Zack Mahoney has to prove he's worthy of a scholarship all over again | Page 3 | Syracusefan.com

Zack Mahoney has to prove he's worthy of a scholarship all over again

Numbers don't lie.

Over SS's time here the defense was never as bad as it was last year and year one of Lester's O was one of the poorest over that same time frame.

The offense has been the bigger problem longer.


I'm talking about last year.

The defense was the primary problem.

Lester was given only one year and as Babers has observed, it takes time to install a new system. In the short time he had, Lester installed an offense that was functional enough to win at UVA and at USF and at home against Pitt.
 
OrangePA said:
I'm talking about last year. The defense was the primary problem. Lester was given only one year and as Babers has observed, it takes time to install a new system. In the short time he had, Lester installed an offense that was functional enough to win at UVA and at USF and at home against Pitt.

SS got fired for his three years of bad offense. It was a close call and had he won any of the three games you mentioned, he might still be our coach.

And I think I'll let year one of Babers O speak for itself. They will be just figuring it out and will be light years better than year one of Lester. I don't want to settle for "functional enough" - and luckily we don't have to.
 
It was Shafer's choice to blow up the offense 1 1/2 seasons into his tenure. It was also his choice to give the OC job, in what many considered a make-or-break year, to someone who had never done said job above the D3 level.

And over the entire course of the season the offense was putrid.

So yeah, sometimes there are consequences for decisions. Such is life.
 
Just a random observation.

When you only win 4 games and half the people say it's because of bad offense and other half says it's because of bad defense... the answer is probably yes.
 
I think Lester is a very good QB coach. Whether he gets another shot at OC or not in the future is up in the air but I expect him to be coaching at the P5 level for the long haul.
I know this doesn't matter (Petrino), although it should, but Lester is just a solid dude as well. Hope he does continue to work at the p5 level. He's a good influence on the players.
 
Just a random observation.

When you only win 4 games and half the people say it's because of bad offense and other half says it's because of bad defense... the answer is probably yes.


Obviously both sides of the ball had problems - four wins makes that clear.

The point is that under the circumstances Lester did a pretty decent job.

He incorporated very young talent and was able to produce a lot of explosive plays - more than I can recall in years.

And he only had one season to install his system.

So, it was not enough, but it gave me hope and it was hurt by a defense that could not get off the field - the Pitt and UVA games stick out in my mind in that regard.

And, in fairness, both sides were hurt by puzzling decisions made on the sideline e.g. the pooch KO against Pitt at the end of the first half.
 
OrangePA said:
Obviously both sides of the ball had problems - four wins makes that clear. The point is that under the circumstances Lester did a pretty decent job. He incorporated very young talent and was able to produce a lot of explosive plays - more than I can recall in years. And he only had one season to install his system. So, it was not enough, but it gave me hope and it was hurt by a defense that could not get off the field - the Pitt and UVA games stick out in my mind in that regard. And, in fairness, both sides were hurt by puzzling decisions made on the sideline e.g. the pooch KO against Pitt at the end of the first half.

The answer is simple: do you feel that year 2 of Lester and year 4 of Shafer would produce better results than year 1 of Babers.

I think it will be clear pretty quickly.
 
The answer is simple: do you feel that year 2 of Lester and year 4 of Shafer would produce better results than year 1 of Babers.

I think it will be clear pretty quickly.
Year 2 with a healthy Dungey, and with 8 returning starters on the defense, should produce better results than 2015. The talent is significantly better overall.
I am optimistic about how Babers & Ward will do with the offense & defense, but still, a lot depends on whether we have a stable situation at QB.
 
Year 2 with a healthy Dungey, and with 8 returning starters on the defense, should produce better results than 2015. The talent is significantly better overall.
I am optimistic about how Babers & Ward will do with the offense & defense, but still, a lot depends on whether we have a stable situation at QB.

I think they would have had been better this year than last with Lester/Shafer. But I think the ceiling is way, way higher with Babers in year one.
 
Year 2 with a healthy Dungey, and with 8 returning starters on the defense, should produce better results than 2015. The talent is significantly better overall.
I am optimistic about how Babers & Ward will do with the offense & defense, but still, a lot depends on whether we have a stable situation at QB.

