Just listened to GA's interview with DJ and PK:

https://1280thezone.com/gary-andersen-i ... ng-to-byu/

I've been ruthless in my criticism of DJ and PK, but to their credit, I thought they asked some decent questions. In particular, PK mentioned that earlier this year Kalani Sitaki was in a situation not unlike GA's current situation (a couple bad losses), and that Kalani did what he needed to with coaches, etc. to turn it around. PK asked what GA needed to do to turn it around. GA's response....."stay the course." There were some other GA quotes from the interview that left me like -> But I'll let you listen to it.

I'm not some Pollyanna, but I think you are running a little too fast to jump off the ledge. This is Gary's first year. Let him at least finish the season.

Unless we know what Gary is saying behind the scenes, we don’t really have any clue as to his actual mentality. Since this season began his public persona has been one of a steady, calm coach. Never too high, never too low.

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2019, 6:13 pm

Unless we know what Gary is saying behind the scenes, we don’t really have any clue as to his actual mentality. Since this season began his public persona has been one of a steady, calm coach. Never too high, never too low.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but Gary's interviews have been very revealing of what we've actually seen play out. Honestly, go back and listen to them.

He talked about not changing the offense and just trying to run it better. What have we seen? Same offense with no creativity or changes.

Last week he talked about being a passing offense and said that's who we are and that's what we're going to do (really, go listen). So what do we do against a bad run defense when we're averaging 5 yards a carry? We throw it 70% of the time.

So when Gary says we stay the course, I sincerely believe that he is staying the course. If anyone is expecting anything that resembles change on offense or defense, prepare to be disappointed.

AgMac wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2019, 3:12 pm

Just listened to GA's interview with DJ and PK:

https://1280thezone.com/gary-andersen-i ... ng-to-byu/

I've been ruthless in my criticism of DJ and PK, but to their credit, I thought they asked some decent questions. In particular, PK mentioned that earlier this year Kalani Sitaki was in a situation not unlike GA's current situation (a couple bad losses), and that Kalani did what he needed to with coaches, etc. to turn it around. PK asked what GA needed to do to turn it around. GA's response....."stay the course." There were some other GA quotes from the interview that left me like -> But I'll let you listen to it.

So what didnt you like? He said it was on him and his coaches. Said his team was out physicaled and that is not what hes about! That the players either need to get stronger or figure it out. Pointed out that we are a very poor tackling team... which we are and this really lead to a least 14 pts imho. Also said the 5 TO's where in key areas, and times in the game. Also said the D has to be get some stops in red zone. So what didnt you like? He also said they are evaluating everyone everyweek coaches included, but not job responsibilities would be changed in season. If any coaches situations need to be addressed that would happen after the season.

Sounds like a Man with a plan to me.

I had no problem with the interview. I'm actually curious what you thought was going to be said.

I didn't either. I felt better after listening to his interview, I didn't pick up on any apathy. He seemed level headed.

What did I expect him to say? Exactly what he said..

What did I hope he would say? Literally, the exact opposite.

As I pointed out above, GA's interviews haven't been mere coach speak masking what's really going on behind the scenes. Everything he's said has been exactly what we've seen. So when he said we need to "stay the course," that is exactly what he means. We'll continue to see a fairly vanilla offense that is unbalanced in the throw game, which has allowed defenses to drop 8 and pick Love over and over and over, giving him one of the worst TD/INT ratios in the nation. We'll continue to see ultra conservative defensive schemes that allow opposing QBs (even third string freshman) to abuse a small, underwhelming secondary.

And you'll forgive me if I don't find much solace in statements like "we need to get stronger" or that "we need to figure it out." Great! Where is that magic pill that allows us to immediately get stronger for Fresno? Cause that sure as hell sounds to me like he's talking about next year. Here's a newsflash: smaller, weaker teams can beat bigger, stronger teams. It takes creative scheming. It takes utilization of your players in a manner better than the other team.

So what would I have liked GA to say (and actually do) when asked what needs to happen to right the ship? I'm not asking him to throw his assistants and coordinators under the bus. But how about something along these lines:

"We definitely need to change course. What we've been doing is not working."
"We have to create schemes to put more pressure on the quarterback and better utilize Tipa."
"We have to be more balanced in our offensive approach and not allow opposing defenses to drop 8 guys and repeatedly pick off Love."

But you're probably right. We are probably going to see lots of different schemes and plays against Fresno. After all, we have that detailed plan to "do better" and "get stronger."

