Steelers Lab

Yinzers,

Science cannot explain the fact that Charles Q. Batch not only threw a football 50 yards, but did it twice. The theoretical yield of a 35 year old, fourth-string quarterback is a pretty low number, statistically. However, the experimental yield greatly outweighed both expectations and doubt. Props to Charlie! I've always loved the local boy and I'm ecstatic that he is still with the Steelers and doing well. In my opinion, the next big accomplishment for the Steelers, Superbowl or otherwise, should be signing-on a new quarterbacks' coach: Charles Q. Batch. Just my opinion.

ESPN is finally wising-up and dealing in reality, much to the chagrin of yours truly. ESPN has has Pittsburgh ranked #1 in the most recent power rankings. I mean it is logical, considering they are 3-0 with the 3rd best defense in the league (statistically) and have been playing without their best quarterback, but I would much rather they play the doubter card. It is just much more gratifying to prove "experts" wrong. Rashard Mendenhall has found his groove, Charlie Batch is throwing pills, the offensive line did not let up any sacks last week and the defense is lights-out as usual. Things are looking good at this point in the season.

This week will be a big test of the Ben-less team. The Baltimore Rat Birds come to Heinz Field. No matter how good or how bad either team is, the sheer hatred for each other dominates every game between these two franchises. Baltimore is coming off of a mediocre win against the Cleve Brownies. The "experts" said that the Baltimore defense is the toughest, roughest defense in the NFL, but the Rat Birds let up 304 total yards, 173 of which were on the ground, to the lowly Browns. Granted, the Ravens' defense is #1 against the pass right now, but if teams are being successful against the 22nd best run defense, they're probably not going to pass as much. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco and the Rat Birds' offense has been about average this year. The Ravens' passing attack ranks 17th in the league with about 213 yards per game and the running game of Ray Rice and Willis McGahee is averaging just 89 yards per game. I would expect that to change this week against the Steelers. Every time these two teams play, it is a beat 'em down, drag 'em out, smash-mouth football game. I would expect the Ravens to really try and establish the run early and often and work the play-action off of that. The biggest threat in this game to the Steelers defense is going to be the off-season acquisition of Anquan Boldin. The guy is dangerous down field and has great hands. It also helps that he is Joe Flacco's favorite target. If the Rat Birds want to win, they will have to get to Charlie Batch often and work the play-action to Anquan Boldin.

The Steelers know what they are up against this week. This is by far one of the nastiest rivalries in sports. These teams will be at each others throats for 60+ minutes. The 3rd best [statistical] defense in the NFL will need to play as stout as ever against this Ravens offense. The Ravens always bring their A-game against the Steelers. If the Steelers defense goes about their business as usual, they should be able to let Casey Hampton feed on Joe Flacco, thus keeping the Ravens' offense in check. On offense, the realization that Charlie Batch can throw the ball should open up Bruce Ariens' playbook quite a bit. For the first half however, expect the usual iso-iso-screen mantra until BA has his first shot of confidence. The offensive line needs to protect Charlie just like they did last week and open holes for Rashard to get past Ray Lewis' gang. Trai Essex, Chris Hoke and Dennis Dixon did not participate in practice this week and I would doubt their appearance in Sunday's game.

As usual, I make no predictions and in this case you can't. As I stated before, no matter how good or bad either of these teams are, they always play their best against each other. The Steelers-Ravens rivalry dates back to the old Cleveland Browns and they will always be the first and most hated rival in Pittsburgh. Game time is 1:00 pm on Sunday.

Here we go,
B Brog

Wednesday my old friend

Yinzers,

All is good in the land of Black n' Gold. Our beloved Penguins went 4-0 in the Preseason- the regular season comes up next Thursday for the home opener against the Flyers. No major injuries and no problem.

In Steelers News, people are beginning to say Ben Who? I would be quick to judge the top quarterback in the NFL( yeah yeah Brady , Manning, blah) . Charlie Batch proved last week why he is the best number 2 for us after all these years. This week however the Hated Ravens come to roost in Heinz Field. On paper the Ravens have the number one Defense in the NFL. How is that Possible?

