Joe Paterno abridged

Coach Joe Paterno had his weekly teleconference this afternoon. Here is a condensed version (with from-the-balcony comments from yours truly):

1. Coach expects to learn more about his team with Oregon State coming to town. (What did we learn from the Coastal Carolina game? That playing pansies is a waste of everyone's time.)
2. Just because Oregon State threw the ball 54 times against Stanford in its season opener, don't expect the Beavers to not come out with a balanced offense against Penn State. "I don't go by that," Paterno said. (That could have been Paterno's answer to a later question about following Bobby Bowden and Joe Tiller's lead as far as having a succession plan in place.)
3. Defensive end Aaron Maybin was this week's entry into JoePa's "Not Praising a Kid That's In His Doghouse" routine. "He's got a long way to go," Paterno said.
4. Paterno said he thought the linebackers played fairly well against Coastal Carolina. (Uh, let's hope so.)
5. Backup quarterback Pat Devlin doesn't seem less motivated since being told he wasn't the starter. Paterno expects Daryll Clark and Devlin to battle out for the position over the next two years. (Hmm, does that mean Clark may not start next week against Syracuse? Just kidding.)
6. Paterno hasn't begun to prepare for the possible hurricane-like weather that will hit State College come Saturday. (The Lions better not hope for rain. Beavers are good in water).

OK, that was about as uneventful a Joe Paterno press conference as you'll ever have. Of course, all  is good at the moment.