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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Game Brain

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Just read an interesting article in GQ about the effect of repetitive trauma on the human brain, specifically in the context of football players. One pathologist in the medical examiner’s office in Pittsburgh decided to dig deeper when autopsying former Steelers center Mike Webster, who had gone from the top of the heap to the depths of despair and finally, to an early grave. His findings are astounding, as is the NFL’s attitude toward them.

You can find it here.

Thanks to zbeard for the pointer.

PSU Pro Prospects

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Now that the NFL Scouting Combine is over, we can take a look at 2010 NFL Draft eligible Nittany Lions who might be playing on Sundays.

This year’s crop is not particularly robust, so this won’t be a lengthy post. We’ll look at the Scouts, Inc. grades and the scouting comments associated with each Penn State player who has declared for the draft. There are 10 of them.

The grading system will give you an idea about where each prospect fits into the draft picture. Scores in the 90s mean first round; in the 80s mean second round; in the 70s, third round; 60s, fourth round; 50s, fifth round; 31-49, late rounds; 30, free agent prospect; and 20 – ain’t gonna make it at all.

The highest ranking Nittany Lion is defensive tackle Jared Odrick. With a grade of 91, he ranks 28th overall and 5th at his position. His best rating (above average) comes in the Height-Weight-Speed category: “wide frame, good bulk and above average top-end speed” and also in Strength/Toughness: “Stout and shows good strength at the point of attack. Extremely competitive and works hard to fight through blocks. However has some problems holding ground against double teams.” Scouts ranked him average in the remaining categories other than Intangibles, where he took a hit because of his disorderly conduct arrest in March 2008.

Next is Sean Lee, who scored an 87, ranking 44 overall and 3rd best at linebacker. His best score (exceptional) was in Intangibles: “Coaches rave about his hard work off the field and leadership skills. 2006: Academic All-Big Ten. 2005: Earned Dean’s List recognition during the fall semester.” He was rated above average in Production, Height-Weight-Speed, Strength/Toughness, and Tackling; just average in Range vs. Run and 3rd Down Capabilities. His worst rating (below average) was in Durability: “Tore ACL in his right knee during a non-contact drill in April of 2008 and underwent surgery later that month. Missed the 2008 season as a result.” We all know that story, but the NFL is particularly wary of gimpy knees. Whoever drafts Lee is going to want to go over him with a fine-toothed comb.

Navorro Bowman is right behind Lee in the 2010 linebackers’ crop, with a grade of 86. He ranks 48 overall and 4th among linebackers. His best rating (exceptional) was in Range vs. Run. He was above average in Durability, Instincts/Recognition, Tackling, and 3rd Down Capabilities; average in Production, Height-Weight-Speed, and Strength/Toughness. Below average Intangibles stem from incidents of which we are all aware.  Some sports journalists are picking Bowman to be a first-rounder, hard on the heels of Odrick.

Tight end Andrew Quarless had a great freshman year and then took a vacation. He seemed to come alive to some extent in his final season, but one has to wonder whether he did not hurt himself irreparably by being a dick. He’s got the size and the speed, but he has some attitude problems that will cause pro teams to shy away from him. Blocking is another weak area that will cause his draft position to drop. His best ratings (above average) are in Height-Weight-Speed: “Possesses prototypical size along with above-average top-end speed for the position”; Durability; and Separation Skills: “Soft hands and catches the ball naturally. Can open up hips and makes tough catch away from frame. Shows good focus and can come up with reception with defender hanging on him. However, could do a better job of tracking balls thrown over shoulder. ” Alas, he was rated below average in Production, Intangibles (“There were concerns about off-the-field work ethic early in career”), Competitiveness/Toughness, and Blocking. His grade was 58, meaning a solid fifth rounder.

Jeremy Boone was a sturdy, workmanlike punter at Penn State, who unfortunately couldn’t show off his best work because of the crappy punt coverage team he had to play with. The block for a TD against Iowa was sure as hell not his fail, and neither were most of the other notable screw-ups during 2009. Unfortunately, this all impacts his NFL viability. He rates an “average” in Production and Intangibles, and a “below-average” in Height-Weight-Speed, while his best category is Durability (exceptional). He missed no playing time. With a grade of 39, Boone is possibly looking at being drafter in one of the late rounds.

Linebacker Josh Hull actually did unexpectedly well in the cone drills at the Combine, but he nevertheless gets a grade of 39. He’s a bit undersized and a step too slow. His third down capabilities are suspect. Hull is a late-rounder or possibly, a free agent.

Quarterback Daryll Clark lacks the height, passing motion, footwork, and composure in the pocket to play the position in the NFL.  Scouts rated him above average in Durability, Intangibles, Arm Strength, and Mobility; average everywhere else. “Above-average pocket awareness. Side steps interior well and does a nice job of stepping up when senses pressure off the edge. Strength allows him to ward off would be sacks on occasion. Can break contain and create plays on his own. However, puts the ball on the ground too much. ” When I read that, I wondered which Clark they were talking about. I didn’t think he used the pocket well at all. His attitude is good, though, and some NFL team might want to take a chance with him as a late rounder, perhaps at running back. His height will not be looked upon favorably in the NFL at the QB position — there just aren’t any Doug Fluties out there anymore. Clark’s grade was 34, making him a potential candidate for “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Offensive guard Dennis Landolt, tight end Mickey Shuler, and cornerback A.J. Wallace all got grades of 30. They might be on the outside looking in, but they might stand a chance as undrafted free agents.

