[threepointer]

“Do you want to be a backup at Alabama or do you want to lead the nation in passing?”

It worked.

http://smokeroom.com/2018/11/20/washingt...ing-pitch/

[threepointer]

“Do you want to be a backup at Alabama or do you want to lead the nation in passing?”

It worked.

http://smokeroom.com/2018/11/20/washingt...ing-pitch/

[Stymie]

Was Minshew at all on Shaw's radar, or were his grades/SATs so hopeless that he couldn't slip under the athlete limbo test as many others have done in the past?

[Stymie]

Was Minshew at all on Shaw's radar, or were his grades/SATs so hopeless that he couldn't slip under the athlete limbo test as many others have done in the past?

[BostonCard]

It's not clear that Minshew would be a better QB in our system than Costello.  It seems Minshew is perfect for the air raid.

BC

[BostonCard]

It's not clear that Minshew would be a better QB in our system than Costello.  It seems Minshew is perfect for the air raid.

BC

[chrisk]

It's not clear that Minshew would be a better QB in our system than Costello.  It seems Minshew is perfect for the air raid.

BC

Minshew attended 4 colleges and has played at 3.  His first year as college QB was at a local Mississippi JC.  HArd to turn that into a Stanford recruit.

[chrisk]

It's not clear that Minshew would be a better QB in our system than Costello.  It seems Minshew is perfect for the air raid.

BC

Minshew attended 4 colleges and has played at 3.  His first year as college QB was at a local Mississippi JC.  HArd to turn that into a Stanford recruit.

[StanfordMatt]

If you want to know why East Carolina is likely going to fire their head coach in the next few weeks, look no further than the fact that Minshew wasn't even the full-time starter for the Pirates from 2016-17. Even if you want to label Minshew a "system QB," they essentially run the same Air Raid, or at least a very similar version, in Greenville. When ECU hired Ruffin McNeill from Texas Tech to be their head coach in 2010, Ruffin brought Lincoln Riley along with him from Leach's staff at Texas Tech. At the time, Riley had been the WR coach for Texas Tech and he brought Leach's Air Raid with him. Despite changing head coaches in 2016, the Air Raid has remained a component of the ECU offense (link).

Does Minshew's success this season compared to the past two mean that the ECU coaches are clueless or that Leach is a QB whisperer who does more than just plug-and-play his Air Raid system? Probably a little bit of both, but I find Minshew's story fascinating. Personally, I also think Leach is an offensive genius and hilarious to watch from a distance. That being said, I wouldn't want him anywhere near our football program. I'll gladly deal with Shaw's stubbornness and insistence on running a hobbled running back into a jumbo set of subpar run blocking OL in exchange for the the first class manner in which he represents my alma mater. I could not say the same for Leach.

[StanfordMatt]

If you want to know why East Carolina is likely going to fire their head coach in the next few weeks, look no further than the fact that Minshew wasn't even the full-time starter for the Pirates from 2016-17. Even if you want to label Minshew a "system QB," they essentially run the same Air Raid, or at least a very similar version, in Greenville. When ECU hired Ruffin McNeill from Texas Tech to be their head coach in 2010, Ruffin brought Lincoln Riley along with him from Leach's staff at Texas Tech. At the time, Riley had been the WR coach for Texas Tech and he brought Leach's Air Raid with him. Despite changing head coaches in 2016, the Air Raid has remained a component of the ECU offense (link).

Does Minshew's success this season compared to the past two mean that the ECU coaches are clueless or that Leach is a QB whisperer who does more than just plug-and-play his Air Raid system? Probably a little bit of both, but I find Minshew's story fascinating. Personally, I also think Leach is an offensive genius and hilarious to watch from a distance. That being said, I wouldn't want him anywhere near our football program. I'll gladly deal with Shaw's stubbornness and insistence on running a hobbled running back into a jumbo set of subpar run blocking OL in exchange for the the first class manner in which he represents my alma mater. I could not say the same for Leach.

