“The fans who want Joe to stick around are as clueless as he is.” - November 19, 2008
Clueless about what? In his last 4 seasons, his overall record has been 43-10 with 2 conference championships and a 3-0 record in Bowl games.
To say that he’s earned his right to continue coaching, after 43 years of Hall of Fame service, is obviously an understatement.
To say that fans are clueless for wanting Joe to coach another year insinuates that there is a problem. Where’s the problem? I see an 11-1 team that’s heading to Pasadena.
“When JoePa does leave, the program will be lucky to approach, just like the basketball team, a .500 season every year.” - November 19, 2008
OK. So, you’re implying that Joe is coaching and is having a positive impact on Penn State’s football program, not just serving as a figurehead Shhh… don’t speak too loudly around here!!
“I think that it’s amazing that Joe Paterno trying to reach 400 games is putting his own personal goals above the team. Joe should leave as a winner, which he is, and stop putting the program in jeopardy with his own goals.” - November 20, 2008
You’ve got your coaches mixed up. It has been Bobby Bowden who has openly stated that 400 wins is a goal of his. Paterno has never mentioned the number. He has repeatedly asserted that the record is meaningless to him.
“Stop putting the program in jeopardy with his own goals” - I’m lost. See recent results above.
“I do not want to open up a can of worms, but you have to wonder what would have transpired had Joe Paterno taken the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coaching job when he was offered the position in the late 1960s after Bill Austin was fired. This is when Chuck Noll took over the team. I guess you can only imagine.” - November 21, 2008
“With Joe Paterno’s conservative approach in big games, Penn State could play South Carolina 100 times and not score 56 points like Florida did.” - November 17, 2008
Forget the 56 points. They don’t matter.
The Penn State defense is holding their opponents to 263.9 yards per game (4th best in the nation) and 12.4 points per game. The Florida defense is holding their opponents to 278.7 yards per game (12th best in the nation) and 12.0 points per game.
South Carolina scored 6 points on Florida. It’s reasonable to think that the Penn State defense would be just as successful at shutting down the Gamecock offense.
Penn State could play South Carolina 100 times, and they would score more than 6 points… like Florida did.
I guess you could say that I’m crawling out of the hole. I had to take a nearly one week hiatus from even thinking much about college football. But, now it’s time to take a deep breath, reflect, and move forward.
The Fan Line has been busy for nearly a week talking about every aspect of the Penn State @ Iowa game last weekend.
What is the Fan Line’s response to Iowa defeating the Nittany Lions?
Blame The Officials
“The officials gave the game to Iowa.” - November 9, 2008
No, they didn’t. There were some questionable calls, especially in the last few minutes, but Penn State did not play well enough that they could expect to defeat Iowa. Officiating didn’t help their cause down the stretch, but the game never should have come down to the final 3 minutes to begin with.
“Bob Flounders, the only thing questionable about the pass interference call is your eyesight. And I’m a Penn State fan. Give credit where credit is due. The better team won, no excuses. Considering what that football team went through this year, with the flooding and all, God bless them.” - November 11, 2008
The pass interference call was very questionable. It wasn’t necessarily a good call. It wasn’t necessarily a bad call. It was certainly questionable, but again, Penn State can’t blame their loss on that call. To give credit where credit is due, Iowa played well enough to keep themselves in the game. While Penn State played poorly enough that they didn’t deserve to win the game, you cannot say that the better team won.
Here’s the interference video. What’s your take?
“The roughing the kicker call against Iowa was one of the worst I’ve ever seen in college football.” - November 9, 2008
Personally, I’m not a big fan of the way roughing the kicker is called. If a defensive player even lays a finger on the kicker/punter without blocking the ball, roughing will be called every time. Many times, it seems as though the punter will actually kick his foot towards a defensive player in effort to draw the flag.
Regardless, there really wasn’t anything “bad” about this call. Roughing the kicker is in the rulebook and that’s the way it’s called.
You obviously haven’t watched much college football if that’s one of the worst calls you’ve ever seen.
Blame The Coaches
“Derek Williams and his teammates played a great game. They deserved a better play-calling game from their coaches.” - November 9, 2008
Yes, Derek Derrick Williams played a great game. It’s hard to say what else he could have done to help the Nittany Lions win at Iowa. His teammates, however, did not play a great game. Good play-calling or bad play-calling, the on-field execution was just not there.
