07.18.16
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Englert: The Andres Blanco of Temple

englert

Richard M. Englert usually can be found in the middle of Temple crowds.

If the BOT moves at the same glacial pace to replace President Neil D. Theobald as it did when the subject of the stadium was given the “done deal” tag five years ago, Temple University should have a new President by, oh, say, July 20th, 2025.

So get to know Richard M. Englert, the Andres Blanco of Temple.

If the name sounds familiar, it should. Like Blanco with the Philadelphia Phillies,  when the lead guy goes down and Temple needs a capable fill-in guy, Englert seems to do the job. The last time Englert did the job—bridging the gap between Ann Weaver Hart and Theobald in 2012—the university was so impressed it gave Englert the title of Chancellor.

volleyball

Dick Englert

That title is not dispensed casually as only Peter J. Liacouras and (surprise) David Adamany have been named Chancellors in the long history of Temple. A very good President, Marvin Wachman, wasn’t nor was any of his predecessors.

Englert is probably highly thought of because he has in the past implemented the outline the Board of Trustees gave him. From a sports standpoint, he is pro-stadium and pro-football and seems to have a good relationship with Matt Rhule. One thing he has in common with Theobald is that he does not seem to have the connections in City Council or the community to get the stadium project done. Maybe the next President will (hint, hint).

As far as minor sports, do not expect volleyball to be cut during his tenure. He is a bigger fan of Temple women’s volleyball than he is of any other Temple sport. Meanwhile, he has been here since 1976 so he should be a familiar face in the tailgating crowd. If not, get to know the face at the top of this post.

He should be here for awhile and, if he can hit like Blanco, they might decide to keep him right where he is.

Wednesday: Recharging The Batteries

07.15.16
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Ed Rendell For President (of Temple)

rendell

Patrick J. O’Connor has turned to Ed Rendell before.

By the end of this month, they will be packing away the last folding chair at the Wells Fargo Center signaling the end of the Democratic National Convention.

It will also signal something else: Ed Rendell, the DNC Chairman, will need a job.

smallrendell

Won’t need directions to get to TU.

As good fortune would have it, Temple has an opening that Rendell, the former Governor of Pennsylvania, would be perfect for: President of Temple University. Russell Conwell, the founder of the university, liked to talked about finding Acres of Diamonds in your own backyard and Rendell is that gem a stone’s throw away.

This is not about Temple football, or sports, because even if Temple was New York University and had no sports, Rendell would be perfect for the position because he checks off all the boxes:

1) He’s balanced big budgets before

Rendell served two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania (2003-2011) and oversaw a budget of $28.3 billion as the chief executive of the nation’s 6th-most-populous state. As Governor, he successfully cut wasteful spending and improved efficiency leading to savings of over $1 billion. During his two terms as Mayor of Philadelphia (1992-2000), Rendell eliminated a crippling deficit, balanced the City’s budget, and generated five consecutive budget surpluses.

2) He’s a people person

Let’s face it. A lot of the President’s duties are largely as a figurehead with a heavy dose of fund-raising and pressing the flesh. Rendell has a lot of experience in that area. He will raise the endowment of the university to a respectable level.

3) He’s well-connected in state and city government

He’s more likely to get big projects through the City Council, whether it is another campus high rise or a stadium, than Neil D. Theobald was. He knows the landscape and he knows how to twist arms and get things done.

4) He’s an academic

He currently is a Professor at Penn, teaching two courses.  Rendell being perhaps the best education Governor the Commonwealth has ever had, securing more funding for the state’s three major institutions (Temple, Penn State, Pitt) than five of his predecessors combined . He has a Bachelors from Penn and a Masters from Villanova, just like his future boss and former classmate, Patrick J. O’Connor.

As you can see by the photo at the top of this post, O’Connor has turned to Rendell before. It is now time for him to turn to Rendell again. Temple has what Rendell needs, a job, and Rendell certainly checks all of the boxes for Temple’s needs now.

