* This is something I emailed to friends. May be little new for knowledgeable Cardboarders, but I thought I'd share anyway.
I am ambivalent about the 2020 season proceeding. On the one hand, I feel like there are bigger issues in the world to worry about, and I am concerned about the health of student athletes and their communities and issues of fairness. But on the other hand, I think the Pac 12 conference has been the most responsible out of the Power 5 conferences, and they chose to resume only after they procured rapid Covid tests for student athletes. I also put a lot of faith in Stanford in particular to create safe procedures, and to provide world-class medical care to make sure no infected student athlete participates when it could impact their or others' health.
After its first losing season in a decade in 2019, Stanford had further setbacks when All-Americans Walker Little and Paulson Adebo declared they would forgo the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL draft.
But it'll be a challenging year for all teams. And Stanford returns Davis Mills as quarterback, who, when healthy, looks to be the most talented quarterback since Andrew Luck. Stanford has probably the most talented collection of wide receivers ever, and even with the loss of Walker Little, Stanford has still probably has more than 5 offensive linemen who will play in the NFL, so the offense could return to its bullying ways.
Oregon enters the season the highest ranked team in the Pac-12 -- they actually started at #7 but dropped to #12 when other teams were playing while the Pac-12 waited for its season to start. But Oregon lost their superstar quarterback Justin Hebert as the 6th overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and they start with an entirely new offensive line.That combination is usually a tasty prospect for defensive coordinators.
Stanford has its own issues -- two consecutive years of wipeout injuries, and on defense, Paulson Adebo's absence leaves a big question mark in the secondary. The up-and-coming inside linebackers may one day be a terror, but middle linebackers are like the quarterbacks of the defense, so inexperience hurts there. And as far as I know, Stanford has only one true defensive tackle on its roster -- the Godzilla-sized Dalyn Wade-Perry -- who apparently is already banged-up.
But hopefully, Stanford has so much offensive firepower it can cover for the defense as it gains experience, and hopefully no one gets injured and no one gets sick.
It's a real wildcard year. Anything can happen. I could see Stanford going undefeated in its division (I think only Cal and Stanford have returning quarterbacks in the Pac-12 North) and heading to the Pac-12 championship game and who knows what next.
But I could also see the interruptions and challenges creating too many barriers to pull everything together. Stanford hasn't had that something special in its defensive line since its legendary coach, Randy Hart, retired after the 2016 Rose Bowl. And its nationally-recognized strength and training coach was terminated a year and a half ago. And Stanford was not a good tackling team in 2019, and with no extra practices for a Bowl Game, and a shortened Spring football, and fewer fall practices, technique generally does not magically improve by itself.
But, assuming Stanford can complete its season, there are reasons for optimism.
Stanford often has a strong start to the season and then hits some bumps as the injuries mount, but with a shortened season, hopefully, there will be fewer injuries.
Opponents call Stanford Stadium "the library" due to a lack of crowd size and noise (** not including me, obviously). This year, Stanford has away games in Washington and Autzen, stadiums so loud players say they can't hear the quarterback and can't even hear themselves think. But there will be no in-person fans this season, and if there is one team that has been training its whole life to play in quiet, empty stadiums, it is Stanford.
And finally, the student athletes weren't on campus March-July. So they've been in communication with their coaches on Zoom to study their technique and to learn the game. Over the summer, student athletes have been emailing their trainers to fashion weightlifting and training gear out of everyday items around their homes. And they've been relying on their own sense of responsibility and self-motivation to continue to develop themselves during the offseason.
A season that requires players to be so self-motivated and disciplined that they can continue to train and to prepare even without the scaffolding of trainers, coaches, and facilities around them? This sounds like a Stanford student athlete to me.
Kickoff is this Saturday at 4:30pm.
I am ambivalent about the 2020 season proceeding. On the one hand, I feel like there are bigger issues in the world to worry about, and I am concerned about the health of student athletes and their communities and issues of fairness. But on the other hand, I think the Pac 12 conference has been the most responsible out of the Power 5 conferences, and they chose to resume only after they procured rapid Covid tests for student athletes. I also put a lot of faith in Stanford in particular to create safe procedures, and to provide world-class medical care to make sure no infected student athlete participates when it could impact their or others' health.
After its first losing season in a decade in 2019, Stanford had further setbacks when All-Americans Walker Little and Paulson Adebo declared they would forgo the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL draft.
But it'll be a challenging year for all teams. And Stanford returns Davis Mills as quarterback, who, when healthy, looks to be the most talented quarterback since Andrew Luck. Stanford has probably the most talented collection of wide receivers ever, and even with the loss of Walker Little, Stanford has still probably has more than 5 offensive linemen who will play in the NFL, so the offense could return to its bullying ways.
Oregon enters the season the highest ranked team in the Pac-12 -- they actually started at #7 but dropped to #12 when other teams were playing while the Pac-12 waited for its season to start. But Oregon lost their superstar quarterback Justin Hebert as the 6th overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and they start with an entirely new offensive line.That combination is usually a tasty prospect for defensive coordinators.
Stanford has its own issues -- two consecutive years of wipeout injuries, and on defense, Paulson Adebo's absence leaves a big question mark in the secondary. The up-and-coming inside linebackers may one day be a terror, but middle linebackers are like the quarterbacks of the defense, so inexperience hurts there. And as far as I know, Stanford has only one true defensive tackle on its roster -- the Godzilla-sized Dalyn Wade-Perry -- who apparently is already banged-up.
But hopefully, Stanford has so much offensive firepower it can cover for the defense as it gains experience, and hopefully no one gets injured and no one gets sick.
It's a real wildcard year. Anything can happen. I could see Stanford going undefeated in its division (I think only Cal and Stanford have returning quarterbacks in the Pac-12 North) and heading to the Pac-12 championship game and who knows what next.
But I could also see the interruptions and challenges creating too many barriers to pull everything together. Stanford hasn't had that something special in its defensive line since its legendary coach, Randy Hart, retired after the 2016 Rose Bowl. And its nationally-recognized strength and training coach was terminated a year and a half ago. And Stanford was not a good tackling team in 2019, and with no extra practices for a Bowl Game, and a shortened Spring football, and fewer fall practices, technique generally does not magically improve by itself.
But, assuming Stanford can complete its season, there are reasons for optimism.
Stanford often has a strong start to the season and then hits some bumps as the injuries mount, but with a shortened season, hopefully, there will be fewer injuries.
Opponents call Stanford Stadium "the library" due to a lack of crowd size and noise (** not including me, obviously). This year, Stanford has away games in Washington and Autzen, stadiums so loud players say they can't hear the quarterback and can't even hear themselves think. But there will be no in-person fans this season, and if there is one team that has been training its whole life to play in quiet, empty stadiums, it is Stanford.
And finally, the student athletes weren't on campus March-July. So they've been in communication with their coaches on Zoom to study their technique and to learn the game. Over the summer, student athletes have been emailing their trainers to fashion weightlifting and training gear out of everyday items around their homes. And they've been relying on their own sense of responsibility and self-motivation to continue to develop themselves during the offseason.
A season that requires players to be so self-motivated and disciplined that they can continue to train and to prepare even without the scaffolding of trainers, coaches, and facilities around them? This sounds like a Stanford student athlete to me.
Kickoff is this Saturday at 4:30pm.
