11/21/2015

Today we are going to try out an old Bill Simmons staple- the running diary. Hey, he isn’t writing anymore, I figure all his old things are up for grabs. And he hasn’t used this particular gag in years, first moving to the “retro diary” before completely forgetting it. In theory, twitter has replaced this particular type of writing, but let’s bring it back for PSU - Michigan, a matchup that sounds better than maybe it actually will be.

Most likely Michigan is too talented and experienced for this particular Penn State team. Penn State is coming off a bye, and it is Senior day - these things matter in college ball. So let’s see what happens…

12:07 - PSU gets the ball first, so we can probably go three and out right off the bat.

12:08 - Remember the name Chris Godwin, he will be a good possession receiver in the NFL. He makes tough yards, and in a better scheme, he would be open more often. And Michigan gifts PSU a first

12:10 - BOOOM- there goes Barkley all the way to the ten yard line, need to cash this in for the a TD immediately. So of course, PSU goes to the wildcat, and goes nowhere, ugh. (I would have liked it if it worked better)

12:12 - UGHhhh - three straight running plays into the teeth of the defense. And PSU only gets a field goal after an absolutely huge run. 3-0 PSU, decent start.

12:16 - Thankfully Julius is back to doing kickoffs, and in an absolutely amazing shocker- a holding call is made on the kickoff. I’m shocked. Also, Jim Harbaugh is still super annoying. I am sure we will see him four thousand times this game.

12:20  - It is still amazing how open receivers are against PSU’s defense and how covered PSU receivers are against every other defense. Michigan just got a first down to a guy wide open between zones.

12:22 - third and 9 - PSU gives up 39, awesome. Also, sack leader Carl Nassib wasn’t in for that play, which makes zero sense. And by sack leader - I mean the guy who leads the nation in sacks, not just the team. Yeah, let’s leave him out of the game an obvious pass play. (he may no longer lead the nation after the bye week, but he was a couple weeks ago)

12:26 - TD Michigan, the soft zone looks like garbage so far. Still no Nassib and no pass rush at all for the second string D-ends. Technically Sickels is a starter, but given who he plays next to, he is terrible. 7-3 Michigan

12:31 - First down throw to no one. Two receivers run crossing routes, somehow the throw is behind both of them.

12:32 - And there's a sack - the protection had Brent Wilkerson one on one with a defensive end, that's a tight end, not a tackle. Fuck me. then motion on the o-line, and Kyle carter can’t catch a pass so we punt. Kyle Carter needs to go away. He can’t do anything on a football field that can be construed as a positive for Penn State.  So the tight ends gave up a sack and then dropped a ball on that series.

12:36- Oh - Torrrence Brown just killed the QB. yikes that was a big hit. (Still no NAssib)

12:37 - And a pick for Brandon Bell with a tough run back after the catch. The Qb never saw him.

12:37 - Weird trick play, a wildcat reverse to have Hack throw it. Nice try for the big play after the turnover. But then a third down run, goes nowhere and PSU is three and out again. This offense is such a pile of garbage. Defense back on the field so quickly.

12:49 - Defense finally gets a third down stop to start the second quarter. Apparently NAssib isn’t going to play- ABC has no inclination to let us know what is going on there. Apparently they don’t care

12:51 - Brent Wilkerson with his second catch- Kyle Carter should take notes. Meanwhile, Hack has gotten Michigan to jump three times this game- interesting wrinkle to his game.

12:52 - Hamilton runs a terrible route for a deep ball. He was running towards the middle on a go route for some reason.

12:55 - Hack takes a terrible sack after Michigan gifts PSU a first down. He needs to throw the ball away more. UGH. Followed by a run up the middle. More garbage offense- 3 and 19 now.

12:57 - Wow, the punters are so bad for Penn State- they routinely have punts that go twenty yards, but when we only want a twenty yard punt, they boot that shit into the end zone. How’s that college education working out out?

1:00 - That sack took PSU out of field goal range, put the defense back on the field and PSU is still losing. The is fucking awesome.

1:08 - Michigan gifts PSU a third down stop with a drop on the conversion. Meaning we get more Hack time. So far, we are 0-2 on downfield throws. Hopefully we keep taking shots- those are the best shot to loosen up the defense.

1:12 - What the fuck- another third down run on a third and five or longer…. And its for a loss of yardage. Give me more garbage offense!!

