Beginning of the End

[scooter1]

After sitting through another heartbreaking game amidst a paltry of Viking fans (most having retired during Clinton's administration), and witnessing yet again the most anemic and ineffective offensive play calling and use of personnel afforded this group of athletes, I can only ascertain that this is indeed Nigel's last year.

I say heartbreaking because I really wanted this coach, and the players he has recruited the last several years, to reap the fruits of their labors. This is a very athletic, skilled cache of student athletes. They deserve a measure of success not being afforded them. Whether it is a lack of vision and/or preparation by the assistants doesn't matter; the buck stops at Nigel's doorstep. And unfortunately he will pay the price at season's end. Let's hope and pray we don't lose the kids during the transition because I think we really do have a wonderful corps of competitors.

 

[Pounder]

Do they really look more athletic? Long's definitely fast... and the team misses Penn in all likelihood. The remaining players?

Something else: most of the pass plays were run under the assumption that McDonagh wouldn't have more than 2 seconds in the pocket. That's kind of an indictment of the offensive line.

That might be no less an indictment of Burton, of course. It may also be an indictment of the local talent overall.

 

[faithinviks]

After sitting through another heartbreaking game amidst a paltry of Viking fans (most having retired during Clinton's administration), and witnessing yet again the most anemic and ineffective offensive play calling and use of personnel afforded this group of athletes, I can only ascertain that this is indeed Nigel's last year.

I say heartbreaking because I really wanted this coach, and the players he has recruited the last several years, to reap the fruits of their labors. This is a very athletic, skilled cache of student athletes. They deserve a measure of success not being afforded them. Whether it is a lack of vision and/or preparation by the assistants doesn't matter; the buck stops at Nigel's doorstep. And unfortunately he will pay the price at season's end. Let's hope and pray we don't lose the kids during the transition because I think we really do have a wonderful corps of competitors.

Great post Scooter. It is heartbreaking. Other coaches regularly comment on our athletes. We have talent. Anyone questioning that and "local talent" is not looking at reality and what we have done IN SPITE OF the play calling the last few years. Burton is exactly the type of coach we can afford; young, trying to prove himself as a head coach, driven, committed. It could have been a perfect fit but wanting to be a good head coach is much different than being a good head coach. Burton is talented but doesn’t seem to have what it takes at this level. And the coaching team he has assembled is squandering opportunities.

The argument I had with some last night was the program suffers because of a lack of funding. However, a good driven head coach doesn’t need finances to make the right play calls, to hold coaches accountable if they are not coaching skills, to make adjustments at halftime, to motivate players and bring out the best in them, to increase the intensity of practices, to play reserves when the game is out of reach so “the next man up” is ready to go. He could creatively overcome our lack of funding to partner with other PSU departments to come alongside the team and teach nutrition even if we can’t afford to provide the food, to develop individual strength and conditioning programs even if we don’t have state of the art facilities…

At this point in comes down to the leadership at the University. The President met with the team this last week to express his support and let them know they are not alone. Well let’s lead then. Prove they are not alone and lay the foundation for a brighter future. A strong football program can bring a myriad of benefits to the University. It doesn’t start with money…it starts with the right leadership…

 

[VikHoops]

At this point in comes down to the leadership at the University. The President met with the team this last week to express his support and let them know they are not alone. Well let’s lead then. Prove they are not alone and lay the foundation for a brighter future. A strong football program can bring a myriad of benefits to the University. It doesn’t start with money…it starts with the right leadership…

I would have loved to have heard that conversation. I would be curious HOW the president supports them. I'm an outsider to the program, just a fan, so I don't know what goes on off the field. But it sure seems like after all funding was cut, the football team is in fact alone.

 

[bigskyconf]

At this point in comes down to the leadership at the University. The President met with the team this last week to express his support and let them know they are not alone. Well let’s lead then. Prove they are not alone and lay the foundation for a brighter future. A strong football program can bring a myriad of benefits to the University. It doesn’t start with money…it starts with the right leadership…

I would have loved to have heard that conversation. I would be curious HOW the president supports them. I'm an outsider to the program, just a fan, so I don't know what goes on off the field. But it sure seems like after all funding was cut, the football team is in fact alone.

After Gonzaga had their deep run in the NCAA basketball tournament, their president was noted as saying how much easier it was to recruit and promote prospective students (not just student athletes, but prospective students) to Gonzaga from the east coast as the recruiters did not have to explain what Gonzaga was (everyone knew from the success of the basketball program). Butler had the same success after their recent run. The purpose of athletics in a university system is to get the image of the school out there to the public. The main purpose of the coaches are to make sure they recruit those students that can best represent the university, both home and on the road. Portland State coaches have done that, recruiting players that have represented not just PSU athletics in a positive way, but Portland State itself. You don't hear about our athletes in any major trouble like from other schools (Oregon, Oregon State, Montana). This is the vision that is needed on campus. Whether it is there or not, I don't know. Like Hoops, I, too, am just a fan, not an alum. I came to be a fan when Portland State joined the conference.

