Tag Archives: Geoff Collins

10.18.18
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A Very Special Temple Homecoming

This is Temple TUFF offensive football. Owls need to get back to it.

Since Temple football emerged from the dark ages around the year 2009, there have been some pretty good Homecomings.

cincy

Maybe the top one in my memory–and perhaps the best including the crowds of 70K for Notre Dame and Penn State games at Lincoln Financial Field that season–was the 35,711 fans who showed up for a 48-14 win over Tulane in 2015.

That’s because literally no one came from Tulane and the lower bowl of a 70K-seat stadium was filled entirely with Cherry and White fans. Thirty-five thousand and seven hundred eleven exceeds the capacity of many of the AAC stadiums so it was a tremendous crowd. Plus, it was 4,000 more people than attended the previous game, a 30-16 win over Central Florida at LFF on the preceding Saturday night (a much more attractive time for a home game).

That’s what being 6-0 and ranked nationally will do for you.

That is also the situation visiting Cincinnati (6-0, ranked No. 20 in the AP poll) finds itself in when it travels to Lincoln Financial Field (noon) on Saturday for Temple’s Homecoming game.

The numbers indicate that this should be a crowd that slightly exceeds the 30K mark, probably not quite up to the 32K mark for Temple’s home opener this season so it should be a special Homecoming. Every Homecoming is special because it attracts the same kind of softcore fan base that usually attends only Temple home openers. For the last eight Homecomings, for instance, the Homecoming Game drew an average of 7,654 more than the previous home game.

homecomingattendance

Figure in far right column represents an average of 7,654 more than the prior home game attendance in each of those years.

Will this be as special as Tulane?

Only if the Owls emerge with a win and the people in Vegas are counting on it. The line opened at 3.5 points on Monday and moved slightly up to four points on Tuesday and now back to 3.5 again Wednesday. Last week’s Temple line at Navy opened with the Owls as a 4.5-point favorite on a Monday and that moved to 5.5 on Wednesday before eventually settling on seven points by Saturday morning.

The Owls won, 24-17.

Uncanny.

If nothing changes, expect Temple to win, 24-20.

Still, the game is played on the field and not in Vegas and Cincinnati has a formidable 12th man.

Dave Patenaude.

elizabeth

Three years ago today when No. 4 was a full-time fullback leading the way for Ryquell Armstead (and Jahad Thomas, pictured) and play-action fakes to the tailbacks allowed Ventell Byrant and Isaiah Wright to run so free through the secondary P.J. Walker did not know which one to pick out.

The Temple offensive coordinator has somehow managed to turn a team with a pretty good line and dynamic players like quarterback Anthony Russo, fullback Rob Ritrovato, tailback Ryquell Armstead, and explosive downfield wide receivers like Ventell Bryant, Isaiah Wright and Branden Mack into the 89th-ranked total offense in the country.

That’s a pretty hard thing to do but when you have a great fullback you never use as a fullback and, by doing so (err, not doing so) you pretty much pull the lynch pin out of this grenade and blow the whole offense up. Run Rock behind Nitro, establish the run, set up the play-action pass and Bryant, Wright and Mack become 10x more effective than they are now.

Also, both Patenaude and head coach Geoff Collins have been quoted as saying the reason they don’t run the ball on first and goal is because of the defense the bad guys are in dictates the Temple play call. That’s ridiculous on face value. From the time Walter Camp invented football, it has been the offenses, not the defenses, who dictate the play call. Do you think Matt Rhule EVER cared what defense Cincy was in the video at the top of this post?


If Temple is truly calling
passing plays on first and
goal based on the alignment
of the defense
across the ball, then the
coaching here is worse than
any of us ever thought and,
for the last two years, many
of us think it is appallingly
bad. An offense with these
players should be ranked
in the top 10 in the country
in total offense, certainly
not ranked No. 89 as it is now

If Temple is truly calling passing plays on first and goal based on the alignment of the defense across the ball, then the coaching here is worse than any of us ever thought and, for the last two years, many of us think it is appallingly bad. An offense with these players should be ranked in the top 10 in the country in total offense, certainly not ranked No. 89 as it is now.

That’s an indictment on the brain trust.

Somewhere in Waco, both Glenn Thomas and Matt Rhule have to be shaking their heads because you know they are laughing at Patenaude’s play-calling and personnel groupings. Knowing how much they love these kids they recruited, there are probably a few tears being shed as well.

We will ever see the Temple football Owl fans have come to know and love? That is an every-down fullback (Nitro) leading the way for an elite tailback (Rock), setting up explosive downfield plays in the play-action passing game to receivers like Bryant, Wright and Mack? Probably not as long as Collins is the enabler to this spread crack addict named Patenaude.

As Temple fans, we can only hope the talent overcomes the coaching or these coaches take a good look at the video at the top of this post and the light bulb finally goes on in their collective heads.

Saturday: How Good is Vegas?

10.11.18
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Temple-Navy: Creating Separation

separation

That guy closest to the Temple fans was Colin Thompson, all alone on this throwback pass from P.J. Walker against USF.

If there was anything Temple could take from the first six games of the season is not to take anything for granted.

As the Villanova debacle gets farther back in the rear-view mirror, the more devastating that train wreck looks (and it looked pretty bad when it happened). Dave Patenaude, who probably should have been fired the next morning as Temple offensive coordinator for putting up only nine offensive points against that squad, is still around so anything can happen. Patenaude has to know offensive coordinators with far lesser talent than Temple (Towson and Stony Brook) put up 45 and 29 points, respectively, against what head coach Geoff Collins then called a “clever defensive scheme.”

thompson

This is what I call separation, the end result of the photo at the top of this post.

