04.20.12
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Getting a kick out of game-by-game predictions

Cap Poklemba kicks game-winning FG at West Virginia in 2001.

Listen to sports talk radio in Philadelphia and you’d think the NFL Eagles played a 365-game schedule.
Even with the Flyers involved in an exciting playoff series with the Penguins and the Phillies’ offense more impotent than a North Korean rocket, I would say at least 33 percent of the airwaves were devoted to a game-by-game breakdown of the recently released Eagles’ 2012 schedule.
Each caller would call out a game and give a “win” and a “loss” and come up with a figure.
I got out of that business a long time ago because there are too many variables involved.
When it comes to this season and Temple football, I’d like to think that the high end is 11-0 and the low end 8-3 but I simply don’t know.

Five games nobody thought the Eagles would win with a backup QB, but they did.

If, say, Brandon McManus goes down in the first game, I could see 3-8 as well. Field position would be terrible and the Owls would not have a reliable field goal kicker.
This isn’t like the NFL where you can get a good Canadian or Arena League kicker off the waiver wire. Toledo’s Todd French comes to mind.
This is Temple where the only backups are ex-high school kickers or guys from the lunch room in the Student Activities Center.
Typically, there is a huge drop in talent between the first- and second-team kickers at Temple. The only time I can remember two good kickers on the Owls was when Cap Poklemba and Jared Davis were on the roster. Davis was the “Chester Stewart” of Temple kickers. Great in practice, terrible in games. Poklemba was the Adam DiMichele. OK in practice, great in games. Poklemba was an All-Big East kicker. As good as Poklemba was, McManus is better. Knock on wood, he will be the BE first-team punter and placekicker.
Wayne Hardin had success recruiting guys off Walt Bahr’s soccer team at Temple like Don Bitterlich and Nick Mike-Mayer. But that was when Temple soccer was good.

What I don’t buy is this specious argument that if Temple can’t win the MAC, the Owls won’t be able to compete in the Big East.
I completely reject that argument. Last year, Temple, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Ohio would have done very well in the Big East.
The MAC was an underrated conference. The Big East was overrated.
This won’t be as difficult a transition as many think.

Nothing proved the “game-by-game” predictions more ridiculous than the Eagles’ 2006 season. Back then, even going in with a healthy (and, at that time, rather productive) Donovan McNabb, most observers picked the Eagles to lose four out of a tough five-game stretch to end the season.
Then McNabb got hurt.
What happened?
Backup Jeff Garcia led the Eagles to five straight wins over good teams and the Eagles won the NFC East.
Go figure.
Or don’t figure.

04.17.12
by

‘][‘errorism ‘][‘raining at the Linc

Most TU fans took it in good humor.

The gates to Lincoln Financial Field opened at 10 a.m. on Cherry and White Day.
I walked up to the entrance at 10:15 and finally got in at 10:45.
I’ve been going to Temple football games at the facility since it opened in 2003 and I don’t remember everybody being “wanded” before, but everybody was.
There was only a little grumbling and most fans took it in good humor.
“If we’re getting this kind of security for a Temple spring game, then the terrorists have won,” was one comment.
Even the security people realized how ridiculous it looked and one of them said to me they were using Cherry and White for training purposes.
I didn’t know if he was kidding or what, but he sounded serious.
No suspicious packages were found.
The only thing I carried in was a roster.
The only thing I carried out was a super T-Shirt, thanks to Temple promotions.
The front says “Return to the Big East” and the back lists the Temple football schedule.
When I go to LA Fitness tonight (where there are about 1,000 people in a space designed for 200), I will be wearing it. Whether or not you go to LA Fitness or are just walking through the streets of Center City, try to wear the shirt as much as possible. Just pick a place where there’s a whole lot of population density.

If all of the Temple fans did the same, that’s the best word-of-mouth advertising the university can have.

