Category Archives: Al Golden

10.11.09
by

Cosby beats Letterman, but punt protection team is the only joke


Owl fans sport wide smiles watching Bernard Pierce run.
Photos by Ryan Porter


“If that’s not the best defense, especially physically, we’ve played since I’ve been at Ball State, it’s right up there.” _ Ball State head coach Stan Parrish

By Mike Gibson
Gotta give Stan Parrish some love.
He’s not getting much in Muncie, Ind., these days, there’s even a firestanparrish.com website.
Gotta give him some love for this quote today, though.
“If that’s not the best defense, especially physically, we’ve played since I’ve been at Ball State, it’s right up there,” Parrish, the Ball State head coach said of Temple.
Temple beat Ball State on Saturday. A cynic would headline it: Cosby beats Letterman in Sexual Harassment Bowl on Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
I prefer to see it, though, as a flawed win for the Owls, a siren call for a tweek here and a tweek there to get this engine raady for the MAC race stretch run.
Even the Owls themselves hinted as much in their post-game remarks.
Consider these words by Owl linebacker Peanut Joseph.
“We have some goals, but we’re nowhere close to them,” the Owls’ linebacker said after a 24-19 win over Ball State.
Nowhere but one small step. There are seven, maybe eight, more steps just like these.
Joseph is right.
Let’s face it. The defense won this game. They deserve 11 game balls.
Then there’s the flip side.
If the Owls keep playing like this on offense and special teams, they will be nowhere near close to getting those goals.
The good thing is that the problems are fixable.

Al Golden’s To Do List:
1. Fix punt protection _ Tighten this up. It looks like the Owls don’t even practice this stuff. Change the snapper, if necessary.
2. Fix the passing game _ Way too many plays are left on the field. Going to James Nixon only once a game is borderline criminal. Work Mike Gerardi or Chris Coyer in there one series per quarter, just to give them some experience in case Vaughn goes down and to change things up on offense. Don’t worry about Coyer’s redshirt. It’s all hands on deck for this MAC championship. Whoever moves the team best, stays on the field.
3. Leave Mark D’Onofrio alone _ Coach D’Onofrio is certainly doing his job, which is to keep points off the board. The same cannot be said for special teams coach Al Golden or offensive coordinator Matt Rhule. Al should just say, “Hey, Mark, keep doing what you’re doing, big guy. Nice blitz on that interception, by the way.”

Temple hasn’t shown in the past that it has trouble snapping or protecting.
Special teams coach Al Golden is going to have to put in a whole new scheme of punt protection, and maybe even a new snapper, in the next few days before the Army game.
Ball State evidently saw something in Temple’s protection that dictated the Cardinals go after every punt.
That entire scheme must change because the Army coaches will see it, too.
One way to change it is not to have to punt at all.
Temple has to develop a viable passing game to complement Bernard “The Franchise” Pierce.
Pierce became the first freshman in Owl history to rush for over 100 yards in three straight games, getting a buck 25 and two touchdowns.
If the Owls can develop a passing game opponents respect, and it might include changing the passer or the receivers or both, look for Pierce to turn a few of those twisting and turning 8-, 9- and 10-yard runs into 70-yard touchdowns. This is a team with too many weapons to be scoring in the low 20s every game. Temple coaches must view the film and determine what the problem is and correct it. If it requires a change in scheme or a change in personnel, so be it. This is big-time college football and they should not be afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Winning ugly is still winning, but Saturday is Homecoming and a good Army team is coming to town before an expected Temple crowd of 25,000 plus.
Winning “beautiful” is the next goal and that means for all three phases to show up, not just the defense.
That would be the next step and it must be forward, not backward.

07.24.09
by

Al Golden’s ‘secret’ plan to beat Penn State

… First ‘official’ practice starts Aug. 6 …

By Mike Gibson
I don’t know who started this Al Golden Twitter thing, but my guess was it wasn’t Al’s idea in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong.
Nobody keeps up with current internet and texting trends like Golden, still one of the youngest head coaches in the NCAA.
Today, I applaud Al’s “tweet” because it references former Owl football coach Spencer Prescott and mentions that all of our thoughts and prayers are with him.
Indeed, they are.
We’ve chronicled the Spencer Prescott story here in the past. Page down to get a link to Don Hunt’s piece.

