A view from 6 rows behind the Syracuse bench

[OrangeFoo]

Yesterday was a great evening to watch college football in a great setting, especially when the sun went down in the second quarter. It's too bad the game was effectively over by the time the sun went down.

Anyways living in Chicago I decided to splurge on really good seats for the game last night and got seats on the south 40 yard line 6 rows up behind our bench. The seats actually sucked for following the game because at that angle it was really hard to see how many yards a play would go. But it was a great to see what was going on with the team. Here are a few observations I picked up:
- Hunt, Spruill, and Broyld are the leaders of the team on the sidelines. They were trying to motivate everyone and keep people's heads in the game. Broyld really impressed me as he was encouraging the defense even into the second half when the score was getting out of control
- Not to throw more gas on the Drew Allen fire but he has a lot off Jeff George in him without the arm and the accuracy. He whines after every bad play and comes back to the sideline whining. The most indicting thing about him however is that he is a total loner on the sidelines... he didn't talk to anyone but the coaches and for most of the second half stood at the far end of the sideline by himself again not talking to anyone.
- The team came out of the second half looking like a new team at least from a motivational perspective... it's pretty clear that they are buying what HCSS is selling during half.
- There is a ton of confusion on the sidelines about the play calls on both offense and defense... both sides of the fence spend way too much time staring at the sidelines trying to figure out what to next
- I am not going to be too hard on our D based on yesterday, I suspect NW will be a top 10 team this year and their offense will make a lot of defenses look really bad. They present too many threats for a D so they have to pick our poison. I thought it was interesting that in the first half they didn't run Coulter at all, I suspect SU was ready for that had the LB's spy on him which meant that the receiver in the flat was open all half and Coulter went to that option play after play
- When you are playing an attacking D style you are betting that your DBs can keep up with the receivers one on one and it looked like NW's receivers were faster than our secondary and we never adjusted to that. Also there were a huge number of coverage breakdowns where there wasn't a SU player within 10 yards of a NW plaer when he caught the ball.
- Coulter was the best player on the field yesterday and the second best was their backup QB.

I think our biggest problems are secondary play and our oline. Until these two things are fixed we are not going to beat good teams.

 

[crzdsufan]

Find this interesting given my observations on my post,
I'm sure many are calling for Hunt as QB but as HCSS pointed out lets not look to much into his effective playing time given who was on the field and at what point of the game he was there. That said I loved what Hunt did. He seemed to have a comfort level of the play calling, put it all on the line and I was very intrigued by how the PLAYERS responded to him when he scored a TD. Watch the film and to me it was clear they united around him. That has noting to do with the point of the game he was in or what defensive players he was going up against, just a thought.
Thanks for your first hand observations![/quote]

 

[SoBeCuse]

Thanks for posting. Nice take!

 

[Nick44]

Yesterday was a great evening to watch college football in a great setting, especially when the sun went down in the second quarter. It's too bad the game was effectively over by the time the sun went down.

Anyways living in Chicago I decided to splurge on really good seats for the game last night and got seats on the south 40 yard line 6 rows up behind our bench. The seats actually sucked for following the game because at that angle it was really hard to see how many yards a play would go. But it was a great to see what was going on with the team. Here are a few observations I picked up:
- Hunt, Spruill, and Broyld are the leaders of the team on the sidelines. They were trying to motivate everyone and keep people's heads in the game. Broyld really impressed me as he was encouraging the defense even into the second half when the score was getting out of control
- Not to throw more gas on the Drew Allen fire but he has a lot off Jeff George in him without the arm and the accuracy. He whines after every bad play and comes back to the sideline whining. The most indicting thing about him however is that he is a total loner on the sidelines... he didn't talk to anyone but the coaches and for most of the second half stood at the far end of the sideline by himself again not talking to anyone.
- The team came out of the second half looking like a new team at least from a motivational perspective... it's pretty clear that they are buying what HCSS is selling during half.
- There is a ton of confusion on the sidelines about the play calls on both offense and defense... both sides of the fence spend way too much time staring at the sidelines trying to figure out what to next
- I am not going to be too hard on our D based on yesterday, I suspect NW will be a top 10 team this year and their offense will make a lot of defenses look really bad. They present too many threats for a D so they have to pick our poison. I thought it was interesting that in the first half they didn't run Coulter at all, I suspect SU was ready for that had the LB's spy on him which meant that the receiver in the flat was open all half and Coulter went to that option play after play
- When you are playing an attacking D style you are betting that your DBs can keep up with the receivers one on one and it looked like NW's receivers were faster than our secondary and we never adjusted to that. Also there were a huge number of coverage breakdowns where there wasn't a SU player within 10 yards of a NW plaer when he caught the ball.
- Coulter was the best player on the field yesterday and the second best was their backup QB.

