11-15-2011, 09:55 AM
Is there any video of the Shaw post-game presser, or any transcription? I am real curious to know if Shaw was asked about how Kelly took risks and he didn't, and if he thinks he may need to be more aggressive and take more risks in the future to beat teams like Oregon.
It is fair to criticize Shaw for how his team played and how he called the game, but he deserves the chance to show how he learned from his first loss before people draw too many conclusions about his fitness as a Head Coach.
To me, the biggest problem he had was his team played tight and scared, not loose enough. I watched the UW-USC game Saturday. USC was playing very uninspired in the game until Kiffin called for a fake punt. USC converted and the team was totally energized. It was the turning point of the game. Harbaugh did an onside kick on Sunday. Kelly took chances last year against Stanford, not in 2009. The common denominator here is none of these coaches were in their first year as a Head Coach when they made these roll the dice decisions.
Everyone just assumes Stanford will roll this week and next. The reality is the Oregon loss is a brobdingnagian let down for the team. You can tell by how the fans are reacting, like the season is lost. Shaw should get a lot of credit if he prepares his team to win the next two games. If he does, he'll have duplicated what Harbaugh did, with much more difficult circumstances - no Skov, no Howell, no Ertz, no Baldwin, no R. Whalen, or effective Owusu, and lots of expectations.
It is fair to criticize Shaw for how his team played and how he called the game, but he deserves the chance to show how he learned from his first loss before people draw too many conclusions about his fitness as a Head Coach.
To me, the biggest problem he had was his team played tight and scared, not loose enough. I watched the UW-USC game Saturday. USC was playing very uninspired in the game until Kiffin called for a fake punt. USC converted and the team was totally energized. It was the turning point of the game. Harbaugh did an onside kick on Sunday. Kelly took chances last year against Stanford, not in 2009. The common denominator here is none of these coaches were in their first year as a Head Coach when they made these roll the dice decisions.
Everyone just assumes Stanford will roll this week and next. The reality is the Oregon loss is a brobdingnagian let down for the team. You can tell by how the fans are reacting, like the season is lost. Shaw should get a lot of credit if he prepares his team to win the next two games. If he does, he'll have duplicated what Harbaugh did, with much more difficult circumstances - no Skov, no Howell, no Ertz, no Baldwin, no R. Whalen, or effective Owusu, and lots of expectations.