Blue And White Game: The Review

And on to the review....

The Quarterbacks:
All in all I was very please. With the kind of quarterbacks that you have, a two-hand-touch type of game doesn't allow you to see much running, but as far as touch passes that we've been missing for two years, I left encouraged. Clark had a great pass to Williams for a touchdown and Devlin showed the same type of accuracy on shorter passes that were called his way. There will be much discussion about who should start, and a couple weeks into the season I'll have an opinion, but for now I'm just going to be happy we have two great players with a lot of potential.

The Weather:
Unlike last year I was smart enough to put a little sunscreen on, and therefore I have nothing to complain about. Pretty much the perfect drinking weather.

The Runningbacks:
Everyone obviously will remember Green's great opening run. Royster looked solid as well. One thing that will open up the game for these guys will be the threat of the QB keeper, something the defenses in this scrimmage didn't have to consider. That's going to help turn a lot of the 3/4/5 yard stuff into first downs. The nice thing about RB is that you can run a committee without disturbing anyone's rhythm too bad, and you also are well protected against injuries. Similar to the QB situation, I'm just going to be grateful for what the team has right now and put off the who should start thing until the fall when we get to see some real life carries.

The Tailgate:
I think I might miss the tailgates as much as the games at this point.

The Receivers:
While we don't seem to have a lot of depth, I have to say I'm very excited about the prosect of having athletic recievers running routes for a quarterback who can get them the ball. While Williams was able to handle it, the rest of the core didn't seem to work well with Morelli's darts. I think they will all be more productive in the new "system". Speaking of system...

The "Spread HD":
It's hard to say how much of the play calling was being held back, but I was getting a little tired of the six yard TE passes. Andrew Szczerba played great, so I suppose if that is the system it could work, but there has been way too much made of JayPa's "new" old offense. It looks pretty standard to me. Maybe he will surprise us when he shows his full hand against Oregon State, but based on the last 5 or 6 years, I'll believe the phrase "New Exciting Penn State Offense" when I see it.

Still better than last year, though.

Cheering Sean Lee at half time:
I'm looking forward to him getting back on the field.

Booing Morelli at halftime: (zero stars)
As happy as I am that he's gone, that didn't feel right.

Defensive Line and Linebackers:
I seem to be giving everyone four stars here. I'm not going to bring up Sean Lee and how big of a loss that will be, but I have to say I was pleased with the pressure being brought upfront and the run-stuffing of Sales, Hull and Gbadyu (especially considering the limited scheme the defense was forced to play).

That being said, I think we are going to be forced to play a balanced game for the first time in a while. The defense is not longer going to be expected to shut down every single offense we play, which I hope would subliminally open up our offense a little bit.

...


Overall I would say I'm pleased but not surprised. Everytime someone looked good you have to consider that means someone else looked bad. However, the two big questions for me, quarterback and linebacker, appear to be in line.