Once Again Tedford outcoached Koetter

WinOne · Oct 31, 2004

I can say this as I am an alum of ASU.....What a joke

As I said previously ASU is the biggest fraud in college football and their coach does not seem to be able to adjust his game plan to what a defense is giving him. While I understand that you are down to a walkon RB, and you don't feel that you can run the ball, compensate by throwing the ball to the RB out of the backfield. Instead of running WRs downfield on go routes and trying to get the big play, work your way down the field. Maybe I am being a bit critical but he's had 1 decent year at ASU and we don't seem to be building a balanced team. We seem to be doing it with a gimicky offense that does not know how to put prolonged drives together. My guess is that he does not know how to call a game. Perhaps he should had over the offensive coordinator position and just be a HC.
I am not bitter as I hammered Cal, I am bitter because we've won games that were gift wrapped and handed to us by oposing QB's. (See UCLA, Ore St, Ore games). It is frustrating as an alum because I know we are capable of more. I see other teams in the conference coming up and passing us along the wayside. In a couple of years ASU will be the 7th or 8th best team in the PAC10. Heaven forbid the conference expand and add UTAH and SDSU. Right now I would not want to play UTEP on a neutral field. I'm afraid ASU would get outcoached and the miners win.

Just venting from my hotel. Better go down and get dinner and a beer.

WinOne!!

ProphetablePicks · Oct 31, 2004

win-one ,5 turnovers did us in. Cal socred 21 points off turnovers with the big one coming 13-0 and ASU looking like they were getting in a ryhthem.That one was run back and Cal goes up 20-0. The defense was busting their asses all game .I ended up not having much on this game with oregon and utep being larger plays but as an asu alumn it was frustrating to watch.

WCBias · Oct 31, 2004

Win one...respectfully disagree except for the Dirk Koetter assessment, as I too think he is an average coach.

first and foremost, you should be thrilled that this team is likely going to be playing in the Holiday Bowl and deservedly so.

I thought ASU played very well defensively last night. As well as I had seen them play all year. That is a good unit. They are the reason ASU beat Oregon and Oregon State.

Where we disagree is on offense. Let's start with Andrew Walter. I personally do not buy into his hype. I respect him as a tough player, but he makes a lot of bad throws, and if a team is getting any pressure on him he crumbles. He is a better version of Derek Anderson, and I personally believe he will not be able to be a regular starter on Sundays.

The other key factor to your offense, or lack thereof, is the skill players. You can't get by with a great tight end and one above average receiver, and that is what Hagen is at best. Add to that the lack of running game and you got an average offense at best. There is absolutely no speed on the offensive side of the ball, or if there is, they can't catch. Z. Miller is a stud, but the rest of that receiving corp is brutal, and they are going to get worked against most elite defenses.

I say congratulations to Arizona State...especially on the defensive side of the ball. I fully expect them to win out and play in the holiday bowl, unless of course USC or Cal falters. I just hope for ASU's sake they do not play against Texas (elite defense). Anyone else in the Big 12 and ASU will win....especially Nebraska.

And if someone told me to start this year that ASU would have a 10 wins this season, I'd have bet them $10G.

WinOne · Oct 31, 2004

WC, PP
Do doubt the defense played lights out last night. This was not on them. They are undersized and it is amazing more SC type games have not occurred.

My point was the offense is not well "Coordinated". The team is not capable of driving the ball down field with short passes or screens plays. They must have thrown 15 balls 30+ yards and none were completed. Offensively they rely on the big play, and when they don't hit it, the result is what happened last night. One of their big plays went to a back out of the backfield but it took until the 4th Q to throw it.

If you have no running game, but want to control the clock, you throw short passes to your backs out of the backfiled. They started to do this late in the 3rd Q. HELLO!!! It took you that long to do this to try to sustain drives. I have also thought that Walter is overrated. Every recruiter I talk to knows he tends to lock on receivers, when he feels pressure in the pockets he takes his eyes off receivers and looks at the defenders around him and that he holds the ball low and away from his body. My point was, IF YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AN OFFENSIVE GURU, then you should be able to better coordinate your offense. Perhaps running more screens and underneath routes instead of trying to stretch the field. Why would you continue to try to stretch the field when you have not established anything underneath or a running game.

I am glad that they will go to a bowl, Holiday at best, and I will buy tickets and make it. I just don't see any improvement in the offense. Its the same old big bang. Its kind of like the Homerun hitter who continues to swing for the the fences when a single would drive in a run.

PP - what did you see that would make you want to take ASU. They have had some collosal QB meltdowns against them and you had to know that Rodgers was not going to get rattled and make any mistakes that would cost Cal the game. And the offense was not going to be able to get big plays on Cal as they were going to drop back into "Cover 2" all night. Just curious because you mentioned ASU +14 and then mentioned it again at +17. Hopefully you did not hit it twice.

WinOne!!

ProphetablePicks · Oct 31, 2004

i had a small wager on ASU at + 17.5.I posted the play earlier in the week at 14.5 but waited as I thought the line would go up.Ended up lowering my units on them as mentioned in my thread. If ASU does not have 5 turnovers than this is a game, but of course turnovers are a big part of the game.as WC mentioned their defense looked good but you cant give it away 5 times against a team like Cal,it will kill you and it did.Lets hope ASU can win out. they have three very winable games left.

AlwaysKeen · Nov 1, 2004

have to agree with WinOne...ASU had several chances to get back into this game...and while there were definitely some calls that didn't go their way...never really been impressed with Koetter, or really Andrew Walter...I mean Walter's a good QB and everything, but it just seems like he's hyped up a lot...knew I didn't like Koetter when he ran the old QB out...forget his name...transfered to UMass I believe...we'll see I guess

Conan · Nov 2, 2004

Sorry guys but I had a bye week here with a very busy week traveling and working but that's all over with now. How ironic though that this game turns out to be the ONE that got away and the one that gets all the post game analysis. If there was a single game (or 2) I would have nailed, this was one of them and so was Oregon. I know my opinion about last week is worth nothing as far as a play goes because I couldn't make it here to say something, but if I only had a few minutes and if ONLY my laptop didn't take a crap on me I would have nailed this one with the angle that proved to be the right one. Oh well, all I have is an honest face and a humble heart to sell that idea now and it really don't matter cuz I ain't about ego if you know me. But I shoulda and woulda if I coulda.

I learned something about Koetter when I watched how HIS offensive strategy (or lack of it) matched up against USC and a well oiled defensive machine and I could see this one coming because of that. On defense Cal. = USC in my book and it was no accident that ASU hit a brick wall in both games.

2 weeks ago, all I wanted to know at the time was is Koetter ready for some serious Pac-10 competition or is he just stuck in some kind of blitzkrieg mentality he brought with him from his last job. I even commented afterwards that it was the same old same old and damn if he didn't prove it one more time. Perhaps one day he will take defense (the other half of the game of football) more seriously and maybe even work on "balancing" his offense too? I wouldn't bank on it. I really can't say if he will EVER make it in the Pac-10 because the "are we having fun yet" offensive approach is kind of lame.

Take Stanford this week... I don't mean bet that side but consider them as a young and dumb enough team for Koetter to fool with his "Ali Shuffle" style of attack. That's more his speed just like it was in the last conference where he coached. Aside from that angle, If UCLA can outbomb the Cardinal so can the Sun Devils.

BUT when you add an ounce of expertise or sophistication to an experienced opponent, like a decent defense with good coverages and QB pressure, it's a whole different story.