When Anthony Morelli walked off the field after Saturday's game against Notre Dame, only one thing mattered to the Nittany Lions' quarterback -- his team had won.
Yesterday, however, Morelli sounded stung when his performance in Saturday's game was called into question. The quarterback completed 12-of-22 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown.
He also threw a first-quarter interception that was returned for a touchdown.
"I don't know how I didn't have a good game," Morelli said during a conference call with reporters yesterday afternoon. "We won the football game. People are so caught up in stats, it's ridiculous."
He went on: "It's just unbelievable. No one's ever satisfied with a victory."
Morelli indicated that he fielded criticism after the game, but did not specifically say from whom. He said that "people who don't know football" have a tendency to focus on his shortcomings and ignore the positive things he does on the field.
"The plays that they don't see are the good ones," Morelli said.
Morelli cited the performance of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre in his team's season-opening win over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday. Morelli said that, even though Favre's numbers weren't superb -- Favre completed 23-of-42 passes for 206 yards and threw one interception -- the Packers still won, 16-13. Coach Joe Paterno praised Morelli during his weekly press conference Tuesday, offering credit to the quarterback for the Lions' increased success in the red zone this season.
"We're more comfortable with a couple of things down there because of the fact that we have the wideouts and we have Morelli, who is now becoming a fine quarterback," Paterno said.
Penn State relied mainly on its running game against Notre Dame, handing the ball off 46 times, while throwing it 22 times. Still, Morelli was out-passed by the Irish's freshman quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, who threw for 144 yards against the Lions.
"No matter how much adversity there is, we can still bounce back and win football games," the quarterback said. "I'm ready to move on, and I look forward to playing against Buffalo."
