I'm sorry but McDonald blows...

[baggerbob]

For a school that had Gary Anderson , the people we have had the past 2 years are not up to par, we need a dependable kicker.

 

[CuseOnly]

You mean when Marrone fired Spence after that lousy offensive year? I'm not saying McDonald should be fired, but it'll be interesting to see what Shafer does because there is no rhyme or reason to these calls.

I am willing to give more time to the guy and the benefit of the doubt but I am SMH because I see no growth or learning progression from this guy. I am doubting whether personnel on the field is the issue or the offensive system. The danger is the thinking that "I just need my guys in here to run it", what if they can't and the system is flawed. Then we are screwed even with good talent.

Good offenses run a play to see how the defense reacts, then runs a play to the deficient side where the defense is weak. OR, they run a play to see how the defense reacts to set up another play like the tripe option keys of of certain defenders. I also see none of this either, it is just a mish mosh of crap.

 

[swish7]

Question is, can we afford to wait while he grows into the job?

Is there a choice? It would be a ballsy decision for Shaffer to do anything to upset his chief recruiter this offseason.

 

[Orangello]

What good is a recruiter if he can't properly organize and coordinate the talent he has ? Learning on the job at this level is a recipe for disaster. Make him the recruiting coordinator and go find a proven OC who knows what the flock he's doing.

 

[RF2044]

What good is a recruiter if he can't properly organize and coordinate the talent he has ? Learning on the job at this level is a recipe for disaster. Make him the recruiting coordinator and go find a proven OC who knows what the flock he's doing.

Devil's advocate: Hackett was roundly criticized early on for being a poor play caller and being in over his head. He learned on the job, and was later viewed as being successfully above average.

Same could happen for McDonald. Especially as he gains experience and the offensive personnel improves. I think we can all agree that this team lacks playmaking talent [understatement].

 

[dasher]

GO, I know you're a diehard, but I'm at a loss to understand why you defended the previous head coach like a fervent zealot against any and all criticism--especially given all of the mistakes / on the job growing pains he and his staff went through--and yet you take pot shots at the current staff at seemingly every opportunity.

hero worship will make you do things like that. This staff has made their mistakes but Marrone probably wouldn't be any better than 5-6. Unless someone was able to recruit a qb for Doug.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

GO, I know you're a diehard, but I'm at a loss to understand why you defended the previous head coach like a fervent zealot against any and all criticism--especially given all of the mistakes / on the job growing pains he and his staff went through--and yet you take pot shots at the current staff at seemingly every opportunity.

It's almost as though in the course of becoming a Marrone fan Go stopped being a Syracuse fan.

 

[GoSU96]

It's almost as though in the course of becoming a Marrone fan Go stopped being a Syracuse fan.

Idiot

 

[RF2044]

hero worship will make you do things like that. This staff has made their mistakes but Marrone probably wouldn't be any better than 5-6. Unless someone was able to recruit a qb for Doug.

I want to be clear: I am a big Marrone fan for what he did here. I recognize that not many feel the same way, given the circumstances of his departure. But I recognize where we were when he took over, and while I understand the frustrations expressed by some about how "ugly" the product on the field was early on, I understood that the coaching staff was doing what was necessary to win.

I do think it is valid that they didn't recruit great offensive talent, and that the team lacking playmakers now is a direct function of that. And I do feel like Marrone--while I don't begrudge him leaving for a higher paying opportunity--left while the program was still on precarious footing; the rebuild wasn't fully complete. But I DO think that his legacy will eventually be viewed more favorably if / when Shafer succeeds and takes us to consistent bowl performance.

BTW, my dad, who is the biggest /most diehard SU fan on the face of the earth--as well as my hero, role model, and best friend--completely disagrees with me about Marrone. But I stand by my opinion--the guy did a pretty impressive job, given the circumstances.

 

[GoSU96]

GO, I know you're a diehard, but I'm at a loss to understand why you defended the previous head coach like a fervent zealot against any and all criticism--especially given all of the mistakes / on the job growing pains he and his staff went through--and yet you take pot shots at the current staff at seemingly every opportunity.

Pot shots at every opportunity?

Really? Yep I've killed them after all the blowouts this year.

I haven't come close to taking pot shots at every opportunity, because for the most part they have done about what I expected. The defense has progressed all year, they were excellent today.

I guess you missed all those posts in response to Zak when he said Shafer was in over his head. Yep I piled right on and joined the chorus.

The run game has been as good as it has been year in close to ten years. And I've said all those things multiple times.

But I guess I'm not allowed to voice some very limited and pointed concerns.

Here's the news, the "talent" isn't as "awful" as some here want to say. Macdonald was trying to force a square peg into a round hole early this year and today it looked like he was picking random plays playing Madden. When Broyld fell down on the Wildcat it looked like someone hit the dive button by mistake.