1:16 - Michigan fumbles a snap for a three yard gain, haha. Even a screw up gains yardage. - John Donovan will have Hack run that play in the second half.

1:18 - Best series for the defense so far, getting a three out and the only three yards gained... AND A BLOCKED PUNT!! -LET’S GO!!

1:23 - TOUCHDOWN to Blacknall…. the d-back had no idea where the ball was on an underthrown pass. Nce 10-7 PSU

1:26 - Defense need to not give up points since Michigan gets the ball to start the second half.

1:27 - On third and long, PSU calls timeout while the clock was stopped. I have no idea why, but I am sure the terrible clock management is to blame.

1:29 - Of course Michigan converts. On a safety blitz, they go over the top. Seems to be a theme you get Shoop’s defense on. And a couple screen passes with some terrible tackling has Michigan almost guaranteed points.

1:32 - Now more soft zone and Michigan is in the red zone. God dammit.

1:32 - And touchdown Michigan because Penn State can’t sustain success at all. I think that PSU time out was straight fucking stupid for Franklin to call. There was no reason to let them call plays from the sideline on huge third down.. 14-10 Michigan

1:35 - And the garbage offense won’t try to score in the final fifty seconds. Fuck this. You should go coach soccer if you are scoring averse.  You basically gifted your opponent a second possession in a row AND then let them off hook from having to play defense. In a one possession game- you can’t give them away. Hopefully he learns that is a bullshit approach.

2:00 - Defense starts the second half where it left off, giving up easy completions and not tackling. Good thing we didn’t try and score.

2:03 - Michigan just grinding down the field, short completions and easy runs eating up chunks of yardage. Back D-line in the game, which won’t help the pass rush that isn’t getting home consistently.

2:05 - Captain Khaki thinks PSU should be penalized more as the defense finally holds after gving up field position. PSU will start at their own five. This has happened so often- i can predict what will happen. PSU is going to either go three and out, or only get one first down, then punt. Since the punting is so weak, Michigan will get the ball, at worst, at their own forty.

2:14 -Michigan ball at their own 33, after a penalty on the punt. Of course, Anthony Zettel gives it all back on a roughing the passer penalty and jumped into the QB. This is going to get him ejected. Incredibly stupid to do. That’s his last play in Beaver Stadium. Oh- he gets to stay, I honestly think he should have been ejected by the letter of the law. Anyway - Michigan now at the 50.

2:20 - Michigan punts to a shaky handed returner and gets the ball at the ten. Fuck. I hate those pays. You don’t even have to touch the ball and we get to keep it. Instead a freshman drops an unreturnable kick. SO dumb.

2:22 - TD michigan running it right at PSU’s defense, which can’t get a break from the field due to terrible offensive players. 21-10 Michigan.

2:23 - This lead feels insurmountable. PSU under Franklin has not come back from a double digit deficit that I can remember. Thankfully there isn’t a sure handed returner that can we can use on kicks where we would prefer to not let them down us inside the five. Instead its a freshman who doesn’t catch the ball consistently.

2:26- Oh, good, more Penn State offense. Let’s see what garbage offense we can dial up. ABC can’t seem to figure out how a microphone works, they’ve twice thrown it to the sideline reporter so we can have uncomfortable silence. Good stuff.

2:28 - Captain Khaki still not a fan of the officials. Back to back penalties have gotten PSU thirty yards. and now out to midfield.

2:31 - Hack gets whacked and is out of the game for a 3-20 . Trace McSorley throws a ball to the bench. garbage offense doing work. Hack took off his helmet, he knew there was no way they were converting. Ball game.

2:34 - ABC finally lets us know Nassib isn’t playing. Meanwhile, the soft zone is getting ate up again. Michigan is on the move to really salt this game away. Unless the defense gets a turnover, I don’t see the offense going 80 yards for points anytime soon…. AND they forced the fumble!! Brandon Bell again- strip and recover.

2:39 - PSU goes three plays for no yards, and can’t signal in a play for fourth down. Hack was flipping through his wristband in confusion before calling timeout.

2:40 - But they convert on a seam route that Hack stuck on Chris Godwin, who then did some big boy football shit to wrestle the ball all the way down to the five. Trust-  Chris Godwin will do something in the NFL. He isn’t Allen Robinson, but he can be Wes Welker.