Well we will have to take care of that on Sunday( at 1pm) get ready for the first slug fest of the Season!

I hope everyone enjoys the Hump day and enjoy this upcoming weekend!

Wade

Truck Tuesday (Night)

Hey Yinz,

My apologies for blogging so late on a Tuesday night. The Igloo Club 222 took a field trip to my home state to watch the USC/Auburn game this past Saturday. We stayed on a plantation that the richest man in Alabama owns (unfortunately, not kin to me), so that was pretty sweet. Pictured above is the igloo club posing by the lie down tree on the plantation, aka the coolest tree in the world, according to Russell (my mom).




On Saturday, we tailgated with some friendly Auburn fans. I have heard that Auburn fans are friendly, but after this weekend, I really believe it. I grew up my whole life loving the tide and hating the tigers, but Auburn is really growing on me. During the game we sat in my uncle's club level seats and got evil eyes from all the Auburn fans around us. We were definitely living the high life this weekend, and it would have been perfect, other than the outcome of the game. The gamecocks played a good game, but they could not get it together by the end of the game. I'm pretty sure the gamecocks defense never showed up the entire second half. I have so much more to say, but I will refrain so I don't get too worked up, again.



On the way home from our trip on Sunday we made a stop in Atlanta at one of the Pittsburgh bars. This bar was called Y-knot and it was pretty authentic - I saw several true yinzers there. This is also the first time that I have seen another person wearing a Lambert jersey, and I actually saw 3 people wearing it. Unfortunately I had to sit next to a cowboys fan who knocked over my drink, but he took a picture of us and our new Atlanta (Pittsburgh) friends as his penance. If you ever find yourself in Atlanta (well, Peachtree City to be exact), you should definitely check out this bar.

I know B Brog will go into this in more detail on Thursday, but the Steelers game was solid. It was probably the best game I have seen in the year and 3 games that I have been following the Steelers. And it made up for the disappointing gamecock loss on Saturday night. I am very impressed with Charlie Batch to say the least!

Have a great Tuesday Night!

Truck

Fuse Box Monday

Yinzers,

Sorry, but I have to keep this one short. Did not have time to properly author today's blog due to a mid-term exam this week, 2 presentations and a lengthy homework assignment. Quick update: new name for Monday since the Consol Energy Center is now open.

After beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 in the inaugural game at Consol Energy Center, the Penguins took on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. Mark Letestu led the way dishing out two more assists as the Pens beat the Blue Jackets 5-4. On Saturday, the second half of the home-and-home series with Columbus took place. Marc-Andre Fleury shined with a 32 save performance as the Penguins rolled to victory 3-1. The Penguins are 3-0 heading into their last preseason game. Said game will be tomorrow night at 7:00 pm when it'll be a hockey night in Pittsburgh as the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks come to town.

In other Penguins' news, HBO is going to showcase the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins on a "reality show" in December. It's called '24/7 Penguins Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic." If any of you readers out there follow boxing, HBO did the same thing for the Manny Paquiao v. Miguel Cotto fight. The Penguins-Capitals edition will air on December 15th at 10:00 pm on HBO. If you don't have HBO, don't worry about it. The Paquiao-Cotto one wasn't worth much anyway and I don't see our being any better, even though it involves the Penguins. I would just watch it to see any antics and banter between our own players.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Football, Football, FOOTBALL!

Hola Yinz,

I hope you weekend is off to a great start! It's a great weekend for football. As you all know I live 2,000 miles away from any of my favorite teams, so seeing them on tv is a rare occurrence. Today is an exceptional day....I GET TO WATCH CAROLINA!!!

I'm still on a hunt for a new Steeler watching home. Tomorrow, I am checking out a new bar with my new found Steeler friend, Nate. So if you are out and about in the San Diego area come to Nick's in OB. I'll keep you posted on the progress of my investigation.