Related:

Ed Rendell For President of Temple (Facebook page)

Rendell on Temple Stadium

 

Monday: The Andres Blanco of Temple

07.13.16
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Don’t Mess With Phil

pjtm

Last year’s team leader and this year’s.

According to the website Songfacts.com, there is not a single song about a guy named Phil.

The closest thing we could find is “Don’t Mess With Bill” by the Marvelettes but, if Phillip Walker wins an AAC title with the Temple football Owls, there could be one about him around the beginning of the new year.

Phillip?

Yes, the four-year starter at quarterback officially changed his name from P.J. Walker to Phillip, at least if his twitter page is any indication.

 

It might be nothing but the whim of a college student, but it might represent the transformation a lot of us expect from the four-year starter at quarterback. During his freshman year, I thought he established himself as a future star with 20 touchdowns against only eight interceptions in a year where he did not start until after the Idaho debacle. In his sophomore year, he was as poorly protected as any Temple quarterback I’ve ever seen—more to coaching schemes than the offensive line—but he still managed to squeeze out a bowl-eligible season.

Phillip will have all of the TU QB records, with the possible exception of rating, by the end of the season.

Phillip will have all of the TU QB records, with the possible exception of rating and Walter Washington’s rushing numbers and TDs, by the end of the season.

Last  year, he became more than a game manager but less than a star thanks, in part, to some help by a coaching staff than limited empty backfields (and opportunities for the bad guys to blitz) and inserted a blocking fullback (Nick Sharga) on a regular basis. Sharga was in there ostensibly to block for lead back Jahad Thomas, but he also picked off more than one blitzing linebacker headed straight to the quarterback.

This year, I think he graduates from that gray area between game manager and star to fully-fledged star. The only way that doesn’t happen is if the Owls go back to four- and five-wides and hopefully they learned that lesson two years ago.

Don’t mess with Phil, coming soon to a record store near you.  It might not be by the Marvelettes, but it will be Marvelous.

Friday: Checking All The Boxes

07.11.16
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The Easiest Money In All of Sports

First week has the Owls favored by 19. I would stay away from that.

First week has the Owls favored by 19. I would stay away from that, but Indiana covering the 4 at FIU looks tempting, as does Paul Johnson covering the same number at Steve Addazio.

 

For a lot of us, probably me included, it is a good thing we don’t live in Las Vegas.

We would either be living in a poor house or a mansion but probably not in between.

I don’t feel a great urge to gamble much, but when I see certain things involving Temple football—like last year’s ambush of a bowl game in Boca Raton or last year’s opener in South Philadelphia—the urge is strong enough to walk to Las Vegas and place a few sheckles on an event. (I know tons of friends who do bet online and leave their credit card information offshore, but I am not willing to do that.)

back

I would never bet against the Owls, but the administration put the team in an impossible spot with really nothing to win by beating Toledo last year and a few dollars would have eased my pain for that loss I saw coming a mile away.

This year’s “easiest money in all of sports” involves the Owls’ third game of the season, a Sept. 17th date at Penn State. The Owls are 6.5-point underdogs and they shouldn’t be. Looking at this objectively, which I can do (see last year’s pre-Toledo post), I cannot see how this should be anything but a pick-em at worst and a slight Owl lean at best.

That’s why grabbing the 6.5 now is a gift you can thank me for later.

My reasoning is simple. Two relatively easy tuneups, Army and Stony Brook, ease some talented newcomers into the lineup to help the holdovers and bring them up to speed. Penn State has a tough, emotional, game at Pitt the week before and that will take a lot out of Nits. (They don’t think it will be emotional, but Pitt will hit them in the chops and they will respond but the fight could be bloody.)

This year’s version of the Owls’ defense—which returns three starters at linebacker in Stephaun Marshall, Avery Williams and Jarred Alwan—return. Despite the loss of Tyler Matakevich, this should be a better linebacker group. They are faster and better at pass coverage and, in Alwan’s words, their “chemistry is ridiculous.” Ridiculous, as in good. The linemen in front of them—Haason Reddick, Karamo Dioubate, Avery Robinson, Greg Webb and either Praise Martin-Oguike or Sharif Finch—represent the fastest Temple group in the last decade. There is solid depth behind them with guys like Michael Dogbe and Freddy Booth-Lloyd, who can easily fight themselves into the starting lineup.

