My Take

[sutomcat]

Watched the game at Rosies with LincolnCuse, Jeremy, their women, Jeremy's dad and a UL fan who does not deserve to be identified. DCCuse made a late appearance, brought his usual good mojo, but it was far too little and far too late to make a difference.

Jeremy's dad, hung over from blackberry beer, did not take the events on the field well and after he misidentified a route Provo ran as a wheel route and was called on it, he had a meltdown and disappeared. His current whereabouts are unknown. If you see an older man walking the streets wondering who # 28 is, please direct him to Jeremy's house.

I had the New Orleans burger for lunch. It was good. Cooked perfectly. Had a little zing with jalapenos and pepperjack cheese. The fries were perhaps a tad underdone but not bad. I would recommend it but wonder what jalapenos and pepperjack have to do with New Orleans.

You might have noticed by now that I am three paragraphs into the post and have not touched on the game yet. That is by design. Hard to talk about that sensitive subject, even after having my spirits raised somewhat by WVU's strong comeback victory over RU in an empty stadium filled with grey snow and broken Scarlet Knight hearts. Schiano again made a bizarre call, going for a TD on a fake FG when he could have tied the game late. After that failed, RU collapsed. Another in a long line of major gaffes by GS, who set a record by losing to the same conference team for the 11th year in a row. He will never beat WVU in conference play now.

It is time now to talk about the SU-UL game. Was really disappointed by the play of the defense and indeed the play of all the units early. Perhaps for the first time on the DM era, it looked like SU was just not ready to play. The number of stupid penalties was stunning. The missed assignments on defense was sickening. Credit to Shafer and the defense for making some adjustments and shutting down UL almost completely after the bad start.

To me, the thing that is really disturbing is when you see a staff not able to address a weakness over an extended period. For the most part, the SU staff has done a fine job addressing issues and correcting problems. We weren't able to figure out how to stop a power offense last year, but I think that was more a function of our personnel than scheme.

But this complete inability to be able to handle press coverage and aggressive blitzing is a huge issue that threatens to undue all the great progress that has been made in so many areas since DM and company have been here. I see little or no sign of progress...we seem to try the same things over and over and they meet with disaster or complete failure over and over.

I know a lot of people on the board are going to put the loss on Nassib and to be sure, he played a role in our lack of success on offense. He isn't even remotely as successful when he is dealing with a strong pass rush. No question about it. He made some bad passes that really hurt us. Looked really bad throwing the long ball again, which is huge given that is about the only way we are going to score against this type of defense (we have people open long pretty consistently when we throw long). Ryan is rarely even close on these plays...seems like he has the overthrow by 10 yards patented by now.

That being said, he is not the whole problem. There were a lot of passing plays today, as has happened in all the games we have faced against this type of defense in the Nassib era, where when Ryan looked downfield, there was no one open. Part of the problem is that we are rarely using more than 1 or 2 WRs on passing plays, so we are ridiculously easy to defend on most passing plays. Part of the problem is that our pass protection is suspect. Though I thought it was improved today. Not good but better than it has been. Still a lot of missed assignments. Macky, Provo and Ant (several times) have to do better here. Others too. That being said, our inability to pass block adequately is surely one reason we are reluctant to send a lot of people out on pass routes.

Really didn't like a lot of the things we tried. The Express, the option, all the wide sweeps against a defense that was clearly faster than our offense...that was all bad news. All the bunched up formations that narrow the field and make it easier to defend...bad news. What happened to spreading the field and forcing UL to cover the whole field? I know we have issues with depth at WR, problems with pass blocking, problems with accuracy from the QB, problems with the lack of play makers on offense, etc. but the approach we have been using the past 2 years against press coverage does not work, and I am pretty sure it will never work.

Props to UL for executing well, playing very tough on defense and being read to play. Strong is a fine coach I have a lot of respect for. Props to Chandler for another impressive game. Shamarko missed a key tackle but for the first time since his return looked like he is close to his old self.

For God's sake, someone has to do a better job teaching the kids on special teams how to block and cover without committing personal fouls. It has been a problem all season but reached almost laughable levels today. I guess I should be thankful Rene never returns a punt else he might have that historic return brought back because of a penalty.

Mike Hay, Phil Thomas, Brandon Sharpe. The holy trinity of personal foul artists. It will be exciting to see how wins this heated battle for the team lead over the season.

If Nassib overthrows an open receiver running a sprint route by 10 yards again this season, I might projectile vomit into his helmet, even if I am seated near the top of the stadium, 100 yards from young Ryan.

I thought we were going to give the backup RBs more touches? Smith had a carry on a 3rd and short. Was that it for the backups? Not good.

Fisher is really struggling with his punts. A lot of 30 yarders that can't be returned because they never even reach the returner. I think he is screwed up because he is rushing a little to ensure there are no blocked punts. The best thing about freshmen is that they turn into sophomores.

If there is any good news to be had today, I don't believe Coach P is going to use press coverage and blitzes next week. So we have a chance to get 20 points, maybe more. But who knows, even Tulane played us in press coverage this year and they played zone against everyone until us (including freaking Army).

 

[Millhouse]

Watched the game at Rosies with LincolnCuse, Jeremy, their women, Jeremy's dad and a UL fan who does not deserve to be identified. DCCuse made a late appearance, brought his usual good mojo, but it was far too little and far too late to make a difference.

Jeremy's dad, hung over from blackberry beer, did not take the events on the field well and after he misidentified a route Provo ran as a wheel route and was called on it, he had a meltdown and disappeared. His current whereabouts are unknown. If you see an older man walking the streets wondering who # 28 is, please direct him to Jeremy's house.

I had the New Orleans burger for lunch. It was good. Cooked perfectly. Had a little zing with jalapenos and pepperjack cheese. The fries were perhaps a tad underdone but not bad. I would recommend it but wonder what jalapenos and pepperjack have to do with New Orleans.

You might have noticed by now that I am three paragraphs into the post and have not touched on the game yet. That is by design. Hard to talk about that sensitive subject, even after having my spirits raised somewhat by WVU's strong comeback victory over RU in an empty stadium filled with grey snow and broken Scarlet Knight hearts. Schiano again made a bizarre call, going for a TD on a fake FG when he could have tied the game late. After that failed, RU collapsed. Another in a long line of major gaffes by GS, who set a record by losing to the same conference team for the 11th year in a row. He will never beat WVU in conference play now.

It is time now to talk about the SU-UL game. Was really disappointed by the play of the defense and indeed the play of all the units early. Perhaps for the first time on the DM era, it looked like SU was just not ready to play. The number of stupid penalties was stunning. The missed assignments on defense was sickening. Credit to Shafer and the defense for making some adjustments and shutting down UL almost completely after the bad start.

To me, the thing that is really disturbing is when you see a staff not able to address a weakness over an extended period. For the most part, the SU staff has done a fine job addressing issues and correcting problems. We weren't able to figure out how to stop a power offense last year, but I think that was more a function of our personnel than scheme.

But this complete inability to be able to handle press coverage and aggressive blitzing is a huge issue that threatens to undue all the great progress that has been made in so many areas since DM and company have been here. I see little or no sign of progress...we seem to try the same things over and over and they meet with disaster or complete failure over and over.

I know a lot of people on the board are going to put the loss on Nassib and to be sure, he played a role in our lack of success on offense. He isn't even remotely as successful when he is dealing with a strong pass rush. No question about it. He made some bad passes that really hurt us. Looked really bad throwing the long ball again, which is huge given that is about the only way we are going to score against this type of defense (we have people open long pretty consistently when we throw long). Ryan is rarely even close on these plays...seems like he has the overthrow by 10 yards patented by now.

That being said, he is not the whole problem. There were a lot of passing plays today, as has happened in all the games we have faced against this type of defense in the Nassib era, where when Ryan looked downfield, there was no one open. Part of the problem is that we are rarely using more than 1 or 2 WRs on passing plays, so we are ridiculously easy to defend on most passing plays. Part of the problem is that our pass protection is suspect. Though I thought it was improved today. Not good but better than it has been. Still a lot of missed assignments. Macky, Provo and Ant (several times) have to do better here. Others too. That being said, our inability to pass block adequately is surely one reason we are reluctant to send a lot of people out on pass routes.

Really didn't like a lot of the things we tried. The Express, the option, all the wide sweeps against a defense that was clearly faster than our offense...that was all bad news. All the bunched up formations that narrow the field and make it easier to defend...bad news. What happened to spreading the field and forcing UL to cover the whole field? I know we have issues with depth at WR, problems with pass blocking, problems with accuracy from the QB, problems with the lack of play makers on offense, etc. but the approach we have been using the past 2 years against press coverage does not work, and I am pretty sure it will never work.

Props to UL for executing well, playing very tough on defense and being read to play. Strong is a fine coach I have a lot of respect for. Props to Chandler for another impressive game. Shamarko missed a key tackle but for the first time since his return looked like he is close to his old self.

For God's sake, someone has to do a better job teaching the kids on special teams how to block and cover without committing personal fouls. It has been a problem all season but reached almost laughable levels today. I guess I should be thankful Rene never returns a punt else he might have that historic return brought back because of a penalty.