Some Al Golden recent tweets:

July 20, 7:56 p.m.: “Our kids are working really hard in summer school and our freshman are getting used to classes…”

July 16, 7:15 p.m.” “Team is really working hard in preparation for the 2009 season!!”

I’m guessing, though, that “tweeting” wasn’t Al Golden’s idea because I’ve been reading some of his other tweets lately and they are not exactly scintillating.

Here are just a couple:
July 20, 7:56 p.m.: “Our kids are working really hard in summer school and our freshman are getting used to classes…”
July 16, 7:15 p.m. “Team is really working hard in preparation for the 2009 season!!”
Hmm.
If Al really wanted to make news with twitter, he’d liven some of these up.
It’ll be good fodder for the fans to read in the upcoming weeks.
Some Al Golden tweets we’d like to (but will never) see:
Aug. 5, 7:16 p.m.: “Practice is going well. We’re putting two offenses in. One for Villanova and one for Penn State. The Nittany Lions will never know what hit them.”
Aug. 6, 7:25 p.m.: “It’s getting dark early. Had a “pro-set” day with Charlton running it in preparation for Villanova. Tomorrow we go to our Penn State offense.”
Aug. 7, 7:32 p.m.: “We’ve got Chester Stewart and Chris Coyer running the old Texas wishbone for Penn State. It’s early, but coach Rhule has Ahkeem Smith in as fullback and Joey Jones and Kee-Ayre as the halfbacks.”
Aug. 8, 7:45 p.m.: “I’m leaving the defense up to coach D’Onofrio as usual. He’s doing a great job. I don’t think Villanova will be able to block us.”
Aug. 9, 8:10 p.m: “My God, this offense we have in for PSU is looking spectacular. PSU will go for the QB and Chester will pitch to Joey or Kee-Ayre and they’ll be gone. Plus, they have to watch Ahkeem on the belly series. I can’t wait until we shock the world on Sept. 19.”
Aug. 10, 8:01 p.m.: “Yeah, I know we have a game on Sept. 3. We planning for both PSU and Nova, but we’re thinking just Nova, believe me.”
Aug. 11, 7:32 p.m.: “Back to the triple option today and it’s scary. I know we needed three weeks to get ready for Navy. Joe will need more than that when we pull this secret weapon out of the E-O hanger.”
Aug. 12, 8:12 p.m.: “I’m so glad our practices are closed. I don’t think Joe gets twitter, either. Thank God.”

The best sports season ticket buy in Philly is just one click away:

04.01.09
by

Big 10 explores idea of adding Temple

As it turns out, that story that appeared in Newsday on Monday about Temple joining the Big 10 is more than mere speculation.

Exploratory talks have started last week between Big 10 commissioner James E. Delaney and Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw, according to sources.
“It’s a little premature,” Delaney said on Tuesday, neither confirming nor denying the talks, “but we’re at least intrigued by Temple.”

Delaney said that the Temple positives outweigh its negatives.

“Look, Temple is in the fourth largest media market, Philadelphia, and its football stadium already is larger than Northwestern’s and Indiana’s by a good bit,” he said. “It has a state-of-the-art basketball arena that more than fits our requirements and, academically, the school fits our profile group.

“The school is on the upswing in football. Four wins two years ago. Five wins last year. There’s a solid business model there now to keep that momentum going forward.

“This wouldn’t be like adding, say, Wake Forest, with only 4,000 students. This is a school that has 33,000 full-time students. This is a Pennsylvania state institution on par with Pitt and Penn State in many respects.”

Bradshaw wouldn’t comment, but has gone on record in the past by saying “we won’t get involved in an arm’s race” when it comes to bidding on coaches.
That could change, one high-level supporter said, once Temple is admitted to the Big 10.

“It’s safe to say that getting Penn State in here every other year will be terrific for both Temple and Penn State,” he said. “That alone would raise Temple’s average attendance profile significantly. Temple could afford to keep guys like Al Golden, if his bottom-line warrants it.

“Then you have the other issue. Getting teams like Ohio State and Michigan in here will be a big plus to the athletic department bottom line. Our attendance could go from a 20,000 average to 40-45,000 with no problem, especially if Al Golden can raise our level of competitiveness in football, which I think he can.”

The money coming in from Lincoln Financial Field attendance and Big 10 television more than make any extra investment the university makes on the short term sure to be covered on the back end.

