Minnesota-SU GAME THOUGHTS

[Stern]

Well just like last week I can’t say I am surprised with this game. I know many think SU has improved this year and for the past month I have taken a lot of abuse on this site questioning that line of thinking. I haven’t seen it and after tonight I think a lot of people are coming to my side. It is clear on gamedays Doug is in way over his head as a head coach.

On tonight’s game; the playcalling was beyond awful on offense. The entire offense looked like it had no life at all. I have no clue what Hacket and Doug were thinking in drawing this one up. I will say this, considering all the turnovers I didn’t think the defense was all that bad really. I will actually give them some credit I think they played well. Special teams still stinks; I mean on the opening kickoff SU almost had another disaster. The fumble punt that they fell on, almost another disaster. Two kickoff returns were disaster getting tackled inside the 15 or so.

But this game is a microcosm of Marrone’s time here in Syracuse. He is playing a team with equal to lesser talent and Doug and SU come up way way short. They made another equal to lesser team look way better than they are. SU has awful special teams across the board with other issues on offense that need to be worked out and this coach wasted valuable practice time this spring/summer playing tug of war and having the team do obstacle courses at Ft Drum. I don’t understand his vision and lord knows his results aren’t backing up whatever vision he has. Almost 1 full calendar year since SU has beaten an FBS school. That is failing.

Bottom line going forward
-This is a 3-4 win team (maybe.) I don’t see a miracle turnaround this year coming up.

-This program has turned no corners on any level and might actually be going backwards.

-If they give Doug an extension they are out of their minds. Let him finish out the year and let’s see how it plays out. And if it’s bad then it’s time to now start seriously thinking of replacements and putting together a “short list.” Dr. Gross better keep his schedule open in early December he might be interviewing some people.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Well just like last week I can’t say I am surprised with this game. I know many think SU has improved this year and for the past month I have taken a lot of abuse on this site questioning that line of thinking. I haven’t seen it and after tonight I think a lot of people are coming to my side. It is clear on gamedays Doug is in way over his head as a head coach.

On tonight’s game; the playcalling was beyond awful on offense. The entire offense looked like it had no life at all. I have no clue what Hacket and Doug were thinking in drawing this one up. I will say this, considering all the turnovers I didn’t think the defense was all that bad really. I will actually give them some credit I think they played well. Special teams still stinks; I mean on the opening kickoff SU almost had another disaster. The fumble punt that they fell on, almost another disaster. Two kickoff returns were disaster getting tackled inside the 15 or so.

But this game is a microcosm of Marrone’s time here in Syracuse. He is playing a team with equal to lesser talent and Doug and SU come up way way short. They made another equal to lesser team look way better than they are. SU has awful special teams across the board with other issues on offense that need to be worked out and this coach wasted valuable practice time this spring/summer playing tug of war and having the team do obstacle courses at Ft Drum. I don’t understand his vision and lord knows his results aren’t backing up whatever vision he has. Almost 1 full calendar year since SU has beaten an FBS school. That is failing.

Bottom line going forward
-This is a 3-4 win team (maybe.) I don’t see a miracle turnaround this year coming up.

-This program has turned no corners on any level and might actually be going backwards.

-If they give Doug an extension they are out of their minds. Let him finish out the year and let’s see how it plays out. And if it’s bad then it’s time to now start seriously thinking of replacements and putting together a “short list.” Dr. Gross better keep his schedule open in early December he might be interviewing some people.

Agree completely.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

I'm 100% done with Marrone. Go after Terry Bowden. It shouldn't be hard to get him away from Akron.

 

[Orange Rust Belt]

I've been on your side with this for a long time now Stern. Marrone is not the answer.

 

[iommi]

I think everyone really undervalued delone carter. D was good in 2010...relatively speaking... But carter put us on his back and masked problems.

 

[iommi]

Great post, stern. Love your candor. Guess that 5-2 start predicted by certain esteemed posters/ adversaries is not looking too promising.

