Category Archives: Temple football

02.01.13
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New TU coaches saving lives and laptops

Adam DiMichele will probably go to his grave in 70 years or so as the only QB to play for Temple, the Eagles and the Soul.

About a year ago at this time, Adam DiMichele was starting training camp with the Soul.
On Wednesday night, he was saving one.
DiMichele has come a long way since being the best Temple quarterback of the post-Hardin/Arians Era (sorry, Henry Burris) and the journey has taken him full circle back as an Owl graduate assistant. From being the first Temple quarterback to ever throw a touchdown pass for the Philadelphia Eagles (to a guy named Gibson, no less), to the Canadian Football League, to the MVP of the Erie (Pa.) arena team, to the Soul and now back to Temple.
On the way to class on Wednesday night, DiMichele came across a Temple senior in distress.
“I think I just saved a life,” DiMichele posted on his Facebook page.


Matt Rhule didn’t save a life, but he did save a laptop this morning.

Pressed for details from his friends, he explained:
“I was walking to class tonight, and was on the phone with my brother Dom,” he said. “So I come to the red light and was waiting for it to change so I could cross.
“I look to my left and there’s a guy laying on his back on the steps. Everyone just walks by him …  I looked a little closer and realized he was unconscious. I tried to wake him up by basically screaming at him.
“I got my phone out and called 911. (I) felt like I knew exactly what to say and where I was but I didnt have a clue. Another bystander came over to me and we both talked about what we needed to do. He realized the guy was having some sort of convulsions or something (mind you, I am no doctor at all)  but he said that the guy was basically throwing up while laying down and that we needed to sit him up before he choked on his own (volmit).

Maybe that should be the new slogan for 2013: “Temple Football. Recruiting fans, one at a time.”

“My heart was racing, I never really saw anything like this in person, or helped anyone like this before  so we sat him up a bit, made sure to try and be as cautious and safe as possible. Well, he ended up immediately throwing up. He came back around a few minutes later and didn’t remember too much at all.
“He remembered going to work out, and not feeling good on his walk home so he sat down and rested, and the next thing he remembers is us waking him up. I don’t know if  I necessarily saved his life or what not but he was very thankful for me helping him.”
DiMichele later said it was an experience he’ll never forget.
“It was crazy,” he said. “I was nervous, but I’m glad I made the decision to help him when I did.”
Fortunately, the EMAs arrived and told DiMichele he did the right thing and they took the senior to the hospital and everything turned out to be just fine.
As an aside, DiMichele may have recruited another fanny for the Lincoln Financial Field seats this fall.
“He told me he would certainly come to some Temple football games this fall,” DiMichele wrote.
This morning, head coach Matt Rhule chased down a guy at the airport and gave him back a laptop the man left at security. Hopefully, Rhule had time to give a season-ticket sales’ pitch as well. Either way, both coach DiMichele and coach Rhule generated some good Karma the past couple of days and at least two more fans.
Maybe that should be the new slogan for 2013:
“Temple Football. Recruiting fans, one at a time.”

01.07.13
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The complete Reece/Rhule sit-down interview

Beasley Reece interviews Matt Rhule.

Root for old Notre Dame
To me, the rooting interest for tonight’s National Championship game is a clear choice.It really should be for every Temple fan.
Root, root, root for old Notre Dame.

Why?
Imagine the buzz around Philadelphia should Temple knock off the unbeaten national champions in the 2013 opener?Much more electricity in that scenario for Temple than it would get coming off an upset of a ND team which lost to Alabama.

It seems like only yesterday Beasley Reece interviewed a young guy getting his first opportunity to be a head coach.
Afterward, Reece reached out his hand to the young man and shook his head approvingly, “Coach, you sold me. Where do I sign?”
“We’d love to have you,” was the reply.
The coach was Al Golden.
The year was 2005 and it SEEMED like yesterday.
That worked out pretty well for both coach and school.
Hopefully, was really DID happen yesterday, a sit-down interview with another young guy in the same position, Matt Rhule, will end up with similar on-field results.

Love the way Matt mentioned a 3-4 defense, even in passing. Means the thought has at least crossed his mind. Shows me he is using his head already. Temple has never played a 3-4 defense before, but the Owls have found themselves with personnel best-suited for it due to some unforeseen over-recruiting at the linebacker position by the recently departed head coach and suspension circumstances along the defensive front.
Those hard decisions should be addressed in the period between signing day and the the March opening of spring practice.
As usual, Beasley does his usual great job with the questions and Matt was every bit as impressive with his responses as Golden was way back when.
It’s worth six minutes of your time.

12.28.12
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Rhule’s complete staff is …

BREAKING NEWS: Nick Rolovich accepts position as Temple offensive coordinator as of 6:30 p.m. Saturday night … as Tyler Haddock-Jones might say … #geniuses ..

The Wisconsin football website “Bucky’s 5th Quarter” has high praise for Rolovich.

Nick Rolovich

The most agonizing thing out of Matt Rhule’s first few days as Temple head coach has to be the delay in the staff hiring announcements, which has to be expected.
The fans want to hear who now and that’s just not happening.
After all, Rhule’s got a job to finish at New York first.
Yet, if we are to believe the recruits, they seem to know who the assistants will be and they are not telling.
One of them, Tyler Haddock-Jones, used the hashtag #geniuses to describe the staff Rhule is assembling (see post below). He tweeted that he got off the phone with Rhule at 1:23 on Sunday afternoon and that Rhule told him what the staff would be then.
Haddock-Jones must have been impressed or maybe he’s just easily impressed.
We should find out one or the other in the next few days.
So far, two assistants have been named and while both appear to be solid hires, I wouldn’t use the hashtag #geniuses next to either one. Brandon Noble is going to be defensive line coach, while Rhule hired a guy from Tennessee Chattanoga, Marcus Satterfield,  to be an offensive coach in some capacity.
Of course, there are more announcements forthcoming and I would use the hashtag #geniuses next to these two:
CHUCK HEATER (DC) and NICK ROLOVICH (OC).

Genius, miracle-worker, same thing.

Heater, for obvious reasons well-documented here. He’s been an outstanding defensive coach everywhere he’s been and his 2011 Temple defense might have been one of the school’s best ever. It’s not his fault two of his starting defensive linemen were suspended or that his defensive ends lacked closing speed on the quarterback. A 3-4 defense utilizing linebackers as pass rushers would fix that problem until the Owls can recruit some stud sackers. Love to see Heater retained.
Rolovich’s pistol offense would work well at Temple. Chris Coyer was not the same quarterback in 2012 as he was in 2011 simply because Scot Loeffler wasn’t around to utilize he talents.
If Coyer can get out of a pass rush and throw on the run, that makes him a more effective dual-threat. The same can be said for Juice Granger and Kevin Newsome, who have similar skill sets.
I’ll believe Rolovich comes when I see him on North Broad Street. It might be a culture shock for someone who has worked in Hawaii and near Vegas the last two years to work at 10th and Diamond. Still, it can’t be too different from the Gainesville to Philly trip Heater enjoyed and, from all accounts, is apparently enjoying.
We don’t know yet if Rolovich and Heater are in the fold or will be in the fold, but if they join Rhule the staff IQ goes up exponentially and Haddock-Jones can use that hashtag without fear of contradiction.

12.24.12
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Five things I want under the E-O Tree

According to at least one recruit, Matt Rhule is putting together an all-star staff.

Hate to make rash judgments, but I saw enough of Nick Foles over the last few weeks to know one thing: The guy would make a good NFL backup, but he’s not a starting quarterback in this league.
Nick Foles can’t play.
He reminds me of a more polished Vaughn Charlton.

Owls need a DE with a game to
match a game face.

 Saw enough of him that I was jumping around on the TV at the gym yesterday and settled on the movie “Lord of the Rings: Helms Deep.”
Then I saw exactly what the Temple defense needs: An Aragorn. The guy chopped off more heads than King Henry VIII and that was just with one swing.
That’s just the type of defensive end Temple football needs right now, a Warrior who doesn’t use excuses like “getting injured” or “lack of foot speed” for not getting to the quarterback.
If I had a dollar for the “almost” sacks of John Youboty, I’d be a rich man. Youboty was a split-second late on a lot of would-be sacks that became touchdown passes (Matt McGloin’s long one in the PSU game immediately comes to mind).