Mike Hay, Phil Thomas, Brandon Sharpe. The holy trinity of personal foul artists. It will be exciting to see how wins this heated battle for the team lead over the season.

If Nassib overthrows an open receiver running a sprint route by 10 yards again this season, I might projectile vomit into his helmet, even if I am seated near the top of the stadium, 100 yards from young Ryan.

I thought we were going to give the backup RBs more touches? Smith had a carry on a 3rd and short. Was that it for the backups? Not good.

Fisher is really struggling with his punts. A lot of 30 yarders that can't be returned because they never even reach the returner. I think he is screwed up because he is rushing a little to ensure there are no blocked punts. The best thing about freshmen is that they turn into sophomores.

If there is any good news to be had today, I don't believe Coach P is going to use press coverage and blitzes next week. So we have a chance to get 20 points, maybe more. But who knows, even Tulane played us in press coverage this year and they played zone against everyone until us (including freaking Army).

of course there are many times where people aren't open. that's football. that's normal

"played a role" aye yi yi

it's not normal to miss every receiver that gets open downfield.

i can't believe that you went with the press coverage stuff today. guys were open plenty.

the only nassib defense is that he's entitled to a big stinker once in a while because there is no way around it

 

[IthacaBarrel]

P will bring press coverage, you are crazy not too, it's how you completely just us down

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Nassib is ok with good o line play dreadful with anything less.. I thought some of ants runs could have gone to the house if he had better speed.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Guys were open plenty when we ran deep routes on 1st down (probably because Louisvlle was expecting run). Both Chewie and Lemon were badly overthrown on "go" routes. Can't miss those opportunities.

On 2nd & long and 3rd & long ... not so much. The underneath stuff was available ... but we couldn't get enough YAC to make it pay off.

Would people be happier if Nassib forced more passes into coverage? Maybe we could put the ball up for grabs on every play and hope for pass interference.

 

[chakka3421]

M Hay, B Sharpe & P Thomas are an embarrassment to SU with all these personal fouls. Why doesnt DM penalize them in some way because they seem to be getting worse, not better...

I still think Nassib throws long because he is so afraid of INTs.

 

[Fred Garvin]

Our fakes on the play action passes are poor at best. If we are going line up in a one or two receiver set so we get the defense thinking run then both the qb and rb need to do a better job selling the fake.

 

[PhatOrange]

Watched the game at Rosies with LincolnCuse, Jeremy, their women, Jeremy's dad and a UL fan who does not deserve to be identified. DCCuse made a late appearance, brought his usual good mojo, but it was far too little and far too late to make a difference.

Jeremy's dad, hung over from blackberry beer, did not take the events on the field well and after he misidentified a route Provo ran as a wheel route and was called on it, he had a meltdown and disappeared. His current whereabouts are unknown. If you see an older man walking the streets wondering who # 28 is, please direct him to Jeremy's house.

I had the New Orleans burger for lunch. It was good. Cooked perfectly. Had a little zing with jalapenos and pepperjack cheese. The fries were perhaps a tad underdone but not bad. I would recommend it but wonder what jalapenos and pepperjack have to do with New Orleans.

You might have noticed by now that I am three paragraphs into the post and have not touched on the game yet. That is by design. Hard to talk about that sensitive subject, even after having my spirits raised somewhat by WVU's strong comeback victory over RU in an empty stadium filled with grey snow and broken Scarlet Knight hearts. Schiano again made a bizarre call, going for a TD on a fake FG when he could have tied the game late. After that failed, RU collapsed. Another in a long line of major gaffes by GS, who set a record by losing to the same conference team for the 11th year in a row. He will never beat WVU in conference play now.

It is time now to talk about the SU-UL game. Was really disappointed by the play of the defense and indeed the play of all the units early. Perhaps for the first time on the DM era, it looked like SU was just not ready to play. The number of stupid penalties was stunning. The missed assignments on defense was sickening. Credit to Shafer and the defense for making some adjustments and shutting down UL almost completely after the bad start.

To me, the thing that is really disturbing is when you see a staff not able to address a weakness over an extended period. For the most part, the SU staff has done a fine job addressing issues and correcting problems. We weren't able to figure out how to stop a power offense last year, but I think that was more a function of our personnel than scheme.

But this complete inability to be able to handle press coverage and aggressive blitzing is a huge issue that threatens to undue all the great progress that has been made in so many areas since DM and company have been here. I see little or no sign of progress...we seem to try the same things over and over and they meet with disaster or complete failure over and over.