 

[Pearl309]

Well just like last week I can’t say I am surprised with this game. I know many think SU has improved this year and for the past month I have taken a lot of abuse on this site questioning that line of thinking. I haven’t seen it and after tonight I think a lot of people are coming to my side. It is clear on gamedays Doug is in way over his head as a head coach.

On tonight’s game; the playcalling was beyond awful on offense. The entire offense looked like it had no life at all. I have no clue what Hacket and Doug were thinking in drawing this one up. I will say this, considering all the turnovers I didn’t think the defense was all that bad really. I will actually give them some credit I think they played well. Special teams still stinks; I mean on the opening kickoff SU almost had another disaster. The fumble punt that they fell on, almost another disaster. Two kickoff returns were disaster getting tackled inside the 15 or so.

But this game is a microcosm of Marrone’s time here in Syracuse. He is playing a team with equal to lesser talent and Doug and SU come up way way short. They made another equal to lesser team look way better than they are. SU has awful special teams across the board with other issues on offense that need to be worked out and this coach wasted valuable practice time this spring/summer playing tug of war and having the team do obstacle courses at Ft Drum. I don’t understand his vision and lord knows his results aren’t backing up whatever vision he has. Almost 1 full calendar year since SU has beaten an FBS school. That is failing.

Bottom line going forward
-This is a 3-4 win team (maybe.) I don’t see a miracle turnaround this year coming up.

-This program has turned no corners on any level and might actually be going backwards.

-If they give Doug an extension they are out of their minds. Let him finish out the year and let’s see how it plays out. And if it’s bad then it’s time to now start seriously thinking of replacements and putting together a “short list.” Dr. Gross better keep his schedule open in early December he might be interviewing some people.

I actually agree with 90% of what you say but it's mostly crazy. This is the problem, we get rid of Doug... Then what? Hire whom? Then wait how long? C'mon this has gotten old. Give the guy time, this is his first head coaching venture, let him learn from mistakes which are obvious, hire new blood, try out new schemes, eTc. this place is surreal. I'm the biggest DM loyalist out there and even I predicted a 1-4 Start for this team. New scheme,new ID, hound core, bad o line, this was destiny.
Patience... We're not playing play dough like Rutgers and we don't have talent like ND... Everyone breathe and think rationally.

 

[Stern]

I actually agree with 90% of what you say but it's mostly crazy. This is the problem, we get rid of Doug... Then what? Hire whom? Then wait how long? C'mon this has gotten old. Give the guy time, this is his first head coaching venture, let him learn from mistakes which are obvious, hire new blood, try out new schemes, eTc. this place is surreal. I'm the biggest DM loyalist out there and even I predicted a 1-4 Start for this team. New scheme,new ID, hound core, bad o line, this was destiny.
Patience... We're not playing play dough like Rutgers and we don't have talent like ND... Everyone breathe and think rationally.

So because getting rid of Doug is too much work, let's be lazy and keep on this losing track we are on? SU isn't losing because lack of talent. SU is losing because they have a coaching staff that is clueless and Doug is the leader of that staff. Doug is making basic coaching mistakes. He isn't any good. This has been obvious to me since the midway point of last season and "The Collapse." I saw it then, now many more are starting to notice it. Doug can stay here 2, 4, or 10 more years, nothing will change, nothing will get drastically better. He isn't a major college head coach. He is failing. And failing badly. Preaching patience you do in year 1 and 2. Come year 4 there needs to be some tangible results. Right now there are none. Asking him to beat 1 FBS school isn't asking for a lot. Doug can't even do that.

Stop with the excuses for Doug.

 

[Pearl309]

So because getting rid of Doug is too much work, let's be lazy and keep on this losing track we are on? SU isn't losing because lack of talent. SU is losing because they have a coaching staff that is clueless and Doug is the leader of that staff. Doug is making basic coaching mistakes. He isn't any good. This has been obvious to me since the midway point of last season and "The Collapse." I saw it then, now many more are starting to notice it. Doug can stay here 2, 4, or 10 more years, nothing will change, nothing will get drastically better. He isn't a major college head coach. He is failing. And failing badly. Preaching patience you do in year 1 and 2. Come year 4 there needs to be some tangible results. Right now there are none. Asking him to beat 1 FBS school isn't asking for a lot. Doug can't even do that.

