NFL
By Herb Smith
Staff Reporter
hjsl3s@psu.edu
As the NFL passes its halfway
point, it is time to stop, catch your
breath and look back on what
has been, so far, another great
and unpredictable season. Up
and down the league, divisions
look nothing like they did a year
ago and some players are put
ting up numbers that certainly
were not expected. While every
one expected New England to be
back atop the AFC East, no one
predicted the NY Jets would be
so close to them in the stand
ings. The Jets are within striking
distance, thanks in part to the
inspired play of their 31-year-old,
10 year veteran running back,
Curtis Martin. Martin is on pace
to break his personal best of
1,513 rushing yards in a season.
His play, combined with the stel
lar play of one of the good young
quarterbacks in the game Chad
Pennington, has the Jets right in
the middle of the playoff hunt.
In the AFC North, the Pittsburgh
Curtis Martin is a 10-year ieteran of the New York Jets. Martin could break his personal rushing yard
record this season.
Capital Times staff picks big NFL winners
Herb Smith, Staff Reporter
Week #l2
Indianapolis @
Detroit
Indianapolis
Chicago @ Dallas
Dallas
State of PSU football unsure
PSU continued from 7
It is hard enough for Penr
to recruit players just for thy,
ple fact of where it is loca•<,':
the heart of Pennsylvanta
the Susquehanna valley is
ally pretty hard to compete
Florida, Florida, Florida. And
Florida means, hate to say it,
sunshine, great weather, and
winning football. But it is not only
Florida. How about traditional
rivals like Michigan, Ohio State,
or even Michigan State? Not to
mention the programs on the rise
like lowa, Minnesota and even
Northwestern. Northwestern?!
Notice that all of these teams are
season begins to wind down
Steelers are tops in their division
led by rookie quarterback, Ben
Roethlisberger. "Big Ben", as he
his known to the fans in the Steel
City, came in to replace injured
Tommy Maddox, and has not
"The Washington
Redskins and
Dallas Cowboys
have grossly
underachieved
under their great
head coaches..."
given the job back.
Roethlisberger has the Rookie of
the Year award locked up and
has the Steelers among the elite
teams in the AFC. In the AFC
South, the Indianapolis Colts are
battling the Jacksonville Jaguars
for the lead in the division. The
Tennessee Titans have fallen out
Baltimore @
New England
Baltimore
Philadelphia @
N.Y. Giants
New York
Week #l3
Pittsburgh @
Jacksonville
Pittsburgh
Houston @ N.Y. Jets
New York
Denver @ San Diego
Denver
Green Bay @
Philadelphia
Green Bay
In the Big Ten conference
How about the fact that Penn
States offense has become
downright offensive. Their
.themes and game plans look
iutdated that some people
ler if JoePa is bringing back
r - ,ooks from the 1800 s.
There is also the question of
//nether the team respects the
coach anymore. Joe Paterno, no
question, is the single greatest
coach in Penn State history and
possibly in the history of college
football. But let's face it, he is in
his mid-70s and when his coach
ing contract expires, he will be in
his 80s. Can he get young play
ers to play for him anymore? Will
the young players even respect
what he says?
of the race with their injured
quarterback, 'Steve McNair, and
the Houston Texans have shown
they are a team on the rise. This
division could be the best in foot
ball. In the AFC West, the
Denver Broncos are leading the
division, but the surprise out
west is the play of the San Diego
Chargers and their quarterback,
Drew Brees. Brees, who was
supposed to be keeping the seat
warm for rookie Philip Rivers,
instead has turned in an MVP
like season and has made a
case for himself to be a starting
quarterback in this league.
Meanwhile, over in the NFC, the
Philadelphia Eagles are right
where they are supposed to be;
tops in the Conference.
However, in the East, they are
being challenged by the NY
Giants and Kurt Warner. Warner,
like Brees, was supposed to be a
temporary fill-in for high profile
rookie, Eli Manning. But Warner
has turned in a season reminis
cent of his days in St. Louis and
at the halfway point, the Giants
are in the playoff picture, and
Christian Torres, Staff Reporter
Week #l2
Indianapolis @
Detroit
Indianapolis
Chicago @ Dallas
Dallas
This is what Penn State football recruiting, the management, and
has unfortunately become. In the the coach. The problem is this,
past, this football team was these questions have no easy
almost guaranteed to compete answers.
