Jones is from Ohio/Columbus. Tigers do not change their stripes. I think the dude is an OSU and Big Ten homer. Like all OSU fans, he still loves pumping up OSU and Michigan so "the Game" always has some mythical narrative even though it should not. IMHO his bio sounds like he moved to PA and PennLive almost because he had to because he got an offer and wanted to cover college basketball. IMHO, the dude is a Midwest shill stuck in PA. I simply ignore him, as he has his own silent slant/bias/intent.
Dave Jones eats crow...now says Penn State will win division
- Thread starter Jerry
- Start date
He should stick to basketball then. He's clueless when it comes to CF. Iowa over PSU ? Seriously?
Nope and nope.
O'Brian hated him for repeatedly reporting things that were supposed to be off the record. BO'B was trying to give him background on the way things worked and why BO'B had to do things the way he did that looked crazy to the untrained eye. Remember, BO'B was coaching when the university was going through the Sandusky era and had all the politics on how to handle the situation.
In addition, Jones repeatedly reported things about Paterno during the JS situation that were already proven to be untrue.
I'll never forgive the guy and have no idea how he can possibly have a job in central PA. Just goes to show how the media just doesn't care about their readers.
I think Jones is a little bit warped by the fact that he covered PSU in the latter Paterno years when the program was in decline, the coaching for the most part just wasn't very good, and PSU would be overrated a lot of years and then stumble in their first game against a physical opponent like Iowa.
A lot of PSU fans (and I count myself) were in a little bit of denial about the state of the program and Jones was kind of trying to sound the alarm a bit; I think he saw it as an emperor's lack of clothes kind of thing.
For Jones to predict an Iowa win was kinda dumb considering PSU proved at Ill. they could handle a physical game.
But there was a somewhat realistic scenario that Iowa would be able to run the ball on PSU and stay competitive by grinding out drives and limiting PSU's offensive possessions.
For the opposite to happen, for PSU to grind it out 3 yards at a time, that never happens in this game. Last time PSU was able to run the ball at will on Iowa -- 1993/1994?
A lot of PSU fans (and I count myself) were in a little bit of denial about the state of the program and Jones was kind of trying to sound the alarm a bit; I think he saw it as an emperor's lack of clothes kind of thing.
For Jones to predict an Iowa win was kinda dumb considering PSU proved at Ill. they could handle a physical game.
But there was a somewhat realistic scenario that Iowa would be able to run the ball on PSU and stay competitive by grinding out drives and limiting PSU's offensive possessions.
For the opposite to happen, for PSU to grind it out 3 yards at a time, that never happens in this game. Last time PSU was able to run the ball at will on Iowa -- 1993/1994?
I think you are being way too kind.
I don't think Jones is a nice person. I think he is a vindictive person. I think he hated PSU for their "holier than thou" reputation and took great delight in the JS scandal. Worse, I think he saw an opportunity to do damage and call it "reporting".
Of all of the reporters I've read nationwide on just about any subject, Jones is the worst IMHO.
Thanks for the thoughtful post, tboyer. I agree with much of your post. I had some good email exchanges with Jones around the time of the dark years. I didn't get the sense he was vindictive; he was reporting a reality that many Penn State fans did not want to hear.
But Jones picking Iowa was really foolhardy. It is sort of like picking NW to win this week. I suppose it could happen if we had a rash of key injuries and half the team is out with COVID, but it is not the way to bet.
I do sense that Jones has gone more into a troll mode against Penn State fans in recent years. That tends to happen with sportswriters as they near the end of their career and get bitter. In general, I have found a lot of sportswriters end up feeling unfulfilled with what they did with their life as they reach the end. They tend to be smart enough to come to that realization, but not smart enough or accomplished enough to do anything else more meaningful.
The son actually reports to the athletic director who will have that decision if they don’t make it.
I could buy that he thought Iowa could run the ball with some success and maybe grind out a win with their D.
What I don’t get is why that thought process suddenly gets thrown out the window and he predicted PSU to beat OSU and Michigan. If anyone should be given the benefit of the doubt on being able to run against the PSU D it should be Michigan after last year.
He also said he thought they’d lose a game or so against inferior competition due to their young QB….. but then thought that same young QB would sweep OSU and Michigan?
He doesn't mean it--he's saying it so he can criticize us when we lose.
H
He's taking the Beano Cook approach. If we win it, he was right. If we lose, we're bums.
This was my thought as well. He’d prefer to troll PSU fans by picking against them as he did last week. But he realizes now he can’t do that without looking like an idiot/obvious hater. The best trolling opportunity going forward is to build us up as the favorite to win the conference so he can criticize Franklin for underperforming if we don’t.
well, it is just dumb, if you think about it. PSU had an awful record in 2020 and 2021. What happens when a team has bad years? People stop reading, watching, paying for tickets, paying for subscriptions. It hurts his own business. If you are cowherd, it is a zero sum game because when PSU is bad, that means another team is good.
Why troll when you are a beat writer for one team/school? Tell the truth, is that so hard? Honestly, Jones is the only person I know that thought Iowa would win. Even when they had three key injuries on offense, he could have changed his tune.
If Flounders had half-a-brain he'd distance himself from this sour grape. He'd also clean himself up and look somewhat respectable. His messiness is distracting. I haven't seen Greg Pickle in a while, but I'm glad he distanced himself from Jones. He was too close to him when he was starting out, and I thought that would have been the kiss of death, unless you want to make central Pennsylvania your final career destination.