“The most important thing is that the profile of the school goes through the roof nationally. This is a self-sustaining thing, really a license to print money. In this economy, our Board of Trustees must be aggressive in pursuing this.“

“It’s an exciting time for Temple,” the athletic supporter said. “You have 260,000 living alumni just dying to have a big-time college experience every Saturday. You get those kind of numbers of people energized behind the school and it has a domino effect. Attendance increases, revenue increases, things like donations and endownments increase. The most important thing is that the profile of the school goes through the roof nationally. This is a self-sustaining thing, really a license to print money. In this economy, our Board of Trustees must be aggressive in pursuing this.

“That said, it’ll work only if Al Golden can deliver the goods. By that, I mean, an eight-, nine-, or 10-win season this year in the MAC. Anything short of that and I don’t think the other 11 Big 10 presidents will pull the trigger.

“They’re willing to wait on us but not for long. I say we have until the end of the year and no more.”

The man struck a cautionary note, though.

“I don’t like the fact that this story is coming out on April Fool’s Day,” he said. “Is this an April Fool’s joke?”

Yes, the man was told.

It is.

Happy April’s Fool’s Day everybody.

03.10.09
by

Owls trade one (St. Joe) Prep quarterback for another

…Congratulations to the 2009 Atlantic 10 champion Temple basketball Owls and we expect no less than a MAC championship for the 2009 Temple football Owls…

Highlights of Aaron Haas from the 2008 football season in the beautiful tree-lined setting of Western Massachusetts.
By Mike Gibson
When I was in high school, I watched someone named Bobby Haas ring up 51 points on Archbishop Ryan’s basketball team.
I wrote in the Raiderscope, the school paper, that “Frankie Boyle held Bobby Haas to 51 points” in a 59-44 Bishop McDevitt win.

“It goes to show how many quality players inhabit the Prep’s program that a quarterback who looks this good (touch, accuracy, long-ball capability) had to wait so long to get onto the field.” _ Ted Silary
Philadelphia high school guru after Haas’ first game as quarterback

I don’t know if Aaron Haas is any relation to Bobby Haas (probably not), but I’ve never seen a bad performance by a Haas on either a basketball court or a football field.
And I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Aaron Haas play a few times, who was an All-Catholic at St. Joseph’s Prep.
You can judge for yourself by the above video, but I was struck by the number of times his post-grad (Mass.) offensive coordinator called upon him to run to his left and make a throw.
Since he’s right-handed, that’s an awkward and unnatural throw, but Haas executed it well.
Why not have the kid run right and throw right, a more fluid and easy toss?
Just a thought for Matt Rhule to consider.
He’s a good quarterback who has flown under the radar for a couple of years and will now improve Temple’s somewhat bleak picture (at least from a depth standpoint) at quarterback as a preferred walk-on.
How good?
Well, good enough to beat out one-time Temple verbal Mark Giubilato for the St. Joseph’s Prep starting quarterback job two years ago. When you compare 21 touchdown passes for Haas in the same offense against just seven for Giubilato, that’s a pretty good tradeoff.
Effectively, the Owls have traded one St. Joe Prep quarterback for another.
Knowing that Giubilato is very, very good that makes me feel a lot more comfortable about the Owls going into 2009.
Whether they get the best of the deal remains to be seen but they’ve done no worse than provide 25 percent more depth at the most important position on the field and that was a priority since Feb. 4.

