PS Writers Picks

[Alsacs]

Whenever contemplating reading a Bud article think of this.

 

[OrangeTown]

I just read that and what annoys me is that I know they don't follow any of the other teams that we play. How can you make a prediction when you basically don't have a clue about the state of the competition?

Pretty sure Rocco predicted an undefeated season and we all know he knows jack about jack.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Pretty sure Rocco predicted an undefeated season and we all know he knows jack about jack.

Give him a break... he is an Auburnian.

 

[Millhouse]

http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootb...l?hootPostID=9e145cf089358c8dcf11766e7f5bc0a8

None of the 4 put us in a bowl game.

They could argue things shake out during a season, but basically it looks like 3 of the 4 are saying we would start 5-1 and never win again. With the other saying we start 4-1 and never win again.

Put me on the record as saying if we can start 5-1, we'll find at least 1 win on the back half.

Ironically, the name of Millhouse's autobiography is At least 1 win on the back half. Release date TBD.

there is no margin for error for a bowl game. i'm glad hunt is back but one of those games will go awry in the passing game, he's just not good enough in the air to win 100% of the games he needs to. and i don't see much hope for big upsets, i think a good number of the Ls can just be penciled in

 

[Chip]

there is no margin for error for a bowl game. i'm glad hunt is back but one of those games will go awry in the passing game, he's just not good enough in the air to win 100% of the games he needs to. and i don't see much hope for big upsets, i think a good number of the Ls can just be penciled in

I didn't put anything in the prediction thread, but I worry something happens unexpectedly bad in those first 5 games. I know this schedule is different than many of the others, but when is our last 4-1 start? 1999? Last 3-0 start is 1991. Something always happens.

So without the 4-1 start, I think the 4-8 finish makes a lot of sense.

 

[Millhouse]

I didn't put anything in the prediction thread, but I worry something happens unexpectedly bad in those first 5 games. I know this schedule is different than many of the others, but when is our last 4-1 start? 1999? Last 3-0 start is 1991. Something always happens.

So without the 4-1 start, I think the 4-8 finish makes a lot of sense.

i'm going with 4-8 too. i expect a replay of 2002. lousy season with a couple fun games is all i expect

 

[Alsacs]

i'm going with 4-8 too. i expect a replay of 2002. lousy season with a couple fun games is all i expect

If you think 4-8 do you expect the offense to be in the 60s?

 

[orangeinjersey]

I think a lot of the folks here have their heads in the clouds. We were god awful last year. Blame the injuries, blame McEffit, blame whatever you want. We won 3 games. We have a sr qb yes, who hasnt shown an ability to throw the ball in the air. I'm not sure why you guys are so surprised.

 

[djorange1989]

I see that Bud's section was his typical babble. honestly oh-8?

Don't forget Shafer selling his soul to "Ol' Scratch". Sigh...

 

[K Otto XLIV]

Why are people shocked? The experts in Vegas are saying if we win 5 games we have overachieved. This team needs to prove it. Why would the writers be expected to go 6-6?

Well Vegas doesn't predict wins but predicts where people will place bets. Most people have a negative view right now of SU. Thus when you set the line you knock it down. So in reality Vegas is saying 6 wins is overachieving not 5.

 

[Millhouse]

If you think 4-8 do you expect the offense to be in the 60s?

of course not. i think that's crazy talk. i think they're going to stink on offense and defense. but they'll stink less than URI, USF, Wake, and central michigan

 

[Shenexon]

I know that predictions are part of the process and that being conservative in predictions is more "realistic", but not one quarter has been played yet. We don't really know how we're going to play against any of our opponents and personally I'm not prepared to concede victories to anyone (or claim victory for that matter).

At their core, I believe SU's coaches & players are going to compete in a significant way. The same can be said for many of our opponents. Bring them on. Let's see just how well we can play against our peers. I'm pretty sure the team won't lack for effort. We have some very promising players, and inspired coaches that have more experience than they had last year. Youth with potential could be better than experience with known limitations. As fans all we can do is show up, make noise, and create some level of home field advantage, even if we're playing on the road. I haven't posted a prediction as yet but am more with Rocco than with those that predict a 4 win season. I'd rather be wrong hoping for the best than by expecting the worst.

 

[Alsacs]

Well Vegas doesn't predict wins but predicts where people will place bets. Most people have a negative view right now of SU. Thus when you set the line you knock it down. So in reality Vegas is saying 6 wins is overachieving not 5.

Our O/U in Las Vegas is 4.5. If you predict 5-7 you would win. I am saying 6-6 would 1.5 more that is a lot. LV knows what they are doing.
This team going 5-7 would be overachieving and would get SS another year IMO. I have higher expectations but believe SS needs 5 wins and a better offense.

 

[TheCusian]

They are going with the safe prediction. Hedging. Kind of what I expect from the media, honestly.

