2011 Penn State Football Season Preview (Overview)

by Chief32 for PhilaPhans.com

2011 Penn State Football preview

Welcome to my third annual Penn State football preview. As always, I hope everyone enjoys it. Like previous years, I’m not going to post the roster, coaching bio’s, etc. The only piece of “general” info that I will post in my preview is the schedule. If anyone is looking for a roster or any other general info on PSU football, their website is www.gopsusports.com.

Now, onto the preview…..I hope everyone enjoys it. Feel free to ask any questions or give any feedback comments.

2011 Schedule:

9/3 Indiana State
9/10 Alabama
9/17 @ Temple
9/24 Eastern Michigan
10/1 @ Indiana
10/8 Iowa
10/15 Purdue
10/22 @ Northwestern
10/29 Illinois
11/12 Nebraska
11/19 @ Ohio State
11/26 @ Wisconsin

Overview:

After a disappointing 2010 campaign that saw the team lose six games for the first time since 2004, Penn State enters the 2011 campaign with many questions, a quarterback controversy and possibly the most talented roster they have put on the field since 2008. The Nittany Lions enter the 2011 season ranked 25th in the USA Today Coaches poll and not ranked in the AP poll for the first time in five years (note: for the record, the AP poll is completely meaningless at this point as it has zero impact on the BCS).

The 2010 season was a disspointment in about every way imaginable for the program with the lone exception being Joe Paterno picking up his 400th career win against Northwestern in Beaver Stadium. Other than that milestone, the team did not compete and was blown out against every good team it faced last year including big losses to Alabama, Iowa, Illinois and Ohio State. Further complicating the issues last fall was head coach Joe Paterno battling a stomach illness for most of the season, and starting the season with a true freshman quarterback who was displaced by a former walk on halfway through the season.

Penn State heads into the 2011 season with 14 returning starters (7 on offense, 7 on defense). The good news is, in most cases, the new starters on both sides of the ball are probably better than the departing seniors they are replacing from day one. The approach on offense should be similar to last year no matter whether Rob Bolden or Matt McGloin starts at quarterback. Expect to see a balanced attack featuring a combination of Silas Redd and Brandon Beachum carrying the ball and a passing game centered around standout wide receivers Derek Moye and Justin Brown.

The ultimate success of the offense will clearly depend on quarterback play as well as how long it takes a the offensive line to gel and play well as a unit. Defensively, this should be the best unit we have had in years. The only concern I see here is the defensive end position where Penn State will desperately need production out of Eric Lattimore and the underachieving (thus far) Jack Crawford. The DT rotation is very solid, the linebackers are one of the best groups we’ve had in a while and the secondary is veteran laden and should be a strength. Clearly, the defense is the strong point of the team heading into 2011.

Then of course you have to talk about the coaching staff. Joe Paterno went into the 2010 season with many questions and rumors swirling about his health. He appeared incoherent during many press conferences and admitted after the season he and the staff did a poor job last year. Around December, Paterno’s health took a turn for the better with most observers saying they hadn’t seem him as healthy as he appeared since 2005.

He stopped driving in the offseason and walked religiously through the streets of State College and appeared to all around him to be in great shape. Unfortunately, as most of you are aware, he was run over in practice by WR Devon Smith and suffered hairline fractures in his shoulder and pelvis confining him to a golf cart. In the interim, he has missed most of spring practice, and his status for Saturday’s opener (whether he will be on the sidelines on in the press box) is uncertain.

Also of note is long-time defensive coordinator Tom Bradley trying unsuccessfully to land both the Pitt and Temple jobs in the offseason. It’s unfortunate for Bradley that he did not land one of the jobs and they were both good fits for him as a potential head coach. In fact, in my opinion, Bradley would have been a much better hire than either Steve Adazzio or Todd Graham.

- Chief32

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Posted by chief32 on Aug 30 2011. Filed under Breaking News, The PSU Football Report. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry