To troll or not to troll? That is the Q: "Some of u are remembering a JoePaterno who never existed"

[MacNit07]

If so, he's referring to an extremely small portion of the fan base. He wasn't trying to point out anything, rather he's looking to stir up something that really "doesn't exist". Notice how he takes a shot at Joe parenthetically. That's his main purpose here.

Yep...typical uninformed knucklehead.

 

[MacNit07]

It’s a different time...you can’t evenly compare Paterno and Franklin. Scholarship limitations, televising almost every game, all the bowl games....these things have all changed recruiting. Also, PSU playing in a conference as opposed to being independent makes it different as well. Paterno was a great coach no doubt, but would he have accomplished the NC’s and the undefeated seasons in today’s game along with taking over a sanctioned riddled team? Maybe, but we’ll never know.

Most certainly. Look at Penn State’s schedule in the peak years (early/mid 80s). It was a murders row of Nebraska, Alabama, Notre Dame, Pitt, Miami - when all of thise programs were at their peak/near peak. And look at his bowl record- especially the major bowls, Paterno was noted as one of the best for a reason - he was!

 

[MacNit07]

I'm a 60 year fan of PSU Football and a dyed in the wool, charter member of the JVP Fan Club. A proud JoeBot.
My adult sons cut their teeth on PSU/JVP football. We used to make a trek to spring football and visit every year.
We have never sat and watched a game and said, Joe would have done this or that and it would/was better.......never.
I coached HS football and like most of my era, we ran the I and lived by 3 yards, a cloud of dust and punt for field position. I visit a game at my old school now and people ask me how I enjoy the spread and 40 passes a game....I smile and say, I enjoy it, its just a different game.
I think for me its like the great heavy weight champions....they were the best of and for their era.
After 60 years reality forces you to let go of many, many things.
There will never be another Joe Paterno for me. I'm thankful for each season, each triumph and how he brought PSU and Eastern Football to the national stage.
James Franklin, has had to overcome a great deal more than Joe did in his early career here. The demands are so much more complex. The scrutiny is beyond intense.
CJF had me from the day he was introduced and uttered "The Great Joe Paterno...." and put the icing on the cake at the PinStripe Bowl when he corrected the critics about PSU "Culture." James has respected the rock solid foundation Joe built the program on and is well on his way to putting the finishing touches on the Franklin Mint.
Joe is gone, like so many things I cherished in my 70 years during this existence. James Franklin is my coach and PSU is still my team of choice. Its a different game, and I enjoy it.

So very well said!

 

[LMTLION]

It is a statistical fallacy to compare each body of work considering that Paterno was around for decades and Franklin has not yet hit a decade. The only fair thing to say thus far is that Franklin has been very successful and Paterno’s entire body of work was very successful. The eras are completely different in that ncaa football of Paterno’s era was comprised of a blend of student athletes and aspiring professional athletes and today it truly is the minor league of the nfl (I hold no illusions that it has anything to do with school in 2019, and I am ok with that.).

 

[Omar81]

I usually agree with you Chi but not on this one. I think that the writer is making a fair point that many in our fan base would do well to acknowledge.

Then you’re a freaking moron.

He took a couple of random comments by similar morons complaining about our three losses — when we only had two. Then he pretended that they somehow were making unfair and inaccurate comparisons between Franklin and Joe, when Joe wasn’t mentioned in either comment. Then he extrapolated from these two moronic quotes, unrelated to Joe, and concluded that the “Penn State fan base” is unfairly comparing James and Joe and is incorrect about the (alleged and unstated —even by the two morons quoted) “program’s decline under Franklin.”

In summary, the guy made up a premise based on a couple of idiots posting comments IN ANOTHER NEWSPAPER (not coincidentally, a rag that seems to live to stir up crap about PSU football) and used that to falsely attack an entire fan base.

And you think he “is making a fair point?” I’m worried about the decline in reading comprehension and critical thinking in this country.

 

[Omar81]

HMMMM...
48-23 = 71 Games played
55-23 = 78 Games played
Wanna compare winning percentages? LOL,
BBWWWWAAAAAHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHAN
Got Math?

He was pointing out facts and you felt compelled to make a personal attack in all caps, and insinuate he is poor at math? What a d!ck.

