The Lions' Pride

I'll start off by stating I think PSU will be 8-4. Now, you state that you have confidence in BOB and him running the offense etc and that things will improve here, there etc. Well what happens if we go 5-7 and things don't improve, they stay the same or get worse? Will the blame fall on BOB?

What part is fantasy exactly?

Don't know that I guaranteed anything. But seriously - what part of the offense do you not trust to be better? OL in the new S&C program? Receivers being taught by a coach who is known for developing good route-runners in Hixon? Tight ends, who come from a guy who helped run a TE friendly offense? Do you think our QB's will regress now that Jay Pa is gone? Seriously - what part of the offense will end up better last year than this?

Bradley was a good DC, I'm not going to disparage him here. Just suffice it to say that our defense was exposed at times. Bradley's defenses were safe and were the reason we could generally count on wins against teams with lesser talent. Will this defense be as safe? Doubt it. Will it be as good? Hard to say at this point.

BOB will definitely deserve blame at that point, as I'm sure a lot of other players/coaches would as well.

We had a given OOC loss last year in Bama. We weren't going to beat them last year regardless. Temple, Ohio, Navy and Virginia are all winnable for PSU. However, as a collective group, its a tougher slate that seeing Bama, Temple than two laughing stocks. While you can sweep the OOC slate, you have one or two that can make you cringe a bit.

There are alot of coin flips on this schedule IMO - no matter how much I want to slice it or dice it. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree and sit back; watch and hope the development goes as planned. God know, we have the right coaches with the right background as far as development in these key positions to turn these perceived coin flips in my mind to wins. Time will tell.

I don't expect QB to be better. McGloin wasn't good in our high school offense the last few years, doubt he improves in a much more complex, skill/talent based offense.

I'm not sure you can place blame on BOB for anything this year. The depth in several areas suck. The talent level that PSU is accustomed to having ISN'T on par. That is on the former staff. Development is more than XXX months. It takes a year or two.

QB - we have issues
RB - one injury and we have problems
WR - lack of game changers ... we have a developer now
TE - holding down the fort until Breneman comes
OL - always a project at PSU ... we have a developer in this area now.

DL - steady as it goes
LB - steady as it goes
DB - major weakness in depth and talent.

I actually didn't say QB will be better, I implied he wouldn't regress. I don't think McGloin will get better, but I do think BOB will try to adjust the offense to minimize the mistakes that McGloin is prone to.

I also think (and this may be crazy) that not switching QB's every couple of series might actually help the offense.

Personally speaking, I don't think said starter heading into season will hold onto said starting spot as long as one kid continues to develop and stays eligible. At some point, said kid will take over as the starter based on the fact he is more gifted and brings more to the table. The only reason McGloin is starting IMO, he has more relevant game experience.

I don't know how our offense will look. I dont know that BOB will adjust the offense to minimize mistakes by McGloin. BOB didn't do well coaching offenses and QBs in college. He did well at NE but he also had Tim Brady. We've never seen him take an untalented kid and put an offense around him to minimize mistakes or anything else. Its why I don't understand why people are so sure he will/can do this. What is this based on? Its a lot easier to design an offense when you have a guy like Brady reading defenses and passing the ball.

Navy will be coming off what should be a loss in Ireland, coming back jetlagged Sunday night, which for them would feel like Monday morning. They get four days to practice and get their sleep cycles back in order, and then fly back to the Beav.

If we can't beat them then, we're in serious trouble for the rest of the season defensively.

Exactly what I'm thinking.

I think the potential exists for us to really struggle in 2013...especially defensively. This is a 3 yr project (minimum) until BOB gets the talent and depth levels to where they need to be.

With that said, the circumstances will dictate how I view the situation. Are we losing games b/c of lack of talent or subpar coaching? For a few years, BOB can't be blamed for the lack of talent. As you said, the quality of the team could improve despite improved results...in which case, BOB deserves patience. If it's evident that he's out of his depth...regardless of talent...then he deserves full criticism. Thus far, I think his leadership approach, program philosophy, work ethic, and the majority of his personnel decisions have been positive. We'll see if it correlates to on-field results.

Good point.

Reason I said what I did is because stopping the option they run is all about staying home and staying disciplined. If our defense doesn't show discipline, that doesn't bode well for them in the long run. With young DBs, our front seven can't afford to take stupid chances or blow their assignments to try and make a play.