Blue White Roundtable: Alabama Week Edition
September 7, 2011 – | 1 Comment

Once again, it’s Adam Collyer over at BlackShoeDiaries providing the questions, and we, your humble bloggers, providing the answers. Mine are below, and you can venture off to the remote areas of the blogosphere that …

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Blue/White Roundtable: Y’Town State Edition

Submitted by on September 1, 2010No Comment

Another season of football, another season of the Blue/White Roundtable. For the uninitiated, you’ll see answers to the following questions not just here, but at all your other favorite Penn State blogs (though we know we’re really #1 in your hearts).  It’s something we do just about every week, to try and get the viewpoints and angles from all over the blogosphere on some of Penn State’s most pressing issues.  Ben over at Victory Bell Rings was this week’s host. He came up with the queries and will have a summary later in the week, if you’re too lazy to read them all.

I'm most concerned with Penn State's offensive line

1.This offseason seems to have more storylines than usual. Quarterbacking issues and Joe’s age aside, what is the first thing you’ll be looking for come Saturday?

The biggest thing for me heading into the Youngstown State game will be the performance of the offensive line.  Sure, it’s only a 1-AA opponent, but we’ll know that Penn State can succeed if they push the Penguin linemen around like they should.  Last year, the unit struggled in tune-up games against such powerhouses as Akron, Syracuse, and Temple.  If they can’t dominate the line of scrimmage against Eastern Illinois, we can only imagine how severely they’ll struggle against Alabama.  Evan Royster is a running back who relies on the offensive line to get a good push and open up holes, and the worst thing for a young quarterback is to be hurried in the pockets.  It might not be a glamor position, but the offensive line is probably the most important for Penn State this year.

2. Penn State has a lot of depth in positions like linebacker and wideout. Considering that the game should be in hand come the second half, which of the less talked about players on the Nittany Lion roster do you look forward to seeing in action?

I’m going to give the same answer this year as I did last year: Brandon Ware.  I remember when we were both freshmen, and I first saw the dude suited up as the team went through the pre-game routine: dude was the size of a house. Last year, he’d gotten in shape, but missed the year with the broken foot. Now is his time to shine–maybe not shine, but at least get some game action.  Other than that, I’m very excited to see Justin Brown get meaningful reps. More than any other Penn State wideout in recent memory, the guy looks the part, and with significant playing time could force his way into the rotation at receiver.

I'm back on #TeamMcGloin

3. How should Penn State handle the quarterbacking situation? How would you divide the workload?

I know the popular answer is going to be to throw Robert Bolden into the fire and see what he can do.  The freshman has received rave reviews, and may well be the best quarterback on the roster.  That said, I want to protect the kid, especially if we’ll be asking him to lead this team for the next 3 or 4 years.  Penn State’s best chance to beat Alabama comes from making as few mistakes as possible, and not letting early struggles get to them.  By that metric, Matt McGloin has to be the choice.  He’s got the “it factor” and leadership ability to command a huddle, and would probably be the best game manager of the three.  I’d love to sprinkle in Kevin Newsome as a wildcat option, just as Florida used Tim Tebow alongside Chris Leak in 2006, and Ryan Perriloux complemented Matt Flynn for the 2007 LSU squad.

What’s the best case scenario for Penn State coming out of this game? How does the offense/defense look in its development, and how many people has Jack Crawford killed?

The best case scenario? Kevin Newsome gets the start, and plays like the reincarnation not of Michael Robinson, but of Troy Smith.  The offensive line bullies around a much smaller, less talented unit, and Evan Royster does the rest.  On the other side of the field, Jack Crawford breaks out in a big way–at 270 pounds of pure muscle he’s got obscene size and strength, so he should be able to have a field day with an offensive lineman who’s the same size as he is.  Devon Still fills the Odrick role and disrupts things in the backfield.  Chris Colasanti proves himself to be more than Josh Hull. Stephon Morris makes the transition from nickel to starter better than Drew Astorino did. Astorino puts the shoulder injury behind him and lays someone out.

RAPID FIRE:

Over/Under (Penn State Score)—40: I’ll take the under. PSU will score 37 points.
Going to the game? I’ll be in the PRESS BOX SUCKASSSS
Passing yardage > Rushing yardage? No, only because Penn State is reluctant to throw the ball once they get up big
Number of times Joe’s age/bowels are brought up on TV?
27.

This is so sad. But dead penguin is on the menu this Saturday.
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