[Austroturf]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BarryJSanders26/status/1198393108028747776[/tweet]

This is on point.  Yes, major improvements are necessary on both sides of the ball.  We need to improve recruiting, increase the number of scholarship players, develop a coherent offensive identity and upgrade the coaching staff in various positions.  But if the players that result from these changes are either injured or out-of-shape or both, we won't see any improvement in the final tally of Ws and Ls.  

The decline in toughness, stamina and the oft-cited "Intellectual Brutality" of Stanford football is evident to anyone who has followed the team during the Shaw era.  He started out with a band of merry marauders who would happily push any opponent off the field, particularly late in the game, and now has a MASH unit that surrenders in the 4th quarter.  This is not just bad luck.  This is a clear indictment of the strength and conditioning program, which was a major factor in Stanford's run of success in the HarShaw era.  A simple formula: make the players stronger and fitter, and they will suffer fewer injuries, play longer and, yes, play better.  

I sometimes doubt whether Shaw really values that aspect of the game.  We don't know why Turley was let go nor why the S&C program has been moved outside of Shaw's direct purview; but if I were in Shaw's position, I would insist on having a solid replacement for Turley directly on the staff and accountable to the football team only.  During the now departed golden years of Stanford football, the post game-day articles would often detail the casualties incurred by Stanford's opponents during the contest.  Now it's the other way around.  And this will continue unless this now deficient part of the program is addressed and improved.  

I have often had the impression that Shaw believes "Intellectual Brutality" has been institutionalized at Stanford and is a birthright.  If he ever entertained this delusion, I hope the results this season will disabuse him of that notion.  Since we will never have the recruiting classes of Bama, Clemson, Ohio State or even USC, our only chance of returning to preeminence is to field a squad of fit and scrappy players that can stay healthy and punch above their weight.

[Austroturf]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BarryJSanders26/status/1198393108028747776[/tweet]

This is on point.  Yes, major improvements are necessary on both sides of the ball.  We need to improve recruiting, increase the number of scholarship players, develop a coherent offensive identity and upgrade the coaching staff in various positions.  But if the players that result from these changes are either injured or out-of-shape or both, we won't see any improvement in the final tally of Ws and Ls.  

The decline in toughness, stamina and the oft-cited "Intellectual Brutality" of Stanford football is evident to anyone who has followed the team during the Shaw era.  He started out with a band of merry marauders who would happily push any opponent off the field, particularly late in the game, and now has a MASH unit that surrenders in the 4th quarter.  This is not just bad luck.  This is a clear indictment of the strength and conditioning program, which was a major factor in Stanford's run of success in the HarShaw era.  A simple formula: make the players stronger and fitter, and they will suffer fewer injuries, play longer and, yes, play better.  

I sometimes doubt whether Shaw really values that aspect of the game.  We don't know why Turley was let go nor why the S&C program has been moved outside of Shaw's direct purview; but if I were in Shaw's position, I would insist on having a solid replacement for Turley directly on the staff and accountable to the football team only.  During the now departed golden years of Stanford football, the post game-day articles would often detail the casualties incurred by Stanford's opponents during the contest.  Now it's the other way around.  And this will continue unless this now deficient part of the program is addressed and improved.  

I have often had the impression that Shaw believes "Intellectual Brutality" has been institutionalized at Stanford and is a birthright.  If he ever entertained this delusion, I hope the results this season will disabuse him of that notion.  Since we will never have the recruiting classes of Bama, Clemson, Ohio State or even USC, our only chance of returning to preeminence is to field a squad of fit and scrappy players that can stay healthy and punch above their weight.