Penn Staters

Whoo Hoo! We Are Penn State! Sure there were a few mistakes, O-line does need to tighten up. I've been waiting to see what Morelli could do, and I'm pleased with what I saw. All in all, good game.
I watched Notre Dame struggle last night, let's hope they do the same next week. :beer:

 

How did Poluszny and Levi Brown look yesterday?

 

Lions solid when it counts
Sunday, September 03, 2006
BY BOB FLOUNDERS<--He's the resident PSU basher
Of The Patriot-News
STATE COLLEGE - Draw your own conclusions about the loopy way Penn State deployed its fly-to-the-ball defense in a season-opening 34-16 victory over Akron yesterday in front of 106,505 at Beaver Stadium.

One instant it looked like the Nittany Lions were playing a 3-4 instead of their traditional base 4-3.

The next, after the Zips were frequently forced into long-yardage situations, one could almost swear head coach Joe Paterno and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley had the troops aligned in an eye-rubbing 2-4-5.

Yeah, that's right -- two down linemen, four linebackers and five defensive backs.

Was the goal to give Notre Dame something extra to think about?

Could be with the Lions headed to South Bend Saturday.

Or was it as simple as finding a way to get as many linebackers on the field at once? Because clearly, the Lions are as deep at the position as they have ever been.

The bottom line, however, was this: Operating in Ernesto-tized weather conditions, just about everything PSU threw at the highly regarded Akron offense worked.

The Zips were held to 225 total yards and only found the end zone twice -- once after a PSU turnover near midfield and once in mop-up time after the Lions had built a 25-point lead.

When it mattered most, though, Akron senior quarterback Luke Getsy could do nothing against a unit led by down linemen Jay Alford and Ed Johnson, linebackers Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor and Sean Lee, new free safety Anthony Scirrotto and the guy whose position was hard to pin down, Tim Shaw.

While PSU's offense struggled without a running game (76 yards), its speedy defense was superb in throttling the Zips. The Lions finished with five sacks, two of them by Shaw off the edge.

"I like what they've done," Akron coach J.D. Brookhart said when asked about a Lions defense that replaced seven starters from last year's 11-1 team.

"They're using those [linebackers] the way that I think they should. [They have] a talented secondary, obviously, with some speed.

"They're only going to get better."

So, too, is PSU quarterback Anthony Morelli. His first pass was a 42-yard rainbow for a score to wideout Deon Butler.

Morelli finished 16-of-32 for 206 yards and two more TDs, a 14-yarder to wideout Jordan Norwood in the second quarter and a 20-yard floater to wideout Derrick Williams in the third.

On the first, a third-and-four play, Norwood shook free from the right slot and caught a short-range throw from Morelli, running it into the left corner.

And with PSU leading 17-9 after a 4-yard TD run by Akron back Dennis Kennedy early in the third, Morelli and Williams teamed up to convert a third-and-12 into a score.

"I thought Morelli did a really good job early and then he got a little bit careless in his reads," Paterno said.

"This is his first game he had to play a lot. ... I think overall I would say he was fine."

But the contest belonged to PSU's defense. It was in control from the moment it stepped on the field in an unorthodox set-up that included tackles Alford and Johnson up front, flanked by end Jimmy Shaw to the left and -- surprise -- Tim Shaw to the right.

Behind the quartet were Connor, Posluszny and Lee at linebacker, Tony Davis and Justin King at corner, Donnie Johnson at strong safety and Scirrotto at free safety.

PSU tweaked the look when Akron faced long-yardage scenarios, substituting one of the defensive linemen with nickel back Nolan McCready to give the appearance of a 2-4-5.

There was a catch. Shaw wasn't playing linebacker. He was, for all intents and purposes, an end rushing from the upright position and admitted so afterward.

So the 3-4 base was really a gimmick 4-3. And the wacky 2-4-5 was nothing more than an oddly constructed 3-3-5.

"Beginning of camp [in August]," said Tim Shaw, asked when he found out about his position switch.

"I guess you can say it's a rush end spot. Like last year, it sorta was Tamba [Hali] playing the position," he added, referring to PSU's All-America defensive end.

"It's fun to get after [the quarterback]. It was kind of a new experience for me."

One that made him sore. Shaw said he's up to 237 pounds, but was beaten up from having to go against much larger offensive linemen.

Connor and Lee got the glory. Connor netted 13 tackles and had 31/2 tackles for loss; Lee flew around and registered six stops and 11/2 tackles for loss.

But Lee said the credit should go to Shaw. His sacrifice, he said, made the game plan work.

"I knew we were going to do a bunch of different things," Lee said.

"We showed a lot of looks out there.

"Tim Shaw, it's a testament to him because he can play so many positions," Lee added.

"He's played running back, he's played H-back, he can play tight end or middle linebacker. Now he's playing the rush end spot because he's such a great athlete."

Said Paterno of Shaw: "I think he did a pretty good job of rushing the passer. ... Basically, it was a four-man line most of the day."

The defense shined and Morelli stepped to the plate in his first start, but there was plenty for Paterno to be miffed about.

The Lions were erratic at times.

Morelli lost a fumble, new kickoff returner A.J. Wallace lost a fumble and the field-goal team likely cost the Lions 10 points with critical errors.

Holder Jason Ganter slipped on a fake field goal and botched a hold on a 21-yard attempt.

And what about Tony Hunt? A 1,000-yard rusher last season, he spun his wheels against the Zips, hit before he could get to scrimmage. Try 36 yards on 14 carries.

"I thought we were sloppy and we obviously weren't ready to run the football, which is going to bother me," Paterno said.

But when he reviews the tape, the play of his defense figures to go a long way toward easing the pain.

With so many versatile and elite-level linebackers, the Lions' defense did a pretty good imitation of the 2005 bunch.

That's saying something.

 

i was there. it was sick. broke my foot at the game too. haha

 

I really like Anthony Morelli.

 

I think our only concern should be our offensive line. Morelli has shown that he has the arm strength to be a very good QB, especially with a great WR core (Williams is the man, is there anyone more dangerous going deep then Butler, and Norwood is very good as well). Tony Hunt (who reminds me a lot of Cedric Houston) is a very good running back, and no matter how many guys we've lost our defense has always been amazing in past years. We also still have arguably the best linebacking core in the country. The OL still scares me. Levi Brown is a rock and a lock for a top 2 round pick in the NFL Draft next season, but the other guys really didn't impress me that much, and Hunt's 35 yards rushing shows that.

Next week should be a very, very good game against Notre Dame. Can't wait