sorry Walter

Well Andrew Walter’s bad luck continues.  He was cut from the Patriots before the season started.  And I am bummed.  He is a good QB who just needs the right mentor.  I hope he is picked up somewhere.  Here’s hoping his NFL career is not lost.

Here is an interview with Andrew Walter before he was cut.

awesome opportunity for Walter

Andrew Walter was picked up by the NE Patriots after Oakland let him go.  I am WAY excited about this.  Walter was an awesome QB for ASU and he is my all-time favorite since I have been watching the Sun Devils.  His style of QB is perfect for the Patriots.  He is a pocket QB with great presence and one hell of an arm.  I think he will learn a ton from Brady.  I hope he sees some playing time this season.  Walter appears to be enjoying the new team:

“There’s a great atmosphere here that you can just sense when you’re doing the drills, participating in practice, finishing practice with a competitive drill at the end. It’s fun to be a part of,” he added. “Obviously we’re talking about the Super Bowl champions, one of the best quarterbacks in the game if not the best, he plays my position so I have a chance to learn from him and everybody else. It’s a great opportunity.”

So Long Coach Snyder

Today, Sun Devil fans and players found out the former Sun Devil football coach Bruce Snyder passed away after a 10 month fight against cancer.

He leaves a wonderful legacy among those of us who follow and support Sun Devil football. He brought so much to ASU, particularly in the 1996 when we made it to the Rose Bowl and came within inches of being National Champions. It hasn’t happened since.

My condolences go out to his family during this time of grief. Know that you have the support of Sun Devil nation.

I hope during Saturday’s Spring Game they will have some sort of tribute to Snyder and I know that this coming season we will see something very special planned to honor a fine man and wonderful coach.

God speed Coach Snyder.

missing Jake

I truly miss Jake Plummer in the NFL.

As an ASU alumni and huge Sun Devil football fan, Plummer is like a god in lots of ways. When he went to the Cardinals many of us groaned in disbelief because we knew it was going to hinder his ability to shine. Then he went to Denver, where Elway will always be King. No matter what, I always rooted for Plummer, and always wanted him to succeed. I despise Cutler for being the impetus to ousting Jake from the Broncos roster. I think Plummer had a better hold on things to bring Denver to where they wanted to be.

But I can’t blame Plummer for wanting a change. The NFL and its fans can be unforgiving and merciless. And he is excelling in his new career. So I wish him well, even if I still wish he was playing on Sundays.

If you want a good read, check out this article. It has a good insight into a football player who walked away from the game but still has a desire to play.

go Devils! make us proud

This year we did not watch the draft, which is okay by me because it is kind of boring. But we did keep up with what ASU players were doing through nfl.com. W are excited to see all our players go either through the draft or through free agency after the draft. Scott feels that it is actually better to be signed as a free agent then get drafted. I have no idea.

I am just really excited that ASU was well represented and I look forward to seeing Marquardt, Barrett, Pollack, Tryon, Torain, and Burgess succeed in the NFL. I only wish one of them had gone to the Patriots, but that’s just me being selfish.

Good luck to all of you and GO DEVILS!!!

post spring game meet and greet

Seeing as I took all of 2 pictures of the actual spring game with my camera phone, I decided this pic from the post game meet and greet opportunity on Frank Kush field made more sense.

Here you see Nigel (standing with his back to me and a black backpack over his shoulder) waiting patiently for Rudy Carpenter to stop talking to the group of people on the left so he can get an autograph.

We had tried to get one when we first got on the field but there were like 30 or so people in line so we waited until the end when there were way less people. A security guy tried to tell us that Rudy was done signing for the day but he doesn’t know who he is talking to. We just waited and succeeded.

It was a very cool way to end the Spring Game yesterday.

spring practice

Looks like spring practice is going well. It is good to see the practice on Saturday involved full pads and contact. I think it is a good sign that Erickson is increasing the tempo of practice as in the past it has always seemed that they are on slow motion mode. I am totally looking forward to April 19th as it means we are that much closer to the 2008 season.

spring practice is here

Yeah!!! ASU spring practice has begun and with it comes a lot of optimism and hope. Last season was an amazing season, by far the best since I have been attending with my fiance Scott (I started attending games in 1997). I cannot wait for the Spring Game and then of course for the real season to kick off!

if only…

Hindsight is definitely 20-20. If we had only known how this season would go for the Pac-10 as far as injuries to key players etc, then we would have scheduled to play USC when we played Oregon a few weeks ago and Oregon on Thanksgiving. Out of all of the teams in the Pac-10, ASU is probably one of a small few that had the misfortune of playing both teams at their peak. We would be 11-0 right now if the “if only” scenario was real.

After the loss on Thanksgiving to USC, which displayed USCs talent as well as our weaknesses, I was deflated. Tearful. Depressed. In my 11 years as being a Sun Devil football fan, this is the best season I have ever experienced and I had Rose Bowl fever. I’ve wanted to go to the Rose Bowl for a long time. After some mopping, my fiance reminded me that “hey, we’re 9-2 and can still go to the Fiesta Bowl. Which is of course a BCS bowl, so Iw as excited again. While it ain’t the Rose Bowl, teh Fiesta Bowl is pretty good. So now my focus is on cheering on the Devils at Sun Devil Stadium as they kick the crap out of UofA.

GO DEVILS!!!!

si.com recognizes Ericksons impact

Erickson’s impact was not only felt at Sun Devil Stadium. It was felt at si.com where ASU football made the blog post title “5 Things We learned This Weekend.”

5. That Dennis Erickson’s impact at Arizona State is already being felt. There was no ugly, still-feeling-things-out opener for the Sun Devils, who went out and whipped San Jose State 45-3 on Saturday. Now before you go knocking San Jose State (in light of Appalachian State, are we really allowed to knock anyone’s opposition anymore?), keep in mind Dick Tomey’s Spartans were a bowl team last season that gave 13-0 Boise State its biggest scare of the season (23-20) and whose defense includes one of the nation’s top cornerbacks, Dwight Lowery. The Sun Devils nonetheless went out and racked up 520 yards of offense — 250 rushing, 270 passing — with QB Rudy Carpenter (14-of-20, 197 yards, two TDs, no INTs) looking much more like the confident freshman we saw two years ago. Erickson himself called it, “one of the most efficient performances for a first game I’ve ever had.” Think these guys won’t be a factor soon?

Not a bad way to start the season, even if it is a small shout out. Lets keep up the intensity and get more of the recognition (nationally) that we deserve!