Eagles hit the road
By ROB MAADDI
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Even
in a mediocre conference in
which every team seems to have
a chance at making the playoffs,
the Philadelphia Eagles face a
daunting task.
The Eagles are not only hitting
the road for the next three weeks,
they’re playing against division
rivals. No team has played three
straight road games within its
division in December or January
since the New York Giants did it
to finish the strike-shortened 1982
season, according to the Elias
Sports Bureau.
When coach Andy Reid first saw
the team’s schedule in the spring,
he couldn’t have been pleased.
“I thought you guys had something
to do with it,” he jokingly said to
reporters Wednesday.
At 6-6, the Eagles are tied
with three other teams for the
final two wild-card spots in the
NFC. They beat one of those teams
(Carolina) on Monday night, and
will play the other two (Giants and
Atlanta) in the final month.
The Eagles travel to
Washington (4-8) this week,
followed by games against the Giants
and the East-leading Dallas Cowboys
on Christmas before finishing at
home against the Falcons on New
Year’s Eve.
“Iwashopingwewouldn’tbeinanip
and-tuek situation, but since we are,
we have to be ready,” veteran safety
Brian Dawkins said. “Hopefully we
got some things out of our system
that needed to be out of our system
now that this opportunity, or now
that crunch time, has come.”
After starting 4-1, the
Eagles figured to be playing
for home-field advantage down
the stretch. Instead, they lost five
of six and find themselves battling
for a playoff spot in a tight race
that likely will come down to the
final week.
A 27-24 victory over the
Panthers invigorated a team
that suffered a major emotional
Photo courtesy of OOO9U Imogts
The Philadelphia Eagles are up for a slew of tough end of the season
games, but look foward to the challenge in typical Eagles' style.
letdown - when quarterback
Donovan McNabb sustained a
season-ending knee injury two
weeks earlier. Backup Jeff Garcia
has filled in nicely for McNabb,
throwing for 312 yards and
three TDs against a tough
Carolina defense.
“We just need to continue to grow
off of what was established Monday
night,” Garcia said; “I think there has
tobe even more of an urgency tobetter
ourselves, even more of a
discipline-type scenario as far as
studying, being in the playbook,
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Though Dallas (8-4) has a
two-game advantage atop the
division standings, the Eagles still
have a shot at finishing first. If
Philadelphia wins out and
the Cowboys go 2-2, the
Eagles would capture the
division title.
“Idon’tevenknowwhoweplaynext,”
receiver Donte’ Stallworth said.
“All I know is we
have the Redskins on Sunday
and that’s a tough challenge.”
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MOVING TO
Paterno says he has no plans to step
away and will coach at Outback bowl
The resilient coach will not abandon his Nittany Lions now or ever
By GENARO C. ARMAS
Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Joe
Patemo won’t let a broken left leg
slow him down or knock him out
of football.
The 79-year-old Patemo said Sunday
he intends to lead the Nittany Lions
(8-4) from the sidelines
at the Outback Bowl
on Jan. 1 and coach
for at least another
couple years
“I don’t want to walk
away from it because
of this little bit of a
setback,” Patemo said
in a teleconference.
“I had not intended to
walk away from it in
the next couple years
because I didn’t have
any plans, and I still
don’t have any plans to
walk away.”
Ordered to stay off his
feet since undergoing
surgery a month ago,
JoePa hasn’t been able
to pace the sidelines in
his rolled-up khakis and
blue-and-white jacket
since getting walloped
by two players
during a Nov. 4 game
at Wisconsin.
Patemo skipped his
team’s next game
against Temple but
returned to a Beaver
Stadium press box
the following week
to catch the Nittany
Lions’ tense 17-13 win
over Michigan State
in the regular-season
finale on Nov. 18.
“It’s not like being
on the sidelines,” said
Patemo, making his
first comments to reporters since
fracturing the shinbone and tearing
two knee ligaments in his left leg. “It
never will be.”
No wonder JoePa is so anxious to
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get back to field level for the Outback
Bowl. Patemo, who turns 80 on Dec.
21, also learned Sunday that the
Nittany Lions’ opponent will be No.
17 Tennessee (9-3).
Patemo doesn’t know whether he
will be able to lead his squad from
his feet or while watching from a golf
cart. That’s his doctor’s call.
“I’m expecting to be doing a lot of
Although JoPa may be confined to his golfcart during the Outback Bowl game,
he will be on the sidelines coaching his beloved Penn State football team.
things in a couple weeks,” Patemo
said by phone from his home office in
State College. “I’d be disappointed if
I’m not on the sideline.”
Patemo’s contract expires at the end
December 12, 2006
of the 2008 season,
In his 41st year leading Penn State,
Patemo will make his record 33rd
trip to a bowl game. He’s also the
career leader in postseason victories
with 21.
Getting ready for this year’s
bowl has been a little more
difficult. First, he’s got to figure in
time for rehab and getting flexibility
back in the
left leg.
>lo courtesy
to cap the 1998
campaign, defeating Kentucky 26-14.
“The rehab has gone well,”
Patemo said. “I’m looking forward to
getting to down Florida and running
around a little bit.”
“And I’m way
ahead of that. I go
out there, I have as
much flexibility in
my left leg as my
right leg. I’m getting
closer all the time,”
he said.
Patemo was told
to stay off his feet
for six weeks after
the surgery, but with
Week 5 coming up,
the anxious coach
said he’s trying to
convince his doctors
to give him a
head start.
On the job, he’s
back at practice, and
had been watching
tapes of Tennessee
and Auburn, another
potential bowl
opponent.
Now, he can just
concentrate
the Volunteers.
Tennessee is
headed to Tampa
for the first time
since the end of the
1992 season, when
they beat Boston
College in what was
then known as the
Hall of Fame Bowl.
Penn State last went
to the Outback Bowl