After Thinking About it, Lester Has Shown Nothing

[leftytg]

I hated the process. He gave them the keys to the offense during the season last year.
SS hiring of McDonald was awful but demoting him during the season was beyond stupid.
I agree SS shouldn't have just given Lester the job after last year but Lester showed me I was wrong. This offense looks much improved. They need to play faster but I think they play slow because the D is so bad.
Our O looked solid vs. UVA, Pitt and we did okay in spurts against FSU.
I hated the fact SS just gave the keys to TL but Lester has cleared the bar for me. I still want a new HC though if we don't improve drastically these last 4 games.

fair enough - thanks for writing out your thoughts.

 

[Full_Rebar]

Our offense has scored 21 points atleast in every game. It is respectable now which after last year seemed impossible.

Actually the offense doesn't have 21 points in any of the last 3 games (taking out OT at UVA)

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think the more games we play our offensive numbers continue to slide. We are better than last year but it would be mathematically impossible not to be. There are many teams out there right now putting up a lot of points, in conference, with what I believe to be much less talent. We have at least one very very good WR, one of the best Freshman in the country at QB, and quite a few other very good players.

I still think we have the talent to be better. This offense to me keeps projecting downward. I think the games against UL, BC, and NCstate will tell us a lot about Lester.

I'm setting the over under on offensive TDs the remainder of the season at 10.5.

 

[Alsacs]

The offense only scored 14 against FSU.

As Millhouse is fond of (correctly) pointing out, Syracuse has scored a disproportionate number of points of defense/special teams/overtime that skew the unadjusted "offensive" numbers upwards. Just looking at points per game, as if it is the offense putting up all those points, is deceptive.

Yeah. I just need to be consistent for myself. I hammered Lester and questioned a lot he said. He just showed enough to shut me up. I still want a new HC.
We will be nothing more than mediocre with SS as HC. He isn't a good HC. Lester could do something if he stopped using a hybrid when we don't have Erv or Strickland there. Why Ben Lewis who I think is a decent player plays hybrid is beyond dumb and shows meatheadness. Still Lester's offense can work in college football.

 

[Alsacs]

Actually the offense doesn't have 21 points in any of the last 3 games (taking out OT at UVA)

LOL I forgot about the fumble return at UVA and I was at that game. Wow the specials/D have scored me than I realized they had. Still this offense just looks atleast college decent.
I am not cutting SS any slack though. I will just give Lester a passing grade.

 

[Scooch]

At some point more people will realize that looks and stats are different things.

Or maybe not.

 

[Full_Rebar]

It has looked decent at times, but the fact that it hasn't done anything after halftime the last 3 games is disturbing. What is Lester doing/not doing at half to keep the ball moving?

 

[qdawgg]

Yeah. I just need to be consistent for myself. I hammered Lester and questioned a lot he said. He just showed enough to shut me up. I still want a new HC.
We will be nothing more than mediocre with SS as HC. He isn't a good HC. Lester could do something if he stopped using a hybrid when we don't have Erv or Strickland there. Why Ben Lewis who I think is a decent player plays hybrid is beyond dumb and shows meatheadness. Still Lester's offense can work in college football.

I don't disagree with most of what you're saying. I think the offense looked good from the start, especially at different times in some games it looked very good and then dropped off a little. I think everyone was excited about LSU, including myself but I just feel like the offense has been sliding backwards a bit. I think his offense could be effective but I find him doing just as many questionable things as Shafer. One difference for me, he's been an OC before. He's not learning on the job, what we see, I believe, is who he is.

I don't know that this offense gets any better without more talent and I think a different OC could significantly improve the offense with the same exact talent. So then I find myself asking the same question that I am with Shafer. Next year might be better but that's because our players are better and talent is improving but what impact have the coaches had. A better coach and better OC would have more wins at the end of this season IMO.

