A Reality Check: Where We Are Today and Why
- Devils' Huddle
- 23 Replies
EDIT: Sorry about the article length. Had to break it up into four different parts to post it. Lots on my mind needless to say.
Alright Arm Chair QBs and Playstation Coaches....put down the controllers and listen up.....
Turning Fanboys into Superheroes, High End Coaches, and Elite Commandos since 1996
I'm getting sick and tired of all the Message Board ADs out there who believe they have all the solutions to turning us into an instant elite program. Their ideas not only won't work but they're dangerous to the long term health of this program. Let's recap first though shall we?
As much as it pains me to say, ASU is NOT an elite program, nor do I think we ever truly will be. Now does that not mean we can't be a great program? No I strongly believe we can. But "elite?" Never. Why? I believe in order to be a truly "elite" program you not only have to have boosters with unlimited deep pockets, but you have to have a rabid fan base with decades upon decades of traditions that includes Heismans, Upper-Tier Bowl Games, National Titles, and fans that pass down that tradition from generation to generation to generation. Let's be honest...there are probably only about ten such programs that exist and USC would be the only one in the Pac.
You mean we're not elite?
What we can be however is another Stanford or Oregon (up until their meteoric collapses). Both programs are great programs. They're not "elite" but they are great programs. Both programs however had plenty of things going for them that we do not, nor do I anticipate probably ever will.
First these programs have deep pockets. Stanford with all of its Silicon Valley cash and Oregon with the Nike mint. Next these programs were not built over night. Stanford was pathetic for decades and Harbaugh's teams were a joke his first two years at Stanford and his third year team was mediocre. Oregon went through a lot of inconsistency with Mike Belotti. For every Rose Bowl year they produced, they also had a number of 7-8 win mediocre seasons. (Sound familiar?) Still Oregon stuck through it and the consistency of Belottie lead to the smooth transition to Chip Kelly and put them in place to be a great program. Much could be said the same way Harbaugh transitioned to Shaw. Third these programs have incredible national brand appeal that allows them recruit nationally. Oregon with its ties to Nike and Stanford through its educational reputation. Now what did these programs not do? They didn't call for their coaches heads after every little bump in the road. They didn't piss and moan that they weren't elite programs after three years. (They aren't even today) While Oregon likely will want to get rid of Helfrich, do you think Stanford wants to get rid of Shaw? Not happening.
Gold plated urinals for the new volleyball only facility? Sure! How much?
So for those of you wanting Graham's head let's look at the harsh reality of where this program has been, where it is today, and where it's going:
(continued below)
Alright Arm Chair QBs and Playstation Coaches....put down the controllers and listen up.....
Turning Fanboys into Superheroes, High End Coaches, and Elite Commandos since 1996
I'm getting sick and tired of all the Message Board ADs out there who believe they have all the solutions to turning us into an instant elite program. Their ideas not only won't work but they're dangerous to the long term health of this program. Let's recap first though shall we?
As much as it pains me to say, ASU is NOT an elite program, nor do I think we ever truly will be. Now does that not mean we can't be a great program? No I strongly believe we can. But "elite?" Never. Why? I believe in order to be a truly "elite" program you not only have to have boosters with unlimited deep pockets, but you have to have a rabid fan base with decades upon decades of traditions that includes Heismans, Upper-Tier Bowl Games, National Titles, and fans that pass down that tradition from generation to generation to generation. Let's be honest...there are probably only about ten such programs that exist and USC would be the only one in the Pac.
You mean we're not elite?
What we can be however is another Stanford or Oregon (up until their meteoric collapses). Both programs are great programs. They're not "elite" but they are great programs. Both programs however had plenty of things going for them that we do not, nor do I anticipate probably ever will.
First these programs have deep pockets. Stanford with all of its Silicon Valley cash and Oregon with the Nike mint. Next these programs were not built over night. Stanford was pathetic for decades and Harbaugh's teams were a joke his first two years at Stanford and his third year team was mediocre. Oregon went through a lot of inconsistency with Mike Belotti. For every Rose Bowl year they produced, they also had a number of 7-8 win mediocre seasons. (Sound familiar?) Still Oregon stuck through it and the consistency of Belottie lead to the smooth transition to Chip Kelly and put them in place to be a great program. Much could be said the same way Harbaugh transitioned to Shaw. Third these programs have incredible national brand appeal that allows them recruit nationally. Oregon with its ties to Nike and Stanford through its educational reputation. Now what did these programs not do? They didn't call for their coaches heads after every little bump in the road. They didn't piss and moan that they weren't elite programs after three years. (They aren't even today) While Oregon likely will want to get rid of Helfrich, do you think Stanford wants to get rid of Shaw? Not happening.
Gold plated urinals for the new volleyball only facility? Sure! How much?
