[OutsiderFan]

I know many here don't put much stock in what coaches say in press conferences, but, they can be windows into how coaches think if they let things slip out or otherwise say things that don't seem like the best answers.

Case in point, when a reporter asked Shaw if the offense bore some responsibility for SDSU holding the ball for 41 minutes, he said no, and basically blamed the defense for not getting enough stops.  My jaw dropped when I heard that.  First of all, sure you can win some games your offense only scores 17 points, but it is absurd for a Pac-12 team to not win a game it holds a MWC team to 20 points.  Second, by effectively blaming the defense, Shaw wasn't willing to take the blame for his team's failures, as the guy de-facto in charge of the offense.

The correct answer was "yes, we needed to play better on offense to help our defense, and I take responsibility for that."  Why?  Because it's obvious for anyone - even those who didn't watch the game - to see from the stats alone that the offensive failures likely put more pressure on the defense, and that the defense was worn down at the end of the game on SDSU's game-winning drive.  But even if Shaw is right that the defense should have gotten more stops, he can't say it.  Doing so can sow seeds of doubt that could fester. It also makes the HC look like rather than admitting faults - for the list of transparently obvious offensive failures - he's blaming others for his own failures with the offense.  That's just never a good thing for a leader to do. 

[OutsiderFan]

I know many here don't put much stock in what coaches say in press conferences, but, they can be windows into how coaches think if they let things slip out or otherwise say things that don't seem like the best answers.

Case in point, when a reporter asked Shaw if the offense bore some responsibility for SDSU holding the ball for 41 minutes, he said no, and basically blamed the defense for not getting enough stops.  My jaw dropped when I heard that.  First of all, sure you can win some games your offense only scores 17 points, but it is absurd for a Pac-12 team to not win a game it holds a MWC team to 20 points.  Second, by effectively blaming the defense, Shaw wasn't willing to take the blame for his team's failures, as the guy de-facto in charge of the offense.

The correct answer was "yes, we needed to play better on offense to help our defense, and I take responsibility for that."  Why?  Because it's obvious for anyone - even those who didn't watch the game - to see from the stats alone that the offensive failures likely put more pressure on the defense, and that the defense was worn down at the end of the game on SDSU's game-winning drive.  But even if Shaw is right that the defense should have gotten more stops, he can't say it.  Doing so can sow seeds of doubt that could fester. It also makes the HC look like rather than admitting faults - for the list of transparently obvious offensive failures - he's blaming others for his own failures with the offense.  That's just never a good thing for a leader to do.