So Coach Jinks had his presser for the Buffalo game. I listened so you don't have to.
There was not a whole lot of news in it. Most of it was a continuing discourse of Coach Jinks and how he is now reverted to his true nature.
On offense, he says we are going to continue to play up tempo. You can (apparently) do that with the QB under center. So, he says that you will see BG with a commitment to running the ball. He says 40 passes "is way more than enough." You will see us in more 2-back sets and fewer empty sets. He likes Morgan under center and thinks he does a good job with play action. Again, this is his true nature, according to him.
What's weird is that his offensive philosophy sounds like Dave Clawson's, except for the tempo.
John Wagner asked him about the offense and its personnel and "shoving square pegs into round holes."
Coach said this (emphasis added):
"We have a ball game to finish up. I'm sure we will have a long, lengthy conversation about my thoughts on the year and I'll get into that in details....what things we learned and mistakes that we made. You're exactly right, as a coach you have to evaluate your talent and put your student-athletes in the best position to win."
Defense. He says "we will play good defense. Period." He says you need a good defense to win a championship...then he paused and started to figure out how to factor in the '15 title...he ended up saying we had some special players on that defense...but the '13 title was built on a physical, strong defense. "I know that's how you do it. We will be young again, but we are playing faster." He felt giving up 245 yards to a 4th string QB is too much.
And, he reiterated, that's the right way to play.
He was asked what the most improved part of the team is. He was truly stumped before he came up with the D-line. He said they have improved, have been pressuring the passer and creating havoc. Then he said the unit was up to what he expected them to be when the season started. (To me, this is the ultimate point. That Kent win was what we are supposed to be this year. The "improvement" theme is only improvement once you established the incredibly low performances that came before it.)
They are using their extra days before the Buffalo game to recruit. They are "grinding" on recruiting...to hold onto the '17 class and fill it out.
He said PJ Fleck gives guys like him hope...started out 1-11 and now they are 10-0.
He refers to weekday MACTION as "genius."
Okay since jinks mentioned the d-line... they all came to #27 and said that they want him behind him as the MLB because they trust him and let's be honest here, the only change on defense is the MLB and the defense is better. Why can't jinks and the media give him some credit!
ReplyDeleteWow- what a statement. Valdez was all conference last year for a reason. Glad that #27 is doing well- what will they look like next year if they both are in the backfield.
DeleteTell me he was being sarcastic about weekday games. The direction things are going with ESPN subscribers leaving, sub-power 5 leagues (CUSA) getting their contracts reduced, and the rise of league owned streaming, the "big" paychecks aren't going to continue forever. Nor will the bowl games. But that is a rant for another day.
ReplyDeleteAs for the PC, the truth seems to be creeping to the surface the more people dig into things. Babers took a championship program and trashed it with unqualified buddies running defense and a fixation on "fast." If I were Dave Clawson I'd consider asking for the financial bonus' for having provided Babers what he barely managed to win a title with.
There is a quiet calm to Jinks I'm coming to appreciate. He could rant and rave, he could toss lots of buzzwords around. He seems simply focused. But the key I will focus on is if the truth he speaks this year is something he can fix and build on top of. Jinks seems clearly able to recognize reality, being able to change the direction of things, that is another talent. Time will tell.
He was definitely not being sarcastic. He says his phone blows up from recruits after every game. Also, remember that the MAC originally developed MACTION when they weren't even getting paid they valued the exposure too much. As I always say, it is worst for the regular fans who are there game in and game out. It is a pain to be there by game time after work.
ReplyDeleteRecruits wanting to play major college football will find the time to view the games or keep themselves in the loop no matter when the game is played. We are talking about people with support systems that blast those silly "I am blessed to get" tweets about offers with out of date images and hashtags. It is incidental that the phone "blows up" after weekday games.
ReplyDeleteI know there is money made, the ratings aren't "bad," and the MAC has a catchy hashtag. On the other hand the money is game changing, isn't likely to improve and thus decline in impact on the programs. The P5 and other sports are encroaching on the previously safe nooks during the weekday slots. ESPN subscribers are down and that will get worse. The future isn't bright for this purely marketing and money driven gimmick. Empty stadiums aren't an issue that can be fixed quickly and these mid-week games provide no means to do more than focus on one or two games early in the season and write-off the rest.
As local media types will mention for the sake of saying, poor attendance isn't simply a matter of mid-week games. But the solution, if there is one, isn't ever going to be found with mid-week games taking half or more of the home games.