At the end of the day, this team as a whole has regressed

[IthacaBarrel]

From last year, worse on defense which was to be expected, possibly the same if not worse on offense, worse on special teams, punting place kicking have been really bad.

Staff has been less than stellar this year, they have their work cut out for them at this...

 

[SUFan44]

Special teams is understandable due to loss of long snapper and punter -- critical components to everything.

Offense has been streaky -- much better than last year at points, about the same at other points. At least in my opinion.

I think you need to step back and take a look at reality -- there have been walk-ons and freshmen littering the special teams units. You don't think Marrone would rather have more experienced players out there? There's no reason that any D1 team should have 7 walk-ons playing in one game. Yet Syracuse did yesterday, in hopes that some of the freshmen this year can redshirt and provide much more depth in the coming years.

It's a work in progress -- there will be growing pains. Yesterday was awful to watch after the first 25 minutes. But the doom and gloom really needs to stop.

 

[AZOrange]

Special teams is understandable due to loss of long snapper and punter -- critical components to everything.

Offense has been streaky -- much better than last year at points, about the same at other points. At least in my opinion.

I think you need to step back and take a look at reality -- there have been walk-ons and freshmen littering the special teams units. You don't think Marrone would rather have more experienced players out there? There's no reason that any D1 team should have 7 walk-ons playing in one game. Yet Syracuse did yesterday, in hopes that some of the freshmen this year can redshirt and provide much more depth in the coming years.

It's a work in progress -- there will be growing pains. Yesterday was awful to watch after the first 25 minutes. But the doom and gloom really needs to stop.

I think it is also important to remember that you will have periods of advancement and periods of pullback followed by more periods of advancement. You simply cannot go 2-10 (or whatever we were) to 11-2 in 2-3 years you have not even had a full class yet of upperclassmen at this point.

The key thing to watch is effort. One thing that Marrone changed drastically was the effort level. So it is crucial to see if "his" guys are still selling out for him (or if that was just a hungry senior class last year). so far, it looks like they are putting forth the effort but falling short on talent/technique (best indicator was USC game for that).

 

[Bayside44]

From last year, worse on defense which was to be expected, possibly the same if not worse on offense, worse on special teams, punting place kicking have been really bad.

Staff has been less than stellar this year, they have their work cut out for them at this...

I think we're in a one step back, two steps forward type of situation...at least that is what HCDM is selling.

But cripes, we're 4-2 (almost 5-1) and the b!tch level here is a bit high. We're well on our way to another bowl.

 

[kingottoiii]

I think we're in a one step back, two steps forward type of situation...at least that is what HCDM is selling.

But cripes, we're 4-2 (almost 5-1) and the b!tch level here is a bit high. We're well on our way to another bowl.

I think everyone was thinking we should be 4-2, at best 5-1 after 6. Then the 2nd half of the schedule would be harder and we would have to find a way to win 2 games. The fact that we had to find a way to win vs RI and Tulane makes the outlook of winning 2 of the last 6 scary.

 

[sufandu]

I think we've forgotten how much we jumped on Carter's back last year. It's easier to be consistant on offense when you can just turn around and hand it off. We don't have that kind of back this year and the WR we were going to depend on to go deep and open things up is gone. The o-line couldn't protect Nassib at all early and has shown some improvement, but they're still not good enough where we can go 5 and 7 step drops all day. Our recievers don't scare anyone deep and the most talented ones are young, so other teams can cheat guys up to blitz or help against the run without fear of getting beat. I agree with Bayside on the 1 step back 2 steps forward comment. I wish this was a video game where we could find the play that works everytime and just do it over and over, but it's not. It simply doesn't happen that easily. Most of the two deep will be back next year and we'll be better still. We're heading in the right direction. We can back away from the ledge for now.

 

[SUskibum]

I think everyone was thinking we should be 4-2, at best 5-1 after 6. Then the 2nd half of the schedule would be harder and we would have to find a way to win 2 games. The fact that we had to find a way to win vs RI and Tulane makes the outlook of winning 2 of the last 6 scary.

