The “It” factor
Remember the hanabata days of playing tag? Somebody says, “tag, you’re ‘it,” and then you spend what seems like forever chasing after the speedy and elusive kid.
That was last night’s football game. For more than 24 minutes of a 30-minute second half, the Warriors were “It,” and Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo was that speedy and elusive kid.
What should be frustrating — and, yet, maybe hopeful — for UH fans is the Wolf Pack and Warriors have the same type of lead players. Fajardo and Ikaika Woolsey have similar skill sets, yet Fajuado, a senior, is clearly better with his fakes — and confidence. Defensive end Brock Hekking is very good, maybe the best in the MWC, but Luke Shawley has as much energy and relentlessness, right?
Athletically, UH and Nevada are twins. But after a stalemate in the first half, Nevada, which appeared to run three plays on repeat cycle, had more energy. And more energy led to more plays, which led to 26-18.
No comment.
UH needs veteran QB and Receiver Coaches. But no money!
Some want Rolovich to be the next head coach. If that happens, who should he choose as his offensive and defensive coordinators?
Watching Fajardo was amazing. He faked me out a few times too. Kinda like when Paul Johnson first brought his his offense here. There were times when our defense did not know who had the ball. There is more to quarterbacking than throwing the coconut. Kinda was wondering if we could have done the same to their defense with Ewaliko at qb.
That picture in the paper with Moses tackling the runningback has to be the play of the year. If that is not holding I don’t know what is.
Problem was that Warrior D unable to “it” #17; he even ran ball on his own 5 times in a row to end the 1st half with a TD.
Check out Nevada D compared to Warrior D on yards given up after initial contact on running plays. Technique looks different. Even that stop by 91 on the goal line was by accident as he got blocked into the Nevada RB by the Nevada O-lineman; this is the pic on the front page this morning. You can take a look on the replay today, he did not see the runner.
Too bad we did not have Gener or Williams for this game.
I thought hurdling oline to block fieldgoal was a penalty?
Good morning everyone!
I was going to say “No comment”, but Old Diver was #1 today.
So I’ll say, “The tailgate was the best part of the Aloha stadium experience again…”. 😐
ST:
having to re-enter your blog name and email every time is a way to discourage individuals from this blog?
I have never seen Keenan play QB, but does he possess the ball handling skills of Farjado(sp)?
seems like Keenan’s end around were called at the right time, but ball handed to the wrong player – jmho!
exiting half time from the locker room, Chow, when asked what’s in store for the 2nd half, was ” we have to play more conservative” – REALLY, WITH A 10 – 6 LEAD and the knowledge that the offense sputters badly in the 2nd half???
yes, players make tons of mistakes such as dropping passes, unable to contain the DL, etc. BUT, more importantly is the “philosophy” of the HC cause if affects both sides of the ball!!!!!!!!!!!
ST, so if Nevada and Hawaii are athletically twins, then are you inferring that the difference is the coaching staff?
The 2nd half score may have been 17-8 UNR, but this was a more dominant performance than TCU over TxTech.
At least TxTech had possessions to do something.
I don’t ever recall a team holding the ball for that much in a half.
Stating the obvious … when your offense repeatedly goes 3 and out, your defense gets gassed. If you add the inability to stop the run to that equation, you end up with the dismal performance that we witnessed in the second half.
Again, poor offensive play calling in the second half. People will say “what are you talking about, they mixed it up?” YES, they did in the first half. And it worked. But just because the roll our worked in the first half (because UH’s offense has moved away from it in recent games), doesn’t mean that should be the only type of passing play you should run.
There is either an inability by the play caller, or a lack of intention, to keep the defense guessing. When something works and you continue and continue to do it, eventually the well goes dry.
Take Nevada’s offense for example. The run was kicking our butts. BUT, they ran different types of run plays and ran out of a combination of sets, and used multiple players. The defense was kept guessing.
Take notes Coach Wynn. Or should it be Coach Chow? If so, that is sad.
I think today’s blog comment is a little too far on the glass half full side. This offense has serious problems. And I’m not convinced it is the players.