 Temple needs a DE, preferably two, who routinely chops off quarterback’s heads, at least figuratively.

Mum is the word with Tyler Haddock-Jones, but
he’s excited about the new staff after talking with
Matt Rhule  at 1:22 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

I’m starting to warm up to the idea of Matt Rhule as Temple’s head coach because the recruits and other coaches like him so much and because he’s so connected to the available talent out there. If Rhule has to dip into the JUCO ranks to get a guy with an Aragorn motor, so be it.
 I don’t think the kid currently is on the roster.
 Four other things I want to see under the Edberg-Olson Football Complex tree soon:
2) A practice bubble
 It’s ridiculous that Temple has to travel to the Nova Care Center to practice in inclement weather. Here’s hoping a temporary structure at least can be put up immediately until funds for a more permanent one can be located. The week before the Louisville game, the Owls missed a whole day of practice time due to Hurricane Sandy and that certainly didn’t help.
 3) Chuck Heater wrapped up as DC
 I know a lot of people were down on him at the end of the season, but he had absolutely no pass rush and, without a pass rush, you can’t have a pass defense. When you look at his body of work wherever he’s been, if he’s not the best defensive coordinator in the country he’s right up there. Indications, though, are that Heater will be around. One of the Temple recruits tweeted that he “talked to coach Rhule about the staff” and he’s stoked about Rhule’s impeding announcements, calling the group “geniuses.” Genius is always the first word that comes up in my mind when I think of Chuck Heater.
 4) Size on the lines 
Steve Addazio did a lot of things half-hazardly as Temple’s head coach, but none more than recruiting. He would recruit an inordinate amount of small guys and that really took its toll on the field of play this year with bigger lines pushing the Owls around. It’s nice to get smaller-size guys with heart, but it’s even nice to get larger-size guys with heart. Something tells me Rhule will restore some sanity to the overall recruiting model.
5) Another quarterback 
Right now the Owls are down to one recruit, P.J. Walker. P.J., I think, is going to be a great one but consider this: He’s the only true QB in the entire program after the 2013 season. The Owls need to sign another big-time arm now.

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas everyone and wouldn’t it be great if the football team could do to Notre Dame what the basketball team did to Syracuse?
(Nah, I haven’t been dipping into the egg nog early, if that’s what you are thinking.)

Exchange between Idaho fans on Scout.com board:

12.17.12
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Five Rhule changes

“You know, coach Rhule, the thing I like most about here is our TEMPLE helmets.”

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.
There are exceptions and rainy days and Mondays when Temple replaces a 4-7 coach stubbornly stuck in his losing ways with hope and change is definitely one of them.
I wrote this on the first Sunday in December:

Never in my wildest dreams did I think Daz would concoct a harebrained, one-dimensional, offensive scheme that would lead to so many three-and-outs and put Temple’s defense in an impossible position. The question then becomes, “Do you see him as a reasonable person open to change or a stubborn former offensive lineman who wants to run the ball all the time?”

In my heart, I knew what the answer to that question was and I thought Temple would be stuck with that guy, Temple Football Forever as it were.
Now, through some miracle, Steve Addazio is gone.
Matt Rhule represents that hope and change and he will be introduced today at a 2 p.m. press conference (Howard Gittis Room, Liacouras Center).
Rhule wasn’t my first choice, but he is Bill Bradshaw’s and I hope he’s the best one.
I can see him making five “Rhule Changes” that could both work and be popular with Temple Nation, as Al Golden used to call it:

2011’s best DC in the country.

