Enough Excuse Making

[Cuse'91]

The punt was meaningless. We were down three scores with 4 minutes left.

The most overblown punt in Cuse history.

You're a joke if you believe that... Even if you don't win, you play to the final whistle. The Steelers scored more that in less time against the Colts a few weeks ago.

 

[TheCusian]

Absolutely. Total lack of preparation for Villanova. That game was a huge red flag waving that things had gone drasticly awry.

And CMU? A better team on the road?!?

 

[Cuse'91]

And CMU? A better team on the road?!?

Without the MAC's best wr, and their best and only quality rb out.

 

[TheCusian]

Enough with the bs excuses. If there wasn't a QB on the roster capable of replacing the injured starter who's fault is that? Coming into the season with a running QB and knowing the injury risks associated with that, shouldn't the staff have prepared for the eventuality of TH going down by having a serviceable back up ready to go? The plan (if that's what you want to call it) was to come into the season with two true freshmen and two redshirt freshman, who have never taken a snap in a college football game, as your back-ups? Brilliant personnel management, Coach (sarcasm intended). When evaluating their roster after last season, why didn't they have the foresight to bring in an immediately eligible transfer or JUCO QB with some experience so they wouldn't be in the position of having to rush green youngsters onto the field? They've all demonstrated this year that they're not yet ready to be a starting QB in a P5 conference. So why wasn't there a better plan is place? I can answer this. Because, like so many of Shafer's decisions since becoming HC, it was a poorly thought out one. It's called roster mismanagement. But we still lost. At the end of the day, you're judged by wins and losses, not margins of defeat. Various, fluctuating gradations of bad still add up to bad in the final equation, or in Shafer's case, a "lucky" 3-9.

This is laughable. It's CFB - virtually the whole thing is measured by how you look. They even have an official metric for it. "Ball control" or whatever.

We were better than BC last season (better wins and a head to head win) and yet they rode the "kept it close with FSU" thing all the way into this season. How we look does matter.

The guys on the telecast even said that: their W-l record doesn't show how good they are on D.

 

[TheCusian]

hardnosed coaches don't quit ever...

It was meaningless. Lacking in meaning. No relevance at all.

 

[TheCusian]

Without the MAC's best wr, and their best and only quality rb out.

Injuries don't matter, remember? Excuse.

 

[TheCusian]

You're a joke if you believe that... Even if you don't win, you play to the final whistle. The Steelers scored more that in less time against the Colts a few weeks ago.

We are not the Steelers. AJ could fit through big bens ear hole.

 

[Cuse'91]

We are not the Steelers. AJ could fit through big bens ear hole.

Pitt's not Indy either.

 

[boog7]

What bring in 21 JUCO's? Maybe you could lend then your crystal ball so they would know which positions that were going to suffer injuries.

The QB that started and his backup were recruited by Marrone. Shafer only had one class and he recruited two QB's. Which jUCO QB's were available? Any JUCO QB would not know our system and would be another Drew Allen at best.

I am sorry but this post makes no sense whatsoever.

So you think coming into the season with ONE QB who has taken a snap in college football game was a good idea? I guess that makes sense to you.

Shafer and his staff didn't need to a crystal ball to realize that if their ONE game-ready QB got hurt, they were going to struggle mightily. Yet they made no roster moves to counter that worst-case scenario should it unfold, which it did. And they also didn't need a crystal ball to realize that the possibility of a running QB getting hurt is fairly high; that's the primary drawback to running QBs?

I'm sorry but a smart, forward-thinking coach would have had a better plan than "Hunt stays healthy or we're in trouble."

And as bad as Drew Allen was, and he was bad, he was still better prepared to play than any of the 3 back-ups currently on this roster. At least he could actually complete a pass in a game.

 

[Crusty]

So you think coming into the season with ONE QB who has taken a snap in college football game was a good idea? I guess that makes sense to you.

Shafer and his staff didn't need to a crystal ball to realize that if their ONE game-ready QB got hurt, they were going to struggle mightily. Yet they made no roster moves to counter that worst-case scenario should it unfold, which it did. And they also didn't need a crystal ball to realize that the possibility of a running QB getting hurt is fairly high; that's the primary drawback to running QBs?

I'm sorry but a smart, forward-thinking coach would have had a better plan than "Hunt stays healthy or we're in trouble."

And as bad as Drew Allen was, and he was bad, he was still better prepared to play than any of the 3 back-ups currently on this roster. At least he could actually complete a pass in a game.

Where was he supposed to get this mythical game ready QB? They did the only thing they could - recruit two QB's to go with the one left by Marrone.

You impress no one when you make comments like "At least he could actually complete a pass in a game." When people have nothing to say they resort to that crap.

 

[boog7]

Where was he supposed to get this mythical game ready QB? They did the only thing they could - recruit two QB's to go with the one left by Marrone.