Too bad about the loss.
Don’t know what else to say.
If anyone else caught the interview between Coach Polian and Bobby Curran earlier in the week, you heard him speaking extremely highly of Rolo. Polian: “I have no doubt that Rolo will be a head coach.”
Make it happen UH!
If there is a coaching chance, do away with any committees made up of business people. I don’t see how people who run a bank, hospital, hotel, or telecommunication company are experts on choosing a division I football coach.
Old school Dave,
I totally agree with you. I don’t understand why they do that.
Oh yeah……… Fire Chow already! It’s time for a new direction.
Aloha all! Another tough loss for us guys– as my moms always says”this too, will pass”. But when…
3 prong, but we had good news on all other fronts. Da cats scored 40+ on Lewis n Clark in the first half, and remain undefeated. My man aDoug Semones notched another win for Occidental. Finally, boola boola U, put it on Penn, and remain in contention for the brainiac aka, ivy championship.
Time to plan for the future. I have appreciated coach Chow’s integrity and his efforts to build a program where character matters. But sadly the results on the field speak for themselves. It will now be a test of his character. He needs to step aside and let another take the helm. This process can be done with mutual respect and aloha or with bitterness and acrimony. I hope for the former.
Mahalo to UH Letterwinners Club (Ed Guyagas in charge) for an exceptional tailgate and turnout for all former UH Athletes.
Mahalo to Na Koa for the UH Homecoming reception for all former UH Football Players.
Maybe it’s time to get other players (from the scout team) into the lineup, at this point in the season, it wouldn’t hurt, I bet there are some great gems in there. Also, need to preserve Harding as the exclusive punter and have Ewaliko play slot
Ticket revenues have dropped for three years in a row. They are reported to be falling below projections by about $500K for this year alone. After 3 years, that could mean around a $1.5M per year of lost ticket revenue … and growing.
Not sure that Rolo is the answer, unless he can bring better quarterbacks, running backs and receivers with him. I don’t know if Rolo would be any more successful with our personnel. He probably wouldn’t do any worse, however. Tsigh.
I’m sure with the season slowing getting a “bit out of the grasp” of Chow, not only Tsaikos will be speculating on what will the coaching position be in the near future?
That said, I will submit the following:
One, not sure, given the fiscal health, or lack thereof, if a buyout is something the institution can swallow;
Two, if we were to assume UH could stomach a buyout–who then can we look at as we assume the role of potential suitors?;
Three, if we wanted to have a local flavor to the applicant pool, there are more than a few, who could make for a very saucy conversation;
Four; the folks that come to the fore front with most name value are as follows: Kenny at Navy, Brian Norwood at Baylor, Duane Akina at Stanford, Rolo at Nevada, Adrian and Jeff at UCLA, ….anyone else??
Five, and in summary, I think of this group, the two, at least in my mind, that are most suitable and prepared for the position are Akina and Norwood. Which is ironic, as Duane coached Brian, and was sort of his mentor.
No doubt Kenny is capable and proven, but not sure after Navy he wants to take over a program like UH, plus he has already salted away considerable bank. Rolo, burned some bridges, and I’m not quite certain Adrian or Jeff would move back, plus, they have limited, position wise, coaching portfolios. And they both would also take six-figure pay reductions. Hmmmn, makes for an intriguing bar conversation….
Hawaii needs a total makeover from the President down to the ball-boy. A new governor and legislature could help too. Then Chow could finish the season while a new HC is hired and hits the ground running by hiring assistants and recruiting.
E kala mai, I should have added one more person to this short list of local guys– Joe Seumalo at Oregon State.
I feel UH’s season can be described as many “ifs,” rather than “it.” IF Joey Iosefa was playing. IF Jerrold Garcia-Williams did not suffer a season-ending injury. IF Keith Kirkwood remained a Warrior. IF Vasquez Haynes was playing. IF Devan Stubblefield did not suffer a season-ending injury. And IF Hawaii’s offensive coaching staff can figure out a scheme that will consistently generate more than 10-20 points a game. On the plus side, it was nice to see Donnie King Jr. get positive playing time and results. Still want to see more of Diocemy Saint Juste.
