The hard part is not seeing anything better on the horizon. The changes in College Football hurt Stanford tremendously. When I first heard of the transfer portal, I knew it would be bad. But not this bad. Change the coaching staff, the core problems won’t change. When you can lose players regularly and not replace them, that’s a major problem. Depth? Makes it that much tougher.
If they wish to become competitive again, the Administration has to change its position on transfers. And that is not going to happen.
None of this is offered as an “excuse “ for Shaw. The recruiting deficits are showing big time. Thats on him. You can revamp the staff. It won’t matter. There is a major talent deficiency. They built up the program in the trenches. O-line. Defensive front seven. They physically whipped teams. That “impose our will” mentality is long gone. The days when the howling would be over “why didn’t they give it to Gaffney” on top 10 teams, built to play complimentary bruising old style football are long gone.
Can they get back to the days when they at least would hover near .500 and occasionally bust out an 8-4. With an occasional big win? I doubt it. And I doubt it no matter who is at the helm. Not in this new world environment.
They are slow and physically wanting across the front seven. Can’t scheme around that. Focus always on better coaching. Bring me better players. And, just so it’s clear, it’s the coaches job to recruit better players and develop them. But first it’s bringing in talent. That is where the biggest failure lies.
If they wish to become competitive again, the Administration has to change its position on transfers. And that is not going to happen.
None of this is offered as an “excuse “ for Shaw. The recruiting deficits are showing big time. Thats on him. You can revamp the staff. It won’t matter. There is a major talent deficiency. They built up the program in the trenches. O-line. Defensive front seven. They physically whipped teams. That “impose our will” mentality is long gone. The days when the howling would be over “why didn’t they give it to Gaffney” on top 10 teams, built to play complimentary bruising old style football are long gone.
Can they get back to the days when they at least would hover near .500 and occasionally bust out an 8-4. With an occasional big win? I doubt it. And I doubt it no matter who is at the helm. Not in this new world environment.
(09-25-2022, 08:55 AM)CPSteeple Wrote:(09-25-2022, 08:14 AM)pcgoode Wrote: I suspect I was one of the last holdouts on this board still thinking there was a chance for a good season with this team. I was mistaken. If trends we’ve all seen over the last few years continue the only game I can see that we have a decent shot of winning is vs Arizona State, which leaves us 2-10. Shaw would have to go at that point. If he doesn’t, Muir has to go.
+1. I shared your cautious optimism heading into the season, knowing the defense was going to be a bit of a dumpster fire. But last night was the final straw for me as well, more specifically regarding Shaw. The team played hard last night, there was no quit, but this program is desperately in need of new ideas and energy from the top. I can only imagine how deflating it is for these players to trot out there every week knowing they have to score 30+ (now 40+) points per game to have a shot at winning.
They are slow and physically wanting across the front seven. Can’t scheme around that. Focus always on better coaching. Bring me better players. And, just so it’s clear, it’s the coaches job to recruit better players and develop them. But first it’s bringing in talent. That is where the biggest failure lies.