It's called RECRUITING, man! It's something you have to do when you're a college football coach. You determine the deficiencies on your roster then you go out and beat the bushes until you find the players you need to fill those deficiencies. They should have recognized that they weren't going to have an experienced back up QB on the roster in 2014, especially after they deemed Kinder wasn't a suitable option and switched him WR (before he eventually transferred).

Not finding "this mythical game ready QB" was a risky move that blew up in their faces big time. With better planning and foresight, it could've been avoided. Recruiting two more inexperienced HS QBs was NOT the "only thing they could do."

You impress no one when you make comments like "At least he could actually complete a pass in a game." When people have nothing to say they resort to that crap.

LMAO! Like I give a damn about impressing you or any one else on a message board? You're funny.

 

[TheCusian]

It's called RECRUITING, man! It's something you have to do when you're a college football coach. You determine the deficiencies on your roster then you go out and beat the bushes until you find the players you need to fill those deficiencies. They should have recognized that they weren't going to have an experienced back up QB on the roster in 2014, especially after they deemed Kinder wasn't a suitable option and switched him WR (before he eventually transferred). Not finding "this mythical game ready QB" was a risky move that blew up in their faces big time. With better planning and foresight, it could've been avoided. Recruiting two more inexperienced HS QBs was NOT the "only thing they could do." LMAO! Like I give a damn about impressing you or any one else on a message board? You're funny.

if you had said we'd be playing our 4th string QB, Offensive linemen off of the two-deep, and that Broyld/Estime would play in 3 games a piece, at the beginning of the season - no one would have predicted is even getting to .500. No one.

It's not an excuse. It's a fact.

Now there's plenty left to hold the coaches accountable for - but they are getting another year.

 

[TheCusian]

It's called RECRUITING, man! It's something you have to do when you're a college football coach. You determine the deficiencies on your roster then you go out and beat the bushes until you find the players you need to fill those deficiencies. They should have recognized that they weren't going to have an experienced back up QB on the roster in 2014, especially after they deemed Kinder wasn't a suitable option and switched him WR (before he eventually transferred). Not finding "this mythical game ready QB" was a risky move that blew up in their faces big time. With better planning and foresight, it could've been avoided. Recruiting two more inexperienced HS QBs was NOT the "only thing they could do." LMAO! Like I give a damn about impressing you or any one else on a message board? You're funny.

Also: you understand that if FSU had to play their 3rd-4th string QB half the year, they'd have lost 3-4 games this year?!? Look at Clemson - they have their 2nd stringer and struggled tons. Their OC is great, but has looked the fool because Cole Stoudt is bad.

 

[boog7]

Also: you understand that if FSU had to play their 3rd-4th string QB half the year, they'd have lost 3-4 games this year?!? Look at Clemson - they have their 2nd stringer and struggled tons. Their OC is great, but has looked the fool because Cole Stoudt is bad.

Of course injuries have an impact. No one is suggesting they don't. But EVERY team has to deal unfortunate injuries to key people. Well coached teams properly adjust, persevere and continue to compete & win. Poorly coached teams, like SU under Shafer rt now, don't make the requisite adjustments and don't have adequate fall back plans in place so instead, they succumb to their injury woes and lose.

And what's up with all these injuries anyway? Does the coach and his staff not bare some responsibility for the inordinate amount of injuries? How are they practicing and training? When "25%" of the roster is injured, it can't all just be "bad luck" can it?

 

[Scooch]

The poor upperclass options at QB can be laid directly at the feet of Saint Marrone.

His QB recruiting was terrible, apparently.

 

[SmilinBob]

The poor upperclass options at QB can be laid directly at the feet of Saint Marrone.

His QB recruiting was terrible, apparently.

Boy timing is everything and I wonder how Loeb would have done with this team? I'm not saying he would have led this team to 6- 8 wins but I wish the kid had a shot to be qb1 for a few games just once in his career. One year later and he probably gets some serious snaps from center. Again...don't look at this post as Loeb being the savior but just as me saying it would have been nice for a kid that was loyal to the program to have gotten a shot and the poor timing for him.

 

[TheCusian]

Of course injuries have an impact. No one is suggesting they don't. But EVERY team has to deal unfortunate injuries to key people. Well coached teams properly adjust, persevere and continue to compete & win. Poorly coached teams, like SU under Shafer rt now, don't make the requisite adjustments and don't have adequate fall back plans in place so instead, they succumb to their injury woes and lose.

And what's up with all these injuries anyway? Does the coach and his staff not bare some responsibility for the inordinate amount of injuries? How are they practicing and training? When "25%" of the roster is injured, it can't all just be "bad luck" can it?