With a four-year starter at quarterback in Phillip Walker, and an All-AAC running back like Jahad Thomas, the offense should not have too much difficulty moving the ball against Penn State. On the other side of the field, Penn State will have a rookie quarterback facing a four-year starter.

Mix all of that in, and a don’t think a home-field advantage is going to be enough to rattle these Owls. In fact, I think the South Florida game at home later in the season will be much tougher to win.

Wednesday: Don’t Mess With Phil

Friday: Checking Off The Boxes

Monday: The Andres Blanco Of Temple

Wednesday (7/20): Recharging The Batteries

Friday (7/22): Owls Will Internet

Monday (7/25): The Unwashed Masses

06.29.16
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Immediate Help Is On The Way

picozzi

Every so often, something happens in the offseason that leads to immediate help during the season.

Montel Harris, the running back Steve Addazio was able to lure from, of all places, Boston College, fit into that category. Vince Picozzi might be the latest.

Picozzi, a 6-4, 270-pound offensive guard (and also defensive tackle), from Lansdale Catholic is intriguing because, although overlooked in recruiting season, dominated games in the Philadelphia Catholic League. That league is about as good as it gets from a competition standpoint in the state, and probably the country as well.

For Temple to add a guy like this so late in the recruiting process, and for him to be eligible to play in this coming fall, is a real coup. Give me a high-achieving guy in the Philly Catholic League over a four-star in a weak league any day.

Picozzi reminds me a little of Kyle Friend, who became an immediate starter as a true freshman despite coming to Temple largely unheralded out of Central Pennsylvania. He seems to have all of the attributes needed to compete on an offensive line that could use some help, even if he doesn’t earn an immediate starting berth.

Picozzi got some great reviews here in this story by Rick O’Brien of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He strikes me as a guy who is ready-made to play and could easily transition into being Temple-Made.

Tomorrow: TFF Goes On 10-Day Summer Hiatus

(back Monday, July 11)

06.27.16
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5 Things We’d Like To See By Opening Night

e

T for Temple U.

The incoming freshmen already have started to come into Temple University, and soon real practice will begin for the Labor Day weekend game against Army. Here are five things we’d like to see by that night:

  1. Anthony Russo Entrenched At No. 2

Let’s face it: Anthony Russo is, to borrow a political phrase, the presumptive nominee as starting quarterback at Notre Dame in the 2017 opener. The transition from P.J. Walker to Russo will go a lot more seamlessly if Russo gets a lot of snaps in 2016 blowout wins and is allowed to air it out this fall.

owland

  1. Karamo Dioubate and Greg Webb Starting At DT

The Owls have an overabundance of playmaking defensive ends and are somewhat light in the middle. If Dioubate and Webb get squared away in the four weeks prior to Army, they will provide lock-down run-stopping skills up the middle flanking nose guard Averee Robinson and just enough push up the middle to collapse the pocket. Otherwise, the Owls will have to lean on converted defensive ends at tackle.

USATSI_8959197_149008644_lowres

  1. Jahad Thomas At Slot

This will accomplish several important objectives. One, to give P.J. Walker a symbiotic partner with whom he can trust to get the deep ball. Two, it will allow future stars Jager Gardner or Ryquell Armstead to emerge as a Thomas-level first-team All-AAC running back. Three, it will add another edge threat that the Owls do not seem to currently have.

stare

  1. Sean Chandler At Free Safety

Chandler has been handcuffed by playing at corner because he has break-on-the-ball instincts. Playing Chandler at the corner is a little like playing Willie Mays in his prime in left field. You want a guy who can close on the ball that quickly in the middle of the field jumping routes. This can only be done if guys like Nate Hairston, Artrel Foster and Kareem Ali Jr. step up and start at the corners. That scenario seems more likely every day.