The program is full of question marks.
Question marks about the recruiting,
the management, and the coach. The
problem is this, these questions have
no easy answer.
for a national championship
every year. Now, the question is
whether this team can reach
three wins in 2004. The program
is full of question marks.
Question marks about the
Sports
Manning is still on the bench.
The Washington Redskins and
Dallas Cowboys have grossly
underachieved under their great
head coaches, Joe Gibbs and
Bill Parcells, respectively. Gibbs'
first year back in the league after
more than a decade has not
gone as well as those in
Washington would have hoped,
and while Vinny Testaverde has
put up big numbers in Big D, the
Cowboys find themselves shar
ing the basement of the East with
the 'Skins.
As expected, the Minnesota
Vikings and Green Bay Packers
are fighting it out for best in the
Black-n-Blue division, the NFC
North. However, few would have
expected that the Detroit Lions
would be right there in the hunt.
The Lions have been near the
bottom of the league for several
years but have seen their high
draft picks, such as Joey
Harrington and Roy Williams,
pay off. Both players have had
great seasons and while the
Lions probably won't make the
playoffs this season, they are a
team to watch next year.
In the NFC South, the Atlanta
Falcons are back in the playoff
picture with the return of super
star Mike Vick. Vick missed most
of last season due to injury, but
his return has the Falcons lead
ing the South division. While the
Patriots are back atop the
league, the team they played in
last season's Super Bowl, the
Carolina Panthers, have the
worst record in the league.
Losing top receiver Steve Smith
put a damper on the Panthers'
high hopes for a return to the
Super Bowl.
In the NFC West, the st. Louis
Rams and Seattle Seahawks are
tops in the division. However, the
Arizona Cardinals and new head
coach Dennis Green have won
more games than expected,
thanks in large part to the play of
Emmitt Smith. Smith, after his
Baltimore @
New England
New England
Philadelphia @
N.Y. Giants
Philadelphia
Week #l3
Pittsburgh @
Jacksonville
Jacksonville
Houston @ N.Y. Jets
Houston
Denver @ San Diego
San Diego
Green Bay @
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Many will say that firing Joe
Paterno is the easiest answer. In
other programs and other sports,
that is usually what happens
when hard times appear. But this
situation is different. Joe Paterno
The Atlanta Falcons' Mike Vick recently got back to the playing
field after an injury.
first year in Arizona was marred
by injuries, has seen his second
season be much more produc
tive. Smith, the league's all-time
leading rusher, is on pace for his
12th 1,000 yard rushing season,
breaking his own record of 11.
Smith has rebounded from pogr
showings in his last two seasons
Nat Melnicove, Staff Reporter
Week #l2
Indianapolis @
Detroit
Indianapolis
Chicago @ Dallas
Dallas
is Penn State University. Joe
Paterno is Penn State football.
Joe Paterno is also a huge fund
raiser. Firing Joe Paterno after all
that he has done for PSU could
mean a public relations night
mare for Graham Spanier and
company.
So what will Penn State do?
The university invested millions
of dollars into improvements at
Beaver Stadium including
increasing the overall capacity to
over 110,000. The football team
is under constant scrutiny from
the national media as to when
they will do something to turn the
program around. Even students
that go to Penn State are won
dering when the team will finally
return to the form of national
The Capital Times
Photos courtesy of Google Images
to once again returning to the
league's top ten leading rushers.
The NFL season will soon be
winding down. However, as that
long off season approaches, fans
can be comforted in knowing
they saw another wild NFL sea
son and that another is on the
way in September.
Baltimore @
New England
New England
Philadelphia @
N.Y. Giants
Philadelphia
Week #l3
Pittsburgh @
Jacksonville
Jacksonville
Houston @ N.Y. Jets
New York
Denver @ San Diego
San Diego
Green Bay @
Philadelphia
Green Bay
powerhouse
There is no clear solution. Penn
State is in a situation where sit
and-wait is the only option.
Paterno has what would be con
sidered a lifetime contract to
coach at the university. Given all
that he has done for the universi
ty, Paterno will probably stay until
he retires or dies.
In the mean time, the same
questions will continue to be
asked. Can Penn State attract
top notch high school players
again? Can Joe Paterno get the
program back on track? Do the
players even respect the leg
endary JoePa? Just like the peo
ple who run the university, we will
also do the same thing. Wait
and-see.