“That’s great, Paterno. You play a quarterback who isn’t healthy when you have a competent backup to play.” - November 13, 2008
To some extent, I’m in this club. I think Pat Devlin should have played for a least one series. At the very least, this would have provided a change of pace. Maybe it would’ve caught the defense off guard. Clearly, our offense needed some form of spark, and I don’t see any reason that Devlin didn’t see at least a few snaps.
“I hope when the grades come out for the Penn State coaches, they get an F.” - November 10, 2008
The overall coaching performance was disappointing. Starting the game with three consecutive passes into the wind (especially if they were concerned with Clark’s health) is surprising. Not giving Devlin any snaps was questionable. Clock management in the final minutes of the game was poor. There’s no reason that we couldn’t have used our timeouts ensure that we’d see more than 1 second with the ball.
“I wish David Jones and Bob Flounders would write it. With Joe Paterno sitting in the press box, he was hindering the offensive coaches from calling the right plays.” - November 10, 2008
Here’s what I don’t know (I feel like I haven’t known this for years), and I’m guessing that a lot of PSU fans are in the same boat. Who’s really calling plays? Who’s really making strategic decisions (substitutions, clock management, etc). Did any of the coaches suggest giving Devlin a shot? Did Paterno veto that decision? There’s not much way of knowing.
The one thing that you’re certainly wrong about is your notion that Paterno is hindering the offensive coaches any more (or less) because he is in the press box as opposed to being on the field.
“I’m 17 years old and all my life I’ve been raised to live and die on Penn State football. How awful it is to have your championship season thrown away by the coaches. Thanks, Tom Bradley!” - November 10, 2008
See above. Who deserves the most blame? Bradley? Hall? Jay? Joe? etc, etc, etc.
Blame The Players
“Who was that team in Iowa Saturday? They didn’t show up.” - November 10, 2008
You’re right. The boys in blue and white didn’t show up. They came out flat, without fire, and things never improved throughout the game.
“Daryll Clark, don’t get down on yourself. It was a team loss. There was enough blame to go around. You proved you are a man. You weren’t like yellow-belly Morelli. You came out and faced the media afterwards.” - November 11, 2008
Yeah, it was a team loss. As I said above, Derrick Williams (and I guess, Kevin Kelly) are probably some of the only people who can look back on that game without much regret.
Listen to Some Kind Advice
“Listen, Penn State got beat. No big deal. Do you realize one-third of the top 25 teams in the country lost? The fact that you were one of them is unfortunate, but you will be in a big time bowl and probably win it because you can’t give Joe Paterno a month to prepare. Just ask Texas A&M, Tennessee and Florida State. You had a good season and will be Big Ten champs. Losing to Iowa is no big deal.” - November 11, 2008
…slowly… stepping…back…from…the…ledge….
Other Randomness
“You have 100 guesses where Tyler Thigpen, the Kansas City quarterback that almost upset San Diego, went to college and the first 99 don’t count. It is Coastal Carolina. He is the new quarterback sensation and almost pulled a monumental upset. They went for the win and didn’t get it, but the kid is from Coastal Carolina. What a shock.” - November 11, 2008
See. Penn State’s non-conference schedule isn’t that bad.
“I think the Eagles should get rid of Donovan McNabb and send Andy Reid with him.” - November 11, 2008
That’s a shocker. From here, I can almost hear Charlie Manuel and Ryan Howard giggling right now.
“I’ve been watching Joe Paterno coach, or at least try and coach, for 45 years. If Penn State had a coach, they would go 13-0 and win the national championship.” - November 11, 2008
If you’ve watched him coach for 45 years, you’d know that he’s the winningest coach in D1 history. He’s had five undefeated teams, and “2 National Championships.” Get off his back.
“Life is so sweet. Pitt wins and Penn State loses to an unranked team.” - November 10. 2008
Cough! Bowling Green. Cough! Rutgers.
“So, Iowa beats Penn State. Pitt beats Iowa. What does that say, Penn State fans?” - November 10, 2008
It probably says the same thing as this. Pitt lost to Rutgers and Bowling Green. Those teams lost to: Fresno State, North Carolina, Navy, West Virginia, and Cincinnati. Going further down the line, we get losses to: Nevada, Louisiana Tech, Hawaii, and more.