 

[TheCusian]

Pot shots at every opportunity?

Really? Yep I've killed them after all the blowouts this year.

I haven't come close to taking pot shots at every opportunity, because for the most part they have done about what I expected. The defense has progressed all year, they were excellent today.

I guess you missed all those posts in response to Zak when he said Shafer was in over his head. Yep I piled right on and joined the chorus.

The run game has been as good as it has been year in close to ten years. And I've said all those things multiple times.

But I guess I'm not allowed to voice some very limited and pointed concerns.

Here's the news, the "talent" isn't as "awful" as some here want to say. Macdonald was trying to force a square peg into a round hole early this year and today it looked like he was picking random plays playing Madden. When Broyld fell down on the Wildcat it looked like someone hit the dive button by mistake.

The talent at QB and WR is not very good. He will get another season, with at least a better corp of WR.

 

[RF2044]

Pot shots at every opportunity?

Really? Yep I've killed them after all the blowouts this year.

I haven't come close to taking pot shots at every opportunity, because for the most part they have done about what I expected. The defense has progressed all year, they were excellent today.

I guess you missed all those posts in response to Zak when he said Shafer was in over his head. Yep I piled right on and joined the chorus.

The run game has been as good as it has been year in close to ten years. And I've said all those things multiple times.

But I guess I'm not allowed to voice some very limited and pointed concerns.

Here's the news, the "talent" isn't as "awful" as some here want to say. Macdonald was trying to force a square peg into a round hole early this year and today it looked like he was picking random plays playing Madden. When Broyld fell down on the Wildcat it looked like someone hit the dive button by mistake.

You're allowed to express whatever opinion you'd like. The same way that I'm allowed to find humor in you indiscriminately unloading on MacDonald with both barrels, given what an attack dog you were responding to every criticism posters made about Marrone the previous four years as if you were personally offended by the criticism.

And sorry, but you're wrong--the offensive talent sucks. Flat out sucks at every position that isn't RB and OL [which is merely serviceable, and a step down from what we enjoyed up front last year]. It is both the talent AND the coaching, not just the latter. And both are correctable flaws that the "cool kid" you enjoy trashing can address. Why are you unwilling to give MacDonald the same rope that you willingly afforded Hackett?

 

[OrangeinBoston]

You're allowed to express whatever opinion you'd like. The same way that I'm allowed to find humor in you indiscriminately unloading on MacDonald with both barrels, given what an attack dog you were responding to every criticism posters made about Marrone the previous four years as if you were personally offended by the criticism.

And sorry, but you're wrong--the offensive talent sucks. Flat out sucks at every position that isn't RB and OL [which is merely serviceable, and a step down from what we enjoyed up front last year]. It is both the talent AND the coaching, not just the latter. And both are correctable flaws that the "cool kid" you enjoy trashing can address. Why are you unwilling to give MacDonald the same rope that you willingly afforded Hackett?

Not speaking for GO, but the reason MacDonald doesn't get a pass is because he is was an OC before and is currently becyond incompetent.

 

[Bayside44]

Not speaking for GO, but the reason MacDonald doesn't get a pass is because he is was an OC before and is currently becyond incompetent.

What is he supposed to do considering what he has? I was sympathetic to my pal Zak when he came back and got quickly put in the penalty box, but these guys have very little skill talent and are a game or two previous scores (PSU and today) from a bowl - which is a nice accomplishment in a big transitional year. Making fun of the recruiting coordinator seems rather dumb to me, considering they all read this site.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

You're allowed to express whatever opinion you'd like. The same way that I'm allowed to find humor in you indiscriminately unloading on MacDonald with both barrels, given what an attack dog you were responding to every criticism posters made about Marrone the previous four years as if you were personally offended by the criticism.

And sorry, but you're wrong--the offensive talent sucks. Flat out sucks at every position that isn't RB and OL [which is merely serviceable, and a step down from what we enjoyed up front last year]. It is both the talent AND the coaching, not just the latter. And both are correctable flaws that the "cool kid" you enjoy trashing can address. Why are you unwilling to give MacDonald the same rope that you willingly afforded Hackett?

You're not the only one that finds humor in it.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Not speaking for GO, but the reason MacDonald doesn't get a pass is because he is was an OC before and is currently becyond incompetent.

A great chef cannot cook without the right ingredients. With some of the players we have out and with the ones that went down we were still in position to win the game and probably should have. If he was incompetent we would be 2-9 right now.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

What is he supposed to do considering what he has? I was sympathetic to my pal Zak when he came back and got quickly put in the penalty box, but these guys have very little skill talent and are a game or two previous scores (PSU and today) from a bowl - which is a nice accomplishment in a big transitional year. Making fun of the recruiting coordinator seems rather dumb to me, considering they all read this site.

