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PSU Playbook - Akron Preview
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PSU Playbook
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Sep 02, 2004 17:06 PDT
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Dear Lion Faithful,
MH: This season the PSU Playbook newsletter will take
on an enhanced look you can find every week at our
site http://psuplaybook.org. It will have pictues,
stats, player and coach quotes, a roster and depth
chart in a version you can print for gameday. It's
called PSU Playbook BLITZ and you can find the Akron
version here:
http://www.psuplaybook.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=787&mode=&order=0&thold=0
We will still be sending out the email version as
always, but be sure to check our site and also
subscribe to The Playbook magazine for complete
coverage of your Nittany Lions.
ND: Well, it’s that time of year again. I found myself
hoping for next season to come by about the 5th game
of the season last year and low-and-behold, here is
the next season. I sure hope this pride of Lions are
ready for a tough season. They kick things off with
Akron this Saturday and it will, hopefully, set the
right tone for the season!
MH: It is amazing how slow the off-season can seem,
and yet how fast it can fly by at the same time. There
is a renewed hope in the Nittany Lions, partially out
of habit, partially out of loyalty, partially out of
desperation and partially out of what fans see in this
team. Akron should be a good first step for the Nitts
as they try to emerge from the doldrums of college
football.
Dirty Details:
Who: Akron at Penn State
When: Saturday, September 4th at 3:30pm ET and 12:30pm
PT
Where: Beaver Stadium
Attendance: 103,000+
Series: Penn State leads 1-0
Line: Penn State favored by 15pts
TV: Regional ESPN with Mike Waddell and Doug Graber
calling the action.
Radio: Penn State Sports Network with Steve Jones and
Jack Ham
Web: http://www.gopsusports.com,
http://psuplaybook.org
Trivia:
MH: Akron and Penn State have met once before in 1999,
with PSU taking a 70-24 victory over the Zips. Who
lead the Nittany Lions in rushing that day with only
three carries for 64 yards?
Other Big Games this Week:
ND: Well, there are some really interesting matchups
this week. The first one that I think is going to be
pretty good is of course, Florida State and Miami. We
will find out right away if Chris Rix will be a
Heisman contender or a Heisman pretender. Miami lost a
boat load of players, but they have shown the
propensity to reload very, very rapidly. The other
game that should be interesting is LSU and Oregon
State. The Bayou Bengals are ready to start their
campaign to repeat as National Champs (sorry USC!) and
their first game should be a good one. Derek Anderson
is a good QB and if he gets time, he can torch the LSU
defense. Plus, this very well might be the best
defense that the Tigers face all season with the
exception of Georgia. It should be a good game.
MH: Nirav, it doesn’t get much bigger than a first
game matchup between the Noles and Canes. Miami loses
a lot, but they will likely have some strong talent.
FSU has Chris Rix – again. It seems as if this guy is
37 and has been at FSU for 16 seasons. The hype as
surrounded Rix for years now, in this final shot - we
hope - will he be able to live up to the hype? Facing
Miami likely won’t help. The other game I am
interested in is that BYU-Notre Dame matchup in Utah.
The Irish are trying to dig out like PSU and they have
a tough first test against the high fying Cougars.
Upset Special:
ND: There are some decent games this weekend, but it’s
awfully hard to pick an upset without seeing any team
play. I think the best possibility might be that
Syracuse and Purdue game. There are some so-called
professionals that think Purdue could win the Big 10.
But, after losing most of their defense, I think they
are going to have to hope that they can outscore their
competition. I think Syracuse might be able to sneak
in an early win if they can find a way to get a couple
of stops on defense.
MH: This may turn some heads, but I think Michigan has
to be alert and ready for Miami of Ohio. They boast
some decent talent with a balanced attack. Pile on top
of this the prospect of knocking off the Wolverines
and the questions surround UM’s QB and RB situation
and it could be upset city. It’s a longshot, but
stranger things have happened.
Offense:
ND: Mark, there if there is one thing that I am fairly
certain of, it’s the fact that we should not expect to
see anything new in this game. PSU has always gone
conservative when they open against a “mid major”
school. I think the coaches look at these games as
another tune up for the regular season. In other
words, they want to work out some of the rust and to
figure out where the most improvement is needed in the
basic fundamentals. Having said that, I expect to see
plenty of running. Tony Hunt is the starter, but you
can count on Austin Scott getting at least 10 carries
as well. The two guys should have a very easy time
running the ball as long as it is between the tackles.
The Zips return only 5 starters on defense, but two
decent players are at the defensive end position.
