Moving Forward: With Lee out for 2008, NOW is it time for Penn State to panic?

All-American Sean Lee just destroyed his ACL in practice. Now he’s gone bye-bye for 2008. Although he’ll be back in 2009, this leaves a huge question mark hanging over Penn State’s outside linebacker spot. Who will fill that void? Does Penn State even have a chance now this season?

Now that the horror of Saturday night has passed, we can all take a deep breath. Not that it will help. The loss of Lee was nothing less than devastating to Penn State, not just the team, but the program as a whole. But remember, when the old farts in Old Main didn’t come up with a plan to deal with the old fart in Lasch Building, we said it wasn’t time to panic. When it seemed like Penn State football players were gaining daily recognition in the police blotters instead of the sports page, we said it wasn’t time to panic. When Chris Bell went, well, insane, we said it wasn’t time to panic. And you know what? It’s still not time to panic.

Lee’s injury was bad, but it’s not the end of the world. Why?

The Offense: No, not the offensive line, not the wide receivers, but the whole freaking unit. I don’t care when JokePa conjures up as the Spread HD crap. If this team doesn’t average 35 points per game, Penn State should just drop football altogether. When you have the best offensive line in years, a mobile quarterback to make plays when the protection (rarely) might break down, a stud running back that can break one loose any moment, and the best freaking wide receivers in the conference, you have the luxury of out-scoring the other team, if it comes to that. But it shouldn’t in 2008, because of…

The Defensive Line: This unit was the first to be hit by the injury and law bugs. But with the rest of the team’s problems, not too many people have noticed the defensive front four coming back together. Chris Baker might be gone (still not positive yet), but Phil Taylor will pay his dues, Jared Odrick and Jerome Hayes are almost done rehabbing those injuries, and the younger backups have gotten a full spring of working with the first team. This should be the conference’s best defensive line, and could actually improve on 2007’s 46 sacks. And if opposing tailbacks get through the line, or if Penn State needs extra pressure on the quarterback, there’s always…

The Backup Linebackers: It’s easy to forget how many really good linebackers Penn State has landed the last four years. Fans actually complained how many were signed, saying few would actually see the field. Well, now Penn State has a large stable of players to choose from, hopefully filling in for Lee. Nate Stupar, Cedric Jeffries, Bani Gbadyu, Andrew Dailey, and hopefully Navarro Bowman will all be ready to play on the outside. Throw in the three freshmen “Mikes”—Mike Yancich, Mike Mauti (although now he’s listed at the safety spot behind Mark Rubin) and Mike Zordich—and Penn State has possibly the best, deepest group of linebackers in the conference, if not the nation.

Don’t think I’m taking a Kool-Aid bath with this. I think Penn State is in the shit house right now, and needs to get its act together. But we all have to be as realistic about this team’s positives as we are about the negatives. There’s a load of talent heading into 2008. No one can deny that. I’m not ready to make a prediction of how many games Penn State will win, or who they’ll beat. But Penn State has a great shot to do good things in 2008, without Sean Lee, and those were just a few reasons why. So don't panic.