It’s only clever if you can’t figure it out.

Since then, like last year, Temple made a quarterback change and, like last year, Temple is a completely different team since.

Really, the Owls should be 4-0 since Anthony Russo took over for Frank Nutile but aren’t because two of their eight-deep receiver rotation had the dropsies against Boston College. One of the drops robbed Russo of a beautifully thrown 80-yard touchdown bomb; the other bounced off the chest and then the hands of an Owl and into the hands of an Eagle. The Owls were almost certainly headed for a touchdown on both drives and that was the ballgame.

On Saturday, Temple’s game at Navy (3:30 p.m., CBS Sports) should be all about creating separation–not only in the league race against a respective foe from another division but the kind of separation that gets Temple receivers out of that traffic in the middle of the field and into making game-changing plays.

annapolis

Definitely a Cherry sweatshirt day

There are four things that can happen when the ball is in the air and three of them are bad–a drop, an incompletion, and an interception–but there are methods that can optimize the chances for good and minimize the chances for ill. Creating separation–which the Owls really haven’t done for Russo so far–is a must going forward. Too many of Russo’s throws are designed to throw into coverage and an Owl receiver has to make a spectacular catch to wrestle the ball away from a defender.

That’s playing with fire and Patenaude must find ways to put that fire out.

There are at least five (of many) good ways to do that:

First, establish the run. With an elite tailback like Ryquell Armstead (assuming he’s healthy), the Owls should control clock and yardage with gouging runs against a Navy defense that has been close to porous.

Second, help the tailback accomplish that goal. For reasons known only to Patenaude, he has eschewed the lead fullback block that would make things soooooo much easier for Armstead. However, he did show the blocking H-back look using the tight ends as lead blockers against Maryland, so maybe he only uses it for games played in that state. We can only hope.

directions

Best way to go is 301 through a small part of Delaware and a larger part of Maryland

Third, play-action. With the run established, deftly fake the ball into the belly of Armstead (or Jager Gardner), bring the linebackers and safeties up to the line of scrimmage in run support, and make the easy pass over their heads into Owl receivers running so free through the secondary that Russo won’t know which one to pick out.

Fourth, the pump fake. We’re talking about the type of play that Kenny Yeboah ran free for a touchdown against the Terps here. Russo pump fakes a quick out to Ventell Bryant, who sells the play with a 37-inch vertical leap, and both the safety and the corner go for him leaving the tight end (safety responsibility) running free down the sideline for an easy six. The fact that we’ve seen only one of these plays this season is a real head-scratcher.

Fifth, the throwback pass (see above): P.J. Walker had a throwback pass to tight end Colin Thompson that created a whole lot of separation in a touchdown against South Florida. Walker rolled right and looked in the right corner of the end zone before finding Thompson (far left in the top photo and all alone in the middle photo) for a score.

Easy peasy stuff. If Patenaude can’t figure it out for himself, maybe he should place a call to the offensive brain trusts at Towson and Stony Brook. They can draw it up and send him a fax within seconds.

Saturday: Predictions

Sunday: Game Analysis

10.03.18
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5 Questions Pravda would never ask

Effective July 1, 2014, softball was dropped as an intercollegiate sport at Temple.

No worries, though, because it continues to be played on a club level at the school–namely, Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays–the days when head football coach Geoff Collins meets with the media. Saturdays after the game; Mondays at the AAC teleconference and Tuesdays at the weekly media luncheon.

pravda-bg

Those aren’t just softballs lobbed up at Collins (for an example, listen to the AAC teleconference above), those are high-arc jobs.

In a way, it’s understandable. Pravda would never ask Vladimir Putin why he killed so many journalists. That Pravda reporter would probably turn up missing the next week. Temple has a similar situation where other Temple employees pose as journalists and ask Collins questions and, while Collins wouldn’t kill them for asking these five questions, things could get a little uncomfortable around campus. Still, that should not stop someone like Marc Narducci or Shawn Pastor from asking so, as a public service, we provide these five questions in hopes of getting answers in the next few weeks if not days:

Question One

Q: Geoff, Temple won 20 games in two years largely using the fullback as a lead blocker for guys like Ryquell Armstead. Under you and Dave (Patenaude), the fullback is either not used at all as a blocker or at the most two or three times a game. What is the thought process behind that? What happened to the fullback at Temple and will the position here ever come back on a meaningful level?

Question Two

Q: Geoff, late in the game in BC territory and facing a situation where both ESPN announcers said was a two-down situation with only 2 yards to go (and practically everyone in the stadium thought would be a two-down situation), Temple decided to pass even though Armstead had four touchdowns and 171 yards and BC could not stop him. What was the thinking there or did Patenaude have one of his usual brain cramps and is there any way to get  a jug of Dasani water sent to the press box to avoid similar brain cramps in the future?

Question Three

Q: Geoff, using the tight ends in motion on almost every play as H-back blocks for Armstead seemed to work beautifully against Maryland, establishing the run and setting up play-action situations for Anthony Russo so he could have time to see the field and pick out wide receivers. Why haven’t we seen that look against anyone else?

Question Four

Q: Geoff, given Armstead’s history of injuries and value to the team as a tailback have you ever considered using Karamo Dioubate–the No. 11 DE recruit in the nation three years ago–outside as the situational pass-rusher instead?

