Post-Game Notes…Penn State

Jimmy Clausen made his first career start Saturday at Penn State.

Coddling Clausen

Charlie Weis did what I expected him to do with a freshman quarterback. He protected him early with quick passes and had him throw mostly swings and screens to start off the game. Good. The problem, was that he kept him doing this for most of the game. Getting Jimmy some completions and letting his confidence grow was a good thing, but I don’t think Jimmy has or had a lack of it to begin with. Granted, the times ND threw the ball down field Jimmy was running for his life, but those were situations where the defense knew that the Irish were going to anyways. This anemic offense hobbled the team and itself in a variety of ways.

Flag Happy

You could sense after Paul Duncan was flagged for a false start before the first play from scrimmage, that this might be an ugly game for the line yet again. The Irish were flagged 14 time for 97 yards Saturday. Most of which were caused by a member of the offensive line. The rush off the ends for Penn State was so good, you almost can’t blame Duncan for the ones called against him…almost.

Blitztember

For the second game in a row this year (and we’ve only had two), blitz protection has been abysmal. Give credit to the defensive line of PSU for taking on two O-Lineman at a time to allow the blitzing party. Clausen was sacked 5 times. Now while this is a slight improvement from last week, it is still absolute SHIT.

The New Laura Quinn

The Clausen family is the new quickshot for ABC/ESPN this year. Somebody had to of kept track of how many time they went to a shot of the whole family during the game. I really don’t care if Momma winces in pain after her little boy was just thrown to the turf, show something else…please.

Give Brown A Break

The defense was on the field way too long. This was in part due to the ineffectiveness of the Irish offense. Another reason why the Irish defense looked so spent, was the fact that the punt team was comprised of a lot of Irish starters on the defensive side of the ball. We punted 10 times.

Headbutts

• Jimmy Clausen. Jimmy showed a lot of maturity and poise while under attack from defenders because of an offensive line that lacked maturity and poise.
• Tommy Z. 3 inches from taking it all the way. Add that with a solid performance and a forced fumble and Zibby is licking his chops about a wounded Skunkbear.
• Darrin Walls. Shutting the Media up with one swoop is no easy task, yet he managed to do so.

I’ll take that, bitch.

• Pat Kuntz. Another week of brawling. He’s doing a great job taking on those defenders.

Groin Kicks

• The Penn State student body. They booed the Irish band and turned their backs while they played. Classless. I hope a Tuba is shoved up their asses in hell.
• The Mackey Award. Carlson should have got it last year, and now he is in purgatory with only 4 grabs in 2 games… by design.
• Travis Thomas. You are a captain, time to act like one and not like an asshole. Cheapshots are never good… in front of the ref while the ball is 50 yards away.
• The entire ND offensive line. You all know why.