GrizzlyBill
November 2nd, 2009, 10:05 AM
It has been a good era to be a Griz Fan, since I moved to Missoula in 1990.
The audacity early in an important game to run a fake punt reverse on (about) 4th and 8 near midfield, exemplifies an exciting (perhaps sometimes wrong) style that has been really fun to watch. Critics abound, and we Griz fans have certainly come to expect a lot, but how could any football fan ask for more? There has been a phenomenal production of football excellence in this period under Don Read, Joe Glenn, and now Bobby Hauck. I don't know what it would be like having to root for a really bad, poorly coached team. The real beauty here is that accompanying a winning tradition is an underlying wonderful team spirit, where players are obviously enjoying the game, where local kids make good, and where recruits from outside Montana are well integrated into the community. (Sure, we have had a few bad characters, but what team hasn't?)
I felt bad for Cameron Higgins and Treyvn Smith and Tim Toone (of Weber State) on Saturday. I am sure they came into the game expecting to do so much better. I expected them to do better. What happened? Higgins seemed "blinded in the headlights." I suspect the answer lies with the coaching (although I hear Smith may have been injured). Successful coaching of football takes as much psychological as technical ability. The rare coach possesses both abilities in sufficient measure to adequately prepare a team of 60-70 players to come in as visitor to a game like the one Saturday in Missoula. It points out how much luck is involved in any given player with a ton of talent landing on a team where he can receive the right kind of development to make it to the next level.
However, as a counterpoint to that last statement, look at Jared Allen with the Minnesota Vikings, who comes out of Idaho State!
The audacity early in an important game to run a fake punt reverse on (about) 4th and 8 near midfield, exemplifies an exciting (perhaps sometimes wrong) style that has been really fun to watch. Critics abound, and we Griz fans have certainly come to expect a lot, but how could any football fan ask for more? There has been a phenomenal production of football excellence in this period under Don Read, Joe Glenn, and now Bobby Hauck. I don't know what it would be like having to root for a really bad, poorly coached team. The real beauty here is that accompanying a winning tradition is an underlying wonderful team spirit, where players are obviously enjoying the game, where local kids make good, and where recruits from outside Montana are well integrated into the community. (Sure, we have had a few bad characters, but what team hasn't?)
I felt bad for Cameron Higgins and Treyvn Smith and Tim Toone (of Weber State) on Saturday. I am sure they came into the game expecting to do so much better. I expected them to do better. What happened? Higgins seemed "blinded in the headlights." I suspect the answer lies with the coaching (although I hear Smith may have been injured). Successful coaching of football takes as much psychological as technical ability. The rare coach possesses both abilities in sufficient measure to adequately prepare a team of 60-70 players to come in as visitor to a game like the one Saturday in Missoula. It points out how much luck is involved in any given player with a ton of talent landing on a team where he can receive the right kind of development to make it to the next level.
However, as a counterpoint to that last statement, look at Jared Allen with the Minnesota Vikings, who comes out of Idaho State!