“Pitt would destroy Iowa right now. The passing game has finally taken off. They have as much talent on that team as anybody else, and I mean anybody. They’ll finish strong this year and have one heck of a 2009 season.” - November 13, 2008
Pitt has shown us that they are capable of losing to anybody (and I mean anybody) this season. They can hang their hat on a nice win at South Florida, but I can’t take Pitt seriously after losing at home to both Bowling Green and Rutgers.
“Penn State should have played at least one other Top 10 team in the first half of the season if they wanted to be ranked at the top. They needed a touchdown to get a win at Ohio State.” - November 9, 2008
Believe it or not, sometimes even Penn State needs a touchdown to win.
“Penn State’s No. 3 ranking is completely bogus. They have played no one, and the Big Ten is one of the weakest conferences in college football.” - October 31, 2008
Here were my predictions for key arguments from the Fan Line following Penn State’s win over Ohio State.
“The Big Ten is still super-weak this year. Penn State got lucky that Pryor fumbled. How can Penn State be ranked #3 when they haven’t played anybody respectable other than Ohio State? Ohio State is just another cupcake. Paterno is a manager, not a coach.”
This call covers two of my predictions. I had a hunch that Ohio State would qualify as another “nobody.”
As far as strength of conferences, don’t let ESPN brainwash you too much. The Big 10 is actually one of the strongest conferences in college football. I calculate it as 3rd strongest.
Big 12 - 5 teams in the Top 25. 4 of them ranked in the Top 10. SEC - 4 teams in the Top 25. 3 of them ranked in the Top 10. Big 10 - 4 teams in the Top 25. 1 ranked in the Top 10. ACC - 3 - teams ranked in the Top 25. Florida State leads the charge at #16. Mountain West - 3 teams ranked in the Top 25 (Utah, TCU, and BYU) Pac 10 - 2 teams ranked in the Top 25. USC is ranked #7. Otherwise, this is an empty conference this year. Big East - South Florida is the only ranked team (#24), and they’ll be exiting the polls next week. The UConn/West Virginia winner should enter the Top 25, and Cincinnati may have a shot, and Pitt could have a shot with a win over Notre Dame. WAC - Boise State is coasting through the WAC. Only their game against Fresno State will stop them from running the table. Mid American - Ball State is coasting through the MAC. Only their game against Central Michigan will stop them from running the table. CUSA - Tulsa is still undefeated in Conference USA. Can they survive Arkansas this weekend?
“Remember the two-pronged attack in the paper this week — for Penn State, not Ohio State. Well, that’s exactly what happened. Pat Devlin is as good as any quarterback in college football. He doesn’t have to take a back seat to anybody. Not taking anything away from Daryll Clark, but they had his number.” - October 27, 2008
Sigh. First, it really wasn’t a two-pronged quarterback attack on Saturday night. Daryll Clark suffered a concussion late in the 3rd quarter, and Pat Devlin came in off the bench as a result.
Secondly, I don’t mean to take anything away from Pat Devlin, but before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s put his Saturday night performance into perspective. Devlin didn’t attempt a single pass. He did a nice job coming in off of the bench, and he showed some gutsiness in the quarterback-keepers, but to say that he’s as good as any quarterback in college football might be a bit premature and unmerited.
Finally, Ohio State had Daryll Clark’s number? 12 of 20 for 121 yards, no interceptions, and 8 carries for 39 yards. Not a bad outing considering the game was a 60 minute defensive struggle.
“It’s now obvious Joe Paterno is no longer coaching at Penn State. There’s no way he makes a quarterback change in the fourth quarter of a game like that.” - October 28, 2008
Here’s a general rule of thumb: when a player suffers a concussion, you replace him. I don’t think that has any bearing on Joe Paterno’s overall coaching involvement.
It’s really never been my intention to pick on Pitt’s football program every time that they lose. I’ve actually been quite impressed with the Panthers, overall, this season. I never saw them beating South Florida. Unfortunatly, Saturday brought Pitt their second embarrassing loss of the season.
Rutgers (yes, Rutgers) - 54
Pitt - 34
“I talked to a lot of smart football people and everybody feels that Pitt has the positive momentum and Penn State has a negative momentum. You can see it, feel it, and it is definitely happening.” - August 17, 2008
How do you feel about the momentum now?
“I’m a Pitt fan in his mid-30s and I like seeing Joe Paterno as coach at Penn State. Not because I like seeing them lose, but because every fall he’s the coach there it’s like I haven’t grown any older.” - July 26, 2008
How much do you like seeing Joe Paterno coach now?