I think they would have had been better this year than last with Lester/Shafer. But I think the ceiling is way, way higher with Babers in year one.
 
I think they would have had been better this year than last with Lester/Shafer. But I think the ceiling is way, way higher with Babers in year one.
Didn't think we'd make a bowl if Scott was coach this year. I think we will with Dino.
 
The answer is simple: do you feel that year 2 of Lester and year 4 of Shafer would produce better results than year 1 of Babers.

I think it will be clear pretty quickly.


The answer is we don't know.

Babers has already said that it takes a season and a half for players to run his system effectively.

And, Dino is going to run a Tampa 2 meaning that we will likely continue to have problems getting off the field.

Plus we have no experienced DEs making the Tampa 2 approach that more difficult.

So, while I really like Dino and feel that he will be very successful, I cannot say that Year 1 for him will be better than Year 4 for Shafer.

I hope so.

Regardless, I saw an offense last year that I liked - a lot.

And I believe that with time Lester would have done very well on the Hill.

I had no problem with him.

I did have problems with various decisions made on the sidelines that we have discussed before.
 
The answer is we don't know.

Babers has already said that it takes a season and a half for players to run his system effectively.

And, Dino is going to run a Tampa 2 meaning that we will likely continue to have problems getting off the field.

Plus we have no experienced DEs making the Tampa 2 approach that more difficult.

So, while I really like Dino and feel that he will be very successful, I cannot say that Year 1 for him will be better than Year 4 for Shafer.

I hope so.

Regardless, I saw an offense last year that I liked - a lot.

And I believe that with time Lester would have done very well on the Hill.

I had no problem with him.

I did have problems with various decisions made on the sidelines that we have discussed before.

You can say that again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

I actually think Lester is a pretty talented guy. You bring up a good point that it was only 1 year, which isn't all that fair to judge an OC. Have to give some credit to the RB coach as well who brought in the idea of some triple option.

Wouldn't surprise me to see Lester in an OC role again one day. Even at that, I'm glad we upgraded. On paper, just can't beat this hire.
 
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The question isn't would SU be better with Shafer or Babers in 2016. It's really, will SU be better with Shafer or Babers in 2017 and 2018?

I believe that is what led Coyle to make the move when he did.


You get the sense that Mark Coyle saw Dino as a strong Football CEO.

And so far that does appear to be true.
 
You get the sense that Mark Coyle saw Dino as a strong Football CEO.

And so far that does appear to be true.
Good thing nobody else is as smart as Coyle.
 
CousCuse said:
Good thing nobody else is as smart as Coyle.

Plenty of smart AD's and good CFB coaches. We've just been behind the curve for a long while.
 
bnoro said:
Didn't think we'd make a bowl if Scott was coach this year. I think we will with Dino.

We better make a bowl or I'll be pissed. Tired of the constant change of staffs just to say we have to give the new guy 3-4 years to get his guys in the system.

But having said that, I am 99% sure we do get to a bowl this year so it'll be all good.
 
rrlbees said:
We better make a bowl or I'll be pissed. Tired of the constant change of staffs just to say we have to give the new guy 3-4 years to get his guys in the system. But having said that, I am 99% sure we do get to a bowl this year so it'll be all good.

I think you might end up pissed.

But I also think you'll be over it by October 2017.
 
CousCuse said:
Good thing nobody else is as smart as Coyle.

The Bowling Green AD is.
 
I'd say this new Illini AD might get it too. Better to move on from Cubit now, take your lumps next season, but give Lovie a head start on rebuilding the program.

Obviously fans don't want to pause a rebuild, but if you make the right long-term hire, then you usually see short-term improvements as well.
 
I'd say this new Illini AD might get it too. Better to move on from Cubit now, take your lumps next season, but give Lovie a head start on rebuilding the program.

Obviously fans don't want to pause a rebuild, but if you make the right long-term hire, then you usually see short-term improvements as well.

A 2 year contract for a college head coach is a death march. New AD had to rip that band aid off quickly.
 

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