 

[Guychamp]

I couldn't agree more with what you just said. What PSU has always needed is a sense of school pride. I'm very proud of our athletes for staying out of trouble and Nigel Burton is a big part of that. If this school really wants to rise to the level of a major urban university as it claims, it needs its football program and it needs it to have a reputation for success.

I'm really glad to hear the Mr. Weivel supports the same vision, but I do wish he'd let the rest of the world know. It must be difficult to recruit with the constant fear of program termination hanging over your head. Sooner or later the general public will recognize PSU for the outstanding university it is. I think the football team can become a part of that. Its time for a unified and clearly expressed statement of support by the University (all departments included). The time for fractionalism is over. I'd like to see the hiring of our new AD as a catalyst for some dramatic changes and renewed energy for the program. It's time to break out the funding and get a top notch AD and a coach that can take us over the top.

 

[faithinviks]

I'm very proud of our athletes for staying out of trouble and Nigel Burton is a big part of that.
Its time for a unified and clearly expressed statement of support by the University (all departments included). The time for fractionalism is over. I'd like to see the hiring of our new AD as a catalyst for some dramatic changes and renewed energy for the program. It's time to break out the funding and get a top notch AD and a coach that can take us over the top.

Excellent thoughts from all. Nice to hear the positive future thinking. The future can be very bright with the right leadership. We are so close...

 

[pdxfan]

I might point out here that PSU's reputation is growing with the women's teams too - Volleyball, soccer and golf. Those teams have consistently been at the top of the conference the last several years. This year volleyball is re-building, starting and playing four freshmen. Despite this it looks like they'll be one of the top six in the tournament. Soccer is presently tied for second place and certainly will be in the tournament. And golf will win the conference. And track is doing better every year. I realize that the monsters in the room are football and basketball, but don't forget the others. We who follow the women's teams have a lot to brag about.

 

[EasternDopa]

I'll tell you what I've noticed about Portland State recently is the lack of fire they carry in the games. I think your talent ought to be producing better results, but the team just doesn't seem intense, like there is no sense of urgency when it comes to winning games. Part of that might be attributed to how bad the environment has gotten at JELD-WEN. The days of sellouts and gutty football on the parking lot known as Civic Stadium are long gone.

In both the UC Davis game and the NAU game, the Vikings built a lead and looked like the better team for the early portion of the game. But then the opponent started coming back, and it just looked like the players were indifferent to the situation. There was no jumping around and no chip on the shoulder... no inspiration at all.

The funny thing is the best games I've seen PSU play in each of the last two years were against Eastern. For whatever reason, the team came out fired up and enthusiastic. You can see the difference in performance when they carry that attitude.

 

[EasternDopa]

It may also be an indictment of the local talent overall.

That's an obvious point. Portland State cannot build a program around kids from Portland. High school football just isn't all that good around here. I also don't think it is reasonable to think Portland State can build the proverbial wall around the metro area and keep the Eastern's and Montana's out.

Portland State must raise their brand recognition to be considered a viable option for kids in NorCal and Seattle. When Burton was first hired, he seemed to build some inroads. In fact, he peeled three kids off Eastern (including Paris Penn) in the same recruiting class. Not sure where that sort of fizzled...

 

[faithinviks]

It may also be an indictment of the local talent overall.

That's an obvious point. Portland State cannot build a program around kids from Portland. High school football just isn't all that good around here.

In an effort to try to keep the conversation positive all I will say is you obviously haven't looked at our roster, haven't followed what other coaches say about our own kids, and haven't watched many games. Our kids have as much or more talent than any team in the conference. If we can keep the recruiting success going from the last few years and add the leadership we need...It will be exiting to say the least...

 

[bigskyconf]

It may also be an indictment of the local talent overall.

That's an obvious point. Portland State cannot build a program around kids from Portland. High school football just isn't all that good around here.

High school football here in Portland is still better than the high school football played in Montana. While we won't get the Thomas Tyners to stay and play at PSU, we should still not lose out on the best of FCS talent here to others in the Big Sky (Jordan Johnson, Zak Browning, Reilly Hennessey, etc.). To move our recruiting to Seattle, we would have to go head to head with EWU, similar to what we go through now with the Vancouver athletes.

We do get quite a few good players from Portland. It would be great to get the best of the best of the FCS here, however.

 

[EasternDopa]

1. You already go head-to-head with Eastern and Montana in Portland
2. Puget Sound football is light years ahead of Willamette Valley football.
3. The point is you can't build a program simply taking what you can out of Portland; it just isn't fertile enough soil. Eastern even extends their search out of Washington. Montana and Montana State have long understood they can grab kids in their backyard, but they can't sustain their program without going out of state.

 

[Guychamp]

I think you're missing the point which is that we have good athletes. Yes, we have many from OR and SW Wash, but we also have a slew of Pac 12 transfers and players from other states. The point is that we need to lock in those local FCS caliber players so guys like Vernon Adams Jordi Johnson, and others don't slip away to our competition. Trust me, nobody goes to EW for the school or the locale. They go to win. We have a better school and the best locale in the Big Sky. Every OR and WASH kid should want to come here and in my opinion only choose other schools because they win and we don't. Glanvile tried to build a team from Texas and Cali guys and look where that ended up.