Question Five

Q: Geoff, instead of having the guys who dropped passes all over the place against Tulsa–most notably Nos. 80 and 81–working on the jug guns afterward, did you consider benching them for BC so they wouldn’t get the same chance to drop passes all over the place in Boston? I mean, shouldn’t Ventell Bryant, Branden Mack, Sean Ryan and Isaiah Wright be able to handle all of those snaps?

I would love to be able to ask those questions but, during those teleconferences, a real job gets in the way. The one interaction I’ve had with Collins was to ask him to never take Nick Sharga off the field as a fullback and he said not to worry that Sharga would have even a more expanded role under him than he did under Matt Rhule.

Collins, of course, lied. There is a chance Geoff could lie again answering those questions but those are some fastballs that need to be swung at and, for some reason, no member of the fourth estate feels the need for speed.

Saturday: ECU Preview

Sunday: Game Analysis

Tuesday: Temple Football Forever and the National News

 

 

10.02.18
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Where did we hear this tune before?

kraft

Listening to the post-game show at Boston College, I thought I could hear a familiar tune playing in the background when Temple head coach Geoff Collins was speaking.

“Really good game, really proud of how hard our guys fought,” Collins said. “That was a very physical game, and our guys were up to it.”

Wait.

Didn’t Temple LOSE by 10 points and not WIN by 10 points?

Collins has shown plenty in the way of schtick (money downs, swag, catchy nicknames, etc.) but very little in the way of substance (8-8 record) a not-so-sweet 16 games into his head coaching career.

wallace

The quote sounded familiar so I reached back into the archives of some roughly 10-point losses in losing seasons (if you haven’t checked, 2-3 so far is a losing season) and came up with these gems from guys who had more schtick than substance:

Oct. 17, 2004 (Philadelphia Inquirer): The Owls lost at Rutgers, 16-6, on the way to a 2-9 season. This is what Bobby Wallace said after that game. “We may have lost, but I didn’t see any quit in this team. I’m proud of them.”

Oct. 21, 1995: Owls lost, 32-22, at East Carolina. Ron Dickerson, their then coach, said this in Mike Kern’s Monday, Oct. 23 wrap in the Philadelphia Daily News: “I’m proud of the way our guys fought. We’ve got some things to clean up and we’re going to do it.” That was the seventh game of the season. Owls finished 1-10 that year.

dickerson

Sept. 2, 1989: Owls lost, 31-24, at Western Michigan (I was there). In my Doylestown Intelligencer story, I quoted then head coach Jerry Berndt: “That was a very physical game and my guys matched their toughness. We’re going to win a lot of games this year.” Owls went on to lose every other game until the season finale at home against Rutgers.

The point is that Collins might not be as bad as that Unholy Trinity of Temple head coaches, but he’s heavy on the schtick and way too light on the substance so far. Eight and eight is the very definition of mediocre. Those three guys had plenty of schticks and zero substance but Collins has a future and he better be satisfied with only winning going forward.

You want substance? How about instead of holding up “money down” signs this Saturday on third down just get off the field instead? Temple ranks an abysmal 118 out of 127 FBS teams in third-down defense making a mockery of the whole money down joke. Just drop it. The Temple way before Collins got here was just doing it, not talking about doing it. Let’s get back to that.

Being proud of the way the guys fight doesn’t do much for your legacy. Win and win a  lot more games than you lose. Everything else is just an excuse.

As Chris “Mad Dog” Russo used to say to co-partner Mike Francesa on the greatest sports talk show ever: “WIN THE GAME, MIKEY!!!!. WIN. THE. GAME!!!”

He’s got to up his game to avoid their same fate. I would have preferred to hear a pissed-off Larry Bowa version of Collins after a loss than a Gabe Kapler “everything is hunky dory” version that we heard on Saturday.

jerryberndt

Being “really proud” of “the way the guys fought” gets you nothing but 1-10, 1-10 and 2-9.

There better be plenty of some industrial strength cleaning up going on at the $17 million Edberg-Olson Complex and not just talking about it. Talking about cleaning things up five games in gets you more talking about cleaning things up eight games in and, before you know it, the season is over. How come this stuff wasn’t cleaned up by Sept. 1?

One of the most alarming things about the five-game season so far is the apparent regression of the rushing defense.

Last year, the Owls seemed to get a handle on the rushing game, holding the opponents without a 100-yard rusher in five of the last six games, including the bowl game. The only outlier was the UCF game but UCF was an outlier for just about everyone last year. In the other games, opponents found yards hard to come by especially up the middle. Since Temple was returning the entire middle of its starting defense—tackles Michael Dodge, Dan Archibong and Freddy Booth-Lloyd—the thought was that the interior would be impenetrable.

The fact that it has not been with essentially the same players has been disconcerting. It’s one thing to allow one 100-yard rusher, like they did against Villanova, Buffalo, and even Maryland. It’s quite another to allow two guys to get through that wall.

Against BC,  Dillon finished with 28 carries for 161 yards and Glines totaled 23 carries for 120 yards.

This has to get fixed but, five games in, you have to wonder if there are enough band-aids in the Edberg-Olson Complex to stop this bleeding. Five games in is almost half the season.

The Temple offensive problems have been well-documented here (search for the name “Patenaude” in the upper right-hand corner box), but the defense is not without blame. This is a defense that ignited hopes for the future by holding high-powered Florida International—a significantly better team than Villanova—to just three points in the bowl game.

A lot can change in one game, even if that one game is separated by nine months.