Raise your hand if you predicted a win vs either WV or South Florida. Seriously the worst thing Marrone has done is go 8-5 his second year. he should have gone 6-7. everybody would have loved to get back to .500 and would be a 100x more patient this year. hand wringing over 4-2... really... really? give the team a damn chance they might just suprise us again this year.

cheers

 

[OttoMets]

Raise your hand if you predicted a win vs either WV or South Florida. Seriously the worst thing Marrone has done is go 8-5 his second year. he should have gone 6-7. everybody would have loved to get back to .500 and would be a 100x more patient this year. hand wringing over 4-2... really... really? give the team a damn chance they might just suprise us again this year.

cheers

A sentiment more of us should share.

 

[Bayside44]

I think everyone was thinking we should be 4-2, at best 5-1 after 6. Then the 2nd half of the schedule would be harder and we would have to find a way to win 2 games. The fact that we had to find a way to win vs RI and Tulane makes the outlook of winning 2 of the last 6 scary.

Agreed before the season - but the conference really stinks.

 

[kingottoiii]

Agreed before the season - but the conference really stinks.

One of those teams that stinks is RU and we couldn't beat them at home. UConn is an absolutely awful but that will be on the road and be their SupeBowl.

 

[tipphill]

sorry growing weary of all the coaching complaints---they are coaching the hand that has been dealt them---we have maxed out until they recruit better----that will be the answer---you can only coach up so much---plain and simple

 

[IthacaBarrel]

sorry growing weary of all the coaching complaints---they are coaching the hand that has been dealt them---we have maxed out until they recruit better----that will be the answer---you can only coach up so much---plain and simple

Year 3 and still playing all of grobs recruits on offense other than o line is just an excuse, it's the scheme

 

[Kalima45]

The offensive side I have no answers for but on defense we have 3 seniors in Vaughn, Marnovich and Boatman. We are playing true freshman Reddish, Lynch, Davis, and Crume. I am surprised that we are where we are at. People keep complaining about recruiting but from what I see they are getting the right guys in place. You can only teach someone so fast and mistakes are almost a given. I don't really know what people were expecting after losing so many key seniors.

 

[OrangePA]

One of those teams that stinks is RU and we couldn't beat them at home. UConn is an absolutely awful but that will be on the road and be their SupeBowl.

You're wrong.

Rutgers doesn't "stink."

Not even close.

See Pitt yesterday.

 

[qdawgg]

Whether Rutgers stinks or not, it's one game. We're still 4 - 2 on a season that a lot of people were worried about. It's better we're worried at 4 - 2 then at 2 - 4.

 

[realcusefan888]

I think we're in a one step back, two steps forward type of situation...at least that is what HCDM is selling.

But cripes, we're 4-2 (almost 5-1) and the b!tch level here is a bit high. We're well on our way to another bowl.

i dont want to go to a bowl at 6-6...thats brutal...and where are the other 2 wins...maybe uconn and the ville...thats it...

 

[realcusefan888]

i dont want to go to a bowl at 6-6...thats brutal...and where are the other 2 wins...maybe uconn and the ville...thats it...

oh we neeed 3 wins...rhoddy doesnt count

 

[dash-30-dash]

we need 2. Rhody does count. This isn't hoop

 

[orangenauburn]

Pitt. And yes RI counts

 

[suloyalfan]

Special teams is understandable due to loss of long snapper and punter -- critical components to everything.

Offense has been streaky -- much better than last year at points, about the same at other points. At least in my opinion.

I think you need to step back and take a look at reality -- there have been walk-ons and freshmen littering the special teams units. You don't think Marrone would rather have more experienced players out there? There's no reason that any D1 team should have 7 walk-ons playing in one game. Yet Syracuse did yesterday, in hopes that some of the freshmen this year can redshirt and provide much more depth in the coming years.

It's a work in progress -- there will be growing pains. Yesterday was awful to watch after the first 25 minutes. But the doom and gloom really needs to stop.

People are forgetting the senior players that we lost on Defense, Offense, and Special Teams... we've replaced them with Freshman and Sophomores in most cases (aside from replacing Delone Carter with Antwon Bailey). Having a true sophomore at center (a critical position on the OL) and lacking a power running back for the year until Saturday has hurt our offense this year. Losing 2 all-league LBs, 3 senior DL, 2 senior DBs, 1 senior Safety on defense and replacing them with underclassmen hurts. The loss of Rob Long (punter and holder) and Max Leo is also a step back.

 

[suloyalfan]

i dont want to go to a bowl at 6-6...thats brutal...and where are the other 2 wins...maybe uconn and the ville...thats it...