2:46 - And PSU goes backwards to open the fourth quarter, and kicks another field goal. Barkley is playing like a freshman when the hole isn’t there, trying to do crap in the backfield rather than get up field. Of course, that’s just frustration speaking - the offensive line actively gets out of the way of defenders to let them into the backfield. We have so many pulling guards that open the holes for the defenders to pour through - its ridiculous. So it's an 8 point game, but maybe the defense got a breather after that fumble recovery.  21-13 Michigan.

2:52 - Captain Khaki, still displeased with the officials.

2:55 - Three and out for Michigan. And now Greg Garrity is back to receive, hmm. PSU with ok field position. Let’s do this. Probably need two scores still in order to win.

3:03 - Hack has run for the last two first downs… the offense has come to this. Ugh… LET’S GO!

3:09 - PSU inside the ten again. Need a TD here. Come on Lions!

3:11 - And incomplete pass from the 2… And settle for a field goal, not our best play…. Somehow the ball gets just high enough to clear the crossbar. 21-16 Michigan.

3:14 - PSU has had first and goal three times, resulting in 9 points. And piss poor tackling on the kick return gives Michigan great field position. PSU can’t sustain success.

3:16 - Immediately Michigan in the red zone after the special teams and young players play shitty football. Awesome. Now without a turnover, michigan gets the three points back

3:18 - ABC with more awkward silence from the sideline reporter. The best part is they apparently think it's working.

3:20 - Michigan is going to score, it's a no brainer, Shoop just lined up with no one to the wide side of the field, but somehow just gave up a run up the middle. That formation was designed to fail. Michigan on the one

3:21 - There it is - Michigan winning this game in the red zone. 28 - 16 Michigan.Fuck

3:27 - Yeah it’s over, this Hack is done. On first down he throws to a receiver who decides looking for the ball is beneath him. Hamilton is not very good at route running, catching, or generally doing anything to get open.

3:31 - Michigan is going to take a knee and ball game - 28 - 16 Michigan. Mother shit.

Deep breath - well PSU has lost twice in a row to ranked opponents. which is probably about right for this team. They are young and really struggle to execute on a play to play basis. They have hung tough with ranked opponents. The hard thing to look at is the step the back we will take at QB next year after Hack leaves.  Next week will be another loss probably, and we will do this again.

11/20/2015

I almost kept myself too busy and forgot to post something tonight. However, I did actually forget a key piece of wood on my trip to Lowe’s this evening for my new project, so I guess I can take the time to talk about my recently completed project.

To provide a little back story: when I moved into my apartment, I didn’t have much in the way of furniture to furnish the whole thing. I had enough to get by, a couch, a desk to put my TV on, and a bookshelf. I decided that instead of running to Ikea or some other place to get some quick furniture, I decided instead to construct my own furniture. I have limited carpentry skills, but I have just enough tools to be effective.

The really good news, is that there are many free plans available on the internet. The first order of business was the construction of a TV stand- for which I modified a set of plans I found. I constructed a pretty good TV stand, although it has it's flaws that I will be keeping to myself for the current time. In addition, it also left me a nice pile of leftover wood. So prior to beginning the next part of what I calling Phase One of construction (a TV stand, coffee table, and a pub style table), I wanted to try my hand at designing my own project and hopefully expanding my carpentry repertoire.

A couple things I wanted to work on was using a mitre saw to make angles and also making a tabletop out of different pieces to make a sort of design. So I designed the top to be a collection of pieces of 1”x2” on a piece of plywood surrounded by 2”x2” pieces with 45 degree angle cuts at the edges.  As I tested out the results, here is what it looked like:

In theory, the rest of the table should have been easy, just slap on four legs and it should be good to go. However, I wanted to put a shelf near the bottom and have it attach rather seamlessly to the legs. It took me a lot longer to figure out how to do that so that the look would be something I would like. In the end, I decided to get a bit more practice with the mitre saw and cut angles in more pieces of 1”x2” trim to surround a shelf. Then I cut notches into the legs of 2”x2” wood. I didn’t really measure my notches, so my legs are not that snug to the shelf that “surrounds” it.

Then it was just a matter of assembling the pieces into my end table.  I actually decided to stain the table prior to putting the pieces of the top into their final position. That way I wouldn’t have to worry too much about trying to get the stain into the cracks between the pieces.

I think I should I have left the table go with one coat of stain. However the pieces I had used for the legs were not of the best quality and the I didn’t like the way they were looking. So the table ended up being perhaps a bit darker than I wanted. I then applied applied two coats of the clear coat to protect the finish.  Now I just need some sort of plant to put on the bottom as a decoration or something.

