I originally intended to have a post for this past Friday but was overcome by a huge wave of pure laziness, not to mention the fact that pretty much every PSU blogger had commented on the brand-spankin’-new Coaches Poll and being that I’m not the biggest fan of such polls, decided to hold off.

However, I figure I should just suck it up and offer my two cents on what we may very well look back upon as “meaningless” come December:

• Best of luck to #1 Georgia in getting through their season without more than one loss: The Bulldogs’ schedule resembles the most daunting “Ninja Warrior” course ever created: Road games at Arizona State, Auburn, LSU, and South Carolina? Yikes…
• There is no valid reason to rank Penn State below the Top 20, even with the inevitably brutal October schedule, especially when you have Rashard Mendenhall/J. Leman/Element of Surprise-less Illinois at #19. Do 18 returning starters mean absolutely nothing to the Pollsters? I guess I just answered my own question.
• Michigan (#24) is only in the poll due to its prestige and its coach. Any other program experiencing the personnel losses the Wolverines have been gutted by would be on the outside looking in to start the season.

Today also marks the first official day of preseason practice. Hopefully this means less talk about the “Outside The Lines” propaganda piece and more talk about who will be the starting QB, whether the D-line will skip a beat without Chris Baker and Phil Taylor, who the first three lucky contestants will be that try their hands at solidifying “Linebacker U”, and whether JayPa’s “Spread HD” will provide a sharper look to the offense.

The Nittany Line has a nice rundown on such issues and I particularly agree with their assessment of JayPa’s latest brilliant innovation.

What the hell is the Spread HD?

Jay Paterno dropped a bomb on the Big Ten when he revealed his dastardly plan to unleash what he called the “spread HD” on unsuspecting defenses this year. Ok, I just chuckled writing that. Much has been tossed around about what the new offense will be. JayPa says it’s a running offense which kind of goes against the reason for a spread in the first place, isn’t having 3, 4, or 5 receivers on the field a good time to throw? Jay wants the offense to average 200 yards passing and rushing this year. Uh not to burst his bubble but we already had that… last year.

Category	National Rank	Actual
Rushing Offense	29	193.77
Passing Offense	75	206.31

How’d that work out for us? Yeah not so good. Who knows what’s dancing through the mind of Jay Paterno, only time will tell.

Also, since I feel like latching on to the latest fad of putting up a photo of a corresponding PSU player’s number to signal the number of days left until the season opener, here’s a mini Tony Hunt-A-Palooza to leave you with warm feelings for the rest of the day..the same kind of warm feelings you get from watching the infamous Folger’s Christmas commercial on endless repeat.

    In the second day of my offseason position analysis, I’m going to look at the runningback position.  This position was easily the strength of the offense, finishing 8th in rushing yards per game.  Brian Westbrook had a career year, while Correll Buckhalter was great in a relieving role.  However, with both backs aging and collecting injuries like trading cards, the birds don’t have much of an insurance policy or future at the position. Can third round draft choice Tony Hunt be that future?

Brian Westbrook

Westbrook proved he could be an elite NFL runningback this season, leading runningbacks in yards from scrimmage.  He set the Eagles’ single-season reception record with a career-high 90 receptions for a career-high 771 yards.  He was arguably the most complete back in the league this year, making rushing, receiving and pass-blocking look easy.  On top of that, he can deliver a big punt return in a pinch.  There’s not enough I can say about B-West. He is easily the most talented player the Eagles have had in years.

The verdict: Expect one or two more Pro Bowl-caliber years out of Westy before injuries catch up with him.

Correll Buckhalter

Buckhalter could have started for the Eagles this year and gotten the job done, although he would not have been nearly as dynamic.  Buckhalter has seen what could have been a terrific career ruined by knee injury after knee injury. However, he never gave up.  He still delivered some exciting plays this year, with 4 rushing touchdowns and and a 5.0 yards per-carry average. He proved he could be reliable, rushing for 103 yards on 17 carries in his only start.

The verdict: Buckhalter is a solid backup, but he’s an injury waiting to happen.  Would he be able to recover from yet another major injury?

Tony Hunt

When the Eagles drafted Hunt, I liked the pick.  I thought he could become the goal-line threat the Eagles need.  Early in the season, it looked like he could have done that. Hunt took the ball in the endzone for his first career touchdown in his first career game.  Then, he disappeared completely.  Word on the street is that Hunt has looked lost ever since he reported to training camp.

The verdict: Although Hunt had an awful rookie campaign, he obviously still has time to come around.  Look for the Eagles to try and inspire him by bringing in some competition, most likely through the later rounds of the draft.

Ryan Moats

Moats spent the year on Injured Reserve after looking awful in training camp.  The speedy Moats has become a human fumbling machine after a promising rookie season.

The verdict: Not much to say here.  Moats has shown he has what it takes to do something in this league, but seems to have lost it somewhere.  Maybe battling with Hunt and a rookie for a roster spot will remind him of what he can do.

Reno Mahe

Why is this guy still in the NFL?  There wasn’t a better return man ANYWHERE?? Reno would be a lot better if he wasn’t so slow.

The verdict: Poor Reno will not be on a team nor in the NFL next season and likely the rest of his life.

Thomas Tapeh

Tapeh is a solid lead blocker, but that’s about it.

The verdict: The Eagles could stick with Tapeh, but Reid likes a fullback who can catch out of the backfield. The Eagles could very likely try and upgrade either through the draft or free agency.

That’s all for runningbacks.  Stay tuned for my in-depth look at Wide Receivers and Tight Ends!