Some other final thoughts on C and W:

Third-funniest?
  • Visited with three members of the Bill Cosby-era Temple squad and they all agreed with what Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub said: “Bill was the third-funniest guy on the team.” To that I said, “If Bill was the third-funniest guy on the team he had to be the smartest third-funniest guy on the team.” I don’t think the first two guys made $368 million for being funnier.
  • Talked extensively to Bill Bradshaw after the game and I had to agree when he asked everyone in our group if the day TU re-joined the BE was the best in the history of Temple sports. That would probably be topped by an appearance in this season’s Orange Bowl, though, if the Owls are fortunate enough to get there. They will get that opportunity, though, if they win the Big East.
  • Brian Burns’ uncle was sitting in front of me when I mentioned to him I have a new set of fans I dislike more than Villanova’s. “I can’t stand Rutgers’ fans,” I said. “I better not show up for that game, I guess,” he said. “Why?” “I played at Rutgers.” Whoops. Turns out he is a great guy. “I was always for you guys coming back into the Big East,” he said. Well, I like ONE Rutgers’ fan now.
  • Phillies Nation was out in impressive tailgating force afterward. Not the brightest bulbs in Lot K, though. Each Porta Potty line was about 60-people deep. The Temple fans just walked into the Linc where there were no lines. One of the values of a Temple education, I guess.
04.15.12
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Cherry 17, White 10

Stats told some of the story.

Some scattershot observations from a long day in South Philadelphia:

Not a big stat guy, but I had to rush home and look at the stats for Saturday’s Cherry and White game because I could have sworn one guy on the White team carried the ball 30 times for minus 25 yards.
I was wrong.
It was 17 times for 27 yards.
Ugh.
The Cherry offensive line opened holes for Matty Brown and Jalen Fitzpatrick, but the White team runners had a hard time finding open holes. That could be due to playing behind a second-team offensive line, but I saw holes close due to lack of foot speed by a running back.
Suffice it to say that a high-end speed of 4.64 for the 40 is not fast enough for a top-level FCS tailback, let alone a top-level FBS or BCS lead rusher.
I tried to warn head coach Steve Addazio that Chester Stewart can’t play at this level and he, like Al Golden,  learned that the hard way. Both coaches saw enough by midseason in each of the last two years and were forced to pull the plug. Hopefully, the backup running back positions will be plugged in by the summer when the Calvary arrives.

Wes Welker, err, Ryan Alderman catches everything in sight.

That problem will be solved by the arrival of elusive runners like Khalif Herbin, Brandon Peoples and Jamie Gilmore in July. There is plenty of opportunity for one of those guys to rocket up the depth chart. I’d like to see Fitzpatrick and Herbin fight it out in the slot and Peoples and Gilmore get a decent shot to back up Brown, but all of that should be ironed out in the summer practices. Both Peoples and Gilmore have the kind of explosiveness and open-field vision you are born with and can’t be taught. Peoples was a dynamic player in a great high school league. Gilmore was a dynamic player in a great high school state. Herbin scored 36 touchdowns last year for Montclair (N.J.), despite sitting out second halves of four games that were over by halftime.
From the looks of the running backs not named Brown or Fitzpatrick, the new guys are going to be needed  right away.
Still, the good outweighed the bad in Cherry’s 17-10 win.

  • Cherry quarterback Chris Coyer was on target with his passes all day. Had he not worn the orange “no tackle” jersey, there’s no doubt in my mind that he would have scored on one of his patented 80-yard touchdown runs.
  • Wide receiver Ryan Alderman, who New York Giants’ assistant coach Matt Rhule called “Temple’s Wes Welker” is a human vacuum cleaner out there. He caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Coyer. Toss anything near him and he’s going to come down with the ball. That’s comforting to know on third-and-eight.
  • White quarterback Juice Granger was also impressive, although I would have liked to see him throw the DEEP ball better. (He throws a nice short and intermediate range pass.)
  • Brandon McManus was outstanding again, both in punting and placekicking. He had only one bad punt all day and his 53-yarder would have been good from 60. He’s an NFL talent.
  • As advertised, some players have really stepped up.
  • Middle linebacker Nate D. Smith was making plays all over the field, but that’s something he’s done all of his life as an Owl. (He was an Owl in high school as well.)
  • Hershey Walton, a 6-2, 290-pound converted offensive lineman, was solid in the middle as a nose guard.
  • Brian Burns, wearing No. 48, made a statement with an interception, several nice breakups and a big-time open field hit. He could be in the hunt for the starting free safety position.

