October 27, 2006
Finally…
For all the “sturm und drang” from the boosters and fans, tales of death and demise from reporters and commentators, and “aw shucks” empty platitudes from the coaching staff, there has been almost a complete absence of clear and analytical truth spoken to, and of, the FSU football program. We’ll finally get some from Emily Badger and the Orlando Sentinel. More after the jump…
It is by necessity and by history a soul-searching time for the program and its fans, of which I am one. Few teams have rocketed so quickly and thunderously into the national spotlight, no team in history has had a similar top-5 run, and no head coach in history has had more I-A wins. For a decade and a half, most of my viewing life at that point, fans of FSU were treated to some of the most impressive, amazing, and heart-breaking football around. Of course such halcyon days would be hard to release into the hard truth of “all good things must end.”
Were we (as fans) spoiled? Absolutely. Do we have any right to complain so vociferously, now that tides have turned? Maybe, maybe not. Do we have a right to expect a team in the top 10, top 5 every year? We seem to think so, which is why the yapping around FSU has been so loud lately: Fire Jeff! Retire Bobby! Kill Dickey and Sexton! But when you read between those lines, and the ones in the Tallahassee Democrat (from both the writers and coaches), there’s a lack of substance that seems shocking, given the weight of the issues at hand. Well, that was until Emily, who is great all the time and a regular read, came along and took a long hard look at FSU’s recent recruiting classes. For me, the talent question has been the elephant in the room for the last 6 years. As Emily points out:
The [2006] class was consensus top 10 nationally, as four of FSU’s past five have been. Three of those classes have even been top five.So as a program, FSU is still pulling in the best high school athletes in the nation.
According to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal, FSU is also (and by a wide margin) putting out the best talent in the NFL. So what happens in the 4 years in between?
How, then, did all these highly ranked recruits grow up to become an unranked football team? How, then, has FSU lost seven of its past 12 games dating to last season? How, then, have the ‘Noles lost as many games since the beginning of the 2001 season — 23 — as they did in the previous 15?
Emily chalks up most of the tumult to attrition, chronicling the short tenures and losses of super-recruits like Antonio Cromartie, Fred Rouse, and Callahan Bright, as well as the disastrous 2001-2002 offensive line classes, from which FSU has yet to recover. Which is a fantastic insight, although I’m not sure how that compares to other teams. But I think she lets the majority of the coaching staff off the hook.
Look at every position on the field, and ask, “has that player improved over his 3 or 4 years?” The answer is, for the most part, a resounding “no.” QB? Rix never got better, but wasn’t he an idiot? Weatherford seems to have plateaued, and Xavier Lee threw 3 INTs (one for a touchdown) in 9 attempts against Duke. RB? In all the splitting time between Greg Jones, Leon Washington, Lorenzo Booker and Antone Smith, none have been as dominant as they could have, and in my book misuse counts as a lack of player development. WR? Chris Davis is the same player he was his freshman year, DeCody Fagg is still just solid (which isn’t a bad thing), and potential monster Greg Carr is still a potential monster, presumably because of his run-blocking skills. The OL has been well-chronicled, and the defensive secondary is close to laughable. The one position that keeps churning out great players, and guys who you watch get better and better over their FSU careers is linebacker. That’s it- that’s the list.
I hate to agree with Colin Cowherd (9 mins in), and I think Emily’s right in pointing out how many expected contributors have, for one reason or another, left Tallahassee. But that still doesn’t explain why those that are in Tallahassee aren’t contributing as expected.
The Itch - Dry, Flaky Sports Commentary 
theredhookraider said,
October 27, 2006 at 2:10 pm
Isn’t it “just” the coaching? Why can’t he pull a Paterno and fire half of his staff and then re-approach it? I think that’s got to be the best move for the ‘Noles.
Halleck T. said,
October 27, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Of course that’s the best move. You need a complete offensive overhaul, and a new secodary coach. But that assumes that Bowden can/wants to make that kind of decision. There hasn’t been one single indicator that he would remove Jeff, or anyone else. More likely is he wants Jeff to succeed him. Which would, without a doubt, be the most disastrous coach replacement in the history of the game. Worse than Zook after Spurrier.
Haunted by eBay, Bowden Resorts to Human Sacrifice « The Itch - Dry, Flaky Sports Commentary said,
November 21, 2006 at 10:32 am
[…] TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – From mentally handicapped quarterbacks, to poorly recruited offensive lines, and on to underwhelming playmakers, a myriad of excuses have been employed to justify the funeral procession that the Florida State offense has become over the last 5 seasons. But head coach Bobby Bowden may have revealed the true gremlin in the gearbox at FSU yesterday while answering questions from reporters. When asked why his son Jeff’s tenure as offensive coordinator had come to such an ignominious end, Bowden replied: “Because you all ignited it,” he said to a small room of reporters. “You listen to eBay and e-mail and all that junk, and you all kept writing about it and that fans it and makes it grow and grow, and it becomes a cancer. That’s why.” […]