Stop with the excuses for Doug.

Ugh. Another fail for CNYers.
You state ZERO FACTS. After GRob, how do we as alleged SU fans quantify failing? Sky is falling post game reactions are for habitual loser fan bases, which we unfortunately have become. Get over your unrealistic expectations and you'll see this situation clearer.
Comeback and we'll revisit this discussion at seasons end.

 

[dlegend44]

I think Doug's biggest mistake was he wrote 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles into the game plan. He also forgot to include turnovers for the Gophers. We were -4 on turnovers in the game. How many coaches win a game where the talent is pretty even but you are -4 on turnovers? The Broyld fumble was a killer! Nassib's interception on the 3 yard line didn't help either. The first interception at the 5 second mark was a fluke. Turnovers cost us the game today.

 

[Stern]

Ugh. Another fail for CNYers.
You state ZERO FACTS. After GRob, how do we as alleged SU fans quantify failing? Sky is falling post game reactions are for habitual loser fan bases, which we unfortunately have become. Get over your unrealistic expectations and you'll see this situation clearer.
Comeback and we'll revisit this discussion at seasons end.

Zero Facts? We lost, fact. SU hasn't beaten an FBS school in almost a calender year, fact. What other facts matter? Want some other facts, SU's special teams stink, fact. The sky isn't falling, it already fell! Some people just choose to ignore it.

What unrealistic expectations do I or most other level headed SU fans have? Win 6 games and go to bowl? Maybe beat an FBS school? Those are unrealistic expectations? Heck it isn't like Doug is playing an SEC schedule here, he is playing in the worst BCS conference. If we as SU fans set the bar any lower for this program the bar would be laying on the ground!

 

[Noexcuse]

I think Doug's biggest mistake was he wrote 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles into the game plan. He also forgot to include turnovers for the Gophers. We were -4 on turnovers in the game. How many coaches win a game where the talent is pretty even but you are -4 on turnovers? The Broyld fumble was a killer! Nassib's interception on the 3 yard line didn't help either. The first interception at the 5 second mark was a fluke. Turnovers cost us the game today.

Look. I'm not sure one way or the other at this point if Marrone is the guy or not. But the fact that we can choose a couple of plays in a game (every game) and say that's what cost us, has to say something about coaching. They don't seem to be able to overcome adversity from week to week. It seems to me that we try to manage the game clock, keep the score close and limit the number of plays we run. When you run fewer plays in a game and you have a couple of plays that go against you, it magnifies the importance of those plays.

 

[SmilinBob]

I thought Minny taking too much time off the clock hurt SU, took away more reps on offense. The SU d played well but we needed more stops earlier and didn't get them. It was a bunch of things and obviously turnovers and let's face, not creating any either hurt us big time.

 

[priestp]

I am no football guru and there were obvious problems with the offense.
1. We struggled all night on the right side of the line.
2. It was obvious we could not outrun them to the sidelines, why keep trying? Then bring in your power back and try again? On the goal line?
3. Where was Sales in the first half?
4. Why does Nassib have to touch belly buttons with every running back he hands off too? How many times did PTG take 2-3 quick strides, stop in his tracks to except the handoff, than try to get his speed up again. The hand offs look like something out of a pop-warner game.
As for the Defense-
Thank you for giving the Offense more than enough opportunities, the D played great for being exhausted.

I think Marrone will be a great coach when he gets some experience...just not sure I want to wait around another 5 years.

 

[Deano]

I think Doug's biggest mistake was he wrote 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles into the game plan. He also forgot to include turnovers for the Gophers. We were -4 on turnovers in the game. How many coaches win a game where the talent is pretty even but you are -4 on turnovers? The Broyld fumble was a killer! Nassib's interception on the 3 yard line didn't help either. The first interception at the 5 second mark was a fluke. Turnovers cost us the game today.