Speed on this team is needed. Defensively Mack philosophy from what was said before is he would make safeties into linebackers if they had the size. Linebackers into defensive end if they had the size. Why, speed and giving away an inch or two made more sense to them than size and no speed.
Offense the receivers are lacking. The days when 3 to 4 receivers all could catch and breakaway is missing. Accuracy at quarterback is missing. Woosley passes are not easy to catch due to the accuracy, the velocity and the spin for some reason. Add receivers with technique problems you have the results after each game.
If they are going to have a losing season which appears more and more likely and keep the head coach so be it. If not due to another losing season which will manifest itself more likely next week, it behooves UH to announce that they will allow Chow to finish out the year or have an interim and start the process of finding a new head coach due to the lengthly process that it takes at this school.
Athletically UH and Nevada are twins? Did we watch the same game?
Been called many things which includes being called a DOPE, but can COPE with it over time, so don’t MOPE, take a bath with SOPE (hahahaha) and start a new day with HOPE for the Rainbow Warriors. Going try, but my lower brain is saying “Dream On”.
Buyout is not going to be any more costly. If Chow is retained after another losing season, ticket sales and revenues will drop. Will it be more than the buyout? Will a new coach renew interest and increase ticket sales? The gamble in a change for financial reasons are better than keeping the current coach. However wish Chow and his family the best for most everyone does their best which he did.
I thought IW played ok last night. My observation is that he is making progress. His receivers let him down. If the receivers had caught the passes that hit them in the hands last night IW would have had a very respectable completion percentage. I am not lined up with those who think he doesn’t have what it takes. I think he has the potential to be a good QB and is getting better. But he can’t do it himself. He needs good offensive scheming and help from the skill position players.
I agree that Ikaika showed improvement last night. I’m still convinced the problem is more coaching than players.
Mahalo to Ed Guyagas and the UH Letterwinners Club for a great Homecoming reception for all UH former athletes. Turnout estimated at 80.
Mahalo to Na Koa for their reception for all former UH Football players and their on field lineup of UH Football alums greeting the team out of the tunnel.
Dino Babers, Head Coach at Bowling Green is a UH alumnus. Before BG, he was Head Coach at Eastern Illinois who developed Jimmy Garopollo who is the backup QB at New England. Babers has strong ties to the California area, specifically southern Calif. but, he’s been around so he’s well connected. He played under Dick Tomey.
Non-expert, if I recall correctly, Chow would be owed two more years. Unfortunately, an athletic department is not in the position to establish the analytics of your posit. One also should remember that football, per se, does pay for itself. That said, my own view is that we are coming to an inflection point on what we want to do with our football program. I don’t suggest it will be disbanded or downgraded, but do we suffer for medicority?
If norm resigns this year without taking a buyout, that would show appropriate remorse. He would then earn back the respect and honor he has already lost.
That would be the right thing to do given the shambles he has left the program in.
Happy afternoon after game day, Tsai-kos!
Oh my achin’ head! 🙁 Lol
Did marching band alum activities with the band yesterday and nite. What a wonderful experience 🙂 Now I so tired! 😛
So I wasn’t able to really watch most of the game even tho I was there way before and stayed with the band to sing the alma mater
No matter what the outcome, I will continue to support the team no matter what the score and who wins or loses or what the season turns out to be
Why?
Because I want a future for our team and the only way to make that possible is if I do my part as a fan a give it the encouragement, love, and support it needs
Unrelenting <3
…especially during their time of need
GO WARRIORS!!!
Keep trying!
GOOD AFTERNOON, HAWAII!
ha ha ha…
whitey is a poet…but he don’t know it..
And btw, I’m not gonna question whether we should keep our coaches (or players) or anyone on that team for that matter
Not my call
I’m sure the powers that be are well aware of all issues surrounding the team and circumstances up to this point in time and beyond
Constant questioning only works to divide the players from the coaches when they should be given the chance to work together. Constant questioning makes the players question their leadership which is actually divisive because we need the coaches and players to work together rather than against each other.