I think our biggest problems are secondary play and our oline. Until these two things are fixed we are not going to beat good teams.

Good post thanks. My dad was at the game right behind the bench and he said at one point Gulley walked up to McPherson and told him, "tell your guys to open up some ***ing holes." Pretty bold thin to say to a captain. Did you see anything like this?

 

[SmilinBob]

The leadership thing and the meshing of a new guy like Allen always worried me. Paulus was from the area and that helped him but Allen may be on an island here and this part of the equation needs to be fixed now.

I still contend that we struggle on grass. Thanks for the report and I love Chicago...except for the pizza.

 

[TheCusian]

Good post thanks. My dad was at the game right behind the bench and he said at one point Gulley walked up to McPherson and told him, "tell your guys to open up some ***ing holes." Pretty bold thin to say to a captain. Did you see anything like this?

Seemed like the did in the 2nd half too. Much better blocking.

 

[Crusty]

Nice post - thanks.

 

[boog7]

- Not to throw more gas on the Drew Allen fire but he has a lot off Jeff George in him without the arm and the accuracy. He whines after every bad play and comes back to the sideline whining. The most indicting thing about him however is that he is a total loner on the sidelines... he didn't talk to anyone but the coaches and for most of the second half stood at the far end of the sideline by himself again not talking to anyone.

very troubling tidbits.

It's starting to appear that the SS and staff really made the wrong choice at QB; not only in terms of on-field performance but in terms of team chemistry and camaraderie.

Coming out of the spring, T. Hunt was "the guy" and he had the support of his teammates who have known him for at least 3 years now, many of whom are from the northeast, and New York in particular which isn't particularly important, as you do meet people from all over in college. But it does create a more natural familiarity, both culturally and socially. And whether that does or doesn't matter, I think it can't be disputed that the team seemed to rally around Hunt coming out of the spring heading into summer workouts.

Then all of a sudden, in comes this much hyped stranger from Texas via OU who is eventually put atop the depth chart replacing "the team's guy." And if it's true that Allen is distant and aloof with his teammates that will not lead to a "rally around the leader" sentiment, which could result in bad team chemistry.

In fact, I'd bet my left arm that if the team was asked to vote on who they want to be their starting QB, Hunt would win in a landslide. Of course they won't be asked to vote but I think having the team behind one guy and the coaches (stubbornly?) behind the other could cause problems.

I think at the very minimum, the reps should be split against Wagner and if Hunt outperforms Allen -- which I suspect he will -- then the switch should be permanently made and the Hunt era should begin against Tulane. And then we could have ourselves (potentially) another 3 year starter which worked out pretty well last time.

 

[upperdeck]

Allen has all the ability to be a top level QB.. Hunt might be the better leader for this team. The way this offense needs to be run with an AVG oline Hunt might be the better choice even with a much lower top side.. but we need the Rvcrs to make some tough catches. AB dropped 2-3 again and thats to be expected from a RB playing the slot. NW D did not break down nearly as much as the SU D did and that was the big difference in the game.

 

[kcsu]

The best practice player doesnt always make the best gamer. Hunt may not have the skills that Allen has but he may have the intangibles. Poise, Leadership, . On the surface it looks as if he also has better pocket awarness and vision. In this offence arm strength is over rated.