If Hackett had any clue inside the 5 yard line on how to score easier Nassib wouldn't be put in that position. Two weeks in a row with crappy play calling inside the 5..smh

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Zero Facts? We lost, fact. SU hasn't beaten an FBS school in almost a calender year, fact. What other facts matter? Want some other facts, SU's special teams stink, fact. The sky isn't falling, it already fell! Some people just choose to ignore it.

What unrealistic expectations do I or most other level headed SU fans have? Win 6 games and go to bowl? Maybe beat an FBS school? Those are unrealistic expectations? Heck it isn't like Doug is playing an SEC schedule here, he is playing in the worst BCS conference. If we as SU fans set the bar any lower for this program the bar would be laying on the ground!

Good thing that Marrone has 8 more games left this season; 7 of them against teams from the worst BCS conference.

 

[Stern]

Good thing that Marrone has 8 more games left this season; 7 of them against teams from the worst BCS conference.

True! But as this season looks a lot like last season, I don't expect much to change in the way of results. We have all seen this ending before.

As always, hope I am wrong.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

True! But as this season looks a lot like last season, I don't expect much to change in the way of results. We have all seen this ending before.

As always, hope I am wrong.

I hope you're wrong too. UConn, Temple,and USF are beatable, I still don't know what to make of Pitt, and maybe Missouri will be tired after back-to-back road trips to Tennessee and Florida.

350 yards to Minny's 337.

64 offensive plays, average gain 5.5 yards. Almost a full yard better than Minny (4.7)

Didn't give up any fatal kick-off or punt returns.

Minus the 4 turnovers, silly penalties, and the boneheaded sweep at the goal line, we had this.

A week off, plus the return of Pugh (and hopefully Flemming as a red zone threat) will do wonders.

I hope.

 

[Halfmooncuse]

If we are NY's team then Saratoga must be in Canada. Went to a sports bar with bout 20 plus tvs with FB games on. Nobody watching SU except me. Occasionally a disparaging remark about SU and people wondering why I was upset. "You must have gone to SU" comments implied a why do you even care about SU football.

Time warner couldn't process the Sports Pass and a call to customer support was met with automated bs followed by a 20 minute delay.

 

[SmilinBob]

What worries me about those "easy" big east games is that those front lines will just line up and push our d around. Rutgers is better on defense than Minny and brings pressure and god knows UConn can't pass worth a crap but will line it up and try to run it down our throats and Pitt can run and play action that that one is going to be tough. Christ, we made Minny out to be the purple people eaters and they gave up 27 to UNLV.

 

[orangeintheacc]

I've been and still am in Doug's corner and I really hope that somehow SU can right the ship and get this season turned around, but they will have to play way, way better than they did against Minny to make that happen. One obvious problem IMO is the total lack of fire and emotion the SU team shows compared to who they are playing. College football is a game of emotion, especially at the beginning of games. Jerry Kill was red faced, stalking the sideline looking like he was ready to go in and play while Doug looked like a guy watching a tennis match. SU doesn't have any coaches on the sideline during games that are fiery, in your face types. Players feed off the emotion of their coaches, if the coaches don't have it, the players don't either and yet, they can't understand why every game they get off to slow starts.

 

[baggerbob]

This team has a fifth yr senior, 3 yr starter at QB who continues to make bad decisions.

 

[rrlbees]

This team has a fifth yr senior, 3 yr starter at QB who continues to make bad decisions.

Who sometimes makes mistakes, especially under heavy pressure. Heck, I watched redzone most of today, and I saw a lot of NFL QB's making the same mistakes at times.

And in 3 years not a single other QB can get on the field.

Nassib is so far down the list of problems we have its not even funny.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Chip]

Good thing that Marrone has 8 more games left this season; 7 of them against teams from the worst BCS conference.

Saying that every year is getting exhausting. And I say that as someone who says that every year.

0-7
1-6
1-6
1-6
1-6
4-3
1-6

If this year looks like the norm, it's a 2 win season.

If this year looks like the anomaly, we still probably don't make a bowl.

So depressing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Let me depress you even more.

Next year we'll be starting a new QB against teams in a new conference.

Throwing a new HC and OC in the mix would be the perfect storm.