11/19/2015

So I was thinking about this as a mental exercise this morning, as it came up on a couple different podcasts- who would win between the current iteration of the Golden State Warriors and the 72 win Chicago Bulls. I think the consensus has somewhat held that the triangle offense has no place in the modern NBA (which is what the Bulls ran) and the 90’s style post game centric offenses definitely have  no place in the pace and space modern game. Therefore, it would stand to reason that the most chameleon, pace and space, small ball loving team of the modern age going against the anachronism of a different generation would be a rout from the opening tip. I believe in this case, the anachronism wins.

I would love to do this Zach Lowe style with all the cool .gifs to highlight the point, but I not that good nor am I going to hunt down old clips of the Bulls doing the things we know they can do. So you’ll just have to be happy with a very word based case as we take a plunge down this hypothetical rabbit hole.

The Warriors are currently winning by having Steph Curry dominate, killing teams with small ball, and playing a suffocating defense. It is super helpful that Steph can shoot from where defenses typically don’t defend. Another fun thing they do is play their super small lineup of Draymond Green at the five just to play your big man off the floor. Their defense is also first rate, with only really Steph being not a really an above average defender.

Unfortunately, I think the Bulls would be able to the combat exactly what the Warriors love to do to teams.  As great as Iguodala played against Lebron last Finals, I have serious doubts about his ability to do the same to Jordan. Lebron was hampered by not being used to taking over games with his scoring. Michael Jordan had no such reservations. In addition, every time the Warriors would try to go super small and “switch everything” - it would be open season on the rim for Jordan and Pippen.

On the defensive end, the real issue the Warriors face is that the Bulls defensively loved to shut down point guards. It is one of the tenets of the triangle offense - since there really isn’t a “primary” ball handler, the Bulls didn’t have a focus point as soon as they crossed half court. The Bulls most likely pick up Curry almost immediately, and mark him with Jordan. I am sure the Warriors would move Curry off the ball and try him run him through every screen action you can dream of. But the true advantage of Curry is what he creates off the dribble, not turning him into just another two guard.

I don’t want to distill the argument solely down just saying Jordan, but he and Pippen are the crux of the argument. What they could do at both ends of the floor was amazing, and surrounding them with Kerr, Rodman, Kukoc, and whoever else allowed them to whatever they wanted on the basketball court.

There are tons of little hypotheticals you could dream up from this matchup- like do the Bulls break out their own super small lineup with Rodman at the five- assuming that the he could still get rebounds at the defensive end? Who does Klay guard? Can Coach Steve Kerr and sharpshooter Steve Kerr occupy the same area without the world coming to an end?

I am sure ever aging champ feels their team was the best ever, like Ron Harper clearly does. But I think those Bulls teams still stand up even in the modern era of the NBA. They played how they played to win in their era, but I fairly certain that they would have had the flexibility to win in any era.

11/18/2015

I have a pretty straight view on immigration to the US. If you can get here, you can live here. I can’t honestly sit here and think that just because my ancestors chose to come here at some point in the past doesn’t really grant me the right to deny the same opportunity simply because their persecution happens in 2015 as opposed to being a potato famine in 1849.  Yes, I am aware that perhaps that sounds needlessly idealistic, but you can’t be an idealist without being idealistic, they sort of go hand in hand.

As everyone gets up in arms about the which states will or won’t accept Syrian refugees, I will offer that my opinion is that if they can get here, they should be allowed seek the freedom from whatever it they are running from (most likely certain death from people who are trying build a caliphate). I find hard to believe that we have become so entitled that we feel we get to keep this all to ourselves solely based on being born here.

The main concern of the selfish is that within the thousands of people who are seeking and yearning to be free there are those few who secretly harbor the will  to do random people harm. In the midst of the security hysteria, we lose sight of our greatest asset. My idealism lends me to believe that the very nature of what can be accomplished does more to deter potential threats to our nation than any isolationist security measures would provide.

I really don’t see how we can claim to have all this freedom, and yet seek to deny the very same things to those born beyond oceans.  

11/17/2015

Tonight soccer (USMNT Vs. Trinidad & Tobago) is the discussion. The first issue tonight- it's not really on TV. So this requires trying sync a stream from NBC Universo with a Rabble TV audio feed since I don’t speak Spanish. Turns out you can’t delay the feed on Rabble TV, so it is impossible to sync the audio with the video if the video is what is behind.  By halftime, I had given up on the notion of watching the video feed through the desktop since I would already know what had happened from the audio feed, and the stream was not, umm, fluid. Fortunately, it enabled me to put a clear coat on my end table while listening to the second half.

