(IMAGE: Washington Post)

BY BLAKE HANSON

Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is speaking out for the first time on the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal that ended his longtime career. Paterno spoke at his home exclusively with the Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins...

PATERNO: “And then I called my superiors and said, ‘Hey, we got a problem I think. Would you guys look into it?’ Because, I didn’t know, you know? I had never had to deal with something like that. I didn’t feel adequate.”

There are already mixed emotions over just what this means for the Penn State Scandal storyline. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Mike Jensen offers this analysis ...

“Joe Paterno spoke, and nothing changes. Those of us who believe he didn't do enough still believe it. Those of you who think Paterno was scapegoated by Penn State still believe it. Anybody angered, on any side of the fence, still is.”

Sporting News Columnist David Steele says the interview humanizes the disgraced 85-year-old JoePa -- but also seems to be a publicity ploy.

“... the interview … paints a more full picture of him, both now and over the breadth of his career ...The campaign to keep Paterno and his plight in the spotlight, and to maintain his status as not just a victim but as the victim, has the same tone-deafness the rest of the school and its closest protectors are exhibiting.”

Still -- Mediaite thinks there is some interesting information in the interview.

“Paterno’s version of how the Sandusky events played out offered some new insight into a case that has been relatively vague since the first couple weeks of details leaked out. Paterno said that he only had a professional relationship with Sandusky, and he believed that the defensive coordinator’s abrupt retirement in 1999 came because Paterno had told him that he wouldn’t be his successor.”

Yet Deadspin takes a different approach -- saying the Washington Post missed the boat.

“ … part of the reason Sally Jenkins was able to land the interview in the first place was because the article was guaranteed to be a five page waste of time. … the much-hyped article does not even tackle the McQueary meeting until page four.”

When asked whether he thought Sandusky was guilty or innocent, Paterno said he wouldn’t answer that until the legal process played out. Sandusky’s next court date is March 22 -- when he’ll face a pre-trial conference.