Tag Archives: Matt Rhule

08.06.14
by

Coach Rhule Talkin’ About Practice

When it comes to talking about practice, I’m a lot like Allen Iverson. Fast-forward me to Aug. 28 as soon as possible.

You will not find me at the E-O at any of the practices because I’m just not that interested in them. I realize they are a necessary evil to be able to get the job done in the real games and the real games is where they matter.

Still, occasionally it’s interesting to hear some of the developments in the early practices.

Shabazz Ahmed, last year’s starter at defensive end, has been moved to the offensive side of the ball to bolster the OL depth.

There very well could be two Nate Smiths starting on defensive as old dependable Nate D. Smith will hold down his LB spot but Nate L. Smith–who led the state of Pennsylvania in interceptions in 2011–could be moving into a starting spot, according to Matt Rhule.

Khalif Herbin has been very good and I believe the key to the success of the offense will be lining him up on more than one spot on the field. I hope they are able to get the ball into his hands more than the typical 5-7 times a slot receiver is  “targeted” (let alone hit) with a pass per game. To accomplish that goal, I hope Khalif handles punts and kickoffs and is the kind of third-down, change-of-pace, back that got Matty Brown significant playing time as a true freshman.

Other than that, as Jose from Norristown would say, no word on which of the incoming freshman emerges as the speedy and tall target that Robbie Anderson was last season. I hope that development is on the next Matt Rhule tape.

07.30.14
by

Coach Rhule At AAC Media Day

A few things to take from this interview, one that means nothing, the others that mean everything.
First, the nothing part. Nothing ages a man like being either a President of the United States or a Temple head football coach.
I did not notice a single gray hair on the head of Mr. Obama or Mr. Rhule before they took either job. Now there are plenty of both. Al Golden addressed that problem with Grecian Formula.

Now onto the meaningful observations:
Coach Rhule is a very good guy and I would like nothing more than to see him succeed on the job, despite my documented and numerous reservations in the past. He’s a good representative of Temple University.
Rhule seems to have a handle on the team’s problems, the pass rush coming immediately to mind. Moving faster linebackers to ends, where they can use that speed to seek out and destroy enemy quarterbacks, is the key to the defense.
Kiser Terry is now a 285-pound tackle. He used to be a 240-pound end.
The offense will try to spread the ball all over the field and get the ball in numerous guy’s hands. That’s a good thing, if Khalif Herbin is used both as a halfback and a slot back.
Of all the “outside” interviewers, this guy Mark Rogers came into this short interview well-prepared. If only the Temple football beat writer for the Inquirer, John Mitchell, knew as much about Temple football as this guy.
Wonder what coach was looking at in the beginning of the interview? Must have been something distracting him.

05.18.14
by

“P.J., I gotta say these are the greatest helmets ever”

National editor for Rantsports.com saw our helmet story here and asked us to write a version to go national. If story does well in shares and likes, there will be much more national Temple football coverage in the fall on Rant.

National editor for Rantsports.com saw our helmet story here and asked us to write a version to go national. If story does well in shares and likes, there will be much more national Temple football coverage in the fall on Rant. So please AFTER CLICKING ON THE PHOTO OF P.J/KYLE “share” and “like” on facebook and twitter. thanks.

05.13.14
by

The Temple (Football) Brand

This ad appeared on "Owlsports.com" on Monday morning, illustrating the fact that while we all know and love the Temple ][, it doesn't mean crap to a copy writer for Under Armour or the outside Temple public.

This ad appeared on “Owlsports.com” on Monday morning, illustrating  that while we all know and love the Temple ][, it doesn’t mean crap to a copy writer for Under Armour or the outside Temple public.

To me, Al Golden had it right when he restored the Temple football brand to the program at the beginning of his second year as head coach.

At the MAC Media Day in 2007 this is what Al said:

“There are several reasons for the change,” Golden said. “The first is for our current team to discover our tradition. The 2007 uniform brings us back to the most successful TEAM period in the history of Temple Football; a time that produced a 10-game winner and a final Top 20 ranking in both polls. The second reason is quite simply branding. When I was growing up in New Jersey, Temple’s helmets were unique. It was one of the most recognizable helmets in the East, let alone the country. Somewhere along the way that got lost, so I wanted to bring it back. The last reason has to do with our overall football operation. Our goal is to be first in every endeavor that we believe impacts our football team. We now feel like we have the best uniform, not only in the MAC, but on the East Coast. We have our brand back and it is here to stay.”

Golden stayed for five mostly wonderful years but the brand did not because some bald-headed bastard changed it back to the Temple T and then skipped town.


“When I was growing up in New Jersey,
Temple’s helmets were unique.
It was one of the most recognizable
helmets in the East, let alone the country.
Somewhere along the way that got lost,
so I wanted to bring it back …”
_ Al Golden

An ad that appeared on “Owlsports.com”  on Monday morning, May 12, illustrated the need to put the name  “Temple” back in the helmets. A copy writer for Under Armour confused the Temple ][ with the Texas Tech T (see photo at the top of this story) and nobody from Temple caught the mistake before it appeared on “Temple” website. While we all know and love the Temple ][, I have long felt that it doesn’t mean a hill of beans to fans from Texas or Tulane or Tulsa. That’s why Wayne Hardin put TEMPLE on the helmets and why Golden felt it was important to put it back.

Matt Rhule, in my mind, had the right idea in experimenting with a number of attractive helmet combinations but this one won the day by a good margin for me:

To me, this would be the perfect helmet to stick with this season ... marrying the school brand ][ with the football's brand.

To me, this would be the perfect helmet to stick with this season … marrying the school brand ][ with the football’s brand.

To me, the beauty of that helmet is that both promotes the SCHOOL brand and says what the brand stands for, and for that, Matt Rhule may have stumbled upon a “King Solomon-Like” solution that restores the Temple helmets to the national prominence they had under both Al Golden and Wayne Hardin. After all, those were three pretty smart guys: King Solomon, Al Golden and Wayne Hardin.
That kind of Karma might have a positive effect on the won/loss record, too.