Did anyone see Rutgers stomping Pittsburgh 34-10 coming? That's why they play the games. Nobody saw Syracuse going to WVU and USF last year and winning either. On paper we expected to be 5-1 or 4-2 at this point... that's where we are. People need to lighten up and enjoy the wins a bit more... everyone is getting wound up tighter than Marrone about these games. Dwelling on previous games isn't improving performance in the next game. Clearly the team is very inconsistent... obviously there is talent, but they need to put it all together. We need to win 2 games out of the remaining 6... any more than that is gravy this year. I think that next year with a deeper, more experienced team I would expect more in the 7 to 9 win range. Going into this season, given the players we lost and the young players replacing them, I was expecting 6-7 wins. We're in line to achieve that.

 

[Moontan]

7-5 would be a very good year.

While 6-6 will appear to be a step backward to some, if play improves (returning defensive players, a bit of AAM) and the team is able to get a bowl win then it's still a good step for the program. Back-to-back bowl appearances and winning seasons should help with recruiting.

 

[suloyalfan]

A sentiment more of us should share.

I think the majority of people do share that sentiment... some of the people who write on this site constantly apparently think we should be challenging for a National Championship in Year 3. I'm not going to claim that Marrone hasn't made mistakes or that he plays a bit conservative at times, but the reality is that we are in the middle of the 3rd season after emerging from the depths of college football H**L and people are expecting 500 yards/g of offense, 50 points per game, no mistakes in any of the 3 phases, perfect playcalling, recruiting 5 star talent, and winning 10 games per year.

I, for one, am happy that the team has had enough grit and enough talent to win 4 of the first 6 games. They let 1 get away, which is unfortunate, but they are still 4-2 through half the season.

 

[suloyalfan]

Year 3 and still playing all of grobs recruits on offense other than o line is just an excuse, it's the scheme

Let's look at what Marrone recruited in his first year (1 month after he was hired) on Offense:

- Alec Lemon (yes, he was initially a GROB recruit)
- Justin Pugh
- Andy Phillips
- Zach Chibane
- Charley Loeb
- Andrew Tiller

Phillips and Loeb are the only ones that aren't big contributors. The rest of the players are Freshmen ore Sophomores. How many should be big impact players in their 1st or 2nd year on Offense?

Second year players:

- Gulley
- Kinder
- West
- Kobena (who just got here after a year at prep school)
- Hickey (who was challenging for a starting spot on the OL until injury in fall camp)
- Hay
- Alexander (who just got here in the Spring)
- Copa (who left school - too many concussions)
- Jerome Smith (just starting to play)
- Wales
- Flemming
- Johnny Miller
- Rene
- Timbers (the prize of the class at RB that never made it here)
- Tull
- MacPherson

First Year Players:

- Smallwood (Milford)
- Broyld (Milford)
- AAM
- Hunt
- Foster
- Hale
- Trudo
- Sloan
- Curtis
- Nick Robinson

Why would we expect alot of big time contributors on offense at the skill positions from Marrone's recruits yet, as most of them are Freshman or Sophomores? That said, the QB, RB, TE, and one WR were from GROB. The other 7 starters, plus most of the 2 deep on Offense are Marrone's recruits.

 

[SUskibum]

I think the majority of people do share that sentiment... some of the people who write on this site constantly apparently think we should be challenging for a National Championship in Year 3. I'm not going to claim that Marrone hasn't made mistakes or that he plays a bit conservative at times, but the reality is that we are in the middle of the 3rd season after emerging from the depths of college football H**L and people are expecting 500 yards/g of offense, 50 points per game, no mistakes in any of the 3 phases, perfect playcalling, recruiting 5 star talent, and winning 10 games per year.

I, for one, am happy that the team has had enough grit and enough talent to win 4 of the first 6 games. They let 1 get away, which is unfortunate, but they are still 4-2 through half the season.

I also think that folks who are currently unhappy with our progress think that us more patient fans are giving Marrone a pass on our current deficiencies. I for one am not and certainly expect us to continually improve from where we are and eventually challenge for an NC every now and then. The difference is I expect the team to be recruiting/executing at that level in years 7-10 not years 1-3.

there is much work left to do, but jeez, at least 4 wins isnt our ceiling while we wait (cough.. grob... cough)