The concerns coming out of the game were the same ones coming into it.
The Owls need to develop depth along the offensive line (they have good depth on defense) and find a kicker to replace McManus, who unfortunately won’t be playing Temple football, err, forever. My nightmare scenario is that he gets roughed and injured on a punt and misses significant Big East time. Didn’t happen last year, so keep those fingers crossed again.
The offensive line was a bright spot. I think the starters are going to be at least as good there, if not better, than last year’s.
So does Daz.
“We have five (starters) on the offensive line and we’re not going to skip a beat there,” said Addazio. “We’ve got to get that up to six, seven, eight guys and we’ll be working on that.”
If anyone can whip this offensive line into shape, it is Addazio.
Running back is a different story, though. You can’t be taught that.
Either you have it or you don’t.
Brown and Fitzpatrick have it and we’ll leave it at that.
For now, we have to.

04.13.12
by

The Steve Principle

Daz with hair as an assistant coach and after getting an ACC scalp as a head coach.

If Temple wins the Big East this year, a lot of people will be surprised.
Not me.
In fact, I will coin a new phrase for it.
The Steve Principle.
The Steve Principle is The Peter Principle in reverse.
The Peter Principle states that “in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence”, meaning that employees tend to be promoted until they reach a position in which they cannot work competently. It was formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in their 1969 book The Peter Principle.

When it comes to BE critics, Temple and Steve Addazio could have the  last laugh

The Steve Principle will be named in honor of Temple head football coach Steve Addazio, who was vilified by Florida fans for his perceived incompetence as an offensive coordinator (something I never really understood) but who rose to a solid level of competence as head football coach.
Some people are born leaders and, after a year of closely observing Addazio, I believe he has passed that muster. Some, like current Miami defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio, are born followers.
Temple had the incredibly bad luck of hiring one of those types in Ron Dickerson, who was called the “greatest assistant head coach in America” by none other than Joe Paterno.
That was the problem with Dickerson. Great assistants don’t always make great head coaches. Addazio has a CEO’s knack for organization and both hiring and delegating authority to terrific top-level management (see Chuck Heater).
Contrast Temple’s current coaching situation with the rest of the Big East teams.
Rutgers was forced to hire an offensive line coach who never won a football game as a head coach anywhere when its top two targets turned down the job. Kyle Flood may turn out to be an Addazio (I seriously doubt it), but there is a chance he could turn out to be a Dickerson or a Terry Shea, too.
Pitt’s head coaching situation has been a carousel, with another guy, Paul Chryst, who never won a game as a head coach before. Chryst is the Panthers’ fifth head coach since November, 2010 (Dave Wannstedt, Mike Heywood, Todd Graham and Keith Patterson came before him). If you don’t think the Panthers are going to take an on-the-field hit because of that in 2012, you are underestimating the importance of stability in big-time college football.
Louisville coach Charlie Strong is 14-12 over the last two years.
UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni lost two of his last three games against some pretty bad Temple teams. He is 62, but he looks 92.
Syracuse coach Doug Marrone was 5-7 last year and brought only 65 players to his team’s Saturday scrimmage at Sahlen Stadium in Rochester, N.Y., some 90 minutes from the Carrier Dome. The ‘Cuse program is in bad shape. Temple will bring 105 players to Saturday’s Cherry and White scrimmage (11 a.m., Lincoln Financial Field).
Cincinnati has a fine head coach in Butch Jones, but his two top assistants, defensive coordinator John Jancek and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, can’t hold a candle to Heater or Ryan Day in terms of experience and accomplishments.
Temple will need a little luck in the form of avoiding key injuries to win the Big East this season, but Addazio has a knowledge of how to win on the BCS level and a solid blueprint in place for executing that plan in addition to an impeccable character that makes mothers and fathers want to send their sons to play for him. (For the opposite of that principle, see Bobby Petrino.)
“Coach Addazio is the realist coach who ever lived,” wide receiver Rod Streater said, an interesting use of the word realist while paying Daz the highest compliment. (Remember, Streater also played for Al Golden.)
That didn’t stop Streater from throwing the bucket of Gatorade on Addazio after the 37-15 win over Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl last year.
“I had to get him, though,” Streater said.
Streater got him and now Temple’s got him for what will hopefully be a long and successful haul.
That has to be bad news for the rest of the Big East.

04.11.12
by

Practice, we’re talkin’ practice


The Nate Smith from Wood (left) and the Nate Smith who starts at linebacker.

A great philosopher (OK, it was Allen Iverson), once said: “Practice, we’re talkin’ practice. Not an actual game, practice.”

It was funny and clever and heartfelt and, in many respects, true.