1) Four and three minus 3 and 4
No, that’s not some mathematical formula. Somehow, due to a couple of suspensions and over-recruiting at a position, Temple has about eight linebackers who are able to play at a high level of FBS football and about half of that number of quality defensive linemen. Go from the 5-2s and the 4-3s of the past to, at least temporarily, a 3-4 defense. That gets a lot of playmakers on the field and gives the DC an option to blitz a couple of LBs and keep a couple more in pass coverage. I’d love to see Chuck Heater, who I called the best defensive coordinator in the country a year ago, stay and work out those Xs and Os. If not, former Temple DC Nick Rapone, who is Delaware’s defensive coordinator and three-time National DC of the year in FCS football, is available (and his daughter goes to Temple).

2) Binder of men
Mitt Romney had “Binders of Women.” Al Golden had his binder of men. I asked Golden what was in his binder once and he said he had how to run a program, down from hiring the grad assistants to how to recruit. Golden always believed in recruiting a “team” of 25 guys, one for each position, including specialists, every year. I always thought that was sound thinking. Steve Addazio flew from the seat of his pants on a lot of things and one of them was recruiting, which explains why Temple had eight good linebackers and not enough good linemen this year. Somehow, I think Rhule will adopt Golden’s binder philosophy.

3) Best athletes on the field
Since Matt last left us, Temple was able to recruit one of the best athletes in FBS football, former Penn State quarterback Kevin Newsome. For reasons known only to Addazio, Newsome was kept holding a clipboard on the sideline and running the scout team offense. Meanwhile, the back line of the Temple defense was dreadful. Newsome was only a first-team All-State defensive back in Virginia, along with his national top 5 quarterbacking skills. If Newsome is going to be third-team QB again, he deserves a chance to play defense. He’s only 6-3, 215, runs a 4.5 40 and has a 37-inch vertical leap and good ball skills. Somehow, call me crazy, I think the back line of the defense improves with a talent like that.

Hands off my helmet, baldy

4) The King Solomon Solution
After Addazio ditched the most distinctive and, in my mind best, helmet in college football history, I ran a poll  on this site. Overwhelmingly, Temple fans wanted the TEMPLE helmet back but there was a minority who liked the T and had good reasons, too. I’m in favor of splitting this baby right down the middle and the beauty of this solution is that nobody gets hurt. TEMPLE on one side. T on the other side. That way, you get the Temple University brand out there (T) and the Temple football brand (TEMPLE) on the field together.

5) Elephant in the Room
I think the issue of stability and depending on a coach long-term should and will be addressed today and I hope Matt does just that. I grew up as a Temple fan watching Harry Litwack, who was here for decades, Skip Wilson who was here for decades and John Chaney and Wayne Hardin who had double-digit-year runs as Temple coaches. All of those coaches loved Temple enough to make long-term commitments. They “got” Temple, as does current hoop coach Fran Dunphy. If there’s are two common threads there those are loyalty and success. All those coaches as successful as they were loyal. Only lately, and only in football, has the position of head coach become a revolving door. That Elephant needs to addressed and I’m confident it will.
If Matt Rhule becomes as successful and as loyal as Litwack, Wilson, Chaney, Hardin and Dunphy, today will be one of the great days in Temple sports history.

Tomorrow: Complete coverage of the Matt Rhule Press Conference

11.03.12
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Pulling out a rabbit’s foot to beat Louisville

My letter in the Philadelphia Daily News three days after the UConn game.

OK, I admit it.
Steve Addazio’s Stone Age offensive philosophy and the lack of a pass rush or a lost back line of the defense is not why Temple has lost its last two games.
I’m to blame.
Yeah, me.
Ever since I wrote that letter to the Philadelphia Daily News at the top of this post, Temple hasn’t been able to do a damn thing on the football field. You can read that complete letter here.
I must be the most superstitious person, or at least one of, in the world.
I wore a black “Papreps” T-Shirt to the Maryland game.
They lost, so I tossed the shirt.
I sat in the Penn State section at the Temple game (figured I’d be nice to my PSU friends who gave me a free ticket).

The game will be seen within the entire Temple recruiting footprint.