 

[Omar81]

There is nothing wrong with that article. Not a single damn thing.

Seriously, I sometimes think that the OP ACTIVELY LOOKS to be insulted.

You are a moron, but we already knew that. There is nothing right with that article, but I know you’re happy as long as someone is taking cheap shots at PSU and/or Joe.

 

[kentuckycb]

Then you’re a freaking moron.

He took a couple of random comments by similar morons complaining about our three losses — when we only had two. Then he pretended that they somehow were making unfair and inaccurate comparisons between Franklin and Joe, when Joe wasn’t mentioned in either comment. Then he extrapolated from these two moronic quotes, unrelated to Joe, and concluded that the “Penn State fan base” is unfairly comparing James and Joe and is incorrect about the (alleged and unstated —even by the two morons quoted) “program’s decline under Franklin.”

In summary, the guy made up a premise based on a couple of idiots posting comments IN ANOTHER NEWSPAPER (not coincidentally, a rag that seems to live to stir up crap about PSU football) and used that to falsely attack an entire fan base.

And you think he “is making a fair point?” I’m worried about the decline in reading comprehension and critical thinking in this country.

I disagree. I think that the larger point was that many in PSU's fan base have a distorted view of our past success, which leads to unfair criticism of Franklin and where he currently has the program. That point is valid IMO.

But hey, what do I know. I'm a freaking moron.

 

[Langmuir]

The only comparison is that I ever make between the two is that they both try to develop their players into fine young men. They may have different methods but the goal seems to be the same.

 

[BobPSU92]

I’m confused again. How is it possible to like Joe and Franklin? Don’t we have to choose one?

Like Joe, hate Franklin. Watch videos of games coached by Joe, never watch games coached by Franklin.

Or,

Like Franklin, hate Joe. Watch games coached by Franklin, piss on Joe’s grave.

Aren't those our only choices?

 

[odshowtime]

I’m confused again. How is it possible to like Joe and Franklin? Don’t we have to choose one?

Like Joe, hate Franklin. Watch videos of games coached by Joe, never watch games coached by Franklin.

Or,

Like Franklin, hate Joe. Watch games coached by Franklin, piss on Joe’s grave.

Aren't those our only choices?

You're really gonna have to ask David jones. He's the expert on all of this.

 

[WPTLION]

And why do some people ignore the fact that a large portion of Paterno's career only saw the team play 10-12 games per year, versus 13?

The same reason why they try and compare stats from 20 years ago to now. More games plus you count bowl stats now. Not sure if they ever made the bowl stats retro active.

Basically people are bad with history when its convenient.

 

[tboyer]

I just didn't think the article was that bad. It seemed to be a pretty low-key statistical response to the Pennlive charge that Penn State should be renamed the Outback Lions.

It's indisputable that Paterno's last 20 years did not see the same level of excellence as his first 20. And it's also indisputable that Paterno mostly took the team to 2nd tier bowls in the second 20 years. PSU's typical season under Paterno was 9-3/Outback Bowl. Which made sense because PSU under Paterno was securely in the 2nd tier of the Big Ten -- a step below Ohio State and Michigan but at parity with Wisconsin and Michigan State and Iowa.

Franklin has, so far, been probably a half-step ahead of Paterno. PSU is still a step below Ohio State but on par with Michigan and MSU, and a step above Wisconsin and Iowa. PSU's going to New Year's Six for the third time in four years?

What has me excited is that Franklin isn't satisfied. He is still recruiting like mad and trying to upgrade every aspect of the program to maximize competitiveness.

I think Ricky Rahne leaving is part of this -- Rahne was going to be a competent OC but he probably wasn't ready to produce a top 10 offense even with top 10 recruits. Franklin is aiming higher than #82 in total offense.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

The Penn State football beat consists of many good, hard-working reporters, however there seems to be an emerging group of lazy, click-bait reporters who rely on the comments section to chum the waters with cheap, clickbait headlines.

Exhibit A: Adam Bittner in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story, which I refuse to link, but here is the tweet:

View embedded media

Analysis: James Franklin-Joe Paterno comparisons require a reality check

James Franklin is not Joe Paterno’s immediate successor as Penn State coach. Bill O’Brien held the job between the two. That fact hasn’t saved him from unfavorable comparisons to major college football’s winningest coach.