“As a diehard Pitt football fan since 1979, I can tell you for sure that this returning Pitt football team is as great as the teams that were returning during the Marino era.” - July 21, 2008
Mmmmm….. no.
“The college football championship will be between Pitt and Auburn. Auburn will win 17-3. Penn State will not even be in the Top 25 this year. Go, Auburn.” - July 21, 2008
Mmmmm….. no.
Pitt (5-2, 2-1 Big East)
Auburn (4-4, 2-3 SEC)… Go, Auburn.
“Pitt doesn’t need Penn State to sell out Heinz Field. They have LeSean McCoy.” - July 12, 2008
The Patriot News printed their Sunday Fan Line before the Penn State @ Ohio State game was over, so there was no commentary from the people. Now, we can only sit back, wait, and wonder… what will be wrong with this win???
Let’s recap with a few unfortunate last-words from this past week.
“Oh, Penn State fans, you better throw a lot of hot dogs on the grill, because this week you’re gonna get your fill of Beanie.” - October 22, 2008
Forget the hot dogs, I need some help with this one. Is this a reference to baked beans? Regardless, the Penn State defense sure did get their fill of Beanie. 22 carries for 55 yards, with a long of 8. He was the preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, right?
“If they played two weeks ago Penn State would have had a chance. But Saturday night at The Shoe, Penn State won’t stand a chance.” - October 25, 2008
Given your logic, I’d like to see how the game would’ve turned out two weeks ago. Thank goodness that the game wasn’t scheduled for two weeks from now. On October 25, 2008, not only did Penn State stand a chance, but they were victorious in “The Shoe.”
“I wonder what all the Penn State fans are going to do when Penn State is blown away on Saturday night and their whole world comes tumbling down around them.” - October 25, 2008
Sorry to break your heart, Chicken Little, but the sky hasn’t fallen yet.
“If you look at all the fluff that Joe Paterno has on the schedule, it’s pretty hard not to have a decent season. Even though they will lose to Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, his schedule is set up for a bowl game.” - August 31, 2008
Strike One, Strike Two, and Strike Three.
Predictions for the Monday Fan Line: “The Big Ten is still super-weak this year. Penn State got lucky that Pryor fumbled. How can Penn State be ranked #3 when they haven’t played anybody respectable other than Ohio State? Ohio State is just another cupcake. Paterno is a manager, not a coach.”
“If you look at all the fluff that Joe Paterno has on the schedule, it’s pretty hard not to have a decent season. Even though they will lose to Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, his schedule is set up for a bowl game.” - August 31, 2008
Two down.
“For a team that was No. 1 in defense and offense in its division, Penn State lost the first half hands down. In fact, the way they played, they would have been taken to the cleaners by a lot of teams.” - October 20, 2008
Lost the first half, hands down…. by a final score of 17-14. Penn State still ranks #8 in the country (#1 in the Big 10) in defensive yards-per-game. Penn State still ranks #11 in the country (#2 in the Big 10) in offensive yards per game.
“I’m a Penn State fan but Ohio State’s offensive and defensive lines could be the difference in next week’s game. Michigan dominated the line of scrimmage for half of the game and they’re not nearly the team Ohio State is.” - October 20, 2008
Michigan did not dominate the line of scrimmage for half of the game. Starting with 13 minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter, Michigan rushed for a total of 92 yards. 47 of those yards came in the final 2 minutes of the game, with score well out-of-reach for Michigan at 46-17. Michigan was also sacked three times in that time frame, once for a safety.
“I’m watching the Penn State-Michigan game. Looks like Michigan left at halftime. That’s why Penn State is winning.” - October 20, 2008
Who told them to leave? I’m aware that Rich Rodriguez has a bit of a history of calling it quits before the fat lady sings, but even he should know that games are 60 minutes long.
“Penn State is undefeated and still has not beaten a team currently ranked in the top 25. In fact, I wonder if any of the teams they’ve beaten have a winning record at this point. Don’t go beating your chests, Nittany Lions fans.” - October 20, 2008
Illinois is 4-3. Oregon State is 4-3. Three of Penn State’s last four games are against teams with the following records: 7-1, 5-3, and 6-2.
