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Paterno shoulders most of blame for PSU's woes
Rob Biertempfel is the Pirates beat writer. He can be reached via e-mail. Also check out Biertempfel's blog, Pirates Q&A or follow him on Twitter.
Coach Joe Paterno issued absolution to all of them when asked if he could finger a reason for Penn State's putrid offense.
So what is to blame? The Blue Band?
"I don't have any magic bullet or anything like that," Paterno said with a shrug.
The Nittany Lions (2-5, 0-4 Big Ten) are ranked 83rd in the nation in total offense, 86th in rushing and 107th in scoring offense.
The Magic Bullet Theory was the keystone of the Warren Commission's indictment of Lee Harvey Oswald. For anyone who is looking for the culprit behind Penn State's demise, Paterno also will point to a lone gunman.
"You should be critical of me," he said. "I am the boss. I hate it when you guys are critical of the kids or the staff.
"I am not sure how critical we should be of anybody. We should realize we are playing against some good teams and may be playing some kids who are a little out-manned or out-experienced or something like that."
Increasingly, doubts are being raised about the offense's play-calling system, which involves more moves than the Hokey Pokey.
Early in the week, Paterno and his staff gather to decide which types of plays to run in certain situations. The coaches come up with a script of plays for each game.
"Most of the play-calling has been decided during the week," Paterno said. "I have not gotten involved in the play-calling as much as I did maybe 10 years ago."
On game day, quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno is stationed in the press box. Offensive coordinator Galen Hall watches from the sideline, and talks with Jay Paterno via a headset.
"When we get into certain situations, Galen turns it over to Jay and vice versa," Joe Paterno said.
Generally, Jay Paterno calls all the passing plays. Running plays are called by Hall, "with input from Dick (Anderson, offensive line coach) and Jay," according to Joe Paterno.
It's a unique setup. Some observers might call it odd.
"I don't know why (we) don't stick with one guy," quarterback Michael Robinson said. "The disadvantage is it doesn't let a coach get into a rhythm."
Even with so many coaches offering ideas, the offense seemed predictable last weekend against Iowa. Yet, during his press conference, Joe Paterno seemed to doubt claims by his players that Iowa's defender often called out Penn State's offensive plays before the ball was snapped.
"It concerns me if it is accurate. Let's leave it at that," he said.
In fact, the head coach is concerned. According to quarterback Zack Mills, the topic was raised during strategy meetings on Monday.
"Jay brought it up," Mills said. "Maybe for Saturday (against Ohio State) we need to change things or add a few things."
Mills has said that he rarely meets with Hall during the week. It was an interesting admission, especially considering the growing speculation that Hall, unhappy with his diminished role in the system, might leave after this season.
Neither Hall nor Jay Paterno responded to repeated requests for interviews this week.
