Penn State "D", How good are they?

[southpaw]

Read an interesting piece of trivia yesterday in the Mirror. Penn State had 197 total yards on Saturday and the last time they won with that many yards when they beat Miami 14-10 in 1986 to win the nat'l championship.

That year State had a dominating defense with linebackers Shane Conlin, Trey Bauer, and I think the third one was Pete Giftopolous. Tim Johnson was an All American at DT.

My question is are Pozluzsny, Connor, and Shaw as good as the three from the '86 team?

Connor and Pozluzsny are impressive and kind of overshadow Shaw in the middle who is also tough. This PSU defense is as good as I have ever seen including those those days in the late 70's when State had Matt Millen who was a tough as they come!

[Lefteyelouie]

I agree. This is a great defense. What I feel makes the biggest difference is the CB's. They are capable of shutting down big play receivers. It allows that front seven to shut down the run and get after the QB.

[ham55]

Have you ever watched a defensive series and just watched the LB's for PSU. They are rarely blocked! That speaks volumes for the front 4 and just how good they really are. Paxson and Alford are run cloggers up the middle and Rice and Hali can flat out get to the QB on pass plays and stretch the stretch plays clear to the sidelines. Those guys almost require doubles all night long to allow the LB's to run free. The safties run up in run support and can lower the boom when they get there and Zemaitis is a first round pick for this upcoming NFL draft, he's that dang good.

They'll be tested yet again in Michigan this week with all the speed and skill of Avant and Breaston. And the front 4 have the task of stopping Mike Hart just like they shut down Maroney. Another test, another passed with flying colors!

[AUSTIN_22:22]

i think the beauty of the penn state defense is that there are no weaknesses. the linebackers are borderline great. the d-line has controlled the last 2 games. the cornerbacks have allowed 1 pass completion over 10 yds on the outside. the safties are big hitters. if there is one weak area, it would be the safties in pass coverage. lowry and harrell both lay the lumber, but often times this happens because they are a half second late to defend a pass over the middle.

michigan might be able to test the safeties in pass coverage better than any other team in the big ten. henne, as much as i thought he was overrated last season, is still a solid qb who throws a good ball. i expect mario manningham, perhaps michigan's best wr right now, to head to that middle area a few times this weekend. this will be a test for lowry and harrell which i think they can handle if they are prepared.

besides that, this defense is the best at controlling a game i can remember watching, including '99. the '99 defense could create more big plays and turnovers, but this year's squad is solid all-around. in 3 years, this defense will have had at least 3 maybe 4 guys drafted in the first round (tamba hali, alan zemaitis, dan connor, and paul posluzny.) ten years after that, joe might decide to hang 'em up, and tom bradley will take the reigns for psu.

[The Ancient Enemy]

I'm worried about next year's secondary. I think the front 7 will be fine, and return much, but the whole secondary is gone.

I really think Posluzny is the best defensive player PSU ever had.

[deliverance]

You think he's better than LaVar Arrington. Once again, you're showing how little you know.

[The Ancient Enemy]

And how many games have you seen, again? Poz makes every tackle. Not as athletic as Arrington, but Paul Posluzny is Penn State football. And I guess you think Arrington was better than Conlan.

[AUSTIN_22:22]

i wasnt really old enuff to watch shane conlan, but from what ive read, poz is like the second coming.

poz and arrington are 2 different types of linebacker in my eyes. lavar could make plays no body else could, but poz makes all the plays he should. if posluzny continues to play like this, many psu fans will regard him as the best LB at psu since he is reliable and is all over the field. poz is playing like a man, but the year after he is gone expect dan connor to make some fans have the same argument for him.

as for the secondary in 06, i am am not as worried as you TAE. of course zemaitis will be gone and that is of course a huge loss, but i think psu has the players to replace the other 3 guys. justin king and tony davis will most likely be the starting CB's. after a full offseason, i think both will be just as reliable as anwar phillips is now. for the saftey positions, expect anthony scirrotto and donnie johnson to step in. many observers compare scirrotto to shaun mayer, who i believe led psu in tackles his senior year. johnson could scare me back there, but he will be a senior. we shall see. i don't think the cupboard is as bare as some may think.

[deliverance]

I've seen 3 of them. Arrington is the better player, in my opinion. How high do you think Poz will go in the NFL draft? Not as high as Arrington. Enough said.

[Lefteyelouie]

How high did Ryan Leaf go in the draft? I guess that means he is better than Tom Brady huh!! Enough said.