So for those of you wanting Graham's head let's look at the harsh reality of where this program has been, where it is today, and where it's going:
(continued below)
Sunday Walkabout
- By Devil Dust
- Devils' Huddle
- 29 Replies
Mornin Mates...
Today's Topic = Luckless
That's a good description of our Sun Devils this fine morning as you don't win PAC games having to use your fourth string QB, missing a couple of OL, missing some key defensive players and having a secondary that has to use a converted RB as one of its DBs, etc...
So far, this season is the antithesis of our 2014 season when we had the Jael Mary against USC that propelled us to another 10 win season...
The difference between most PAC teams, ASU included, and elite programs such as USC, most of the time, is the quality of the depth that the Trojans have compared to almost all other teams in the conference...that has also been true of Stanford until this year...
Additionally, it was such a fluke that Brady White was injured right after Wilkins was injured and, with Bryce Perkins being injured, even before the season started, you have such a mess that even Nick Saban could not overcome with the personnel the Devils have at hand...
It was a miracle of sorts and a credit to the team and staff that the Devils didn't ever quite last night and were competitive, with a very good Cougar team, until the bitter end...
I've been very critical of Keith Patterson and Todd for the defensive mess but the mess is largely due to poor past recruiting on defense, especially in the secondary and line-backing spots, if you include the hybrid D-backer position in the equation...
Half of the "talent" in the secondary, that has to include the converted Gump Hayes there, out of necessity, is not PAC quality type players the way Irabor, Nelson, Darby and some other holdovers from the Erickson regime were big time players for the Devils...
There is no comparison and is why the Devils have struggled so mightily the past couple of seasons on defense...it really is as simple as that whether any of us want to believe that or not...
And, as stated numerous times before, that should not be the case in a head coach's fifth season at a school, so it squarely rests on Todd's desk where the buck stops...
The same thing has happened elsewhere in the PAC and you don't have to look any farther than Tucson and Arizona to see the results of poor recruiting by Rich Rod, during his first three years at the school, where "his kind of guys" aren't big enough, fast enough or smart enough to beat most good teams...
The Cats have also had some significant QB issues that have really hindered things as well...
Therefore, the moral of this story is that until the Devils get better players on defense, particularly in the secondary, don't run out of viable QBs and establish a lot more quality depth at almost every position, they will be at the mercy of Lady Luck during seasons like this one...
And, you do not want to ever be messing with the fickle Lady Luck if you can help it...
End of story...
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
Today's Topic = Luckless
That's a good description of our Sun Devils this fine morning as you don't win PAC games having to use your fourth string QB, missing a couple of OL, missing some key defensive players and having a secondary that has to use a converted RB as one of its DBs, etc...
So far, this season is the antithesis of our 2014 season when we had the Jael Mary against USC that propelled us to another 10 win season...
The difference between most PAC teams, ASU included, and elite programs such as USC, most of the time, is the quality of the depth that the Trojans have compared to almost all other teams in the conference...that has also been true of Stanford until this year...
Additionally, it was such a fluke that Brady White was injured right after Wilkins was injured and, with Bryce Perkins being injured, even before the season started, you have such a mess that even Nick Saban could not overcome with the personnel the Devils have at hand...
It was a miracle of sorts and a credit to the team and staff that the Devils didn't ever quite last night and were competitive, with a very good Cougar team, until the bitter end...
I've been very critical of Keith Patterson and Todd for the defensive mess but the mess is largely due to poor past recruiting on defense, especially in the secondary and line-backing spots, if you include the hybrid D-backer position in the equation...
Half of the "talent" in the secondary, that has to include the converted Gump Hayes there, out of necessity, is not PAC quality type players the way Irabor, Nelson, Darby and some other holdovers from the Erickson regime were big time players for the Devils...
There is no comparison and is why the Devils have struggled so mightily the past couple of seasons on defense...it really is as simple as that whether any of us want to believe that or not...
And, as stated numerous times before, that should not be the case in a head coach's fifth season at a school, so it squarely rests on Todd's desk where the buck stops...
The same thing has happened elsewhere in the PAC and you don't have to look any farther than Tucson and Arizona to see the results of poor recruiting by Rich Rod, during his first three years at the school, where "his kind of guys" aren't big enough, fast enough or smart enough to beat most good teams...
The Cats have also had some significant QB issues that have really hindered things as well...
Therefore, the moral of this story is that until the Devils get better players on defense, particularly in the secondary, don't run out of viable QBs and establish a lot more quality depth at almost every position, they will be at the mercy of Lady Luck during seasons like this one...
And, you do not want to ever be messing with the fickle Lady Luck if you can help it...
End of story...
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
- By SanTan Devil
- Devils' Huddle
- 9 Replies
@Fabian Ardaya tweeted a very interesting picture (below). What do you think was said during this exchange?