The Twitter account @RealPennLive has become an essential follow because of how succinctly it captures the id of the Penn State fan base. By posting just a few real comments from PennLive.com, a popular source for news among fans in the central part of the state, it conveys knee-jerk reactions that permeate the entire group, often to the amusement — and sometimes exasperation — of those who know better.

Franklin’s perceived failure to live up to the Paterno standard is a theme that comes up often, as it did in the wake of the loss to Ohio State last month.

View embedded media

View embedded media

That loss, of course, only dropped the Nittany Lions to 9-2. They defeated Rutgers the following week to finish the regular season 10-2 and earn a spot in the Cotton Bowl, a New Year’s Six game a notch above the Outback in terms of prestige.

Our purpose here isn’t to tell you that someone got their facts wrong on the internet, though. It’s to scrutinize the larger perception — shared by many — of the program’s decline under Franklin.

In fact, there are few four-year spans in which Paterno was clearly more dominant than Franklin has been from 2016-19, during which time he’s averaged 10 wins, won a conference championship and made three New Year’s Six postseason appearances.

Paterno first rose to prominence with unbeaten records in 1968 and ‘69. He went 7-3 and 11-1 the following two years for an impressive combined record of 40-4. He was almost as good in the next four years, posting a combined record of 41-7.

From that point forward, he never averaged 10 wins or more in any subsequent four-year span.

Of course, there are more examples if you mix and match the time frames. Start at 1977 instead of ‘76, when Penn State went 7-5, and you get a 40-8 run through 1980. Start at 1991 and you get a 40-9 stretch through the perfect season of 1994. The periods of 2005-2008 and 2006-2009 both averaged exactly 10 wins, too.

You have to cherry pick history to come up with those, though. Across a 46-year tenure, they are more the exception than the norm. And none of them really stand out from Franklin’s 41-11 mark since 2016, during a time he’s benefited from a 13-game schedule, including the bowl, but also suffered from having to play nine of those games in the conference and as many as five of those on the road. Paterno never did.

In fact, Paterno didn’t have to play in a conference at all until the latter portion of his tenure, when Penn State joined the Big Ten. Once he did, his results were exactly what our @RealPennLive posters are trying to crush Franklin for.

From 1993 until 2010, Paterno’s last full season as head coach before getting fired amid the Jerry Sandusky scandal mid-2011, he averaged 3.8 losses per season. Throw in the mediocre seasons from his last national title in 1986 until conference membership and that figure is the same over the last quarter century of his career.

He also did not qualify for New Year’s Six bowls in three out of four seasons any time after 1982.

Put another way, you’d have to be no younger than your early to mid 40s to remember a Penn State program that was as consistently good as Franklin’s has been of late.

That’s not an indictment of Paterno by any means. (At least as far as his on-field record is concerned.) He won three Big Ten championships in his later years, and those teams were among his best. There were plenty of results to be proud of.

That said, if Franklin is going to be graded on a Paterno scale, then the scale needs to be based in reality. A reality where Paterno was one of the most dominant coaches in the sport over a period of 15 or so years before fading into merely being a really good one.

The world in which Penn State was winning 11 and 12 games every single season for decades has simply never existed. Three-loss seasons are not a new norm. They’re an old one that Franklin is making progress toward changing for the better.

That is why the smart money at Penn State has given him a new contract to fend off suitors that reportedly included historical powers Florida State and USC. University leadership agrees with the market about his value.

Maybe some day, the fans will, too.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

My opinion: Adam is trying to fabricate a fight between Paterno loyalists against Franklin supporters. What he does not realize (because he is so detached from reality by relying on PennLive comments to justify his position), is that us fellow JoeBots are among the biggest supporters of James Franklin. So don't fall for the bait and consider telling Adam that he doesn't have to put on the red light.

I don't recall the young Joe having to climb the hill of, so called, deeply rooted PSU Sandusky scandal. Adam either doesn't know the difference between an apple and an orange or is ignoring that for a purpose.

 

[mgkpsu]

I don't recall the young Joe having to climb the hill of, so called, deeply rooted PSU Sandusky scandal. Adam either doesn't know the difference between an apple and an orange or is ignoring that for a purpose.

