08-31-2018, 11:43 AM
(08-31-2018, 10:57 AM)CTcard Wrote: At least on this board, the "Stanford isn't winning the national championship because David Shaw is too conservative" theme seems to have died down a bit. However, it's still the go-to narrative for journalists who aren't working too hard - and is certainly still a major feature of other boards.
The latest example is Tom Fitzgerald's preview in the Chron.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/collegesport...191929.php
His contention:
- Stanford's major problem is on offense
- That problem primarily stems from Shaw being too conservative - which in this case seems to merely mean not passing the ball enough
- This year, Shaw may be "forced" to open up the offense because of the wonderful talent in the pass game
He then backs this up with all sorts of comments that vary from questionable to simply wrong.
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Despite my annoyance at the stale story line and many errors, the broad outline of the preview is correct: Stanford's offense ought to be good, Stanford's defensive prospects are somewhat unclear, and Stanford will be facing some notable obstacles (the difficult even-year schedule and a tough in-division competitor in UW).
Are we sure this column by Fitzgerald isn't a re-submit from 2012 (Rick Reilly style)? :)