Zero and one has led to two and three and two and three is not Temple football by any stretch of the imagination. Temple fans have gotten used to winning with 27 wins over last three years going into this season and no amount of “really proud of how our guys fought” and “a very physical game, our guys were up to it” comments are going to placate them now.

The name of that tune is a song from a long, long time ago when they suffered through 20-straight losing seasons before Al Golden came to town.

What was the name of it?

Maybe something like Send in the Clowns.

Thursday: Five Questions You’ll Never Hear Pravda Ask

Saturday: ECU Preview

Sunday: Game Analysis

Tuesday: 5 Unsung Coaches in FBS

09.30.18
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Patenfraud and The Light Side Defense

Somewhere, Dave Patenaude, err, Patenfraud, is lighting up a cigar figuring he did a great job getting 27 points on the board for the Owls (remember seven came as a result as a fumbled kickoff).

Nothing could be further from the truth.

patenfraudpoll

Nobody in Philly likes him and he doesn’t care

Saturday’s 45-35 loss to Boston College was a team loss, no doubt, but one man who does not understand Temple football is getting in the way of greatness for this team and that’s Patenfraud.

Not only was his play-calling abysmal–now the ESPN announcers are seeing what we have been all year and hammered him for it–his personnel groupings are horrendous.

We won’t get into names here but Nos. 80 and 81 should be disqualified from the field for the rest of the season, not for targeting, but for being targeted in any play package going forward. Both not only dropped touchdown passes in each of the last two weeks but committed the exacta of having balls bounced off their hands and chests into drive-killing interceptions. Those two dropped certain beautifully thrown touchdown passes from Anthony Russo at BC. Isaiah Wright and Ventell Bryant should be the permanent wide receivers, period, end of story.


Nitro should be the
full-time fullback
leading the way for
Ryquell Armstead.
Russo, Armstead,
Nitro, Bryant and
Wright are by far
… BY FAR … your
best offensive players.
Keep them on the field.
There’s no need for
backups unless the
starters get hurt

Imagine if the two dropped passes were thrown to either Wright or Byrant, instead of 80 and 81?

We’d be talking about two touchdowns and a Temple win right now, and two touchdown passes by Russo in addition to four touchdown runs by Ryquell Armstead.

How is it that Rob “Nitro” Ritrovato makes a great play in special teams that results in a touchdown and he doesn’t see the field except for six more plays the rest of the game?

Nitro should be the full-time fullback leading the way for Ryquell Armstead. Russo, Armstead, Nitro, Bryant and Wright are by far … BY FAR … your best offensive players. Keep them on the field. There’s no need for backups unless the starters get hurt.

So far, they haven’t gotten hurt.

Put your best players on the field and accept the consequences, which probably will be quite good. Don’t lose the game messing around with backups and that’s what Patenaude has done all season in addition to a scatterbrained offensive scheme that doesn’t in the least resemble what Temple did in double-digit win seasons.

You want facts? How is it possible that Towson–with freaking TOWSON talent–scores 45 points on Villanova, Stony Brook 29 points and Temple scores only nine offensive points on that FCS team? How it is possible that a team with a terrific young quarterback in Russo, a great tailback in Armstead, a great fullback in Nitro and two great wideouts in Bryant and Wright gets ranked 112th in total offense (out of 127 teams)?

Patenaude, err, Fraud, that’s how.

Those are the facts, Jack.

Is the Towson offensive coordinator available?


Collins should be able
to see that the good
of organization must
supersede professional
coaching friendships.
Matt Rhule saw that
with his OC,
Marcus Satterfield,
and only by demoting
him after Year Two
allowed Temple to play
for a championship in
Year Three and win one
in Year Four. These Temple
kids are too talented
to wait that long
this go-round

Run Rock behind Armstead getting lead blocks from Nitro, control the clock and keep the sticks moving with the occasional play-action toss to either Bryant or Wright. Football isn’t rocket science. Those guys are your money players on offense. Keep them on the field for all four quarters. Give them the ball. No need to give it to anyone else, with the possible exception of the tight ends or the sure-handed Branden Mack.

That way, the game is managed with long drives, scores and that helps your defense.

If Geoff Collins doesn’t realize by now that Patenaude is the problem, then HE is the problem. Collins’ job is not nor should not be in jeopardy, but athletic director Pat Kraft can nudge him to put Ed Foley or Adam DiMichele in the OC role. Patenfraud is killing Temple. The coordinators are on year-to-year contracts and Temple won’t be out any money replacing them. Collins should be able to see that the good of organization must supersede professional coaching friendships. Matt Rhule saw that with his OC, Marcus Satterfield, and only by demoting him after Year Two allowed Temple to play for a championship in Year Three and win one in Year Four. These Temple kids are too talented to wait that long this go-round.

Defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker should also be on notice. Everybody and his kid brother knew Boston College tight end Tommy Sweeney was that team’s best receiver all week. How do you not stick your best safety, Delvon Randall, on him and tell him to be in his face all afternoon?

Speaking of that, can Collins please stop calling his defense The Dark Side Defense? No defense that gives up 45 points to anyone can be called a Dark Side defense. Until they shut someone out, like Chuck Heater’s defense did in back-to-back games in 2011, call them the Light Side Defense.

Stop the gimmicks and nicknames and play hard-nosed Temple football. If Collins and Patenfraud don’t know what that looks like, just pop in the tapes of the consecutive 10-win seasons, start taking notes and devising game plans that look somewhat like we all saw not that long ago.

It’s not that hard. It’s football, not rocket science.

Monday: Fizzy’s Corner

Tuesday: Where Have We Heard This Song Before?