Jamie Gilmore: RB help is on the way.

I’ve always felt that practice made perfect and it was necessary but, after attending the last 30 or so Cherry and White games, I’ve come away with the feeling that I’ve just watched another practice.

Every once in a while, I think I learned something coming out of the Cherry and White game only to find out by the time REAL GAMES, started, it didn’t mean a hill of beans.
Take the case of running back Myron Myles. He gained 157 yards and scored three touchdowns and, by the fall, he was gone. A generation earlier, a running back named Ventres Stevenson looked great in a C and W game, not as great against teams in different-colored jerseys.
I left one C and W day thinking Myles would help Temple and subsequent circumstances dictated otherwise. I had the same feeling about Stevenson.
I will be taking copious notes on Saturday, but my grain of salt will be nearby (on my soft pretzel).
In reality, what we learned about the 2012 Owls we will already know by kickoff.
  • Chris Coyer gives Temple a huge upgrade in quarterback over last year’s two early starters (Mike Gerardi in the opener against Villanova, the second game at Akron and Chester Stewart after that). Coyer has looked sharper and more confident than ever. There is no truth to the rumor that the Athlon College Football Magazine preview states: “Temple will be strengthened by the graduation of quarterback Chester Stewart.” Coyer has two tall and talented wide receivers to throw to in Deon Miller (6-6) and Malcolm Eugene (6-5) and a potentially explosive slot receiver type in Jalen Fitzpatrick, who currently is getting snaps at backup RB. Incoming freshman Khalif Herbin also has a chance to start in the slot.
  • Owls should not lose much at first-team running back as they return their No. 1 all-purpose back, Matty Brown, who replaces the No. 2 all-purpose yards producer, Bernard Pierce. It is not hyperbole to write that Wyatt Benson is a great fullback because he’s proven it. Maybe he’ll be rewarded with a few carries this year as well.
  • Owls are deep and talented on defense, returning nine guys who have started for them in the last two years. More impressively,  there is a potential upgrade in talent at two positions, where Kevin Kroboth at free safety will be replaced by either Vaughn Carraway (a former five-star WR recruit) or incoming true freshman, Archbishop Wood blue-chipper Nate Smith, a West Virginia decommit. Speaking of Nate Smith, another Nate Smith (Nate D. Smith) provides three-time first-team all-state talent at linebacker to replace Stephen Johnson, a former walk-on  from Methacton.  Johnson and Kroboth were warriors who played with their heads and hearts, but I can see more “talent” plays being made by the two Nate Smiths that will result in a net plus for Chuck Heater’s defense. If the Smiths bring the same heads and hearts that Kroboth and Johnson have, Temple will be better off at both positions. My guess is that one of the Nate Smiths will inherit a distinctive nickname to distinguish him from the other Nate Smith. Maybe Superman.
  • The offensive line is looking good as 2009 starter Sean Boyle has taken over at center and 2011 starter Martin Wallace protecting Coyer’s blindside at tackle. Head coach Steve Addazio was looking to find three players to separate themselves from a large group of that seems to have happened (see holding the line post below).
Are there areas of concern?
Sure.
Depth along the offensive line is one and backups at quarterback and running back need to be brought up to BCS speed.
Temple will be royally screwed if it loses its only big-time kicker, Brandon McManus. (Crossing my fingers all last year kept McManus healthy and I plan to do the same this season.)
“He’s a dominant player,” Addazio said of McManus. “Dominant. Kicker. Punter. [His value] is critical.”
Remember, though, Temple has a Big 10 No. 2 quarterback, Kevin Newsome, coming in to back up Coyer so that concern was addressed in February. Newsome was Darryl Clark’s sub in the 2009 season at Penn State. If former JUCO All-American QB Juice Granger can wrest the No. 2 spot from Newsome in the fall, that makes Temple an even stronger team.
Also Temple has the No. 7 all-purpose running back recruit in the country, Jamie Gilmore of North Marion (Fla.) coming in by July and a certain No. 34-ranked recruit came in an made a significant impact as a true freshman in 2009.
His name was Bernard Pierce.
Still is.
Pierce never even played in a Cherry and White game before he ripped off 268 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-24 win at a Navy team which finished 10-2 that year.
So, right now, we’re talkin’ about practice.
Not a game, practice.
Still, it will be the only Temple football we will see until the last night of August so it should be fun nonetheless.
04.10.12
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Cherry and White Day primer

The best ticket money can’t buy …..


