I'm Drunk On Spring Football.... And Wine

This is what I'm talking about.

ESPN has caught the fever. I'm personally rocking a fever of a hundred and three.

The only cure? More Penn State Football. Will I last another 3.5 months? Stay tuned.

However, this is a love that needs to be sung from the highest point known to man...space. I love Darryl Clark. I may also have a man-crush on Sean Lee. Apparently, Adam Rittenberg shares my man-love, not really. He is a "journalist", I am but a lowly blogger. Regardless. I am fired up in a way that only a bottle of wine and the high-expectations-of-spring can bring.

Mr. Rittenburg makes a good point. The Lions need to post another championship season in order to assert the alpha-position of the Big Ten. Like many packs, force is necessary to run the show.

There are some folks on ESPN who think that PSU will finish no better than third in the Big Ten. I think PSU will be first or second. I see the Buckeyes as the only real threat to the Lions' chances to win the conference championship. Disagree? Post your gripes below.

GO STATE!

Blue-White Insights

I was unable to attend the game, however, I streamed it from the Big Ten Network's website. All in all, the coverage was pretty good and if you were thinking about tuning in for the time delayed broadcast on Monday night I definitely would.

The crowd was huge and as fired up as ever!







I'll start with the offense. Stepfon Green is a viable home run threat. Stepf took his first carry to the house. He looks to be the fastest player on the team and has the kind of breakaway speed that PSU has been missing for several years. However, this is not to say that he looked ready to start right away. Green seemed to dance in the hole instead of hitting it full speed and while he has excellent speed he lacks consistency because he is always looking to break a big run. That being said, you can't coach speed. The coaches will work with him on patience and commitment to the hole and, if he can master those two things, watch out. Do not make a mistake, Greene has nothing if not hot, nasty speed. His speed is best illustrated not only by the speed lines clearly coming off of him in the photo to the left but also in the following chart courtesy of the Juleser:









Royster looked fine and will probably be "the guy" in 2008. However, Brandon Beachum looked like he could start right away as well. Beachum looked a lot like Tony Hunt. He is probably the most powerful RB in the stable already and showed that he was fast but doesn't seem to have the break-away speed to make him an elite player.

Both quarterbacks made me fell better about 2008. It seems that either would be ready to play in 2008. Similarly, both will have a lot of fire power to work with; think about having Royster, Green, Williams, Butler, and Norwood on the field at the same time. That is a lot of speed to cover up.

Andrew Sczerba had the kind of game that made you say: Quarless-Who? Sczerba proved that while he may not have break away speed he will give you a huge target who WILL CATCH THE BALL!

As for the "Spread HD" offense we didn't see it. At least I don't think we saw it. I only saw one option play. However, after seeing how much speed PSU can put on the field I'm really fired up to see what the offense will look like.

The Defense looked, well, ok I suppose. It looked like both Hull and Colasanti got some PT in the middle LB position. However, the effectiveness of the LBs is limited in these kinds of games as there is no blitzing. The Defensive line has some genuine talent. Both the Blue and the White squads showed that they can play. This is critical as LJSR loves to keep an 8 man rotation to keep everybody strong. Knowing that you have such a talented stable of guys on the line will really pay off in the fall.

The game was great. 73,000 in the stands, fight songs blaring, the crowd going crazy! It was a wonderful atmosphere.

Check out BSD's post as he actually went, lucky SOB. Ruts also has a bevy of great links so get over there. If you wanna see some highlights head over to wjactv.com

And now I make fun of a random girl at the game:

















I swiped and altered all of these photos from Sportspage.com

Blue/White Live Blog

I'm going to be sitting in my den watching the game online because I'm too lame to go a regular guy and, I figure, since I'm right here I might as well post my reactions to what is going on.

I AM READY!

LETS GO STATE!

***The Live stream just kicked on at the Big Ten Network. Looks like a huge crowd!

The crowd is fired up! It is great to see everybody so fired up for the game. It feels like this is more than a scrimmage.

GLADIATOR!

