Culture and Coaching - 2002 vs 2021
Sept 10, 2021 14:05:22 GMT -5
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Post by midwestsader05 on Sept 10, 2021 14:05:22 GMT -5
There has been a lot of chatter and references about the 2002 Army win/season in the past week for obvious reasons. This Chesney quote jumped out at me in the article by Jen Toland in Today’s T&G. I need to take a point of personal privilege as this was 19 years ago and unless you were there, few really remember the nuances of what happened that season….
“Any time you get to go 1-0 is a big deal,” Chesney said. “I think going 1-0 against an FBS opponent is a big deal. It’s something that hasn’t been done here since 2002, and that team might have beaten Army, but then went (4-8). I don’t think this is any time to relax or feel good about ourselves, or be in a situation where complacency sets in. That’s just not who we are or what we’re made of. We moved on very, very quickly after (the UConn) game.”
Like UCONN, Army ended up being in the bottom of the FBS that year and only won 1 or 2 games. The 2002 team followed up the Army win by blowing out Georgetown. However, it was this game that we lost our best all-around player (Steve Silva) to a season ending injury. We then lost a thrilling game at Harvard by 5 who was the defending Ivy League Champ (loaded with talent and who’s only loss that year was to Penn for the title) Most long time followers of the program remember it was soon revealed that Coach Allen was dealing with a mysterious illness that required him to take a leave of absence which no doubt had an affect on the staff and team. Of course we dealt with other injuries to starters throughout the season…like many teams do, however, most DON’T REMEMBER the following: Of the games we lost that year, NEARLY ALL were by 1 score. In most of those games we won or even dominated the stat sheet (Yale, Dartmouth, Lehigh, Fordham, Colgate) It was always the same thing, a costly turnover, a devastating special teams miscue, or giving up a late explosive play (usually on 3rd down) to lose the game.
I say all this because that team did not have the CULTURE by which to win close games. Conversely, many of the teams we beat up and down the stat sheet did. Ask yourself, would that team in that season have gone 4-8 with Chesney/Staff culture, character and coaching?? I would almost guarantee that team goes 8-4 or even 9-3 and is in contention for a PL title.
I thought Coach Chesney said something really profound yet simple in the preseason football podcast. He said when he first got the HC job, he sat down with the 2017 team captains/leaders (Ryan Brady, Chris Riley etc.) and asked them “this 2017 team was supposed to be the best team on paper since 2009 (PL champs)…What happened?” He said what he found was that the program was comprised of a lot of good football players…but very few genuinely loved the game of football. He then said that the number one thing he was going to emphasize was recruiting kids who LOVED Football. Not that they necessarily think they can or want to play on Sundays, but just love to play and compete. I can tell you maybe 5-6 guys on that 2002 team found pure joy in the game. Most were looking forward and preparing for life after graduating. When I watch this team over the past 2+ years and follow them on Social Media, these guys LOVE Playing Football for Holy Cross. That is the defining difference of what Coach Chesney has brought to this program.
Of course this team still has much to prove this season but the single biggest difference is this…THIS TEAM KNOWS HOW TO WIN THE CLOSE GAME. Even in some of Coach TG’s better seasons, the HC team loses that UCONN type game given how many chances UCONN had to go ahead in the 2nd half (and blow it open in the first half) I’d seen that movie too many times over the past 20 years. Last week was noticeably different.
Let’s support them and all the staff to the fullest to insure they have the best chance to succeed!
www.telegram.com/story/sports/college/2021/09/09/holy-cross-football-matthew-sluka-quarterback-bob-chesney-football-championship-subdivision-ranked-2/8264407002/
“Any time you get to go 1-0 is a big deal,” Chesney said. “I think going 1-0 against an FBS opponent is a big deal. It’s something that hasn’t been done here since 2002, and that team might have beaten Army, but then went (4-8). I don’t think this is any time to relax or feel good about ourselves, or be in a situation where complacency sets in. That’s just not who we are or what we’re made of. We moved on very, very quickly after (the UConn) game.”
Like UCONN, Army ended up being in the bottom of the FBS that year and only won 1 or 2 games. The 2002 team followed up the Army win by blowing out Georgetown. However, it was this game that we lost our best all-around player (Steve Silva) to a season ending injury. We then lost a thrilling game at Harvard by 5 who was the defending Ivy League Champ (loaded with talent and who’s only loss that year was to Penn for the title) Most long time followers of the program remember it was soon revealed that Coach Allen was dealing with a mysterious illness that required him to take a leave of absence which no doubt had an affect on the staff and team. Of course we dealt with other injuries to starters throughout the season…like many teams do, however, most DON’T REMEMBER the following: Of the games we lost that year, NEARLY ALL were by 1 score. In most of those games we won or even dominated the stat sheet (Yale, Dartmouth, Lehigh, Fordham, Colgate) It was always the same thing, a costly turnover, a devastating special teams miscue, or giving up a late explosive play (usually on 3rd down) to lose the game.
I say all this because that team did not have the CULTURE by which to win close games. Conversely, many of the teams we beat up and down the stat sheet did. Ask yourself, would that team in that season have gone 4-8 with Chesney/Staff culture, character and coaching?? I would almost guarantee that team goes 8-4 or even 9-3 and is in contention for a PL title.
I thought Coach Chesney said something really profound yet simple in the preseason football podcast. He said when he first got the HC job, he sat down with the 2017 team captains/leaders (Ryan Brady, Chris Riley etc.) and asked them “this 2017 team was supposed to be the best team on paper since 2009 (PL champs)…What happened?” He said what he found was that the program was comprised of a lot of good football players…but very few genuinely loved the game of football. He then said that the number one thing he was going to emphasize was recruiting kids who LOVED Football. Not that they necessarily think they can or want to play on Sundays, but just love to play and compete. I can tell you maybe 5-6 guys on that 2002 team found pure joy in the game. Most were looking forward and preparing for life after graduating. When I watch this team over the past 2+ years and follow them on Social Media, these guys LOVE Playing Football for Holy Cross. That is the defining difference of what Coach Chesney has brought to this program.
Of course this team still has much to prove this season but the single biggest difference is this…THIS TEAM KNOWS HOW TO WIN THE CLOSE GAME. Even in some of Coach TG’s better seasons, the HC team loses that UCONN type game given how many chances UCONN had to go ahead in the 2nd half (and blow it open in the first half) I’d seen that movie too many times over the past 20 years. Last week was noticeably different.
Let’s support them and all the staff to the fullest to insure they have the best chance to succeed!
www.telegram.com/story/sports/college/2021/09/09/holy-cross-football-matthew-sluka-quarterback-bob-chesney-football-championship-subdivision-ranked-2/8264407002/