 

[rrlbees]

Why do you say these things definitively? According to who? The coaching staff?..because we've seen they certainly aren't deserving of a whole lot of trust. All I know is outside of Ish, nobody else can do anything. I've seen Custis snag a TD, that's about 10x more than I've seen anyone else do that's playing ahead of him. At least these dudes can catch jump balls. Instead we have JV players and running backs out there running routes.

Why do I say these things? Because they aren't playing and the others are. Question tactical decisions but how can strategic things be questioned after weeks upon weeks of practice? Maybe you want to get rid of Acosta?

 

[longislandcuse]

Why do I say these things? Because they aren't playing and the others are. Question tactical decisions but how can strategic things be questioned after weeks upon weeks of practice? Maybe you want to get rid of Acosta?

Some players just aren't practice superstars. All I know is we can't possibly get worse production out of the WR unit outside of Ish. At least we have guys on the bench who can out-high point/out-muscle defensive backs.

 

[Alsacs]

I don't disagree with most of what you're saying. I think the offense looked good from the start, especially at different times in some games it looked very good and then dropped off a little. I think everyone was excited about LSU, including myself but I just feel like the offense has been sliding backwards a bit. I think his offense could be effective but I find him doing just as many questionable things as Shafer. One difference for me, he's been an OC before. He's not learning on the job, what we see, I believe, is who he is.

I don't know that this offense gets any better without more talent and I think a different OC could significantly improve the offense with the same exact talent. So then I find myself asking the same question that I am with Shafer. Next year might be better but that's because our players are better and talent is improving but what impact have the coaches had. A better coach and better OC would have more wins at the end of this season IMO.

Exactly I don't believe in the HC. I can cut Lester some slack but this O can improve more. I think another staff could get more out of this team than our current staff.

 

[Cusefan78]

My issue is more with the lack of second half points. It seems like the opposition is making adjustments and Lester isn't. Also seems to me Lester is trying to do too much the multiple thing is great but when you run 4 different offensive schemes and do none of them particularly well you may want to slim to to what works or can make work. There's a big learning curve for a 1st season offense especially with the amount of younger players and a freshman qb that was here for spring ball. I do like how Lester does set some things up for later but to be honest I haven't seen it in a few games. The freeze option he ran earlier in the season was a great call. Why haven't we tried it since

 

[supp]

LOL I forgot about the fumble return at UVA and I was at that game. Wow the specials/D have scored me than I realized they had. Still this offense just looks atleast college decent.
I am not cutting SS any slack though. I will just give Lester a passing grade.

If you think this offense looks college decent, you're not watching enough college football.

 

[Millhouse]

If you think this offense looks college decent, you're not watching enough college football.

wake and central michigan are ancient history.

4.01, 4.55, 5.14, 6.54, 4.52 yards per game the last 5 games. average of 4.88 yards per game

if that were their average for the whole season , their yards per play would be 112th. that's what they're playing like the last 5 games.

yards per play for the whole season sinking like a stone.

we're terrible each play and we make it up on no volume

 

[NKR1978]

I guess we look better, but essentially getting shut out in the second half of the last three games isn't a good look for Lester. Isn't that on coaching? The other teams adjusted and took us out of the game. Maybe he isn't quite as bad as McF'it, but he isn't good by any objective measure.

But even McG'it moved the ball against P5 defenses...so who knows if this is a real improvement other than the "look test."

 

[IthacaBarrel]

He has really tailed off since LSU, IMO. Not good

 

[TheCusian]

I think the more games we play our offensive numbers continue to slide. We are better than last year but it would be mathematically impossible not to be. There are many teams out there right now putting up a lot of points, in conference, with what I believe to be much less talent. We have at least one very very good WR, one of the best Freshman in the country at QB, and quite a few other very good players.

I still think we have the talent to be better. This offense to me keeps projecting downward. I think the games against UL, BC, and NCstate will tell us a lot about Lester.

Should be interesting. Though your graph doesn't go downward, yet. It's more inconsistent "hills"... but the game vs FSU was a valley no matter what way you slice it.

