Senior Oregon State DT Stephen Paea is frustrated. He turned down entering the NFL draft with high hopes for his final season.
The Beavers are 1-2 headed into the Pacific-10 Conference and he has only 10 tackles and one QB sack.
He wanted to play in a better bowl game that he has his first two years at OSU – the Sun and Las Vegas bowls. That’s still attainable, but the Beavers must win on a regular basis in the Pac-10.
How they’ve played in the first three games puts that in question.
“It’s kind of frustrating,” Paea said. “I didn’t expect the record of the team. I just have to keep my head up and become a better me and help our defense.”
What’s going on, on defense?
“Every person on the team has to do their job, and everything will be fine,” Paea said “The missing piece is we don’t play together as a team. The coaches hand us the key, and it’s up to us. The D-line will do a good play and the linebackers will mess up. Or the linebackers will be around, and the D-line mess up. We have to be consistent as a team.”
How big of a concern is the way you are playing?
“We are losing, but if you look back there are reasons for the losses,” Paea said. “We played two of the top-five in the nation. And the coaches did a great job showing us what to do. It’s up to us to do to do it.”
Here’s a link to my Friday story in the GT. I caught up with former OSU LB Trent Bray, who is the LB coach at Arizona State. He’s also the youngest full-time coach in the Pac-10.
Since Arizona State is coming to town, I had to showcase a favorite Arizona-based band. There are several. This week I’ll go with a classic from the 80s, 90s and today.
16 comments
aaron_ says:
May 18, 2012
i agree, that dude looks like a wild man and if set free, i bet he would play like one!
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
Paea is frustrated, as he should be! Everyone on OSU's team should be frustrated too, and I'm sure they are. I hope the Beavers turn into some "Moto Psycho's" vs ASU!!! We all would love to see them play a complete game and put all of the missing pieces together for a Win! RESER needs to ROCK, they can do it! Go BEAVS!!!
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
I'm telling you as a former athlete… these guys are harder on themselves than any of us can ever be. If the coaches are doing their jobs well, these players can see what we all see. And they don't like seing it more than we don't like it.
The secondary problem is that the coaches are the ones who need to make the decisions to replace personnel, but they hesitate every year to do so.
I don't think the reason is because they are so emotionally invested in some kids that they want to try to will them to be something other than they are. Gunderson sat on the bench pretty much his whole career, but he was one of the best student-athletes OSU has had in terms of just being a well-rounded and likable individual.
JackBeav says:
May 18, 2012
Then again, maybe that is the case. Riley is the one who handles the QB's, and he tends to put the best QB on the field always. Maybe our problem is that he defers to the assistants for too much, and they are emotionally invested themselves. Maybe that's why it always takes four games (or more) of tape to finally convince the staff to start making changes?
I've heard many excuses… most notably the experience canard. Why do we have to experience the same performances from the same players perennially? Some get slightly better, But some have painfully regressed. To quote one famous moron: " Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."
Get it?
ean says:
May 18, 2012
I think you could be right on Riley not always playing the best players. When I was watching the BSU game the announcers were saying that coach Peterson finds a way to get his best 11 athletes and defense and his best 11 on offense on the field. The line is the best 5 linemen. I think that sometimes the Beavers fail to do that. To me we got to get McAndrews and Phillips on the field together. But maybe it is too late for that.
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
Will there ever be a "BLACK OUT" at Reser? It should be fairly easy for us since BLACK is one of our two colors!!! We don't have to adopt BLACK like other teams do. November 20th vs USC, would be a great game to do it!
ean says:
May 18, 2012
I thought I remembered something about it being racist or something like that.
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
Ridiculous!!! Teams all over the country do "Black Outs" & "White Outs"! It has NOTHING to do with it being a racial issue. The ducks are doing a "Black Out" vs Stanford tomorrow, and Black isn't even one of their colors!!! If there is any school/town in the country who would make it a racial issue, it would be oregon and Eugene!
tradernum1 says:
May 18, 2012
some nitwit claimed it was rascist and it (naturally) got some media attention.
Attention pinheads, all of your team's fans wearing one of its colors is NOT rascist.
coachtk9 says:
May 18, 2012
I agree, its not racist when its one of the schools colors, and its also not racist when its Not a school color (Oregon). The whole idea of it being racist is just stupid.
Lets Black out SC!
But, I have a lot of faith in the coaches getting these kids to improve week to week, but I dont really have faith in them taking chances with moving people. In Eugene I see Kelly moving people around, putting his best players and athletes on the field. I just dont see that in Corvallis, for instance the offensive line. At the beginning of the season coaches were debating who should start and maybe moving one or two guys in order to get the best five linemen on the field. They seemed to scrap that and go "the safe rout." I love Oregon State and I like the coaches a lot, but some things confuse me…
GO BEAVS!!! NEED this Win
LtSpears says:
May 18, 2012
Crazy over-the-top liberals running wild. Corvallis has too many of them, so a "blackout" becomes a racial issue. And btw, I'm liberal too. But going too far on either side is just ignorant and that's what the population of Corvallis is…too far right or left. Common sense be darned.
Beavocalypse says:
May 18, 2012
I predict a win against ASU. Maybe winning will heal all wounds.
If we do lose, however, I really hope more people get on the coaches more than the players- the way some people came after Hardin was ridiculous. It's not his fault he's in the wrong position- why the hell isn't he playing Safety?
SanDiegoBeav says:
May 18, 2012
I just want to see some "nastyness" out of the players this week. So far they have looked timid and uninspired. If they come out with a chip on their shoulders they should be okay this Saturday. Without that "chip," we are in trouble.
OSU4life says:
May 18, 2012
All of us Beaver fans would love to see some "Nastyness" on both sides of the ball! Our offensive line needs to be more physical, finish off blocks, and be dominant!
WebTraveler says:
May 18, 2012
Yes, Stephen Paea has probably hurt himself for the draft. This defense has not shown up to play, so consequently the lack of playing is hurting.
beaverpride says:
May 18, 2012
ASU is looking at this game and licking their chops. I hate to say it, but I think it might be ASU by 2 TDs. Our D is slow. You can't coach slow. Our O isn't as good as I thought it would be and I don't see them keeping up with the ASU O. Hope I'm wrong.