The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

A closer look

September 22, 2008 by Mike Casazza

Time for a change … no, not what you think. The discussion today has been good and it seems like a fine time to shift our focus from what’s being written and said about the team to what needs to happen with this team. Everyone worries about the problems but they’re in the past I worry about solutions. There are some issues, so let’s examine them and maybe teach each other a thing or two. At the very worst, it helps to get off your mind and out in the open. Feel free to chime in on the interaction.

I begin today with the most surprising: The offensive line has been surprisingly inconsistent.

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Stewart’s contract

by Mike Casazza

That the story came out today was by coincidence and not by design. That Bill Stewart’s contract is a rather obvious reflection of the past was by design and not a coincidence.  

G. Coach’s Obligation Upon Termination. All materials or articles of information,
including without limitation, keys, keycards, cell phones, computers, equipment, parking
passes, automobiles,personnel records, recruiting records, team information, video,
statistics or any other materialdocuments, correspondence, or other data furnished to the
Coach by the University or developed by the Coach, whether directly or by others under
his supervision and control, on behalf of the University for the University’s use or
otherwise in connection with the Coach’s employment hereunder shall remain the sole
property of the University. Coach shall cause any and all such materials in his possession
or control to be delivered to the University by or before close of business on the date of
his termination of employment.

Not that I need to clarify this, but that’s quite clearly inserted with the P-Rod fiasco in mind. And there’s more…

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Talking points

by Mike Casazza

I was going to do the Monday morning ritual, but I saw that WVU, which has lost back-to-back games and scored 17 points in the process, opened as a 17-point favorite against its rival Marshall Saturday. I’m honestly a little surprised. A bizarre beginning to a week. And what a week it will be.  

Bill Stewart’s been around a long time and I’m sure he’s had hard, hard weeks at the office. He’s been fired, after all, and involved in a lawsuit that kept him out of coaching for a year. The future was never guaranteed. In his profession, it never is.

I’m positive he’s been low before, if for no other reason than he’s so resilient and optimistic.

I just wonder if this week is as tough as any other … or better yet, will any other week be as hard as this one? 

I could be way off, but this won’t be easy.

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Vent … again

September 19, 2008 by Mike Casazza
rocky mtn cry

Well, half-right with regard to the Rocky Mt. Cry, but that offense is not scoring 35 points without significant alterations.

Postives? WVU ran the ball really, really well. Negative? The Mountaineers were weak on third down and simply need someone to block at the point-of-attack on short-yardage situations. Positive? The defense was mostly great in the final three quarters, if not helped by Colorado’s curious decision to stop throwing the ball. Negative? WVU has stopped throwing, too. Positive? The defense is going to get better and better. Negative? I’m not sure the receivers can make the offense markedly better.

Coaching is certanly up for discussion. As for the clock management, I don’t entirely disagree with what the coaches were saying afterward. If Devine gets the third-and-1 at the Colorado 47 with 24 seconds to go, the game is definitely different. As for the play call, the zone read was their best play all game. It just didn’t work … which is a recurring theme.

Your thoughts? Long night writing, long day of travel waiting for me. I’ll check in as often as I can.

Relax!

September 18, 2008 by Mike Casazza

Kige wastes no time in assuaging your anxieties.

How CU landed top recruit

by Mike Casazza

Bill Stewart spent a lot of time this week talking about how Josh Smith might be the best return man in the country, but we all neglected to recognize how great a recruiter he is.

I truly had no idea Darrell Scott ended up at Colorado because, well, to be honest, Scott was the nation’s top running back recruit last year and those players don’t often end up in Boulder, Colo. I also has no idea of the relationship between Smith and Scott. This is a compelling look at Scott’s decision, but this is the best and most telling part.

Conversation turned to Colorado. Scott mentioned that he had a two-year relationship with the team’s running backs coach, Darian Hagan. He also said his uncle, the rising sophomore wide receiver Josh Smith, played for the Buffaloes. This caused Scott’s mother to raise her eyebrows.

“I know, but it’s a big thing,” Scott said. “I mean, family comes first.”