 

[Millhouse]

I guess we look better, but essentially getting shut out in the second half of the last three games isn't a good look for Lester. Isn't that on coaching? The other teams adjusted and took us out of the game. Maybe he isn't quite as bad as McF'it, but he isn't good by any objective measure.

But even McG'it moved the ball against P5 defenses...so who knows if this is a real improvement other than the "look test."

116th in ypg last year, 116th in ypg this year.

 

[elimunelson]

To me the difference this year and last is having a talented QB who can do multiple things. I still don't get why we don't ever go to the seem for gains. It's either an attempt to the sidelines or a dump off. We really miss an Alec Lemon type who could get those yards over the middle. Team needs to recruit another Lemon or a Welker type.

Lester is running a decent offense but I give most of the credit to a qb who can follow orders and run it well. Can't wait to see this kid next year after a year of rest, growing and getting stronger.

 

[TheCusian]

wake and central michigan are ancient history.

4.01, 4.55, 5.14, 6.54, 4.52 yards per game the last 5 games. average of 4.88 yards per game

if that were their average for the whole season , their yards per play would be 112th. that's what they're playing like the last 5 games.

yards per play for the whole season sinking like a stone.

we're terrible each play and we make it up on no volume

You should be leaving that 4.01 out (Mahoney vs LSU) IMO. In each of the games prior to FSU we had a half where we outplayed their defensive YPP by a decent clip. The issue is that we haven't continued that through the whole game.

VS FSU? Just bad. Awful.

Maybe red zone TD % was better?

 

[Millhouse]

You should be leaving that 4.01 out (Mahoney vs LSU) IMO. In each of the games prior to FSU we had a half where we outplayed their defensive YPP by a decent clip. The issue is that we haven't continued that through the whole game.

VS FSU? Just bad. Awful.

Maybe red zone TD % was better?

shorter thecushion

you shouldn't cherry pick. we didn't suck for halves of each 3 of the last 5 games

 

[Millhouse]

cubit has illinois at 99th in ypg.

of all the coaching trees to choose from, that's what we go with. watching college football and figuring out what works is secondary to the question of whether these guys enjoyed each others company 10 years ago in the MAC

 

[TheCusian]

shorter thecushion

you shouldn't cherry pick. we didn't suck for halves of each 3 of the last 5 games

It's not cherry picking. I think Mahoney game is not all that instructive, but even in that game we had a good half.

I'd be more miffed if it was every other drive we've just sucked balls. Seems like until the FSU game we'd play well enough on O to win, and then fall of a cliff. Stats bear that out.

And Lester and co. should own that.

 

[orangenirvana]

Lester is running a decent offense but I give most of the credit to a qb who can follow orders and run it well. Can't wait to see this kid next year after a year of rest, growing and getting stronger.

Can't wait to see this kid under a different coaching staff.

I hate seeing Dungey run the read option. Yes, he has mobility and this is college where it's completely normal but I just don't think it's needed. Let him chuck it down the field, then on occasion use his mobility to scramble when a play breaks down and the opportunity is there.

I think Dungey is the type of QB who would thrive in an Air Raid system. Bring in a guy who can finally design the right offense for a Dome team like we've been talking about for decades.

We finally have a promising quarterback so it shouldn't be too hard to land a guy like that, right?

My biggest fear is wasting the four-year window we have with Dungey because our athletic department rationalized themselves into thinking that this coaching staff is not terrible.

 

[orangenirvana]

cubit has illinois at 99th in ypg.

of all the coaching trees to choose from, that's what we go with. watching college football and figuring out what works is secondary to the question of whether these guys enjoyed each others company 10 years ago in the MAC

To be fair, it's not as if Shafer was an outsider we brought in as a hand-picked program savior. SU got Marrone'd and as a way to keep a seemingly good thing going and continue that momentum they decided to promote from within by giving the players' favorite the job.

That's why three years is more than enough time for Shafer. We didn't sacrifice much of anything, didn't break the bank for him. He got his shot, we gave him the ole college try and it was obvious that he couldn't cut it. No harm done, no hard feelings. Thanks for your time, good luck in your future endeavors.