Yeah, he only openly opposed racism and bigotry in the deep south in the 60's, and competed with the likes of Sherrill and company. What does that Paterno guy know about facing adversity? Poor Jimmy was up against the tail end of being faced with having a two-deep instead of a four-deep roster.

Just stop.

 

[stf110]

Those who claim "I don't see where people are compairing Franklin to Paterno as a way to complain about Frankin" must live under a nice rock, since all I see posted in the variety of FB groups and twitter feeds from fans any time PSU loses, or is in a close game, or makes a game closer then it should be at the end are on going "Joe coached teams never did this!" rants and ravings. And these are not just the "isolated cooks" but many people.

And let's not even get into any of the "how teams act now vs 1965" angle on things, the number of fans who were having aneurysms over the Lawn Boyz thing and how "Joe would never put up with that" rantings....

Those flipping out about this article points to another strong theme in many online goings on from fans, this ongoing constant idea that every single mild criticism about some part of the team is part of some widespread conspiracy theory.

 

[MJG-90]

We have never sat and watched a game and said, Joe would have done this or that and it would/was better.......never.

My friends and I have watched many games and looked at each other and said something like "this ain't the Joe Paterno era no more." We meant that in a positive way because we had just witnessed a play call that we couldn't imagine Joe ever making.

That has nothing to do with your point. Just reminded me of those situations and wanted to share.

 

[nits74]

I don't recall the young Joe having to climb the hill of, so called, deeply rooted PSU Sandusky scandal. Adam either doesn't know the difference between an apple and an orange or is ignoring that for a purpose.

I know you are very well versed in the history of the program and I respect that. Don't you think it's also worth mentioning the fact that in Joe's early years Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse were operating under self-imposed scholarship limits while other schools were bringing in as many as 100 recruits per year. Yet the young Joe "climbed the hill" and carried Penn State to national prominence. I would argue that was every bit the accomplishment as fighting our way through the Sandusky mess. Don't get me wrong, great job by James so far, but we need to consider that because of Joe, Penn State had a brand that made that path a little bit smoother. Anyway, as others have said, different times and really not worth dwelling upon. The writer was doing nothing more than trying to create an image of controversy where it by and large doesn't exist.

 

[marshall23]

My friends and I have watched many games and looked at each other and said something like "this ain't the Joe Paterno era no more." We meant that in a positive way because we had just witnessed a play call that we couldn't imagine Joe ever making.

That has nothing to do with your point. Just reminded me of those situations and wanted to share.

"I enjoy it. Its a different game."
I remember attending spring practice one time and Joe Paterno came over to join a conversation I was in with my HS coach Joe Sarra. They introduced me to George Chaump. I was in hog heaven. Being a 3 yard and a cloud of dust guy, this was like shaking hands with the Pope.
I don't know who the"spread" equivalent would be today. Perhaps Lincoln Riley?
If I broke into coaching today instead of 1971, my XandO database and reference would be much different. The game today reminds me of a combination of football, soccer and basketball.
I attended many clinics in the 70's where Joe presented. Believe it or not, his defensive concepts were considered cutting edge. His rep among his peers was excellent, and no one wanted to play him if he had an extra week or so to prepare like for a bowl game or after a bye .
I will go to my grave believing Joe was magnanimous in allowing Sandusky to get so much credit for his defenses.
Going back even farther, Joe was a pretty damn good player. He and George were a handful back in the day.

 

[marshall23]

My friends and I have watched many games and looked at each other and said something like "this ain't the Joe Paterno era no more." We meant that in a positive way because we had just witnessed a play call that we couldn't imagine Joe ever making.

That has nothing to do with your point. Just reminded me of those situations and wanted to share.

I understand what you are saying. My wife passed away 10 years ago. Naturally when I am with my sons, she is with us in mind and spirit. It isn't unusual at all for one of us to say....boy what would Mom say about this? etc.