Coaches and players are directly in it together. Let them figure it out.
Who becomes a coach or player is really not much of a fan decision. Only thing we fans can do is make suggestions for improvement.
me agree u there # 39…would be a nice step for him to take…
retire early n care his wife…he don’t need this pain n aggravation ne more…
maybe he should take clune with him…
last me recall ..had a QB that plays now 4 the 49’ers…he was stopped…
other teams they played…he was not so ‘hot’….what we did wrong there…
seems they lost 3 games n he was contained.. for the most part..
Coach Chow, just admit you aren’t good enough and resign already. You are killing this program.
Exciting game down to the last minute.
If UH scored touchdowns instead of field goals,
we win. Thanks warriors for putting up a fight.
Thanks coaches for making it NOT easy for Reno.
Fajardo was just too FAST and savvy. His athletic
prowess won the game. Without him, UH victory.
Go Bows!
Ahh, I should have remembered Dino who was my teammate. My one comment about Dino is that he is already a HC at a program similar to Hawai’i, so he is obviously trying to make the climb to the next level of program.
Thus, the key Q is which program would afford him the best opportunity for success?
Boola for coach?
Boola make good coach.
As pointed out by some, Woolsey was recruited to UH by Rolo .
Fajardo was slippery just like Manziel was. We should try more deception like Cody uses. You can’t stop a team, if you can’t locate the ball quickly .
Boo,
The ‘Cats had 42 before the 2nd qtr even started! 😈 WootWoot!
BTW, L&C is still horrible! As frustrating as Hawaii’s D was last night, I have never seen an entire front 7 lose every individual battle on so many plays…
Pomai,
56 – 14 d1shima
Mahalo!
😳
Before I go….
Kudos to LT#1 (with a little help from his friends)
All-WAC DE Hekking had Zero Sacks and TFL’s last night. Far better than the havoc he created last year
OLine play was generally better with Center1 back in place (see twitter 😉 )
HAD ENOUGH?
Ipu Man#48 . . . What game were you watching? Are you being sarcastic?
Ya, the chicken is all gone.
Good planning…
P.P.S.
Dunno if Rolo is in UHAD’s future but a quick glance at the Reno roster would indicate that Hawaii’s HS’s are in Reno’s future as long as he recruits for them.
Utah St. might be starting their 4th string QB against us. Does that make any difference? Probably, not.
I say next game less than 22k thru turnstile. What say you, bean?
Foregone conclusion what will happen vs Utah.
The thing about Boola is he only makes smart comments sitting in the cheap seats, eating boiled peanuts, sipping plenty green bottles. Plus, my comments are always made in 20/20 hindsight, which is always clairvoyant. Coaching is always hard, my hats still go off to them…
D1shima, cats are on a national championship path. Oh, boola U got a tough little back named Vargas, this tough buggah got 14 rushing tds after just 5 games–he twice scored 5 tds in one game this season.
Did we win?
inyoface… don’t get 2 excited…
we lost a close game…
but there is another this week..with 4th rope quarterback..
we will do better..
have very many mo games.. be a patient..rome wasn’t built in a day…
65. Come on now Boola…..you know the real reason you don’t want to be coach is because you fear the angry, snarling Tsaiko gang after a loss…..and hey I understand….it can be brutal!
Da Tsaikos ain’t no joke! Gulag or pelican bay would be easier gigs than facing the collective force of the Tsaiko brigade.
One day we will look back on this difficult period for our team and recall how difficult it was to hang in there and keep believing. As the wise man said the only sure thing is change. So this too will pass and we will find our way forward. I like much about coach Chow and wish he could come along for the ride. Building a successful program as a head coach would be a wonderful capstone to his distinguished career. But it looks like it is not to be. But who knows maybe the football fairy sprinkles some magic dust and we win out. But more likely the grinch keeps stealing our fun this year. Either way I appreciate the players and coaches and respect that they keep showing up. It would be easier to give up. It might be a sad senior night this year with these young men ending their careers having expereinced so much losing. I hope we can still turn it around and win a few more this year. The crazy thing is that (except for Oregon State where I felt we were just beaten fair and square) there is not a game when we were not in a position to win.