Now that we have gotten past my adventures in cord cutting, we can now begin to annoy the true soccer fans. I am literally that guy that only really watches the national teams. Last week’s game gave some reason for optimism as the men’s team poured in six goals after falling behind by a goal early. So, spoiler alert, the US came away tonight with a, ahem, nil nil draw. In regular person talk, it means that nobody scored at all.  Ironically, not scoring, means the US earns a point in the group leaving them a top the group by virtue of the six goals they scored in their first game.

I will admit I have the unpopular opinion that  like US coach Jurgen Klinsmann. He has made no bones about his focus being on the 2018 World Cup. After last summer’s good showing at the World Cup,  am pretty fine with the US having a down cycle this past summer. I don’t think a team can play at a consistently high level for four years while going through a transition. Jurgen chose to leave Landon Donovan off last summer’s squad, since he would not be able to play on Russia in 2018. I think he believes that by that time, Clint Dempsey will be a super sub for late in games. Which leaves the team looking for the next American goal scorer. To have any chance, the USMNT needs a finisher in the final third. I have no idea if Bobby Wood can actually be that guy, but I was disappointed to not see him get the start this evening after he had played so well in his first start last week. Instead, he was reverted back to his former role of being a goal scorer off the bench.  

Klinsmann will take some criticism tomorrow for not getting a result tonight (Yeah- more soccer terms) and some it will most likely have to do with Wood not getting another start. However, given how leaky the defense has been recently, getting a shutout on the road is actually fairly impressive (welcome back secretary of defense, Tim Howard). So the consistent pairing of Besler and Cameron in the center back positions has maybe started to pay off. So in a very “the results are the only thing that matter” analysis, the US finally was able to hold up the back end for a full game.

The next game is not until March (I bet Dempsey returns to the roster for those games) so we unfortunately will not get to see any more action that counts to further the analysis. However, I will continue hope we can find the next American goal scorer to combine with a hopefully continuing to be stout defense in the meantime.

#Yicketty, #Mammo, and Cooperstown- the history of @RealCJ10

Very early this year, Chipper Jones announced he will retire at the end of the season. At the age of 40, the Brave who defined the successful run of the 14 division titles, would finally hang up the cleats. If you’ve been curious as to why I’d call a blog “The Bandwagon” and only talk about Penn State- which is not a bandwagon I jumped on but a religion I was baptized in to, well, let’s go down the rabbit hole to Atlanta.

I have been a Braves fan for about 21 years- approximately as long as the Braves have been good; getting the name of the blog now? - and Chipper has been a star for three quarters of that time.  Larry Wayne Jones, Jr has an MVP to his name, came up as a shortstop, moved to third base, then to left field briefly, then back to third base to finish his career. He is a switch hitter and once took a .400 average into the month of July.  This year it seems almost every day brings another stat that Chipper has accomplished in the annals of switch hitters, or players who primarily play third base, or some other stat. If you want a bunch of stats that require research- you’ll have to look elsewhere- we here at The Bandwagon are all about doing as little work as possible.  In easy to research stats, however, Chipper has (as of this writing) 151 tweets.

Wait, what? Yep, let’s talk Twitter- or the twitta- as Chipper calls it. Sure, there have been some athletes who have been twitter sensations. Chad Johnson (I think that’s what his name is this week) immediately jumps to mind, Logan Morrison of the Miami Marlins is probably worth the follow to read him slam twitter tough guys, and Brandon McCarthy joked about his recover via Twitter. Many young athletes have jumped on Twitter, just as many of us have, in less notable fashion. Chipper is different, as he is the antithesis of young.  I am not sure if he was shamed into it, as several Braves such as relief pitcher Peter Moylan and good luck starting pitcher Kris Medlan are fan favorites in the twitterverse.   Fellow Braves, Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons are among other teammates of Chipper that have been on Twitter. Supposedly, catcher Brian McCann secretly has twitter, but no one knows what it is. 