I know a lot of people on the board are going to put the loss on Nassib and to be sure, he played a role in our lack of success on offense. He isn't even remotely as successful when he is dealing with a strong pass rush. No question about it. He made some bad passes that really hurt us. Looked really bad throwing the long ball again, which is huge given that is about the only way we are going to score against this type of defense (we have people open long pretty consistently when we throw long). Ryan is rarely even close on these plays...seems like he has the overthrow by 10 yards patented by now.

That being said, he is not the whole problem. There were a lot of passing plays today, as has happened in all the games we have faced against this type of defense in the Nassib era, where when Ryan looked downfield, there was no one open. Part of the problem is that we are rarely using more than 1 or 2 WRs on passing plays, so we are ridiculously easy to defend on most passing plays. Part of the problem is that our pass protection is suspect. Though I thought it was improved today. Not good but better than it has been. Still a lot of missed assignments. Macky, Provo and Ant (several times) have to do better here. Others too. That being said, our inability to pass block adequately is surely one reason we are reluctant to send a lot of people out on pass routes.

Really didn't like a lot of the things we tried. The Express, the option, all the wide sweeps against a defense that was clearly faster than our offense...that was all bad news. All the bunched up formations that narrow the field and make it easier to defend...bad news. What happened to spreading the field and forcing UL to cover the whole field? I know we have issues with depth at WR, problems with pass blocking, problems with accuracy from the QB, problems with the lack of play makers on offense, etc. but the approach we have been using the past 2 years against press coverage does not work, and I am pretty sure it will never work.

Props to UL for executing well, playing very tough on defense and being read to play. Strong is a fine coach I have a lot of respect for. Props to Chandler for another impressive game. Shamarko missed a key tackle but for the first time since his return looked like he is close to his old self.

For God's sake, someone has to do a better job teaching the kids on special teams how to block and cover without committing personal fouls. It has been a problem all season but reached almost laughable levels today. I guess I should be thankful Rene never returns a punt else he might have that historic return brought back because of a penalty.

Mike Hay, Phil Thomas, Brandon Sharpe. The holy trinity of personal foul artists. It will be exciting to see how wins this heated battle for the team lead over the season.

If Nassib overthrows an open receiver running a sprint route by 10 yards again this season, I might projectile vomit into his helmet, even if I am seated near the top of the stadium, 100 yards from young Ryan.

I thought we were going to give the backup RBs more touches? Smith had a carry on a 3rd and short. Was that it for the backups? Not good.

Fisher is really struggling with his punts. A lot of 30 yarders that can't be returned because they never even reach the returner. I think he is screwed up because he is rushing a little to ensure there are no blocked punts. The best thing about freshmen is that they turn into sophomores.

If there is any good news to be had today, I don't believe Coach P is going to use press coverage and blitzes next week. So we have a chance to get 20 points, maybe more. But who knows, even Tulane played us in press coverage this year and they played zone against everyone until us (including freaking Army).

This quote from Strong says it all:

" we felt we could run with their receivers and we felt like we could cover them"

Everybody feels that way and I'd suspect P will go press coverage to.

Nassib had some time to throw today, but there were a couple coverage sacks for sure.

 

[arbitragegls]

Watched the game at Rosies with LincolnCuse, Jeremy, their women, Jeremy's dad and a UL fan who does not deserve to be identified. DCCuse made a late appearance, brought his usual good mojo, but it was far too little and far too late to make a difference.

Jeremy's dad, hung over from blackberry beer, did not take the events on the field well and after he misidentified a route Provo ran as a wheel route and was called on it, he had a meltdown and disappeared. His current whereabouts are unknown. If you see an older man walking the streets wondering who # 28 is, please direct him to Jeremy's house.

I had the New Orleans burger for lunch. It was good. Cooked perfectly. Had a little zing with jalapenos and pepperjack cheese. The fries were perhaps a tad underdone but not bad. I would recommend it but wonder what jalapenos and pepperjack have to do with New Orleans.

You might have noticed by now that I am three paragraphs into the post and have not touched on the game yet. That is by design. Hard to talk about that sensitive subject, even after having my spirits raised somewhat by WVU's strong comeback victory over RU in an empty stadium filled with grey snow and broken Scarlet Knight hearts. Schiano again made a bizarre call, going for a TD on a fake FG when he could have tied the game late. After that failed, RU collapsed. Another in a long line of major gaffes by GS, who set a record by losing to the same conference team for the 11th year in a row. He will never beat WVU in conference play now.

It is time now to talk about the SU-UL game. Was really disappointed by the play of the defense and indeed the play of all the units early. Perhaps for the first time on the DM era, it looked like SU was just not ready to play. The number of stupid penalties was stunning. The missed assignments on defense was sickening. Credit to Shafer and the defense for making some adjustments and shutting down UL almost completely after the bad start.

