The Sanford Cardinal is up next at home.
They beat Sacramento St. 52-17, UCLA 35-0, and Wake Forest 68-24. They beat us last year 45-38 a game in which we could have won, but played similar to our eight losses over two years.
When a football team “Tanks,” a number of dynamics emerge. Each player reacts differently. Some continue to give 100% simply because it is their psychic. Others quit or no longer consider the Team important and resign themselves to next year.
Some Always But Below the Surface Subtle Signs:
** Players go through the motions at practice.
** Player private emphasis is not to get hurt either during practice or in the game.
** Some players will even fledge an injury.
** Skill position players on offense and defense become more concerned with building individual statistics than the good of the Team.
** Coaches become frustrated, more demanding and critical. Players start to be thrown under the bus.
** Players get benched for unspecified reasons.
** Seniors just want the season to end.
** Transferitis even crosses the minds of the red-shirts and younger players, although being “Tanked" is rarely the reported reason.
** Players who for various reasons have not cracked the starting lineup or made special teams decide they do not want to become a part of the losing debacle.
** Number two players on the depth chart quit pushing the number one guys.
** Short tempers, fights, irritability within the Team increases.
** Polorization of the Team occurs which can take many forms such as elitism, seniority, racism, and macho tenacities.
** Players are no longer eager to talk to the media.
Only the most experienced and understanding coaches can deal with a Team on the verge of Tanking. We shall see.
Looking at the last four games in 2009, Charlie Weis talked about keeping the Team from "Tanking", but like a lot of his talk, that's all it was.
Go IRISH, beat the Cardinal.
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