 

[Roswell-Blue]

I'm a 60 year fan of PSU Football and a dyed in the wool, charter member of the JVP Fan Club. A proud JoeBot.
My adult sons cut their teeth on PSU/JVP football. We used to make a trek to spring football and visit every year.
We have never sat and watched a game and said, Joe would have done this or that and it would/was better.......never.
I coached HS football and like most of my era, we ran the I and lived by 3 yards, a cloud of dust and punt for field position. I visit a game at my old school now and people ask me how I enjoy the spread and 40 passes a game....I smile and say, I enjoy it, its just a different game.
I think for me its like the great heavy weight champions....they were the best of and for their era.
After 60 years reality forces you to let go of many, many things.
There will never be another Joe Paterno for me. I'm thankful for each season, each triumph and how he brought PSU and Eastern Football to the national stage.
James Franklin, has had to overcome a great deal more than Joe did in his early career here. The demands are so much more complex. The scrutiny is beyond intense.
CJF had me from the day he was introduced and uttered "The Great Joe Paterno...." and put the icing on the cake at the PinStripe Bowl when he corrected the critics about PSU "Culture." James has respected the rock solid foundation Joe built the program on and is well on his way to putting the finishing touches on the Franklin Mint.
Joe is gone, like so many things I cherished in my 70 years during this existence. James Franklin is my coach and PSU is still my team of choice. Its a different game, and I enjoy it.

Thanks for sharing your story of true love for the game of football. Like all things we love - love can be healthy or sick. At its highest and best we can see through them to not only life lessons, but in the end to a life well lived. In our current culture where it seems all of us are in the struggle to determine what true goodness looks like or playing the victim-blame-"Feed me Seymour!" game, your words of being grateful, letting go, empathy and reconciliation are different - and rare. It made the idea of comparing Franklin to Paterno or vice versa silly. Thanks for giving us another way to look at it.

 

[AWS1022]

Then you’re a freaking moron.

He took a couple of random comments by similar morons complaining about our three losses — when we only had two. Then he pretended that they somehow were making unfair and inaccurate comparisons between Franklin and Joe, when Joe wasn’t mentioned in either comment. Then he extrapolated from these two moronic quotes, unrelated to Joe, and concluded that the “Penn State fan base” is unfairly comparing James and Joe and is incorrect about the (alleged and unstated —even by the two morons quoted) “program’s decline under Franklin.”

In summary, the guy made up a premise based on a couple of idiots posting comments IN ANOTHER NEWSPAPER (not coincidentally, a rag that seems to live to stir up crap about PSU football) and used that to falsely attack an entire fan base.

And you think he “is making a fair point?” I’m worried about the decline in reading comprehension and critical thinking in this country.

You know, a person doesn’t have to specifically say “franklin isn’t as good as Paterno” to be comparing the two. I read so many posts that Franklin hasn’t been able to “get us back to elite”, or Franklin doesn’t get the team prepared like we used to be, or we’re soft compared to how we used to be..and others posts like this. Any time someone posts that Franklin is falling short in some way compared to how the program used to be is absolutely comparing him to Paterno and stating he’s not as good....after all, Paterno was basically the only coach we’ve had so who else are they comparing Franklin to?

 

[marshall23]

Thanks for sharing your story of true love for the game of football. Like all things we love - love can be healthy or sick. At its highest and best we can see through them to not only life lessons, but in the end to a life well lived. In our current culture where it seems all of us are in the struggle to determine what true goodness looks like or playing the victim-blame-"Feed me Seymour!" game, your words of being grateful, letting go, empathy and reconciliation are different - and rare. It made the idea of comparing Franklin to Paterno or vice versa silly. Thanks for giving us another way to look at it.

Thanks. I recall someone...I think it was Paul Hornung who said,"I went through life on scholarship." Well, I was no #5. I wasn't even his right leg. I was an undersized, slightly above average HS football player who fell in love with the game of football. I think it was 1961 and my mother took me to the Coal Township vs. Blakely Eastern Conference Championship Game. I was awestruck...the band, the crowd, the uniforms....
I never looked back.
I desperately wanted to continue to play the game after high school. Rod Kelchner and Gib Romaine at Mansfield (later the coach of Randy White at Maryland) gave me a shot. I was lucky because in 1968 the NCAA denied freshman participation on varsity, so I was able to be a starting cornerback on the freshman team. I hung around the varsity for an additional 2 years getting limited playing time.
I was afforded the opportunity to return to my HS (Southern Columbia) to student teach and help coach under Geech Gutshall (Altoona) and my coaching career was off and running.
To this very day, every job, each paycheck I have drawn (even my current gig as the administrator of a 17 school league here in NY) can be directly linked to my roots in football.
I guess I can say that football has been very good to me.