To me, the thing that is really disturbing is when you see a staff not able to address a weakness over an extended period. For the most part, the SU staff has done a fine job addressing issues and correcting problems. We weren't able to figure out how to stop a power offense last year, but I think that was more a function of our personnel than scheme.

But this complete inability to be able to handle press coverage and aggressive blitzing is a huge issue that threatens to undue all the great progress that has been made in so many areas since DM and company have been here. I see little or no sign of progress...we seem to try the same things over and over and they meet with disaster or complete failure over and over.

I know a lot of people on the board are going to put the loss on Nassib and to be sure, he played a role in our lack of success on offense. He isn't even remotely as successful when he is dealing with a strong pass rush. No question about it. He made some bad passes that really hurt us. Looked really bad throwing the long ball again, which is huge given that is about the only way we are going to score against this type of defense (we have people open long pretty consistently when we throw long). Ryan is rarely even close on these plays...seems like he has the overthrow by 10 yards patented by now.

That being said, he is not the whole problem. There were a lot of passing plays today, as has happened in all the games we have faced against this type of defense in the Nassib era, where when Ryan looked downfield, there was no one open. Part of the problem is that we are rarely using more than 1 or 2 WRs on passing plays, so we are ridiculously easy to defend on most passing plays. Part of the problem is that our pass protection is suspect. Though I thought it was improved today. Not good but better than it has been. Still a lot of missed assignments. Macky, Provo and Ant (several times) have to do better here. Others too. That being said, our inability to pass block adequately is surely one reason we are reluctant to send a lot of people out on pass routes.

Really didn't like a lot of the things we tried. The Express, the option, all the wide sweeps against a defense that was clearly faster than our offense...that was all bad news. All the bunched up formations that narrow the field and make it easier to defend...bad news. What happened to spreading the field and forcing UL to cover the whole field? I know we have issues with depth at WR, problems with pass blocking, problems with accuracy from the QB, problems with the lack of play makers on offense, etc. but the approach we have been using the past 2 years against press coverage does not work, and I am pretty sure it will never work.

Props to UL for executing well, playing very tough on defense and being read to play. Strong is a fine coach I have a lot of respect for. Props to Chandler for another impressive game. Shamarko missed a key tackle but for the first time since his return looked like he is close to his old self.

For God's sake, someone has to do a better job teaching the kids on special teams how to block and cover without committing personal fouls. It has been a problem all season but reached almost laughable levels today. I guess I should be thankful Rene never returns a punt else he might have that historic return brought back because of a penalty.

Mike Hay, Phil Thomas, Brandon Sharpe. The holy trinity of personal foul artists. It will be exciting to see how wins this heated battle for the team lead over the season.

If Nassib overthrows an open receiver running a sprint route by 10 yards again this season, I might projectile vomit into his helmet, even if I am seated near the top of the stadium, 100 yards from young Ryan.

I thought we were going to give the backup RBs more touches? Smith had a carry on a 3rd and short. Was that it for the backups? Not good.

Fisher is really struggling with his punts. A lot of 30 yarders that can't be returned because they never even reach the returner. I think he is screwed up because he is rushing a little to ensure there are no blocked punts. The best thing about freshmen is that they turn into sophomores.

If there is any good news to be had today, I don't believe Coach P is going to use press coverage and blitzes next week. So we have a chance to get 20 points, maybe more. But who knows, even Tulane played us in press coverage this year and they played zone against everyone until us (including freaking Army).

Really good post. I am in agreement with most...and still havent seen that old man walking the streets...and its snowy and cold out.
I find the following to be concerns:
1. No consistency week to week in offense
2. Keeping Ryan under center when he is clearly better rolling out...gives him a couple of seconds to view the field as he is rushed
3. Running to the short side of the field against a team that is faster
4. Not changing offensive scheme to meet the competition
5. Lack of emotion from coaching staff...either high or low or angry or whatever
...cannot expect enthusiasm from team if coaches are so stoic
6. the belief that we are not better than last year...we are similar and that is not good

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

Thank you Tom... I consider myself to be a pretty good communicator, but after some games I just can't make a point without it leading to a depressed tangent. You however are spot on tonight. Once again, my biggest problem is not trying different avenues when things continue to fail.

Does it make sense to sit Provo in games like this? We can't run four receiver sets against this pressure, so what if we put Lemon and West on the outside and let Chew run the slot so its harder for DBs to get their mits on him? And while we are at it, why throw Foster into the fire against Rutgers, but we don't put him into a game like this to try and manhandle a DB? Of course, we can't even get the young power backs into a game in which it is obvious Bailey isn't getting the job done, so, guess its not surprisin.

