The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Home 2008 Archives for May 2008

Archives for May 2008

Austin Scott a Brown; Morelli Meanders

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In a humongous sweep of draft leftovers, the NFL Cleveland Browns signed 23 free agents. Among them was ex-Nittany Lion tailback Austin Scott.

Unfortunately, Austin Scott will be better remembered around Penn State circles for his off-field exploits than for his accomplishments as a running back. However, he never lived up to the promise of his high school career.

Scott’s penchant for dancing around behind the line of scrimmage before moving forward was a great hindrance to his success in the faster moving college game, where opposing linebackers were in the backfield before Scott could get his ass in gear.

It is important to distinguish Scott’s actual performance from his potential, but that is all water under the bridge. He’s the Brownies’ problem now for a year, if he survives all the cruel cuts of the NFL pre-season.

Jamal Lewis is the Browns’ feature back. It is unclear how Scott will fit in to the Browns’ offensive scheme.

A Cleveland Plain-Dealer reader posted the following comment:

I’m excited about Austin Scott. This guy is amazing…if he can stay out of trouble. I never like taking questionable character guys..I leave that to the Bengals…but I’m glad the Browns are taking a flyer on him. Remember, Jam Lewis was in trouble and actually had his career derailed for a time by it…[even] serving time in prison Maybe Lewis can serve as a mentor to Scott. Go Browns!

Scott signed a one-year contract, but it is conditional on his making the team, which is to say that he must be on the final, 53-man roster.

“I’m going to turn it up another couple of notches,” Scott vowed. “I just want to get ready for the preseason minicamps and make an impression to make the final cut, to make it to the season, actually. I want to make sure that they understand they can use me and that I’m a good athlete to have on their team. I want them to know that I can help the Browns. I want to make an impression on special teams.”

Full story at theMorningCall.com.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, at Arizona Cardinal mini-camp, Anthony Morelli continues to struggle with apprehending the playbook, as he vies with Brian St. Pierre for the third-string job behind Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner. Par for the course, eh?

On the other hand, Dan Connor was impressive lining up at middle linebacker with the Carolina Panthers second and third teams. Having scant time to master a complex defensive playbook, Connor was still able to make some decent reads.

Bawling, Beleaguered Brookie Booted

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“Arizona’s home, but it ain’t mine no more…”, sobbed Brooke White as she tortuously performed her swan song on American Idol’s sadistic results show last night, in which the final two contestants waited about 45 minutes with their hearts in their throats to see who would stay and who would go. Syesha Mercado was the lucky one. Brookie got the boot.

The teenage popularity contest is in full swing. Jason Castro, who I characterized as singing as if at a college dorm BYOG (bring your own guitar) Friday night sing-along for losers who couldn’t get laid, was pronounced safe right off the bat. That was predictable. The voting public, consisting largely of the age 9 through 13 white female population, likes his cutesy dreadlocks, which would disqualify him from most real jobs. His songs were absolute crap, which even Simon could not adequately scorn in the time permitted.

David Archuleta, of course, was safe. He has an even larger base of prepubescent weenies than does Jason. When Ryan Seacrest asked British hottie guest singer Natasha Bedingfield if she would be Archuleta’s prom date, I thought I would puke. She could be my prom date; let’s not waste her on Speedy Gonzales. It is truly unfortunate that Archuleta remains the favorite to win the whole thing, as his high school musical singing is boring my ass to tears.

David Cook is the guy Paula Abdul and I want to win. I’ve always favored the rockers on this show, and I’ve always been disappointed. Could this be the year of the rocker? I thought surely Bo would beat Carrie a few years back, but that didn’t happen. I think the voting demographic might preclude it. (I still have no explanation for Taylor Hicks.)

Syesha Mercado, the last of the final four, no doubt will be leaving us next week, having been next-to-last in voting for the past two weeks. She’s hanging by a thread. That’s a pity, because she’s a helluva lot better and more entertaining than Jason Castro could ever be. She’s hot, too, and she’s just coming into her own musically. The past couple of weeks have seen a marked improvement in Syesha’s confidence and style. However, no matter what song she picks next week and no matter how well she performs it, Jason’s fan club will preclude her from moving on.