Hate to say it...

[Orangezoo]

After calming down some it is too early to declare SS a bad hire. Its not wrong to question how and what personnel has been used up to this point or the poor game preparation. The PSU game was a bummer as I think we could have won that one despite the flaws as PSU was ripe for the picking all the same with early gaffes.

NU is a really solid football team. Colter is a headache and Jones is a good wideout. Still- we played ourselves out of this one through poor execution. Once
the cats got cozy with our gameplan we had still yet to make an imprint and thus were chasing a runaway train.

Going forward if the coaching staff puts real thought into who the right starters are as SS mentioned in the press conf there is a glimmer of hope. Additionally if he can move to being a leader and picking and choosing his emotional moments vs being a nutcase on the sidelines it is likely to benefit the team and the coaching staff. It is hard to be tactical when you are at the stage of meltdown emotionally before the 2nd possession.

Something else- it seems we have the players to make plays on the outside. Maybe some more of the option coupled with estime/broyld split out on opposite sides of the field can help to spread the d out and play to our strengths. Also this might give running the ball up the middle a chance of being successful. It does not appear wr have the right guys for a pro style offense. Why force that issue? Use your playmakers in jerome, ashton, estime and clark. I think we wil be ok. 6 wins will be a fight but its not a lost cause.

 

[GoSU96]

The penalty didn't change how many points we needed.

The decision to punt there was a signal that the staff accepted the loss.

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It was a signal that they accepted reality, unlike people in the chat room. He said he was playing the second half like it was 0-0 and that's exactly what he did. Got some continuity and production and strung together some solid defense.

It's a reasonable approach.

 

[GoSU96]

The OP has a legitimate statement. I remember riding back to South Campus after GROB's first game against WVU and my friend who has of the smartest sports minds I know saying Greg Robinson has no clue how to run a football team and we will suck with him. While I with my Orange glasses said we will be fine. Watching SS these two games he has no clue yet how to be a HC on the sidelines. From the stands in the opener he looked nuts on the sidelines and scared me. His coaching decision have infuriated me in both games. In the opening game we had the ball on our 30 yard line tied 3-3 with 50 seconds in the first half and he played it safe and conservative and didn't try to score before halftime, and yesterday down 13-34 on the Northwestern 41 he punts on a 4th and 9 when we had some momentum. How many sissy I am going to always punt coaches in a row are we going to have. I don't care we lost as I predicted we would lose I am more upset at how disorganized we are. We are going to win our next two games, but I have lost faith in SS and I don't think outside of beating one of Georgia Tech/NC State/Maryland he can win me back this year. To be a successful college coach you need to either be able to recruit good talent or be a coach who can maximize what you have and scheme and coach up your players. Doug Marrone was the latter and I don't know what Shafer is.

You mean the Doug Marrone you were talking about last October,

"He lost the fanbase after the Minnesota game. I think the players will be lost when we get the 7th loss.
"

I'm sure Shafer will be crushed that he's "lost" you. The guy is head to the Hall of Fame based on your track record.

 

[TheCusian]

Because Marrone was a great head coach and they don't grow on trees.

Marrone was fine. I just don't see how you can say Shafer isn't as good with only 2 games under his belt.

If we had Nassib, Pugh, and Lemon - I bet we're 2-0 or 1-1 with Shafer right now.

 

[cusefan88]

Mentioned in other threads after SS presser.

1. Simplified the play calling in 2nd Half. McDonald should realize if the guys aren't ready for a huge playbook don't confuse them focus on what they do well.

2. Shafer saying he wasn't involved enough in O and D gameplans. Wake up coach this is your team!

3. RUN THE BALL. If teams stack the box fine then throw but not getting Smith/Gulley touches is absolutely terrible.

I won't hate on SS yet. I will give him the chance to improve and right the ship. Last night was ugly.

 

[Alsacs]

You mean the Doug Marrone you were talking about last October,

"He lost the fanbase after the Minnesota game. I think the players will be lost when we get the 7th loss.
"

I'm sure Shafer will be crushed that he's "lost" you. The guy is head to the Hall of Fame based on your track record.

For off I was right he lost the some of the fanbase after Minnesota last year. Nobody in their right minds thought he would turn it around. I am glad he did and ate a nice piece of humble pie when we did, but you think you are the smartest person on the board with your attitude I forget how I am talking to the almighty smarter than everybody else GoSU96. LOL what a joke you are Marrone lost the fanbase after the Minnesota game and won it back by going 5-1 in the 2nd half. You are incapable of being objective and being honest and act like a bully anytime people give opinions you disagree with, but continuing defending when the coaches are wrong. Marrone punted too many times on the plus side of the field, Marrone didn't recruit well at SU. Marrone did a good job raising us from crap to mediocrity if you think he did better than you aren't objective. Shafer in two games has looked overmatched, made bad decisions and shown me nothing, but continue your arrogant BS. If you don't like my opinions I would recommend you put me on your ignore because I could care less what you personally think of my opinions.

 

[690West]

...I have lost faith in SS and I don't think outside of beating one of Georgia Tech/NC State/Maryland he can win me back this year.

Wow. Fastest loss of faith in board history. The season is 15.4% over.

 

[GoSU96]

For off I was right he lost the some of the fanbase after Minnesota last year. Nobody in their right minds thought he would turn it around. I am glad he did and ate a nice piece of humble pie when we did, but you think you are the smartest person on the board with your attitude I forget how I am talking to the almighty smarter than everybody else GoSU96. LOL what a joke you are Marrone lost the fanbase after the Minnesota game and won it back by going 5-1 in the 2nd half. You are incapable of being objective and being honest and act like a bully anytime people give opinions you disagree with, but continuing defending when the coaches are wrong. Marrone punted too many times on the plus side of the field, Marrone didn't recruit well at SU. Marrone did a good job raising us from crap to mediocrity if you think he did better than you aren't objective. Shafer in two games has looked overmatched, made bad decisions and shown me nothing, but continue your arrogant BS. If you don't like my opinions I would recommend you put me on your ignore because I could care less what you personally think of my opinions.

