The Roundtable: Tackling the bizarre start to FSU's season & more

Q: This has been a bizarre start to the 2017 season with the injury to Deondre Francois, plus the schedule changes and the practice interruptions caused by Hurricane Irma. What do you think FSU has done to handle all of this, and what impact do you think it will have on the season going forward?

Ira: On the inside, these delays have to be driving Jimbo Fisher a little crazy. Attention to detail and focusing on "the process" are two essential components to his coaching philosophy. He and his staff manage every moment of every day for the program -- when the players are supposed to attend meetings, when they report for rehab, when they go to academic support and so on. So going through a situation like this, where practice is interrupted for nearly a week, has to be extremely frustrating. At the same time, Fisher also preaches to his players that they have to "control what they can control." That means making the most of every situation and not worrying about unfair circumstances. My guess is Fisher has been relying heavily upon that mentality in recent days -- reminding himself, his staffers and his players that they can't focus on these hindrances, but instead must dedicate themselves to taking advantage of every tool they have available to get better each day. Since they couldn't get out on the field, I'm sure they were spending extra time in film study, in the meeting room and working out in the weight room. It's difficult to say what type of impact this will have on the season overall, but it's certainly been a great test of the leadership of Fisher and his assistant coaches. How the team handles these challenges will be a direct reflection on their coaches.

Ryan: We won't know the impact until much later in the season. By then, we'll know more about how James Blackman can perform as the team's starting quarterback among other items. The biggest question might be how this team can manage injuries without a bye week. When the schedule came out months ago, many people lauded where the bye fell. That is no longer the case. FSU's schedule, which was already hard, became a bit more difficult as it will conclude with 11 consecutive games without a break. This is where having and developing depth is going to be important. If there are games where FSU gets a large lead, playing those younger guys is going to benefit everyone in the short- and long-term going forward. It rests your starters, builds confidence with the reserves, and there's a stronger sense of a backup plan in case of an injury.

Gene: This whole thing is new territory for Jimbo Fisher and the team. They put in all that work in the preseason, and now there’s a three-week gap between the first two games. Since FSU played a really, really good team to start the season, the coaching staff should have a solid handle on where this team is at and what needs to be fixed. With that in mind, I suspect the team will spend this extra practice time correcting mistakes and ironing out the kinks. Had FSU opened the season with a creampuff, the staff and players wouldn’t have much film to look at and learn from.