They lost, so I sat in the Temple section at the UConn game.
I’ll never sit in an opposing section again.
I wore my Cherry “Temple Al Golden” sweatshirt to the Rutgers’ game. (I call it the Al Golden Sweatshirt because it’s the one he wore on the sidelines of the Penn State game in 2007. Or so Patti told me when I bought it from her in the Temple athletics office.)
You won’t see my Al Golden Sweatshirt again, even though I paid $55 for it.
Last week, I’ve done something I haven’t done in years.
Watched from home and my furniture and lamps and TVs got the brunt of my frustration in a 47-17 loss.

Al Golden, wearing my sweatshirt

They got smoked, so I don’t care if I’m the only person in the neighborhood watering hole watching Temple football today, but I’ll be damned if I watch the game from home.
And I’ll bring my rabbit’s foot with me.
In this space every week on this day, I usually write about what teams did to be successful against the teams Temple is playing every Saturday.
Since William and Mary blitzed Maryland (and Temple didn’t) and Ohio used a short passing game to beat Penn State (and Temple didn’t) and Youngstown State used a spread offense to beat Pitt (and Temple didn’t), I figured I’d throw all that X’s and O’s mumbo jumbo out the window.
All I know is that an 0-8 Southern Mississippi team lost by four to Louisville and a 1-8 Florida International team lost by a touchdown to Louisville.
Armed with that knowledge and a rabbit’s foot and the same clothes I wore in Connecticut, I’m hoping to reverse the Karma back to 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 13, when I was singing “T for Temple U” with the team after an overtime win at Uconn.
You’ll know if it works by about the same time today.

Picks last week: Last week, I went 2-2 straight up, 1-3 against the spread. I had Kent State and Toledo winning straight up, but Toledo fell two points of the spread and the 13.5 I had with Kent State against Rutgers was the bargain of the year.
Season record: 11-6 straight up, 9-8 against the spread, 1-1 locks of the week.
This week: AIR FORCE giving 7 at Army; GEORGIA TECH giving 7 1/2 to host Maryland; Host BUFFALO giving 3 1/2 to Miami (Ohio) and CINCINNATI giving 4 1/2 to visiting Syracuse.
Reasoning: Air Force has played a tougher schedule, Maryland is without its top four QBs, Buffalo is on the upswing and Cincy has far more talent and depth than ‘Cuse.
Also like (unofficially and not for purposes of picks) national sack leader TULSA getting 8 at Arkansas. Staying away from that game because 7-1 Tulsa is stepping up in class.

Tomorrow: Complete analysis of the game

09.26.12
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Daz hearing the call for a rolling pocket

By the time Homecoming comes, the Temple offense could be revamped.

On this website, I have a site meter installed at the bottom.
It helps me get a pulse of what posts people are reading and where they are reading them from. Not surprisingly, the No. 1 place where people read “Temple Football Forever” is from temple.edu web addresses. Now this could be students from the tech center, professors in their offices, administrators, players and even coaches.
I don’t care.

‘Get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand a little quicker so we are not sitting there in the pocket too long. Move the pocket. We are going to address those things.’
_ Steve Addazio

I think it’s great that the Temple community is taking interest in the football team in general and in this website in particular.
That’s one of the reasons why I found this quote to be particularly revealing by Temple head football coach Steve Addazio today from the Philadelphia Inquirer: “So we’ve got to grow there,” Addazio said of the passing game. “Maybe more quick game. Get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand a little quicker so we are not sitting there in the pocket too long. Move the pocket. We are going to address those things.”
The three most important words there are “move the pocket” in my mind.
To me, the key message of my Monday post was “move the pocket.”
The post about that very issue appeared here Monday. Addazio addressed it at the Tuesday media gathering.
Hmm.
Listen, I think there’s a less than one percent chance Steve Addazio read my post and stole my idea, but I’m glad that he figured it out on his own, which I suspect.
Heck, even Stevie Wonder, let alone Stevie Addazio, could see how moving the pocket would help this Temple team as currently constituted.

