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[quote author=martyup link=topic=17393.msg201144#msg201144 date=1505665075]
What is going on with David Shaw?  I've never seen him show so much emotion in all of his years coaching at Stanford.  We've been in worst game situations and he remained calm and stoic.  Last night he nearly got into a fight at the halftime break.  He was markedly more animated on the sideline.  And, in one TV shot during the game he was off away from the team standing by himself.

I suspect that this team is not performing up to Shaw's expectations and he is getting frustrated.  Perhaps this is the most under achieving group he has coached at Stanford.  Or, perhaps Coach Shaw has other things going on in his life that has affected his demeanor.

Having lived through the various coaching iterations at Stanford since the late seventies, I am thankful that Stanford has David Shaw as head football coach.  I have confidence that he will right this ship.  I hope this time isn't the beginning of his end at Stanford.

Was struck that he seemed almost morose on the sideline, as you were.

Certainly the coaching gameplan was uncharacteristic. For better or worse, Shaw's history has not been one of "bold" (or, to look at it from another perspective, "hasty") decisions. He makes his plan and gives it a chance to work. In a world where people panic at the first sign of failure, that can be a helpful quality and I think it's served Stanford pretty well.

Which is what made this game so puzzling. Obviously the game against Rice was not exactly top-tier opposition but the offense looked good. And while the SC performance won't go into the hall of fame, it wasn't a disgraceful performance by any means. A B- or B, we'll say. So why did Shaw decide to blow it up and overhaul the offensive line? It's really weird.

And when that didn't seem to work, the coaches seemed to be mashing the buttons to see what worked. I think there were nine offensive linemen out there at various points (Hall, Little, Burkett, Herbig, Bright, Chaffin, Wilson, Sarell, Hamilton). That's a lot. That's to say nothing of the other various odd decisions. In a situation in which "steady goes the ship of state" wouldn't've been a crazy policy -- and would've stayed true to character -- the coaches opted for desperation. I don't get it, at all.
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I have to believe there's something else going on here, because like you said, over the first couple games the offense was fine. It wasn't amazing against USC, but if we just repeat that level of competence against SDSU then we win handily. Instead we throw everything we have at them and none of it sticks (except, you know, handing the ball to your best player...). It's bizarre.

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[quote author=martyup link=topic=17393.msg201144#msg201144 date=1505665075]
What is going on with David Shaw?  I've never seen him show so much emotion in all of his years coaching at Stanford.  We've been in worst game situations and he remained calm and stoic.  Last night he nearly got into a fight at the halftime break.  He was markedly more animated on the sideline.  And, in one TV shot during the game he was off away from the team standing by himself.

I suspect that this team is not performing up to Shaw's expectations and he is getting frustrated.  Perhaps this is the most under achieving group he has coached at Stanford.  Or, perhaps Coach Shaw has other things going on in his life that has affected his demeanor.

Having lived through the various coaching iterations at Stanford since the late seventies, I am thankful that Stanford has David Shaw as head football coach.  I have confidence that he will right this ship.  I hope this time isn't the beginning of his end at Stanford.

Was struck that he seemed almost morose on the sideline, as you were.

Certainly the coaching gameplan was uncharacteristic. For better or worse, Shaw's history has not been one of "bold" (or, to look at it from another perspective, "hasty") decisions. He makes his plan and gives it a chance to work. In a world where people panic at the first sign of failure, that can be a helpful quality and I think it's served Stanford pretty well.

Which is what made this game so puzzling. Obviously the game against Rice was not exactly top-tier opposition but the offense looked good. And while the SC performance won't go into the hall of fame, it wasn't a disgraceful performance by any means. A B- or B, we'll say. So why did Shaw decide to blow it up and overhaul the offensive line? It's really weird.

And when that didn't seem to work, the coaches seemed to be mashing the buttons to see what worked. I think there were nine offensive linemen out there at various points (Hall, Little, Burkett, Herbig, Bright, Chaffin, Wilson, Sarell, Hamilton). That's a lot. That's to say nothing of the other various odd decisions. In a situation in which "steady goes the ship of state" wouldn't've been a crazy policy -- and would've stayed true to character -- the coaches opted for desperation. I don't get it, at all.
[/quote]

I have to believe there's something else going on here, because like you said, over the first couple games the offense was fine. It wasn't amazing against USC, but if we just repeat that level of competence against SDSU then we win handily. Instead we throw everything we have at them and none of it sticks (except, you know, handing the ball to your best player...). It's bizarre.