There was an interesting article in today's newspaper by Ralph D. Russo of the AP titled "Air Raid evolution: Offense passes test of time"...
Mike Leach, who uses the Air Raid offense at MIss St, after using it at Texas Tech and Wazzu, with a lot of success, had this to say about where it stands today in terms of effectiveness...
"Well, three of the last four Super Bowl champion teams have run it so I guess it's doing something pretty good"...
Which, for me, begs the question of why we are plugging away with an apparent antiquated NFL model under Herm and his staff...
This especially begs the question if the "doom and gloom" crowd at ASU is correct in saying that the Sun Devils are destined to be only an average 5-6-7-8 win school, since we are not a Tier One school...
So, if that is correct, why not go with a more aggressive, attacking, passing attack that utilizes a much more simplistic playbook than what we've seen over this century at ASU...
Looking at Leach's record over the years his teams were not only exciting to watch at Tech and Wazzu but they averaged more wins at those schools, over time, than what has transpired at ASU over the same time span...
And, it's not like either Lubbock or Pullman are recruiting meccas, given their locations, so he's taken more of "his kind of guys" and won with them despite the recruiting obstacles inherent in coaching at those places...
And, who doesn't want to see our Devils score a lot more during games than what we currently do, especially if the result adds another win or two to our bottom line each season...
We all know how important the QB is in any offense so wouldn't it be easier to recruit that position if the QB knew we were going to throw around 70% of time rather than run well over 50-60% of the time, like we do now...
I'm only bringing this up because we know that Herm is only going to be here for another season or two, at most, so what direction are we going to head in next..??
Are we going to go with another NFL old-timer who uses an offensive philosophy that went out with the last ice age..??
Or do we want someone like Sean McVay who is very young and has already won a Super Bowl with the Rams using Air Raid principles...
Again, if we are stuck at being a Tier Two school why not try to to upgrade things with an offense that can deliver a more explosive and dynamic, higher scoring offense...
It's pretty clear, for me at least, that what Herm has brought to the table (playing not to lose) is not a scheme that will elevate our program one iota, keeping in mind all the difficulties that the program has encountered during his tenure at ASU...
Of course, if his offensive philosophy helps us win 9-10-11-12 games this season then I will gladly admit that I was wrong and want him to sign a lifetime contract extension with ASU...
I also know that if we had Bama's talent we could run almost any offense and win a whole bunch of games each season, but that's not happening at ASU, according to those who say we are a tried and true Tier Two or Three school...
And, I'm not forgetting about the role defense and special teams play in games but who doesn't like to see more home runs in baseball games than a 2-1 pitchers dual..??
What I'm looking for, if we are indeed a Tier Two school, and, maybe dropping a little further than that by the time Herm is finished, is what will bring excitement and enthusiasm to our football program once Herm is gone...
In the meantime, I'm excited that we are on the verge of another football season but I'm wondering what our future will bring in the next year or two...
How about you..??
Do you want another old-timer as a head coach or someone much younger with a whole different approach to the game than what we have now..??
Go Devils!!!
Mike Leach, who uses the Air Raid offense at MIss St, after using it at Texas Tech and Wazzu, with a lot of success, had this to say about where it stands today in terms of effectiveness...
"Well, three of the last four Super Bowl champion teams have run it so I guess it's doing something pretty good"...
Which, for me, begs the question of why we are plugging away with an apparent antiquated NFL model under Herm and his staff...
This especially begs the question if the "doom and gloom" crowd at ASU is correct in saying that the Sun Devils are destined to be only an average 5-6-7-8 win school, since we are not a Tier One school...
So, if that is correct, why not go with a more aggressive, attacking, passing attack that utilizes a much more simplistic playbook than what we've seen over this century at ASU...
Looking at Leach's record over the years his teams were not only exciting to watch at Tech and Wazzu but they averaged more wins at those schools, over time, than what has transpired at ASU over the same time span...
And, it's not like either Lubbock or Pullman are recruiting meccas, given their locations, so he's taken more of "his kind of guys" and won with them despite the recruiting obstacles inherent in coaching at those places...
And, who doesn't want to see our Devils score a lot more during games than what we currently do, especially if the result adds another win or two to our bottom line each season...
We all know how important the QB is in any offense so wouldn't it be easier to recruit that position if the QB knew we were going to throw around 70% of time rather than run well over 50-60% of the time, like we do now...
I'm only bringing this up because we know that Herm is only going to be here for another season or two, at most, so what direction are we going to head in next..??
Are we going to go with another NFL old-timer who uses an offensive philosophy that went out with the last ice age..??
Or do we want someone like Sean McVay who is very young and has already won a Super Bowl with the Rams using Air Raid principles...
Again, if we are stuck at being a Tier Two school why not try to to upgrade things with an offense that can deliver a more explosive and dynamic, higher scoring offense...
It's pretty clear, for me at least, that what Herm has brought to the table (playing not to lose) is not a scheme that will elevate our program one iota, keeping in mind all the difficulties that the program has encountered during his tenure at ASU...
Of course, if his offensive philosophy helps us win 9-10-11-12 games this season then I will gladly admit that I was wrong and want him to sign a lifetime contract extension with ASU...
I also know that if we had Bama's talent we could run almost any offense and win a whole bunch of games each season, but that's not happening at ASU, according to those who say we are a tried and true Tier Two or Three school...
And, I'm not forgetting about the role defense and special teams play in games but who doesn't like to see more home runs in baseball games than a 2-1 pitchers dual..??
What I'm looking for, if we are indeed a Tier Two school, and, maybe dropping a little further than that by the time Herm is finished, is what will bring excitement and enthusiasm to our football program once Herm is gone...
In the meantime, I'm excited that we are on the verge of another football season but I'm wondering what our future will bring in the next year or two...
How about you..??
Do you want another old-timer as a head coach or someone much younger with a whole different approach to the game than what we have now..??
Go Devils!!!
