Category Archives: Chris Coyer

08.27.12
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The most-anticipated TU season ever

Scotty Hartkorn’s brilliant Temple trailer is worth watching more than once.

A hot forecast for what could be an even hotter season for Temple

As a 30-year season-ticket-holder (and Temple football fan long before that), I can say one thing clearly and unequivocally:
THIS IS THE MOST-ANTICIPATED TEMPLE SEASON OF MY LIFETIME.
Will it be the best-ever?
That is yet-to-be determined, but I will write this down now for the historians and the pundits to revisit come November:

Temple will not finish last in the Big East this season. In fact, the likely landing spots are either No. 1 or  No. 2. I refuse to go any lower.

There is not a team on this schedule Temple can’t beat. Conversely, there is not a team on this schedule who can’t beat Temple. I like that because of the focus factor. No games off, no plays off.
That’s where Temple’s edge, toughness, comes into play. This is a very tough, proud team who will play the whole season with a huge chip on their shoulder.
If it was a tough team without talent, that would be one thing. This team is every bit as talented as any team they will play.
Heck, the 22 starters on this Temple team are as good as any 22 starters on any Temple team I have ever seen and that includes the 10-2 Temple team that was only 17 points (split between two losses to Penn State and a 10-9 loss to No. 1 Pitt) from being 12-0.
Yes, that’s how close Temple was to being a national champion in 1979.
Two games.
Seventeen points.
Seventeen.
Two games.
In almost all areas, I like this Temple team better than that one and this schedule is easier than the one that team faced.
As good as Brian Broomell was then, Chris Coyer has shown flashes of being a better quarterback now. Broomell called the greatest audible I’ve ever seen a Temple QB make. It was in the 1979 Villanova game at that tiny high school stadium they still have. Broomell went up to the line and saw that Gerald “Sweet Feet” Lucear was being single-covered. Without saying a word, Broomell pointed to Lucear, pointed to the end zone, tapped the center on hip, took the snap and threw a perfect 70-yard strike for a touchdown.
Temple 42, Villanova 10.
Coyer has the same kind of intelligence and skills, but they have better communication methods now. I see him doing the same thing with, say, Jalen Fitzpatrick.
It’s not even close between the Montel Harris/Matty Brown hybrid and a great running back named Kevin Duckett.
Not close because Duckett wasn’t good but because Harris and Brown are great.
I have to take Mark Bright over Wyatt Benson at fullback only because they gave Bright a chance to carry the ball. Bright was a great blocker. Benson is a better blocker. Both were/are team-first guys. Give Benson the ball as much and Benson is better, but I’ll never be able to prove that hypothesis. The game has changed enough in 30 years that the fullback rarely gets the ball.
The one area I would give a big advantage to the 1979 team was offensive line. Joe Paterno called the Temple offensive line “the best offensive line in the country” before the 1979 game and that was not mere hyperbole. Still, Martin Wallace and Sean Boyle could have played on that line and Benson’s role as a blocker means that the Owls will block enough people for Harris, Brown and Coyer to make explosive plays downfield.
Defense, I like the athleticism and line play of Chuck Heater’s group over the 1979 team.
Special teams?
No contest.
The 2012 team is the far and away better, especially with Brown returning kickoffs and Brandon McManus handling the plackicking and punting duties.
I have to take Wayne Hardin over Steve Addazio only because Hardin was to coaching what Bobby Fischer was to playing chess. He was able to fully transfer the 152 IQ he had into checkmating virtually every coach with similar talent. And Hardin was crazy like a Fox. Fischer turned out to be just plain crazy.
Yet as a motivator and CEO Addazio is every bit Hardin’s equal and no (none, zero) coaching staffs in the Big East are as good as Temple’s now.
Vince Hoch was a great defensive coordinator, but he could not hold Chuck Heater’s clipboard.
I know all of this because I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
The people who pick Temple last in the Big East have seen nothing.
Yet.
That’s why this most-anticipated season could turn out to be the best one as well.
Five days until kickoff.
It can’t come soon enough.

Tomorrow: Why I hate everything about Villanova not named Andy Talley or Joe Eichhorn

06.04.12
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Temple dreams and expectations

With 12 wins this year,  Chris Coyer could go to 16-0 as a Temple starter.