“Yes, Penn State fans. Whether you want to admit it or not, but the Big Ten is down this year. Penn State has a good team, but not a great team. You will find that out when you play teams outside the Big Ten.” - October 19, 2008
There aren’t too many opportunities for that, now are there? At this point in the season, bowl games are the only non-conference games that remain. Joe Paterno is a record 23-12-1 in bowl games.
“Nearly every game Penn State has lost the last few years can be traced to the fact that its offensive line got pushed around. Just wait until Penn State travels to Ohio State and Wisconsin this year. Both of those games will be decided by the offensive line, and you can guess which one will come out ahead.” - July 1, 2008
Hmm, let me guess.
“If you look at all the fluff that Joe Paterno has on the schedule, it’s pretty hard not to have a decent season. Even though they will lose to Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, his schedule is set up for a bowl game.” - August 31, 2008
One down.
“Penn State’s weak nonconference schedule coinciding with a weak Big Ten guarantees them eight or nine wins. Unfortunately, they will lose to Ohio State and Wisconsin and be left playing in a bowl game that means nothing.” - September 9, 2008
Unfortunately, you’re wrong.
“With the exception of possibly Wisconsin, the Big Ten does not have a legitimate top 25 team.” - September 15, 2008
So, Wisconsin is “legitimate,” right? See below.
“Play someone, guys. Your time is coming. You play Wisconsin [tonight] and Ohio State later on. You shouldn’t have to wait until the middle of the season to play someone.” - October 11, 2008
So, Wisconsin is “someone,” right? See below.
“How did Penn State get in the Top 25? They haven’t played anybody with a winning record.” - October 11, 2008
At the time of this call, Illinois was 3-2. Now they’re 3-3. For what it’s worth, Coastal Carolina was 3-2 at the time of this call. Now they’re 3-3.
“Army, Navy, Air Force and Appalachian State could probably beat half of the teams on Penn State’s schedule.” - October 11, 2008
Temple 35 - Army 7
“I’ve been watching these college football games today and I would like to know how these announcers can say Penn State is the team to beat in the Big Ten when Penn State hasn’t played anybody who is ranked. How in the world can you get the rankings these guys get? They haven’t played anybody.” - October 12, 2008
“Good job, Penn State, on the win. But, once again, this shows how weak the Big Ten is. The Big 12, by far, is the best conference in college football.” - October 12, 2008
A few weeks ago it was the SEC. What happened? Remember that many Big 12 teams still have pretty records because the Big 12 just started their conference schedule last week, while the SEC teams have been beating up on each other for 3 weeks now.
Hello, Penn State fans. Don’t get excited about beating Wisconsin because Wisconsin won’t be ranked again. There will be one ranked Big Ten team besides Penn State and that will be Ohio State. Illinois? Real tough game. They lost to Minnesota. The Big Ten is the weakest conference outside the Sun Belt that I’ve seen. - October 12, 2008
How about the Pac 10, Big East, and ACC?
Next weekend, Michigan travels to State College. But “don’t get too excited Penn State fans.” Michigan is just another cupcake, and the Big Ten is horrible, and just wait until they play Ohio State, and Wisconsin and Illinois were terrible opponents, and Joe Paterno isn’t even coaching so it doesn’t matter that he’s in the press box, and there’s no reason that Penn State should be ranked in the Top 5, and the SEC and Big 12 are awesome, and why isn’t BYU ranked #1 anyways? So, don’t get too excited Penn State fans.
“Joe Paterno puts the hammer down on these players suspected of marijuana for three games. Oh, wait, those are games he could win with half his team suspended. A big game comes up, and they are good to go. This Joe Paterno is the biggest phony that has ever been on the sidelines in any sport.” - October 1, 2008
I’m pretty sure that we’ve exhausted the marijuana issue. We’ve even talked about Paterno in reference to the off-the-field troubles.
One thing that we haven’t mentioned on here is the distinct possibility of Joe Paterno being the biggest phony that has ever been on the sidelines in any sport.
Career Record: 377-155-3
The winningest coach in Division 1 FBS football history
Bowl Record: 23-10-1
The winningest bowl game coach in Division 1 FBS football history
Two national championships from five undefeated seasons
I don’t know about you, but those don’t sound like the accomplishments of a phony to me. Is this really about marijuana to you?
Honestly, while we’re talking about phony, how can Paterno even be compared to: George O’Leary (quite literally), Larry Coker, or Dave Wannstedt… just to name a few?