 

[anomander]

The best practice player doesnt always make the best gamer. Hunt may not have the skills that Allen has but he may have the intangibles. Poise, Leadership, . On the surface it looks as if he also has better pocket awarness and vision. In this offence arm strength is over rated.

dead on. i know everyone is making a big deal saying it was against the 3rd string, but i was more then impressed with the intensity, and just pure desire that Hunt had. He was prepared for his opportunity and capitalized, isn't that what coaches are always looking for? His poise and body language are leagues ahead of Allen. Look back at the last drive Allen had against PSU, I knew that was over before even running a play. He looked lost in the moment, and totally shaken. The few times I have seen Hunt his composure has stood out. His pocket awareness also seems to be far ahead of Allen. He feels the pressure, and has the feet to make people miss. It seems the only thing he is lacking is straight line speed, and arm strength, but if you can't hit your target who cares about how strong your arm is? Hunt needs a chance to grow this season with the other freshman, and sophmores who are key contributors on this offense. There is no better time to make the move, it has to be now.

 

[orangeinjersey]

not that this really matters or anything, but on Hunts TD, did allen congratulate him??

 

[orangepassion]

not that this really matters or anything, but on Hunts TD, did allen congratulate him??

I don't know, but I heard Johnny Manziel asked him for an autograph.

 

[RICuse44]

Yesterday was a great evening to watch college football in a great setting, especially when the sun went down in the second quarter. It's too bad the game was effectively over by the time the sun went down.

Anyways living in Chicago I decided to splurge on really good seats for the game last night and got seats on the south 40 yard line 6 rows up behind our bench. The seats actually sucked for following the game because at that angle it was really hard to see how many yards a play would go. But it was a great to see what was going on with the team. Here are a few observations I picked up:
- Hunt, Spruill, and Broyld are the leaders of the team on the sidelines. They were trying to motivate everyone and keep people's heads in the game. Broyld really impressed me as he was encouraging the defense even into the second half when the score was getting out of control
- Not to throw more gas on the Drew Allen fire but he has a lot off Jeff George in him without the arm and the accuracy. He whines after every bad play and comes back to the sideline whining. The most indicting thing about him however is that he is a total loner on the sidelines... he didn't talk to anyone but the coaches and for most of the second half stood at the far end of the sideline by himself again not talking to anyone.
- The team came out of the second half looking like a new team at least from a motivational perspective... it's pretty clear that they are buying what HCSS is selling during half.
- There is a ton of confusion on the sidelines about the play calls on both offense and defense... both sides of the fence spend way too much time staring at the sidelines trying to figure out what to next
- I am not going to be too hard on our D based on yesterday, I suspect NW will be a top 10 team this year and their offense will make a lot of defenses look really bad. They present too many threats for a D so they have to pick our poison. I thought it was interesting that in the first half they didn't run Coulter at all, I suspect SU was ready for that had the LB's spy on him which meant that the receiver in the flat was open all half and Coulter went to that option play after play
- When you are playing an attacking D style you are betting that your DBs can keep up with the receivers one on one and it looked like NW's receivers were faster than our secondary and we never adjusted to that. Also there were a huge number of coverage breakdowns where there wasn't a SU player within 10 yards of a NW plaer when he caught the ball.
- Coulter was the best player on the field yesterday and the second best was their backup QB.

I think our biggest problems are secondary play and our oline. Until these two things are fixed we are not going to beat good teams.

Agree on the above although it may be an insult to Jeff George. As an impressionable ten year old I saw George bring back the illini from three TD deficit in the 4th quarter. Their opponent was Indiana (who stunk) but it is the greatest comeback I have ever seen live in football. To make a cuse comparison it was like Melos last game at the dome when we came back against Rutgers (who also stunk). Because,of this I will never leave a game early. My friends and I were trying to get my dad to take us home that day. Thanks for not listening dad!

 

[llandz]

T-E-A-M wins games. Ask the Bad News Bears. Houston, we have a chemistry problem here. I feel bad for Allen if he is being shunned by his team mates. He did nothing personal to deserve this that I know about, and I am sure he is a very nice guy who got a raw deal, and does deserve his opportunity. But if Hunt has the respect, then that is important. That is part of what I saw when he went in . The confidence, and the LEADERSHIP. Tough situation, but definitely Hunt needs more time on the field to really see who is the better QB.