sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,394
- Like
- 110,022
Welcome to Special Education Day!
Celebrate and consider reform for the future!
Special Education Day marks the anniversary of the nation's first federal special education law--signed into law on December 2, 1975. It is a day to reflect and reform.
Special Education Day, the national holiday listed in Chase's Calendar of events, began in 2005. That year marked the 30th anniversary of the IDEA--the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
2016 is the 12th anniversary of Special Education Day!
We hope you will mark and celebrate it!
SU News
SU Football: It’s Dino or it’s all a bust (TNIAAM; McClusky)
A year ago, the only thing notable about Syracuse football was that it was looking for its fifth coach in about 12 years. One of the more forgettable, ghost-like “power five” teams looking for yet another leader. A lost program with ignorance or ambivalence or both being the guiding light for fans who stuck around. “There was a time when Syracuse football {fill in the blank}” a common phrase.
Then came the hire of Dino Babers as head football coach. A heartbeat started up again. And a year, just about everything with the program has changed.
The stark difference in offensive philosophy has been nothing short of remarkable. All of a sudden the Orange has a signature style. It started as one of those cliche hashtag movements on Twitter and it turned out to be reality on the field: Orange is the new fast.
Still, though, after about 12 months on the job and after 12 completed games, it does seem like we don’t really know Babers yet. Some of that is due in large part to the fact that this new-found offense, one that can put 61 points in a game, is functioning with Scott Shafer-recruited players. It’s impossible not to think what that side of the ball could look like in a few years.
Of course, conversely, it’s hard not to think about some of the negatives, too. Hell, we did just watch SU give up 76 points to Pitt? I know there are injuries and the defense was already depleted way back in August. But a team probably won’t win many games if its defense is giving up three quarters of a 100. Is Syracuse giving up on attempting to play defense now? Forever?
...
Full season Syracuse offensive play-calling breakdown (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
Year one of the Dino Babers era is over for the Syracuse Orange. There were some great things, and some less-than-great things. Obviously I’m focusing in on the offensive side of things here (Julian Whigham did a great job with the defense yesterday), as has been the case all year. There’s a lot to digest, especially in light of what happened vs. Pitt.
The below is an extension of the 12 offensive play-calling articles that preceded it this season. The trends we may have identified week-to-week can now be summarized as results and a real, solid narrative for Babers’s first year at SU.
Run vs. pass distribution
The offensive line struggled all season, which took its toll on the run game, which then took its toll on the entire offense’s production. The one major exception to that rule was the final game, when everything seemed to work (against a quality defensive front, no less). That still doesn’t affect the pass-heavy nature of the season, which looks even more skewed below. As always, these are "called" passes, which include pocket breakdowns that turn into QB scrambles.
CG UL SF UC ND WF VT BC CU NCS FS PITT Total Pct.
Runs 29 33 47 23 27 31 31 28 24 23 25 37 358 37%
Passes 52 60 58 43 61 35 69 45 43 30 46 69 611 63%
Third downs were clearly passing downs
HI OPPOSING DEFENSES! WE’RE PASSING!
Things skewed nearly 60 percent pass to 40 percent run as it is on both first and second down. But on third, it jumped all the way up to 77 percent. That’s a huge beacon to opposing pass rushers that Syracuse would be throwing, or at least attempting to on third down. If they didn’t? Well, either it was telegraphed, or defenses were willing to take the risk. Third-and-long was a common occurrence, which is how this happens as often as it did.
...
Syracuse Football Recruiting: JUCO DE Brandon Berry visiting (TNIAAM; Keeley)
The Syracuse Orange need immediate help in a lot of areas but the defensive line is certainly one area that could use a boost more than most. Perhaps that boost could come in the form of junior college defensive end Brandon Berry, who told Syracuse.com he’s visiting SU in late January.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder originally from Georgia played last year for Highland Community College in Kansas where he collected 48 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 11.5 sacks, and 12 quarterback hurries. Unrated by the recruiting services, he holds offers from Syracuse, Minnesota, Colorado State, Toledo, and Charlotte.
He also plans on visiting Toledo on December 9 and Colorado State on January 20. The CSU visit will be his second.
Given that he’s only played one season, we can assume he’s got three more years of eligibility ahead of him.
D-line coach Vinson Reynolds is Berry's main recruiter but Dino Babers and DC Brian Ward are also involved. SU already has two DEs in the Class of 2017 (Zach Morton and Jonathan Kingsley) but you can never have too many, right?
...
http://coachingsearch.com/coaching-search-ticker (coaching search.com; Vannini)
Indiana: Defensive coordinator Tom Allen is the new permanent head coach at Indiana, following Kevin Wilson’s departure. Allen will have a 6-year contract. Salary has not been determined. Allen plans to keep the staff intact through the bowl game and remain as defensive coordinator. Wilson will receive one year's base salary, $542,000. Read more here.
LSU: Ed Orgeron received a one-time payment of $675,000 to serve as interim head coach, according to The Advocate.
Houston: Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley is a candidate for the Houston head coaching job, according to ESPN.
Purdue: The school is aiming to announce a new head coach on Monday or Tuesday, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier. The paper reports candidates believed to still be under consideration include Western Kentucky head coach Jeff Brohm, Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun, Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck and LA Tech head coach Skip Holtz.
San Jose State: One name to watch for the SJSU job is Colorado offensive line coach Klayton Adams, who spent two years on Mike MacIntyre’s staff there.
Utah State: Athletic director John Hartwell has issued a statement of support for head coach Matt Wells, but notes there will be changes made for 2017.
Indiana: Head coach Kevin Wilson will be dismissed, according to the Indianapolis Star. SB Nation reports defensive coordinator Tom Allen will serve as interim head coach for the bowl game. A press conference is scheduled for 6 p.m. Read more here.
UNLV: Purdue running backs coach DeAndre Smith will join the UNLV staff in the same role, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Smith previously coached at UNLV in 2009. He spent 2016 at Purdue and was previously at Syracuse.
...
Other
Can an SU geology prof convince TV judges he's a pro chef? Tune in to Food Network (PS; Cazentre)
Donald Siegel often stands in front of a class and, in his words, "fools students into thinking I'm a scientist."
That's a joke the Syracuse University earth sciences professor likes to tell, and it's one he used to help land himself a guest spot on an episode of the Food Network show, "Cooks vs. Cons." The cooking reality show pits real chefs against amateurs, with judges trying to tell the difference.
If you've read this far, you know that Siegel is not a real chef. Surprisingly, perhaps, for a geologist, he knows his way around a kitchen. More surprisingly, his passion and expertise is Chinese cuisine.
He used some of these credentials to land the role on the "Cooks vs. Cons" show: He has extensively travelled, eaten and cooked in China. He was once interviewed, along with former chef Simon Teng of China Road in Mattydale, for an IFC documentary called "The Search for General Tso," a film about the iconic American-Chinese dish.
Siegel even wrote a book called "From Lokshen to Lo Mein: The Jewish Love Affair With Chinese Food." It's billed as a "kosher Chinese cookbook."
Those things may have helped get him the interview after his daughter urged him to apply for a spot on the Food Network. She figured his experience standing in front of a classroom full of students would help, too.
...