 

09.28.18
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BC-TU Preview: 5 Truths About The Game

dogsofwar

The old saying is that respect is earned, not given, and there is no better opportunity for the Temple football Owls to earn it by winning in Boston (technically, Chestnut Hill) Massachusetts in a high noon Saturday showdown.

Win, and the Owls finish the Power 5 part of their schedule a 2-0 record against pretty good teams. Lose, and the national commentators will point to the Maryland win as a fluke. Win, and the Owls are largely forgiven nationally (if not locally) for that brutal opening-game loss.

funfact

 

Addazio Effect Doesn’t Exist

Much will be made about the “Steve Addazio Effect” in this one but, in truth (there’s that word again), it does not exist. The single oldest player on this Temple squad, Frankie “Juice” Nutile, was recruited by Matt Rhule during his first year. “I really liked the pro-set offense that coach Rhule runs,” Nutile said on the day he was recruited. “I’m not going to lie, I’m not a read-option guy. I really like the direction coach Rhule has the program in and I think we’re going to be really good.” I’m sure the current players have heard of Daz, but none of them have a beef with him.  If this game occurred the year after Daz left for Boston College, you would have been able to see the fire come out of the Temple players’ helmets. These guys do not know Daz. That said, the 1,000 or so Temple fans who make the trip will be ecstatic to beat a guy who they were excited to see leave. There was much consternation at 10th and Diamond when Al Golden and Matt Rhule left. There was not a single Temple fan who was unhappy to see Addazio leave. If Geoff Collins beats him, he will be a hero in Philadelphia for a long, long time.

alumnistadium

The Temple fan section is O (for Owls) tomorrow

BC does not respect Temple

At least 99.9 percent of the fans don’t. Many of the comments on the main BC message board site about the game go something like this:

lock

Now that doesn’t mean the TEAM disrespects the Owls, but if that much of the fanbase does, it must filter down into the psyche of the team. A lot of the people are pointing to Villanova and Buffalo losses as a counter to the Owls beating Maryland, but none are factoring into the equation that a new quarterback starter probably had a lot to do with the positive results of the last two games.

quarterbackroom

 

 

QB Dilemma: The Easiest Decision in the History of Sports

Probably a non-issue–or what should be a non-issue–is the fact that, according to head coach Geoff Collins, “Frankie Nutile is getting close to 100 percent.” Err, why the rush? The easiest decision in the history of sports is to start a guy who is 2-0 with wins over Maryland and Tulsa over a guy who is 0-2 with losses to a MAC team and Villanova.

No-brainer means if you start anyone other than Anthony Russo you have no brains. If the Owls start Frankie Juice, they might win but they open themselves up to all kinds of unnecessary criticism if they don’t.

Maryland is Better than BC

No doubt, Maryland is a SIGNIFICANTLY better team than Boston College. My Vegas guy says if those two teams played tomorrow, the Terrapins would probably be a touchdown favorite.  Sagarin has Maryland ranked ahead of both Oregon and Boston College. That does not mean because Temple beat Maryland that it will beat Boston College but the Owls have no reason (zero) to be intimidated by the Eagles. On a physical level, the Owls pushed Maryland around and dominated. There is no reason to believe they cannot do the same on Saturday–especially if they utilize the same offensive game plan. Thing is, do you trust this staff to do that?

photoshopped

 

It comes down to Dogbe, Archibong and FBL

If the Owls defensive line stuffs Heisman candidate A.J. Dillon, they can dictate the game. Everyone at Temple knows Daz loves to establish the run and make explosive plays in the downfield play-action passing game. Michael Dogbe, Dan Archibong and Freddy Booth-Lloyd are proven run-stoppers and, if they are up to the challenge, Daz passes on third down and opens himself up to the kind of Mayhem that can be caused by edge rushers like Quincy Roche and starting tailback Ryquell Armstead. They have not been great against the run this year, though, but they need to at least be at the level of play they established in five of the last six games a year ago. If they are, third down could result in fumbles and interception opportunities for the Owls.

Sunday: Game Analysis

 

Temple Football Forever Picks This Week

Game Favorite Prediction/Reasoning
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan EMU by 3.5 Eastern Michigan won at Purdue and lost in overtime at San Diego State, which might be the best G5 team out there.

Eastern Michigan, 24-10
Virginia at NC State NC State by 7 Virginia beat a pretty good Ohio team badly two weeks ago. NC State is good, but not seven points better.

NC State, 20-17
Texas State at TCU TCU by 11 Texas State lost to Rutgers. TCU, 44-7
Purdue at Nebraska Purdue by 3 Much was made of Purdue’s 0-3 start but all were close games to good teams and the Boilermakers beat BC last week. Nebraska lost at home to Troy.

Purdue, 24-7
Louisiana Tech at North Texas North Texas by 7.5 North Texas went to Arkansas and won, 44-17. This is a legitimate squad.

North Texas, 31-10.
Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee FAU by 4 Lane Kiffin is highly motivated to position himself for another P5 head job. He’s got some talent.

FAU, 31-22

Last week: 5-1 overall, 4-2 Against The Spread

Season Record: 8-4

Against The Spread:7-5



09.26.18
by

The Irony of Temple-BC

Interesting that Daz takes credit for a practice facility that was largely built 10 years before he got here (16-minute timestamp).

Irony is one of the most misused words in the English language, but Saturday’s noon showdown in Chestnut Hill, Mass. between Temple and Boston College is dripping in this definition of it:

“a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.”