C-A-R-O-L-I-N-A.....GO COCKS!

Labuda on the Left Coast

Penn State Phryday Preview

Yinzers,

Well, the Kent State Golden Flashes are behind us on the 2010 football season's road. I can't say I was pleased with the team play last week. Although the score shows a dominating victory at 24-0, if you were at the game, there was an uneasy feeling all game. Kent State moved the ball relatively well, considering they were playing what was supposed to be a far better team in Penn State. There were several points in the game where Kent State was driving in a methodical fashion before one dropped pass or one stalled run play forced them into the pooch-punt in Penn State territory. But like I said in the past couple PSPP blogs, these games are for getting the kinks out and building confidence.

On Saturday, the Owls of Temple fly into Beaver Statdium...ok they will probably take a tour bus but who is counting? The Owls have not beaten the Nittany Lions since JoePa was a safety at Brown University. However, this is no reason to take this year's flock lightly. Temple is 3-0, their best start in 30 years, and they have been playing good, technically-sound football. Temple picked up wins against Villanova (who was one of the top teams in the FCS last season), Central Michigan (eh...) and Connecticut (who was in the top 5 of the Big East last season). So what will Temple bring this weekend? They will bring an offense that is based off of establishing the run and works the play-action and screen passes off of it. If they want to be successful against the Penn State defense, they will stick to the screen pass. Penn State is so aggressive on defense that they overrun the screen every time (that's why Kent State was successful in moving the ball). Junior quarterback Chester Stewart has yet to throw an interception in 3 games...but he only has 2 of the team's touchdowns. The bulk of offensive production comes from the "split" backfield of sophomores Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown, with Pierce being the feature. Pierce is expected to be a 1000-yard rusher this season in the MAC, so the kid does have the skill. Temple does not have any real stand-outs on defense, but defensive end Adrian Robinson came up with a big forced fumble-touchdown combo that sealed the deal for Temple last week. Look for them to be fired up in Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions need to continue to grow this week. Temple has not beaten the Nittany Lions in 70 years and they cannot let that streak come to an end. Evan Royster is still slumping after being the Big Ten's leading rusher for the past two years with over 2000 yards. Maybe he's gearing up to explode in Big Ten play, maybe not. Either way, Penn State is a smashmouth football team that relies on the run. If Royster cannot get his bearings, get Stephfon Green and Silas Redd in there to get it done. Having a good running game takes the pressure of your true-freshman quarterback. Royster had just 38 yards rushing against lowly Kent State. The story of this short season so far is the 'averageness' of this year's squad with their best NCAA rank being 74th in rushing yards per game (Temple is 70th). Defense has definitely led the way with the 2010 team so far. Even though there has not been the sheer domination as was in years past, the defensive corps is still very stingy where it counts: on the score board. Penn State has given up just 16 points per game in their first three contests, but you can't depend on that all season. Someone needs to step up and ignite the fire in the hearts of the Nittany Lions on both sides of the ball. For the last game before Big Ten play, Saturday needs to be an absolute, no holds-barred massacre. Pull out all the stops and get a little reckless if just to get some confidence.

Game time is 3:30 pm on the Big Ten Network. The spread is 14 and the over/under is 43. This weekend is one in which all of the alumni from Philthadelphia and/or attend Temple for graduate school come back to Happy Valley...and there are a ton of them. Bars will be packed, so get in early and stay there. Tomorrow is the Boy's birthday so if you see this tromboner on the TV, holler "happy birthday, boy!"