I have never played football and am not knowledgeable of offensive or defensive schemes. However, I enjoy tactics and strategy. Football is a sport that resembles warfare, success depends on a combination of power/strength, planning/tactics, deception and flexibility and intelligence to recognize in a moments notice that the plan isn’t working and one has to adapt.
With that in mind, an analytical person would examine Woolsey’s drive that scored UH’s last TD and consider making adjustments along those lines. I cannot say I have observed the offense adapting, unlike the defense which seems to be able to make adjustments on the fly.
I have no football qualifications, so it could be said I don’t know what I am talking about, however my heart is with the team and the players and I hope things will change for the better.
If so and so wasn’t injured. If so and so enrolled at UH. if x happened. if y happened. if wishes were fishes, we’d all cast nets.
Double your pleasure double your fun. One thing Role learned from JJ was how to double the number of plays you have by running the same play on both sides. The TE/Hback lines up both on the right and left. They ran the bubble type passes on both sides. They lined their 3 wides on each side. The plays and formation looked pretty similar but they doubled them by running them fron the right and left.
I hope our greenhorn play caller took notes on that. We tend to line our TE/Hback on the right all the time. He can double the number of plays he has by reversing the player alignment every so often. Run the same plays from the opposite side.
maybe that’s why chow calls the run up the middle so much. because you can’t reverse that play so might as well call it twice!
If so and so (with “it”) wasn’t injured, then the strategy seems to dictate playing more conservatively.
Craig Stutzmann?
I wonder if there has been a conference team that’s beat us 3 years in a row before Chow.
4prong, my favorite if–if grandma had olos, should would be granddad .
4-P. I think we wouldn’t look so predictable. People have said they’re tired of the same looks we’ve been giving. The trench matchups may favor running a play from one side than the other. It wouldn’t hurt to have Kemp and the slot aligned on the right side every so often.
Hell. What I really want is for them to run a true four wide once in a while. They can run a balanced 2 x 2 or a 3-1 I don’t care. That’s one formation they haven’t truly explored. Nevada showed you can run effectively out of 4 wide formation.
my point is, sure, it would be nice to have kemp. but we don’t. it would be nice if so and so signed with UH, but he didn’t. it woul be nice if utah state wasn’t down to their 4th quarterback, but they’re still playing relatively well (maybe becuase coaches there are actually developing their players with a coherent offensive philosophy that doesn’t revolve around being one of the lowest scoring teams in division I football). it would be nice if norm chow was a good coach, but he’s not.
at a certain point, we gotta stop making excuses and deal with the reality.
lol boola. that made me laugh out loud.
4-P. So what is the reality as you see it and what should be done about it now.
in reality, nothing will change during season. it’s much too late in the game. simple changes in formation or gadget plays aren’t going to all of a sudden magically produce a competent football team because they don’t address the core issue of what’s wrong with the team.
in the offseason, chow should be fired.
please don’t follow up with “well then who do you think should take his place?” (thereby implying that if i don’t know then chow should stay, which is a dumb argument), because i’m not intimately familiar with the college coaching landscape, how much UH can offer (although to be honest, i’m skeptical of all this ‘we’re broke!’ talk. yeah, we’re not gonna pony up $4M/yr, but i suspect UH and the boosters could go for something close to what UH paid mack), and all the variables involved in selecting a head coach.
like “who woudl you want as offensive coordinator?” no clue. they could hire rod york for all i care. those responsibilities lie with administration and the new incoming head coach. but obviously something is terribly wrong with UH football and big changes need to occur.
oh ya. to elaborate, i feel like the core issue surrounding the team isn’t necessarily the players, but the lack of a coherent identity and the inability of the coaches to develop players and build a sustainable, at least halfway decent mid major team.
i don’t necessarily think that woolsey has no tools to succeed. but i question whether or not chow and his staff has the ability to actually develop their players and get them to play. because basically three years into the norm chow experience, UH is still looking pretty terrible. boring football. losing football. players doing things that we saw in the first year when they went 1-11.
although yes, the offensive line is better somewhat (becuase they were extremely terrible the first two years) and the defense isn’t bad.