Great weather for C and W, but
Channel 6 needs to ditch the soccer
ball for a Temple T.

Kickoff to Saturday’s Cherry and White game is 11 a.m., at Lincoln Financial field.

BOX OFFICE: (For free tickets) opens at 9 a.m.

RADIO/TV: None.

PARKING: Free in Lot K to all who arrive before 11 a.m. Vehicles arriving after kickoff will be charged $15 to park due to the 4:05 Phillies game with the Mets.
There is no overnight parking.

TICKETS: Prior to the game, tickets are available (also for free) at the Liacouras Center Box Office, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until Friday.

GATES: Open at 10 a.m.

NOTABLE: The first 1,000 through the gates will receive a FREE Temple in the Big East T-Shirt.



04.06.12
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Holding the line

If the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, the most encouraging news coming out of Temple football spring practice is that the chain is pretty strong.
Going into the spring camp, it did not take a genius to figure out the No. 1 priority was finding some offensive linemen who could step up and play at a BCS level this fall.

Newman

I didn’t think it would be an insurmountable problem because the Owls had last year’s starter at tackle, Martin Wallace, returning and two starters from 2010 returning in tight end Alex Jackson and Sean Boyle, both fully recovered from injuries.
More importantly, head coach Steve Addazio, an offensive lineman guru if there ever was one, did not think it would be a problem.
Now we can see why as the most encouraging news is how the other three players have stepped up.
Jeff Whittingham, 6-foot-4, 275-pound redshirt sophomore Jaimen Newman, a former defensive tackle and end, has been running with the first team at guard.  Redshirt freshman Zach Hooks has played first-team snaps at left tackle.
Those guys seem to have the inside track on the other starting positions.
There’s still plenty of competition and one of the above could conceivably be displaced. Other names in the mix conceivably include but are not limited to Adam Metz, Scott Roorda and Darryl Pringle.

Hooks

Since you know a little about Jackson, Wallace and Boyle, here is a look at Newman, Whittingham and Hooks:
NEWMAN _  6-foot-4, 275-pound sophomore. Played in six games during the 2011 season and redshirted in 2010. Mostly a defensive player, he had 40 tackles and 14 sacks as a senior while playing at Matoaca High School in Virginia. As a junior, he had 32 tackles and six sacks. Also started on the basketball team for two seasons.

Whittingham

WHITTINGHAM _  Also a 6-foot-4, 275-pound junior who also played mostly defense at Temple but was a two-way all-star playing for Atlantic City (N.J.) High School, where he was a team captain and three-year starter. Played against Temple teammate Evan Regas in the 2007 New Jersey State playoffs. Was 2010 Scout Team Player of the Year for Temple.

HOOKS _  6-6, 305 true sophomore. Played both offensive and defensive tackle for head coach Mike Zmijanic at powerhouse Aliquippa in the WPIAL. Was first-team all-state as an offensive tackle in 2010. Was first-team all-conference three years in a row.

Wallace will be on quarterback Chris Coyer’s blindside, playing right tackle (Coyer is a lefty). Boyle will be at the all-important position of center, calling out the signals.
If they can open a sliver of a crack for a slippery, elusive, runner like Matty Brown, he should be able to make explosive plays downfield with Coyer and receivers like Jackson, Deon Miller, Malcolm Eugene and Ryan Alderman.

04.03.12
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Big East and Temple by the numbers

Temple’s $10 million addition to its $7 million practice facility nears finish line.

It’s a great week to be a Temple Owl.
Not only did Temple Board of Trustees member Lewis Katz (and two others) get a bargain-basement price on the two Philadelphia newspapers, the Temple football team has been practicing pretty much injury-free in front of a palatial $10 million addition to an already relatively new $7 million football facility.

