“It is what it is.” Mike Archer says those words several times in an interview with ESPN’s Heather Dinich.
Why? Why does that happen to you guys?
MA: If I knew, I wouldn’t be coaching. I’d be a doctor or a sports psychologist. I’d have your job. … Everyone says it’s a curse. It’s the way it is. I wish I knew so we could prevent it, but like Todd Rice says, if we knew, we’d prevent it.
Archer goes on to point out that the Pack defense has sustained injuries before and throughout the year. He adds that too many young players have been forced onto the field and that opponents have “discovered” that and are taking advantage.
“Man, another tough year for the D.
Mike Archer: It is what it is. You and I talked this summer, we got off to a rough start with what happened to Nate [Irving]. And then Dominique [Ellis] left the team and Jimmaul Simmons left the team, and Javon Walker, who started five games for us in 2007, and got injured in the Miami game, we were very hopeful he would be back for this year. We were counting on him being one of the safeties and he’s done with football. ”
You take those four guys, and three of them played on one side of the field, it’s been tough. But it’s part of the game.”
[…]
It is what it is. You’re not going to be just stoning people when you’re playing young kids. We have to understand that and continue to move forward and keep improving. That’s our job as players and as coaches.”
Honestly, Archer sounded a bit like Terry Harvey on a WPTF post-game call-in show when he is being bombarded by angry State fans on the other end of the line. Harvey made the phrase “it is what it is” famous to Wolfpack fans during the Amato era when he tried to show respect to a given caller’s emotional outburst at what seemed to be an incompetent display by the Wolfpack offense.
Love or hate Archer, it is true that he is in a tough position trying to shore up a defense that is not only depleted and inexperienced, but also has a total lack of confidence. No one ever said that being a coordinator at a major D1 FBS school was easy however, and Archer needs to put together something resembling a functional defense week in and week out. If he can’t, it is his boss’s responsibility to find someone who can.
In that case, it’s fair to say this: “It is what it is.”
—
Tip of the ole hat to reader ncsufan13 for pointing out this article and linking to it in our forums.
