Posted by Rat on 9/6/2007, 11:33 am, in reply to "Re: Jon Wilner: What Went Wrong At ASU" http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/liveaction/invincible/ Wilmer's column is a good service for those of us who didn't see the game. --Previous Message--
24.205.253.229
I agree. Maybe Tomey should show the team the movie I saw last night on one of the satellite channels—INVINCIBLE.
: Wilner could have shortened his post by
: stating the obvious. We do not have the
: personnel (except in the kicking game) to
: compete on an even basis with ASU. Having
: said that, I believe that ASU is a lot
: stronger team than people believe. They
: will beat Cal and UCLA and give USC a run.
: We will not see as good a team this weekend.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Your right on the money with your analysis.
: There's alot of players that dont have D-1
: experence and it showed. I do think that
: Tomey will get these players to produce.The
: players now know what they have to do to
: compete at the D-1 level. Go Spartans
:
: --Previous Message--
: SJSU football: What went wrong at Arizona
: State
: By Jon Wilner
: Wednesday, September 5th,
:
: It’s a little after 7 a.m., I’m coming off
: three hours of sleep, the baby just went
: down for a nap … I could just answer the
: above title with one word (”everything”),
: end this post at one sentence and try to
: snooze.
:
: But I want the catch SJSU’s practice in a
: bit, want to check out the new tailback — so
: here goes my explanation for the Spartans’
: 45-3 loss at Arizona State.
:
: Plus, I’m halfway through my Starbucks (I
: ordered “gigantic drip,” and the guy knew
: what I meant — love that place). So there’s
: no way I could get back to sleep anyhow.
:
:
: Good thing this is the internet, b/c there
: wouldn’t be enough newsprint in all North
: America to explain what happened to SJSU,
: but here goes, a synopsis in ascending order
: of significance:
: Explanation No. 6: The 2006 schedule
:
: While it didn’t have a material impact on
: the game, it helped frame the expectations
: for the ‘07 opener. And those fairly lofty
: (for SJSU) expectations made the 42-point
: loss a shock to many.
:
: Remember, Stanford was one of the worst
: teams in America last year, San Diego State
: was awful, Cal Poly is I-AA and Washington
: wasn’t even mediocre when the Spartans went
: to Seattle and lost.
:
: All of which means … SJSU didn’t play a
: non-conference opponent that was anywhere
: close to as good as these Sun Devils.
:
: Clearly, the Spartans still have a long haul
: to reach the point where they can go
: head-to-head with an upper-level Pac-10
: team. That was lost on many SJSU followers.
:
: (Full disclosure: I thought there was a
: pretty good chance the Spartans would get
: beat soundly on Saturday, but not by 42
: points.)
:
: ***Explanation No. 5: The ex-Spartans
:
: It should have been apparent to everyone,
: myself included, but maybe it wasn’t — the
: departures of WRs James Jones and John
: Broussard left a massive hole.
:
: And it’s a hole not only in the
: pass-catching,
: nuts-and-bolts-of-playing-receiver
: department but in the playmaking department,
: the make-the-defense-play-pass-defense
: department.
:
: If opponents don’t respect SJSU’s aerial
: attack, they can gang up on the run.
:
: I’d also suggest that SJSU misses former
: defensive playcaller/linebackers coach Tom
: Williams, who went to the NFL. Williams was
: an experienced defensive coach who added a
: little fire to that unit.
:
: Now the defense is in the hands of
: 33-year-old Dave Fipp, who’s calling the
: plays for the first time. There’s a learning
: curve for coaches as well as players.
:
: ***Explanation No. 4: The
: conditions/opponent
:
: I lived in Arizona for six years and have
: seen many a football game at Sun Devil
: Stadium where the on-field temperature was
: in the 90s or above, and there’s no way to
: prepare for the toll it takes on a football
: team.
:
: Plus, SJSU morning practice schedule meant
: they were working out in much milder
: conditions than a typical ASU foe — they
: didn’t even get a taste of the abnormal San
: Jose afternoon heat.
:
: (With a class schedule that’s built around
: morning practices, Coach Dick Tomey could
: not move their workouts to the afternoons.)
:
: It’s worth noting that this decade, ASU is
: 17-2 at home in August/September.
:
: (***Hotline weather update: Forecast for
: Manhattan, KS for Saturday: 86 and humid.)
:
: Then there was the opponent itself: The Sun
: Devils have a veteran QB, talented skill
: players and few linemen who are elite
: players in the Pac-10 — it’s a team that
: could finish third or fourth in the
: second-toughest conference in the country.
: True Spartan fans go to www.philsboard.com.
:
: ***Explanation No. 3: Yonus Davis’ injury
:
: Not sure there was another player the
: Spartans could less afford to lose on their
: first offensive play than tailback Yonus
: Davis, and that includes quarterback Adam
: Tafralis.
:
: This is due in large part to Patrick Perry’s
: season-ending knee injury, which left the
: Spartans with one viable option at tailback:
: Davis.
:
: When he sprained his ankle, the ground game
: was doomed. Without a legitimate threat to
: run, the Spartans became one dimensional.
:
: ***Explanation No. 2: Inexperience
:
: The Spartans knew it might be a rough debut
: for their young receivers, many of whom were
: playing their first Division I game. And it
: was — all those dropped passes crushed any
: chance of SJSU staying within range of the
: Sun Devils.
:
: SJSU also started two freshmen on the
: offensive line, the most complicated
: position outside of quarterback.
:
: At one point, there were eight offensive
: players on the field making their D-I
: debuts. (Thanks to Merc beat writer Laurence
: Miedema for that nugget.) Less talent and
: less experience is a tough combination to
: overcome.
:
: ***Explanation No. 1: The wrong mentality
:
: A successful season, such as the one SJSU
: had last year, means you have to work even
: harder, be even more focused, the following
: season — because other teams take you more
: seriously.
:
: I’m not sure the players got that in the
: weeks and months leading up to the opener —
: it’s tough to realize it when you’ve never
: gone through it before. But Tomey understood
: exactly. He even talked about it last week.
:
: (Just a guess on my part: Tomey thought his
: team, not grasping the mentality it had to
: have, might be in for a pounding.)
:
: “Two things make (this season) harder: the
: schedule is infinitely more difficult, and
: we’re perceived differently,” Tomey said.
: “If we think we can show up with the same
: team as last year, we’re crazy.”
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
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