Monday, September 7, 2009

A chance to reflect

So I thought about the Aggie game a lot the last two days. And here's what I came up with.

The loss last weekend to Idaho, in my eyes, it was bad. And yes, I was disappointed. I never thought this team would be great this year, but I also thought they could win three or four games in DeWayne Walker's first season. Frankly, that would be a great year for the Aggies in 2009, win three or four and be competitive in a few others. One must be realistic when evaluating these sorts of delicate matters, but I thought a win against Idaho would be in the offering. Frankly, with the four-win prediction I put on the table at the outset of the season, it was a mandatory performance.

The team lost and I didn't think they played well. I know, I know, some people are pointing out that the defense played better in the second half. Some are saying that Fleming created around and outside the pocket and look at the two long second-half drives and see offensive potential. My response is, yeah, there are going to be silver linings in anything. At the end of the day, the team lost 21-6 to Idaho, on its homefield. We can try to sugarcoat it all we want, but a 21-6 loss to the Vandals is a 21-6 loss to the Vandals. The Aggies have a long way to go.

We move on. NMSU needs to beat Prairie View on Saturday and Prairie View isn't a bad team. They come in with a good defensive track record, a strong 2008 campaign under their belts and a chip on their shoulder. All I'm saying is that they're going to be a tough opponent.

There is no need to look too far ahead if you're an Aggie fan right now. One week at a time is enough, anything more than that can be exhausting. The team simply needs to win this weekend. When it's all said and done, that's my take on everything at this juncture. Focus on Prairie View and beat Prairie View. I do know that it's not a gimme.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Take this to the bank. If the Aggies lose this week's game, they won't win a game this season.

Anonymous said...

Teddy,
Talk about about being a "Negative Nancy."
NMSU named Fleming our starting QB a week ago...did you honestly expect the team to be on all cylinders in week one?!

The players, fans and coaches are dissapointed with the 1st half but, I think we will NEVER see another flat performance this season.

During Walker's post game conference, you could tell he was frustrated because he expected to win.

This wasn't a Hal Dumme post conference filled with excuses ("we tried to run at BSU so we could tire them" or, "their were no students around to distract us this week.")
Coach Walker was frustrated because he's a competitor and feels we let this game get away.

This is still a work in progress and I don't expect to see a lot of wins but, I'm sure the team will leave it all on the field game in and game out.

Also,
Green better get it going. He got smoked like a cheap cigar all day on saturday!!

Ganga Boy

Anonymous said...

So Teddy,
Do you think NMSU is playing it's best ball right now or later in the year? I think we all know the answer, right?

Everyone knows that a team makes it's biggest improvements in weeks 2-3.
Personally, I'm just as dissapointed about the team coming out flat but, it was a different team in the second half.

I will say this, the defense needs to carry the team while the offense gets better thru the year. If the team can play smart FB and not give up the big play (Green), we will win some games.

I expect NMSU to out with a lot of fire this week.

chilero said...

Feinberg

Seems to me that your own journey mirrors that of the Aggies...

Like the Aggies there 2 paths in front of you , the easy one and the more difficult.

You can choose to take the path of most casual Aggie fans who've watched losers for years and will check it in beacuse Idaho is supposed to be a bad team. Pointing out what went wrong in Saturday's game is pretty easy, even for the casual fan. Similarly the Aggies can lie down and simply lose as history and many pundits expect.

Alternatively, you can choose to take a path that might not be as popular among casual fans and report the significant changes that take place on the field - wins and losses not withstanding. If I'm right, the Aggie are going to continue to take the difficult path as well, actually playing hard for the entire game and laying the groundwork for a fundamentally strong team in the future.

Here's to the path less traveled. It's been a long time coming in Aggie football.

Anonymous said...

Ganga and Chilero, you two need to lay off teddy. You can talk all you want about supporting the team but there is a difference between being realistic and smoking a lot of weed. There is nothing wrong with critizing them on what was a bad performance. Like Teddy said, its Idaho, they are one of the worst football teams out there along with us. I'm sure if Idaho lost to us it would have the same effect on them because you dont want to lose to a fellow bottom dweller. I dont believe Teddy mentioned anywhere in his post that the season was over or anything close to that. Simply the truth, that we should be realistic with what we have and take things slow. Or should he be ostrocized for not thinking the Aggies are going to win the WAC this year? Stop smoking and start looking at things from a sports prespective.

GS