About this time every year, I run into a friend I will call Frank (because that’s his name) and, for the past five years or so, he’ll yell out “How is Temple going to do this year?” when I jog by his summer place in the Poconos.

Coaching up the OL.

Frank did not go to Temple and is about as New York City as they come (a big Yankee fan) but he became a Temple fan (he watches on TV) because his late beautiful wife, Amy, graduated from Temple.
About five years ago, I yelled out 7-5 (after a whole lot of losing seasons in a row). It was 5-7. (It should have been 7-5, except for fiascoes at Navy and Buffalo). I nailed the record the past couple of years with eight-win predictions.
This year, I dread jogging by Frank’s place because I just don’t know the answer.
It could be 8-3. It could be 11-0. It could even be 6-5, but I seriously doubt it will go below that.
Dreams, expectations, reality.
The dream is that everybody stays relatively healthy, that Justin Frye and Steve Addazio can coach up the offensive line and that Chuck Heater continues to show the nation he is the best defensive coordinator in the country.
This being June, I feel prepared to tell Frank 8-3 but I can dream of 11-0.
This is how it can happen:

Temple hits the snap-on button to steamroll Villanova.

Friday, Aug. 31.:  Matty Brown treats the Wildcats like he treated the U.S. Army for the last two years, going for 226 and four touchdowns. Chris Coyer rips off another patented 80-yard touchdown run and adds a pair of touchdown passes, one to Malcolm Eugene and another to Deon Miller. Ryan Alderman sustains three drives by catching third-down passes. Juice Granger ends the four-year rivalry by faking a kneel down out of victory formation and hitting slot receiver Jalen Fitzpatrick for a 63-yard score. “We call that our ‘snap-on’ play,” Addazio said. “We snapped it onto the game plan yesterday. It was the last page.” Temple 55, Villanova 3.
Saturday, Sept. 8: Randy Edsall opens the post-game press conference by saying, “for the third-straight year, my team wasn’t tough enough to beat this team. It’s a bad matchup for us.” After pestering by D.C. and Baltimore reporters, he ends the press conference by saying, “Look, if it wasn’t for the kindness of coach Addazio, we would have lost to them 45-0 last year. You didn’t really expect us to make up 45 points in one year, did you?” Temple 28, Maryland 13.

The best DC in the USA

Sat., Sept. 22: Given an extra week to prepare, Heater comes up with a brand new blitzing scheme that forces Penn State starter Matt McGloin into five interceptions, one returned for a touchdown by true freshman Nate Smith and another by outside linebacker Kevin Newsome, who volunteered to move to defense in August. “I totally take responsibility for this loss,” new Penn State coach Bill O’Brien says afterward. “I put in a lot of Tom Brady stuff for him. I know Tom Brady. Matt is no Tom Brady.” Addazio: “Newsome was too good an athlete to keep off the field.” Temple 17, Penn State 7.
Sat., Oct. 6 _ South Florida travels to Philadelphia for the first time and the weather is so uncharacteristically cool, with temperatures in the 40s, that the Bulls have a hard time coping. Temple students come up big in the first game back to the Big East as 30,000 students make the subway ride from the main campus to attend the historic event. “Between the cold and our guys fumbling and the noise their students were making, we just weren’t into it,” South Florida coach Skip Holtz said afterward.  “We don’t have crowds like that in Tampa.” Addazio gives basketball head coach Fran Dunphy the game ball. Temple 24, South Florida 14.
Sat. Oct. 13 _ With UConn benefactor Robert Burton watching from a superbox, Ryan Day’s spread offense kicks into full gear against the Huskies as Coyer hits Fitzpatrick, Alderman, Miller and tight end Alex Jackson for scores. Brown adds another on the ground. Burton storms out at halftime, yelling out loud “I told you guys we should have hired Addazio.” The win gives Temple a 5-3 overall advantage in the all-time series. Temple 35, UConn 7.
Sat. Oct. 20 _ Heater’s defense sacks two Rutgers’ quarterbacks for a school-record 15 times. Fitzpatrick hits a wide-open Coyer on a double-reverse throwback pass for six. Brandon McManus kicks five field goals and the Rutgers’ Rivals.com board implodes and servers crash after a 22-14 Temple win in front of 50,000 fans, 35K from Temple. They officially change the name of the Raritan River to the Denial River after one Rutgers fan writes, “Well, at least we won the battle of the fans.” Temple 22, Rutgers 14. “Penn State was sweet but, for some reason, this one was sweeter,” Coyer says afterward. The win evens the all-time series at 17-17 and gives Temple wins in five of the last seven meetings.
Sat. Oct. 27 _ Stability becomes the most-used word in post-game reports after Temple pulls out a 14-7 win at Pitt. “You can’t have five head coaching changes in a couple of years and expect a competitive   DI program,” one columnist writes. After the game, Gov. Tom Corbett presents Addazio with the Governor’s Cup, emblematic of the state championship. In keeping with his austerity policy on higher education, though, the trophy is made out of a used cardboard pizza box donated by neighboring Gov. Chris Christie. Temple 14, Pitt 7.