Help me out here

by Mike Casazza

Anybody know the last time WVU played against a no-huddle offense … and please don’t say, “The last time they practiced!” Because that would be right. And wrong. Seeing as if it took me about 11 hours to do make a trip that wasn’t supposed to last much longer than seven, I had some time to think, but I couldn’t come up with the answer.

As it is, the Mountaineers will play the no-huddle Colorado Buffalos tonight. It might not be a factor unless, say, nobody knew the Buffs did that stuff, but it might also make a difference. I don’t really care how much WVU’s defense goes up against its own offense in practice and I don’t know how much I believe in the idea games are easier than practices. What I do think is that it’ll be different, maybe even difficult, at least early in tonight’s game.

McKnight said offensive players spent the summer focused on conditioning and, as a result, the Buffaloes rarely substitute and try to use their personnel in such a way to create and exploit favorable personnel matchups.

That could be an issue for the Mountaineers, who prefer to substitute in their swat package for third-and-long.

“One thing the no-huddle allows us to do is dictate the tempo a little,” McKnight said. “It lets us come to the line and call audibles. If we don’t like a play, we can audible out of it. If we see something we like, we can try for that.”

Kill the radio, add life to your party

September 17, 2008 by Mike Casazza

I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve heard Tony Caridi call a football or basketball game. Actually, I think I could do so on one of Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown’s hands (Trivia: He had four fingers!). Such is life when you’re in the press box or on press row  — or when you’re not covering a game and have no desire to listen at home or in the car.

That said, I’ve seen the guy pour over notes and do all sorts of research so that he might have the necessary knowledge at his fingertips come game time … once as he was sipping tea to beat laryngitis the day before calling an Elite Eight game. The result? Expertly crafted charts that seem to contain everything about everyone.

Why do I mention this? To get a plug on the radio? Get invited into the studio? Quite the contrary. It’s to encourage you to turn up the TV and wow your friends Thursday night with Tony’s your intimate knowledge of the teams. (Right-click, rotate clockwise and enjoy!)

Off to Denver…

Who wins John Denver’s affection?

September 16, 2008 by Mike Casazza

It’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” vs. “Rocky Mountain High” and you have to figure John Deutschendorf, Jr. — aka John Denver — will be looking down upon Folsom Field Thursday night. Two schools representing two states JD held in high regard face off in what we may as well call the John Denver Bowl.

He lived, you know, in Colorado and he was here in Morgantown for the opening of the Mountaineer Field in 1980 to sing “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

The song, of course, has become the state anthem in West Virginia, if not its official state song. (In Colorado “Rocky Mountain High” is one of two official state songs.)

In West Virginia it has come to stand not only for the beauty and lore of the state, but for triumph on the football field, a song WVU players and fans sing at the end of each home victory, the one legacy from Rich Rodriguez that should last forever.

Behold Dan Hawkins…

by Mike Casazza

… and “a preposterously oversized head,” which is one of numerous gems contained within this fantastic feature on the Colorado football coach. He appears equal parts bizarre and brilliant, maniacal and motivational, but completely entertaining and enjoyable.

“I understand how everybody wants to know all they can about Rob Lowe and these celebrities in the public eye,” he said then, questioning my interest in him. “I’m just your average cat on the street. I lie around on my couch and scratch my balls just like everyone else.”

Now we walk across the Valor campus together. A wind cuts across the quad, making me shiver. I say something about the low temperature.

“Cold?” he quips. “This ain’t cold.”

I tell him that I’m from Miami, and although I’ve been in Colorado for a year I still haven’t adjusted to the climate. He looks at me but doesn’t say anything. I can’t tell if he’s processing my words or if maybe I’m boring him. His gaze drifts from me, past the campus, to a horizon of subdivisions and shopping centers. We take a couple more steps toward the gym.

“I think of myself as indigenous,” he says finally. “When people ask where I’m from, I like to say I’m from Earth.”

Rob Lowe? Indigenous? You owe it to yourself to go on. I’m pleased to know there’s more to the man than one memorable outburst … though that’s covered toward the end.

One afternoon this spring, I heard Hawkins’ infamous words echo across the practice bubble. A trio of visitors had prodded him to repeat the Rant, and he delivered the goods, to their delight. It is delightful.