I'm bringing this up as there is an article in the Daily Star Sports Section today asking this question...
"What's really wrong with Arizona football?" by Jon Wilner
They have a new coach in place, have lost a lot of players to injury, and an offense that is really struggling despite having key players like QB Noah Fifita and WR TMac returning...
Wilner observes "The Wildcats are proof that even when the roster core returns, the dynamics are different. Roles evolve. Expectations soar. Mindsets change."
He also observes that most of the finger pointing is toward QB Fifita who is short on height but long on guts, mobility and instincts, etc, but having a bad year because he is placing too much pressure on himself according to football analyst Brock Huard, a former Wash Huskie QB who is now an announcer for Fox sports and who covered the Cats game against Colorado this past weekend, in a one-sided loss to the Buffs and Prime Time...
But, it's obviously not on Fifita alone as Wilner points out, who says that AU coaches have done a poor job of crafting a playbook to maximize the Cats strengths against the countering tactics used by opponents and this is especially true of not tailoring their offense to Fifita's strengths, etc...
So, looking forward, are ASU coaches doing a good job of tailoring our offense to the personnel we have on offense, especially as that relates to the QB position, that now is in the hands of our second string QB, Jeff Sims..??
And, when Leavitt returns next season, without Cam Skattebo, who is also, like Fifita, somewhat short on height but long on guts, mobility and instincts, etc, how much will that alter any positive dynamics from this season to next..??
Getting back to this season, Wilner points out that the Cats are fortunate, in the second half of their season, to be playing six teams that do not have winning conference records, while I'll add that ASU is not so fortunate as they still have to play both BYU and K-State with a dicey QB situation at the most important position on the field...
Wilner says of the Cats...get the QB right during this span and everything else will fall in place...
And, does this same thing apply to our QB situation as things now stand..??
Go Devils!!!