I know we all love high flying offense and tons of points, but don't we love winning more.  When we were an up-and-coming program the only way to get relevant was to do something ridiculous, like throw the ball 50 times a game and try to score 50 points every time we went out.  We did it, it worked (see Redman, Chris), and people took notice that we actually fielded a football team around these parts. 

The next evolution of our program was a move away from a pass first to a "balanced attack" where Petrino implemented a power rushing game with our vaunted passing schemes.  The modification proved to be a major factor in our ability to hang with upper tier teams.  The problem was that although it was a change from the previous "pass first" offense we were still basically doing the same thing...trying to outscore you.  On top of that Petrino's teams always seemed to wilt late in games against teams that played hard-nosed D and like to hit you in the mouth (i.e. Rutgers 2006 and Miam 2004)

Mike Leach, Kevin Sumlin, Paul Petrino, Gus Mahlzan, etc. play that same card and will eventually get us the same result.  An offensive based program can win in the short term, but will lose the big games because we're just not tough enough to impose our will.  Long term sucess is just not sustainable and if we go with an "offensive genius" we'll just end up right back where we started.

I look at TCU as a role model for what we are trying to achieve here.  Just a few short years ago we were chief rivals in a very competitive CUSA.  We were the offensive juggernaut and they were the defensive juggernaut.  As the years went by we soared to extreme highs and due to our high octane offense and our TV marketability we became very relevant nationally.  Well, Gary Patterson and TCU stuck to their defensive gameplan and though they didn't experience the highest of highs, like us, but they also never dropped to the low lows like us.  Their defensive mindset kept them competitive all these years even if their offense wasn't lightin up the scoreboard.  Look where it has finally gotten them now.

The same could be said of a program like Virginia Tech.  Our old Metro Conference foe was never much to speak of until Frank Beamer and Bud Foster began their run as a hard hitting (and disciplined) defensive football team.  It is definitely true that they hit their highest of highs when their offense was filled with playmakers like mike Vick and Kevin Smith, but it was the defense that has kept them relevant for all of the years.

I guess what I'm trying to point out is the old saying is that offense may sell tickets but defense is what wins championships.  If we just want a relevant program that gets on national tv and get ranked high every couple of years when we have a star QB they sure, go ahead and hire an offensive guru.  But if we want to build a sustainable sucess then its time we changed our whole mindset and went with a defensive guru. 

We are never going to compete with the bluebloods, the Floridas, Alabama, Texas, USC, etc.  Those teams fill their rosters with studs on both sides of the ball, every freaking year.  But with the right mindset and a coach who is actively involved in crafting a big, strong, fast, hard hitting defense, and can recruit the south to fill his roster with those kind of athletes we can make sure that we never fall off the national landscape for very long. 

With that said, look at how well Charlie Strong has done his job as a DC and compare that to how well anyone else has done in their position over the past 5+ years.  I checked the stats and in those past 5 years Strong's defense has been ranked outside the top 15 only once and it was in the top 6 three times.  Oh yeah, and he's directing the top ranked defense in the country right now by the way.

Check out the stats.

These stats show that defense is the way to go with our next coach.  I don't care if we only score 10 points a game next year, as long as the other team only scores 9.  A HC with a DC background will mean that we will have a fighting chance everytime we walk out on the field.

Who thinks that TWill could be a percect candidate for the Ewing Theory?

For those of you who don't know, the Ewing Theory (named after the inexplicable improvement of the NY Knicks when Patrick Ewing was injured during the '99 Playoffs) was "created" by ESPN.com Page 2 columnist Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons.  The Ewing theory says that when certain players who recieve an inordinate amount of media and fan attention leave a team or are injured said team inexplicably becomes better overall and can acheive more without them.

Even though the player the player is obviously the best player and the heart and soul of the team, sometimes they are so dominating that their teammates don't perform as well with them around.  When they are subtracted from the equation his former teammates get better with a whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts type of situation.

One hesitation I have with ordaining TWill as A Ewing Theory is that in years past U of L games without TWill were just a hot mess on the offensive end.  The team was always noticably worse without Twill on the court.  But if you look deeper into the Sports Guy's theory it says that the team needs to know that said teammate isn't coming back in order for them to truly unify as a team and make the imnprovements needed.  With TWill living it up in NYC, as Coach P would say, "Terrence Williams is not walking through that door."