Z, the you are correct, the rule is you cannot hurdle the offensive line. But you can hurdle players behind the offensive line– I think the blocker hurdled someone in the wedge block. As to photos showing holding– very hard to see if holding occurred by photo, since it depends on positioning whether it is a legal block or illegal restraint or holding.
4-prong #84 … I agree with everything you say there. EXCEPT that this team doesn’t have an identity. Unfortunately, their identity is evident when you look at their record over the past three years. I just refuse to say the word.
4-P. Thanks for your perspective. The way I see it it’s a matter is the glass half empty or half full. For you it’s half empty with a leak that keeps draining what’s left. For me it’s half full.
You go to the games right? So do I. Until they lose their 7th game I’ll hold out hope they have a chance for a winning season. To you it may seem ludicrous to me there’s a ray of hope. It would be easy for me to face the reality of 2-6 and give in to all the negative criticisms I have for Chow. Make no mistake I don’t think Chow has been a good HC but for the good of the program I hope he can do a 180 and turn things around. I think anything less than 6-7 won’t be enough to save his job. At that mark BJ can argue that represents a 5 game improvement. That’s my realty.
d1 and boo: Pacific is taking a page out of the Cat’s book by recruiting Hawaii heavily. I counted #31 on their roster. boo may be right about a showdown at years end.
3-prong. Yep, and it’s a smart move.
Always up to give a plug to my boys, D Semones would be a great fit for one of the schools in the NW. Plus, he likes the NW as he still, I think, has a place in Idaho. And he got some real good rapport with poly families….hawaii pipeline garuns!
Yup, hawaii boy may not have D1 size, but they play with D1 Heart.
Everyone talking about coaching change. Can hawaii afford buying out chows contact?
cocobean: sure. i respect your position.
808bowler: apparently his contract buyout is half of his remaining salary through year 4 + $100k vs having to pay him out for the rest of the $2.5M contract.
http://sports.newsday.com/long-island/data/college/college-football/coaches-salaries/norm-chow/
$2.75M not $2.5M
Reoccurring theme.
The team comes out like gangbusters, jumps out to a 10-0 lead, it all sizzle…and then like clockwork the team fizzles. I don’t know if to laugh or to cry. Even with a fast start, I’m saying to myself please do not let the wheels fall off and pray that the team seizes control and closes. But no. And just like that a black cloud appears over the Warriors and the doom switch went on. Again. Nevada scores 26 unanswered points…as I can only shake my head.
For a while there… I am thinking. If this happens, and that happens… and the Warriors can pull away it would force Nevada into passing the ball…we get ’em. But no.
I must have been dreaming to think that the Warriors could win because the team always lives up to past history…never closes, never ceases control of the game…sputters.
I agree with the poster that wrote yesterday that after watching the game he wanted to puke. That’s how I felt, too. Reoccurring themes as it applies to UH football misfortunes are not good. Hope better games are ahead.
A profile in courage is watching #29, Harding.
Here’s a player that got banged up during the Nevada game. From initial reports it looked like the player was suffering from a hip injury. On the sidelines you can see the player grimacing in pain. But he continued on, oblivious to his own pain in doing his best to help out the team. At halftime it was reported that Harding went in for x-rays and his status for the remainder of the game was uncertain. Yet when the cameras scanned the sidelines at the start of the second half there was Harding riding the exercise bike to keep his hips/legs stretched. The player continued…with courage. That’s right…unbelievable. Shortly after I watched him enter the game and punt the punt the ball and after he punted the ball Harding doubled over in pain. I never seen anything like it before…here was a player putting his team ahead of his own personal pain. Truly courage’s…he had a hard time walking on the sidelines…yet…he did his best. I hope Harding recovers well and bounces back for the remainder of the season.
Some want Rolo back based on what he does as an OC. If he comes back as a head coach and tries to call the plays himself he’s going to run into the same problem as Chow did in spreading himself too thin. You can toss around all the names you want but it’s all about the assistant coaches that the head man brings in.
