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FSU's Fisher Gets Reality Check

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By Scott Carter, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 5, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher scripted more than a dozen plays at the beginning of his long-awaited debut Monday night at Clemson. As you probably know by now, Fisher's first game at FSU didn't exactly follow the script he had in mind.

Fisher immediately went back to work in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, popping in a tape of the game on the Noles' charter flight home. He didn't like what he saw then any more than what he saw on the field a few hours earlier.

'We made some mistakes on base things that we should have never made,' Fisher said Tuesday afternoon. 'The first half looked like the same group with the same thing going on. And that's not acceptable and we're not going to accept it.'

In a way, reality set in for Fisher and new offensive line coach Rick Trickett, whose unit struggled to do anything right in the first half when FSU was forced to punt eight times on 10 possessions.

'We've got to learn to win again, and win the right way,' Fisher said.

Here's the kicker FSU fans probably don't want to hear: For that to happen, a roster makeover needs to happen.

The Noles have parts of the puzzle to win now - RB Antone Smith is the real deal, QB Drew Weatherford is solid enough with proper support, and there's enough talent and attitude on defense to carry the offense at times - but you can look up and down the FSU roster until your eyes hurt and you won't find a player such as Deion Sanders, Warrick Dunn, Peter Boulware or Charlie Ward.

Actually, let's revise that analysis a little. You won't find a player as talented as Clemson running back C.J. Spiller, who is destined to become a star if he stays healthy; or James Davis, whose 102 yards Monday night helped the Tigers defeat FSU for the third consecutive year.

In coachspeak, players such as Spiller and Davis are game-breakers. They can change a game in an instant. Smith has that potential for FSU, but for the junior tailback to showcase his immense ability, he needs better players around him.

Of course, some Noles seem to think they are good enough to make a difference. From what Fisher saw in his debut, he's not so sure.

'We have a few guys, I think, that think they are a little bit better than they are,' Fisher said. 'They need to realize to come back down to earth and play football and be a team player. Do what we ask them to do as a group so the whole unit can have success.'

Off the field, Fisher and Co. have done a tremendous job in their short time in Tallahassee in building for the future. They are recruiting their type of players, talents such as Virginia prep QB E.J. Manuel. Considered one of the nation's top prep QBs, Manuel already has verbally committed to FSU and is a pro-style QB in the same mold as JaMarcus Russell, who ran Fisher's offense well enough at LSU to become the No. 1 pick in this year's NFL draft.

Trickett, considered by many as the nation's top offensive line coach and a renowned recruiter over the years, also has made an impact. He has the offensive line in better shape physically and tougher mentally, but still, at times it probably feels like he is driving someone else's car until his gets back from the shop.

Of course, FSU coach Bobby Bowden, Fisher or Trickett are not going to say they can't win with these players. But it's rather obvious they won't be able to win the way they envision. Not until they restock the locker room with All-Americans the way FSU did throughout the late 1980s and '90s.

'At least we have a starting point,' Trickett said Tuesday. 'Because we were going into the game - Jimbo and I and the other new coaches - talking about we really don't know what to expect.'

Now they do.

And the job ahead is going to require rolling up their sleeves and building from the bottom up.

'If something wasn't out of whack, I wouldn't be here,' Fisher said. 'It's not going to happen overnight.'

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