Interesting quotes from Pete Carroll

I was listening to a Pete Carroll interview on the news this morning and he was asked about the topic of building depth. This is what he had to say on the topic, "In September and October you have to be building and prepping your team from top to bottom for what is coming in November and December. You have to get your young guys on the field early to find out what you have and what works in certain situations. Sometimes the results might not be pretty, but ultimately it is about getting your team to perform at the highest possible level when it counts the most. If you are caught up in peaking in September then you are missing tremendous learning opportunities for your team that will probably not be there come clutch time and you have to plug holes with guys that haven't been tested at the highest level. It's always about peaking in November and December and beyond."

Sound familiar?

Well our November and December is about to hit in the next 3 games. Whatever Dan did the first 3 games to build depth was good but if we don't at least win one of the next 3 (all against Top 10 teams) then our season will be relegated back to trying to make a lower tier bowl game. In the NFL really all you have to worry about is MAKING the playoffs but college football doesn't give you that luxury. Heck seems like wild card teams in the NFL win the Super Bowl with more regularity than division winners do these days.

Pete knows what he's talking about.

Definitely agree with your thoughts. The next 3 games are effectively our playoffs. I hope the depth building pays off for us and that the ugliness of the UAB game was the exception and not the norm for our team.

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Originally Posted by bulldawg28

Pete knows what he's talking about.

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Don't forget, Pete Carroll's legacy was built as the Head FB Coach at USC (West). He spent something like 10 years there nearly building a dynasty. That's what got him back to the NFL. I think if Pete says it, you can pretty much take it to the bank. Just my humble opinion.

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Originally Posted by SFloridaDawg

Don't forget, Pete Carroll's legacy was built as the Head FB Coach at USC (West). He spent something like 10 years there nearly building a dynasty. That's what got him back to the NFL. I think if Pete says it, you can pretty much take it to the bank. Just my humble opinion.

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agreed.

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Originally Posted by Bully Dee Williams

I was listening to a Pete Carroll interview on the news this morning and he was asked about the topic of building depth. This is what he had to say on the topic, "In September and October you have to be building and prepping your team from top to bottom for what is coming in November and December. You have to get your young guys on the field early to find out what you have and what works in certain situations. Sometimes the results might not be pretty, but ultimately it is about getting your team to perform at the highest possible level when it counts the most. If you are caught up in peaking in September then you are missing tremendous learning opportunities for your team that will probably not be there come clutch time and you have to plug holes with guys that haven't been tested at the highest level. It's always about peaking in November and December and beyond."

Sound familiar?

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It's really easy to compare this to Mullen right now. I hope this is reposted in early March for you baseball morons out there.

Pete had backups at USC that would start for most teams in the country.

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Originally Posted by blacklistedbully

Pete had backups at USC that would start for most teams in the country.

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I'm not sure how that relates to the argument. We have backups that would start for USM, UAB, and USA.

Interesting.

Maybe the coaches know little more than the keyboard jockeys after all.

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Originally Posted by DownwardDawg

I'm not sure how that relates to the argument. We have backups that would start for USM, UAB, and USA.

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And the other SEC team in our state.

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Originally Posted by DownwardDawg

I'm not sure how that relates to the argument. We have backups that would start for USM, UAB, and USA.

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It relates in that Pete's backups were often some of the most highly regarded recruits in the nation to begin with, thus possibly able to grasp things and perform at a higher level more quickly. That, or be able to rely more heavily on their innate skill to mask mistakes.

That's not to say there isn't wisdom in doing it with other teams, but to argue that Pete's great results are proof of the theory for any other team may be specious, IMO.

The problem I see with that is, September and October is when the toughest games are. I could understand that more if LSU, Texas AM, and Auburn games fell towards the end of October and November. Dan needs to have it all clicking these next three games. USC did not play in SEC West. He only had two or three games a year to get his team ready. Looking back at his time there, he seemed to lose to teams he wasn't supposed to more than others.