I think we'll be in the 60's on O, and in the 40's on D. 7-5 or 6-6.

 

[elimunelson]

IF we go 5-1 i'll be SHOCKED if we don't go bowling. That will give us something we haven't had in a long long time: Momentum. That momentum will fuel another 2 wins IMO. My issue is getting to 5-1 which I think is a long shot. Winning two games on the road will be monumental.

 

[upperdeck]

as bad as we were last year if clemson or fsu had been playing their 4th qb we win one if not both of those games.

 

[Alsacs]

of course not. i think that's crazy talk. i think they're going to stink on offense and defense. but they'll stink less than URI, USF, Wake, and central michigan

Then how can we be patience with SS like you said in your other thread? 14-23 would not be good enough for year 4. I mean we have a Senior QB this year and unless we show improvement this year then we are in trouble.

 

[Millhouse]

Our O/U in Las Vegas is 4.5. If you predict 5-7 you would win. I am saying 6-6 would 1.5 more that is a lot. LV knows what they are doing.
This team going 5-7 would be overachieving and would get SS another year IMO. I have higher expectations but believe SS needs 5 wins and a better offense.

you, scooch, i forget who else have talked 5 wins + better offense = good enough for him to stay, i think that's right. there's a little bit of consensus developing here, not for the whole board but for a good number of us

5 wins with good defense and terrible offense gets him fired. i don't know how bad the defense would have to be for me to be concerned at all about shafer's defense going forward - this year's defense almost doesn't matter to me, we know he's fine there even if this year stinks.

 

[Millhouse]

Then how can we be patience with SS like you said in your other thread? 14-23 would not be good enough for year 4. I mean we have a Senior QB this year and unless we show improvement this year then we are in trouble.

i'm talking myself into it - i'm not going to be getting a torch if they cut him loose.

i think if they got the offense to 75 or 80, that's a big improvement and i can live with another year to see him go from there. offense needs to go upward every year for a couple years, any blips and he's gone.

 

[TheCusian]

you, scooch, i forget who else have talked 5 wins + better offense = good enough for him to stay, i think that's right. there's a little bit of consensus developing here, not for the whole board but for a good number of us

5 wins with good defense and terrible offense gets him fired. i don't know how bad the defense would have to be for me to be concerned at all about shafer's defense going forward - this year's defense almost doesn't matter to me, we know he's fine there even if this year stinks.

I've been saying that for months. Improving O and 4-5 wins gets him another year. D won't matter this season.

 

[elimunelson]

i'm talking myself into it - i'm not going to be getting a torch if they cut him loose.

i think if they got the offense to 75 or 80, that's a big improvement and i can live with another year to see him go from there. offense needs to go upward every year for a couple years, any blips and he's gone.

I can't live with another year unless we are bowling and showing some serious upside on both sides of the ball. The AD isn't going to box hmself w another year, a quasi lame duck HC unless he's ready to make a long term commitment. It's this year or bust. and by this year it has to be bowling and style points not just style points.

 

[Millhouse]

They are going with the safe prediction. Hedging. Kind of what I expect from the media, honestly.

I think we'll be in the 60's on O, and in the 40's on D. 7-5 or 6-6.

only 26 teams were top 69 (that's chip's biopic no wait, his is bottom 69) on offense and top 49 on defense (yards per play)

those teams averaged 9 wins

you have unrealistic expectations. if they're only winning 7 or 6 games with those numbers, they'll be like Miami was last year where we wonder how the hell they only won 6 games

 

[Millhouse]

I can't live with another year unless we are bowling and showing some serious upside on both sides of the ball. The AD isn't going to box hmself w another year, a quasi lame duck HC unless he's ready to make a long term commitment. It's this year or bust. and by this year it has to be bowling and style points not just style points.

i don't think improving the offense is style points. i think it's crazy to can shafer if the offense is ok and the defense is bad. we know the defense won't stay bad

 

[TheCusian]

only 26 teams were top 69 (that's chip's biopic no wait, his is bottom 69) on offense and top 49 on defense (yards per play)

those teams averaged 9 wins

you have unrealistic expectations. if they're only winning 7 or 6 games with those numbers, they'll be like Miami was last year where we wonder how the hell they only won 6 games

Or Pitt. Maybe my numbers are off - but steady improvement on O, with a slight drop off on D gets us to 6-6, 7-5.

 

[Yegorange]

So much nega ... umm, objectivity. The secondary is young, yes, but the front 7 are solid, and the scheme is known to be good. They have a full 1/2 of the season before the tough stretch. Who's to say they won't grow by then? Overall they shouldn't drop off too much from last year. The O sounds promising, and the new scheme does too. Skill positions are improved, the OL is solid. This O appars capable of averaging around 30 pts. Depth and health are the variables, but predicting even 6-6 seems not unreasonable, yet none of the 4 writers did so. Seems a bit strange.