  1. Killing The Dog Stare

One of the benefits of having a four-year starter at quarterback like Walker should be he has the playbook memorized from front to back, back to front, is able to recognize a defense in his sleep and can call four plays in a row when needed  to get the job done. The Owls cannot afford a scenario like last year’s AAC title game when, down 24-13 to start the fourth quarter, they continually wasted 20-25 seconds staring over at the sidelines for a play. They did not have that time to waste, but waste it they did. That was like watching a slow and painful death. That dog needs to be put to sleep.

Wednesday: Help Is On The Way

Thursday: A 10-Day Summer Hiatus

Monday, July 11: We’re Back

 

06.24.16
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Taking Army Seriously

Montel Harris

The greatest TU performance ever against Army: 351 yards, 7 TDs by Montel Harris (8), here singing T for Temple U.

One of the themes on social media a year ago when someone looked down the schedule to a more compelling game was to concentrate on the next one.

The players even took that approach with the subtitle season slogan “What’s Next?” and that might have been a large part of the reason Temple tied a school record of 10 wins a year ago. That, and playing two more games than the 1979 team.

Before the UCF game, which was oh for the season, I mentioned to Tyler Matakevich that the great thing about him and his teammates this year was that I had confidence they were taking UCF just as seriously as Notre Dame. “Absolutely,” Tyler said, “that’s all we think about is what’s next and not what’s after that.”

What’s next is Army and hopefully these kids take the same approach that those kids did.

A good indication that they are is that the coaches are because Matt Rhule made a side trip to Air Force Academy last month to pick the braintrust there on how to stop the triple option. USAFA runs a more polished version of Army’s triple option. Temple was embarrassed against Navy’s version two years ago and did not seem to have an effective counter. A Temple defense that finished No. 4 in the country in points allowed gave up 31 to Navy that day and the loss—coupled with a 16-13 loss to Memphis—probably cost the Owls a bowl bid.

Not only is Temple making an investment in research and development, but the Owls also dedicated at least a half-hour to defending the Army triple option in spring practice. The Army game is well-placed from the Owls’ standpoint because they don’t have to cram triple option preparedness into a short work week.

The Owls are anywhere from 16.5 -22-point favorites on opening night, but they are approaching this like it’s a pick-em and that’s the best sign of all.

Monday: 5 Things We’d Like To See By Opening Day

Wednesday: Immediate Help Is On The Way

Friday: Temple Football Forever Goes On One-Week Summer Hiatus

 

06.22.16
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Going North To Go South

burn

If doing this a lot does not cause burnout, nothing does.

Sometime in the first year of Al Golden’s tenure at Temple University, I stopped at the SAC to purchase some Temple gear and, much to my surprise, I saw the coach jog by me in the general direction of leaving the green zone, near 12th and Montgomery.

It occurred to me then that if there was ever a time for a coach to “burn out” that was it. Golden had to deal with a 20-game losing streak, a nationally low APR, and had to weed out so many of Bobby Wallace’s mistakes that it was a wonder he would field a team.

dazio

This may have been the greatest day in Temple football history.

He didn’t, and somehow found as much strength to rebuild Temple that he showed courage in jogging toward 12th Street and who knows how far East. The 20-game losing streak would end the next week, and a bowl game came not all that much longer after that.

Now, we have learned from this story that Golden was “burned out” from the combination of coaching at Temple and dealing with unrealistic expectations at Miami. If Golden went 33-25 at Temple, like he did at Miami, there would be a statue of him in front of the E-0. Instead, for being a winning coach, he got fired. Now he is the tight ends’ coach with the Detroit Lions.

Golden went North to go South, which means that he will end up at a better place as a head coach and should be able to recharge his batteries. It’s ironic that both Golden and Steve Addazio saw fit to leave Temple and ran into tougher times elsewhere. Temple caught a huge break when Daz left on his own, because Temple does not fire coaches. Sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. Acres of Diamonds means something here.