In this case, the irony is not that the Owls will be facing a guy in Steve Addazio, who not only left Temple (after pledging eternal loyalty) for two years. That’s a coincidence, not ironic.

It will be simply this:

patenaude

You want facts? Patenaude’s offense for Temple (out of 127 teams): Passing=89th; Rushing=105; Team=112; Obviously, what he is doing is not working

 

Boston College is running the same offense Temple should be running now, while Temple is fumbling and stumbling through the same offense Matt Rhule struggled with in his first two years before abandoning it for one that personified the core principles of Temple TUFF established by Wayne Hardin and Bruce Arians and followed through by Al Golden.

By “deliberately contrary to what one would expect” we’re talking about the offense Daz ran here his second year, which broken down into basics was: run, run, throw (sack), punt. During his first year at Temple, Scot Loeffler was in charge of the offense and it was based on the concepts that the Owls always won by: Establish the run behind two tight ends and a fullback, force the safeties and linebackers up to the line of scrimmage where they would be susceptible to play-action passes. Loeffler went onto Virginia Tech after his first year here and Daz went back to the habits he formed at Florida. Now that Loeffler is in charge, Daz has made him “head coach of the offense” and that’s why the BC offense is succeeding where Temple’s is failing.

In Boston, it is run the ball behind an elite tailback (A.J. Dillon) and use play action to make explosive downfield plays in the passing game. Know any other team that has an elite tailback with explosive downfield receivers? If it doesn’t piss you off that Ventell Bryant and Isaiah Wright aren’t getting any separation, it should. It is not the fault of the kids, either; same players got routinely wide open under Matt Rhule’s play-action-oriented scheme. Those guys can do so much damage in a pro set but Patenaude wants nothing to do with it. In any other job, that would be considered malfeasance.

We saw a glimpse of that offense for Temple in Maryland, when the Owls were disciplined enough to stay focused in an H-back blocking look for their own elite tailback, Ryquell Armstead, whose success in the run game set up some nice play-action looks in the passing game for unbeaten quarterback Anthony Russo. Success in the run game allowed Russo to fake an out beautifully to Bryant (who sold it with a great leap) and that drew two Maryland defensive backs to Bryant, allowing tight end Kenny Yeboah to run free.

Yeboah and Chris Myarick not only blocked well but caught key passes to keep the sticks moving. Temple really had not used its tight ends effectively in the Dave Patenaude Error until that afternoon.

experienced

If it doesn’t piss you off that Ventell Bryant and Isaiah Wright aren’t getting any separation, it should. It is not the fault of the kids, either; same receivers got routinely wide open under Matt Rhule’s play-action-oriented scheme

 

Last week, against Tulsa, the Owls lapsed into the same unfocused look they showed in losses to Buffalo and Villanova. It was not a good look.

This is the same kind of crisis Rhule had after his second year at the helm. His talent dictated run/play action but his offensive coordinator at the time, Marcus Satterfield, was stubborn about running the spread look. Rhule had the cojones to demote Satterfield to wide receiver coach and hire a guy from the Atlanta Falcons, Glenn Thomas, who implemented a more pro-style look that coincided with the Temple TUFF brand.

So far, it looks like Temple head coach Geoff Collins is satisfied with handing the keys of his offense over to a drunk driver rather than someone with vision and sharp reflexes. Maybe that will change. Maybe it will be Saturday. We saw this movie before, though. All last year and three of the four games this year.

It’s like Waiting for Godot.

The essence of great coaching is to get the most out of the talent you have, not the talent you want. Establish the run behind a great tailback in Ryquell Armstead following a great blocking fullback in Rob Ritrovato and immensely talented receivers like Bryant,  Wright and Branden Mack can get the kind of separation they need to cause serious damage.

Boston College runs the exact same offense Temple should be running with its personnel. That’s irony. The Temple challenge on this Saturday will rest in being smart enough to fight BC’s fire with some of the same fire of its own.

Friday: BC Preview

09.24.18
by

If Omarosa had Nadia’s job …

bruceletter

Nadia has been around so long, she probably typed this letter

Fortunately, there’s no person more loyal in the history of Temple athletics than football administrative assistant Nadia Harvin.

She’s a Temple treasure, just like Wayne Hardin, John Chaney and Skip Wilson were with a tenure spanning eight Temple head football coaches (which is about as many Popes as there were in the entire 20th century).

Still, you’d have to wonder what would have happened if Nadia would have moved on with Matt Rhule to the Power 5 and Dr. Pat Kraft hired Omarosa to replace her.  A cell phone would have been cleverly placed in the conference room, probably attached to the lower end of the table. The tape of this morning’s coaches’ meeting would have been released and it might have gone something like this:

nitro

Geoff Collins: First of all, I’d like to thank you guys for showing up at 5 a.m. I’m not sure many of the people on the outside know that we are the hardest-working staff in the nation. Still, we’ve got to clean some things up if we are going to beat Boston College and I’d like to have some of your guys’ thoughts.

Ed Foley: Coach, I see one problem with the Tulsa game. It was great that we scored a pair of touchdowns on defense but that’s not sustainable going forward. We need the offense to step it up, maybe get Isaiah Wright more involved.

Collins: Dave (Patenaude), any thoughts?

Patenaude: None. I haven’t had my coffee. My mind is pretty much blank at this hour.

Collins: Adam (DiMichele)?