Lindy’s has Odrick going to New England at #22 and Bowman being snatched up by New Orleans at #30. Sean Lee might have to wait as long as the third round due to that unfortunate knee injury.

This Turkey will now start scouring the back pages of a veritable plethora of e-rags for any news about our other NFL aspirant, Anthony Morelli. As Morelli worked out in private for NFL scouts and coaches after the Combine last Friday, I’m don’t expect to find much—after all, Morelli sightings are not quite like Elvis sightings.

What if basketball were played like hockey?

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I’m completely bored with basketball, but I often read this article to keep my interest fresh. The way the NBA game is played today, there are too many play stoppages, too many TV time-outs, too much scoring, and too much reliance on the same people doing the same things all the time.

For me, it has become an annoying collection of whining multi-millionaire crybabies who work for a bunch of billionaire owners whose only concern is generating revenue. I don’t know how the league keeps on generating the money to make these big-shots happy. There must be enough people who are willing to pay the hefty freight to watch NBA basketball, but I’m sure as hell not one of them. I gave up my season tickets for the Orlando Magic seven years ago and have had no desire to watch more than a couple of games per season on TV ever since.

Watching on TV is even worse than attending a live game. For example, at least the Magic have the dancing babes to distract us during the innumerable stoppages in play there at the O-Rena. ??? 1xbet Watching TV, there is even less continuity. Instead of staring at gyrating female bodies in sequined sausage casings prancing around the hardwood while making certain that the players were being suitably coached, we get to watch commercials for beer, cars, and erectile dysfunction cures. Sure as hell disrupts any focus we had on the damn game but at the same time we learnt a lot about mens health products, so it was a win-win situation. But if I ever had to choose between the TV and the Arena, I’m sure my answer is going to be the ” Arena” every single time.

But if basketball adopted rules like hockey, maybe I’d become interested again. Just stop and think: when was the last time you saw a good fight in a basketball game? If you’re scratching your head and thinking it was probably the Kermit Washington vs Rudy Tomjanovich fight in 1977, you see where I’m going with this. There’s a decent fight in just about any NHL hockey game, and the refs let them go at it just as long as it remains one-on-one, until someone hits the frozen deck. And in hockey, they have weapons other than their body parts. Sticks are used all the time to beat on people.

I’m tired of basketball games being scorefests. What the hell kind of score is 130-122? This is a ridiculous amount of scoring. If the position of goalie were added to a basketball team, we could cut down the damn scoring and make each point exciting, just like in hockey. The goalie would be at least 7’2″ tall and would stay within 10 feet of the net at each end of the court, and would play no offense, just defense. Thus, the goalie could be built like a gorilla, as he wouldn’t have to run 94 feet every 30 seconds. Guards would play mostly defense and forwards would play mostly offense. The center would just be another forward, but would have superior passing skills, so as to dish off the ball to his attacking wingmen.

How about limiting the time-outs? Instead of seven per half, make it just one. No TV time-outs. If the TV has to cut away for a stupid Miller Lite commercial just to piss me off, then so be it. Chances are, given that the goalie stays by the basket, I didn’t miss any scoring, anyway.

And fouls…what’s up wit dat? The damn whistle blows too often. Let’s have real penalties for real fouls. The universal equalizer will be two minutes in the sin bin and the team plays a man short for the duration of the offending player’s sentence. That’ll make a player think twice about that stupid shove. Of course, there will be special penalty rules about goalies, just to make sure the scoring is kept low. The only time an offensive player will get a free shot at the basket will be when a penalty shot is awarded for a defensive foul from behind on a break-away play. This will happen no more than a few times per team per season. Again, keep the scoring low.

With fewer time-outs, these guys are going to get tired, but in the NBA they’re a bunch of lazy bums, anyway. They’ll like the new rules, under which they will be able to “change on the fly.”

With the new time-out rules and without all the stupid tactical fouling at the end of a game, usually effected to prolong someone’s misery, we won’t be forced to spend 20 minutes watching the final minute of a game. Hell, most NBA games are so boring up until the last five minutes or so that we can generally skip the first 43 minutes and pick up the game in the waning minutes. Alas, tight games tend to slow to a snail’s pace for the final minute, so we’re stuck with an infinite series of staccato, two-second plays, quick fouls, whistles, commercials, missed free throws by Shaq, etc. Borrring!

That crap will go right out the window under the new rules. Games that are tight will be full, balls to the wall frenzy for the final two minutes. The goalie will come out so the losing team will be able to insert an extra forward. ???? ??????? The refs will let them go at each other and will stop play only for egregious fouls, such as a defender pulling a gun. Instead of sinking into our seats for that interminable end-game strategy, we’ll be on the edge of our chairs.

So, David Stern, if you’re listening, whyncha have lunch with Gary Bettman and try to figure out how you can get this thing going. Maybe, just maybe, you can get me back. ???? ????? ???????