Yes, he should be the recruiting coordinator.

 

[RF2044]

What is he supposed to do considering what he has? I was sympathetic to my pal Zak when he came back and got quickly put in the penalty box, but these guys have very little skill talent and are a game or two previous scores (PSU and today) from a bowl - which is a nice accomplishment in a big transitional year. Making fun of the recruiting coordinator seems rather dumb to me, considering they all read this site.

I tend to agree. Despite what OrangeinBoston posts above, MacDonald has primarily been a career position coach [he had a lone year as an OC at a low level mid-major]. This is a stretch position for him, and no doubt there have been growing pains. The questions are: will he learn / grow as a function of this experience? And how will his offense look when he has more dynamic playmaking talent at his disposal?

Keeping in mind that there is a small margin between a play call being deemed genius vs. criticized--and the difference is execution--I look forward to having a few more guys who can make people miss and make plays in space, that defenses have to account for versus cheat against because they don't fear our play makers, and who might open up opportunities for teammates due to the former.

This IS a transition year, given the turnover on the coaching staff and the important players we lost to graduation / NFL. Win next week and we can go bowling. Not a bad debut for the new coaching staff. And far from incompetence, even though the results haven't always been pretty. Bottom line: I'm willing to give MacDonald the short term benefit of the doubt to reap the benefits of his recruiting ability. If we are still having this discussion in 2-3 years, then I'll readily admit that he isn't up to the task and lacks the chops to be an OC.

 

[CIL]

Cool kid killed it today, he was awesome.

It's tough to be awesome when your QB is limited, you are missing your #1 receiver, fastest game breaker, best offensive lineman, and a solid running back to boot. How awesome is it you ask? So awesome you are lining up a your starting phucking free safety with a soft cast on his hand hoping he can real in a touchdown pass. That's how awesome it is. You think Marrone and Hackett could overcome that? I don't. Your buddies at UCONN have similar offensive talent and look where it got them.

At some point we have to acknowledge that we are sorely lacking in talent on the offensive side of the ball.

 

[kuethstheman]

Disagree. Very slow execution by norton


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It may have been slow execution but the right guard got blasted into the backfield like I've never seen. Easy block no matter how fast Norton was.

 

[kuethstheman]

Question is, can we afford to wait while he grows into the job?

1. Yes
2. Got no choice.

 

[kuethstheman]

Play calling is not rocket science. I am not a football coach but I know that if my offense could run 15 plays and execute consistently, those are about the only plays I would call, albeit out of some different formations.

Second thing is that I don't understand the constant changing of personnel. The hurry up offense dies as soon as you sub because then the defense has to be given a chance to sub.

It seems nobody gets in a rhythm and gets enough snaps to get comfortable with anything.

Watch BC today, how many times did their stud Rb come out of the game? Not very often.

Watch SU today, How many plays was Jerome on the sideline? A ton.

Marrone said that as an OC that the hardest thing to do is stick with something that is working, running the same play over and over until they stop it. Our OC clearly has not learned this yet.

Again, it's not rocket science. I was shaking my head int he first half when we were driving and down to a 3rd and 1 and we try to throw a slant instead of run Jerome or a QB draw. That was the moment I knew we would lose the game. If you are going to throw the slant on 3rd and 1 then go for it on 4th down, both are gambles.

STILL SMH at this game.

Everything you said is fine as long as the plays work. If they don't, then there would be a thread for each of your suggestions declaring that the OC should be fired for doing it.

And which plays worked so well that they should keep using them over and over?

 

[CIL]

Oh, and btw -- we also dropped two TD passes, and probably would have had a third on a nice flea flicker set up where our player was clearly grabbed. Couple that with a blocked xp and missed fg. We very well could have another 14pts on the board against a pretty good Pitt D.

 

[RF2044]

Oh, and btw -- we also dropped two TD passes, and probably would have had a third on a nice flea flicker set up where our player was clearly grabbed. Couple that with a blocked xp and missed fg. We very well could have another 14pts on the board against a pretty good Pitt D.

And all of those missed opportunities are a lot to overcome for a generally subpar offense like ours. And despite all that, we were right there at the end. That freaking close...

 

[rrlbees]

Worse yet, McDonald was not made available for interviews post game. Not good.


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He was probably having an X-ray done of his shoulder.

True story. It's almost the end of halftime when I'm walking down the hallway toward my section. Here comes running towards me McDonald, a couple other coaches and a couple security guards. They are literally running as they were obviously headed back to the coaches box for the 2nd half and time was short. They were zig zagging around people in the hall. As they approached me, he zigged so I zagged to get out of their way. But he then zagged toward me and he ran right into me, shoulder to shoulder. I think I put a hurt on him.

You don't with bees.


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