July 21, 2010

Linkbacker U is hailing to the Lion

Walking in the Lion's Shoes

Ever wonder what it would be like to be the Nittany Lion? Then keep reading. NittanyWhiteOut.com had a chance to talk to him one on one. Interesting fact, the sporting events that we see him at is only the beginning of his job as the Lion.
"Sporting events makes up probably less than half of my events. I pretty much do anything that involves with Penn State, whether it be walk-a-thons or conventions held in State College, or doing a photo shoot for a Penn State web site."
Good to hear that athletics don't comprise his entire job, or else this year's losing would get old pretty quickly.

Could Only be the Tip of the Iceberg

Sorry to break it to you Penn State fans, but you may have to get used to the pessimism surrounding this Lions program. Because while Silas Redd and Stephfon Green have shown signs, Pennlive.com thinks Royster's departure could mean deja vu all over again.
"The following season, with the All-American Johnson replaced by freshman Austin Scott, the Nittany Lions registered the 32nd-worst differential in rushing yards per game over the last 20 years. In 2003, the Lions’ ground game dropped an average of 107 yards per game compared to the year before.

The Lions could be set up for a similar downfall following this season. Senior Evan Royster will undoubtedly break Curt Warner's career rushing record and could be taken in the first round of April's NFL Draft. The Lions will have a hard time replacing Royster, a surefire bet for 1,000 yards, in 2011."
I'm not quite as worried about the 2011 running game as the folks at PennLive are, but there is no denying that replacing Royster will be no easy task.

It's a Family Business

Like so many other Lions over the years, guard Stefen Wisniewski bleeds blue and white...literally. For you readers who are seasoned enough to remember the days of Steve Wisniewski dominating opposing defensive lineman, you would be hard pressed to find anyone that's better than he was in his prime. >Well, Steve can think of someone, his nephew Stephen.
"I'll be the first to say Stefen's a better football player than I was at this point in his career," Steve Wisniewski said."
Next up for Stefen, to follow in his uncle's foot steps by being named All-American.
"I've always been trying to be the best player in the country," Wisniewski said. "So seeing myself named [All-American], I think it's a cool honor. But I realize that preseason honors don't mean too much, and it just means that I have to work that hard to try to keep myself up there."

400 Wins isn't Big Enough?

There has been a lot made of the decision to not feature a White House game this football season due to lack of competition (and perhaps the unspoken lack of talent on the home side). But Adam Rittenberg received an interesting question that could make the Michigan game every bit deserving of the full stadium white out.
Matt from NYC writes: Adam, I am surprised they are completely disregarding the Michigan game as a whitehouse. There is a good chance that game could be JoePa's 400th win, if psu loses to 'bama and Iowa before hand, something that as a Penn State fan is saddening, but in reality a highly likely scenario. You think feelings around Happy Valley would change if this game has the potential to be number 400?
Matt, I was thinking the exact same thing when I saw the news about no White House for 2010. It would be nice if Penn State could reassess the situation in early October, but it sounds like this is an event that must be scheduled way in advance. Paterno certainly could be going for No. 400 against Michigan, but he also might reach the milestone by that point. I also think Penn State doesn't need anything extra, like a White House, to celebrate Paterno and win No. 400. Even without the White House, the Michigan game has the potential to have a great atmosphere."

Personally, I'm with Adam on this one. If Paterno has a chance to win his 400th at home, it doesn't matter what the fans are wearing, Beaver Stadium BETTER be rocking regardless.

Cowboy Up

And no that is not a reference to the 2004 Boston Red Sox, but PSU alum Sean Lee. Great feature about his progress in the NFL with his new Cowboy team today. Take a read on the Cowboys website.

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7 comments:

  1. I don't know why any PSU fan would read Pennlive. It has an unabashed negative bias against the program.

    Austin Scott was a true freshman in 2003--sure he was a 5* recruit, but he hadn't done anything yet. Then, he was passed by Tony Hunt, a 3* recruit with a stellar work ethic...but throughout '03 the coaches switched backs.

    In 2011, we return redshirt senior Stephon Green, who last season rushed for 317 yards with 4.5 ypc (oh, did I mention he ran for 578 @ 5.5ypc in '08) Not to mention the depth, with Beachum, Dukes, Redd, and others.

    The article's last 2 paragraphs then state that PSU will probably be OK at RB in 2011...so why even bother with the headline "PSU may struggle..."? Is the headline simply for shock value, followed by an ambivalent article that says basically nothing?

    In short, PSU will be just fine at RB in '11. DON'T READ PENNLIVE. That is all.

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  2. Yeah I stopped reading Pennlive years and years ago, the dark years were a boon for Pennlive, all the JoeMustGo'ers lived there.

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  3. @Anon if you leave your name (first name is fine), we won't delete your comment. We explicitly ask commenters to at least leave your name. No anonymous comments. Use the "Name/URL" option in the "comment as" dropdown menu. YOu don't need to enter a URL. Your name works just fine.

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  4. Didn't realize no URL was needed...can't go back and edit, but that was me.

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  5. Awesome. Thanks so much!

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  6. @Ben If you post your comment again, I'll go ahead and delete the anonymous version of your comment, along with my comments about that anonymous comment. If that makes sense, LOL

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  7. @Mike ...and then I'll make a comment in this comment about your comment about the comment about the anonymous comment that will no longer be anonymous. Wait... then you'll have to delete my comment about your comment about the anonymous comment that no longer exists.

    WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!! I'M SO SORRY!

    ReplyDelete

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