NYCTUFan
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Temple Football Hitting The Skids
Wow, I head out of town for 10 days on business and crap hits the fan! First Houston and now this UCF mess. I don’t want anyone thinking I was ducking out on Temple or disappearing now that they hit a tough patch.
I watched both games and I will admit that was tough to watch.
A couple quick observations
The defense has played better than the score would indicate and has come a long way since last season. The Temple turnovers early in games and complete lack of offence has had them on the field for most of the first half of both games. Against UCF Temples first half total time of possession was 7:40 and against Houston it was only slightly better at 9 minutes. You can’t leave these good offenses on the field to pound the D for extended periods of time like they have.
It’s just my feeling and opinion, but PJ Walker has been coached into a player who has lost all his instincts and is now playing very mechanically and almost a play by numbers scenario instead of reacting like an athlete like he did last season.
The youth and lack of depth of the offensive line is starting to show with the inability to run the ball with any consistency at all.
I’m not surprised that Temple lost to Houston and UCF, I knew those would be tall orders even if the team was playing well. What is very surprising to me, and pretty troubling is that with the exception of the 4th quarter of the Tulsa game and a couple of drives in the Navy game the offense and specifically PJ has played poorly and showed no real rhythm at all for any extended period of time.
I’m not giving up on the season and I’m staying with what I have been saying all along, 6-6 with a bowl game would be a great year coming off the 2-10 season last year and a solid step forward given the youth of this team. 5-7 would show nice progress, especially if they can turn the offense around and keep the defense off the field for a while. 4-8 would be considered treading water off last season, and if that’s the case the way they came out 4-1 many would say it’s a step backwards.
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10-27-2014 03:33 PM |
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templefan1
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
(10-27-2014 03:33 PM)NYCTUFan Wrote: Wow, I head out of town for 10 days on business and crap hits the fan! First Houston and now this UCF mess. I don’t want anyone thinking I was ducking out on Temple or disappearing now that they hit a tough patch.
I watched both games and I will admit that was tough to watch.
A couple quick observations
The defense has played better than the score would indicate and has come a long way since last season. The Temple turnovers early in games and complete lack of offence has had them on the field for most of the first half of both games. Against UCF Temples first half total time of possession was 7:40 and against Houston it was only slightly better at 9 minutes. You can’t leave these good offenses on the field to pound the D for extended periods of time like they have.
It’s just my feeling and opinion, but PJ Walker has been coached into a player who has lost all his instincts and is now playing very mechanically and almost a play by numbers scenario instead of reacting like an athlete like he did last season.
The youth and lack of depth of the offensive line is starting to show with the inability to run the ball with any consistency at all.
I’m not surprised that Temple lost to Houston and UCF, I knew those would be tall orders even if the team was playing well. What is very surprising to me, and pretty troubling is that with the exception of the 4th quarter of the Tulsa game and a couple of drives in the Navy game the offense and specifically PJ has played poorly and showed no real rhythm at all for any extended period of time.
I’m not giving up on the season and I’m staying with what I have been saying all along, 6-6 with a bowl game would be a great year coming off the 2-10 season last year and a solid step forward given the youth of this team. 5-7 would show nice progress, especially if they can turn the offense around and keep the defense off the field for a while. 4-8 would be considered treading water off last season, and if that’s the case the way they came out 4-1 many would say it’s a step backwards.
I heard reports the PJ did not have a good preseason camp at all...but the fact remains that the offense can not stay on the field...You can't do that when you don't run the ball with a RB (11 times vs Houston/11 times vs. UCF)...
(This post was last modified: 10-27-2014 03:56 PM by templefan1.)
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10-27-2014 03:55 PM |
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pesik
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
i wrote this in the game thread but ill repost it here
"to the temple fans, do you konow what i honestly think is wrong with PJ
you guys are trying to make him into something he is not..
i remeber when i called PJ a dual threat earlier and a ton of temple fans got at me and said he was a pocket passer who ocassionally ran..and some temple fans got irrate that i referred to him as a dual threat... being a pocket passer was something you guys took pride in
and if you watch the temple games you can see him "trying to be a pocket passer" ...to me what you guys are taking pride in, is what is the problem in itself..