The man Mets fans have chanted Larry at for many years, only to have him crush them at the plate, announced his presence to Braves fans on July 24. Immediately, perhaps related, perhaps not, the Braves reeled off a seven game win streak. Also, Braves fans had to learn a new language, as Chipper has channeled his inner Tolkien and, in providing his post-game recaps, began to refer to things like the road runner, #yicketty, and #mammo.  And the Old Man- or Battle Ax- has not been without his own form of Twitter controversy. When he tweeted about an appointment with Doc (Halladay), manager Fredi Gonzalez (who, while not on twitter himself, has inspired a rather interesting parody account) was notified and had to call his aging star to see if there was anything he should be aware of.  A few days after he began tweeting, the star had to tweet definitions of the words he was using.  

Generally the Braves third baseman has settled into a simple system of providing a post-game recap after each game. He also keeps his followers up to date on when he sits out, something he does a bit more frequently than the average everyday player. Hey, he’s 40, and coming off some major injuries in the past few years. We clearly want his bat in the lineup daily, but on his farewell tour, this just isn’t possible. Generally, he takes off against right handed pitchers, which is a better situation for the left handed Juan Francisco, who serves as his primary back-up and apparently is the one known as Road Runner. Chipper’s strange twitter language has even prompted a line of T-shirts for sale in the Braves team store.

Some guys are absolutely terrible to follow on twitter, either by being boring, blowing up your timeline with useless crap, or generally being weird. Chipper is one of the best pros to follow, despite recently discovering the retweet button a couple days ago, and saturating the twitterverse by retweeting every mention of @realCJ10. He redeemed himself the following day, taking the blame for an error that led to a big inning for the Brewers.  I don’t think Braves fans were blaming Chipper for the error, but he stepped forward like the leader he is.

Baseball will always be a bit of a different animal for fans. The frequency of the games means you connect on a deeper level with the players of a baseball team. You spend much more time watching them than you do for your other favorite teams. Generally, baseball games are on at least two and half hours every day. Twitter has deepened that connection between fans and players, providing an open line of communication between players and fans, outside the approximately three hours a day we spend watching the game and highlights.

On May 2, the Braves out slugged the Phillies in a comeback win that started off terribly for the Braves. A grand slam by McCann to tie the game, and a Chipper walk-off highlighted an improbable win on a random weekday night. Four months later, on September 2, Chipper did the same thing- jacking a three run shot to walk off another improbable comeback win against the Phillies.  This one, however, was commemorated on Twitter, in another refreshing glance into the psyche of a first ballot Hall of Famer.

In five years (or six, whatever, depending on the count from now until he is on the ballot for the first time), Chipper Jones will be in position to live tweet his Hall of Fame speech into Cooperstown.  He has spent this year being an outstanding interview, and providing great insight into the game of baseball. He provided an excellent speech to the National League All Stars. The attention paid to him by his peers was intense, and then his teammates for the day delivered, guaranteeing the National League team in the World Series will have home field advantage. He is a post-strike star, unblemished by the stink and bad taste that year left with baseball fans.  Now that MLB.TV has filled the gap left from TBS no longer showing Braves game on a daily basis, the internet is becoming more pervasive, and our beloved Chipper is on board.  His farewell tour has seen him given various items from bases to surfboards.  As he plays his final games professionally, he has deepened the connection between Braves fans and their favorite player. He has blessed us with those two walk off shots, and has stepped up on some special nights.  When the Braves got off to an atrocious offensive start, it was Chipper who kicked started the offense one night in Houston, with his parents in the crowd. Lately, the offense has begun to the similar to last September and Braves fans are looking to @RealCJ10 to carry the team on aching knees into the post season. We want, more than ever, Chipper’s final game to be a victory.

PANIC!! (At the...)

Well, frankly I don’t know where. I have refused to go over to my favorite site for the Penn State fans, in order to have some unadulterated thoughts on where Penn State is going. Currently 0-2, one terrible game that probably turned on just one play, and another game, dominated by the good guys for almost all that I saw, but still no wins to show for it.

My perspective may be slightly off, since I missed most of the fourth quarter due to having to go to a wedding.  I was thus forced to rely on text messages from my dad to track the fourth quarter.  Incidentally, receiving a text message that your team is lining up for a game winning field goal- after being disastrous all game in the kicking game- does not exactly make you feel all warm and fuzzy. When the inevitable text conveyed that the kick was missed came in, you don’t react. You shrug and try to get on with the day. Being at a wedding allows you to avoid TV’s until you’re too intoxicated (not quite the same warm and fuzzy feeling we wished we had early, but it works in pinch) to really watch highlights. So I also have to see the final plays, neither the drive by Virginia to win the game, nor the missed kick that drove the nail in the coffin.  Now let’s focus more on the panic.