Chase Blackburn is a terrific DE that transitioned to
that position from OLB. He has tremendous quickness
and can will make it tough to turn the corner on
running plays. The middle of that Zip line is soft, so
it will be key for Smith, Rush, and Reed to really do
a number opening up holes. I’m very excited to see
Paul Jefferson back into the mix. He was a big part of
Larry Johnson’s success and it will be great to see
him laying some crushing blocks again. The big
question for this offense is who is going to be the
receiving threat. Gerald Smith and Terrance Phillips
get the start, but I am fully expecting Michael
Robinson to get quite a few snaps as a receiver in
this game or in future games. Jino Vital is a huge SS
for the Zips and I’m fairly certain that we will see
him playing more as a 4th LB in an attempt to stop the
run because nobody is afraid of Penn State receiving
corp until they show that they can consistently make
plays and require the safeties to play honest. I think
the Lions will run the ball well, but will show signs
of being on the wrong page and being awfully green on
passing downs. But, I think the efficiency of the
running game should be enough to keep the chains
moving and to hit the endzone.
MH: Nirav, you are so right. All the zone blocking,
two-TE sets, crossing routes and split back sets we
have discussed here and there in the off-season will
be locked away in JoePa’s desk drawer. They Lions will
appear more conservative that Pat Buchanan in this
one. The staff sees this game as final staging for the
outgoing depth chart headed into Boston College. That
is not to say they are overlooking Akron – no, they
can’t afford to overlook Abington High School at this
stage, but they won’t be pulling out the secrets from
Galen’s book of tricks. This will be the Hunt-Scott
show, with them both getting a solid amount of
carries. The Zips will likely bring Blackburn on the
line to help plug up the running game. They will
pressure the pocket hard in order to rattle Zack
Mills, but the reports on the offensive line have been
glowing. With E.Z. Smith in the center and Andy
Richardson covering Zack’s weak side, this OL should
be dramatically improved over last year. Zack has
greater protection and more time to deliver the ball,
hence building his confidence and that of the offense.
The key to the running game is twofold. First that
offensive line should make big strides in opening
holes, especially against a smaller, but quicker Akron
defensive line and the ‘Sherman Tank,’ as I like to
call him, Paul Jefferson. Nirav you pointed to Paul’s
stellar blocking. He levels the competition and
believe it or not, I think his redshirt season will
serve the Lions well. He is stronger, faster and more
hungry. He missed not playing last year and is going
to eat up the opportunity this year. The big questions
for me is the wideout situation. Practice observers
have pointed to Terrence Phillips, Gerald Smith and
Ryan Scott as the top three wideouts. None of them
seemingly have the homerun threat capability. I am
hoping they prove me wrong. You are correct about
Michael Robinson, he has been getting increased reps
as a slot receiver and he has shown a consistency in
practice of being able to pull in the ball, especially
on the intermediate routes in the flat. Also, watch
for John Bronson to get some reps at tight end. That’s
right the former defensive end is on the other side
now. I doubt they throw a lot to him, but he’s another
tank who could ring some bells out there. Nirav, I am
on board with you, given the pressure the Zips are
likely to put on the running game, watch for Vital to
come in and charge the pocket to plug in holes. That
will put the Akron corners out there with little
support. This will be a time to show the Nittany
Nation they can spread things out and hook up on some
solid passes. Convince opponents now, because if you
can’t do it in this situation…well…
Defense:
ND: Despite a new coach and a new offensive scheme, QB
Charlie Frye returns to lead the Zips. He is a
definite pro prospect and scouts will be checking to
see if can be the next pro out of the MAC. The problem
is that Frye lost his RB and his top 5 receivers from
last year. The only thing that Frye has going for him
is that he has 4 guys from the OL returning. In fact,
this is a pretty good offensive line and should prove
to be a good challenge for Alford, Hali, Rice, and
Johnson. The Zips are going to throw the ball early
and they are going to throw often. The 2 guys to keep
an eye on are Morris Ellington and Dennis Basch.
Ellington missed most of last year, but the guy has
some serious jets. Zemaitis is a bit banged up so it’s
going to be critical that he get some help over the
top from the safeties to make sure that Ellington
doesn’t get deep without being covered. Basch is the
new TE in the bunch. The Zips relied on the TE quite a
bit last year and with a new west-coast offense being
implemented, expect to see Basch get plenty of
touches. In recent years, the Lions have really
struggled covering the TE with either a safety or a
LB. But, I have a feeling that LB phenom Paul
Posluszny is up to the task. The real question is
whether PSU’s defense can actually stop the run. With
4 returning, experienced, good-sized OL, the Zips will
be a good, first test for the Lions. Jerrell Ringer
will carry the ball for the Zips and he’s a decent RB.
