Lori

(DISCLAIMER: I wimped out on going when I saw the weather forecast for Saturday. These observations were made from watching the scrimmage as it aired on WPSX, then taping and breaking down the rebroadcast on FoxSportsPittsburgh later that evening...) On a rainy April afternoon when most of their high school classmates were still looking ahead to their senior proms, much-hyped Nittany Lion recruits Justin King and Derrick Williams were strutting their stuff on a bigger stage - the grassy floor of 110,000-seat Beaver Stadium. While the nasty weather kept attendance at the 2005 Blue-White scrimmage down to about 40,000 and a nearby lightning strike sent everyone to the exits with 1:36 left in the third quarter, the two 'grayshirt' freshmen got plenty of chances to show the Happy Valley faithful what all the commotion was about. Offensive coordinator Galen Hall left the traditional three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust playbook in the locker room, with a majority of the plays run out of shotgun-formation, three- and four-WR sets. King and Williams both lined up at wideout with the starters when the Blue offense took the field, and QB Michael Robinson opened the drive with a 35-yard completion to King down the left sideline. He came back with a quick out to Williams in the right flat for a 9-yard gain, then bootlegged around right end for the first down. A Tony Hunt fumble into the end zone on first-and-goal kept the score 0-0 after the first series. Robinson, a three-time Academc All-Big 10 selection, appeared to solidify his grip on the starting job. He showed renewed confidence both throwing and running the ball, ending his limited action a perfect 6-6 for 143 yards and turning a low shotgun snap into an 8-yard scramble for a TD on the Blue team's second drive. Their third possession also struck paydirt, after passes to King and Williams set up Hunt's 5-yard TD run on first-and-goal, and the projected 2005 starters headed to the bench with a 14-0 lead. The Blue defense, loaded with returning starters, also looked ready for prime-time. White team QBs Anthony Morelli and Paul Cianciolo faced heavy pressure and were unsuccessful moving the ball. The only White score came just before halftime, on a short TD run from backup FB BranDon Snow. DE Tamba Hali and LBs Paul Posluszny and Dan Connor could all merit attention for All-American status by the end of next season, and if Justin King intends to start both ways, he'll have to beat out solid senior CBs Alan Zemaitis or Anwar Philips for the opportunity. The 2005 schedule begins with home games against South Florida, Cincinnati, and Central Michigan, meaning the Lions could well be 3-0 when they head for Northwestern to start the Big 10 schedule. With nine starters back from a top-10-ranked defense, any offensive improvement - and there's certainly room to improve - should have Penn State bowling in December... or perhaps even early January. NOTES: -With 2004 starters EZ Smith and Tyler Reed sitting out spring practice for off-the-field stupidity, redshirt seniors Lance Antolick (C ) and John Wilson (RT) and junior Robert Price (RG) joined holdovers Levi Brown (LT) and Charles Rush (LG) on the starting unit. -Austin Scott remains sidelined with an ankle injury, so Rodney Kinlaw (two years removed from tearing an ACL) and Matt Hahn got most of the action behind Tony Hunt at tailback. Kinlaw could also see significant time as a third-down back... -Ethan Kilmer and Terrell Golden were the other starting wideouts for the Blue team, which opened the game in a 4-WR set. Golden played for both squads; Mark Rubin (sophomore from Amherst, NY) and Jordan Norwood (another January 2005 enrollee, and son of PSU assistant coach Brian Norwood) were the other starting WRs for the White team. -Both King and Williams will see time at PR/KR. (Since no special-teams plays other than PATs were run, their reps Saturday were limited to fair-catching punts.) -50 players on this year's roster currently carry 3.0 or better GPAs. -Halftime ceremonies honored the unbeaten 1995 Rose Bowl Championship team. By my count, at least eight players from that team are still active in the NFL - not bad for ten years later. (Before you ask: QB Kerry Collins, TE Kyle Brady, K Brett Conway, G Marco Rivera, S Kim Herring, WR Bobby Engram, LB Jim Nelson, DL Brandon Noble. I'm not sure about Noble.)

Maybe, maybe not. They whacked Pete Kendall last year, and IMO he's a better player than either of these two. They're still holding out hope somebody will give them something -- ANYTHING -- for Shelton, is all.... that, and the cap hit if they release LJ is probably worse the one for Clement.... Just my opinion.