For the Glory,
B Brog

Steelers Lab

Yinzers,

The "experts" said that the Steelers would be lucky to win any of the four games without Ben Roethlisberger. The "experts" said the Steelers defense is depleted and old. The "experts" said Chris Johnson would be too much for the Steelers to handle. Who was in the right? Your Pittsburgh Steelers and your MSM team. Dennis Dixon started the game last week, but left with a knee sprain in the second half. Meanwhile, the new era Steel Curtain with Lamaar Woodley, James Harrison, Lawrence Timmons, James Farrior, Larry Foote, Brett Keisel, Aaron Smith, Troy Polamalu and the other defensive players that rotated into Dick Lebeau's erotic (that's right, erotic) defenses on Sunday, showed why Pittsburgh is successful. The defense had 7 take-aways including 4 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions. Still the best parts of the game were the pile-driving of Titans' QB Vince Young and the fact that the "experts" were all about the Titans defense, though the Steelers held last year's rushing champ to 34 yards. Chris Johnson came into the game having rushed for 100+ yards in every game last year...except the ones against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Charles Q. Batch finished off the game and the Steelers are 2-0.

On Sunday, the Steelers travel to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Florida to take on the rebuilding Buccaneers. The "experts" are calling this a battle of "unlikely unbeatens." I will tell you why that's not true for the respective teams. For the Steelers: the Steel Curtain. Defense wins championships even if your offense is struggling to score points, as the Steelers offense is. With only two offensive touchdowns-one of which was in overtime-the offense is average at best without Ben Roethlisberger. But if you can hold your opponent to under 14 points every game, you can win on field goals alone. As for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they simply have had two practice games so far, playing the Cleve Brownies and the Carolina Panthers. Josh Freeman, however, is developing into a decent, dual-threat quarterback and Cadillac Williams is simply a beast to bring down. But they still have not faced a test yet, so they're 2-0.

For this weekend's contest, Cadillac Williams is questionable and "@#$%^&* soldier" TE Kellen Winslow 2 is probable. Winslow is the first option for Freeman on offense, mostly because his receiving corps has not stepped up to prove that he can trust them. If Cadillac cannot play this week, it will be a long day for the Buccaneers' offensive line and Josh Freeman against the ruthless attack of the Steel Curtain. If they want to move the ball, they will have to throw short and intermediate routes underneath the Steelers' zone coverage and get the ball out of Freeman's hands as fast as possible. On offense, time is a premium commodity when you're playing the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On defense, the Buccaneers are relatively stout, statistically. Their strength this year has been in pass coverage, allowing less than 200 yards per game, but they have not faced a decent quarterback and receivers yet. The only thing that can be said about the Buccaneers' run defense is "needs improvement." They allowed the Browns to rack up 104 yards on the ground and allowed the Panthers to rush for 119. Granted, the Panthers have "thunder and lightning" in Deangelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart, but neither opponent has an offensive line to speak of. Arguably their most key player on defense, safety Tanard Jackson, will be out for the rest of the year, after violating the league's substance abuse policy. It will be interesting to see what they can do with Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac "Redzone" Redman coming through the line.

For the Steelers, Charles Q. Batch will get the start this week. Word on the street is that Byron Leftwich is healthy enough to play, if needed. Lefty suffered a knee injury in the last preseason game and has not played since. Dennis Dixon is still recovering from his knee sprain that he suffered in last week's win over the Titans. Look for Bruce "Run, Run, Screen" Ariens to stick to his "run, run, screen" mantra this week to keep the wily vet in some kind of rhythm, but I trust that Charles can make the plays. The only part of his game that disturbs me is whether or not he can hit the speed demon Mike Wallace in-stride far down field. Rumor has it that Max Starks will be ready to go on Sunday, coming off an ankle injury. The offensive line still needs work in my opinion, but they have done just enough to get by. Getting Starks back will help the left side tremendously. Trai Essex is still not practicing, but look out! Big Snack was taking full reps this week at practice.



Casey Hampton will most likely be back in the lineup on Sunday, staring over the line of scrimmage saying "Hey Josh Freeman, I'ma eatchu." It will be interesting to see what the legendary Lebeau does this week after the great success he had last week by rotating fresh bodies into the lineup on defense. The Steelers are the deepest they have ever been on defense and it showed last week when they never lost a step with all of the substitutions. The defense has taken all of the criticism to heart and is playing with a chip on its shoulders...and I love it. The Steel Curtain is back, baby! The key this week will be not focusing too much on one area. The Buccaneers will need to pass to score points, but if the D focuses too much on the pass, Cadillac Williams is dangerous enough to make them pay. The solution: keep playing like you did in the first two games. Look out, Tampa, here comes the Steel Curtain.