PJ isnt that good at being a pure pocket passer..thats just the truth, he was good last year becuase he was scrambling and how defenses had to reacted because of the fear of him scrambling .. last year teams had to have a spy on walker (lose a guy from coverage) and play zones on him to keep their eyes on pj, this year he is just in a traditonal offense that honestly has a subpar to mediocre pocketpassing qb and a less talented offense in respect to the competition
dual threat might make him "less" in the eye of others, might decrease his draft stock, but he is who he is..embrace his talents and exploit his strength, stop trying to forcing him into something he is not while robbing him of his greatest assests.
even the few times he ran this year, he runs like a regular qb looking for 10yards and a slide..last year every time he had the ball a potential 50-60yd run wasnt off the table..and that run on 4th an inches was pathetic, he was hesitating, you can tell his instinct as a runner are fading on the idea to be a pocket passer
also noting him like okorn are putting to much heat on his passes especially the shorter passes ..catchable short passes are nice"
(This post was last modified: 10-27-2014 04:32 PM by pesik.)
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10-27-2014 04:13 PM |
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NBPirate
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
Who is injured?
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10-27-2014 04:24 PM |
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NYCTUFan
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
(10-27-2014 04:24 PM)NBPirate Wrote: Who is injured?
On the offensive line Dion Dawkins starting LT missed the game, he is 6ft 5 weighs 315 and may be the most athletic of the starters on the O line. Past that everyone is at least nicked up, because of the lack of depth the starting 5 has had to take almost all of the game reps since the UConn game.
On the defensive side Avery Williams starting LB will be out for a while, and Nate D Smith another starting LB is day to day.
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10-27-2014 05:20 PM |
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The Knight Time
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
(10-27-2014 03:55 PM)templefan1 Wrote: (10-27-2014 03:33 PM)NYCTUFan Wrote: Wow, I head out of town for 10 days on business and crap hits the fan! First Houston and now this UCF mess. I don’t want anyone thinking I was ducking out on Temple or disappearing now that they hit a tough patch.
I watched both games and I will admit that was tough to watch.
A couple quick observations
The defense has played better than the score would indicate and has come a long way since last season. The Temple turnovers early in games and complete lack of offence has had them on the field for most of the first half of both games. Against UCF Temples first half total time of possession was 7:40 and against Houston it was only slightly better at 9 minutes. You can’t leave these good offenses on the field to pound the D for extended periods of time like they have.
It’s just my feeling and opinion, but PJ Walker has been coached into a player who has lost all his instincts and is now playing very mechanically and almost a play by numbers scenario instead of reacting like an athlete like he did last season.
The youth and lack of depth of the offensive line is starting to show with the inability to run the ball with any consistency at all.
I’m not surprised that Temple lost to Houston and UCF, I knew those would be tall orders even if the team was playing well. What is very surprising to me, and pretty troubling is that with the exception of the 4th quarter of the Tulsa game and a couple of drives in the Navy game the offense and specifically PJ has played poorly and showed no real rhythm at all for any extended period of time.
I’m not giving up on the season and I’m staying with what I have been saying all along, 6-6 with a bowl game would be a great year coming off the 2-10 season last year and a solid step forward given the youth of this team. 5-7 would show nice progress, especially if they can turn the offense around and keep the defense off the field for a while. 4-8 would be considered treading water off last season, and if that’s the case the way they came out 4-1 many would say it’s a step backwards.
I heard reports the PJ did not have a good preseason camp at all...but the fact remains that the offense can not stay on the field...You can't do that when you don't run the ball with a RB (11 times vs Houston/11 times vs. UCF)...
Thomas only averaged 3.2 YPC and Temple was down 10-0 and then 17-0 really quickly on the road. It was highly doubtful that Temple would get back into the game by hoping they'd run against UCF's defense and still put points on the board to get back into the game.
Which is exactly why UCF getting a lead is so huge for us- it forces teams to throw more and plays right into the best part of our defense which is the secondary.
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10-27-2014 06:26 PM |
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rath v2.0
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
Temple still looks like they did much of last year, IMO. The win against a freaking dreadful Vandy team was fools gold...for chrissakes they have only beaten UMASS and something called Charleston Southern by the skin of their teeth. Should have lost both. Temple beat 3 other bad teams.