02.19.09
by

Temple vs. Villanova? This means War


Al Golden (left) accepts surrender sword from Andy Talley after game.
By Mike Gibson
I have to admit I was more than a little nervous when the renewal of the Villanova-Temple football series was announced three years ago.
Geez, I thought then as I do now, Andy Talley is a pretty good coach.
On days when it is not playing Temple, Villanova is my second-favorite college team (Penn is the third favorite, as you can see, I like local college football) and I know Talley’s coaching style as well as any outsider.
I’m one of those rare individuals who walk into a bar and ask them to put on Villanova-Delaware when Temple’s not playing.
Talley can flat-out coach and, quite frankly, a young guy like Al Golden probably is overmatched against him.
I figured that whatever talent advantage Golden could get could be nullified the crafty old field General.
Today, three years later, I am more convinced than ever that Talley is probably a better game coach than Al Golden is and that’s no insult to Al Golden.
Talley is probably a better game day coach than 90 percent of the other guys out there. He’s just found a niche a ‘Nova and loves it so much he never wanted to go anywhere else. Talley loves the Philadelphia area and he doesn’t throw his name into the ring whenever any higher-profile opening becomes available.
There’s a lot to admire about that.
He’s good. Real good.
As convinced as I am about that, I’m even more convinced than ever about this:
By 10 p.m. or so, on Thursday night, Sept. 3, 2009, Temple will walk off the field a 20-point or so winner over Villanova.
Or thereabouts.
At least.
Say, 34-13.
I’m writing that on Feb. 19 with the full knowledge someone will clip it, save it and show it to me on Sept. 4.
I hope it’s to tell me that I should have had more confidence in our defense.
I’m concerned about Villanova having 16 starters back from a 10-3 team.
I’m concerned about the mental advantage Talley has over Golden, concerned that Villanova has two quarterbacks, Chris Whitney and Antwan Young, who have been more productive on the college level than anyone Temple currently has, but nonetheless but mark it down.
Golden will beat Talley.
Temple will beat Villanova.
This Epiphany came to me not in a dream but as a result of some deep football and war games thinking developed recently.
I’m a football and a Civil War nut and I’ll make this analogy.
Andy Talley is Robert E. Lee and Al Golden is Grant The Butcher.
You know how that turned out.
Robert E. Lee had the strategy part down pat. He could maneuver circles around most Union generals, who were afraid of a growing body count and were too timid to attack the smaller Army of Northern Virginia.
Then Grant came along, correctly figured he had more men and materials than Lee and would just keep throwing those men and that material at Lee until he wore him out.
Body count be damned.
So he was called Grant T. Butcher.
I checked the signing list the Daily News had on Feb. 4 for Villanova. Twelve guys.
I checked the signing list the Daily News had on Feb. 4 for Temple. Twenty-eight guys, with 15 additional redshirts eligible for a grand total of 43 newcomers (or 40).
Additionally, Temple, the best I can tell, has 21 guys on a roster of 105 capable running in the neighborhood of a 4.5 40-yard dash, counting defensive backs, running backs and wide receivers.

Now if Golden was William Tecumseh Sherman (the guy who burned Atlanta), he’d be up 54-9 with a minute left and calling timeouts trying to get to 60.
It won’t happen, but oh how I wish Golden becomes Sherman that night.

Villanova has four on a roster about half as large.
Grant had a plan. Now Golden’s plan is coming to fruition.
His plan has been a simple one: Keep bringing in high-quality talent and then call in the reserves. For the first time last year, he was able to redshirt 15 guys.
That’s a pretty nice force in reserve.
With 20 less scholarships for football, Villanova doesn’t have that luxury.
Golden, like Grant, will keep throwing bodies at Villanova.
Bigger, faster, meaner, leaner, bodies.
As Joe Paterno has said, “Temple doesn’t have any fat guys.”
Yes, both teams play 11 guys at a time but when Temple’s guys are bigger, faster, stronger across the board it’s not really that fair a fight.
That’s OK with me because it eases my nervousness about Talley’s impact on the game. He could win a quarter or two but, by the third at the latest, both lines will be overwhelming the Villanova lines on a fairly consistent basis.
The ‘Cats won’t be able to block Mark D’Onofrio’s defense and they will be largely ineffective against Temple’s offense because the Owls could have an athletic line that averages 300 pounds across the front. That’s a lot of big, gaping holes for a 4.4-40 guy like James Nixon or a 4.5-40 guy like Kee-Ayre Griffin to run through.
It could get ugly, but it won’t because Golden, like Grant, will graciously accept Talley’s sword at the end of the game and kneel on the ball rather than run it up.
Now if Golden was William Tecumseh Sherman (the guy who burned Atlanta), he’d be up 54-9 with a minute left and calling timeouts trying to get to 60.
It won’t happen, but oh how I wish Golden becomes Sherman that night.
Hell, this is War and War is Hell.
Or at least it should be for Villanova.

12.09.08
by

Adam DiMichele: We may never see his like again

Adam DiMichele's fake kneeldown at the end of the first half at Navy that ended in a long-bomb touchdown to Bruce Francis will always be remembered as one of the greatest Temple plays of all time.

Adam DiMichele’s fake kneeldown at the end of the first half at Navy that ended in a long-bomb touchdown to Bruce Francis will always be remembered as one of the greatest Temple plays of all time.