[JPR36]

If you want to know why East Carolina is likely going to fire their head coach in the next few weeks, look no further than the fact that Minshew wasn't even the full-time starter for the Pirates from 2016-17. Even if you want to label Minshew a "system QB," they essentially run the same Air Raid, or at least a very similar version, in Greenville. When ECU hired Ruffin McNeill from Texas Tech to be their head coach in 2010, Ruffin brought Lincoln Riley along with him from Leach's staff at Texas Tech. At the time, Riley had been the WR coach for Texas Tech and he brought Leach's Air Raid with him. Despite changing head coaches in 2016, the Air Raid has remained a component of the ECU offense (link).

Does Minshew's success this season compared to the past two mean that the ECU coaches are clueless or that Leach is a QB whisperer who does more than just plug-and-play his Air Raid system? Probably a little bit of both, but I find Minshew's story fascinating. Personally, I also think Leach is an offensive genius and hilarious to watch from a distance. That being said, I wouldn't want him anywhere near our football program. I'll gladly deal with Shaw's stubbornness and insistence on running a hobbled running back into a jumbo set of subpar run blocking OL in exchange for the the first class manner in which he represents my alma mater. I could not say the same for Leach.

Actually, it wasn't just East Carolina. Minshew couldn't win the starting job at Troy either. 
Leach may be quirky, eccentric, and a bit of a jerk to boot, but he knows how to coach a football team.
He is 3-1 against us over the last four years, and probably should be 4-0. Does anyone seriously think Wazzu has had better talent than we have over that period?

[JPR36]

If you want to know why East Carolina is likely going to fire their head coach in the next few weeks, look no further than the fact that Minshew wasn't even the full-time starter for the Pirates from 2016-17. Even if you want to label Minshew a "system QB," they essentially run the same Air Raid, or at least a very similar version, in Greenville. When ECU hired Ruffin McNeill from Texas Tech to be their head coach in 2010, Ruffin brought Lincoln Riley along with him from Leach's staff at Texas Tech. At the time, Riley had been the WR coach for Texas Tech and he brought Leach's Air Raid with him. Despite changing head coaches in 2016, the Air Raid has remained a component of the ECU offense (link).

Does Minshew's success this season compared to the past two mean that the ECU coaches are clueless or that Leach is a QB whisperer who does more than just plug-and-play his Air Raid system? Probably a little bit of both, but I find Minshew's story fascinating. Personally, I also think Leach is an offensive genius and hilarious to watch from a distance. That being said, I wouldn't want him anywhere near our football program. I'll gladly deal with Shaw's stubbornness and insistence on running a hobbled running back into a jumbo set of subpar run blocking OL in exchange for the the first class manner in which he represents my alma mater. I could not say the same for Leach.

Actually, it wasn't just East Carolina. Minshew couldn't win the starting job at Troy either. 
Leach may be quirky, eccentric, and a bit of a jerk to boot, but he knows how to coach a football team.
He is 3-1 against us over the last four years, and probably should be 4-0. Does anyone seriously think Wazzu has had better talent than we have over that period?

[Langdude]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

[Langdude]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

[Goose]

Leach may be quirky, eccentric, and a bit of a jerk to boot, but he knows how to coach a football team.
He is 3-1 against us over the last four years, and probably should be 4-0. Does anyone seriously think Wazzu has had better talent than we have over that period?

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Leach is a lot of things, some good, some not so good. However, he is a leader. That is his biggest asset. He can convince people that "If you do what I am telling you to do, you will be successful". They believe him and are "all in". When that happens, things can be accomplished that would normally be impossible. It may be that Leach can lead only certain types of people. It may also be that his leadership sometimes is exploiting his players and getting them to do things that are in his interest but not necessarily the players interest. Whatever the case may be, he can lead, and that is real important on the football field. Leadership is his greatest talent

[Goose]

Leach may be quirky, eccentric, and a bit of a jerk to boot, but he knows how to coach a football team.
He is 3-1 against us over the last four years, and probably should be 4-0. Does anyone seriously think Wazzu has had better talent than we have over that period?

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Leach is a lot of things, some good, some not so good. However, he is a leader. That is his biggest asset. He can convince people that "If you do what I am telling you to do, you will be successful". They believe him and are "all in". When that happens, things can be accomplished that would normally be impossible. It may be that Leach can lead only certain types of people. It may also be that his leadership sometimes is exploiting his players and getting them to do things that are in his interest but not necessarily the players interest. Whatever the case may be, he can lead, and that is real important on the football field. Leadership is his greatest talent

[JPR36]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Yeah, and until we scored our last touchdown in the waning moments of the game (unfortunately they weren't waning enough) they had outscored us 24-3. Somebody noted that they changed up their defense in the second half. Did you notice any other halftime adjustments they made that seemed to be effective?

