Tag Archives: Trent Dilfer

11.17.23
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Saturday: A clash of coaching styles

Temple has more talent than a 3-7 team should have. Coaching, not so much.

From about 1 p.m. in the afternoon on Saturday until a little past 6 in the evening, Temple fans will be able to gauge a couple different coaching philosophies.

At 1, Adam Fisher takes his unbeaten basketball Owls to the Liacouras Center where they will host Columbia.

What did Fisher say in his first press conference?

“I’m here to win right away.”

A couple of hours later, Stan Drayton will take his 3-7 football Owls to Birmingham in an effort to avoid another 3-9 season. Make no mistake, if the Owls don’t win tomorrow (3 p.m., ESPN+), they will finish a miserable 3-9 for the third-straight miserable season. The last guy who finished 1-6 and 3-9 got his ass fired.

What did Drayton say in his first press conference?

“We want to chase greatness.”

Well, Fisher is winning right away and Drayton is still chasing.

Greatness is way ahead of Drayton, almost lapping him on the track. Fisher is just where he wants to be, winning right away.

Our picks this week: SMU covering against Memphis, Navy covering the 2.5 against ECU, Army getting the 4.5 against Coastal and FAU to keep it closer than 9.5 against Tulane.

Sometimes setting the expectations and announcing an urgency to win pays off. We won’t know if it pays off for Fisher for at least a couple of months, but this “chasing” bleep has got to stop and the sooner the better. Fisher went out in the portal and got guys he thought would be able to win right away.

At some point, if you are chasing greatness you’ve got to show the few remaining paying customers that you are at least gaining on it.

Ultimately, when the story of this season is written, the Owls’ offseason failure to improve a running game that finished 129th (out of 131 teams) in 2022 will prove to be their undoing.

From the end of last season to the beginning of this one, we harped in this space that there were great running backs to be had from places like Ball State, Western Michigan, Liberty and even freaking Alcorn State available and ready to transfer to Temple in the portal and watched while the Owls were perfectly content to settle for the freshman running back from Tampa and the holdovers from last season that put them 129 on the totem pole.

That’s how you got to 129 in the first place. Get me at least two 1,000-yard backs in the portal. All the Owls did was get another E.J. (Wilson, not Warner) who had half the yards Edward Saydee had.

That’s not getting it done in the portal.

Worse, a great defensive end hit the transfer portal for the Big 10. The move there was to get three great defensive ends from lower levels. All the Owls did was get Davon Hood from East Tennessee. Nice pickup, but needed to attract two more Hoods to the hood.

That’s how you end up chasing the faster guys ahead of you. Go get me four Jamaican 400-meter relay guys and suddenly those guys are chasing you. That’s what you had all offseason to do. Fisher was pounding the pavement. Drayton might not have been getting a cheesesteak at Richie’s but he didn’t wear out any shoe leather, either.

Temple needs a Howie Roseman of the portal and it’s obvious the Owls don’t have that.

If the Owls beat UAB, an argument could be made that 4-8 is better than 3-9.

Not buying it.

Kyle Hunter picked up this tidbit: UAB is worst in the country in kickoff return yardage allowed. I wonder if this Temple coaching staff is even aware of this? If they are, tell Sam Martin to return those kickoffs. He might be able to recapture that magic and take one to the house like he did earlier this season.

If the Owls are clicking on all cylinders and leading late in the game, expect UAB head coach Trent Dilfer to be going ballistic and yelling at both coaches and players.

I have yet to see Drayton yell at an assistant coach, specifically his precious friend, Everett Withers, for their shortcomings and there have been many.

A guy named Settle might be playing basketball for the Owls but the football Owls certainly appear to settle for losing way too much.

Sometimes you get what you demand.

It’s high time Temple football demands more winning and less chasing.

Tomorrow would be a good day to start.

Late Saturday Night: UAB Game Analysis

09.10.17
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When Sixteen Is Anything But Sweet

Sixteen is usually a pretty sweet number, an indication that growing up is just around the corner, a time to get a driver’s permit or time for a great birthday party.

In football, the number 16 is anything but sweet because that’s the number, despite all of the offensive weapons Temple football has, that Logan Marchi has put up in each of the last two weeks as Temple’s quarterback.

It’s the quarterback’s job to turn the scoreboard into an adding machine and 16 points in each of the last two games does not cut it now and will not cut it going forward.

mattryan

Matt Rhule with Anthony Russo.

The audition is over. Logan Marchi is just OK in my opinion with a limited ceiling and we have seen that ceiling. It’s a 16-point ceiling with 48-point talent around him. It’s not getting any higher nor is he getting any taller.

It’s time for Anthony Russo to take over.

Russo, in my mind, is the perfect quarterback for this offense and he’s got a high ceiling.

He’s tall enough to see the field and has a big enough arm to make all of the throws.

marchi

Our post-game ND analysis called for a quick QB change should the Owls struggle to put points on the board against Nova. Freaking Lehigh put 35 points up on Nova. It’s the quarterback’s job to put points on the scoreboard.

One play stood out in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 16-13 win over Villanova with the Owls having a third-and-four. Logan Marchi stepped into the pocket and threw a pass that may or may not have been complete but we will never know because the pass was blocked at the line of scrimmage.

lesmiles

Les Miles with Anthony Russo.

That’s going to happen when you have a small guy with an average arm.

The Owls have NFL-quality wide receivers in Adonis Jennings, Ventell Bryant, Keith Kirkwood and  Isaiah Wright. They need someone who has a big arm, is tall and can make all of the throws.

Russo is that guy.

On the day Anthony Russo committed to Temple, he received a visit in the cafeteria at Archbishop Wood from then LSU head coach Les Miles. All Russo had to do was make an official visit to LSU and he would have a scholarship. Anthony, being a man of his word, said that he had given it to then head coach Matt Rhule. He previously de-committed from another Power 5 school, Rutgers, to play in his hometown. Coaches like Miles don’t hop on their private jet from Baton Rouge to fly to Warminster without wanting to close the deal. Miles, Matt Rhule and Rutgers all saw big-time in Russo. For some reason, maybe it’s because he’s Matt’s recruit, Collins does not want to give Russo a fair shot. At least that’s my opinion. I saw Russo play many times in big games. He’s fearless and he’s a winner.

Russo is a big-time quarterback, a state champion who tossed 35 touchdown passes in his senior year of high school. The Owls need a guy who can throw touchdown passes, and not just move the offense to get field goals.

They need to go to No. 15 to get over that 16-point ceiling they seem to be stuck on this season.

Or they can score 16 points against UMass and hope the defense delivers again.

To me, that’s a pretty sour option when they have a sweet arm on the bench.

The Owls should be turning these scoreboards into adding machines with that talent and 16 points in each of the first two games is squandering their weapons. The Owls have nothing to lose by giving a proven winner a shot.

Monday: Fizzy’s Corner

Tuesday: What Happened to Mayhem?

Thursday: UMass Preview