There was talk of Paterno losing his touch when I went to PSU, but it was all excuses for a bad couple of rounds of recruiting. His play-calling is sometimes a bit predictable because he always...always...ALWAYS...plays to his strengths, not to the scouting report of the other team (I mean he'll try to use the strengths he has that are a good match for the opponent, but he's not going to call 40 passes against a weak pass defense if his QB isn't very good), and he has a playbook that hasn't changed all that much in 40 years. But he's still very good at directing the attention of his players and getting the most out of what he has. Penn State's football program isn't actually all that strong anymore...it's important to understand that. What strenght it has comes entirely from Paterno...they're getting CLOBBERED by southern party schools for attracting the hottest high school prospects these days...they have to draw from athletes who are actually motivated academically and guys who think they can ride PSU to the NFL. The fact that he's still winning a lot of games is a testament to his coaching skill.