Adam DiMichele will be missed by all Temple fans.

By Mike Gibson
OK, I’ll be the first to admit it.
I’ve been spoiled for the past three years.
I’ve never once wished for a quarterback change at Temple University when No. 13 was on the field.
The thought never even entered my head.
Not once.


It’s hard to
put your
finger on
it, but I
knew from
the first time
I saw Adam
DiMichele
in a Temple
uniform that
he was the
perfect quarterback
for me and my team.

“I love that kid,” I said to my friend, Mark, during the 28-14 win over Bowling Green three years ago.
“You have to,” Mark said. “Who wouldn’t love Adam DiMichele?”
Nothing kinky, mind you, but I love him as a (very) older brother or as a proud father.
Quarterback is a very strange position.
You either have it or you don’t.
It’s hard to put your finger on it, but I knew from the first time I saw Adam DiMichele in a Temple uniform that he was the perfect quarterback for me and my team.
He had all the qualities I ever wanted in a quarterback:
Arm?
Check.
Heart?
Check.
Courage?
Check.
Overlaping skills like moxie, determination, leadership?
Check, check, check.
Athleticism, escapability?
Check, check.
I made the list in my head and could put an emphatic checkmark next to each wonderful quality under Adam DiMichele’s name.
Check, check, check, check, check.

I slumped back in my seat. All these years of asking why the other team always had a better quarterback than Temple were over.

Wow.
I slumped back in my seat. All these years of asking why the other team always had a better quarterback than Temple were over.
There were other problems, but I was always confident in my quarterback.
For sure, there were similar stretches in other years, like when Walter Washington came or Henry Burris was here but not three years like this.
I don’t remember ever having three years of this level of confidence in the leader on the field.
I knew those days would be over once and now they are.
I don’t have that same level of confidence anymore.
I don’t know if I ever will.
I’ve never yelled from my seat in the stands for some kid to be pulled from the game, but I will admit I thought a few times it might be a better idea for Chester Stewart to sit and watch the Homecoming Day game from the bench and let Vaughn Charlton have a shot.
After the 7-3 loss to Western Michigan and after Stewart missed a wide-open Bruce Francis by 10 yards for what would have been a third time, I saw enough.
As I walked into the concourse, the first person I saw was Vaughn Charlton.
Not the kid, the dad.
“They should have burned the redshirt,” I said.

I wasn’t looking for a response nor did I get one. I just walked away, knowing that a precious game was frittered away.
The most important position on the field is quarterback and I would have liked to see how a year older and wiser Vaughn Charlton would have responded to the challenge at a time his team needed him the most, after DiMichele went down.
I didn’t see it. All I know is that, right now, I can’t picture either Vaughn Charlton or Chester Stewart throwing six touchdowns in a game, like Adam DiMichele did two weeks ago.
I don’t know if either one of them has the qualities down the line that Adam DiMichele does.
I hope they do, but hope doesn’t get me to a bowl game.

On the other hand, DiMichele came to Temple as the WPIAL’s all-time passing leader and, in his senior year alone at Sto-Rox, tossed 36 touchdown passes for 2,706 yards.
Charlton’s senior year at Avon Grove?
Nine TD passes, 1,337 yards.
Stewart’s senior high school numbers were slightly better than Charlton’s but not half as good as DiMichele’s: 72 for 134, 1,348 yards and 17 touchdowns.
What was that coach Bill Parcells said?
“You are what your record says you are.”
Well, with quarterbacks, you pretty much are what your stats say you are.
Adam DiMichele proved that. So did every other previous great Temple quarterback.
None of them came here and achieved at a high level without doing the same exact thing in high school or JUCO ball. Walter Washington (Jacksonville Mainland), Burris (Spiro, Okla.), Matty Baker (Central York), Brian Broomell (Sterling, N.J.) and Steve Joachim (Haverford High) and Doug Shobert (Central Bucks) were big-time high school superstars.

So was Adam DiMichele. It’s a good blueprint to look for when Temple recruits its next-great quarterback.

11.29.08
by

So much for the MAC "experts"

Temple players, in a classy move, thank the fans after the final game.