Heck, even Stevie Wonder, let alone Stevie Addazio, could see how moving the pocket would help this Temple team as currently constituted

My only question is why the Owls didn’t use this approach the first three games. It seemed like they were pounding their heads against a brick wall with this run-first approach.
No matter, the kind of head-pounding that resulted in so many headaches for Owl fans could be over if Daz is serious.
The Owls have a terrific weapon in New Mexico Bowl MVP Chris Coyer, who is a good pocket passer with protection, even under pressure in the pocket. The QB who runs like a tailback could be deadly, though, if you roll him out to his left where he could buy time to see the field and strike fear of his running the ball in the defense.
If DBs come up in run support, Coyer could dump the ball over their heads for big gains to guys like Jalen Fitzpatrick and Deon Miller, let alone an occasional safety valve pass to Montel Harris or Matty Brown.
If the defense blitzes, Coyer can direct Wyatt Benson as the protection. I have not seen a better blocking fullback at Temple since Shelley Poole led Heisman Trophy runner-up Paul Palmer through the hole.
Fitpatrick, Harris and Brown are terrific playmakers in space, as is Coyer.
Running Harris and Brown up the middle, where there’s not much space, doesn’t play to their strengths.
The best way for the Owls to move the sticks, maintain possession, turn the scoreboard into an adding machine and keep their defense off the field is to run the offense through Coyer. The beauty of this tweak is that it also plays to the strengths of backups Juice Granger and Kevin Newsome. Coyer rolls left, Juice and Kevin roll right.
Whatever, I’m glad the braintrust at the E-O recognizes this and are using these two weeks to work on it.
I can’t wait until they, err, roll it out Oct. 6.

09.23.12
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No anger, just disappointment


Close-but-no-cigar was typified by how close TU got to sacking McGloin on a 4th and 5 TD pass.

I thought the coaches had a great gameplan. My only question was punting on 4th and 4 late in the third quarter, down 14-3. Kick it into the end zone and you gain only 20  yards of field position. To  me, the correct call was to get a swing pass out there on the sideline near the sticks for four yards and keep the drive going. That’s the logical call and I don’t see giving up that down in exchange for 20 yards of field position. I didn’t see it when the call was made and I didn’t see it after PSU went 80 yards for a 21-3 lead. That’s being Temple Timid, not Temple TUFF.

 UNIVERSITY PARK _ After Temple’s 36-27 loss to Maryland, the predominant feeling from this corner was anger.
Anger, as in, “How can you not blitz the crap out of a true freshman QB who threw three blitz-induced picks against William and Mary?”
That loss was on the coaches.
Now, sitting here getting free wifi in McDonald’s after a 24-13 loss to Penn State, the overwhelming emotion is disappointment.
This one is on the players.
I thought the coaches had a great game plan. My only question was punting on 4th and 4 late in the third quarter, down 14-3. Kick it into the end zone and you gain only 20  yards of field position. To  me, the correct call was to get a swing pass out there on the sideline near the sticks for four yards and keep the drive going. That’s the logical call and I don’t see giving up that down in exchange for 20 yards of field position. I didn’t see it when the call was made and I didn’t see it after PSU went 80 yards for a 21-3 lead. That’s being Temple Timid, not Temple TUFF.
But the plays left on the field before that were the game-changers.
As the only Temple fan sitting in my section (thanks to a free ticket from a PSU supporter and friend) from near the top row of Beaver Stadium, I could see both Cody Booth and Jalen Fitzpatrick CLEARLY being missed on sure-fire touchdown passes.
Had the Owls hit those seemingly easy pitch and catches, the game might have been different. No bigger Chris Coyer supporter than I, but it looked like he missed the Fitzpatrick pass altogether.
On the other one, it looked as if Cody Booth stopped in the pass pattern did not go where the ball was designed to be thrown.

Owlscoop.com’s take on the game plan.