DiMichele: I thought we had a great scheme for the Maryland game with running the tight ends in motion and having Rock (Armstead) follow the block through the hole. That set up a lot of second and twos and allowed Anthony to play action and gave our receivers separation. For some reason, we got away from that against Tulsa and fell into the bad habits of an empty or single backfield that we had against (Villa)nova and Buffalo. None of our guys could get any separation against Tulsa because we didn’t establish the run nor use play-action.

Collins: Dave, I see that Nadia went out to Dunkin Donuts to get your coffee. What do you think about what Adam just said?

patenaude

Patenaude: Even though it was successful against Maryland, I’m just not comfortable with that style of play. Who plays that way anyway?

DiMichele: We did that under Al (Golden) and Matt (Rhule) and, although I wasn’t around, I hear the (Wayne) Hardin and (Bruce) Arians’ guys did, too. Not only did we have the tight ends go in motion to block, but they also ran ahead of the fullback and they were knocking linebackers and safeties all over the place and our tailbacks had huge holes. It made my job as the quarterback a lot easier. When we established the run, all I had to do was fake it to the tailback and that would freeze the linebackers and the safeties right there for a split second and my guys were running so free through the secondary, I really didn’t know which one to pick out.

Patenaude: That’s not the way we did it at Coastal Carolina. We spread the field, had a single back or even an empty backfield, and threw the ball all over the lot. Nice, tight windows.


“The essence of
Temple TUFF is
to play great
defense and special
teams, but also have
a focused
knock-them-off-the-ball
mentality on offense and
we’ve lost that the past
couple of years. We’re
all over the place on
offense. We need to get
back to our roots”

Foley: Matt recruited most of these kids to run double tight ends and fullback. Hey, it worked against Maryland. Against Tulsa, we were making it harder on Anthony (Russo) than we needed to because the receivers were getting no separation. He put it on the money but every catch was a more difficult catch than it should have been. The essence of Temple TUFF is to play great defense and special teams, but also have a focused knock-them-off-the-ball mentality on offense and we’ve lost that the past couple of years. We’re all over the place on offense. We need to get back to our roots.

DiMichele: As a QB, I can tell you it’s a lot easier with play-action. Hell, against Navy, with the clock running out at the end of the half, I faked a knee and Bruce Francis was 50 yards behind the nearest defender. That was the easiest six points I ever had. Navy was so worried about us running the ball they had eight in the box.

Patenaude: But, Geoff, I’m not comfortable with the offense ADM is describing.

Collins: I’ve heard enough. We’re going back to the same game plan we had against Maryland. Run the H-backs in front of Rock, establish the run, and then hit some explosive plays in the play-action game. I want to see Nitro in there more than three plays a game to block for Rock, too.

Patenaude: I object. Who uses the fullback anymore?

Collins: As of Saturday, we do. If you don’t like it, I’m going from Capri pants to a Speedo.

Patenaude: That’s not a good visual. Please don’t do that, Geoff.  I’ll do what you say.

Collins: I think we resolved a lot of issues this morning. Thanks, gentlemen.

Tuesday: Fizzy Closes The Book on Tulsa

Wednesday: The Irony of Temple-BC

Friday: BC Preview

Sunday: Game Analysis

09.18.18
by

Russo: Collins’ First Litmus Test As CEO

russocollins

By 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, we will find out if Geoff Collins is either the Miller Huggins of Temple football or the Gabe Kapler.


Patenaude has a documented
history of making mistakes
in sticking with quarterbacks
too long. He went with his boy,
Logan Marchi, for seven games
and that cost the Owls embarrassing
losses to teams like UConn

The big question Collins has to answer is if he will take charge and name Anthony Russo the starting quarterback.

The evidence would suggest he should. Frank Nutile, the starter at the beginning of the season, threw interceptions all over the place in losses to FCS Villanova and MAC Buffalo. He did not look confident nor show the kind of arm he did in five of his last six games last year. Maybe Nutile was injured all along. Maybe he just had a sore arm.

Whatever, Anthony Russo, his replacement, looked confident and sharp and managed a convincing win over a Big 10 school that beat probable Big 12 winner Texas.

No-brainer, right?

HugginsMiller

 

“Psst: Geoff. It’s me. Miller. Miller Huggins. Trust me: Start Russo”

 

Only if you let someone with no brains make the wrong decision. After the game, offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude said “Frankie should be OK for Tulsa” and that statement leads me to believe that this OC is leaning toward putting Nutile back into the saddle. Patenaude has a documented history of making mistakes in sticking with quarterbacks too long. He went with his boy, Logan Marchi, for seven games and that cost the Owls embarrassing losses to teams like UConn. Only the “luck” of an injury to Marchi reversed Temple’s season.

My guess is if Dave Patenaude was managing the New York Yankees back in 1925, Lou Gehrig would have never seen the field.

Huggins, then the Yanks’ baseball manager, passed his first litmus test as a manager.  If the Hugger were still alive, he would able to pass on some valuable Cliff Notes to Collins for his upcoming litmus test.  On June 2, 1925, Huggins told Gehrig that “(Wally) Pipp wasn’t doing too well” and Huggins thought a few days of rest would do him good.  Lou Gehrig took over the rest was history. Gehrig went on to play 2,632-straight games—the longest consecutive streak in baseball or any other sport until Cal Ripken Jr. came along.

Knowing Gabe Kapler, who probably will not make the Hall of Fame, this is what he would have said: “I have full confidence in Wally and, even though Lou did well, Wally is not going to lose his job because of an injury.” It’s probably the same deal with Patenaude and this is where Collins has to put his foot down.