By Mike Gibson
I dreaded going into the final two games with a loss to lowly Kent State because there’s really nothing satisfying to me about finishing with a losing record.
You can say that five wins this year, compared to four last year, is progress but I never really saw it that way.
I expected a win and wanted to taste a win, but I didn’t expect to be satisfied walking out of the stadium in a season that has been, to me, mostly disheartening.
Satisfaction is what I got, though.
Not with the season, but with the 27-6 win over Akron. This was a Zips’ team which won at Syracuse, 42-28, and lost to Big East power Cincinnati, 17-15.
For the first time since Bruce Arians, the Owls scored more points in a season than they got scored upon them.
For the first time since Jerry Berndt, they won as many as five games.



Muhammed Wilkerson does what the Owls should have done to Drew Willy at Buffalo on the last play: Get in the QB’s face.
(Akron Beacon-Journal photo)

The part of me who was disheartened with the season was also heartened by watching the Owls celebrate afterward.
They stood and participated in a raucous rendition of “T for Temple U” only to see Bruce Francis, in my estimation the greatest Temple receiver of all time, sent in the direction of a ladder in front of the band by coach Al Golden.
Francis then climbed to the top rung of the ladder and directed the band for a “T For Temple U” encore.
The team and the thousands of Temple fans who remained afterward to soak it all in went nuts.
I couldn’t help but thinking then that these kids deserved much more than 5-7 and played much better, much better, than any 5-7 team in the country. Had their braintrust showed a little better on-the-fly decision-making skills, these team could have been 9-3.
That’s all that was needed.
Not luck. Not Devine intervention. Just good, sensible, late-game, decision-making.
I chalk it up to Golden learning on the job.
He’s a smart-enough guy that he won’t make those same mistakes a second time.
But they came at a hard price for these wonderful kids who represented Temple University so well.
So the win was satisfying for in some respects but nowhere near as satisfying as this:
Almost all of the MAC so-called experts picked Temple to finish fifth in the MAC East.
No one picked Temple to finish second, but that’s just where the Owls finished in the final Mid-American Conference standings, in a second-place tie with Bowling Green.
That, to me, was satisfying.
Not as satisfying as a winning season would have been, but satisfying.
Don’t expect any of these “experts” to pick Temple to finish above fourth place next year, though. All but one of the MAC beat writers who participated in a pre-season poll picked Temple to finish fifth in the MAC East. (Seems like they were all copying off the other’s guys paper.)
Their blinding loyalty to the “old-line” MAC teams and their hatred of newcomer Temple obscures anything close to journalistic integrity.
The fact that they have been exposed as frauds today is, well, satisfying.
There’s no other word for it.

11.13.08
by

Final two home games: Plenty of (empty) seats available

This could very well be a shot of halftime at the EMU game.

By Mike Gibson
Before the season started, I wrote that it was important for Temple to get off to a good start so that the product on the field reflected the hype off of it.
At the time, I said that a fan base beaten down for so long needed tangible evidence that wins were going to come in the first part of the season so that they could buy into the product for the last part of the season.
And, I said, close losses were not going to cut it.
So where are we after 10 games, after giving up 600 yards of total offense to a 2-7 Kent State team in a 41-38 loss last night?
Three-and-seven, that’s where.
That’s the bottom line.
This season, in which a lot of Owl fans thought would end in a feast, is pretty much over. All that’s left is crumbs.
What this team needs, right now, is a big-time, ready-to-play, no-excuses, All-American JUCO quarterback to replace the great Adam DiMichele next year. It would be nice to find someone with all of the intangible qualities ADM possesses, but I’ll settle for someone with half his moxie if he has all of his mobility. Surely, some hotshot can be convinced he can come here and get time right away.
Will we get him?
Let history be your guide:
At the end of last season, I wrote that we needed three things in particular to get better:

  • A big-time fullback (I suggested Serra Catholic’s Isiah Jackson);
  • A big-time kicker (I suggested Hun School’s Scott Demler);
  • A big-time running back;

Well, we got the running back but we had him playing cornerback until midway through the season.
Hmm. I wonder whose fault was that?
We decided to go without the first two and, much to my chagrin, that probably cost us quite a few valuable points.
Three-and-seven.