Since Jalen complained to the ref about being held, I think that might have been the case on his play, too.
 Still, I think Chris could have adjusted those throws for two scores.
Adam DiMichele makes both of those throws for scores. He didn’t care about timing patterns. Of course, on the other hand, Chester Stewart throws both balls into the first row, so I guess everything is relative.
That’s easy for me to say because I wasn’t being rushed by 6-foot-5, 300-pound linemen, but those are plays a big-time team makes in a big-time setting.
Temple isn’t a big-time team. At least not yet.
 It really ticks me off that the first Temple win over Penn State will come with an asterisk, but it’s going to happen in Philadelphia on Aug. 30, 2014.
The asterisk, of course, will be Temple having 10 more scholarships than Penn State in each of the next two seasons leading up to that game.
Temple will have a talent and depth edge so pronounced that I would be surprised Penn State gives Temple the kind of game the Owls have given PSU the last three years.
 On Saturday, though, it was just another case of close, but no cigar against PSU.
 I like cigars.
Temple could have given their fans a puff of a primo Havana cigar on Saturday.
Instead, we’ll have to settle for one of those cheap 7-11 cigars in 2014 and that’s a long way away.
That’s the bad news out of Saturday.
Other bad news came from our former MAC brethren against Big 10 teams. While Temple was losing at Penn State, Central Michigan was getting it done at Iowa and lowly Eastern Michigan was throwing a scare into Michigan State.
If them, why not Temple?
 The good news is that these are fixable problems. The defense is not a SEC-level defense, but it certainly is good enough to excel in the Big East.
Here’s the offensive fix: Have Romond Deloatch, Jalen Fitzpatrick, Deon Miller and Ryan Alderman in the receiving rotation. Forget everybody else for now. Get those guys up to speed. I know Deloatch stepped out of bounds on his great catch, but that is a minor problem that’s fixable in practice for a true freshman. He fights for the ball and catches it. I like that. I know Alderman had a drop, but that was his only drop in a three-year career at Temple that I can recall. He’s a great third-and-eight option. Fitzpatrick can make explosive plays downfield and he won’t drop the ball, either.
 Get the ball “in space” to Montel Harris and Matty Brown more. Shovel passes, screens, pitchouts. Those guys are deadly in space, not so much between the tackles.
If you want to run it up the middle, give it to fullback Wyatt Benson.
I think Penn State will prove to be the best team on the Temple schedule not named Louisville and the Lions might even be better than Louisville.
 More good news came from the mighty Big East on Saturday:
South Florida lost at Ball State (in the same stadium Temple beat Ball State, 42-0, last year).
“That’s the kind of team we’d like to be in four years,” Ball State coach Dave Lembo said of Temple after that loss last year. Since then, Ball State has beaten a Big 10 team and South Florida.
Heck, Ball State is the kind of team I’d like Temple to be in two weeks, too. Temple hasn’t fallen that fast in a year, has it? I don’t think so but they’ll have to prove it to me on Oct. 6.
Also, Western Michigan beat UConn.
Again.
Yeah, that transition from the MAC is really going to be tough for the Owls.
They have the blueprint for the fixes and two weeks to do it against South Florida. If Ball State can do it, so can they. There can be no excuses next time. Get ‘er done.
Now for the long ride home for both me and them.

08.21.12
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Newsome: ‘I’m a Temple Owl until the day I die’

“When I was at Penn State ….  I would always look at when we played Temple. They would always get close to us, and I used to see just the fight in these guys, knowing they were the underdogs, and they kept fighting with the big dogs. I thought that was very impressive, really impressive, with their fight. And that was a big deal as to why I came here.” _ Kevin Newsome

Kevin Newsome spoke to the media for the first time after practice on Tuesday and I have to say that I was very impressed. Not only did Newsome come up with the quote of the summer camp “I’m a Temple Owl until the day I die” he opened the door for the possibility of playing on defense and special teams to help the Owls. Go to the 1:50 mark on the time stamp for the exact quote.
Another great quote was this one:

“When I was at Penn State ….  I would always look at when we played Temple. They would always get close to us, and I used to see just the fight in these guys, knowing they were the underdogs, and they kept fighting with the big dogs. I thought that was very impressive, really impressive, with their fight. And that was a big deal as to why I came here.”
I always thought Newsome would make a great starting OLB or  safety for the Owls and I still think that.
Newsome was 240 pounds three months ago and has now slimmed down to 215, which would probably make him a better safety candidate than a linebacker.

