kcsu
Living Legend
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
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Lets start with the positive.
The D is vastly improved. We have ACC caliber talent at every position and the young players all look solid. Coach White is to be commended for his ability to install a radically different D remotely . We went up against a high powered O with experienced future NFL skill players and shut them down for 3 periods until we were gassed and mentally broken. Great job by the D as they are top 20 caliber.
The O on the other hand continues to play at a level of incompetence not seen since the Little train days. I watched the game again last night and i couldn't find one offensive position group that played at an ACC level. Not one which is pathetic.
For as good as the coaching was on the defensive side of the ball it was equally bad on the offensive.
With the above as a foundation here are my two cents on why we are here and what needs to be considered going forward.
1: Dino is a good CEO type head coach. He is not a good offensive coordinator, or in game coach. He needs to be the face of the program and hire the best offensive position coaches that his budget permits. I will give Gilbert a pass as i do not believe he was calling the plays. Its obvious that nothing changed offensively as the play calling was as bad if not worse than it ever has been.
For me this is the single biggest worry going forward. That Dino is too enamored with his version of the spread to change.
Next up is Tommy. As we all know he was anointed to become our starting QB prior to stepping foot on campus. Hand picked by Dino.
At this point Tommy is by all accounts a great representative of SU, a model teammate, and extremely hard worker. He has as good an arm as any QB to ever wear Orange. Unfortunately he is not a good ACC caliber QB at this point. I posted in the Rex post that certain QBs certain leaders be it in business, government, the military, religion or sports have the ability to elevate everyone around them to a higher level. Eric had those qualities. Not just for the offensive side but for the entire team. When he was on the field the guys,the fans thought that anything was possible. He was a generational leader. He was the epitome of "the straw that stirs the drink"
Tommy on the other hand is more like another player. Yes he is the QB but its hard to articulate but he just doesn't have the IT factor that the great ones have. Its hard to say this but last year when our back up came in we looked different. Same with Rex yesterday. Maybe its just me but i swear i noticed a change and in both cases it was positive.
Id like to say and i hope that Tommy somehow finds the "IT" and maybe he will because if he doesn't its going to be a very long two years.
As to Dino he needs to look in the mirror and ask himself if his offensive scheme, his offensive strategies are green and growing or red and rotten.
I like Dino and still hope he is our coach for a very long time. I hope that he continues to grow, continues to improve his staff as he is a great representative of Syracuse University and has a chance to lead this program back. Its going to be an interesting season at best. Lets hope that Dino realized change is needed on his side of the ball and most of all that the kids dont pull apart which can happen when one group is considerably better than the other.
Go Orange!
The D is vastly improved. We have ACC caliber talent at every position and the young players all look solid. Coach White is to be commended for his ability to install a radically different D remotely . We went up against a high powered O with experienced future NFL skill players and shut them down for 3 periods until we were gassed and mentally broken. Great job by the D as they are top 20 caliber.
The O on the other hand continues to play at a level of incompetence not seen since the Little train days. I watched the game again last night and i couldn't find one offensive position group that played at an ACC level. Not one which is pathetic.
For as good as the coaching was on the defensive side of the ball it was equally bad on the offensive.
With the above as a foundation here are my two cents on why we are here and what needs to be considered going forward.
1: Dino is a good CEO type head coach. He is not a good offensive coordinator, or in game coach. He needs to be the face of the program and hire the best offensive position coaches that his budget permits. I will give Gilbert a pass as i do not believe he was calling the plays. Its obvious that nothing changed offensively as the play calling was as bad if not worse than it ever has been.
For me this is the single biggest worry going forward. That Dino is too enamored with his version of the spread to change.
Next up is Tommy. As we all know he was anointed to become our starting QB prior to stepping foot on campus. Hand picked by Dino.
At this point Tommy is by all accounts a great representative of SU, a model teammate, and extremely hard worker. He has as good an arm as any QB to ever wear Orange. Unfortunately he is not a good ACC caliber QB at this point. I posted in the Rex post that certain QBs certain leaders be it in business, government, the military, religion or sports have the ability to elevate everyone around them to a higher level. Eric had those qualities. Not just for the offensive side but for the entire team. When he was on the field the guys,the fans thought that anything was possible. He was a generational leader. He was the epitome of "the straw that stirs the drink"
Tommy on the other hand is more like another player. Yes he is the QB but its hard to articulate but he just doesn't have the IT factor that the great ones have. Its hard to say this but last year when our back up came in we looked different. Same with Rex yesterday. Maybe its just me but i swear i noticed a change and in both cases it was positive.
Id like to say and i hope that Tommy somehow finds the "IT" and maybe he will because if he doesn't its going to be a very long two years.
As to Dino he needs to look in the mirror and ask himself if his offensive scheme, his offensive strategies are green and growing or red and rotten.
I like Dino and still hope he is our coach for a very long time. I hope that he continues to grow, continues to improve his staff as he is a great representative of Syracuse University and has a chance to lead this program back. Its going to be an interesting season at best. Lets hope that Dino realized change is needed on his side of the ball and most of all that the kids dont pull apart which can happen when one group is considerably better than the other.
Go Orange!