Prior to this season, fans were virtually christening Anthony Morelli as the second-coming. He was supposed to lead Penn State into the promised land of BCS Bowls and Big Ten titles.

Instead, four weeks later, and Morelli is already being labeled as the second-coming of Zack Mills.

Relax. Ease up. Remember last season?

Michael Robinson was in the same boat. Through four games last year, Robinson had tossed six interceptions and fumbled the ball -- ready for this? -- eight times.

Morelli, on the other hand, has four interceptions and two fumbles. Sure, Morelli's turnovers were more costly. And, sure, Morelli's 2-2 while Robinson was 4-0.

But while Robinson was running up the score against Cincinnati and Central Michigan, Morelli was trying to keep up with two top-15 teams in Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Has Morelli been a disappointment thus far? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean the trend will continue. Fans shouldn't start chanting for Daryll Clark just yet.

Morelli has the tools, not the experience. Granted, right now, it might seem those tools are incomplete -- he can toss it far but is lacking in the departments of accuracy, timing and precision -- but it could be worse.

He could have the surrounding cast that Zack Mills had.

Mills "helped" the Nittany Lions win three Big Ten games in two seasons, but Mills didn't have near the wideouts that Morelli has at his disposal. There's enough talent outside of Morelli, that even if he should falter, Penn State will be able to win enough games to make a Bowl.

The Lions need four more wins to qualify and with Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue and Temple on the schedule, a Bowl game should be a lock.

And playcalling hasn't exactly done Morelli any favors either. You've probably heard the words "Morelli" and "cannon-arm" used about as often as "Graham Spanier" and "tuition increase." Still, the coaching staff hasn't taken many shots downfield with Morelli.

During the Lions' two losses Morelli had only completed one pass for more than 19 yards.

Morelli's first pass this year was a 42-yard bomb straight into the arms of Deon Butler. But in the loss to Ohio State, Morelli went downfield no more than two times prior to the final quarter.

Let's put this in statistical terms: Morelli averaged 6.6 yards per completion. That's Penn State's lowest yards per completion since 2004 when Chris Ganter replaced Mills against Wisconsin. Ganter went 6-for-23 for 32 yards during that 17-9 loss.

In other words, Penn State has appeared more conservative in the pass game than almost ever before -- which is odd, since Morelli is renowned for his ability to throw the long ball.

And, of course, when Morelli throws downfield while he's trailing in the fourth quarter, interceptions happen. That's not to excuse them, and it's certainly not to say Morelli's potential is being completely bottled up.

But Morelli deserves a little more leeway. Give the signal caller a game or two -- and if he still stinks it up -- well, Daryll Clark has a nice ring to it.