Looks like D-will and Lucian are out for the coin flip.

WOW, these announcers are terrible.

Devlin gets the ball first! Show me something PAT!

HOLY SHIT! STEPFON GREEN IS THE FASTEST GUY ON THE TEAM! He just ran right by the first team defense. Home run threat = confirmed!

Nice run by Clarke, a little razzle dazzle out of Williams.

We see a little option and Royster takes it into the endzone. We aren't seeing a lot out of the Defenses though. Two possessions, two touchdowns.

There is a little Defense! Good tackle by Koroma getting Stepf in the backfield.

Devlin stared that receiver down the whole time. That won't cut it.

Sczerba looks good and seems to be Devlin's favorite target.

Looks like Hull, Gbhadyu, are in at LB.

Come on Wagner! Dammnit. You gotta hit those.

Carter seems to be our tough yards back. He isn't flashy but he sure can move the pile!

You gotta love that pass to D-will!

Beachum lookin' good. But you HAVE TO HOLD ON TO THE FOOTBALL! That won't earn you more PT.

SCZERBA AGAIN! He is having the best day thus far of all the WRs. He doesn't seem to have the speed of Quarless but he give the QB an excellent target and he catches the ball!

Lets see what Clarke can do with the second team.

Good sack by maybin.

Green is certainly fast but he seems to tap dance a little in the hole.

man, 2 sacks by Ogbu. He is starting to dominate!

HALFTIME!

Not a good read by Clarke.

Oh come one Schuler! You have to catch those.

Sack by Maybin, his second of the day if I remember.

Greene is just plain fast. A good broken tackle also.

Well, we are clearly learning what Devlin's weakness is: He stares at the WR that he wants to throw to. He seems to be very accurate but some good DBs could create easy turnovers if he doesn't look them off.

Colasanti and Stupar are in there for the Blue.

Stupar hits like a truck. He just leveled Green.

The both defensive squads seem to be getting a lot of pressure without any additional blitzers. S testament to the depth on the D-line!

OH! 73,000 in for the BW game! Is that the highest attendance for a spring game this year?

I don't know if this is the Spread HD offense but it looks incredibly similar to what was run last year. The only addition seems to be a few more bootlegs. I know this is the spring game and it will tend towards the vanilla, but it should still look a little different. Right?

Zug just had a great catch. We will need him to play well not only this year but also next year.

Beachum has been playing well. While PSU seems deep at RB but he could be a very nice compliment as a power back. Tony Hunt part 2? Not a favored player but just plain strong.

Great Catch ZUG! The young fella can play!

It seems that Greene is both a home run threat but also a bit inconsistent. Joe won't like that.

Good pick by Astorino. Dare I dub him a very cerebral DB?

Wallace is in street clothes, what is that about? We need all the good DBs we can get.

The good news is that the score is so balanced. The offense hasn't dominated nor has the defense. This looks like a very solid squad.

Beachum continues to really impress. He shows good vision and power. He seems to wield significantly more power than either Royster or Green. He seems like the exact kind of back Joe loves.

Great pass by clarke. A slant into the back of the endzone. Both QBs seem much more comfortable going over the middle than Morelli was.

Kelly has not kicked consistently. Special teams could be a big weak spot on the '08 squad.

It was great to see the team this spring. I love the Blue White game. I'm so amped for the fall now even though I know we are about to cross a desert of football.

A general breakdown will be up monday!

GO STATE!

Blue White Roundtable: Blue White Game 2008

We are back and we are actually going to talk about football! Well, that is clearly not true. We will eventually talk about football as the Blue White game actually gives us something to talk about. Enjoy it people, as soon as that game ends we will officially be staring into the abyss of the late spring and summer. (shudder).

The Nittany Whiteout brings us this weeks questions, my crap-tastic answers can be found below but please visit our other contributors: BSD, RUTS, TNL, TNN, TBE, and WWN.

1) The annoucement Wednesday is that contract talks are on hold until the conclusion of this season, and that Joe might not even need a contract to coach, how do you see this saga ending? Is this the final year for Joe Paterno?