 

[kingottoiii]

Guys were open plenty when we ran deep routes on 1st down (probably because Louisvlle was expecting run). Both Chewie and Lemon were badly overthrown on "go" routes. Can't miss those opportunities.

On 2nd & long and 3rd & long ... not so much. The underneath stuff was available ... but we couldn't get enough YAC to make it pay off.

Would people be happier if Nassib forced more passes into coverage? Maybe we could put the ball up for grabs on every play and hope for pass interference.

He had a bad game and there is no doubt he missed Chew. However the Lemon ball, Lemon seemed to be stumbling and it prevented him from getting under the ball. Nassib has been bad this year on the deep ball, no doubt about it. But IMO any O that requires a bunch of deep passes to be completed, isn't much of an O at all.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

This quote from Strong says it all:

" we felt we could run with their receivers and we felt like we could cover them"

Everybody feels that way and I'd suspect P will go press coverage to.

Nassib had some time to throw today, but there were a couple coverage sacks for

sure.

We have a receiver with elite speed, and a couple other guy that can run as well, chew was open a few times with 2-3 steps. Nassib just can't hit these guys or run enough to keep anyone honest.. Kobena can run as well, lok at receivers throughout the college game.. Are our guys that much weaker? Come on, the problem is nassib can't make a lot of difficult throws,so sick of our receivers taking the blame for uncatchable balls

 

[SWC75]

Nassib is ok with good o line play dreadful with anything less.. I thought some of ants runs could have gone to the house if he had better speed.

So now Bailey is slow? He might be faster if he didn't have to fight his way back to the line of scrimmage all the time.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

So now Bailey is slow? He might be faster if he didn't have to fight his way back to the line of scrimmage all the time.

He has average speed for a running back, sometimes I think people here need to watch more college football

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Would people be happier if Nassib forced more passes into coverage? Maybe we could put the ball up for grabs on every play and hope for pass interference.

I would. Nassib seems really scared to take a chance on these mid range routs. I noticed at least two or three plays where he through to a short, covered receiver when he had another receiver four or five yards further down field, and just as open. I don't recall where I saw/heard it, but I know the magic number is like 8 yards per attempted pass to be successful throwing the ball. I think the team averaged under four today.

I see it like this, in the college game, you are more likely to hit one of three on 10 yard routs, than you are to hit three straight four yard plays.

 

[GoCuse44]

Watched the game at Rosies with LincolnCuse, Jeremy, their women, Jeremy's dad and a UL fan who does not deserve to be identified. DCCuse made a late appearance, brought his usual good mojo, but it was far too little and far too late to make a difference.

Jeremy's dad, hung over from blackberry beer, did not take the events on the field well and after he misidentified a route Provo ran as a wheel route and was called on it, he had a meltdown and disappeared. His current whereabouts are unknown. If you see an older man walking the streets wondering who # 28 is, please direct him to Jeremy's house.

I had the New Orleans burger for lunch. It was good. Cooked perfectly. Had a little zing with jalapenos and pepperjack cheese. The fries were perhaps a tad underdone but not bad. I would recommend it but wonder what jalapenos and pepperjack have to do with New Orleans.

You might have noticed by now that I am three paragraphs into the post and have not touched on the game yet. That is by design. Hard to talk about that sensitive subject, even after having my spirits raised somewhat by WVU's strong comeback victory over RU in an empty stadium filled with grey snow and broken Scarlet Knight hearts. Schiano again made a bizarre call, going for a TD on a fake FG when he could have tied the game late. After that failed, RU collapsed. Another in a long line of major gaffes by GS, who set a record by losing to the same conference team for the 11th year in a row. He will never beat WVU in conference play now.

It is time now to talk about the SU-UL game. Was really disappointed by the play of the defense and indeed the play of all the units early. Perhaps for the first time on the DM era, it looked like SU was just not ready to play. The number of stupid penalties was stunning. The missed assignments on defense was sickening. Credit to Shafer and the defense for making some adjustments and shutting down UL almost completely after the bad start.

To me, the thing that is really disturbing is when you see a staff not able to address a weakness over an extended period. For the most part, the SU staff has done a fine job addressing issues and correcting problems. We weren't able to figure out how to stop a power offense last year, but I think that was more a function of our personnel than scheme.

But this complete inability to be able to handle press coverage and aggressive blitzing is a huge issue that threatens to undue all the great progress that has been made in so many areas since DM and company have been here. I see little or no sign of progress...we seem to try the same things over and over and they meet with disaster or complete failure over and over.

I know a lot of people on the board are going to put the loss on Nassib and to be sure, he played a role in our lack of success on offense. He isn't even remotely as successful when he is dealing with a strong pass rush. No question about it. He made some bad passes that really hurt us. Looked really bad throwing the long ball again, which is huge given that is about the only way we are going to score against this type of defense (we have people open long pretty consistently when we throw long). Ryan is rarely even close on these plays...seems like he has the overthrow by 10 yards patented by now.

