Ben Jones calling out those who are in need of reality check. Interesting take. http://www.statecollege.com/news/lo...isnt-your-fathers-penn-state-anymore,1466591/
Penn State Football: Sorry, But It Isn't Your Father's Penn State Anymore
- Thread starter canuckhal
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No, it is not- and it never will be again, even when/if we get back to winning.
I agree with him in the respect that the fanbase and the expectations are living in the past a bit with their reaction to all of the movement. I equate PSU's current position to what Alabama went through after Bear Bryant passed. With the exception of 1992 and Gene Stallings, every year that they didn't put together decent seasons, people there always cried about 'that's not the way Bear would have done it'. I'm hearing some of the same whispers this week of 'this would have never happened under Paterno' or even worse, the call by some to bring back Paterno-era assistant coaches. This is a new era. Assistants move around. Players are going to move around. All of the talk in recruiting about 'family' is a sales job. Family doesn't exist anymore in sports and neither does loyalty. Where I do disagree with him is the part about embracing the underdog role. Penn State is not Northwestern or Indiana or Minnesota. Penn State is built on a history of championships and being the favorite. When you start thinking of yourself as a perennial underdog, nobody takes you seriously anymore. You're not in the national thinking. You're the noon game on ESPNU with Beth Mowins on the call. It's different from a game-by-game basis. PSU played great as underdogs at Wisky in 2013 & in double OT vs OSU last year. But if you start thinking like the Purdues and Illinoises of the world instead of as big bad Penn State (even if you're not currently big and/or bad), then you're irrelevant.
Ben Jones overuses hyperbole, states his opinions as truth, quotes a Matthew McConaughey movie character, and is very full of himself ("The fact that I have to clarify the basic complexities of building a football program is the kind of thing that makes me agree with that person in the parking lot"). Not to mention too much bloviating. It's very hard for me to stay interested in many of his columns, especially due to the 'opinions as truth' aspect of them.
I personally totally agree with him.
I think Franklin, having inherited a fantastic QB that didn't fit his system, a staff that couldn't adjust, a severely depleted roster, a very weak offensive line, a BOT that doesn't care, and a complete mess relative to the university's multiple litigations.
To me, Franklin was treading water the last two years. Moving into 2016, he is taking the reigns as "his program". He fired Donovan, told a lot of kids it was time to move on, lost Shoop (who wants to be a HC in 2017) and Hand (who may or may not have been fired by the new OC).
Franklin deserves two more years. And, he's never needed the fan support more than he needs it now. As a fan base, its time we stopped dissing Pitt and acting like Clemson is a rogue program. Its time we get our heads out of our asses and realize who and what we are at this time.
I think Franklin, having inherited a fantastic QB that didn't fit his system, a staff that couldn't adjust, a severely depleted roster, a very weak offensive line, a BOT that doesn't care, and a complete mess relative to the university's multiple litigations.
To me, Franklin was treading water the last two years. Moving into 2016, he is taking the reigns as "his program". He fired Donovan, told a lot of kids it was time to move on, lost Shoop (who wants to be a HC in 2017) and Hand (who may or may not have been fired by the new OC).
Franklin deserves two more years. And, he's never needed the fan support more than he needs it now. As a fan base, its time we stopped dissing Pitt and acting like Clemson is a rogue program. Its time we get our heads out of our asses and realize who and what we are at this time.
Franklin deserves two more years but no more. The current roster has some holes but it also has a lot of talent. PSU's recruiting has been better than all but OSU, UM, and MSU. Franklin shouldn't be losing to many other teams.
One thing the article doesn't mention. It says that PSU is irrelevant right now but the administration is charging fans prices that would make you think we're in the hunt for a national championship. How long will fans pay top 5 prices for a top 45 team?
Is it me or does Ben Jones seem like he's 2 years late to the party? Franklin is in a debacle, party of his own making? Well no sh!t, Sherlock, how many players were on scholarship when he arrived, and worse yet how many of them were on the OL? How much of this is his making other than supposedly cleaning house and what appears to be making necessary changes to improve? This isn't the Penn State of your forefathers? No, that Penn State was gutted and left for dead by the NCAA and complicit BoT.
Tradition, honor and loyalty is what kept the program afloat - The players that stayed, the kids that came to play for BoB (and now Franklin) in spite of the doom and gloom, and the fans with their asses in the seats. But what does Jones know about any of that? Delusions of grandeur, he says? He can spin this any way he wants, but those are the same Penn State characteristics that will ensure its success in the future as well. I wish Franklin every success and Godspeed in the process.
