Fire Joe Morgan Would Love This [Don't Do It Dolphins]

You are one of the worst teams of all time and you are going to blow the #1 pick an a mediocre quarterback because he has..."intangibles"?!? This better be ESPN bullshit because otherwise, there needs to be an investigation into the Dolphins tanking this thing on purpose.

He's the most mediocre quarterback to be considered as a #1 overall first round pick since Tim Couch. Ya, the one that takes steriods.


I mean, if we are going down this road, Morelli will probably still be on the board.

Morelli Has Big Hands, Slow Feet

You know what they say about guys with big hands...they can't read defenses.

From SMQ:

Kudos to Chad Henne and Sam Keller on cracking the 5.0 barrier in the 40, a mark cohorts Erik Ainge, Alex Brink, Paul Smith and Anthony Morelli juuuuust missed. Morelli, however, was at least a finalist for the positional award for "Monster Appendage" of the weekend, lugging in a hand measuring one-eighth of an inch shy of a ten full inches, best of his group.

The Morelli hand was second in freakishness only to the arm of Dennis Dixon, which measured a truly orangutanian 36 and one-quarter inches. No other quarterback had even comparable lank attached to them; the only other limb measuring longer than 34 inches was that of San Diego State's Kevin O'Connell, which still put him a good two inches behind Dixon's unseemly catapult.

Really? Are we really measuring the exact length of every limb of each quarterback?

This begs, I mean beeeggsss, for an apporpriate dick joke but I'm taking the high road.

Give Me Back My Stars!

Scouts.com has run a "where are they now" on the list of 5-star recruits from 2004. Penn State did well that year, landing three five star players: Dan Connor (#6), Anthony Morelli (#22) and Greg Harrison (#28). It is worth pointing out that Rivals had them ranked at #24, #12, and #100, respectively (Harrison was actually a 4-star).

From the bottom up:

28. OL Greg Harrison, Penn State – Harrison certainly looked the part coming out of Shenandoah Valley (Penn.) High School, a hulking lineman with good quickness, burst and smarts. However, he injured his foot shortly after arriving in State College, struggled to crack the lineup in 2006, and was not a part of the team last season. For all the hype surrounding Harrison, the jump from high school to college was too much for a player that never even lettered for the Lions.
Revised Rating: No stars

I don't know much about Harrison other than I there is probably a reason I don't know much about him. Sounds like he got hurt and kind of faded away.

22. QB Anthony Morelli, Penn State – Morelli started two seasons in Happy Valley, but never quite lived up to the hype that made him one of the country’s most coveted quarterbacks four years ago. Rarely the reason that the Lions won a big game, he finished his career with modest numbers, including 31 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions. A senior season that was supposed to be his breakthrough year wound up being riddled with inconsistent play, and as many picks as touchdowns in Big Ten games.
Revised Rating: 3 starts

This is way off in my opinion...I don't know how anyone who watched him play for two years can say he was a three star QB. I think that, when at his best (Wisconsin game comes to mind, even the Outback Bowl from two years ago) he played like a thee star, but on average? I'd say one and a half. His mobility was not a predicted strong suit, but he showed by his senior year that he was actually better off taking a sack then trying to get back to the line. There were way too many horrible throws and bad decision, right up til the end of this year, to warrant a respectable three star tag.

6. LB Dan Connor, Penn State – At a school that’s been defined by its linebackers, Connor staked his claim over the last four years to being the best ever to play in Happy Valley. An All-American the last two seasons, he won the Bednarik Award given to the nation’s best defensive player and became the Lions’ all-time leading tackler in 2007. A linebacker with unmatched instincts at the position, he should be scooped up long before the end of the first round of this spring’s NFL Draft.
Revised Rating: 5 stars

A no brainer, he was the best linebacker in the nation. Period.

Some other notables that held their ground include Ginn and Hene...the list is pretty interesting and worth taking a read through.

The Peoples Hero

Morelli is catching a lot of slack this week. While the majority of the comments fall into the "thank god the era is over" bucket, there are also a rising number of fans, and reporters, who are upset by this. I don't really care.

Should he have shown up? Yes. Do I care that he didn't? No. I wasn't going to read what he had to say anyway. Do I think it's a joke that the reports thought it appropriate to ask Galen Hall as well as several of the players "where is Anthony Morelli?" No, I don't. Those kids are giving you their time to talk about the game and themselves, don't try to drag them into your mud slinging piece.

Now I'm not here to defend Morelli, he has done so many things that simply piss me off (see: yelling back at Michigan fans, giving lip to defensive coaches, etc.). After the Illinois game debacle he became an average quarterback. No more, no less. He limited the bonehead plays and made a couple decent passes. He was suppose to be great, but we all should have realized after last season that he was never destine to turn that corner. Maybe this is part our fault for expecting too much, and I know part of the blame is on the coaches for putting all their stock in this kid, but I'm going to watch the Bowl Game and be done with it. He is a kid, he is graduating, and I'm excited to see the Blue and White game.