here’s the deal. To argue the losses helped in any way is ridiculous. If you want to applaud Pruitt or the team for not giving up...fine
One thing you cant argue is the losses lead to early coaching adjustments, change in starters and playing time for guys not performing or with poor attitudes, and got rid of some guys who were becoming baggage, as well as a JJ lead refocus. Hard to say 100% we would be 5-5 at this point if we won those 2. Things could have turned. Who knows.
To the extent they can’t also learn in the course of a win? Hell no. To suggest that losing is the ultimate teacher is dumb. I didn’t say I disagreed. I said it was dumb. And not only do I stand by it, I am most certainly 100% correct. There is no way in hee haw hell that losing the first 2 games was better than winning them. please understand that I sincerely mean to insult anyone who disagrees. This isn’t so much a disagreement as me telling everyone how it absolutely is. Again to be clear. Losing to Ga St and BYU was infinitely worse than winning against them. If you need more clarity, seek counseling.
That’s pretty obvious. I think the point people are making is that it probably led to some changes that wouldn’t have happened had we otherwise won.
That’s also suggesting that winning the first 2 games would have put us in a worse position. No! No! I reject that flawed and incorrect logic. Again, if you say the coaches and players responded better than expected, then ok. Leave it there. If your argument incorporates any positive spin on losing the first 2 games, then you are 100% incorrect. 1. if I hadn’t swallowed that gasoline, I would have never respected poison control. 2. if I hadn’t thrown up after drinking that rancid milk, I would never have paid attention to the date on the carton. 3. if my house hadn’t burned to the ground, I would still be playing with matches. 4. of that parachute had opened, I would never have respected gravity. If you don’t get it by now, then there is no helping you.
No one believes that losing was positive. The losses likely caused Pruitt and staff to dig deeper for solutions than they might have otherwise. Don’t see why that’s so hard to understand. It doesn’t make losing right, but it seems Pruitt has learned from it.
That's my point. The GSU loss was inexcusable. Pruitt does appear to learn from mistakes and learn quickly. The Chaney for Helton swap, the Sherrer demotion, the Fair for Ansley swap and how physical practices are later in the year are things he's done well.
This is the exact kind of gross generalization that dominates political discussions today. And, it is not effective. First, of course I have had failures. And, I would like to think I have learned from them. Second, not all failures are created equally. Some are based off of genuine effort such as parenting or in business. You make a decision or take a course of action, with good intent, and it does not work out. You change course and try again. Some others are based off of poor judgement, such as playing with your phone while driving. Sometimes this type of failure has permanent consequences. But, we are not talking about all mistakes or the concept of learning from mistakes. We are talking about a man who has coached at some level for many years. He has even coached on championship levels teams with championship level coaches. He had a year of HC behind him that also included humiliating losses to end that first season. In other words, he has the background, training, embarrassment, and even talent to avoid arguably the most embarrassing loss in program history. S0, no. I do not see any positive whatsoever from the loss and I do not agree that it was a turning point. If anything, it was the HEAT from the fan base over that loss and the BYU loss that enlightened him to the fact that while a rebuild is going to have a few bumps, program shattering losses won’t be tolerated. I give him credit for holding the team together, no doubt. But, to argue we would not be where we are without losing those two games is to argue he didn’t give a damn. And, it ignores the reality that we could have been in a much better place with a shot at 9 wins and a legitimate program direction to recruit to. I have not been the biggest supporter of Pruitt. And, I am not sold on him. But, i would like to consider myself objective. If he wins the next 2, you can make the argument that he is on the right track IF he can get a decent recruiting class.
We win out, I'm satisfied with the season but disappointed with the wins we left on the table and the damage those losses did to our recruiting. Kudos to CP and team leaders for salvaging a decent season (hopefully) from the disastrous beginning. It looks like they're learning how to win and how to play physical. The team is taking on the personality of CP which is good. I'll wipe a wet, salty liquid substance from my eye when JJ meets CP on senior day. There's a Candy ass kicking brewing.