That being said, he is not the whole problem. There were a lot of passing plays today, as has happened in all the games we have faced against this type of defense in the Nassib era, where when Ryan looked downfield, there was no one open. Part of the problem is that we are rarely using more than 1 or 2 WRs on passing plays, so we are ridiculously easy to defend on most passing plays. Part of the problem is that our pass protection is suspect. Though I thought it was improved today. Not good but better than it has been. Still a lot of missed assignments. Macky, Provo and Ant (several times) have to do better here. Others too. That being said, our inability to pass block adequately is surely one reason we are reluctant to send a lot of people out on pass routes.

Really didn't like a lot of the things we tried. The Express, the option, all the wide sweeps against a defense that was clearly faster than our offense...that was all bad news. All the bunched up formations that narrow the field and make it easier to defend...bad news. What happened to spreading the field and forcing UL to cover the whole field? I know we have issues with depth at WR, problems with pass blocking, problems with accuracy from the QB, problems with the lack of play makers on offense, etc. but the approach we have been using the past 2 years against press coverage does not work, and I am pretty sure it will never work.

Props to UL for executing well, playing very tough on defense and being read to play. Strong is a fine coach I have a lot of respect for. Props to Chandler for another impressive game. Shamarko missed a key tackle but for the first time since his return looked like he is close to his old self.

For God's sake, someone has to do a better job teaching the kids on special teams how to block and cover without committing personal fouls. It has been a problem all season but reached almost laughable levels today. I guess I should be thankful Rene never returns a punt else he might have that historic return brought back because of a penalty.

Mike Hay, Phil Thomas, Brandon Sharpe. The holy trinity of personal foul artists. It will be exciting to see how wins this heated battle for the team lead over the season.

If Nassib overthrows an open receiver running a sprint route by 10 yards again this season, I might projectile vomit into his helmet, even if I am seated near the top of the stadium, 100 yards from young Ryan.

I thought we were going to give the backup RBs more touches? Smith had a carry on a 3rd and short. Was that it for the backups? Not good.

Fisher is really struggling with his punts. A lot of 30 yarders that can't be returned because they never even reach the returner. I think he is screwed up because he is rushing a little to ensure there are no blocked punts. The best thing about freshmen is that they turn into sophomores.

If there is any good news to be had today, I don't believe Coach P is going to use press coverage and blitzes next week. So we have a chance to get 20 points, maybe more. But who knows, even Tulane played us in press coverage this year and they played zone against everyone until us (including freaking Army).

Nothing is going to change until we get a receiver that can beat press coverage and as Marrone has said as much at the luncheons We simply don't have the talent at WR and until we do every team the rest of the year will play us the same way Louisville today.

 

[kingottoiii]

Nothing is going to change until we get a receiver that can beat press coverage and as Marrone has said as much at the luncheons We simply don't have the talent at WR and until we do every team the rest of the year will play us the same way Louisville today.

If that is the case then shouldn't we be recruiting more than ONE WR this year? Otherwise we will see the SOS next year.

 

[SoBeCuse]

We have a receiver with elite speed, and a couple other guy that can run as well, chew was open a few times with 2-3 steps. Nassib just can't hit these guys or run enough to keep anyone honest.. Kobena can run as well, lok at receivers throughout the college game.. Are our guys that much weaker? Come on, the problem is nassib can't make a lot of difficult throws,so sick of our receivers taking the blame for uncatchable balls

The deep balls are tough and many of them need to be put in perfect windows since our guys rarely are totally open. Nassib really seems to have problems on the seam routes. Those are more available and he is just terrible on those firing it way too hard. If you really believe we have elite speed at WR then I want to see Kobena/Graham running slants and WR screens and not the short crap to the other guys.

 

[Fjoinkay]

I expected the offense to struggle, but I also expected the offense to change the approach- more WRs, more J Smith or AAM, spread it out more, something. Yuck. Great summary. It's not all Nassib, but his issues are annoying. And so are those bunched formations which usually result in knocked down passes or tackles for loss.

I felt like P. Thomas was trying very hard to pick up a personal foul. It could have happened numerous times. Hay picked his up very early- which made me think that the officials were watching him closely. During the WVU game Hay was running around like a lunatic at the end of several plays. At least Torrey Ball didn't line up offsides. 5 personal fouls- 3 in the first quarter- is staggering.