First of all you are 100% incorrect about nobody thought they would do well the second half. All I did was quote your words to you. You have a history of making categorical declarations that don't hold up. Sorry if you can't handle being challenged on your assertions.

As far as being objective, I don't have any illusions about where this program is.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

It was a signal that they accepted reality, unlike people in the chat room. He said he was playing the second half like it was 0-0 and that's exactly what he did. Got some continuity and production and strung together some solid defense.

It's a reasonable approach.

It's reasonable for fans to be ok with the coaches calling the game at the half/in the third quarter? Geez.

Last week we got to hear that the coach expected that the game would be won in the 4th quarter, and this week we got to see them concede a loss in the 3rd. That is a very, very bad trend line.

If we were treating the game as 0-0 I actually feel worse. That means we won't be aggressive on offense on the opponent's side of the field when we're down and time is running out, we won't be aggressive when it's even, and since we were up that quarter after convincing themselves it was 0-0, we won't be aggressive when we're ahead either. In short, we probably can't expect our offense to be aggressive under any circumstance because PUNTERS GOTTA PUNT.

me

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[mountaincuse]

It was a signal that they accepted reality, unlike people in the chat room. He said he was playing the second half like it was 0-0 and that's exactly what he did. Got some continuity and production and strung together some solid defense.

It's a reasonable approach.

That's completely unreasonable if you are trying to win football games.

If a coaching staff is conceding a game halfway through and playing for some token "emotional victory" then that sure is a big signal.

 

[Crusty]

Otto actually has a point. There was a documentary about about a HS coach that does not punt - ever. He has a fantastic record. Possession is worth more than field position.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Otto actually has a point.

Thanks, I mean, that could have been phrased in a more supportive manner, but thanks.

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[GoSU96]

It's reasonable for fans to be ok with the coaches calling the game at the half/in the third quarter? Geez.

Last week we got to hear that the coach expected that the game would be won in the 4th quarter, and this week we got to see them concede a loss in the 3rd. That is a very, very bad trend line.

If we were treating the game as 0-0 I actually feel worse. That means we won't be aggressive on offense on the opponent's side of the field when we're down and time is running out, we won't be aggressive when it's even, and since we were up that quarter after convincing themselves it was 0-0, we won't be aggressive when we're ahead either. In short, we probably can't expect our offense to be aggressive under any circumstance because PUNTERS GOTTA PUNT.

me

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I said it was a reasonable decision by him, because he has a team that he has to manage through another 10 or 11 games. He's was hitting the reset button so the team could clear their heads and have an achievable goal and work to that.

Who cares what fans think.

 

[GoSU96]

Otto actually has a point. There was a documentary about about a HS coach that does not punt - ever. He has a fantastic record. Possession is worth more than field position.

That's why he's still coaching HS.

 

[Crusty]

That's why he's still coaching HS.

Not based on his record. Several state championships, undefeated seasons. They though Sabremetrics was wrong when it was first brought to the majors.

 

[Eric15]

But is Shafer the right hire? I thought he was going to be better than Marrone as a head coach, but he may have hired people that were his coaching buddies, rather than the correct people for the jobs.

The offense is non-competitive. No adjustments, the QB decision is questionable at best and the offensive line has regressed it seems.

Our defense has talent but is very susceptible to big plays and the routine seemingly. Very good on 1st and 10 with running plays - outside of that, mediocre at best.

I would not be surprised by another 2-10 season. Two wins coming the next two weeks.

Totally unacceptable given the talent on this team. The cupboard is FAR from bare.

I understand that you're frustrated over yesterday, but the season is far from over. It's not unthinkable that Northwestern could win the Big Ten - they have Ohio State and Michigan at home. In all likelihood, they are a 10 win level team that will probably end up in a New Year's Day bowl. Penn State could very well have a solid 9 win type season, as well.

Other than Florida State and Clemson, the rest of our schedule is manageable. We have Pitt, Wake and BC at home, and then let's try to steal one at either Ga Tech, NC State or Maryland. That will put us at 6-6 and a chance to finish with a good 7-6 opening season for HCSS.

Keep the faith, my friend.

 

[N.Y. Orangeman]

But is Shafer the right hire? I thought he was going to be better than Marrone as a head coach, but he may have hired people that were his coaching buddies, rather than the correct people for the jobs.

The offense is non-competitive. No adjustments, the QB decision is questionable at best and the offensive line has regressed it seems.

Our defense has talent but is very susceptible to big plays and the routine seemingly. Very good on 1st and 10 with running plays - outside of that, mediocre at best.

I would not be surprised by another 2-10 season. Two wins coming the next two weeks.

Totally unacceptable given the talent on this team. The cupboard is FAR from bare.

Agree completely. I have hated this hire and SS's approach from the start. I also hope I am very, very wrong.

 

[bevosu]

The way I read SUFan44's original post he is questioning the hire, not declaring unequivocally that he should be fired.

I think any open minded fan should always have an element of doubt in their mind about a new head coach hire. When that hire proves he deserves to be the guy then that doubt recedes. He needs more time.

I don't think Shafer has proven anything yet, pro or con, but the early returns don't look super promising. imo.

 

[Crusty]

Thanks, I mean, that could have been phrased in a more supportive manner, but thanks.

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LOL sorry about that - just meant that while many would be skeptical I thought you were right. (My wife is left-handed maybe it is wearing off on me!)