Whether head coach Steve Addazio or defensive coordinator Chuck Heater think that is more important.
Everything I’ve been hearing from Addazio so far is that Newsome is in a battle with Juice Granger for the No. 2 quarterback spot. If Addazio thinks it is more important to have three athletic and solid QBs, then Newsome will remain in the QB rotation.
Newsome was Darryl Clark’s backup at Penn State for the entire 2009 season.
Whatever Daz says about this, I agree with but seeing Newsome holding the clipboard as No. 3 QB when he can be a playmaker on defense right away would be frustrating from my standpoint as a fan and maybe Kevin’s as a player.
There’s no law against Newsome playing defense for the Owls this year and moving back to the other side of the ball if needed. Brian Broomell started on defense as a true freshman at safety, then moved over to quarterback by the time he was a senior and led the nation in passing efficiency.

Temple’s Fan Fest is Wednesday
(8/22) from 5-7
at Xfinity Live (outside section).
It’s free but $15 to park due to
Phillies game that night.

I don’t think Kevin would have brought up defense or special teams if he wasn’t being considered for one or both.
We’ll find out in less than two weeks.

Tomorrow: 2011 ACC Preseason Player of Year Montel Harris

11.21.11
by

Benkin makes TU football fun to listen to again

Ron Menchine (left) and Dave Sims were terrific announcers for Temple football.

We take a break from all of this bowl talk (about five days premature, if you ask me) to get something off my chest that has been bugging me for over 20 years.
As a kid, I used to love listening to Harry Kalas do the Phillies and Charlie Swift and, later, Merrill Reese do the Eagles.
Some of my greatest sports moments have come from Harry the K saying “there is it, the No. 500 home run for Michael Jack Schmidt” and literally hearing the tears stream down his face over the enormity of the moment.
Ron Menchine was a terrific announcer for Temple back in the day as well.

Ed Benkin and I have only one thing in common and
that is a face for radio. Hire this guy immediately.

“There he goes, Henry Dynamo Hyno Hynoski, running over Pitt defenders like they were bowling pins. He looks like Bronco Nagurski our there.”
I didn’t know who Bronco Nagurski was at the time but I knew he must have been good because Ron Menchine said so.
Dave Sims, now at Westwood One, was a superb play-by-play guy for Temple in the 1990 season.
I miss Harry Kalas very much and I still enjoy Merrill, but our own Harry (Donahue) comes up small in comparison.
Very small.
Too much of this: “Owls make the tackle. There’s a fumble. Temple recovers! No check that, they didn’t..” Or: “The ball is INTERCEPTED! No, dropped.”
Or calling Temple’s kicker Bernard McManus. Or calling a bone-jarring hit a jone-barring hit.
I could go on and on but there is only so much bandwidth on the internet.
The last 20-plus years as a Temple fan have been a silent spring for me.
I try to avoid the radio as much as possible because it is just too frustrating to listen to anymore. Steve Joachim, I like. I know some people can’t take Steve but I think he knows offensive football inside and out and I don’t mind hearing his perspective.
Then Harry Donahue took a trip to Puerto Rico with the basketball team and, all of a sudden, Temple football announcing got good again.
Ed Benkin did a terrific job in Donahue’s place. He and Joachim were a nice tandem.
I don’t know Ed, personally. Heck, I’ve never even met the guy but I know he’s good. When I’m out jogging on a Saturday afternoon (and I’ve done that the two weeks Temple was playing on Wednesdays), I like to take my transitor radio and scoot around the dial.
I fell on some Princeton football games and thought, “who is this guy” doing the play-by-play?
He was that good.
It was no fluke he was good for Temple as well.
Benkin, a co-worker of Donahue’s at KYW, did a terrific job getting the down and distance right and who had the ball and who caught it, all the first time.
Important stuff when you are the eyes and ears of the fans on the other end of the dial.
Now, do I think Benkin has a shot getting the full-time job?
No.
Harry and Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw are long-time golfing buddies and I don’t think Bradshaw would have the gonads to tell Harry to take a hike.
I hope I’m wrong for the 270K alumni who would like to have an opportunity to listen to Temple football again without throwing the radio out the window.
Those transitor radios can get pretty expensive to replace.