Get the lowdown on Joe Paterno's weekly press conference in our audio file below.
HEAR JOE PATERNO HERE.
SCOTT COLE'S QUICKCAP
1. How are you addressing the problems on offense,
especially the red zone?
The obvious parts are that they haven't caught the
ball sometimes. They've put the ball on the ground.
You practice. Couple of penalties. Dropped passes.
Couple of fumbles. That's what they have to eliminate.
It doesn't take a genius to recognize that. As for how
you handle it, you get people to understand that games
are won and lost on a few crucial plays. They have to
make those plays. They'll do the same things they've
done since Day 1.
2. What is your opinion of Anthony Morelli's play and
are you considering a QB change?
No, Joe is not considering a change. Overall, Anthony
has played well. A couple people need to make plays
for him. He needs to shake things off when they don't
go well.
3. If Morelli does struggle, would you put Clark in?
Joe doesn't know. He hasn't given it any thought.
Anthony will be fine.
4. Where is Morelli emotionally?
It was Joe's decision to keep him away from the press
again this week. It's a waste of time. Someone from
the Collegian called him up at home last week and told
him that Joe said there was a quarterback problem. He
called Jay wondering what happened and Jay told him to
calm down. That wasn't true. There is no quarterback
problem, but you guys will keep asking until you get
something to write about. That's a shame. He's just a
kid.
5. Do you take full blame for the Illinois loss?
Any time PSU loses a football game, it's Joe's fault
up to a point. They had an opportunity to win this
last game. The game prior to that, they didn't do a
couple of things that could have made a difference.
The team wasn't exposed enough to certain situations
in practice and that's Joe's fault.
6. What stands out to you about the Iowa defense?
They're solid. Well coached by Norm Parker. Penn State
has played against a lot of his teams. They're sound.
They hustle. They're very very strong. The Indiana
game was very misleading. Indiana's quarterback picked
up a fumble and ran for a touchdown. The Iowa defense
plays hard. They've gone through a period where
nothing has gone right for them.
7. Where is your tailback situation? Is Royster any
closer to seeing playing time?
Joe doesn't think they'll change much about the
tailbacks. Both Kinlaw and Scott were solid, not great
against Illinois. Right now, Royster is the future
guy. He's not better than Kinlaw and Scott now. Joe
wanted to play Scott last week. He didn't want Scott
to feel like persona non grata after the fumble at
Michigan. Joe doesn't think much will change. The
coaches will watch them in practice this week and go
from there.
8. Are Clark or Devlin ready to play in case of
injury?
All three of them can play.
9. Should Morelli be able to shake off mistakes as a
senior already?
Joe's not saying shake off his own mistakes. He means
mistakes that others make.
10. Has confidence become an issue?
Anytime you lose two in a row that you had a chance to
win, you start to wonder about yourself. That's where
leadership and maturity come in. The coaches have to
get the players over that hump. They need a win.
Simple as that.
11. Injury situation?
Neither Dontey Brown or Navorro Bowman will play. The
backup linebackers will be looked at in practice this
week. They have to look at the freshmen they had
planned to redshirt. Josh Hull will definitely play at
one of the spots.
12. Are you starting to worry about the number of
third down conversions you have given up recently. Is
this becoming a trend?
No, it's not becoming a trend.
13. When you play a spread opffense like you did last
week, can you apporximate that kind of scheme in
practice?
Penn State runs the spread. They use 5 wideouts
sometimes. They use four wideouts often. They don't
run the spread exclusively because that's not how Joe
feels the team can get good. It's something you have
to adjust to but it's not the answer to everybody's
problems.
14. How has the team performed under pressure
situations compared to your expectations?
They haven't done a good job when it comes time to win
the game. They have young people in key spots and have
not made plays in key situations. They need to have
some success. They've made a lot of big plays. Last
week, they must have had 6-7 plays of 20+ yards. Don't
underestimate Illinois. They're going to surprise a
lot of people.