This was
supposed to be
a season of
progress, a season
that saw the 4-8
team of a year ago
jump into the 6-,
7- or 8-win
category. Not
an unrealistic
leap of faith …

An incredible disappointment of a season that will no doubt be punctuated by 60,000 empty seats for the final two home games.
No doubt.
And, quite frankly, I don’t blame a single fan for walking away.
I can’t do it because I want so badly for Temple to succeed.
So I will drive to the stadium for the final two home games, open the car door and walk into the stadium.
Many more will protest by taking their feet and walking in the opposite direction.
That’s their prerogative.
This was supposed to be a season of progress, a season that saw the 4-8 team of a year ago jump into the six-, seven- or eight-win category.
Not an unrealistic leap of faith since said team had 21 of 22 starters returning and, by most accounts, the No. 1 MAC recruiting class for three seasons in a row and a defense that was ranked No. 1 in the MAC was returning intact.
None of the teams Temple would play in the league had 21 of 22 starters back and none of them had the No. 1 recruiting class for three straight years. None of them had the No. 1 defense in the league returning.
Six wins was a minimum and not overly optimistic benchmark given that backdrop.
If this staff could coach at all, that’s what they would deliver this win-starved fan base.

If this staff
could coach at all,
that’s what they
would deliver this
win-starved fan
base. Tangible
progress in terms
of wins, not
points, not close
losses, not net
yield. Wins.

Tangible progress in terms of wins, not points, not close losses, not net yield.
Wins.
There are plenty of things disappointing about the season, but none more than the head coach’s failure to take the blame for anything.
It’s ultimately his responsibility that the team lost games, particularly crucial decisions he did or did not make in UConn, Buffalo and Navy games but, to him, it’s always someone else’s fault.
It’s the kid who didn’t knock the ball down’s fault in the Buffalo game. Never mind that he gave that kid no help when he let the Buffalo quarterback run around for eight seconds before throwing the ball. A jailhouse blitz probably would have ended the game four seconds sooner in Temple’s favor. Bruce Arians had the courage to do just that to win a game against Rutgers in 1988.
Geez, it’s not his fault that he went for a first down at his own 34 in a tie game against UConn.
And, surely, it wasn’t his fault for not punting in the Navy game. It was some 19-year-old kid’s fault for not wrapping the ball up.
Going into the Kent game we were told that “I’ve seen leadership like never before” after the Navy debacle.
Yet where did that leadership get them?
Another loss.
That’s some damn good leadership right there.
I’d rather have crappy leadership and more wins, quite frankly.
And at least a coach who might take responsibility for something that didn’t go quite right.
Or everything that didn’t go right.
I won’t hold my breath.

10.30.08
by

Temple vs. Navy: Eight Men in a Box



A typical ‘8 men in box’ alignment (left)

By Mike Gibson
Eight Men Out was a movie about the White Sox scandal, starring John Cusack.
Eight Men In is what Temple’s football braintrust should be considering for the game at Navy this Saturday (3:30 p.m.).
As in “Eight Men in a Box.”

Temple at Navy
Saturday 3:30
Navy-Marine Corps Stadium
Annapolis, Md.
TV: CBS College Sports Network
(Channel 274 on Comcast Phila.)
Radio: 1210 AM WPHT

There’s no denying Temple University’s football defense, when healthy, has 11 superb athletes manning those positions.
The evidence is pretty convincing. Allowing only 6 regulation points to a UConn team that put up 45 on Virginia, 7 to a good Western Michigan team, 10 to Ohio, 10 to Miami, seven to an Army team that scored 44 on Tulane, etc., etc.
This week, the Owls are relatively healthy.
I respect Navy because it beat Wake Forest and Rutgers.
I don’t fear them because they got hammered by a Pitt team that lost to Bowling Green.
Last week, Navy ran for like 11 miles worth of yardage in a 33-7 win over Southern Methodist University and they didn’t even try a pass once.
Not complete a pass, mind you.
Attempt a pass.
The week before, Pitt’s defense played eight men in a box and “held” Navy to 197 rushing yards.
The Panthers dared Navy to pass. It could not, at least not effectively, and Pitt won, 42-21.

Bring violence
to the football.
Disrupt plays,
put a helmet
on the ball,
get turnovers.