AgMac wrote:What did I expect him to say? Exactly what he said..

What did I hope he would say? Literally, the exact opposite.

As I pointed out above, GA's interviews haven't been mere coach speak masking what's really going on behind the scenes. Everything he's said has been exactly what we've seen. So when he said we need to "stay the course," that is exactly what he means. We'll continue to see a fairly vanilla offense that is unbalanced in the throw game, which has allowed defenses to drop 8 and pick Love over and over and over, giving him one of the worst TD/INT ratios in the nation. We'll continue to see ultra conservative defensive schemes that allow opposing QBs (even third string freshman) to abuse a small, underwhelming secondary.

And you'll forgive me if I don't find much solace in statements like "we need to get stronger" or that "we need to figure it out." Great! Where is that magic pill that allows us to immediately get stronger for Fresno? Cause that sure as hell sounds to me like he's talking about next year. Here's a newsflash: smaller, weaker teams can beat bigger, stronger teams. It takes creative scheming. It takes utilization of your players in a manner better than the other team.

So what would I have liked GA to say (and actually do) when asked what needs to happen to right the ship? I'm not asking him to throw his assistants and coordinators under the bus. But how about something along these lines:

"We definitely need to change course. What we've been doing is not working."
"We have to create schemes to put more pressure on the quarterback and better utilize Tipa."
"We have to be more balanced in our offensive approach and not allow opposing defenses to drop 8 guys and repeatedly pick off Love."

But you're probably right. We are probably going to see lots of different schemes and plays against Fresno. After all, we have that detailed plan to "do better" and "get stronger."

You’re putting too much stock in a coaching interview. He can’t come out and say all the things he’s doing behind the scenes. He can’t tell upcoming opponents what offenses and defenses we are gonna run. He can’t throw his players under bus. He can’t throw his coaches under the bus. He would be an idiot to Telegraph his intentions.

Also, you guys are all pissed he’s steady. Should he be freaking out on the radio and be emotional? He’s the Captain of the ship. We need a steady Captain, not an emotional wreck.


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2004AG wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2019, 8:58 am

You’re putting too much stock in a coaching interview. He can’t come out and say all the things he’s doing behind the scenes. He can’t tell upcoming opponents what offenses and defenses we are gonna run. He can’t throw his players under bus. He can’t throw his coaches under the bus. He would be an idiot to Telegraph his intentions.

Also, you guys are all pissed he’s steady. Should he be freaking out on the radio and be emotional? He’s the Captain of the ship. We need a steady Captain, not an emotional wreck.
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So, like last week when he went on the radio and said we were a passing team and that's what we were going to keep doing? And then we did not, in fact, try to run it against byu (a team who struggles against the run), which allowed them to drop their entire team into coverage and get 3 picks?

I have no problem with him being steady. I have a problem with him saying we're going to keep doing what we've been doing. He means it.

AgMac wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2019, 8:46 am

What did I expect him to say? Exactly what he said..

What did I hope he would say? Literally, the exact opposite.

As I pointed out above, GA's interviews haven't been mere coach speak masking what's really going on behind the scenes. Everything he's said has been exactly what we've seen. So when he said we need to "stay the course," that is exactly what he means. We'll continue to see a fairly vanilla offense that is unbalanced in the throw game, which has allowed defenses to drop 8 and pick Love over and over and over, giving him one of the worst TD/INT ratios in the nation. We'll continue to see ultra conservative defensive schemes that allow opposing QBs (even third string freshman) to abuse a small, underwhelming secondary.

And you'll forgive me if I don't find much solace in statements like "we need to get stronger" or that "we need to figure it out." Great! Where is that magic pill that allows us to immediately get stronger for Fresno? Cause that sure as hell sounds to me like he's talking about next year. Here's a newsflash: smaller, weaker teams can beat bigger, stronger teams. It takes creative scheming. It takes utilization of your players in a manner better than the other team.

So what would I have liked GA to say (and actually do) when asked what needs to happen to right the ship? I'm not asking him to throw his assistants and coordinators under the bus. But how about something along these lines:

"We definitely need to change course. What we've been doing is not working."
"We have to create schemes to put more pressure on the quarterback and better utilize Tipa."
"We have to be more balanced in our offensive approach and not allow opposing defenses to drop 8 guys and repeatedly pick off Love."

But you're probably right. We are probably going to see lots of different schemes and plays against Fresno. After all, we have that detailed plan to "do better" and "get stronger."

