Blue-White Roundtable: What Do We Do Now?
A week without football means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To Penn State fans, it’s a bye week. To Anna Paquin, it’s a bi week. To Lane Kiffin, it’s a buy week.
Nevertheless, the show must go on.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Adam from Black Shoe Diaries has given us some work to do in the off week. Be sure to head on over to BSD later this week for a “greatest hits” of sorts. In the meantime, check out what these folks are saying:
Nittany Lions Den
Black Shoe Diaries
The 50-Yard Lion
Follow the jump to read us doggs’ thoughts…
Bye Bye Moo Moo
Devon Smith's sudden dismissal has garnered speculation as to what he did to get kicked off the team. Did Bill O'Brien finally decide that Smith's marijuana trouble back in March was enough to merit his dismissal? Or did Smith do something more recently to irk the coach?
Thanks to the hard-nosed investigative team at JoePa's Doghouse, we now have an answer to the Smith mystery.
Here is why Devon Smith is no longer a member of the Penn State football team...
Behold, Beaver Stadium's newest sign.
Say What?
Since becoming the Penn State head football coach, Bill O’Brien has done all the right things. When the news broke of his hiring, I drank Four Roses straight from the bottle. Now, I’d like to think our fourth Rose Bowl appearance isn’t too far off. Whether it’s promises of an actual offense, hints at actually gameplanning for a specific opponent, or the overhaul of the weight room, BOB has completely won me over.
His quotes during the Coaches’ Caravan have been tantalizing. It really is the dawn of a new day for Penn State football.
Everything that BOB has said has brought a smile to my face. Until yesterday.
Blue-White 2012, Part 3
Wow, what else is there to say? My cohorts did an excellent job identifying major points of interest. Let’s see if I can think of something else...
Now, let’s kill this question.
What are 5 things you are interested in seeing at the Blue-White Game?
Blue-White 2012, Part 2
Thirsty Thursday means that we’re less than 10 days away from the Blue-White Game. This time next week, we’ll all be practicing our drinking and trying to remember how to throw a beanbag. In the meantime, let’s get back to that blogging thing.
First up is a simple question posed to each of the Doggs.
What are 5 things you are interested in seeing at the Blue-White Game?
Blue-White 2012, Part 1
The Blue-White Game is rapidly approaching and JoePa's Doghouse is getting back into gear. In the days leading up to the annual scrimmage, we're going to be doing that thing that bloggers do: think about something, write about it, and post it underneath a silly image.
First up is a simple question posed to each of the Doggs.
What are 5 things you are interested in seeing at the Blue-White Game?
Excitement in Uncertainty
Compared to the great starts by Michigan and Ohio State, it seemed to take forever for Penn State to land its first commitment of the 2013 class. And boy was it worth the wait. Within a week of Christian Hackenberg’s commitment, Ross Douglas and Garrett Sickels gave the Nittany Lions their pledges as well.
That’s three 4-star players. Two from states PSU has had trouble pulling top talent from lately. All three with major upside.
Based on the previous regime, it’s fair to wonder if Dick Anderson knew where New Jersey was. Or if Jay Paterno had been to as many Ohio high schools as he had golf courses.
By the end of this week, Penn State likely will have its fourth, and biggest commit of the early recruiting season. When Adam Breneman dons a PSU cap, it will mark the first time since the 2006 class that the Nittany Lions secured the top rated prospect in Pennsylvania. Wow. It boggles the mind.
All of this recruiting momentum is great, but are we smiling too early?
Why Are The Doggs So Happy?
Why is it so quiet in here?
Perhaps because there isn’t a lot to complain about.
Penn State football and basketball are in (what appears to be) the very capable hands of Bill O’Brien and Pat Chambers, respectively. Both coaches have the qualities that we fans have desired for countless years: youth, energy, and passion.
Even when the hoops team is losing, it feels reassuring to see the fire in Chambers. In stark contrast to his lifeless predecessor, Chambers is worth the price of admission all by himself. It is nice to know that losing bothers him as much as it does the paying customer.