MICHELLE is back-3rd. Place .
92. — Other sources say you have to pay the $ 550,000 for year 4 plus $200,000 for a buyout.
Re-Regarding Woolsey
Woolsey threw some nice passes in the Nevada game. Had zip on the ball, and he was seemingly accurate. The “goats” were the WR’s, TE and Chow.
Amongst the receivers there were 7 dropped passes. It happens. Yet Chow, who is fast becoming the king goat of the goat world, defended his receivers. Why?
From my observation these were passes that were right on the money that bounced off the player’s hand (one even resulting in an interception). It was painfully ugly to watch, where some bloggers on another site classified these receivers as the sorriest bunch of receivers (their words) in UH history. I have no comment on this.
But I do have a comment on Chow’s post game remarks about his receivers during the Inside Access Show. “The receivers are not use to Woolsey firing the ball at 95 miles per hour.” Chow said. “Woolsey was so pumped up with adrenaline that the passes caught the receivers off guard.” This is very atypical response from Chow, which one has grown accustomed to the coaches mounting lunacy…the passes were dead perfect. And Chow’s remark begs the question, then, why isn’t he coaching his QB to throw the same in practice as he does in games…and it further begs the question why aren’t the receivers practicing in game speed…and lastly it further begs the question why (then) are the receivers dropping a exorbitant number of passes all season long. What is Chow’s excuse on hearing that? Or is he, again, going to deflect the answer, make an excuse… and pull the wool over the viewer’s eyes? Never mind. I know Chow’s answer.
After weeks of criticism aimed towards Ikaika Woolsey, I must voice my opinion. It is true that Woolsey does at times make the wrong reads or commit to bad passes, but it is not at all- completely his fault. There are many factors that results in the warriors inefficiency such as; the receivers. On numerous occasions(specifically 3rd downs) Woolsey literally, hits his receivers in the hands and/or in the chest yet his receivers are unable to “catch his 95mph ball”, stated by Chow in the post game interview. THATS NO EXCUSE! When you see a Top Ten play on ESPN highlighting a spectacular catch, its not that the quarterback made a great throw, its the ability of the receiver to make a play on the ball. The point is, quarterbacks do not and can not always make perfect throws, its also the receivers responsibility to do his half and make a play as well.
Another factor is the Offensive line. How can Woolsey stand in the pocket and trust his line when he is constantly getting sacked from every gap, resulted from missed blocks from not only his line, but in many occasions the Running Backs as well. THEN, how can Woolsey trust his receivers to make a play on the ball when they cant even catch a pass right in their hands? Thus, how can Woolsey trust himself and gain the needed confidence when all of his efforts results in a punt?
The most obvious factor contributing to the warriors inefficiency on both offense and defense is the coaching. If a normal fan can recognize that if the quarterback is under center, its most likely a run- and if its a shotgun formation, its most likely a pass, its safe to assume professional scouting reports will pick these tendencies up quite easily. Chow may have been successful at USC because the caliber of players were of much higher quality. With players like Reggie Bush, you can call the most predictable game and run the ball every down and they would still win. But UH doesnt have that caliber of players and Chow needs to formulate schemes to fit his players. He needs to be unpredictable with his play calling, maybe put more emphasis on conditioning at practice and run a fast pace 2minute type offense the whole game, call more screens, short passes, read options. Bottom line is, its not hard for a defense to stop an offense when they know whats coming.
Being a D1 quarterback you will either receive all the credit for winning, or get all the blame for losing. Too much of the burden is placed on this kids shoulders but yet, he always takes full responsibility and portrays a class act of humility. His drive and passion is obvious, and we all know he wants the ‘W’, but he cant do it alone.
The receivers coach should look back to BYU coach Lavell Edwards. He wanted to pass and catch the ball so well, that a pass became as certain as gaining 3 yards on a run. So he taught catching technique– every receiver caught the ball the same way and completed many repetitions every practice. This was copied by an assistant coach, Mike Leach, who went on with others to start a new system now run at many college teams, and also involved repetitions of catches and throws. We know JJ did the same. If you want receivers to catch every ball thrown, they need to rep every type of catch with the right technique many, many times in practice. And with a jug machine after practice and in the off-season.