 

[psugisher]

Then you’re a freaking moron.

He took a couple of random comments by similar morons complaining about our three losses — when we only had two. Then he pretended that they somehow were making unfair and inaccurate comparisons between Franklin and Joe, when Joe wasn’t mentioned in either comment. Then he extrapolated from these two moronic quotes, unrelated to Joe, and concluded that the “Penn State fan base” is unfairly comparing James and Joe and is incorrect about the (alleged and unstated —even by the two morons quoted) “program’s decline under Franklin.”

In summary, the guy made up a premise based on a couple of idiots posting comments IN ANOTHER NEWSPAPER (not coincidentally, a rag that seems to live to stir up crap about PSU football) and used that to falsely attack an entire fan base.

And you think he “is making a fair point?” I’m worried about the decline in reading comprehension and critical thinking in this country.

Right.. I won't call anyone a moron at least right away.. but his basis for this "divide" is on a couple Penn Live comments by anonymous posters. Penn Live has been notorious for having the most ridiculous posters. It's certainly not representative of a fan base. Any message board isn't representative. It's a group of the loudest, most obsessed fans. Yes, I include myself in there. Go to any message board of any big program after a bad loss and you see the same garbage. There's an overreaction every week for every big win and every big loss. It's the age of the internet. Franklin has to deal with that. Paterno never did even when the internet became a thing because he didn't really ever give a crap what outsiders thought. Comparisons are a part of sports. I do hear comparisons between Franklin and Joe but they don't really have anything to do with football. Mostly, it's about Franklin continuing the grand experiment. Since the writer is a Penn Stater, maybe he could write about that. Success with honor. Kids are graduating, staying out of trouble and playing high level football. It's pretty cool. But the moron.. crap.. couldn't hold it in.. decided to write about people trying to compare them in a bad light while I believe that most fans are comparing them in a good way.

 

[danvillenit]

Yeah, he only openly opposed racism and bigotry in the deep south in the 60's, and competed with the likes of Sherrill and company. What does that Paterno guy know about facing adversity? Poor Jimmy was up against the tail end of being faced with having a two-deep instead of a four-deep roster.

Just stop.

Oh please. Paterno didn’t face adversity because of racism in the south. He was a man of character but I don’t recall him marching with MLK

 

[grad83psu]

I disagree. I think that the larger point was that many in PSU's fan base have a distorted view of our past success, which leads to unfair criticism of Franklin and where he currently has the program. That point is valid IMO.

But hey, what do I know. I'm a freaking moron.

So, you agree?

 

[kentuckycb]

So, you agree?

I'm not sure. I also lack reading comprehension skills, which is contributing to the downfall of our society. I better stay out of this one.

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

True

And how about this dig "That’s not an indictment of Paterno by any means. (At least as far as his on-field record is concerned.)"
WTF

That bothered me too. An unnecessary jab.

 

[heckmans]

It’s a different time...you can’t evenly compare Paterno and Franklin. Scholarship limitations, televising almost every game, all the bowl games....these things have all changed recruiting. Also, PSU playing in a conference as opposed to being independent makes it different as well. Paterno was a great coach no doubt, but would he have accomplished the NC’s and the undefeated seasons in today’s game along with taking over a sanctioned riddled team? Maybe, but we’ll never know.

You are absolutely right.
I have been mildly critical of Franklin, but it has nothing to do with Paterno.
I think CJF has been doing a very good job, but I think the team has been underachieving it's talent level due to some in-game coaching deficiencies. Franklin has brought in more speed than Paterno had, and likely more talent overall than Paterno had for the last ~20 years of his tenure. It's frustrating to see significant leads blown in big games and a seeming lack of adjustments at halftime and throughout the game.
Increased talent and a $5M salary brings increased expectations.
That's not being unfair or unreasonable. PSU has not fared very well against similarly talented teams during the JF era.