On the football side, O’Brien is doing all the right things. He has assembled a coaching staff with a great mix of experience and young energy. The recruits that attended last week’s Junior day were a virtual who’s who of northeastern high school football. Even though no commitments emerged, it seems that O’Brien has put Penn State in very good standing with plenty of blue chippers.
And of course, there’s the new Strength Coach, Craig Fitzgerald. Gone are the Richard Simmons videos and pogo balls of the John Thomas era. Fitzy’s got the boys hoisting buildings and racing automobiles. Ahhh, it’ll be nice to see an offensive line get a push on 3rd and short.
Not too shabby.
The Walking Dead is awesome and appears to be headed to an epic season finale.
Mad Men is in the on-deck circle.
The Masters, NCAA Tournament, and MLB are just around the corner.
So naturally, the anger will ramp back up once our NCAA brackets are shot and all 3 doggs (Buccos, Royals, and Orioles) are staring at yet another lousy MLB season.
Grrrr…. F’n Bud Selig….
Putting the “Easy A” into penn stAte
There is a quote from “Easy A” that always makes me laugh. Actually, there are plenty of them in that movie, but one in particular that has been adapted for everyday use in the Dogg household.
After learning that her best friend hooked up with a classmate who was rumored to be gay, Rhiannon blasts Olive:
“Just because you lost your virginity doesn’t mean you can go around throwing your cat at everybody!”
Hmmm. I wonder if Bill O’Brien is a fan of Emma Stone’s movies? Because with the flurry of scholarships Penn State’s new coaching staff has offered in the past few days, one has to wonder: Are the Nittany Lions just ‘throwing their cat’ at anybody?
Bill O’Brien’s Instant Impact
Now that we’ve all had time to think about Bill O’Brien as Penn State’s next head coach, the message board sentiment appears to be firmly in his corner. As expected, there might be some lingering doubts about the search process and the men in charge of said process. There still has not been much information leaked on self-appointed Athletic Director Dave Joyner’s Super Top Secret Coach Search, so apprehension towards the 50+ day process is understandable.
As for the actual coach, it seems like the fans are pulling for the BOBsled. Perhaps people have come to know his juggernaut offense in New England. Maybe the fanbase is really, really Irish. Or could it be that everyone is excited to finally have a jolt of energy pumped into a stale program?
Ask the Doghouse
Tweets from JoePa’s Doghouse
Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.
J.Schnauzer Tweets
Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.
Rowlffdogg’s Barks
Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.
Barks from Joe Pa’s Doghouse
- Requiem for a Tailgate? March 4, 2013 Rowlff Dogg
- The Bowl of Pure Evil December 11, 2012 Rowlff Dogg
- Blue-White Roundtable: Worst-consin Edition November 23, 2012 Rowlff Dogg
- Drinking Game: Indiana 2012 November 16, 2012 Rowlff Dogg
- Blue-White Roundtable: Eerie, Indiana Edition November 15, 2012 Rowlff Dogg
Recent Comments
- J.Schnauzer on Blue-White Roundtable: Bugeater Edition
- kmart on Blue-White Roundtable: Bugeater Edition
- jtothep on Blue-White Roundtable: That Stench From The West
- kmart on Blue-White Roundtable: That Stench From The West
- Tania on Scranton Speaks: McGloin MUST Start!!!
Recent Posts
- Requiem for a Tailgate?
- The Bowl of Pure Evil
- Blue-White Roundtable: Worst-consin Edition
- Drinking Game: Indiana 2012
- Blue-White Roundtable: Eerie, Indiana Edition
Penn State Links
- Black Shoe Diaries
- Blue-White Illustrated
- Bro State
- Fight On State
- GoPSF
- GoPSUSports
- Linebacker U
- Nittany Lions Den
- Nittany Whiteout
- PennLive PSU Football
- SlowStates
- The 50-Yard Lion