Pitino: Rooting for Temple?

Sat. Nov. 3 _ At Louisville, Rick Pitino hosts Dunphy in a club box at Papa Johns Stadium and photo of him high-fiving Dunph after a Temple touchdown causes a local stir. “I always cheer for Louisville,” Rick said. “We were high-fiving about the new scoreboard at the Liacouras Center. Temple just happened to score a touchdown at the same time.” Temple 17, Louisville 6. With the win, Temple’s all-time record vs. Louisville is now 4-2.
Sat. Nov. 10 _ With the Big East championship on the line, unbeaten Cincinnati travels to unbeaten Temple and College Football Game Day is in attendance. A 59-yard McManus field goal as time expires  sets off a wild celebration as the goal posts come down despite some heavy-handed Eagles’ security. Temple now leads the all-time series vs. the Bearcats, 10-4 with one tie, thanks to a Wes Sornisky field goal. Temple 13, Cincinnati 10.
Sat., Nov. 17 _ Brown once again becomes Army’s worst nightmare, this time scoring five touchdowns and running for 268 yards. “I thought he graduated,” one Army fan is overheard telling a Temple fan. “No, that was Pierce,” the Temple fan whispers back. “I wish it was Brown instead,” the Army fan says. Temple 42, Army 14.

Doug Marrone: No depth

Sat. Nov. 24 _ Syracuse dressed only 65 players for its spring game and through injuries and ineligiblity, brought only 35 players to Temple for the season finale. “Depth really hurt us,” Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone said. After the game, Syracuse tight end Louis Addazio announces he will transfer to Temple. Temple 32, Syracuse 14.

Temple finishes the regular season 11-0 and Coyer and Brown grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, with the cover headline stating “Fat Cat and Bug lead surprising Temple into Orange Bowl.”

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03.20.12
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Big East quarterbacks: Coyer may be the best

Case Keenum and RGIII have nothing on Chris Coyer in this comparison.

Back in 1979, a tremendous athlete by the name of Brian Broomell led the nation in the then new category of passing efficiency while playing quarterback for Temple University.
Probably not coincidentally, Broomell led Temple to a 10-2 record, the most wins in the history of Temple football.
Since then, passing efficiency has been my most favorite statistic.
Where there is a quarterback who has a good passing efficiency rating, you’ll usually find a tremendous won/loss record in his favor as well.

Last year’s BE quarterback ratings.

Fortunately, the Owls will enter Big East play this fall with a big known in that area as another tremendous athlete, Chris Coyer, is not only the No. 1 returning in the nation in the terms of passing efficiency, he is also No. 1 in terms of a new category called “yards per play.”
A respected California blogger, football fan and math whiz came up with the statistical data and it is intriguing. In fact, yards per play might be a better indicator of a quarterback’s overall worth than passing efficiency.
Admittedly, Coyer provides a small sample but it is large enough in my mind to rate him the No. 1 returning quarterback in the Big East by a wide margin.
He has a passing efficiency rating of 177.4.
Compare that to returning South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels (126.7), Louisville’s Terry Bridgewater (132.4), Rutgers’ Chris Dodds (118.5) and Gary Nova (116.6), Cincinnati’s Zach Collaros (131.6), Pitt’s Tino Sunseri (124.1) and Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib (129.9).
Even with a statistical allowance for strength of conference (and let’s face it, there wasn’t that much difference between the Big East and MAC last year), Coyer comes out pretty far ahead.

