penn State in 2009, and neither will be a surprise to anybody. It's the offensive line and the secondary, and based upon the fact that the secondary will have all new starters and, you know, the Rose Bowl, the shuffling and replacing along Penn State's offensive line lands that unit at #2 on the list.

Okay, take a look at this picture of last year's offensive line. That would be, from left to right, Dennis Landolt, Stefen Wisniewski, A.Q. Shipley, Rich Ohrnberger, and Gerald Cadogan.

Photo credit: readingeagle.com

Now realize what has been done in the offseason. Landolt switches from RT to LT, Wisniewski moves from RG to C. The other three guys are currently in NFL training camps. Consequently, Penn State's 2009 offensive line will feature five players who are either starters for the first time or starters learning a new position in 2009. This...this is not good.

Truth be told, Landolt and Wiz should be just fine. Landolt (Sr., 6'4" 303) has practiced at LT in the past (as Levi Brown's backup), and Wisniewski (Jr. 6'3", 302) is acknowledged as being so damned good that he's showing up on pre-season All-American and All-Conference teams as a center. So let's take a look at the new guys.

Right Tackle: DeOn'tae Pannell (So. 6'5" 313) is the starter. He was originally penciled in as the left tackle until the coaching staff decided that moving the more experienced Landolt to LT was a better insurance policy for Daryll Clark's blindside. The coaches like his footwork, but obviously don't trust him that much yet.

Right Guard: Lou Eliades (Jr. 6'4" 305) appears to have nailed this one down. Just when it looked like he might make a run at a starting position on the offensive line in 2007, injuries held him back. He's healthy now, and gained experience in last year's Rose Bowl, when he played 31 snaps in place of an injured Landolt (knee sprain)

Left Guard: Most people expected Johnnie Troutman (So. 6'4" 322) to win this position, but Joe Paterno was less than impressed with Troutman's conditioning and rehab of a hamstring injury. Consequently, it seems that redshirt freshman Matt Stankiewitch (6'3" 290) is the guy.

The concerns about the offensive line aren't just with respect to the relative inexperience and lack of familiarity. There is an alarming lack of depth, as well. The primary backups appear to be the aforementioned Troutman, along with...well, not much. And we don't really even know if Troutman can play. Ako Poti (Sr. 6'3" 303) and Nerraw McCormack (Sr. 6'5" 279) were junior college transfers a few years ago. They appear to be the emergency plan at tackle barring any hasty rearrangments such as sliding Eliades out to tackle and inserting Troutman at guard (unless true freshman Eric Shrive (6'6" 298) is ready to go). The backup at center is...Quinn Barham (So. 6'3" 290), maybe?

So, yeah. Depth and inexperience are issues here. Penn State was lucky with a general lack of injuries along the line last year, and had an experienced, versatile guy like Mike Lucian to step in when necessary. They'll need to be even luckier this season.