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Hello CougarNation,
In 2001, the Philadelphia Eagles finished the year with a very disappointing loss to the St. Louis Rams in the NFC Championship Game. In 2002, The Eagles finished the year with a devastating loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game at home in the final game in Veteran's Stadium. After that crushing defeat, the stadium was imploded, and the Eagles new home, Lincoln Financial Field was built across the street in South Philly. The death of the old stadium gave way to the life of the new one.
With the new stadium, there was excitement and tremendous energy. We started the 2003 season in a rematch of the NFC Championship with a contest against the Super Bowl Champion Buccaneers. I hate to admit but we were smoked in the first game ever played in Lincoln Financial. The Bucs tore us up and left our egos and our confidence in their wake.
That game was followed up by another rout at home, this time by the New England Patriots. Two embarrassing losses in a row started what we hoped would be a promising season.
We were written off by anyone with a pen or a microphone. We had a great team, but nothing to show for it.
The brilliance of Head Coach Andy Reid was that he was unflappable even in the face of starting the season 0-2. We had a bye on the schedule for the third week. Even though we looked like a Jr. High School team in those first two games, Andy knew there was a lot more strength and depth to the Eagles than what we had so far revealed with our poor play. Yes we were 0-2, but Andy didn't wig out. He never lost his mind. He didn't change what we were doing. Even with our bye week coming, he didn't panic by changing our practice schedule like most coaches would have done. He gave us most of the week off and told us to come back ready to get after it.
It was shocking to see him so steady in the face of two weeks of mad turbulence from the Philly media. With no games to report on, the festering boil of a season looked worse and worse every day. Still, there was no change in Andy. It was one of the things about LaVell that rubbed off on him during his time at the Y. That steadiness and unwavering confidence in what we could do was inspiring.
Our team came back from the bye week and won 12 of the next 14 games. We went back to the NFC Championship Game for the third time in a row.
What did Andy know about our team that no one else did? He knew the character, the leadership, and the determination that we had, even though we didn't play like it in the first two games. His ability to keep a cool head when everyone else around the area was losing theirs, created even more confidence in our team than we had the few years previous. It was weird, but we started to feel unbeatable at practice, even though up to that point the only thing we got was beat. It was like a self fulfilling prophecy, he laid it out for us, and then it started to happen.
One game after another we played like a team, with great chemistry and determination to win.
I think Bronco is similar to LaVell and Andy in his ability to march forward with confidence. It is one of the coaching traits that has helped him be successful. He is trying to figure out exactly how to best use his young team. Even after two disappointing losses, he is not wigging out or losing his mind. He knows that this year's BYU team is in the middle of finding out whom they are; they could be close, like the second quarter of the Florida State game made it seem, or they could search for themselves until the last game of the year.
In this maturation process, which hopefully finds a rapid growth spurt, this BYU team will need to hear from its leaders. Andrew Rich is one of the best guys on this team. He has been a leader for years and will find that he will need to step up and out even more than he is used to in order to help the young guys grow up. His influence on this team must be felt in the training room, on the practice field, during film sessions - that's just what helps young guys continue to rise up. His confidence in them will help them get up to speed. With great effort, he can have a profound impact on the preparation for this week's game against Nevada.
One of the hard realities of being a young player is that the ghosts of BYU past are not going to walk into the locker room and save the day. Max Hall and Dennis Pitta are not coming back. The guys in the locker room are the ones that need to make plays. They need to earn, through their performance and effort, the respect of each other, their coaches and the fans by making plays. Making plays is earned not given.
Charles Dickens' novel, David Copperfield, tells the story of a young man who grows into a man. He relates a time when young David is going through this same maturation process. He realizes that it is up to him to make it in the world. It is his effort that is going to make the difference. He discovers that "a crust well earned was sweeter far than a feast inherited." (David Copperfield, 497) No one will be arriving on a white horse to save him. It is up to him.
A home game against a non conference opponent that is flying high with their win over Cal is just the test for this group of young players to measure their resolve. Through the steady leadership of their head coach, example set by their team leaders, and dogged perseverance to start clicking into rhythm as a team, they can build on the good things they did at Florida State and turn this season into something that they can always be proud of.
The leaves are on fire. For the next few weeks I hope you continue to take time to enjoy them. They are as much a part of football season as the fresh cut grass.