You really need to take an objective look at the situation. Look at the O-line for instance we have a whole new O-line, 3 of those guys have suffered season ending injuries, and AL Edwards has been in and out of the lineup all yr due to injury, and Hack who is a back has been injured as well. The O-line has suffered and which in turn has effected the effectiveness of the offense. Also you can't just ignore facts just because it doesn't support your point of view.

AgMac wrote:

2004AG wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2019, 8:58 am

You’re putting too much stock in a coaching interview. He can’t come out and say all the things he’s doing behind the scenes. He can’t tell upcoming opponents what offenses and defenses we are gonna run. He can’t throw his players under bus. He can’t throw his coaches under the bus. He would be an idiot to Telegraph his intentions.

Also, you guys are all pissed he’s steady. Should he be freaking out on the radio and be emotional? He’s the Captain of the ship. We need a steady Captain, not an emotional wreck.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So, like last week when he went on the radio and said we were a passing team and that's what we were going to keep doing? And then we did not, in fact, try to run it against byu (a team who struggles against the run), which allowed them to drop their entire team into coverage and get 3 picks?

I have no problem with him being steady. I have a problem with him saying we're going to keep doing what we've been doing. He means it.

For someone who says they don’t have a problem with him being steady, you sure complain a lot about him being steady.


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2004AG wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2019, 9:16 am

For someone who says they don’t have a problem with him being steady, you sure complain a lot about him being steady.
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Fair enough. I don't have a problem with him being "steady" in the sense of having an even-keeled temperament. I do have a problem with him being "steady" in the sense of not making changes. Perhaps the former begets the latter, but I don't think that must necessarily be the case.

I know this much. He is in practice every day. He is watching film from many angles. He is in the position rooms. As for me, I turned the last two games off in the third quarter. I didn't even watch the LSU game. What do I really know?

JFW_AGGIES wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2019, 9:14 am

You really need to take an objective look at the situation. Look at the O-line for instance we have a whole new O-line, 3 of those guys have suffered season ending injuries, and AL Edwards has been in and out of the lineup all yr due to injury, and Hack who is a back has been injured as well. The O-line has suffered and which in turn has effected the effectiveness of the offense. Also you can't just ignore facts just because it doesn't support your point of view.

Oh, I'm not ignoring it. I think the O-line is the most important part of the team. It was a large part of our success last year. I think it is a primary factor for our struggles this year.

But that only further supports my position. We can't run the same offense (or try to) and expect the same result with an O-line that is worse. We need to try and come up with something to compensate for the inexperience/lack of depth. I'm certainly no expert, but I believe the conventional wisdom is that run blocking is easier for an inexperienced line.

AgMac wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2019, 9:28 am

2004AG wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2019, 9:16 am

For someone who says they don’t have a problem with him being steady, you sure complain a lot about him being steady.
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Fair enough. I don't have a problem with him being "steady" in the sense of having an even-keeled temperament. I do have a problem with him being "steady" in the sense of not making changes. Perhaps the former begets the latter, but I don't think that must necessarily be the case.

Therein is some of the concern. The Gary Andersen that left Utah State was not an even keeled temperament guy. He was a player's coach but he had a fire and confidence that motivated players, coaches, fans, alumni exc. If that's gone I'm not sure he is the team manager or game coach to be a never to high never to low Matt Wells.

In any event he's not going anywhere unless he quits (and that would never happen, right) so he'll get his chance to fix it. I don't know if you can say the team quit Saturday but the defense looked tired disinterested, confused, and slow. The offense executed a bit better other than right tackle and Love's mind boggling inability to see a LB dropping deep flat.

I'm not blaming one player but if Love hadn't made those throws and the O-line didn't wander downfield the game is close although I think the Zoobs wanted it more and would have pulled away anyway. In any event Gary's been hit. 650 yards given up by his D to a bad team. How will he respond?

Reading too much into the interview. The question he was asked was set up in the context of Sitake being on the hot seat and needing to make real course adjustments, like changing coaches. GA was answering the question under that context when he said, "stay the course." Did you expect him to say that he would fire coaches this week or at the end of the season if things did not turn around? If so, you will always be disappointed, because no HC is ever going to say that in the middle of the season. Especially one in his first season. I clearly understood his comment to mean that he is not ousting coaches right now and that he was not going to panic, but that they needed to work on what needs to be corrected. If he can't correct it, that is another matter altogether, but whether he says what fans need to hear in order to feel better is irrelevant to me. He knows, his coaches know and his players know that they are not coaching and playing winning football right now. They don't need to be told this.