Had a chance to see Western Michigan this past Sat. They were winless last year…now have 6 wins under the youngest Coach in FBS at 32. A coach today has to recruit, do PR, fundraise, and develop the talent they land. No matter what happens as things develop…..that is the template for success at UH. In my opinion after watching the game Fajardo can make anybody look good….one. step slower and they do not get the stats and points….he is exceptional and they ride him. No excuse at all but JG and JGW or that type of athelete are sorely missed when matched with a talent like CF.
One last comment…many of the hopes and dreams of what people want for this program have no chance of taking place until people take their hands out of there pockets quit looking around for the other guy to do it and step forward. Whether it be the state, the University, outside parties, general public or a coalition of all. This program needs support and assistance not only in facilities and equipment but also salaries etc. I will continue to do my small part as I feel I owe so much to the program and its people—Go Warriors no matter what!!!!!! This can be done and not as difficult as one might think—
Good Morning Hawaii. The sun rose again and I still Believe. How bout you?
Let’s Go Bows!
If Utah State was smart they, too, would use a double TE.
Hawaii had no answer to Nevada’s 300 yards rushing…and double TE.
7 linemen on UH’s 3 down linemen. Smart.
Rolo pulled this formation out of his hat the first time this season in the teams win against BYU last weekend. Absolutely genius. Runs his QB in way that he slides, stays in control and is less vulnerable to injuries. What can you say? This is all on Rolo. He sure knows how to milk the cash cow. Also am I the only to think that UH’s defense is super slow or is the Nevada QB super fast?
It wasn’t Nevada, it was us. Not scoring is hard to win games, the defense must feel like they have to do everything.
Nevada with Rolo as coordinator has proven he can win without Fajardo– he beat us last year something awful– scored 69 points– without him and he was not the only one. Rolo adapted the offense to Fajardo’s replacement.
Rolo’s offense is diverse and adjusts to the defense and game situation. Rolo wanted to run at will second half and he did with great blocking up front and from formations with four wide that looked like passing formations. Fajardo with some simple QB fakes completely faked out the defense (and me). Fajardo was a little off last night but still had some great throws. If Rolo faced a weak pass defense he would throw more and use his run game to set up play action.
Our problem is we have a mediocre running team and we are forced to run even when the other teams run better, defend the run better than we do, but are weak against the pass– we do not pass well enough or often enough to take advantage of a weakness and we do not disguise our passes well enough– we beat Wyoming’s weakness– pass D– but we could not beat SDSU’s weak pass D, Rice’s weak Pass D, or Nevada’s weak pass D (covered well by Nevada’s running game and time of possession– 25 minutes to 5 minutes for Hawaii). Games are won by beating up on a team’s weakness not its strengths.
Coach Chow:
As a fan, I would like to see your Rainbow Warriors beat opponents like UH beat BYU in 1989 and 1990.
Yep, destroy the opponent cause that’s what they will do to you if given the opportunity.
Stop the “conservative” nonsense. If you cannot, then step down and let some one else do it.
Sincerely,
A-House
You do not have to be football expert to see problems– just having an understanding of tactics and strategy in things like business and investing will tell you some things about Chow. Chow comes very close in score to the winning team, but loses almost every time. Basic strategy or game theory tells you that Chow is taking a conservative approach of avoiding losing badly– it has become his goal whether he realizes it or not. He plays safe so he will not get blown out, but hopes to take advantage of the other teams mistakes and eke out a win. Narrow losses have happened so many times you can tell this is what he is doing is very conservative. But, a team like ours is not good enough to both play safe and win– we accomplish the goal of not losing badly, but not the goal of winning. We need to take more calculated chances to win– pass more, run trick plays, go for it on fourth down more, give Woolsey more free rein to throw or run. When we lose we could be blown out, but we may increase our low chances of winning as calculated risk might get us a better winning percentage than being ultra-safe.
New post is up: http://hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=25574