In fact, in his 42 carries last year, Ringer was never
tackled for a loss. He has the ability to bust some
big plays too. It’ll be interesting to see how the
center of the defense handles the running attack. We
will see how Alford, Johnson, and Shaw do to keep the
middle of that defense real solid. The Zips are going
to move the ball, but in the end, the ability of the
secondary will force Frye to take more chances than he
would like.
MH: Frye is a solid QB. People think he has no one to
toss to, but he delivers the ball so well that I think
you and I could be his wideouts and we would find
success with the pass. Ellington is the guy to watch
in my opinion. He is quick and runs tight, but has
made mental mistakes on using his body to separate the
coverage. He has the jets to get deep though and pull
in a ‘homerun.’ The Zips will use the tight end early
and often. Posluszny is up for dishing out some
punishment. Watch for him to layout some big hits as a
‘memo’ that he is making an appearance on a yard-line
near you. I think the linebackers will be a solid
bunch with Tim Shaw in the middle. The question is the
defensive line going against that veteran offensive
line for Akron. Jay Alford is the mainstay and has
made some big improvements, but reports are that
fellow DT starter Ed Johnson has been inconsistent. He
can play “great,” but needs to do it on e very down.
Sounds like Jimmy Kennedy syndrome to me. The
defensive ends will consistent of Matt Rice, Tamba
Hali (over from DE) with Lavon Chisley rotating with
them. This provides a strong pass rush and the ability
to collapse the pocket. The run stopping is the ‘Final
Jeopardy’ answer. The question? ‘What is the number
one improvement Mark wants to see on defense?’ If they
can’t stop the run the Lions will pick up where they
left off with Michigan State. They have to come out,
angry, tenacious and mean. Stop the run and this is a
renewed defense. Despite the Zips wanting to test the
run defense, they can’t not use Frye’s talent in the
air. Zemaitis will no doubt shut down his side of the
field, but that leaves the Anwar Phillips/Donnie
Johnson side. Neither one has shown a consistent
ability to stop the ‘homerun’ ball. Watch for Frye to
toss their all day long.
Special Teams:
ND: Well, the coaches and players have talked about
the time spent on Special Teams so we will see how
that turned out. Out of last season, there were 2
major “to-dos”. The first was to not let the
opposition gain momentum through a big play on special
teams. The second was to actually do something
positive. The return game must get better this year
and it’ll be interesting to see how they do. We also
need Gould to get into gear and be a real reliable
scoring option. Kapinos will surely be solid.
MH: The verdict on Gould out of the off-season has
been mixed and that concerns me. Penn State needs to
have solid kicking as an afterthought if they are
going to start winning close games – and I expect a
lot of close ones this year. Kapinos should be solid,
but let’s hope we don’t need him to the point he is
winning player of the game awards from us like last
year. Lowry has to show me something on returns. Less
dancing more running.
Matchup to Kick Back and Enjoy
ND: I think the secondary will have their hands full
with Frye. I look for Zemaitis, Phillips, Guman, and
company to have a tough day. It’ll be fun to see if
they can make some plays against a great QB that has
very average WRs.
MH: The big matchup for me is Hunt and Scott verses
the potential eight in the box Akron may toss out.
These guys showed some flashes last year, with a
reported solid offensive line you may want to batten
down the hatches.
Keys to the Game:
ND: It’s plain and simple – keep Frye off the field.
If the offense can control the game and keep Frye
sitting on the bench rather than throwing all over the
place, then the Lions will win. But, it’s not that
easy. Over the past 4 years, the Lions have not
established themselves as a team that can control the
tempo of the game and play “keep away” from the other
team.
MH: It isn’t that simple Nirav. Stop the run, which is
no small task for PSU based on their recent history.
Stop the run and win the battle for field position.
Make Akron drive far and hopefully they run out of
gas.
Predictions:
ND: I think this game is going to be closer than most
people think. Not because Akron is that good or
because Penn State is that bad, but rather that I am
expecting the Lions to be quite conservative and to
work on the fundamentals as I mentioned before. Plus,
I think Frye is going to have the time to make some
plays.
PSU: 24 UA: 17
MH: Boy I hate this part. The Nitts are conservative,
but I think they open up a little bit bigger margin on
the Zips.
PSU: 30 UA: 13
Trivia Answer:
MH: Omar Easy was the Lion who picked up 64 yards on
just 3 carries against the Zips in 1999.
Until Next Time…..
GO STATE……BEAT ZIPS!!!
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