That facility should be done by the start of summer practice.
A few weeks later, a thorough beatdown of Villanova should be done as well.
The Philly papers went for $500 million in 2006 and Katz purchased the same property (same printing presses and massive River Road property in Conshohocken but less a few employees, your humble correspondent included) for $55 million Monday.
Not a bad time to do some numbers crunching with regard to Temple’s football prospects in the Big East this fall.
News flash: While the Big East is a significant step up for Temple, the Owls are not joining the SEC.
According to the two best indicators of team strength in college football, Temple is coming into the league pretty near the top end of the remaining members.
Sagarin (USA Today) had Temple finishing the 2011 season ranked No. 30 in the country, with only Cincinnati (No. 28) ahead of it and the Owls finishing ahead of Rutgers (37), South Florida (47), Louisville (64), Pitt (68), UConn (73) and Syracuse (83).
Realtime RPI.com had Temple ranked No. 37, behind only Cincinnati (24) and Rutgers (30). Louisville was 53, Pitt 64, ‘Cuse (83, again) and UConn 89.
I think Temple will be significantly better this year. The Owls have nine guys returning who have started games on defense in the past. That, and the superb coaching of defensive coordinator Chuck Heater, will keep them in every game. Explosive plays downfield by players like quarterback Chris Coyer, RB Matty Brown, WR Deon Miller and TE Alex Jackson should put enough points on the scoreboard. It’s going to be hard to replace defensive end Adrian Robinson and linebacker Stephen Johnson, but a good program does those kind of things routinely.
Temple has proven to be a good program over the last three years by the only numbers that matter (won/loss ratio) and there is nothing in the numbers going forward that suggest a change any time soon.
While the competition will be a little better than the MAC, the hard numbers by unbiased sources like Sagarin and Realtime suggest it is nothing the Owls can’t handle.

03.31.12
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Daz: ‘I like our personnel’

No truth to the rumor that was Holy Water poured on Chuck Heater last year.

There’s a lot of uncertainty upon entering the Big East season for Temple’s football team.
Lack of talent is not one of them, though.
On Friday, after the 13th practice of the season, head coach Steve Addazio made clear that “I like our personnel” and that there is plenty of talent to sustain and build upon the level of success of the last three years.
I agree.

Chuck Heater won’t have to be a miracle-worker with this group of Owls.

While there are significant losses in the areas of offensive line, the team is pretty well set at most other positions.
Even talented tailback Bernard Pierce, who figures to go now lower than the third round of this year’s NFL draft, finished second on the team in all-purpose yards to his replacement, Matty “Rock” Brown. In the true spread that Addazio plans to run with talented (and unbeaten) quarterback Chris Coyer at the helm, you can make a pretty good argument that Rock is a more effective college back.
The credit for much of this talent still goes to former head coach Al Golden, who made a practice of stockpiling prospects by redshirting most of his incoming freshmen. That was part of Golden’s “core values” of building a “house of brick, not straw.”
In each of his final two seasons, Golden redshirted no less than 16 of his 25 incoming signees.
Many of those guys will play significant roles with the 2012 Owls.
“The reason I redshirted at Temple so much,” Golden told a Miami-area newspaper recently, “was that I was committed to building a program. That’s the way the so-called powerhouse programs do it. We weren’t able to do that the first couple of years, but we were able to do it by the time I left. I want to do the same thing [at Miami].”
Addazio doesn’t believe in redshirting as much as Golden did, but that doesn’t mean he won’t benefit from it.
In many positions, even ones where high-profile starters left, there could be a talent upgrade from last year.
Take the case of tight Alex Jackson.
Jackson, another redshirt, split starting time with Evan Rodriguez two years ago.
“I think of our all tight ends last year he had the highest end [talent],” Addazio said. “He wasn’t ready to play last year, but now he is and that’s going to show.”
Even on the offensive line, if you count Jackson’s starts from two years ago and Sean Boyle’s starts from two years ago and Martin Wallace starting all last year, that’s three returning offensive line starting caliber players and that’s pretty good. Also, Big 33 recruit Adam Metz benefited from a redshirt year (thanks, Al Golden) and is ready to compete for his spot. These are quality offensive linemen.
On defense, there is plenty of talent along the line with John Youboty, Levi Brown, Kadeem Custis, Kamal Johnson, Marcus Green and Sean Daniels all returning. All have started games in the past. Two starting linebackers, Blaze Caponegro and Ahkeem Smith, return, as does Olaniyi Adewole, who got considerable playing time last year as a sub. Starting strong safety Justin Gildea returns, as does his backup, Chris Hutton. Starting free safety Kevin Kroboth is gone, but one-time five-star recruit Vaughn Carraway was his backup last year and should slide right into that spot without a drop in production.
At the corners, last year’s true freshman, Anthony Robey, was a lock-down cover specialist and starter until he got hurt midway into the season but is looking in top form in practice. Zamel Johnson also started at corner, but he is being pushed by Rutgers’ transfer Abdul Smith. Maurice Jones, who got plenty of playing time, is also in the corner mix.
Temple defensive coordinator Chuck Heater was called “Mother Teresa” by no less an authority than Urban Meyer for his work as DC of the Florida defense two years ago.
Addazio could have called Heater the same thing last year the way he pieced together a Temple defense  that lost seven starters from 2010 into the third-best defense in the nation (behind only Alabama and LSU) in 2011.
Heater won’t have to work a miracle for Temple’s defense this year because he’s got more capable parts already in place to have a defense that keeps the Owls in every game.
The same can be said for the rest of the team as well and that’s doesn’t even count the reinforcements from the calvary who arrive (hello, Kevin Newsome, Jamie Gilmore and company) in July.
Aug. 31 can’t come soon enough.
To borrow a phrase from Mr. T, I pity the fool called Villanova.
Hopefully, a blowout there starts an avalanche of similar good results for Temple fans the rest of the fall.