Coyer accepts New Mexico Bowl MVP Award.

Plus, he’s unbeaten as a Temple starter and put up 31 points as a relief pitcher to the woefully ineffective Chester Stewart in the Ohio game. Had Coyer started against Ohio, I believe the Owls would have won that one, too. Heck, had he started against Penn State I think the Owls would have won that also.
Those hypotheticals will be decided on the field this year, fortunately.
I’m a little concerned about Coyer’s backup and Matty Brown’s backup, but I’m not concerned at all with the starting offensive personnel.
With Coyer, Brown, Malcolm Eugene, C.J. Hammond, Deon Miller, Ryan Alderman, Alex Jackson, Cody Booth and company (not even mentioning the incoming freshmen), the Owls could turn the Lincoln Financial Field scoreboard into an adding machine this fall.
And it all starts with the trigger man.
Just from the eye test, I think Coyer will be the best quarterback in the Big East this fall.
He throws a nice ball, makes great decisions (nine touchdown passes to zero interceptions), is elusive and has the “it” factor Temple has been looking for in a quarterback since Adam DiMichele sadly departed in 2007.
The two Rutgers’ kids, Dodds and Nova, can’t even carry his jock strap (nor would Chris want them to). I saw a few RU games and both those quarterbacks struggled.
If he’s as efficient as Broomell was some 30 years ago, the all-important stat of 10 wins might be in jeopardy as well.
That’s the only stat I really care about.
For the first time since 2007, I’m not going into a season worrying about the most important position on the field.
That’s both comforting and exciting.

11.05.11
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Root for Air Force and Troy today


This video is like that jigsaw puzzle game, where you pick two shots that don’t match. My favorite is the Ryan Alderman catch at the sticks (2:09 time stamp), the ridiculous spot, and the criminal call of a catch (6:45) when the ball clearly hit the ground that gave Ohio the game. You can probably pick out 10 more mismatched calls, all against Temple.

When I was a kid working my way through college at Temple University, I was once assigned to write about an Overbrook at John Bartram high school basketball game in the hood.
I was literally the only white guy at this game (including refs, administration and security) and a little after the start, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“Who you rootin’ for?” a fan about two years younger than me demanded.
“I’m not rooting for anybody, I’m here to cover it for the Philadelphia Bulletin.”
“Bulletin? Put my name in there. It’s Winston. That’s W-I-N-S-T-O-N.”
“Yeah, OK.”
Winston never got his name in the paper, but I never went back to John Bartram.
I think about Winston every time I watch college football on a Temple-less Saturday.
Since the only bookie I ever trusted moved to Utah some 15 years ago, I haven’t placed a sheckle (or a dime) on any sporting event since and I really don’t root for anybody but Temple.

Temple’s bowl hopes
While Temple has to win three games it will be favored to win, Army has to win three of four and Navy has to win all four to get the Owls’ most likely bowl slot.
Army Remaining:
@ Air Force
Rutgers
@ Temple
Navy

Navy Remaining:
Troy
@SMU
@San Jose
Army
Source: emh55

Now, though, because Temple needs some help, I’m forced in a position where I have to root for somebody.
Temple’s season could be helped immeasurably by an Air Force victory over visiting Army (TV, Versus) and a Navy loss to Troy (TV, CBS college sports network) today.
Navy is an eight-point favorite.
If both Army and Navy lose, that could open up a spot for Temple in the Military Bowl. Temple is now coveted by the Military Bowl after Owl fans saved its bacon in the 2009 game, bringing 20,000 of the 23,000 fans to the game against UCLA.
Right now, other than Navy (which has to go 4-0 to earn a spot), Temple would be a great get for the Military Bowl because of its nearby fan base. (Army, though, might be able to bring 15-20K on its own.)
The MAC is a backup option for that bowl and the Army/Navy/MAC team will face a team out of the ACC, which, at this point, figures to be Miami (Fla.).
What a story that would be, Al Golden vs. Steve Addazio in D.C.?
Talk about TV ratings and building the Temple brand nationally, nothing would do it like a win over The U in D.C. on national TV.
Temple has to hold up its end and needs only a little help to make it happen.