No. I will also say that I am in the camp of people which says: "Let Joe coach for as long as he wants." So, take this for what you will. I don't see Spanier and the Board forcing Joe out after this year. Now, does that mean that some decision won't be announced after the 2008 season? No. I think there will be an announcement about a successor or an announced retirement date for Joe. However, he will coach at least another year.

2) Joe will clearly not been on the sidelines in 10 years time. Whether he is awarded another extension or is forced out against his will, a new face will inevitably be on the sidelines for the Lions in the years to come. Which candidates would top the list when it comes to a coaching search? Should it be an in-house hire or should we start off with a blank slate?

I think it is going to be an in-house hire. I have written previously about how neither scenario seems to make a lot of sense, but I think it will happen and that Scrap will be the guy. I don't see Schiano swooping in. I just don't. And now a killer photoshop courtesy of the Juleser.

3) It almost seems as if we find another athlete in trouble with the law each morning when we read the newspaper. What has gone wrong with the once pristine image of the Penn State program?

What has gone wrong? Well, the team recruited a couple of bad apples and some young guys have made some big mistakes. That is the short answer. The longer answer involves me having to turn a critical eye at both this and other blogs. The blogs coupled with the year long blood-lust for PSU news puts these kids under an intense spotlight. The players personal pitfalls are fodder for us to discuss in the off-season so we want to know! This hunger for news does not let Joe handle a lot of these things in the same fashion he did in 1975. Similarly, this drive for news makes it feel like this has never happened before. (though, to be fair, I don't think there has ever been a player draw a knife on another player before).

4) After 14 years in the Big Ten, Penn State has not dominated the conference in football as most presumed when we joined winning only 2 Big Ten titles in that span. In 1994, Joe Paterno’s undefeated Nittany Lions were also backstabbed by its Big Ten breathern when most conference members voted for Nebraska instead of Penn State. Is the Big Ten the right home for Penn State? Or would Joe Paterno’s dream of an all-eastern conference be a much more ideal conference for the Nittany Lions?

The fact that PSU has not dominated the Big Ten is certainly not the fault of the Big Ten. I have come to really enjoy Big Ten Football, however, there are clearly things about the conference which need to change. The teams should, and finally will, get a bye week in 2009 (I believe). There should be at least one more conference games. The fact that a team could effectively duck the 2 of the best teams in the league in any given year is simply unacceptable. They should add a program and have a championship game. It would be great to watch and give us something to talk about instead of the SEC championship game.
I think PSU should stay in the Big Ten but I would love to see the league adopt the changes above.

5) With the lack of our traditional rivals in the Big Ten conference, and our unwillingness to reschedule any of them in any consistent manner, which teams are emerging as Penn State’s chief rivals in the Big Ten? (USC-Notre Dame proves that rivalries aren’t all about geographic significance.)

In the Big Ten? I consider both Tosu and Michigan a rival. I know, however, that they could care less. I think PSU needs to look outside of the conference. Lets get Alabama and Nebraska back on the schedule. I remember watching those games when i was little (the 80s) and loving it! Lets get these kind of games back!

Bonus question: Are you going to the Blue White Game.

No. I am not. I live a couple of thousand miles from Beaver Stadium and I can't afford the time off/plane fare. However, I will be in Las Vegas that Saturday and I'm looking for a spot to watch the game. So, if anybody knows of a spot that PSU fans will be watching the game, please let me know.

GO STATE!

PSU Wants Gameday Too!

This might just be the coolest college-football-related development I've seen all day! Gameday will be at Florida for their spring game.

Gameday should just go from town to town to go to spring games. It would be glorious! PSU had 70,000+ fans come to watch last years Blue-White game. Gameday consistently calls the PSU student body the best in all of college sports. Why can't we get Corso (who fucks pigs), Herby, and the whole gang out to State College on April 19th?!?!

GO STATE! GET GAMEDAY TO THE BLUE-WHITE GAME!