[JPR36]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Yeah, and until we scored our last touchdown in the waning moments of the game (unfortunately they weren't waning enough) they had outscored us 24-3. Somebody noted that they changed up their defense in the second half. Did you notice any other halftime adjustments they made that seemed to be effective?

[Langdude]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Yeah, and until we scored our last touchdown in the waning moments of the game (unfortunately they weren't waning enough) they had outscored us 24-3. Somebody noted that they changed up their defense in the second half. Did you notice any other halftime adjustments they made that seemed to be effective?

I seem to get a better grasp on tactics when I watch games on television; maybe the ability to rewind, or my eyes are getting old. But I did get the sense that, in the second half, WSU was dropping more players into coverage, and was able to pressure Costello (and stop the run) just enough with three rushers. I also thought that on offense, WSU absolutely picked our pass defense apart, using short passes to set up the occasional 25 yard pass; WSU seems to not get much YAC. I thought we should have blitzed more, but perhaps we lack the personnel.

-m.

[Langdude]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Yeah, and until we scored our last touchdown in the waning moments of the game (unfortunately they weren't waning enough) they had outscored us 24-3. Somebody noted that they changed up their defense in the second half. Did you notice any other halftime adjustments they made that seemed to be effective?

I seem to get a better grasp on tactics when I watch games on television; maybe the ability to rewind, or my eyes are getting old. But I did get the sense that, in the second half, WSU was dropping more players into coverage, and was able to pressure Costello (and stop the run) just enough with three rushers. I also thought that on offense, WSU absolutely picked our pass defense apart, using short passes to set up the occasional 25 yard pass; WSU seems to not get much YAC. I thought we should have blitzed more, but perhaps we lack the personnel.

-m.

[Spiny_Norman]

I thought we should have blitzed more, but perhaps we lack the personnel

Every time Stanford blitzed, Minshew knew exactly where to find a hot receiver. The Cougars got big yardage on these plays so Stanford backed off the blitzes.

[Spiny_Norman]

I thought we should have blitzed more, but perhaps we lack the personnel

Every time Stanford blitzed, Minshew knew exactly where to find a hot receiver. The Cougars got big yardage on these plays so Stanford backed off the blitzes.

[Langdude]

I thought we should have blitzed more, but perhaps we lack the personnel

Every time Stanford blitzed, Minshew knew exactly where to find a hot receiver. The Cougars got big yardage on these plays so Stanford backed off the blitzes.

Roger that. Makes sense. Minshew seems very well trained.

-m.

[Langdude]

I thought we should have blitzed more, but perhaps we lack the personnel

Every time Stanford blitzed, Minshew knew exactly where to find a hot receiver. The Cougars got big yardage on these plays so Stanford backed off the blitzes.

Roger that. Makes sense. Minshew seems very well trained.

-m.

[fullmetal]

Mike Leach has better talent surrounding Minshew than Minshew's ever had, so I'm not sure comparing WSU to ECU, et al. is particularly enlightening.  But Minshew is also progressing and learning still, so maybe it's just all clicked now that he's learning at the foot of Mike Leach.

I'd like to know how Leach is recruiting his offensive line.

[fullmetal]

Mike Leach has better talent surrounding Minshew than Minshew's ever had, so I'm not sure comparing WSU to ECU, et al. is particularly enlightening.  But Minshew is also progressing and learning still, so maybe it's just all clicked now that he's learning at the foot of Mike Leach.

I'd like to know how Leach is recruiting his offensive line.

[JPR36]

Here's why Leach may be a thorn in our sides for years to come.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/co...710530002/

Hopefully, we will eventually figure out how to beat him.
Or maybe Trump will find a place for him in his administration, since both seem to be members of a mutual admiration society.

[JPR36]

Here's why Leach may be a thorn in our sides for years to come.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/co...710530002/

Hopefully, we will eventually figure out how to beat him.
Or maybe Trump will find a place for him in his administration, since both seem to be members of a mutual admiration society.