03.30.12
by

Fun with Mega Millions and Temple football

“You won’t believe this, but we just got a donation of $231 million” Bill Bradshaw
tells a puzzled Steve Addazio.

My Mega Millions’ ticket Stephen Colbert’s both have something in common, No. 6 as the all-important Mega Ball number tonight.
Colbert got to his number a little bit differently than I did, picking 1-2-3-4-5 as his first five and six as his Mega Ball number.
Heck, I know both Colbert and I have the same chance of winning (zero) but it is fun to think about so I made it a game with two lines based on “some” (not all) of my favorite Temple football players.
I went with No. 6 because it was the number worn by Paul Palmer, the Temple football player who came closest to winning the Heisman Trophy (second, 1986).
Palmer’s line: 12 (Brian Broomell), 26 (Anthony Young), 43 (Adrian Robinson), 52 (Stephen Johnson) and 55 (Steve Conjar). 12-26-43-52-55 (6).

Steve Conjar

Then I went with a line featuring Maxwell Award winner Steve Joachim (9) that includes Matt Brown (2),  New Mexico Bowl MVP Chris Coyer (10), Brandon McManus (19), Ahkeem Smith (24) and Bernard Pierce and Garden State Bowl MVP  Mark Bright (30). That line reads 2-10-19-24-30 (9).
I’m only spending $2 to win $640 million because you don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out that purchasing $4 worth of tickets doesn’t double your chance of winning.
If I’m the only winner, I’ll “settle” for the cash payout of $462 million and give half to Temple football via the Xtra Point Club. The only condition is that Temple spend it on a new stadium and name it “Temple University Stadium” or, at the very least, purchase the naming rights to Lincoln Financial Field and call it “Temple University Stadium.”
(Hey, if Akron can build a beautiful stadium for $61.6 million five years ago, Temple can build something slightly better for $231 million. It already has the land, 15th Street and Norris to 15th and Montgomery.)
That’s it.  I’ll scrape by on the other $231 million.

Matt Brown will be wearing No. 2 this year.

I’m serious, too. Temple’s lawyers can consider this post a promisory note.
Once they get the money, it is theirs to spend under no further conditions and no further suggestions from me. (It would be nice, though, if it gave Temple fans the security of knowing another program won’t be able to poach their coach at the end of every season.)
I’ll give the money to Bill Bradshaw and Steve Addazio at halftime of the spring game on April 14 with one of those oversized white checks with Cherry writing.
I don’t have kids and only one living relative so I can afford to do this.
In addition to the tangible cash contribution, an ancillary benefit is that Temple football becomes the No. 1 story in the Philadelphia media. I’m sure the cynical professional sports media will be calling me crazy but it will be crazy like a fox because any publicity is good publicity when it comes to putting Temple TUFF front and center of Philly sports talk.
Heck, with a jackpot like this, maybe the talk of the nation as well.
It would be fun to find out.
No Mercedes or Porches, strippers, mansions, like that guy from West Virginia who besmirched an otherwise great sports broadcasting name  (Jack Whitaker) for me. Maybe a Hurricane-proof six-month-a-year snowbird getaway house near Tampa, Fla., an HDTV and a new Chevy and I’m good to go.
Now comes the hard part. Getting those numbers to come up.