Tradition, honor and loyalty is what kept the program afloat - The players that stayed, the kids that came to play for BoB (and now Franklin) in spite of the doom and gloom, and the fans with their asses in the seats. But what does Jones know about any of that? Delusions of grandeur, he says? He can spin this any way he wants, but those are the same Penn State characteristics that will ensure its success in the future as well. I wish Franklin every success and Godspeed in the process.
Two years....Agreed. I think CJF would agree and that's why he's been so aggressive this off season. He had to live within the JoePa/BOB world. Not anymore.
Two your point on the roster, my coach used to say that in football, a chain was only as good as its weakest link. That is true....the opposition attacks your greatest weakness and there is little chance to hide. PSU weakness was our o-line and opposing teams were relentless in attacking that. Its not going to get much better next year but I expect JoeMo's offense to be better suited to working with a poor o-line than Hack's dropback requirements.
Finally, pricing, as a PSU educated person, should be recognized as a matter of theory of elasticity. Raise prices to maximize income/profit. If people are willing to continue to pay, prices will continue to go up. Its a business. PSU is no longer JoePa's PSU where it was about eduction and the college experience. Today, its a profit motive. cha cha cha changes.
"Franklin deserves two more years but no more. The current roster has some holes but it also has a lot of talent. PSU's recruiting has been better than all but OSU, UM, and MSU. Franklin shouldn't be losing to many other teams." bdgan
Your four sentences do not fully support each other. And the reason that they don't is because you've eliminated some key mitigating factors in the equation of big time college football. Talent + TRAINING + coaching + EXPERIENCE = success. Bringing in a bunch of talented 18 year olds and expecting them to manhandle 22 year old fifth year seniors is unrealistic, and exactly what Jones is driving at above. Franklin, in my opinion, needs at least five full years to pull off this rebuild...maybe six.
Patience, grasshoppa!
Your four sentences do not fully support each other. And the reason that they don't is because you've eliminated some key mitigating factors in the equation of big time college football. Talent + TRAINING + coaching + EXPERIENCE = success. Bringing in a bunch of talented 18 year olds and expecting them to manhandle 22 year old fifth year seniors is unrealistic, and exactly what Jones is driving at above. Franklin, in my opinion, needs at least five full years to pull off this rebuild...maybe six.
Patience, grasshoppa!
Wow..Ben Jones = Jimmy Carter. Turn down the thermostat and put your lights on low. It's cold and dark and nothing you can do about it. Just get used to it Penn St. Sorry Ben. That's not what Penn State is or ever will be. Penn Staters share a common bond and optimism about achieving great things and look forward to the challenges of the future.
OK. Except, it was JVP who famously told his inquisitors to lower their expectations.
BTW, Chooch, there was no need to include an incorrect political frame to this thread. LOL @ yokels like you, who have no idea what they are saying, or how it actually went down. I lived it. I sent an angry letter to Jimmy Carter in my youth. Regret that today. He never said there was nothing we could do about this or that. What he did was tell us what had to be done...and nobody (me included) wanted to accept being told what had to be done.
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I can only speak for myself, but none of my criticisms or questions regarding Franklin have anything to do with Paterno comparisons. I have no problem with coaches or players leaving, it happens all the time in every major college in the country. Of the players leaving, Reeder is the biggest loss due to the experienced depth he provided at Linebacker. Coaching turnover is common and should be expected. Players who know they won't play leave all the time. The days are long gone when you have a head coach and assistants that stay for 20 or 30 years. Shoop returned to Tennessee where he and his family apparently enjoyed living and because of head coaching ambitions. Hand joined an old friend in Auburn. Donovan was let go because of poor performance by the offense. Hard to be critical of that decision. Franklin took the job with sanctions hanging over his head. We are still feeling the affects in terms of depth and competitive practice position battles. Franklin's game day coaching decisions and clock management sometimes makes me scratch my head, but in fairness, with better talent at some positions, some of those decisions may have worked. Ultimately the book is still out on Franklin. Let's see how he closes in terms of recruiting this year and how they do on the field next year with a new offense and some new players on Defense.
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I'm not sure he's saying *perennial* underdog. But we are an underdog right now--like it or not. And will be for a few years yet. That's a valid point that Jones makes--and one I agree with. For now. Not forever.
While this whirlwind of conversation goes on debating whether or not PSU is headed in the right direction, I will continue to enjoy games, be frustrated to no end while watching at times and savoring the victories anticipating improvement to come.
Franklin deserves two more years or even three to produce. I happen to believe that he is the right guy for the job.
Franklin deserves two more years or even three to produce. I happen to believe that he is the right guy for the job.
So Ben says PSU fans have to get use to the "new ways" and writes about PSU fans acting in the "new way"
