[lex24]

H

I'll give Shaw credit for improving from last season to having a mediocre, middle-of-the-road team. He kept the seat from getting hot, not only for himself but (unfortunately) for his staff. The roster is still too thin, we still have too many injuries (for the third year in a row which makes it no longer a blip but a pattern), and on offense we still get into too many 3rd & 5+ situations.

Given the fact that we now have a three game winning streak (on the road) which includes a victory over a previously undefeated team which will playing for the CC, I give us credit for being somewhat better than mediocre.

Did you watch the game? Specifically the defense? Unfortunately I think winflop is right on the money.

No one is saying this is a great football team.  Or anything close. But the screams of 0-5 were loud.  So one would think winning three straight on the road would be worthy of some praise for the staff.  Speaking of which, the last drive was terrific until the false start.  Burned clock.  Mixed it up with run and pass.  Were in position to essentially run clock out and score. Or come very close.

Mills had a terrific half.  He’s getting better and better.  The line played well.  And while the defense is not strong, they made a couple big plays.

3 nice wins.

"But the screams of 0-5 were loud." So, we should applaud Shaw for avoiding an 0-5 season? That seems like a pretty low bar to me. Look, I'll give him credit for getting his players to continue to battle. The team seems to have heart. But, the core problems with the program still remain, ones which others on this thread have highlighted. I think he'll have to get himself to solve them - principally the poor recruiting on defense and lack of injury prevention - before Stanford comes anywhere in the ballpark to being where it was five years ago.

Continuing to battle?  They won three straight.  The lack of injury prevention is in my opinion one of the more ridiculous criticisms. (I guess Shanahan and the Niners really suck at S and C) Injuries are more of a function of luck than anything else. The  offensive line has certainly seemed significantly stronger this year. No injuries. Does the strength and conditioning coach get any credit for that? Guess not.

 Look – my point is not that this program is where it was a few years back. My point is this program also isn’t in the toilet. Which is where a hell of a lot of people on this board we’re putting it just a few weeks ago. And that perhaps the coaching staff deserve some credit for turning it around and winning the final three games of the regular season under tough circumstances. 

 I also thought the playcalling and game planning from an offensive perspective this year was significantly better. Once they got Mills in a position where he was ready to go you could see the improvement.  Nice mix of run and  pass. Ability to sustain long drives. And finish them.  And a great improvement on both third down and the red zone. (Plus I haven’t noticed and DOG or wasted TOs as play clock runs out the last few weeks. They may have had one in first Q. But I think that was more a function that they didn’t like what they saw).

Specifics: they are 23-41 on third last 3 games. In RZ they are 11-12 with 9 TDS.

 But nobody wants to give Tavita or Shawvita any credit. Ever. That would mean God help us that they might actually stick around. Never mind that Tavita has shown growth. (BTW - Mills looks better every week. Does Tavita get any credit there. Cause the CW here is he (and Shaw) can’t develop QB’s.

Stanford is not going to have a wide-open high tempo offense. To do so would be disastrous. Because they simply don’t have the numbers defensively to sustain that kind of play. Ever.  And in order to play that style you need a lot of depth defensively. That’s not me speaking by the way that’s Oregon’s  former defensive coordinator back from their glory days.  So they play the style of football that puts them in a position to be the most successful. And that starts with a running game and being able to control the football, grind clock and limit possessions.

 The biggest differences this year offensively is first Mills and second since halftime of the Cal game the offensive line has picked it up significantly and Stanford’s been able to run quite well. And most importantly they’ve been able to do it at key times in the football game where they needed to .

 So hey maybe Carberry isn’t a bum either.

I agree wholeheartedly btw that they need to recruit better on the defensive side.

[lex24]

H

I'll give Shaw credit for improving from last season to having a mediocre, middle-of-the-road team. He kept the seat from getting hot, not only for himself but (unfortunately) for his staff. The roster is still too thin, we still have too many injuries (for the third year in a row which makes it no longer a blip but a pattern), and on offense we still get into too many 3rd & 5+ situations.

Given the fact that we now have a three game winning streak (on the road) which includes a victory over a previously undefeated team which will playing for the CC, I give us credit for being somewhat better than mediocre.

Did you watch the game? Specifically the defense? Unfortunately I think winflop is right on the money.

No one is saying this is a great football team.  Or anything close. But the screams of 0-5 were loud.  So one would think winning three straight on the road would be worthy of some praise for the staff.  Speaking of which, the last drive was terrific until the false start.  Burned clock.  Mixed it up with run and pass.  Were in position to essentially run clock out and score. Or come very close.

Mills had a terrific half.  He’s getting better and better.  The line played well.  And while the defense is not strong, they made a couple big plays.

3 nice wins.

"But the screams of 0-5 were loud." So, we should applaud Shaw for avoiding an 0-5 season? That seems like a pretty low bar to me. Look, I'll give him credit for getting his players to continue to battle. The team seems to have heart. But, the core problems with the program still remain, ones which others on this thread have highlighted. I think he'll have to get himself to solve them - principally the poor recruiting on defense and lack of injury prevention - before Stanford comes anywhere in the ballpark to being where it was five years ago.

Continuing to battle?  They won three straight.  The lack of injury prevention is in my opinion one of the more ridiculous criticisms. (I guess Shanahan and the Niners really suck at S and C) Injuries are more of a function of luck than anything else. The  offensive line has certainly seemed significantly stronger this year. No injuries. Does the strength and conditioning coach get any credit for that? Guess not.

 Look – my point is not that this program is where it was a few years back. My point is this program also isn’t in the toilet. Which is where a hell of a lot of people on this board we’re putting it just a few weeks ago. And that perhaps the coaching staff deserve some credit for turning it around and winning the final three games of the regular season under tough circumstances. 

 I also thought the playcalling and game planning from an offensive perspective this year was significantly better. Once they got Mills in a position where he was ready to go you could see the improvement.  Nice mix of run and  pass. Ability to sustain long drives. And finish them.  And a great improvement on both third down and the red zone. (Plus I haven’t noticed and DOG or wasted TOs as play clock runs out the last few weeks. They may have had one in first Q. But I think that was more a function that they didn’t like what they saw).

Specifics: they are 23-41 on third last 3 games. In RZ they are 11-12 with 9 TDS.

 But nobody wants to give Tavita or Shawvita any credit. Ever. That would mean God help us that they might actually stick around. Never mind that Tavita has shown growth. (BTW - Mills looks better every week. Does Tavita get any credit there. Cause the CW here is he (and Shaw) can’t develop QB’s.

Stanford is not going to have a wide-open high tempo offense. To do so would be disastrous. Because they simply don’t have the numbers defensively to sustain that kind of play. Ever.  And in order to play that style you need a lot of depth defensively. That’s not me speaking by the way that’s Oregon’s  former defensive coordinator back from their glory days.  So they play the style of football that puts them in a position to be the most successful. And that starts with a running game and being able to control the football, grind clock and limit possessions.

 The biggest differences this year offensively is first Mills and second since halftime of the Cal game the offensive line has picked it up significantly and Stanford’s been able to run quite well. And most importantly they’ve been able to do it at key times in the football game where they needed to .

 So hey maybe Carberry isn’t a bum either.

I agree wholeheartedly btw that they need to recruit better on the defensive side.