Personally, with the loss of several players from last year and many injuries this year, I don't think we have the horses to be a championship team right now, and possibly may go .250 or .500 the rest of the way. He likely knows what he's working with and is staying the course, helping these young players (and coaches) get better as best he can. I'm as disappointed as anyone, but what a coach says on a radio interview, while possibly and momentarily placating, does not move the needle for me. After all, I don't expect, or even want, him to lay out his plans for me or other opposing coaches. Let's see what he does instead of what he says. I do agree, that if a coach's comments and answers to questions reflect that he is oblivious to a problem or won't recognize it, then we have a problem, but I don't see that here. I trust these players are working hard to get better and I believe they will. I thought coming into this year that 8-4 would be a great year. While we still have the ability to do that, it's more likely we end up 7-5 or 6-6. With what we lost and where we are now, getting bowl eligible will be an accomplishment. We've had a few of those seasons mixed in with our special seasons and that's where we are right now. I think we are in good hands. Stay the course. Go Aggies!

I wished GA would have that there are some tweaks or wrinkles that need to be put in to make the current players more successful. That is coach speak also, and satisfies the fans for than the stay the course coach speak.

I know one thing. I've seen enough of the 4-2-5 defense.

For the past 8 years or so I've seen USU put out decent defenses and get pressure on the QB out of a 3-4 defense.

This year I've seen hardly any pressure on the QB and a very bland defense. A 3-4 allows for more creativity and disguise. A 4-2 is simply asking your D line to beat the O-line 1 and on 1 and it isn't happening.

I watched one reply where BYU sacked Love. They were in a 3-4 and all 3 d lineman dropped back into coverage with the 4 LB's blitzing. It was pretty cool and resulted in a sack on Love. We only occasionally see a corner blitz but nothing creative with results it seems.

So you want him to Ric Flair his way into the interview....WWOOOOOO!!!!!!

AgMac wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2019, 10:07 pm

YoungBloodAggie wrote: ↑

November 4th, 2019, 6:13 pm

Unless we know what Gary is saying behind the scenes, we don’t really have any clue as to his actual mentality. Since this season began his public persona has been one of a steady, calm coach. Never too high, never too low.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but Gary's interviews have been very revealing of what we've actually seen play out. Honestly, go back and listen to them.

He talked about not changing the offense and just trying to run it better. What have we seen? Same offense with no creativity or changes.

Last week he talked about being a passing offense and said that's who we are and that's what we're going to do (really, go listen). So what do we do against a bad run defense when we're averaging 5 yards a carry? We throw it 70% of the time.

So when Gary says we stay the course, I sincerely believe that he is staying the course. If anyone is expecting anything that resembles change on offense or defense, prepare to be disappointed.

Right now I don't think the Aggies are really running any defense consistently. Tipa is in coverage a lot more than he has his hand down, or kind of spying or hanging around. Whether he comes off the ground or up high Tipa is an edge rusher and can be an elite one. I thought he pretty much disappeared Saturday and missed his contain time and time again.

If you watched everything the Zoobs did was to the Aggies left side with cutbacks. Our LBs without Woodward are slow and struggle to break down. Our safeties and DBs come in 100 miles an hour but were dropping their heads. -

Roy McAvoy wrote: ↑

November 5th, 2019, 12:12 pm

I know one thing. I've seen enough of the 4-2-5 defense.

For the past 8 years or so I've seen USU put out decent defenses and get pressure on the QB out of a 3-4 defense.

This year I've seen hardly any pressure on the QB and a very bland defense. A 3-4 allows for more creativity and disguise. A 4-2 is simply asking your D line to beat the O-line 1 and on 1 and it isn't happening.

I watched one reply where BYU sacked Love. They were in a 3-4 and all 3 d lineman dropped back into coverage with the 4 LB's blitzing. It was pretty cool and resulted in a sack on Love. We only occasionally see a corner blitz but nothing creative with results it seems.

Agreed Roy,,,, the 3-4 offers so many variations of blitzing and or coverage that an offense is kept just a bit off balance. Our current 4-2 stagnation defense offers little difficulty to the offensive formations in our league. Again, if people would read your comments they should see reality. This years defensive team with the number of returning starters, has been squandered and mismanaged once the scouting reports were in.