Growing up in a home where sports were always on the forefront, I learned many lessons. My dad, and brother to a lesser extent, taught me certain truths about game. Dad passed down the thought that sports are as much mental as they are physical and a hate of zone defense. One of the lessons he repeated the most was that you never know what is going to happen in the first game of the season. The game is weird and often not vindictive of a team’s talent level or future record. With this thought in mind, I would caution my fellow Dawg fans to take a deep breath instead of joining in the insanity that has ensued over Husky Nation.
Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not happy with the way the Huskies played on Saturday. It was a pathetic display by the defense and the offensive line. They were not the team we expected to see this season and if they hope to better last season than they will have to play better (I’ll pick apart what needs to improve after the jump).
But, over the last 2 days I’ve heard irrationality coming from the radio, blogosphere and everywhere else I could hear about the Huskies. There have been calls for Nick Holt’s job, which is absolutely absurd. There have been people underselling how well Eastern played, which is strange since everyone under the sun was talking about how the Huskies were in for a battle last week. There have been players called out who shouldn’t have been.
UW Dawg Pound, which is a good Husky football blog that I follow regularly, said this on Saturday night:
“Alameda Ta’amu played like a big fat pile of goo. He was dominated most of the evening by players who had no business being on the same playing field with him.”
This just simply isn’t true. I was at the game and watch Ta’amu pretty closely. No, he didn’t have a monster game but he was himself, clogging up the middle and getting free more than any other D-lineman. This was with him being double-teamed the entire game. UW Dawg Pound is a blog that I agree with in most things and a blog that I encourage Husky fans to ready, John Berkowitz is a good writer and has good insight on the Dawgs. That’s why I picked this example, it’s the kind of blame game that’s going out all over this fan base.
So, should we be upset with the way the team played? Sure, coach Sark sure was in his press conference today but don’t go blowing things out proportion. A few players played poorly and the team didn’t play at full speed. I’m sticking with my pre-season prediction and I imagine the other 3 Good Guys’ are doing the same. Hey, we’re 1-0 and have the 6th longest winning streak in the nation! I’m good with that. Continue reading
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