Correct, Doc. Kenny Davis had a couple of nice gains off center-screens that day, too, and the D absolutely throttled Miami's offense. 26-3 early in the fourth quarter, and the Fishies ended up with all of 33 yards rushing and 5 turnovers. The '96 game - December 30 1995, actually - was the one that put Steve Tasker on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Couldn't stop him, or TT, or Darick Holmes, or Timmy Tindale... heck, Ralph could've scored against them that day. 27-0 at the end of the third quarter. What a perfect way to end Don Shula's coaching career.

Good seeing you too, Rich. As for PSU.... Derrick Williams. Justin King. Still questions, though - like what's going to happen to the morons involved in the bow-and-arrow incident. And will Michael Robinson finally get a chance to play one position? Can't wait for Saturday. Maybe I'll even head down to State College for the festivities...

Chuck, is that you?

And if anyone doubts that, ask yourselves why very, very few current Bills employees appear on the WGR airwaves. Apparently, even with the coaching/front office turnover the last few seasons, the Glenn Parker episode still resonates in the halls of One Bills Drive....

Two weeks in a row, a chant of "T-K-O!!" is clearly audible during the fourth quarter of a road game. Bills Nation representin', as the home crowd abandons ship. Chalkie, you may well be right about John York. Worst thing that ever happened to the Niners was Eddie D. getting shoved out of the picture...

AllRIGHT - playoff-level tailgating! Bump this up, and maybe set something up for Saturday evening?

Yup - he predicted 10-6 and a wildcard. When he spoke to the Booster Club right after the Baltimore game, he made a joke out of it - "hey, I thought they'd be 10-6, so I obviously know NOTHING about football...."

That call made it on ESPN, I see. When we saw AVP Saturday night, he told us "Raise some hell tomorrow!"

To answer your Q: no, TKrumrie had the same long-sleeve mock t-neck he wore last week. Man is INTENSE, even in the hotel lobby..... Bengals fans were booking TKO, kind of mixed feelings about Sam W., but they still love Tim. A few of them were yelling to him during warmups; I told them "we're glad we have him".......

They're entitled to their opinion. Doesn't mean they're correct, though.

Optimism, hell. We leave for Ohio in a couple of hours.

Yup.

What it is, is unadulterated crap. The play in question was the shotgun snap that got away from McCown, and Spikes' sack for a 9-yard loss after McCown regained control of the ball. Looks like this in the play-by-play: So, if that play never happened, why was the following play 2nd-and-19 instead of 2nd-and 10? The Browns DID lose those nine yards; the line of scrimmage for second down was the 50, not the Buffalo 41... but according to the NFL revision, that nine-yard loss was apparently a figment of our collective imagination.

Well, let's see -- dinner and hotel room in Cincinnati tomorrow night, game ticket, tailgate supplies, hotel room on the way back Sunday night, gasoline from WNY to central Ohio and back.... Oh, wait. That's not what you meant. Never mind.......

Monday night, around 7:30. The location changes often, though, so either make sure you catch the previous week's show (they'll announce the following week's location right near the closing credits), or give Empire a call or e-mail. (Might have better luck with the phone.) Empire contact info

Yup. Too bad we already played in Miami......

Just finished talking to Dad - he's in Muncie IN, and said it was supposed to be 20s and dropping out there Sunday. Guess it's time to pack the snow gear, and get ready for another dose of "Bills Weather".....

That's definitely true of the AFL franchises. I can't think of too many NFL teams that have only had one owner since 1960, either - Steelers have had the Rooney family and the Giants the Maras, but I think that's about as close as it gets. (And no, the recent expansion franchises don't count in my book... not for another 30 or 40 years or so, anyway.)

Bud Adams was also the original owner of the Oilers.

The real story: the Raiduhs would have gone under if Ralph hadn't bailed them out. And yet, Al freakin' Davis is in the HoF and Ralph isn't.

Amen to that. Sal put a lot of work into those books, and it shows.

Promo, I think Empire carried a Raptors game tonight. (I say "I think", because my Empire feed apparently doesn't have the rights to the Raptors games. One more viewing of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame ceremony, and I'll have Koshinski's opening monologue memorized....)

Just sayin', the media guide is where that list came from. They're handy things to have around when you're looking for info like that.... Good luck with the project. Sounds like a great idea!