The team has not done what Joe hoped they would be
able to do. Joe worried before the season that they
might struggle in the clutch because they have so many
young people in key spots and those worries were
justified.
15. Assess the performance of your defense.
They've been solid. They haven't dominated anyone yet.
Connor is the only senior there. Sales has played a
lot as well, but there are a lot of young guys on
defense.
16. Is there a scenario where Clark could give you an
extra dimension on offense with his legs?
No. Morelli's the quarterback. He might get banged up
and force a backup to play, but right now, Joe isn't
thinking about that.
17. Do you have confidence in the red zone plays? Do
you tinker with those?
Joe is absolutely confident in the plays called. They
just aren't making plays. Somebody fumbles. Somebody
doesn't make a catch. The job is to execute the plays
that are called better.
18. On the fumbles, were the balls secured?
You can be critical of Morelli, but he was making a
great effort to get a first down. With Scott, Joe
still isn't sure his knee wasn't down. Maybe it's
carelessness. It's certainly not a lack of effort or
concentration. They work on ball security drills every
day. If you watch the team practice for two hours, you
won't see one fumble. In the game, you get a little
emotional. You get caught up in trying to make an
extra half yard and you forget the little things.
19. How are the receivers playing overall?
Overall, they've played well. Joe doesn't have a
problem with the football team in any area except for
the fact that they haven't made a couple of plays in
the clutch. The games against Michigan and Illinois
were great football games. Michigan had the ball for
86 plays. Illinois had the kick return where they
weren't good enough. All of the games will be like
this. The players have to understand that. Every game,
it's going to be one play here, one play there. If PSU
makes the play, they win. If they don't the other guy
does.
The wideouts have been good. Maybe they don't have a
dominant tailback, but both guys have run hard.
20. Describe Derrick Williams' leadership role.
He's a real competitor and a fiery kid. He has been
good. He and Golden are two of the hardest workers on
the team and they've played well.
21. What are your memories of the 6-4 game against
Iowa and was that the low point on offense for that
team?
Joe doesn't remember much except the score. The team
wasn't very good obviously, but he doesn't remember
that very much. Iowa and Penn State are both different
teams now. Joe hasn't even thought about it.
22. When is the last time you spoke with Lavon
Chisley?
No comment.
23. Have you had to weigh in on the Michigan
eligibility issue?
Joe has no idea what the question is about. That's up
to the Big Ten. Joe knows they got licked.
24. Would you want a win like that?
Joe has no interest in the situation. Penn State lost.
That's up to somebody else to decide. Joe thought both
teams played a heck of a football game and Michigan
ended up with more points.
25. What has Josh Hull done to become a significant
contributor?
He's a good athlete. He's a bright kid, an engineering
student. He has a chance to be a pretty good football
player. He has to be exposed to some situations so he
can execute his assignments without worrying about the
crowd and other distractions.
26. Where are the team's expectations for the rest of
the season?
Joe isn't going to talk about that. They're going to
go out there and try to beat Iowa. They're going to
work their butts off in practice. Hpefuly, they've
learned from the last two weeks and will go out and
get a win this week. This team isn't in a position to
look any further ahead than Iowa.
27. What has impressed you about Iowa's offense?
Joe has great respect for Kirk Ferentz. Joe played
high school football with Kirk's father-in-law. Their
offense has had a lot of problems because of injuries.
They've lost a couple of wide receivers. The same
thing defensively. They lost a linebacker. The
quarterback is a good football player. They have two
tough tailbacks. The offensive line is good when
they're healthy. They've had a lot of bad luck. Penn
State hasn't beaten Iowa since 1999. The team will
have its hands full. Iowa will show up with a good
football team and Penn State had better be ready to
play.
28. How concerned are you about special teams after
the kickoff return?
It concerns Joe a lot. Anytime you give up a long
return, it means you're not doing something right and
everyone will see that on film and try to exploit the
weakness. It was probably Joe's fault for deciding to
kick into the wind in the first quarter. Joe thought
they would be ok in that situation, but that was a mistake.
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