I posted this on another board (Scoopduck for total transparency) in response to a thread that included the comment: "You don't beat Stanford (I am giving myself that one) nor do you beat UW or Cal for that matter with a totally depleted roster." I thought my response might trigger some discussion here, too.:
True, but few teams start their seasons with "depleted rosters". Look at how beat up we were after Washington. Without time to heal, those same guys got MORE beat up against Cal. Then we face WSU who knocked out socks off (ergo, more "depletion") mentally as well as physically. It happens over time.
EVERY team has a tipping point beyond which they don't have sufficient talent left available to meet all the challenges they face. Some reach that point earlier than others. I submit that ours came a couple weeks ago when Penei, Austin Faoliu and Dallas Warmack all went out. We covered for them - sort of - for a while, but we've never really replaced them.
We don't have the bodies on the roster that we need, and that is a result of YEARS of lackluster to completely incompetent recruiting. The only solution is YEARS of high caliber recruiting across the board.
Recruiting rankings are weird. If we get 5 high quality linemen, 2 high ranked backs and one high ranked DB..we'll be ranked pretty well. Look at that class though for something beyond just the number of stars. It sets up YEARS of problems down the road because of all the needs it doesn't address. That happened time and time again - usually with the same areas (LB, DL, DB, WR) being left void or nearly so. Note where the majority of those "voids" lie...on Defense. Our LBs are struggling to rebuild a functional unit, not a great one, a functional one. Same with our DBs and our DL. Injuries to ONE key individual derails that progress. That speaks to a lack of depth which is a function of poor recruiting.
Look deeper. Crap doesn't pile up this deep in one year. It takes a concerted lack of effort by a poor coaching staff over several seasons to reach this level when you start out with the talent to play for the natty. To our current dismay, our D staff put forth that lack of effort and utterly destroyed that side of the ball. Likewise our WR coaching missed the memo on working hard and didn't get anyone to help down the road, either.
It's a long road back and that road is going to have potholes and some painful moments, but if we want to get back the RIGHT way, we're going to need to put in the time, the effort and the pain to make it happen. THIS staff, I believe fully, is willing to do that (and, in fact, already is doing that). Fans need to look beyond the moment and quit jerking their...knees...when things don't go smoothly during that rebuilding process.
True, but few teams start their seasons with "depleted rosters". Look at how beat up we were after Washington. Without time to heal, those same guys got MORE beat up against Cal. Then we face WSU who knocked out socks off (ergo, more "depletion") mentally as well as physically. It happens over time.
EVERY team has a tipping point beyond which they don't have sufficient talent left available to meet all the challenges they face. Some reach that point earlier than others. I submit that ours came a couple weeks ago when Penei, Austin Faoliu and Dallas Warmack all went out. We covered for them - sort of - for a while, but we've never really replaced them.
We don't have the bodies on the roster that we need, and that is a result of YEARS of lackluster to completely incompetent recruiting. The only solution is YEARS of high caliber recruiting across the board.
Recruiting rankings are weird. If we get 5 high quality linemen, 2 high ranked backs and one high ranked DB..we'll be ranked pretty well. Look at that class though for something beyond just the number of stars. It sets up YEARS of problems down the road because of all the needs it doesn't address. That happened time and time again - usually with the same areas (LB, DL, DB, WR) being left void or nearly so. Note where the majority of those "voids" lie...on Defense. Our LBs are struggling to rebuild a functional unit, not a great one, a functional one. Same with our DBs and our DL. Injuries to ONE key individual derails that progress. That speaks to a lack of depth which is a function of poor recruiting.
Look deeper. Crap doesn't pile up this deep in one year. It takes a concerted lack of effort by a poor coaching staff over several seasons to reach this level when you start out with the talent to play for the natty. To our current dismay, our D staff put forth that lack of effort and utterly destroyed that side of the ball. Likewise our WR coaching missed the memo on working hard and didn't get anyone to help down the road, either.
It's a long road back and that road is going to have potholes and some painful moments, but if we want to get back the RIGHT way, we're going to need to put in the time, the effort and the pain to make it happen. THIS staff, I believe fully, is willing to do that (and, in fact, already is doing that). Fans need to look beyond the moment and quit jerking their...knees...when things don't go smoothly during that rebuilding process.