The first quarter was a total disaster. Strong is a very good coach. He had a good plan and his team executed early. Bridgewater was elusive under pressure and he avoided turnovers. The Orange defense adjusted as you said and played well except for the big run. I hate to harp on P Thomas because he makes a lot of good plays, but I thought he took a really bad angle on that play and as the safety that creates a big problem.

 

[mantonio]

All these problems will be erased when we get better recruits. It all comes down to that.

Why doesn't LSU have trouble beating teams like Louisville?

We can talk about schemes & formations all day, but at the end of the day, none of that really matters. We get a few Triple Crown horses, & we will outrun, outgun, outpass, outgass, outcatch, outmatch, outhit, outfit, outblock, outrock, outtackle, outshackle, outjuke, outspook, outscore, outpour, outmore, outscare, outdare, outskill, outkill, outplay, outnight&day, & outEVERYTHING our opponents.

I love watching an SEC team lay a good spanking on their non-conference victims, & they don't need a complicated system to do it. They just have a bigger spanking paddle...

 

[rosconey]

this is the same pos offense we saw in game 1-its improved ZERO since then

im not so sure marrone has any more ability to run a offense than the great guru did defense-just because you have a business card that says so doesnt make it true

the total lack of any consistancy week to week with a squad that was supposed to be a strength is disheartening and disgusting-do we even have a oc or line coach?

the lack of any marrone recruits who add to the game plan is also a worry-

yes we are 5-3- but it hasnt been a fun to watch 5-3-
this team could be 2-6 if not for some bad calls by refs and some stupid luck

 

[PhatOrange]

We have a receiver with elite speed, and a couple other guy that can run as well, chew was open a few times with 2-3 steps. Nassib just can't hit these guys or run enough to keep anyone honest.. Kobena can run as well, lok at receivers throughout the college game.. Are our guys that much weaker? Come on, the problem is nassib can't make a lot of difficult throws,so sick of our receivers taking the blame for uncatchable balls

You know as well as I do that it's not about straightline speed. Do we have a WR who can get off press coverage? Dorian maybe? Prouduct of coaching or strength? I'm not sure.

I know that when Nassib had a lot of time to throw today and didn't (resulting in a couple of sacks and/or some scrambling) - the television camera isn't showing me what is happening with the WR's downfield.

It's safe to assume two things, either these guys aren't open or Nassib's not pulling the trigger.

By the way - that third down play (when we kicked a field goal) I think was designed to go to Bailey and play it safe. There were 2 WR's out in the pattern if I'm not mistaken - I don't think there was any chance somebody was going to be open but it sure seemed like Nassib came out of that snap fully intended to throw it over to Bailey.

Totally off topic here but AAM ran to the wrong side/hole on a busted play in the 3Q. Maybe stupid like that is why he's not playing more. That play hurt. 1st or 2nd possesion of the 3Q at midfield. It was 2nd and 8, AAM was to get the ball going left off the 4 or 6 hole and would've picked up good yardage. Instead it's 3rd-8.

 

[Bayside44]

This team could also be 6-2. This team also could've gotten an offense pass interference call on the first drive that could've changed the game.

You are what your record says you are. We are developing kids, and we lost some highly touted kids through various reasons at skill positions that would be upperclassmen today. To expect a bunch of fully formed SEC type kids to walk in here after a year and own the field is a bit much.

We need to make another bowl, and we should. We need to desperately upgrade our training facilities, and we are, I think. And we need an infusion of cash in the program, thank you ACC.

 

[OrangeZone]

All these problems will be erased when we get better recruits. It all comes down to that.

Why doesn't LSU have trouble beating teams like Louisville?

We can talk about schemes & formations all day, but at the end of the day, none of that really matters. We get a few Triple Crown horses, & we will outrun, outgun, outpass, outgass, outcatch, outmatch, outhit, outfit, outblock, outrock, outtackle, outshackle, outjuke, outspook, outscore, outpour, outmore, outscare, outdare, outskill, outkill, outplay, outnight&day, & outEVERYTHING our opponents.

I love watching an SEC team lay a good spanking on their non-conference victims, & they don't need a complicated system to do it. They just have a bigger spanking paddle...

All accurate; if we were an SEC school located in the south; however we are Syracuse; we are what we are.
Even during Mac's best years we weren't able to recruit with the SEC. To be successful, we need to; as Coach Mac did, recruit play-makers, game-changers.

Our issue now is that to move up to that next recruiting level we need to win with greater consistency.
We need to be able to coach up our current players while convincing a few possible game-changers to commit.

 

[storange]

He has average speed for a running back, sometimes I think people here need to watch more college football

Totally agree IB. AB is a good running back but can't hit the extra gear when he breaks into the secondary. I said the exact same thing. there were two runs where he made big yardage that a true speed burner could have taken all the way.