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Articles
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It’s the quality, not quantity No honeymoon for perfunctory performances By: Malamute, 31 July 2003 It’s the quality of play that Keith Gilbertson's team will be measured by this upcoming season. A return to Don James football is what fans expect of him. Can he instill within his players the mental toughness and self-discipline necessary for a quality football team? I don’t care if the 55-year old Gilbertson churns for a word, as long as he eventually uses the right one - with a diminution of “you knows” as he warms to the task. A few senior moments are acceptable on Gilby’s forthcoming banquet tour. But this critical year of Husky football warrants no honeymoon for Keith Gilbertson and his staff. Sure, playing in a competitive conference can result in some unexpected, tough losses, and Gilbertson gets that bogey. However, fans expect a return to Husky football fundamentals, the shortcoming of which will most likely not be tolerated. Because of Rick Neuheisel’s full-cupboard legacy, Gilbertson’s team will be held accountable for its play, which means having a real running game and improved special teams play; it means a return to gut-check football and the mental toughness so characteristic of former Husky teams. Losing games because of a one-dimensional offense, blocked punts, shanked kickoffs, coaching errors, lack of hustle, lousy tackling and excuse-me blocking won’t play on any dawg fan’s gridiron, virtual or real. Perfunctory football will earn Gilby no awards from the fans and alums, for he is wrapped in a package by Don James and presented to Barbara Hedges as a "a football guy, not a politician but a football coach, who is a real, good, solid football man." Keith Gilbertson is a veteran coach who knows the ins and outs of winning football, as well as the culture of Husky football. This is a veteran team that is expected to play well. This is a veteran coaching staff led by a veteran head coach, all of whom are expected to coach well. The erstwhile shenanigans (such as golfing on Fridays before a game and short-changing the alums at the Grid Club) Gilbertson pulled at Cal are not acceptable in a Seattle milieu. Gilbertson knows that. Keith Gilbertson was never meant to coach at Cal and should have never been hired. He will not have that excuse at Washington. He was meant to be hired by Washington, meant to coach at Washington and meant to produce an acceptable team at Washington – whether it wins or loses. At the symbolic wedding between Hedges and Gilby, a new coach emerges from the Snohomish cradle of coaches – and as Don James hugs his prodigy, the emotionally charted lines on his face resemble a proud papa's. At the same time, one of the brightest stars in the galaxy, Rick Neuheisel, has suffered a gravitational collapse, which is not all bad if it involves a supernova. Born from a supernova explosion, the stuff from which new stars are made, Gilby hopes to become a rising star in the nebula called Husky football.
According to the Husky football office, the following is
the Huskies’ practice schedule while they are staying at Evergreen State
College. Practices will be open to the public at Evergreen and closed to the
public at the university. The Huskies will be practicing at Evergreen from 10
August through 16 August. Picture day is on 9 August at 1:00 PM. |
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