No one knows when or if Matt Rhule will get burned out at Temple, but he does have the advantage of not having to deal with those same APR troubles as Golden did. He seems to like Philadelphia, and has enough perspective to know that coaching his kid’s baseball team will somehow keep those batteries on constant recharge for Temple.

Knowing what happened to the two coaches who left before him might keep him grounded for awhile. At least it has got to be part of any thought process, as Golden used to say, going forward.

06.20.16
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A Rarity: Game Times In Advance

Only thing that will top 10 wins is 11 … or more

At this time last year, we knew the starting time for just two Temple football games, and those were the high-profile ones involving Penn State and Notre Dame.

Now we know five.

That’s a huge leap in an era where almost all of the game times are kept open due to the whim of various television contracts and a double-edged sword for Temple because it is a nod to the Owls’ 127th-ranked schedule.

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I wonder if “Unfinished Business” will fit on this?

The Owls open the 2016 season at Lincoln Financial Field against Army on Friday, September 2 at 7 pm. (That’s good because any shore people can leave after the game and enjoy the Labor Day weekend of Saturday, Sunday and Monday.)

Temple’s game against Stony Brook, to be played on Saturday, September 10 at Lincoln Financial Field, will kick off at 1:00 p.m. and be televised live by ESPN3.

There is a huge favor in there, though, and that’s the dreaded Stony Brook game. Not because it is going to be Cupcake City, but because it is removed from “real television” which might be Temple’s biggest attendance foe.  We were able to research the attendance for the five Temple games which were off “real television”—meaning the television you can see on your TV set—versus the other home games. Temple home games averaged 25,985 between 2010 and 2015 when it was off the air; 17,675 for the games where Temple was on Philadelphia TV (this is taking out the ND and PSU games, which would have skewed the sample).

The evidence is pretty clear. Temple has a softcore fan group that only gets off the couch and into the car when all other options are exhausted. So the Owls need all the help they can get for to put fannies in the seats for Stony Brook, and it looks like the TV situation has helped immeasurably. That win should send a confident 2-0 Owl team into Penn State, a noon kickoff (Big 10 Network).

Other times set are:  at Memphis (Oct. 6, a Thursday night, 8 p.m., ESPN); home against USF (Oct. 21, 7 p.m., ESPN) and at UConn (Nov. 4, 7 p.m., ESPN2).

The championship game will be played on Dec. 3, hopefully at Lincoln Financial Field (noon, ESPN). There is no Navy game to worry about this year. That game with Army is Dec. 10 in Baltimore.

Wednesday: Going North to Go South

06.17.16
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Camp Rhule

grind

One of the tried and true methods of keeping young people out of trouble is getting to them young. There are all sorts of educational programs directed at young people and some of them really work. Heck, when I was a freshman in high school, we had a heroin addict come in and speak to us in the auditorium. His story was so scary that I never even had as much as a cigarette.

There is positive reinforcement, too, as an incentive for young people. In a football sense, Camp Matt Rhule—officially called the Matt Rhule Football Camp—is one of them.

Temple is lucky to have a guy like Rhule, who rolls up his sleeve and gets to the recruits while they are young and impressionable.

Rhule recently tweeted over 2,200 students and prospective athletes interested in Temple attended camps on campus this year. In between camps, Rhule has made trips to Virginia Tech and the Air Force Academy to pick the brains of the head coaches there.

drills

One of the drills at the MRFC.

Temple fans know Rhule is a workaholic, but the level of offseason commitment to the program should pay off during the regular season. Short term, the trip to AFA should help the Owls prepare for Army’s triple option on the night of Sept. 2. Long term, the camps are giving young people the idea that Temple’s campus, program and facilities are top notch and that should pay off dividends.

The Owls have come a long way from the time where Bobby Wallace would vacation three—some say more—months of the year in Gulf Shores, Alabama, all while collecting a Temple paycheck.

There is a direct correlation between winning in the offseason of winning in the real season, and Owl fans have to feel good about what their head coach is doing this offseason.

Monday: What Temple’s TV schedule means

Wednesday:  Differences Between Al and Daz

Friday: New Approach for Army