papabear16

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26 weeks 2 days ago You hit both nails on the

You hit both nails on the head.

Nail 1: Denard is thinking too much.  The kid is very coachable, and while that can be an incredible asset, when the things on which he has been coached have not yet been learned to the level of near-instinct, it can cause a lot of slowing.  You can almost see Denard think, "Am I too anxious to scramble here?  Maybe I should wait a second longer.  That's what the coaches always applaud when it leads to a big play."  His purpose was much more clear last year, and thus, his confidence was higher.  He needs to get that confidence back.  

Nail 2:  Reps.  More than really any other single part of playing QB, the option requires reps.  Think of it like free throws.  Denard should be ending every practice with 100 option reads (that wouldn't take very long, really) and 100 pitches with each hand (which he could do running up and down the field with Devin).  Or 50/50.  Whatever.  The point is that it has to be like that for an option QB until he gets it.

That is why those old Nebraska option teams were so deadly.  High schools ran a lot more true option then, and really taught it.  So Nebraska could find someone like Tommie Frazier who had six years of option drills and experience under his belt.  That is harder to come by, now; even a spread-option QB like Devin really didn't learn how to read in high school, since his athleticism allowed him to gain 10 yards on a bad read.  

So, I think that will improve next year if Borges really embraces it and has Denard do option drills all summer.  It only takes two additional guys to do the read drill, and one other to do the pitch drill.  Actually, since catching the pitch and reacting properly to a long option ride are key skills for RBs, this practice would benefit them, too.
28 weeks 11 hours ago Forget walking past the

Forget walking past the facilities and silence.  How did he not act to stop it right then and there?  He's the one person (at least related to the 2002 incident) to actually witness the crime and have a chance to stop it while it was occuring.  What did he do?  Back quietly out of the room?  Be a man.
28 weeks 1 day ago That's sort of the part I

That's sort of the part I don't get.  McQueary failed those kids in the same way Paterno did.  I'm not sure what would prevent the Board from deciding to fire McQueary, as well.
28 weeks 1 day ago Dammit, I've got a new

Dammit, I've got a new touch-screen computer, and I clicked the "moderate" button on your comment by mistake.  I'm not sure what I did, but I sure didn't mean to do anything.  Sorry about that.
28 weeks 1 day ago This Is Your Penn State Thread

In this thread, I threw in a post of a PSA-type nature that I'd actually considered as it's own thread topic.  But, seeing a Sticky-ed thread, I decided to put it in there first.  It was marked as "trolling."  What gives?  I'm sure it wasn't Pulitzer-worthy, and maybe it didn't ultimately deserve it's own thread (and has not become one), but I'm curious as to why it was marked as "trolling."  Can someone explain, please?
28 weeks 1 day ago I'm sorry, how is this

I'm sorry, how is this trolling?
28 weeks 1 day ago   I'd like to start a new

 

I'd like to start a new thread to make one, PSA-type point.  But I'll make it here first.  Mods, you tell me how you want it done...

Abuse Victims Are Not Damaged Goods

There is one troubling statement I have seen in a number of sportswriter opinion pieces which I feel needs to be addressed.  These writers have made statements like, "These kids will never be able to love," or "These kids will never be able to trust anyone again," or "These kids' lives have been ruined."  I'm sure the writers are trying to convey the enormity of these crimes, to sypathize as best they can, but unintentionally, they send the message to anyone reading those articles (including, likely, many silent victims of these crimes) that there is no hope for a normal life after something like this.  And that is not true.

Recovery is hard.  Recovery is long.  But it can happen.  Victims can learn to love, can learn to trust, can learn to be wonderful members of our society.  I have personally worked with people who started off as "sexual abuse victims" and now consider themselves to be "someone who was abused as a child."  I'm sure I'm saying this inartfully, so let me try again.  While sexual absue will always be something that happened to these victims, it need not be the thing that defines their lives.

I think this is something we should all keep in mind as we talk about this case with the children - and the adults - in our lives.
28 weeks 1 day ago I've been thinking about Bo's

I've been thinking about Bo's Lasting Lessons a lot lately, which I am in the process of reading.  I lived most of my fandom after Bo's retirement from coaching, and with no real insider knowledge of the program, I cannot know how much Bo lived as he later preached.  So I am not making a Bo vs. JoePa comparison.

However, I'm reminded how often Bo wrote about being able to sleep at night after making a tough, but right, decision.  That seems worth pondering lately.
28 weeks 1 day ago Thank you for writing this,

Thank you for writing this, and well done.

Of course, the victims of Coach Sandusky are, and should be, foremost in everyone's thoughts and prayers.  But I understand what you are saying here, Six-Zero, and feel much the same.  No matter how many horrible stories we hear of both small and large evils, we like to believe that there are people and places who are above it.  Sometimes, those people become institutions whose values become defining characteristics to which many look to with hope.  Paterno did that at Penn State.  Even though I never was a fan, I always listed Paterno among the coaches to whom I would entrust my three boys.  

So, when we find out that we were wrong, and that the institution and the man that we believed were above such things (not perfect, mind you, but willing to do what was right even when it was hard), we lose something, too.  That loss is incomparable to that of the victims, but it is still a loss, and worthy of acknowledgement.

All that we can do is pray for those boys, and remember that there are still good people in the world worthy of our trust and faith.  Some of them are leaders of men in prominent roles, and some are posters on this blog who are great dads, uncles, big brothers, and friends.  So hold the kids in your lives tight, and promise yourself that you will do what is right, even if it is hard, if ever put in the position to do so.
28 weeks 1 day ago Precisely.

Precisely.
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