[Austroturf]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Yeah, and until we scored our last touchdown in the waning moments of the game (unfortunately they weren't waning enough) they had outscored us 24-3. Somebody noted that they changed up their defense in the second half. Did you notice any other halftime adjustments they made that seemed to be effective?

Leach and his defensive coordinator went to the so-called Cover 2 defensive scheme in the second half, which drops the two safeties into zone coverage to assist the corners.  That pressured our receivers and, in turn, made Costello work harder to find an open man.  It definitely slowed down our offense.  In response, Shaw briefly went back to the run game on one key series in the second half and had two four-yard runs, then an incomplete pass on 3rd down to go 3-and-out.  That series proved pivotal in the game.   https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1084...-2-defense

[Austroturf]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Yeah, and until we scored our last touchdown in the waning moments of the game (unfortunately they weren't waning enough) they had outscored us 24-3. Somebody noted that they changed up their defense in the second half. Did you notice any other halftime adjustments they made that seemed to be effective?

Leach and his defensive coordinator went to the so-called Cover 2 defensive scheme in the second half, which drops the two safeties into zone coverage to assist the corners.  That pressured our receivers and, in turn, made Costello work harder to find an open man.  It definitely slowed down our offense.  In response, Shaw briefly went back to the run game on one key series in the second half and had two four-yard runs, then an incomplete pass on 3rd down to go 3-and-out.  That series proved pivotal in the game.   https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1084...-2-defense

[JPR36]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Yeah, and until we scored our last touchdown in the waning moments of the game (unfortunately they weren't waning enough) they had outscored us 24-3. Somebody noted that they changed up their defense in the second half. Did you notice any other halftime adjustments they made that seemed to be effective?

Leach and his defensive coordinator went to the so-called Cover 2 defensive scheme in the second half, which drops the two safeties into zone coverage to assist the corners.  That pressured our receivers and, in turn, made Costello work harder to find an open man.  It definitely slowed down our offense.  In response, Shaw briefly went back to the run game on one key series in the second half and had two four-yard runs, then an incomplete pass on 3rd down to go 3-and-out.  That series proved pivotal in the game.   https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1084...-2-defense

Yeah, it's a bit of a sad commentary on the current state of our running game that with a H-man trophy runner-up in our backfield and the other team setting their defense specifically to stop the pass, those four yard gains are the best we can do.  Oh, well.

[JPR36]

I was at the game. When they went down 14-28, Leach gathered the entire team during the ensuing TV timeout. They all surrounded him on a knee, and he animatedly preached. I don't know what he said, but they listened and nodded throughout his speech. From then on out, WSU outscored Stanford 27-10.

-m.

Yeah, and until we scored our last touchdown in the waning moments of the game (unfortunately they weren't waning enough) they had outscored us 24-3. Somebody noted that they changed up their defense in the second half. Did you notice any other halftime adjustments they made that seemed to be effective?

Leach and his defensive coordinator went to the so-called Cover 2 defensive scheme in the second half, which drops the two safeties into zone coverage to assist the corners.  That pressured our receivers and, in turn, made Costello work harder to find an open man.  It definitely slowed down our offense.  In response, Shaw briefly went back to the run game on one key series in the second half and had two four-yard runs, then an incomplete pass on 3rd down to go 3-and-out.  That series proved pivotal in the game.   https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1084...-2-defense

Yeah, it's a bit of a sad commentary on the current state of our running game that with a H-man trophy runner-up in our backfield and the other team setting their defense specifically to stop the pass, those four yard gains are the best we can do.  Oh, well.

[Hurlburt88]

Could their be any pro interest in Leach going forward, or is he strictly a college guy either by choice or as viewed by NFL GM's?

[Hurlburt88]

Could their be any pro interest in Leach going forward, or is he strictly a college guy either by choice or as viewed by NFL GM's?

[fullmetal]

I could see Leach as an NFL coordinator at best.  I don't see him having the personality required to deal with professional athletes, GMs, and owners.

[fullmetal]

I could see Leach as an NFL coordinator at best.  I don't see him having the personality required to deal with professional athletes, GMs, and owners.