I apologize in advance for perhaps stealing the Sports Guy’s shtick, but I am fully jumping all over the panic button. My team is 0-2, and what could be worse than a quirky offense coming in to Happy Valley looking to get their first win? Again, the Lions will be favored, but there is definitely a possibility of a loss on Saturday.  Defending the option requires discipline and patience. It is exactly how Joe Paterno wanted his defenses to play when the option was in vogue so many years ago. Teams that run it now are taking advantage of the general impatience and attacking style of the modern defense- you know, what Ted Roof wants to do.  So if Navy comes in and controls the clock, and is the beneficiary of the same key mistakes that have plagued the Lions this year, Penn State could walk off the field 0-3 and facing a historically bad season. We have seen historically bad before- it is how Penn State entered the millennium. Generally called the dark ages- the period from 2000-2004 had very few bright spots.

So if we have been here before- why panic? Well, I’ll tell you (it’s why you’re here hopefully). When you are trying to keep together a recruiting class that features five star talent, when you are about to begin a time where there will be less scholarships to go around, going 0-3 to start the season is a great way to chase said talent away. It’s generally said that, basically, until 2019, Penn State will have a lot less depth than the teams they will be competing against. With only 15 scholarships to go around each year, BOB is going to need the very best in talent to come play football in Happy Valley, knowing that they can start almost immediately to punch tickets to the NFL.  I feel the first class, the 2013 recruiting class, is the key. Currently, it has verbal commits from some very talented individuals. An 0-3 start, one that has featured a five star QB being moved to tight end, would not be the way to inspire more five star talent to come play in Beaver Stadium over the next four years.

Panic is not about this year alone- it is about the very precarious nature which the future of Penn State football is in.  What doesn’t help to attract the recruits discussed above? Tweeting angry things at a kicker having an atrocious day- also may be seen as a turn off. It’s especially a turn off when said recruits feel compelled to offer encouragement to someone they view as a potential teammate.  So as Penn State fans have spent the past ten months showing some impressive resolve, and players showing the testicular fortitude often reserved for great men, some fans have chosen to be as ugly as possible.  For full disclosure- I may have offered his scholarship to someone else, they apparently will be in short supply in the future.  In my defense, I earned my money to go to college by going to Iraq and Afghanistan. I suggest that if the money for college is earned in a particular way, i.e. kicking field goals, I think actually accomplishing that would go a long way to actually earning what you are being paid to do. (Yeah, I said it, college players are paid)

It would be lazy of me to solely blame an inept kicking game for what is most alarming about Penn State’s start. We have hired an offensive coach- who has yet to produce much offense. A lot has been laid at Ted Roof’s feet so far- but we have all seen the Patriots produce points at a thirty point a game clip. We did not expect to have ONLY thirty points at this juncture.   I have heard BOB claim that he needs to call better plays- well why is that not happening? There are execution issues- mainly a lack of ability to catch the ball on third down, but it seems to be more of the same from Penn State’s offense. I constantly see McGloin holding the ball, waiting for receivers to finish routes. I fully expected the ball to be leaving McGloin’s hands very early and getting into our playmakers hands very quickly.  This doesn’t happen nearly often enough. I’m not the most learned of football minds- but that was exactly what Ohio did when they kicked our ass up and down the field in the second half of the first game. This is the first shot across the bow; the ball is in McGloin’s hands too long. Please get it out quickly- I can’t identify the “Wes Welker” of the offense.

Not to pile on (yeah right, I am all about piling on), but the defense has given up two second half leads in the first two games. Typically, such things are rumored not to have happened in the former regime. That’s an untrue statement actually- if you look at every gut wrenching loss you can remember in the past half-decade- it’s a come from behind victory for the opponent.  However, it is happening at a very rapid rate- as in 2 for 2. It would be nice if the defense held a lead, especially if it’s by multiple possessions.

So panic is forming somewhere- definitely on this blog- and will be spreading from section EJ on Saturday. The offense is not scoring, the defense is not preventing scores, and the special teams have been a dumpster fire. Aside from hanging the “Help Wanted” sign on the kicker position, this team needs to focus on execution.  We fans need to focus on not chewing off finger nails off, putting on a happy face, and pretend that Navy is the first game of season on Saturday.