Game time is 1:00 pm EST on CBS and KDKA.

In other news, the Pittsburgh Penguins put on quite a show in the inaugural game at Consol Energy Center, routing the Detroit Red Wings 5-1. “That’s an unbelievable crowd for preseason,” said Ryan Craig, who had two goals in the game. “The building’s full and 20 seconds in they’re chanting ‘Let’s go Pens!’ It made it exciting and it showed in our play.” (from penguins.nhl.com) Pittsburgh has the greatest fans in all of sports and our teams appreciate it very much. Keep it up Yinzers and even if you get taken out of Pittsburgh, don't let the Pittsburgh get taken out of you.

Here we go,
B Brog

Facebook,the Bridge to Nowhere and the Penguins...

Yinzers,

First off I really do not like Facebook.Do you remember the days when there wasn't a cellphone in your hand 24/7 ?Or you were not on the puter checking your Tweet? No offense to you Facebookers out there( cause I am one of them) but until this week- I didn't like it-then Saturday Happened. Just jagging around on Facebook after one of our Igloo Club parties, I tried to request friends like Penguins players and Steelers etc etc. Then I got to thinking I really would love to friend ( the president,no)Rick Sebak.

Rick Sebak is a Historical institution on his own. He is a vital part to the Pittsburgh History Series. He is also a vital part to WQED in Pittsburgh. He is the voice and the host of such movies like" the Bridge to Nowhere", "The Mon the AL and the O" and his most famous one in our home "KennyWood memories."

Through Facebook this week, as you can imagine by the intro I had a conversation with the one and only R.Sebak. We chatted about BBQ,Westinghouse and the City of Columbia. I was just shocked. I realized that these kids with their Facebook really aren't that bad after all. Rick is the newest member of the Igloo Club 222 and he also sent me a Picture of Sophie Maslof and Himself. What a Week!

The Pittsburgh Penguins hit the ice tonight at the Consol Center . It is the first game, first preseason game at the new Igloo. Preseason hockey- eh, not to exciting. I guess it will be a sold out crowd tonight and it should be. For all the people that had season tickets for the Penguins that had to sit in that old barn, tonight is for you. LETS GO PENS!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, enjoy the weekend ! Go Steelers and the PENS!

Facebook me and add yourself to the Igloo Club 222, kids get off yinz phones.

Wade

truck tuesday

Hey Yinz,

Well today is the first day of fall. Now that my years of summer breaks are behind me, I have come to realize that summer sucks when you are stuck in a office all day. Wade has been talking about how fall is his favorite season and I am beginning to see his point. The weather is now becoming tolerable, football is in full swing, the leaves are changing, and you can start pulling out some cold weather clothes. Oh and not to mention two of the best holidays of the year, Halloween & Thanksgiving are just around the corner...along with the first signs of Christmas season.

The only thing not so great about the fall - the countdown to the end of daylight savings time.

Anyway, back to football. This past weekend was another great football weekend. Penn State, South Carolina, and Alabama all had W's. The Steelers defense played an excellent game. The Steelers offense...well let just wait and see when Ben is back. Luckily we had two wins so far of the four games without him. Hopefully they can keep it together for another two weeks and then we can watch the magic happen.

Lastly, Today is a sad day for Gamecock Nation. Last night it was reported that Kenny McKinley committed suicide. McKinley, a second year member of the Denver Bronco, was out for the season recovering from knee surgery. He was South Carolina's all time leading wide receiver.Our prayers go out to Kenny and his family.

This week the gamecocks are on the road at Auburn and yours truly will be at this very important game. In the AP poll the gamecocks are ranked a few spots above the tigers and in the USA today poll the tigers are ranked a few spots above the gamecocks. I am not going to go into the strengths and weakness of the offense and defense of each team (because, hey I don't know!), but I do think it would be be a very exciting game and will help determine if the gamecocks will have a decent season like we are hoping!

Hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Truck

Monday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

"Destiny Has A New Home." That is the new marketing campaign slogan for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Say "Goodbye" to the Next Generation, Experiencing the Evolution and no more Defying Ordinary. This year, Destiny Has A New Home in Consol Energy Arena. On the Penguins' website, James Santilli, VP of marketing for the Pens was quoted as saying: “We wanted to create a campaign that captures both the promise of our team and the excitement of our new arena – with the anticipation of great things to come.” I think it does a pretty good job of incorporating the two blockbuster ideas, don't you?

In other Penguins news, Evgeni Malkin has one goal this year: "Win the Stanley Cup." Malkin played a fraction of the games last year, just getting bitten by the injury bug which made the hockey community skeptical about his abilities. I'll tell you this, he has two 100 point seasons in his short career. He has been working hard on his conditioning in the off season and I, personally, expect to see another benjamin of points this year.

Preliminary line assignments were given out this past week by coach Dany Bylsma. Line one will consist of Sidney Crosbey with Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis. I use this as my first line on NHL '11 (which is the second best hockey game ever created next to NHLPA '93 on Sega Genesis) and for me, it has a good balance with the explosiveness of Sid the kid matched up with the grit of Kunitz and shear speed of Dupuis. For on-ice practices thus far, Evgeni Malkin has been lined up on the right wing, not the center position that he played most of his young career. Centering his line is free agent pick-up Mike Comrie and young-gun Eric Tangradi on the left wing. There is also chemistry brewing off the ice between unlikely players: Matt Cooke and Aaron Asham. These two have fought and clawed at each other every game that Asham has played for Philthadelphia, but so far, they have begun to develop a friendship off the ice. If this continues to prove a great match, I pitty the fools who mess with Sid, Geno and Staalzy because Cooke and Asham will throw hands.

Student Rush starts back up on Wednesday for the first ever hockey game at Consol Energy Center. The Penguins will be reserving a minimum of 200 seats for the Student Rush program for Wednesday's preseason game. If you have never heard of it, as long as you present your high school or college student ID, you get a ticket with a solid location for $25. The Penguins love their young fan base and continue to reward them for all of their support.

Happy birthday to coach Dany Bylsma. He turned 40 on Sunday. Pranksters Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Cooke and Craig Adams were quick to say that they don't plan on pulling anything on their coach, but were passing the buck to one another in an article on penguins.nhl.com. There are some boundaries when it's a coach and not a player.

Finally, news hit the press this morning on the Penguins' website that they will be extending Ray "Jukebox" Shero's contract for 5 years. Why not? The man has only built one of the most electric and successful strings of teams in the history of the franchise. The Penguins have sold out every home game for the better part of the decade and continue to be a powerhouse in the NHL. Keep him around, baby.

The first game in Consol Energy Center drops the puck at 7:00 pm against the Detroit Red Wings. The game will be broadcast on 105.9 the X with hall-of-famer Mike Lange and the ol' 29er, Phil Borque. I would imagine you could get a webcast of the game on www.hockeywebcasts.com.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

so.... I did it :)

Steeler Tattoos???

Hola Yinz,

What is your opinion on tattoos, more specifically Steeler tattoos??

I've been thinking long an hard about getting one, and if i did get one, it would be one of four. I just find it so interesting that you can wear artwork on your body 24/7. (I mentioned I was an art teacher right?) What might you ask what I be committing to for the rest of my life?

Not too much, just enough...something like this:

Hey, if she can do it......I can do it too! So what do you think???

Happy Saturday :)

Labuda on the Left Coast

Penn State Phryday Preview

Yinzers,

First off, sorry for not posting your Thursday Steelers Science. The blogger site was unresponsive for most of the day, so it was out of my hands. With that hiccup behind us, let's take a look at what's going down in the valley this weekend as ken't read, ken't write, Kent State comes to town.

Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State hales from the worst state in the union, Ohio and is exactly one exit away from another team that Penn State has been playing a lot recently, Akron. As a part of the Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC), Kent State is another one of those smaller FBS teams that doesn't get as much respect as they probably should...as a program. After all, they did produce Jack Lambert and James Harrison. But this not about the average performance, it's about the instantaneous performance...what will we see tomorrow? The Golden Flashes are led by a sophomore quarterback named Spencer Keith. Keith has played decent so far in two games. Combined against Murray State and Boston College, Keith has thrown for 476 yards and 4 touchdowns against 3 interceptions. This works out for the Flashes since they seem to be a very pass-heavy offense in their first two games. The top two running backs for Kent State have 11 and 24 carries respectively over two games. I would look for the Golden Flashes to try and force the Nittany Lions into an uncomfortable position: pass coverage.

On defense, the Golden Flashes are pretty stingy for not being a prime-time program. They have only allowed an average of 18 points with their loss to Boston College giving up 26. As their nickname states, the Golden Flashes have historically been a defense based more on speed than size. Look for swarm tackling and a lot of plays to be forced back up the middle. If Kent State wants to have a good shot at winning this game, they are going to have to play bigger than their size, step up in the trenches and keep the ball in freshman Robert Bolden's hands.

The Nittany Lions
Offensively, the Nittany Lions did not look half bad against the defending national champions last week. Sure, Robert Bolden's inexperience showed a couple times when he threw his two interceptions, but he did lead the Nittany Lions into scoring position 3 times. Those three times ended up in an interception on a poor decision, a fumble inside the 10 yard line and a dropped pass at the 7 yard line. So it was all about the team as a whole not taking advantage of opportunity...and of course the lack of form tackling on defense. I did not see the fire in the eyes of the defense like I have in years past. This week needs to be a rebound week all around. Robert Bolden needs to learn when to throw the ball away and when to just take the sack. Evan Royster needs to learn to believe in his own abilities as a premier running back in the NCAA. The offensive line needs to learn how not to let a 3 man rush beat them. The defense needs to learn some intensity. They have two games to get this learning accomplished before Big Ten play starts. This week is Kent State; next week Temple. If there was any game that Penn State "should have lost," it was against Alabama. Put it behind you and move on to this week.

As for a game plan this week. Feed the big dog. If Penn State wants to be successful down the road, they need to get Evan Royster into some kind of rhythm, even if it's just to build his confidence. Sometimes, players get rusty and I think that is the case with Royster. We saw his great vision over the last two years so all he needs is a little bit of lasik in the form of repetition. As for Robert Bolden, spread the ball around and don't be afraid to take a sack if the pocket collapses too fast. Also, Bolden needs to use his other gift, his speed. The kid can flat-out run with the best of them. Use it when situations get tight. On defense...FORM TACKLING. And where has Mauti been? Put him in Tom Bradley. This isn't high school where if you throw a shoulder into someone, they fall over. This is NCAA division IA football. Put your face mask through the ball carrier's shoulder, use your arms to wrap him up and use your legs do drive him back and down. There was a myriad of opportunities to tackle Trent Richardson at or behind the line of scrimmage that simply did not occur due to poor tackling. The defense needs someone to step up and take emotional command of the defensive huddle. Strike fear into the hearts of the opposing offense as the likes of Dan Connor, Sean Lee, Paul Posluzny, Navarrow Bowman, Aaron Maybin and so many before you have.

As usual, I do not make predictions. I simply present information for ynz to decide. Penn State is favored to win this week with a spread of 22 and an over/under of 46. Whatever that means to you gamblers out there... Game time is 12:00 pm at Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley and coverage will be on ESPN 2 and online on ESPN 3 at espn.com. Probables for tonight's activities are obviously the Dark Horse Tavern, the Rathskeller, Zeno's or maybe a jaunt down the other end of town to Bar Bleu or the new Kildare's Pub. As always, tailgate responsibly.

For the Glory,
B Brog