 

[Omar81]

You know, a person doesn’t have to specifically say “franklin isn’t as good as Paterno” to be comparing the two. I read so many posts that Franklin hasn’t been able to “get us back to elite”, or Franklin doesn’t get the team prepared like we used to be, or we’re soft compared to how we used to be..and others posts like this. Any time someone posts that Franklin is falling short in some way compared to how the program used to be is absolutely comparing him to Paterno and stating he’s not as good....after all, Paterno was basically the only coach we’ve had so who else are they comparing Franklin to?

After going back, it appears the entire article’s bogus premise is based on two separate comments byTHE SAME PERSON, who incorrectly believes that PSU has 3 losses this year and therefore is doomed to 3-loss seasons forever. And people believe the column is “fair” in ascribing unfair comparisons between James and Joe to the entire PSU fan base, when even the ONE person “quoted” never mentioned Joe?

And don’t forget that this jackass columnist tweeted out his own idiotic column under the header “Some of you are remembering a Joe Paterno who never existed.” So following a few days in which PSU is invited to a NY6 bowl game and gets a commitment from one of the top recruits in the country, THIS is what we get from this PSU-grad columnist? He can kiss my a$$.

 

[ChiTownLion]

My two "favorite" lines:

"The Twitter account @RealPennLive has become an essential follow because of how succinctly it captures the id of the Penn State fan base."

"That’s not an indictment of Paterno by any means. (At least as far as his on-field record is concerned.)"​

And then he tries to say he wasn't trolling.

 

[kijanacat]

What the hell does marching with MLK have to do with Penn State football and JVP? Joe was an Italian, Catholic from New York City and an Ivy League school. You don't think the southern press held that against him?

 

[danvillenit]

What the hell does marching with MLK have to do with Penn State football and JVP? Joe was an Italian, Catholic from New York City and an Ivy League school. You don't think the southern press held that against him?

No I don’t and what does your post have to do with opposing racism in the south. Show me a shred of proof that Joe faced adversity due to openly opposing racism

 

[odshowtime]

Who craps on PSU more?

1. Pennlive/ Harrisburg Patriot
2. Pittsburgh press
3. Columbus, OH press

I can't say for sure which right now. All terrible, biased, and will do anything to make Penn State fans look bad.

 

[interrobang]

Well in a way he's right. There are enough people that "remember" Paterno as being some child abuse enabler.. That Joe never existed

 

[mgkpsu]

No I don’t and what does your post have to do with opposing racism in the south. Show me a shred of proof that Joe faced adversity due to openly opposing racism

https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2017/10/penn_state_football_1947_wally.html

In addition, he navigated the "pay for play" days of the good ol Southwest conference with his integrity completely intact.

 

[danvillenit]

https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2017/10/penn_state_football_1947_wally.html

In addition, he navigated the "pay for play" days of the good ol Southwest conference with his integrity completely intact.

Smh. The 1947 team. I guess you missed the original discussion. Did Joe in 1966 have the same obstacles to success that Franklin did in 2014. Clearly he didn’t if that’s the best you’ve got

 

[MacNit07]

My friends and I have watched many games and looked at each other and said something like "this ain't the Joe Paterno era no more." We meant that in a positive way because we had just witnessed a play call that we couldn't imagine Joe ever making.

That has nothing to do with your point. Just reminded me of those situations and wanted to share.

Any idea on what Team won a MNC by passing for more yards than running? Once you figure that out, suggest you not make comments about a JVP offense that is ~ Woody Hayes/Blockhead Bo.

 

[81b&w]

You are absolutely right.
I have been mildly critical of Franklin, but it has nothing to do with Paterno.
I think CJF has been doing a very good job, but I think the team has been underachieving it's talent level due to some in-game coaching deficiencies. Franklin has brought in more speed than Paterno had, and likely more talent overall than Paterno had for the last ~20 years of his tenure. It's frustrating to see significant leads blown in big games and a seeming lack of adjustments at halftime and throughout the game.
Increased talent and a $5M salary brings increased expectations.
That's not being unfair or unreasonable. PSU has not fared very well against similarly talented teams during the JF era.

And you do realize this is the first year we've actually had some depth during the JF era? Those of you who don't understand that haven't been watching this team get built

 

[heckmans]

And you do realize this is the first year we've actually had some depth during the JF era? Those of you who don't understand that haven't been watching this team get built

You do realize that nothing I said has anything to do with depth.