Until that Pitt game - we had adjusted and competed. We just didn't win. It was 10-10 vs Duke in the 4th! It took a pick 6 to break open the NC State game. To say we haven't been competitive is crazy talk.

 

[Macky44]

What bring in 21 JUCO's? Maybe you could lend then your crystal ball so they would know which positions that were going to suffer injuries.

The QB that started and his backup were recruited by Marrone. Shafer only had one class and he recruited two QB's. Which jUCO QB's were available? Any JUCO QB would not know our system and would be another Drew Allen at best.

I am sorry but this post makes no sense whatsoever.

Syracuse University isnt Kansas State. We have academic standards and we can't just let any juco star into the program.

 

[boog7]

Until that Pitt game - we had adjusted and competed. We just didn't win. It was 10-10 vs Duke in the 4th! It took a pick 6 to break open the NC State game. To say we haven't been competitive is crazy talk.

There are no moral victories in big boy football. (Herm Edwards voice) You - play - to - win - the games!

Who cares that we were in a few games late? We still LOST! And every one of those losses are on a coaching staff that's been exposed this season as being inept.

 

[TheCusian]

There are no moral victories in big boy football. (Herm Edwards voice) You - play - to - win - the games!

Who cares that we were in a few games late? We still LOST! And every one of those losses are on a coaching staff that's been exposed this season as being inept.

How you lose matters. It does. If we looked as inept all year as we did vs Pitt, I'd say can Shafer too.

To blindly look at w-l record without accounting for injuries, SoS, no bye weeks, starting freshman QB's, etc. is insane. Like I said - there is plenty to not like aside from all of those things - and he should be on notice, but c'mon. When we look back on this season it will be "We lost our QB to a broken leg, and started 3 freshman" not "we punted late vs Pitt in a game we had no hope of winning"...

 

[boog7]

How you lose matters. It does. If we looked as inept all year as we did vs Pitt, I'd say can Shafer too.

To blindly look at w-l record without accounting for injuries, SoS, no bye weeks, starting freshman QB's, etc. is insane. Like I said - there is plenty to not like aside from all of those things - and he should be on notice, but c'mon. When we look back on this season it will be "We lost our QB to a broken leg, and started 3 freshman" not "we punted late vs Pitt in a game we had no hope of winning"...

I guess we can just agree to disagree. To me, all the reasons you cite for the poor W-L record are excuses. While they were all legitimate obstacles making the job of winning more difficult, imho, they can not explain away all the incompetent coaching and poor decision making put on display by Shafer and his staff this season.

To me, Scott Shafer has the look, the sound, and the feel of a loser. His W-L record and his team's poor weekly performances only confirm it for me. I simply don't think he has what it takes to lead a winning program at a P5 school.

I'd love to be proven wrong -- I'd absolutely love it -- but I seriously doubt I will be. If he returns in 2015, I fear he will only deepen SU's descent back into college football irrelevancy, and only further diminish the Syracuse football brand. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[TheCusian]

I guess we can just agree to disagree. To me, all the reasons you cite for the poor W-L record are excuses. While they were all legitimate obstacles making the job of winning more difficult, imho, they can not explain away all the incompetent coaching and poor decision making put on display by Shafer and his staff this season.

To me, Scott Shafer has the look, the sound, and the feel of a loser. His W-L record and his team's poor weekly performances only confirm it for me. I simply don't think he has what it takes to lead a winning program at a P5 school.

I'd love to be proven wrong -- I'd absolutely love it -- but I seriously doubt I will be. If he returns in 2015, I fear he will only deepen SU's descent back into college football irrelevancy, and only further diminish the Syracuse football brand. Hope I'm wrong.

You may be right. I cannot defend that stuff. I just think it needs to be factored in. You can't just write them off as excuses. Big picture - we're losing because all of these things.

 

[rosconey]

never seen a su coach quit on his team before- add in the asinine isis comment - the oc fiasco - and its hard to have even the smallest lick of faith in the man-
the great groober never even had the lack of soul it takes to quit on his teams

 

[TheCusian]

never seen a su coach quit on his team before- add in the asinine isis comment - the oc fiasco - and its hard to have even the smallest lick of faith in the man-
the great groober never even had the lack of soul it takes to quit on his teams

I've yet to get a response as to how it's quitting on your team if you're down 3 scores with 4 minutes left. It was 30-7. We had two good drives the whole game.

I wished he'd gone for it - because "why not" - but to call it quitting is a stretch.

 

[NKR1978]

enough with the bs nova game hunt doesn't get tossed we win by double digits. Everyone going gaga over cutcliffe and addazio they had losing years too. Last year against any decent team we lost by a shitload, this year we have been competitive in almost every game. Acc middle pack is also better than it was last year and last year we were fortunate to win 7 games

If it weren't for injuries to Maryland, Wake, NC State and BC would we have won all of those games? Doubt it.