That got me to thinking about what should happen on Saturday afternoon.
Move eight of the Owls superb athletes inside this week. Assign two the pitch man, two more the quarterback. Don’t allow them to think. Just tell them to react.
Tell everybody else to flow to the ball. Bring violence to the football. Disrupt plays, put a helmet on the ball, get turnovers.
Making plays. That’s what it should be all about this week for Temple’s football team, defense, offense and special teams.
On offense, it would be nice to block for quarterback Adam DiMichele and future superstar running back Kee-Ayre Griffin (Kee-Ayre, the future is Saturday). It would be nice to find Bruce Francis more often to open up the running game.
But, on Saturday, it’s really all about defense from Temple’s perspective.
Leave Dominique Harris, Jamal Schulters and Jaiquawn Jarrett back to break up the trick plays (i.e., forward passes).
Everyone else should be playing the run.
If Al Golden and Mark D’Onofrio are the defensive geniuses I think they are, they’ll figure this out long before me and the Owls will have been working on this for 10 days.
Eight in a Box.
If they come out lined up that way at, say, 3:31 p.m., you will know the Owls are ready to win.

09.30.08
by

My soft-pretzel depression


Great photo of Temple’s terrific fans by Darryl Rule.

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’ “
_ American poet and author John Greenleaf Whittier …

By Mike Gibson
Like a lot of people, I eat when I’m depressed.
When Temple wins in football, and that’s not nearly enough, I practically skip out of the stadium on a natural high and can’t wait to talk about the win in the parking lot afterward.
I don’t think about eating. I don’t think about sleeping. I just think about winning.
That’s the most fulfilling feeling of all.

You now about those
victory cigars
Red Auerbach used to have?
Well, I have my defeat pretzels

After Temple loses, and that’s always too much, I saunter over to the concession stand and buy the biggest jumbo soft pretzel they have.
You know about those victory cigars Red Auerbach used to have?
Well, I have my defeat pretzels.
I’ve been walking out of Lincoln Financial Field eating too many soft pretzels lately, thinking so much about a lot of things that I never really noticed how the pretzel tasted.
Some soft-pretzel thoughts:
CHESTER STEWART _ I’m sure he’s a good kid and a nice guy, but he’s just not ready to lead a Division I football team to a win. After he overthrew a ton of guys in the Penn State game, I chalked it up to first-game jitters. After he mastered the art of overthrowing open guys by 10 feet in the Homecoming Game against Western Michigan, I said enough is enough. “I thought I did all right,” Stewart said after the game. Sorry, Chester. Three points is not all right. Twenty-one points is all right. Fourteen points would have been acceptable but three points is abysmal. Ridiculously not all right.
AL GOLDEN _ If he didn’t have the confidence to run a balanced offense with Chester Stewart, then he should have went with Colin Clancy or taken the redshirt off Vaughn Charlton. “I thought he did all right,” Golden said of Stewart. With all due respect, Al, what have you been smoking? THREE POINTS IS NOT ALL RIGHT. It just isn’t. It’s the quarterback’s job to put points on the board and that means touchdowns and not field goals out the wazzoo. If Chester Stewart isn’t moving the team, it’s Al Golden’s job to get someone in there who can move the team. It’s not Al Golden’s job to keep running the same guy out, failed series after failed series.
VAUGHN CHARLTON _ Obviously, the redshirt was promised to this talented young man. But, as with everything in the Al Golden Era, the team comes first. It’s the team, not the individual. Vaughn has to go into the office and volunteer to do what’s best for the team. He just has to. Don’t wait for the coach to ask.
THE FANS _ They’ve done a great job in the first two games, 17K and loud and strong in the two games. A lot of them, me included, left without being able to talk for the next two days due to cheering so loudly. The fans, like the players, left a lot on the field. There is a law of diminishing returns. Unless this team is able to string together three straight wins, don’t expect a lot of them to return for the remaining three home games.
MARK D’ONOFRIO _ What can you say about the job Temple’s defensive coordinator has done? Twelve points against UConn, seven against Western Michigan. He’s a genius. Temple is very lucky to have him, but you have to wonder if the law of diminishing returns begins to erode the performance of this defense. They leave a lot on the field, too, and get little back.
THE REFS _ In three of the four Temple losses, a ridiculous call cost the Owls the chance of winning. This time it was sideline interference on a fourth-down call. Refs are human. They’ve been in the MAC for years. They take away Temple’s only touchdown, a beautiful run by James Nixon. They don’t want a team kicked out of another conference coming in and dominating their league. They make up ridiculous stuff like that, coming at a crucial time when Temple stopped Western Michigan on a fourth-quarter third down.
Thinking about all of those people and things got me to the bottom of the Lincoln Financial Field steps. By then, the soft pretzel was gone.
The depression, brought on by lingering thoughts of what might have been, was not.