My thought on the subject is that maybe, finally, Players like Jerry and Edgar will no longer feel the pressure of living up to TWill's athleticism and all around game and just start doing what they could be best at.  Eliminating the do-everything concept from our team and supporting the do-your-job concepts could free these guys to relax and not press so much in tight situations, go on cold shooting streaks, or repeatedly turn the ball over all night long.  When one guys tries to do everything the rest of the team usually ends up standing around watching, which is what, to me, seemed to happen for the past few years.

Here's a link to The Sports Guys most recent article on the Ewing Theory and see if you think the 2009-10 Cards could be ripe for success by losing their "Best" player.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/book/091027

With our women's team reaching new heights under the direction of Jeff Walz and the sheer will of Angel, how does everyone feel about it?

Last year when the baseball team went to the World Series we all went nuts supporting them.  But with the run that the women are making I just don't think that the rank and file Cardinal contingent is showing the appropriate enthusiasm

So here is my question:  Can the Women upsetting UConn and winning a National Title make up for the Men failing to make the Final Four to you?

My answer is that as much as I'd like to say yes, in truth it won't.  I'm not saying that I'm not excited to watch the game tommorow night, nor am I saying that ther achievements would be any less than Griff's or Pervis' Championships...It's just not the same.

What do you think?

If we're going to start the convo on next season we should just go ahead and start with the lienup.  We have a pleathora of option at multiple positions and that creates many different possible looks for this squad.

How do you see the depth chart shaping up

Here's my guess

PG - Sosa (C) - Siva

SG - Jerry (C) - Preston - Marra

SF - Delk - Swopshire - Kuric

PF -  Samardo - Buckles

C - Jennings - Goode - Van Treese

Notes:

Siva is an absolute stud (360 layup?) and will be the true engine for this machine eventually.  I see his season arcing like Kemba Walker's this year - solid early spectacular late.  He's the pass first PG with dazzling skills and control of the game that we need.  After watching the McD game tonight he really is the only of his kind in his class.  If he has any kind of outside shot or midrange game there is no way Pitino will be able to keep him off the court

I also think that Buckles is the true X-factor for this team.  He's going to have to be our junkyard dog if we're going to survive the BEast next year.

Finally I think the season comes down to whether Samardo can make "the jump"  next year.  Can he hit the 12 footer consistently.  Can he learn a second (or even a third) post move. Can he become a better passer from the high post. Can we count on him for a hoop in crunch time.  TJ also has a chance to to the same and may even be a faster learner than Samardo.

Just got back from Indy, and that is all I can say about the last 8 hours of my life. 

I believe the feeling is mutual for the rest of the sea or red that washed over central Indiana this afternoon and evening.

The joy and exuberance I experienced during what was inarguably the most perfect Cardinal roadtrip was un-friggin-real.  I would estimate about 30,000+ of my Cardinal comrades got to truly to the Celebrate at the Altar of the Church of Rick.  Today, for those lucky enough to experience it, was absolutely a little peek at Cardinal heaven.

Let me run down how most of our afternoons went:

12:00 Take off early from work - always the start to a good day 

2:00 Pick up the crew and hit the road

4:00 Wade through the ocean of red that has flooded downtown Indy.  Bounce from bar to bar to bar while echoing C-A-R-D-S off the walls to the city's towers

6:00 Chug last beverage and shuffle to the stadium that was only three blocks away.

7:09 Realize that we fill two-thirds of this giant arena and that means we may have more fans at this game than most home football games this past season.  Also realize that the atmosphere in the building was more conducive to a Coronation rather than a competition.  Also notice that there were tons of empty seats and ample room to pile a few thousand more Cardinal faithful into this place.

9:00 Watch as Good Edgar Sosa, Tournament Earl Clark, Banging-Mildly-Contested-Three Jerry Smith, and Maybe-We'll-See-a-Triple-Double TWill polish off the biggest tournament win in Cardinal history.

10:00 Hit the road and head back home knowing that the party starts again in two days so you'd bett rest up for whats ahead.

