In a way, it has always been smoke and mirrors

[JRHEETER]

How ironic is it that the defense under Dino is much better than the offense?

Its almost like he doesn’t coach the defense…..

 

[All4SU]

This is a great post from a fair and level headed person. And it's telling.

I was trying to hold on for dear life myself, but something drastic has to happen from here on out. This wasn't as bad as the Maryland fiasco because at least one unit on the team performed very well. But for us to hire an offensive guy and in year 6 (year 5 of his chosen QB) to only have 1 TD against Rutgers at home. Even if we give him 2 TDs on the Taj fumble.

I'm starting to head down that smoke & mirrors snake oil path. I didn't listen to the postgame press conference, just read some of the transcript. Didn't listen today either. I find myself not wanting to hear these same old anecdotes over and over. Credit him for staying calm and not going crazy like Shafer, but still. Just no interest in hearing them anymore.

The only line of your post above that I want to question is highlighted. Is TD HCDB’s “chosen” Qb? Or is he simply the best we have been able to recruit and hold onto in the last four years? (And I do not include Schrader or Lamson in that assessment, because they have not been here long enough. Which QB would you have played ahead of TD in 2019 or 2020?

 

[Chip]

The only line of your post above that I want to question is highlighted. Is TD HCDB’s “chosen” Qb? Or is he simply the best we have been able to recruit and hold onto in the last four years? (And I do not include Schrader or Lamson in that assessment, because they have not been here long enough. Which QB would you have played ahead of TD in 2019 or 2020?

Chosen wasn't the best word. Year 5 of the 4 star Elite 11 QB recruit that he landed.

 

[BrooklynCuse]

Chosen wasn't the best word. Year 5 of the 4 star Elite 11 QB recruit that he landed.

I don’t know… do we know what Dino was saying to QB recruits? Why couldn’t we land one. Did Dino say Tommy’s my guy. Shrader said he was promised an open competition. Is he the first to be told that? It sure seems like Tommy was the chosen one.

 

[TheCusian]

Dino was at Eastern Illinois only two years and won with his predecessor's players. He was not there long enough to build a program. He moved on to bowling Green. Exact same scenario. He didn't build a program. Then he moved to SU, was gifted with a once in a generation QB, and after the first three years he has shown that he can't build a program here either.

Sure, the "fastest thing on turf" talk, the post game speeches, all the rah rah stuff made us want to believe but he simply has not backed it up. He has been the modern verbal version of Coach Mac but without the accomplishment.

I think he gets until the end of the season but the writing is on the wall and in retrospect, was on the wall last year.

It is sad, but this isn't like we are throwing a homeless person onto the street. He has made $15M-$20M at SU. Very few gigs in life where you can make that kind of change and not produce results.

I have felt that he needed a bowl and a bowl win. For the life of me I can't see a path to a bowl. The team could surprise us but right now the offense seems worse than last year...you know, the year where we had injuries, no spring practice, yada yada yada. Those excuses are off the table and what is different?

I was hanging off the Dino Wagon by my fingernails but the punt in the 4th Quarter did it for me. Also, losing to Rutgers did it for me. In a way that I never admitted to myself until now, last year also did it for me. Maybe he will survive but I really can't see how nor can I see why it would even be a good thing at this point.

It was a simple system that gave everyone fits for 15 years. So it got incorporated into “modern” offenses and is now in the “we know how to slow it down” bin.


That’s it, the whole story. We haven’t really run it since 3rd game of 2019. The OC then couldn’t be creative enough to make a re-imagined version work so we slowed down and defaulted to what Dino did prior to Baylor.

Sterlin has those roots and I think Dino thought they could riff on it and create something new. So far, doesn’t look like it worked.

I think your criticism is not right. It wasn’t smoke and mirrors. It just did what all novel offenses do - slowly get incorporated into CFB as a whole. It’s not special any more.

 

[All4SU]

I don’t know… do we know what Dino was saying to QB recruits? Why couldn’t we land one. Did Dino say Tommy’s my guy. Shrader said he was promised an open competition. Is he the first to be told that? It sure seems like Tommy was the chosen one.

Again, who would you have started ahead of him in 2019 or 2020?

 

[All4SU]

I don’t know… do we know what Dino was saying to QB recruits? Why couldn’t we land one. Did Dino say Tommy’s my guy. Shrader said he was promised an open competition. Is he the first to be told that? It sure seems like Tommy was the chosen one.

I will personally guarantee that HCDB never told a single recruit that TD was “his guy” and that they didn’t have a chance to start. That’s insane. Sorry.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

It was a simple system that gave everyone fits for 15 years. So it got incorporated into “modern” offenses and is now in the “we know how to slow it down” bin.

...

I think your criticism is not right. It wasn’t smoke and mirrors. It just did what all novel offenses do - slowly get incorporated into CFB as a whole. It’s not special any more.

You are creating a strawman, Cusian my friend. I didn't refer to the system. I was basically referring to Dino's track record as a head coach prior to SU, never having actually built a program, what his rhetoric was, and what he has (or has not) accomplished here. I was also referring to being off the Dino Bandwagon based on performance to date. I'm not advocating firing him right now. I think the season should play out and see what the end result is. If he pulls a rabbit out of his hat then God Bless him. However, I don't have any optimism that there is a light at the end of the tunnel on all of this. Just my opinion and none of it had anything to do with his system. I don't care one iota about the system.

 

[elimunelson]

...

