07.03.23
by

What could go right: Uttering a three-letter word

This headline caught my attention last week. Temple football should have the same sense of urgency.

My buying the paper routine has changed in the last 15 or so years, ever since the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News downsized on both quality and quantity of local coverage.

Usually, I’ll page through the paper and if there’s something that interests me, I will pluck down the three bucks.

It might be once a month.

The other day I saw a major Temple head coach utter a word I haven’t seen a major Temple head coach say in about eight years.

“Win.”

I immediately purchased the paper.

It was new basketball coach Adam Fisher and he put the word win out there and it was right away, not three years down the road. I like the way this guy thinks and maybe the leaders of the other major sport at Temple should incorporate that level of urgency.

Win is a three-letter word but, to hear recent major Temple head coaches speak, you would think it’s a four-letter one.

Temple has to get back to those days when others expected the Owls to win and they went out and did.

Stan Drayton had a press conference in December of 2021 and the closest he came to mentioning the word win or winning was this quote: “And we will develop a trust that will form an unbreakable brotherhood and once we develop that, we’ve got championships coming to Temple.”

No timeline just an abstract promise of championships to come. He didn’t say 2022 or 2023 but “to come.” There was a lot of “we want to be tough” and “we want to compete” but the word win was noticeably absent.

Understandable in that Drayton didn’t want to promise too much too soon but this year should be different. The facts are that the Owls came close to beating Rutgers, East Carolina, and Houston exactly one year after not coming close against any of those three teams the prior year.

Now the goal has to be holding serve on the three wins they got the last couple of years and breaking serve by turning those three losses into wins. Maybe picking up one or two more. (They don’t play Houston this year but beating a similarly good team like UTSA at home would suffice.)

Right away, not next year or two years down the road.

They have a playmaker at the most important position on the field in quarterback E.J. Warner and seven starters back on defense. They’ve given Warner an important weapon in wide receiver Dante Wright and that’s with the second-half improvement of receivers like Amad Anderson and Zae Baines.

It’s OK to expect to win and raising expectations to win should be one three-letter word that the Owls should no longer treat like a four-letter one.

Friday: Numbers crunching

9 thoughts on “What could go right: Uttering a three-letter word”

  1. Talking big and actually doing are 2 very different things. Drayton’s more cautious but seems like he’s doing good (except for hiring Withers?). But we’ll see for both coaches….always wait and see, proofs in the pudding, and I’m not from Missouri!

    Reply

    • I like someone who has the confidence he’s going to do it, say so and then follow through. I will never forget Matt Rhule getting up there at halftime at the basketball game and say he’s going to bring a football championship to Temple and he did. Muhammad Ali would tell you he’d knock you out in the third round and that’s what he did. Drayton seems cautious like “I don’t know I can do it.”

      Reply

  2. I like confidence, but I hate blowhards. Just win. That takes care of it all. If he wins, he could do Henny Youngman one liners to the press, it won’t matter. Just win.

    Reply

    • I don’t see Fisher as being a blowhard. Definitely see Collins that way. I just want to win. I’d have a little more confidence in this upcoming football season if I saw that Drayton would change from the “compete” and “tough” words to the “win” word.

      Reply

  3. Coach Stan spent seasons in Texas and for the last ten or so of them, it seems every year he heard from the fans of the Longhorns that “we’re back” only to have modestly successful campaigns. He may be conditioned then to be modest.

    I’d like to read him saying things like “we’ve got some guys who can play,” “we’ve got some guys who are finding out how good they can be” or “there’s some dudes here who are angry and looking to take it out on the other team.”

    Reply

  4. I’ve seen this movie before. I’ll be surprised if Drayton is here through Warner’s last season.

    MR stopped recruiting as soon as his agent lined up better options.

    Drayton believes he has the talent to win a bowl game this year, or next. He will be gone immediately after.

    P5 schools, w/NIL coffers, supporting BOTs, and attuned ADs will call.

    Study the facts.

    https://247sports.com/Season/2024-Football/OverallTeamRankings/?Conference=AAC

    Reply

    • I used to get pissed off when Temple football coaches moved on to so-called better jobs. Now I’m hoping for it. Reason: Stan will never move on from 3-9 and 5-7 seasons. He will from 7-5 and better seasons. I will sign for that trade any day. Emphasis on better.

      Reply

Leave a comment