Could easily stretch this out to a 6 game losing streak.
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10-27-2014 06:51 PM |
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JHG722
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
We look nothing like we did last year, which is not a surprising comment coming from you. Temple could go undefeated, and you'd still find a way to bash us.
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10-27-2014 06:53 PM |
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rath v2.0
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
Temple going undefeated is the sound of one hand clapping.
You are who you are. Still. Sorry.
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10-27-2014 06:54 PM |
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b0ndsj0ns
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
I'm scared to death of this game. ECU hasn't played well in a month. If ECU doesn't change that Temple will win.
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10-27-2014 06:58 PM |
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rath v2.0
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
Keep playing tight games for 2 more weeks.
Seriously, didn't mean to cheese off JHG...but they really don't look that different this year to me. Benefitted from a soft front loaded schedule. On a 2 game losing streak, with the following 5 games to round out the year, there are a bunch of losses coming up.
East Carolina
Memphis
@ Penn State
UC
@ Tulane
Perhaps they win those last 2 to get bowl eligible. I do not see them winning the first 3.
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10-27-2014 07:09 PM |
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Knight207
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
Both losses were on the road. Maybe a home game is what the doctor ordered.
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10-27-2014 07:21 PM |
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JHG722
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
(10-27-2014 06:54 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote: Temple going undefeated is the sound of one hand clapping.
You are who you are. Still. Sorry.
Likewise.
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10-27-2014 07:27 PM |
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Knightshift
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
You guys (Temple fans) obviously know your team 1000x better than I do, but from this casual observer's point of view, I think Rhule has Temple going in the right direction. Walker is still a young QB, and after a year, the opposition knows how to better prepare for him, i.e. keeping him contained in the pocket better (O'Leary called it "keeping him in a phone booth"). It's just a learning process. We saw something similar at UCF in 2011 when Jeff Godfrey struggled as a sophomore QB after a stellar freshman year. If not for a guy named Blake Bortles, he might have ended up being a fine QB. They'll keep learning and adjusting. You're just 2 wins from bowl-eligibility, which would be a really good step up from 2-10. And don't discount the win over Vandy. Even as bad as they are, how long ago would that have still been a likely loss for Temple? Instead, you did what you should have done and kicked their arse, and did it on the road. It should be fun seeing Temple and Walker progress over the next 2.5 years.
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10-27-2014 07:51 PM |
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Fo Shizzle
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
I don't see Temple being able to slow down ECU on offense. Conversely, I think Walker will give us some problems with his mobility. Which ever team steps up on defense and keeps their O on the field will win. The key to beating ECU is stopping them on 3rd down. That has been very hard to do for just about every opponent.
I see this as a close game at the half with ECU pulling away in the 3rd quarter and cruising by 17
If Walker has a great day? Temple is fully capable of beating ECU. He is the wild card in the game.
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10-27-2014 09:22 PM |
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sfink16
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
(10-27-2014 06:26 PM)The Knight Time Wrote: Thomas only averaged 3.2 YPC and Temple was down 10-0 and then 17-0 really quickly on the road. It was highly doubtful that Temple would get back into the game by hoping they'd run against UCF's defense and still put points on the board to get back into the game.
Which is exactly why UCF getting a lead is so huge for us- it forces teams to throw more and plays right into the best part of our defense which is the secondary.
Following the game online, the first possession saw three incomplete passes. The second possession saw two more incompletions. Neither possession produced a first down. This is not helpful to any defense.
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10-27-2014 10:01 PM |
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Pony94
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Temple Football Hitting The Skids
I dated a poor blonde at SMU and I was driving her to Austin through Temple, Texas and she asked if that was where a Temple University was. Of course I said yes
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10-27-2014 10:05 PM |
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MechaKnight
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RE: Temple Football Hitting The Skids
(10-27-2014 10:05 PM)Pony94 Wrote: I dated a poor blonde at SMU and I was driving her to Austin through Temple, Texas and she asked if that was where a Temple University was. Of course I said yes
I call shenanigans. There aren't any poor people at SMU
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10-27-2014 10:15 PM |
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Pony94
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Temple Football Hitting The Skids
Oh her daddy was rich beyond belief and in my field of study and yet I foolishly thought I could find better
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10-27-2014 10:17 PM |
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