I strongly urge any and every true Cardinal to join our Congregation for our service on Sunday.  Father Rick would appreciate your support.

Dennis Dodd of CBSportsline.com says that Mike Leach is on thin ice @ Texas Tech and may actually lose his job over a contract buy-out clause disagreement.

He also goes on to say that Louisville would be one of the top possible spots for his to land if he gets axed in the next year.  But to our dismay, he also says that after a debacle like this  Jurich probably won't even give him a second look...which totally sucks

check it out:

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6270202/13637486

In a big pick up for the bouncing ball Cards, Rick and Richard Pitino got a commitment from Indianapolis North Lawrence Center Stephen Van Treese last night.

 Jody Demling reports the full story and it looks like the 2009 class is rounding into for nicely with Van Treese (6'9" 220) as the big, Rakeem Buckles as a scoring swing player, sharp-shooter Mike Marra, and road-runner point guard Peyton Siva. 

Van Treese is a nice insurance policy if Samardo goes one and done.  If he does stay, the depth on the '09-'10 team would be substantial and leave us in great position to make a run ath the National Title.

OK, take it easy.  Come off that ledge.  This is not the end of the world. 

I know you've had a bad day, we all did.  What we witnessed today was a passing, a passing of passing, if you will.  Nobody died, it was just our passing game that passed, or was it?

What we witnessed today was probably the worst display of quarterbacking in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium History.  Our past decade has been filled with exhibitions of the art of quarterbacking by a procession of NFLqb's almost unmatched in the college football landscape.  From Chris Redman to Dave Ragone to Stefan Lefors to Brian Bhrom we were blessed to have the chance of seeing how the position should be played, and what we saw today was not how the quarterback position should be played, we all know that. 

Hey Hunter, just so you know, throwing lightning bolts makes you Zeus, not a quarterback!

But Hunter's bad day doesn't mean he's the end of an era.  The backfield and receiving corp today that Hunter had to work with was probably the thinnest ever.  Can anyone remember a weaker and less experienced group than the group of rookies we had playing today.  Along with Hunter starting his first game as a starting quarterback, we had 2 new tailbacks, 1 new fullback, 3 new recievers, and 2 new tight ends.  When was the last time we went into a game, let alone a season, with no clear returning starter at any skill position on offense?  Cause I sure as hell can't remember. 

But we've got to forget about the past because as bad as everything was today, there were some bright spots for the future, and that's why we can't all go wiggin' out over this loss. 

Doug Beaumont and Josh Chichester showed us something today...heart.  Even Victor Anderson a little bit as too.  Some of you may disagree, but the play calling was actually very solid by Jeff Brohm today.  If you watch a replay of the game with slo-mo you'll see that lots, if not most all, of the major mistakes were due to bad execution and not bad schemes.  I'm not saying he called a perfect game today, but the playcalling put our guys in position to make plays, it's just that no one did.

This group can get better, lots better.  It may not be soon but these guys can get there, it'll just take some time.  The defense will hold their own as long as English is in charge.   What we saw today by-no-means minimizes the potential of individual players or this team as a whole. What it may have shown us though that it could be anywhere from a few games to an entire season before this squad gels.  For Hunter's sake he'd better do his best to make it happen sooner rather than later or Kragthorpe might have to experiment with a younger option at his position.

Hang tough Card Nation, don't go wiggin' out...

...because after watching Bilal jog around like he did today, we all know that Mike has been wiggin' out enough for the rest of us.

More games for their "former" or "future" team next year? 

I think that with all the wierdness surrounding the entirity of U of L Sports at this time that we should have some fun with it.  Feel free to add any others to this list. 

The only criteria I used was that there must be a decenct chance that they play exactly zero games this upcoming season and there must be an equal  chance for them to play most all of their team's games in the upcoming seasons.

And so the plot thickens.  The CJ is reporting good news for the CC's favorite son. None other than Donut Dunkin' Derrick Caracter has wiggled his way back into Rick's good-ish graces and may ultimately be competing with Samardo Samuels for PT on our Final Four contending hoop squad. 

I for one am glad DC apparently has weaseled his way back into Pitinoland

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/SPORTS02/80715041

Let's hope Mike's head doesn't explode!