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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King for a Day?

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Today is Justin King’s day at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Will he be King for a Day? Did he make a mistake in leaving PSU with one year of eligibility on the table? Will the Sandusky/Bradley soft zone coverage scheme he played as a Nittany Lion hamper his performance in the eyes of NFL scouts? Perhaps today’s workouts will answer some of those questions.

King, although listed in NFL.com as a wide receiver, is among 36 cornerbacks participating in the Combine. (Unless NFL.com has listed some others as offensive tackles or something.)

I must digress for a moment to report that Dan Connor left the combine without doing his position drills. He caught a nasty dose of the flu, which it seems is particularly virulent this year, especially in the north.

Back to King, I would expect him to shine in the 40-yard dash. Raw speed might be his best asset in the NFL’s eyes, inasmuch as his cover skills were largely undeveloped in Penn State’s secondary, where King started for the past two years after having been relegated to wide receiver for his first year. Billed as a shut-down corner, he often seemed out of position in pass coverage during 2007.

King is likely to be a project for some NFL team, much like Alan Zemaitis was a couple of years ago. Zemaitis was an NFL failure. This Turkey thought that his best chance would be with a zone-oriented defense such as Tampa Bay’s. He got his chance with that very team; however, he was unable to cope with NFL speed and often got turned around on the field. He washed out after two years of sitting on the far end of the Buccaneers’ bench. Well, hell, the view of the Tampa Bay Swashbucklers, the cheerleading squad, is better there, and Tampa Bay has some total hotties.

On the other hand, Penn State has been able to produce NFL cornerbacks in the past—but damn few. David Macklin is the only Nittany Lion cornerback playing in the NFL right now. He’s been in the league for eight years and he was a starter for several seasons.

Here is what NFLDraftScout.com has to say about King’s strengths and weaknesses:

Positives: Physically, has everything scouts are looking for. Tight skinned, athletic build, good size and rare straight-line speed. … Smooth hip turn in transition to stick with receivers out of their breaks. … Versatile athlete who has seen time at wide receiver. … Shows the ability to pluck the ball out of the air. … Flashes explosiveness as a hitter.

Negatives: Left out on an island in 2007 and really struggled down the stretch. … Has the athleticism to run with any receiver in the country, but seemed to struggle with more refined route-runners. … Too often seemed satisfied with breaking up passes when opportunities for interceptions were there. … Finished 2007 with 15 passes broken up and only two interceptions. … Not particularly aggressive or physical in run support.

Let’s hope for King’s sake that his tight skin doesn’t keep his legs from running a great 40, as the speed aspect seems to be his greatest selling point.

I’ll be back later with comments on King’s drills.

Morelli Leaps at Chance to Perform for NFL

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As the previous article stated, Anthony Morelli is among 20 quarterbacks invited to perform at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week. Thus far, he has excelled in only one of six workouts in which he participated. The 6’4″ Morelli tied for seventh place in the vertical leap drill, bouncing an amazing 26.5 inches skyward. Whoop-de-doo! (As a relative indicator, the event-leading vertical jump was scored by 6’2″ running back Carl Stewart of Auburn, who jumped 39 inches; the top quarterback was 6’3″ Josh Johnson of San Diego, who jumped 33.5 inches.)

Hey, Ryan, Brennan, and Henne can eat their hearts out! Dis boy kin jump, massa! (He can’t pass worth a shit, he can’t run, he can’t see the field, but yazza, he sho’ kin jump!)

I heard one NFL commentator saying that Morelli made a lot of mistakes as a sophomore, and he continued to make those same mistakes as a senior. He didn’t get much PT as a sophomore, but what the guy said was correct anyway. Morelli failed to improve in his time at Penn State. He’s still a sophomore developmentally.

The same commentator posited that Morelli would probably be drafted. “This is one guy who looks the part,” he said. “Some team is going to want to see if they can mold him.”

More power to that team if it can. One thing is for certain: there are no Jay Paternos coaching quarterbacks in the NFL. So, perhaps someone can shape Morelli up.

The Turkey will return later this week with a look at the performances of Dan Connor and Justin King at the NFL Scouting Combine.

NFL Combine a Place for Morelli to Shine

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Shine shoes, that is. The NFL Combine, presently in progress in Indianapolis, is a good place for Morelli to learn about his future career, which in this Turkey’s opinion, probably tops out at Assistant Park Manager for North Park in Pittsburgh. Wait, North Park might be too ambitious. I’m thinking maybe the Bryant Street playground I used to play in as a kid 50 years ago, but I digress.

Twenty—count ’em—twenty quarterbacks were invited to show off their talents to prospective employers at the NFL combine. Among the legitimate prospects—Ainge, Booty, Brennan, Henne, Ryan, and Woodson, to name several, there are a few pretenders. Morelli would be one of them if he could climb that high. All he has going for him is NFL size and a big arm.

Here is the NFL scouting report on our dear Anthony, courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com:

Positives: Pocket-passer height and arm strength. … Can put balls in tight spaces when feet are underneath him. … Adequate footwork in five- and seven-step drops. … Most effective when in rhythm, getting good protection and using multiple receivers while not needing to make big plays on his own.

Negatives: Not strong in upper or lower body. … A bit of windup in his delivery. … Very inconsistent in accuracy. … Poor mechanics when any pressure arrives. … Happy feet and throws off back foot, even when there is no pressure. … Struggles to get past first read — birddogs that read from the snap. … Makes some questionable decisions. … Limited mobility, both running for first downs and moving within the pocket to free himself to make the throw.

In other words, the same old shit we’ve been observing for the past couple of years.

I’ll keep an eye on results of the drills, just in case Morelli surprises us in any way. I also have an interest in how Dan Connor and Justin King, PSU’s two other NFL Combine invitees, perform. Quarterbacks do their drills on Sunday; we’ll have to wait for Monday and Tuesday for linebackers and defensive backs.

Is there any way Morelli can redeem himself in this talented field? Perhaps if there were a job on a scout team where he could pose as Bobby Layne in his later years after drinking a half-pint of anti-freeze at halftime. Wait, no, Bobby was still more effective with half a load on than Morelli in his soberest moment. This Turkey cannot see an NFL job of any consequence for Morelli as long as the Gatorade boys are guarding their jobs with jealous passion.