I usully don't agree with Schoffel but...
Fisher faces greatest challenge yet
6:57 PM, Oct 7, 2012 |
Ira Schoffel Sports editor
RALEIGH, N.C. — In what felt more like a confessional than a postgame press conference, Jimbo Fisher took the blame for just about everything that went wrong Saturday night at North Carolina State.
Florida State’s coach admitted he got too conservative on offense in the second half.
He kicked himself for a number of poor decisions during a fourth quarter full of blunders.
And when a sports information assistant tried to signal the end of the press conference after 10 minutes, Fisher dismissed him, saying he would stay and answer any question the roomful of reporters had in mind.
Nice gesture, but there were no takers.
With good reason. There was nothing left to ask.
Not then. Not there.
While postgame interviews are designed to get quick answers to specific questions, this type of debacle requires a different level of perspective.
If this had been a one-time deal — if we hadn’t seen this same, agonizingly exact scenario play out during each of Fisher’s first two seasons as head coach — then the quickie postgame format would have worked perfectly.
But the real problem wasn’t this play call or that one. Those are just symptoms.
The problem is with the overall approach.
Jimbo Fisher isn’t coaching football. He’s trying to improve efficiency in a manufacturing plant.
He doesn’t rejoice in big plays. He doesn’t celebrate brilliant improvisations or individual efforts. He wants all 11 pieces of his machine to work in perfect unison.
I’m convinced it’s why, even when his team is struggling mightily in the red zone, he refuses to throw fade patterns near the goal line. He has twin towers at wide receiver in 6-foot-6 Rodney Smith and 6-5 Kelvin Benjamin, and he refuses to give them a chance to go up and make a play.
It’s why he has a quarterback in EJ Manuel, who has the talent to be one of the most dynamic players in college football, and tries to turn him into a game manager eight or nine times a year.
We can talk all we want about a play here or a decision there, but the reality is the offensive attack FSU used against Clemson was not the same approach it took against USF or N.C. State.
Against Clemson, Fisher knew his offense would have to put up points, and he called plays accordingly. Against USF and N.C. State, it was as if he wanted to do just enough to get by. Especially once he got a lead.
But that is exactly the wrong approach in games like that.
When FSU went into halftime with a 16-0 advantage Saturday night, Fisher’s No. 1 objective should have been figuring out how to deliver the death blow.
The Seminoles would be getting the ball to start the third quarter, and Fisher should have been determined to score one more touchdown — or at least a field goal — and put the Wolfpack out of their misery.
He should have pulled out all the stops.
Instead, he followed up a nine-yard pass on first down with two consecutive runs. Those plays got stuffed, and N.C. State had reason to keep believing.
The rest of the way, Fisher seemed to make every decision with one eye on the score and one on the clock — as if he had an insurmountable lead given the time remaining.
And N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien must have loved every minute of it.
It’s the inferior team’s job to shorten the game, but Fisher did it for them.
He didn’t try to exploit an N.C. State secondary that gave up an ACC-record 566 passing yards one week earlier. He was content to keep things close to the vest, to keep sending the defense back out on the field.
Frustrated FSU fans believe they recognized the approach. They call it “coaching scared.” It’s what they felt Bobby Bowden’s staff did in so many of those close losses to Miami.
But I don't believe Jimbo Fisher coaches scared. I think he has a tendency to coach overconfident.
There's a reason why FSU's most painful losses under Fisher have come against the conference's weakest teams. It's why he was willing to start his backup quarterback last year at Wake Forest. It's why the Seminoles were flat and listless at home against Virginia.
The guy has owned rivals Florida and Miami and recorded bowl wins against South Carolina and Notre Dame. You can't do that by coaching scared.
But when the Seminoles are playing a team with inferior talent, Fisher believes he can simply crank up the machine and watch his creation do the rest.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an assembly line. And Manuel isn’t a robot.
As comfortable and confident as Manuel looked against Clemson, that’s how stiff and disconnected he looked against USF and N.C. State. And the entire offense followed his lead.
There was no passion. No inspired performances.
Just parts of the machine.
During his brief time as FSU’s head coach, Fisher has shown the ability to adapt and adjust. He has made changes, searched for solutions.
But the challenge facing him now might be the toughest yet.
How does someone obsessed with control loosen the reins? How does a perfectionist come to grips with the fact that the greatest plays in sports are often unscripted? How does a coach who has assembled incredible talent, get out of the way and just let them play?
Those are the only questions that matter right now.
And Jimbo Fisher is the only one who can answer them.
Contact sports editor Ira Schoffel at 599-2316 or ischoffel@tallahassee.com. Follow @IraSchoffel on Twitter
Jimbo reportedly says he didn't call a bad game...just that the team needs to work on better execution ... what a load of rubbish - there has been no enthusiasm on the field since Clemson - its a game, let the kids play