My Saturdays Are Free

If there’s under 10 minutes left in the game and you are down by 8, and you happen to be within 20 yards of the end zone on fourth down, you go for it. You don’t kick a field goal. And here’s why.

Say you decide to go for it. If you don’t make it, the other team gets the ball and your defense has to stop them, get the ball back, and then you have to score a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. BUT if you do make it (either a touch down or a first down), you have another chance for a touchdown so you can try for the two-point conversion to tie the game. On the other hand, you might decide to kick the field goal in that same scenario. If you don’t make the field goal, it’s the same as going for it on fourth down and not making it. And even if you do make the field goal, the other team gets the ball and your defense has to stop them, get the ball back, and you have to score a touchdown to win the game because you are still down by five points. The best case result of kicking the field goal leaves you in almost the same exact situation as the worst case result of going for it on 4th down.

And another thing. If you are going for a touchdown from about the 15 yard line and it’s 3rd and goal (meaning you cannot get a first down), why would you run two of your receivers on 10 yard routes that do not put them in the end zone? You are already set up for a 30 yard field goal. Are you really just trying to get set up for a 20 yard field goal instead? Because if you’re trying for, oh I don’t know, a 7 point touchdown, I would think you would send more than one receiver into the end zone so if the first guy is covered, you can check your second receiver who is also in scoring position and not catching the ball on the five to get tackled there.

Listen, Penn State. I understand that Joe Paterno is a living legend who knows more about football than I will ever know even if I lived ten of my lives. But here is what I would be doing right now.

• Cut Austin Scott. He flopped. Admit it. You thought he was going to be big but he isn’t, and what’s worse is that he can’t hold on to the damn ball. Don’t bench him, actually cut him from the team. He should never play football again.
• Bench Anthony Morelli. I’m not overreacting to one bad game, I’m understanding now for the first time that we have some of the best wide receivers and tight ends in the country and they are not being used because our quarterback can’t get them the ball. He has protection, he has time, he has receivers, so what’s his problem? He doesn’t have what it takes, apparently. He gets flustered, he gets sacked when he should throw the ball away, he doesn’t protect the ball when he’s under pressure, he doesn’t take advantage of speedy receivers or know how to find them or get in sync with them. He consistently over or under throws them. He’s graduating at the end of the year and we’ll have to start somebody else anyway. It’s time to start that somebody now and stop wasting these receivers’ college careers.
• Give Dan Connor a raise. I know he doesn’t make any money, but still. You have to keep that guy happy.
• Give Sean Lee a raise, too. You have to make sure he follows Posluszny and Connor’s footsteps for next year.
• Remind Derrick Williams that he is awesome. He seems to have forgotten. Though that might be the combined effort of a RB who can’t run and a QB who can’t pass.
• Remind the offensive coordinator to stop calling stupid plays and bad receiving routes. This will help the new quarterback get into a groove with his receivers.

Do whatever you will, Penn State. I wish you nothing but the best, but in the end, I don’t really care what you do the rest of this season. After tonight’s ridiculous performance in the Big House where you threw away your whole season, I doubt I’ll be watching very much.