You are creating a strawman, Cusian my friend. I didn't refer to the system. I was basically referring to Dino's track record as a head coach prior to SU, never having actually built a program, what his rhetoric was, and what he has (or has not) accomplished here. I was also referring to being off the Dino Bandwagon based on performance to date. I'm not advocating firing him right now. I think the season should play out and see what the end result is. If he pulls a rabbit out of his hat then God Bless him. However, I don't have any optimism that there is a light at the end of the tunnel on all of this. Just my opinion and none of it had anything to do with his system. I don't care one iota about the system.

Very reasonable. No one feeling very down about the trajectory of this program (at least reasonable ones) are rooting against Dino, rooting against Syracuse or hoping they're not 100% wrong.

I expected a ton more in year 6. This isn't a crazy statement. Dino sold us a bill of goods about his offense being something fast and something much better than anything we saw beforehand.

 

[Orangello]

 

[Nicknack]

The only way I see that we're going to be successful is if we develop a niche that takes other teams off guard. We did that successfully with the option years ago and Babers started with the fast tempo, but apparently aborted the approach. We all thought he had a sound approach and was taking advantage of playing indoors at home. Now we're just vanilla on offense trying to compete against teams that are coached better and most which have better talent.

I can't imagine how players could really believe in what he's saying now with all of the bumbling decisions that have been made. Enough.

 

[TheCusian]

...

You are creating a strawman, Cusian my friend. I didn't refer to the system. I was basically referring to Dino's track record as a head coach prior to SU, never having actually built a program, what his rhetoric was, and what he has (or has not) accomplished here. I was also referring to being off the Dino Bandwagon based on performance to date. I'm not advocating firing him right now. I think the season should play out and see what the end result is. If he pulls a rabbit out of his hat then God Bless him. However, I don't have any optimism that there is a light at the end of the tunnel on all of this. Just my opinion and none of it had anything to do with his system. I don't care one iota about the system.

Fair enough. I think it’s hard to separate the system (the thing that sky rocketed him from HC to HC job in 4 years) from the man. If you said Syracuse was hiring an offensive HC with a track record of a middling offense and has a good personality we’d probably all be meh.

 

[Ozcuse]

He scrapped the system when he realized a three and out that takes approximately 22 seconds off the clock and 1.5 minutes of real time is not good for your defense long term.

I wish his system had focused on getting 7+ yards every first down instead of just trying to rip off plays fast.

 

[Nicknack]

That crap of a football team, Rutgers, was reeling off plays faster than us. Can someone explain our offensive philosophy? It's very difficult to understand.

 

[BrooklynCuse]

Again, who would you have started ahead of him in 2019 or 2020?

Again, who would you have started ahead of him in 2019 or 2020?

That was my point. How did Dino recruit an elite 11 QB and then couldn’t get anyone else to commit until the end of Tommy’s tenure. I’m not saying it happened but why do you think Dino couldn’t recruit a QB?

 

[HRE Otto IV]

That was my point. How did Dino recruit an elite 11 QB and then couldn’t get anyone else to commit until the end of Tommy’s tenure. I’m not saying it happened but why do you think Dino couldn’t recruit a QB?

Bigger question is how did Dino not get any WRs in after having 100 catches guys year 1 and year 2 plus an Elite 11 QB to throw it to them.

 

[RoatanCuse]

Its almost like he doesn’t coach the defense…..

Exactly. You can see that he (DFB) doesn’t.

 

[capeorange]

The unfortunate thing is that it shouldn't have taken 6 years to figure this out. I'd add that Sean Lewis was a big part of his success as well.

^^^^
This

 

[OburgOrange]

The unfortunate thing is that it shouldn't have taken 6 years to figure this out. I'd add that Sean Lewis was a big part of his success as well.

Ummmmm…

 

[rocklloyd]

How about we go back to a huddle and call an old fashioned play where everyone is on same page?

 

[elimunelson]

Like to see Syracuse under center again.

How about we go back to a huddle and call an old fashioned play where everyone is on same page?

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Not recruiting any WRs has destroyed the program. None of these guys bar Taj would get a D1 scholarship if they left.

You need guys in that position who can get you points on their own.

The guys Dino inherited and Amba and Trish allowed us to win when he showed up. Just a huge dropoff ever since.

 

[orlandoorange]

Ummmmm…
View attachment 206083

Yep. ED masked a lot of what was wrong. He is a bad man.

 

[AngryOtto]

It was a simple system that gave everyone fits for 15 years. So it got incorporated into “modern” offenses and is now in the “we know how to slow it down” bin.


That’s it, the whole story. We haven’t really run it since 3rd game of 2019. The OC then couldn’t be creative enough to make a re-imagined version work so we slowed down and defaulted to what Dino did prior to Baylor.

Sterlin has those roots and I think Dino thought they could riff on it and create something new. So far, doesn’t look like it worked.

I think your criticism is not right. It wasn’t smoke and mirrors. It just did what all novel offenses do - slowly get incorporated into CFB as a whole. It’s not special any more.

Certainly still seemed special still at olmiss.

 

[AngryOtto]

Not recruiting any WRs has destroyed the program. None of these guys bar Taj would get a D1 scholarship if they left.

You need guys in that position who can get you points on their own.

The guys Dino inherited and Amba and Trish allowed us to win when he showed up. Just a huge dropoff ever since.

Pretty sure Alford, Gadsden would get picked up by p5 programs.