… it’s not even a tie.
Russo was significantly
more impressive in his
game—against a foe that
would destroy both Buffalo
and Villanova—than Nutile
was in his two

In baseball, one of the axioms is “the tie goes to the runner” and, in college football, the tie in performance goes to the younger quarterback over the redshirt senior. Crazy enough,  but, in the case of Russo and Nutile, it’s not even a tie. Russo was significantly more impressive in his game—against a foe that would destroy both Buffalo and Villanova—than Nutile was in his two.

In college football, if it’s even close, the decision goes with the younger player.

In this case, as in Gehrig’s, the better one. Now is the time for Collins’ first litmus test as CEO of the Temple football operation.

In less than 48 hours, we will find out whether Geoff Collins is closer to Miller Huggins than he is to Gabe Kapler. We can only pray he is the real boss and doesn’t cede this authority to an incompetent subordinate.

If he does, he is a weak leader who won’t last long at Temple. Or anywhere else for that matter.

Thursday: Tulsa Preview

 

09.13.18
by

How We Went From AAC Champs To AAC Chumps In 2 Years …

sharga

OC Dave Patenaude ditching the “Temple TUFF” offense of full-time fullback (and, more importantly, Geoff Collins’ role in enabling that blunder) is the No. 1 reason why Temple went from consecutive 10-win seasons to a likely 10-loss season.

On the morning Geoff Collins was hired, while finally finding my keys, stashing my wallet away and picking up the cell phone, I looked down and it was ringing.

“Mike, what do you think?” a friend of mine said.

“Think about what?”

“Temple finally announced The Guy.”

“Who?”

chumps

SB Nation’s current (unfortunately correct) assessment of the Temple football program

“Geoff Collins.”

“The guy from Florida?”

“Yeah, isn’t that exciting? I think it’s a great hire.”

“I guess,” I said. “From some of the guys on the list, he’s probably the best one.”


These are guys who
not only do not
understand Temple
TUFF but include an
incredibly arrogant
offensive coordinator
who intentionally sabotaged
the very fullback-oriented
offense that gave Temple
20 wins in two seasons.
That was an offense and
a toughness Temple fans
came to know and love

The list included guys like K.C. Keeler, Danny Rocco, Neil Brown and Matt Canada. Keeler was a failed head coach at nearby Delaware and resurrected his career at Sam Houston State. The other guys were FCS head coaches or FBS coordinators.

Not the kind of list Dr. Pat Kraft should have doodled for an Owl program that had long stretches in the top 25 in consecutive regular seasons.

Underwhelming at best, disappointing at worst.

Given that backdrop, my “I guess” response was appropriate. If Collins had brought with him a national championship Florida coordinator and a Florida quarterback coach—like Steve Addazio did with DC Chuck Heater and QB coach Scot Loeffler—that’s one thing. It’s quite another when your top assistants are from Coastal Carolina and Kennesaw State.

By comparison, Collins has surrounded himself with incompetence and, because of it, has placed a once-great program in jeopardy of a historic free fall. Here’s the empirical evidence:

recentjawns

These are guys who not only do not understand Temple TUFF but include an incredibly arrogant offensive coordinator who intentionally sabotaged the very fullback-oriented offense that gave Temple 20 wins in two seasons. That was an offense and a toughness Temple fans came to know and love.  It was an offense that perfectly epitomized the toughness of the school, its students, the alumni, the city, the neighborhood, even the corner of the practice facility.  It was an offense that had a purpose, with the run setting up a play-action fake and every play seemingly setting up an explosive play in the passing game.  Run the ball successfully with an elite tailback behind an extra offensive lineman (fullback Rob Ritrovato) to bring the linebackers and safeties up to the line of scrimmage. At that point, the defense is susceptible to a deft ball fake that freezes the linebackers and safeties in their tracks and allows the quarterback to find open receivers everywhere. Now, nothing sets up anything else except a five-yard loss on a handoff. This scatterbrained offensive scheme, pardon my language, is complete bullshit that every single one of the 20,000 or so current remaining Temple fans rejects without question.

My feeling was then and still is now that Temple as a program after consecutive 10-win seasons and two appearances in the league championship game reached a point where it could and should have hired an accomplished head coach and did not need to roll the dice on another coordinator again.

evidence

Make no mistake, hiring a coordinator as a head coach is a crapshoot. Coordinator and head coach are two different jobs. Just because you are good at one does not translate being good at another.

The checker at your local grocery store might be the greatest bagger in the history of supermarkets but that doesn’t mean he would make a good store manager.

You could end up with a guy like Al Golden or Matt Rhule or a guy like UConn’s Bob Diaco.

All three had impeccable credentials as a coordinator—Diaco was FBS coordinator of the year as DC at Notre Dame—but there’s plenty of evidence where great coordinators fail as head coaches.

So here we are, not long removed from being a Top 25 (albeit regular season) staple to one coming off a loss to the local FCS program and a team from a lower conference (Buffalo) that the Owls beat 113-13 in their last three meetings with them.

How did we get here?

By rolling the dice on another coordinator when Temple football got to the point where it could attract an accomplished head coach. Owls rolled a seven and 11 on the last two coordinators. It was only a matter of time until their luck ran out.

That appears to be the case now.

If Collins can prove to be Temple TUFF enough to upgrade his coordinators, he has some hope for resuscitating both his career and this precious program, whatever he values the most.

If not, none of us have any hope for anything.

Friday: Fizzy Offers Some Constructive Advice (6 a.m. publishing time)

Saturday: Maryland Preview

Sunday: Game Analysis