[stupac2]

[quote author=stupac2 link=topic=18341.msg217887#msg217887 date=1513010383]
You could sum this up as time periods:

1) During the season, Sunday-to-Friday.
2) Spring/Fall camps.
3) Summer/winter when not with the team.
4) 3 hours on Saturday.

I've thought about this a lot. Those golden three hours are the only time we get any information that we can really evaluate, and even then it isn't always clear what we're seeing. Unless it's a choice to punt or go for it on 4th and 1, there aren't too many game decisions that we can directly trace to any one particular coach. Mostly I use this idea in conversations about David Shaw. It doesn't really matter to me that much whether he punts in a given situation or not. Much more important to me is his presence as the Face of the Program, the quality of athlete (skill and character) he recruits, and his year-to-year consistency. I'd expect the same from the offensive coordinator.
[/quote]

I agree with your framing but personally I think those clear-cut situations are the most legitimate times to criticize a coach's decision-making because we have virtually all the information he does. I think that Shaw has historically been too conservative, but is getting better (off the top of my head I can't remember any time this year where I was shouting "GO FOR IT!!" and we kicked, but I may be forgetting some).

Anyway, in the grand scheme of things the fact that the program is in a state where we can argue about whether losing in the CCG and going to the Alamo Bowl is a down year says a lot about how phenomenal of a job Shaw is doing.

[stupac2]

[quote author=stupac2 link=topic=18341.msg217887#msg217887 date=1513010383]
You could sum this up as time periods:

1) During the season, Sunday-to-Friday.
2) Spring/Fall camps.
3) Summer/winter when not with the team.
4) 3 hours on Saturday.

I've thought about this a lot. Those golden three hours are the only time we get any information that we can really evaluate, and even then it isn't always clear what we're seeing. Unless it's a choice to punt or go for it on 4th and 1, there aren't too many game decisions that we can directly trace to any one particular coach. Mostly I use this idea in conversations about David Shaw. It doesn't really matter to me that much whether he punts in a given situation or not. Much more important to me is his presence as the Face of the Program, the quality of athlete (skill and character) he recruits, and his year-to-year consistency. I'd expect the same from the offensive coordinator.
[/quote]

I agree with your framing but personally I think those clear-cut situations are the most legitimate times to criticize a coach's decision-making because we have virtually all the information he does. I think that Shaw has historically been too conservative, but is getting better (off the top of my head I can't remember any time this year where I was shouting "GO FOR IT!!" and we kicked, but I may be forgetting some).

Anyway, in the grand scheme of things the fact that the program is in a state where we can argue about whether losing in the CCG and going to the Alamo Bowl is a down year says a lot about how phenomenal of a job Shaw is doing.