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Message: [QUOTE="HtownOrange, post: 482934, member: 622"] There has been a lot of discussion going forward regarding SS and NH, who should have been named, which one is better for Syracuse, etc. I enjoy reading most of the posts and, though I obviously cannot agree with everyone, I fully appreciate people's concerns and thoughts. As an outsider (since this board is as close to the SU Athletics Department as I get) I do get the advantage of looking from afar and observing a broader picture. Here are some observations: 1) Scott Shafer is a defensive minded coach. This is really important as most schools have bought solely into offense and neglect their defenses. Stepping into the ACC next season, we will have a tough defense, no questions asked. 2) Scott Shafer has viewed what DM was attempting to do and saw the benefits first hand. He has worked with Harbaugh and knows that offense is important. He also played some offense. Combined, this tells me that a man of average intelligence would conclude that offense is important and he should attempt to keep the system going. Unless proven otherwise, I will give SS latitude to bring in/promote an OC. We may not be happy in year 1 or even year 2, but we should know by year 2 or 3 exactly what SS wants offensively. 3) Kids respond to SS well. Hopefully well enough to maintain the recruiting class we have on tap. regardless, he is aggressive and kids are aggressive. Speed, hard hitting, calculated risks, etc. all entice kids to play hard. 4) SS is aggressive, I would imagine he seeks an ST coach to reflect this. 5) Marrone left an offensive scheme that is simple. KISS - Keep it simple, stupid! Most successful offenses keep thing simple and allow for kids on the field to make minor adjustments. This has the benefits of easier to learn system and less mistakes. The offense under DeLeone was far too complicated and even the early years under Marrone were too complicated. Fewer formations with more options from each is a better plan. 6) Nobody expects anything from Syracuse. Everybody keeps thing our wins are flukes. This gives us the underdog mentality and allows us to catch the arrogant teams by surprise. Our kids know they can win and that they should have won at least two more games this season. Most opposing schools thought we should have lost another two or three games. 7) We finished strong. 8) We are light yeas ahead of where we were four years ago! 9) We have some great position coaches. Each of my points can be dismantled via pessimism, or even some pragmatism. However, it benefits no one to hover over negatives when we have to move forward. Analysis of weaknesses and concerns is healthy, but concluding from that analysis that these weaknesses are permanent and that our strengths cannot be sustained is foolish at best. There are many questions to be answered, but there are always many questions to be answered. Anyway, just some observations. [/QUOTE]

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