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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
How to play the expectations game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sometimes the sports world mimics the political one. It’s all about creating and managing expectations.
For example, going into and coming out of the Pennsylvania Democratic primary Clinton and Obama were playing the expectations game based on:
—Her lead in the polls six weeks ago.
—How much money he spent.
—The demographics of the state.
Football coaches have to play the expectations game, too. Paul Johnson, for instance, doesn’t want to set the bar too high for 2008, or people will be disappointed with the results. He doesn’t want to set the bar too low, or he will come across as defeatist and Georgia Tech won’t sell as many tickets. Here’s his latest pronouncement, on Tuesday’s ACC spring football teleconference. Some of the factors in the football season expectations game:
—The talent of the players.
—The experience (or inexperience) of the players.
—The newness of the system and the time it takes to get players efficient in running it.
—How well or how badly the players match the system.
—The schedule.
—What the team did and didn’t accomplish in 2007 and other recent seasons.
What are your expectations, and what are the biggest factors that lead to them? 6-6? 7-5? Better? Worse?
Stay tuned for an upcoming article about what history suggests one should expect from a coaching transition in Division I-A football.
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