Quick Thoughts

[OrangeBlood]

It is good to win, even if it was ugly and against Stony Brook.

That being said, I was very impressed with SB. Most FCS teams run spread and rely on trick like plays. They just line up and punch you straight in the mouth. Great backs and great o-line. If they would have caught a few more passes, I think they may have won. Passing game will prevent them from FCS title.

Is Pugh ready yet? Lou just is not getting it done. I would rather see Phillips start next week. I love Hickey.

Sales is having a Mike Williams like season. Lemon does not look healthy. We miss Kobena. West keeps getting better.

Broyld looked very good, Best game so far. Smith and PTG both had their moments, both had moments where weakness showed. I think they compliment one another perfectly. I like our 3 rbs a lot.

Nassib looks so comfortable. This offense is perfect for him. Too early for BE player of the year talk?

DL was a disappointment today. All of them got pushed around today.

Thought LBs were good. Dy Davis forced several holding calls.

DBs were ok, stats looked better than they played. Lucky SB has a high school quarter back. Also, why is Lyn not starting over Anderson? Anderson gets beat constantly. frustrating.

I am close to losing it with special teams. We use scholarships on punters and kickers. They should be good. They are not. It is time for Norton or Lichy to get a look. Krautman has lost his confidence. Fisher and Dixon are both a liability. SPECIAL TEAMS WILL COST US ANOTHER GAME. One positive is Desir returning punts. His job from now on, much better than Rene.

We could and should have won this game by a lot more. We missed 2 fgs and were stopped at the goal line twice. We dominated like A D-1 team should in 2nd half. The game should have been a 38-14 type game. A comfortable win. But it was not. This team has a ton of potential but constantly shoots itself in the foot. Incredibly frustrating.

Lastly, I believe that Shafer's defense will never have success against a pounding offense like SB. Even in 2010, pro-style teams ran it down our throat. This is what worries me about Pitt and UofL.

G'ORANGE!

 

[iommi]

Nice post. I disagree on Nassib. He had a bad first half, better second half. I still think he has happy feet and gets flustered too easily. I dont agree with the people who think he will play on Sundays.

 

[PhatOrange]

I'm convinced we get run over because our linebackers are so small. Diabate is a huge liability against the run and Davis has trouble tackling. Tab is so small though we might as well have shamwow starting at mlb

 

[OrangeBlood]

Nice post. I disagree on Nassib. He had a bad first half, better second half. I still think he has happy feet and gets flustered too easily. I dont agree with the people who think he will play on Sundays.

He will get drafted based on potential, I agree with you that he will never play any significant time on Sundays. In the NFL you have to be cool under pressure, Nassib is not (happy feet). We all saw what he did with a pro style offense last year. This years offense suits his talent much much better.

 

[iommi]

He will get drafted based on potential, I agree with you that he will never play any significant time on Sundays. In the NFL you have to be cool under pressure, Nassib is not (happy feet). We all saw what he did with a pro style offense last year. This years offense suits his talent much much better.

Yeah, he does have the arm strength, so he will get drafted...but he will be a backup at best IMO.

 

[tbonezone]

nassib's long ball lacks guidance. just heave and pray.

 

[ForCuseSake]

I'm convinced we get run over because our linebackers are so small. Diabate is a huge liability against the run and Davis has trouble tackling. Tab is so small though we might as well have shallow starting at mlb

This is spot on. Our scheme amplifies our lack of size at linebacker. I'm disappointed we haven't found a worthy successor to Derrell after 2 years.

 

[DomeStranger]

Lastly, I believe that Shafer's defense will never have success against a pounding offense like SB. Even in 2010, pro-style teams ran it down our throat. This is what worries me about Pitt and UofL.

He refuses to put 8 in the box ... their long pass to open the game was the worst thing that could have happened. It kept him from overplaying the run which needed to be done, sorely.

 

[RICuse44]

The frustrating part is why not go big with Vaughn at middle, shift goggins at end and keep bromley, crume, walls, and jones at d tackle. Stony brook just gave unconn, Rutgers, and Pitt a blueprint on how to dismantle the d. Lucky for us deleone is still oc at uconn. Thought team was flat and unprepared which comes down to coaching. Decent second half adjustments but this is all based on espn game tracker since it was blacked out on espn3 for me. I could talk about the punting but that just gives me chest pain.

 

[iommi]

The frustrating part is why not go big with Vaughn at middle, shift goggins at end and keep bromley, crume, walls, and jones at d tackle. Stony brook just gave unconn, Rutgers, and Pitt a blueprint on how to dismantle the d. Lucky for us deleone is still oc at uconn. Thought team was flat and unprepared which comes down to coaching. Decent second half adjustments but this is all based on espn game tracker since it was blacked out on espn3 for me. I could talk about the punting but that just gives me chest pain.

Vaughn hasn't played enough in general. I think he can help us solidify our interior d.

 

[orangehipfan]

pitt game becomes huge after their win today. quite an improvement in 2 weeks for the panthers. I think most had that game penciled in as a win if we played OK. not sure we can say the same for cuse but time will tell. completely agree on the LB weakness and the blueprint for UCONN, Lville, Pitt etc. time will tell if team/staff can adjust.

 

[baggerbob]

Goggins needs to move outside to end, he's not big enough inside, also when Brewster goes out our other ends are non-existent. Goggins would solidify the defense with the 3 300+ lbs inside and Bromley at 293,Goggins and Brewster at end then rotate other ends.

 

[VaSaltine]

pitt game becomes huge after their win today. quite an improvement in 2 weeks for the panthers. I think most had that game penciled in as a win if we played OK. not sure we can say the same for cuse but time will tell. completely agree on the LB weakness and the blueprint for UCONN, Lville, Pitt etc. time will tell if team/staff can adjust.

I give Pitt a lot of credit, but Va Tech is not as good as their ranking. Classic case of Tech looking past Pitt.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

nassib's long ball lacks guidance. just heave and pray.

Long ball is overrated. Very few plays in the NFL are over 15 to 20 yards.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

This is spot on. Our scheme amplifies our lack of size at linebacker. I'm disappointed we haven't found a worthy successor to Derrell after 2 years.

im not sold on SHafer's scheme period. The defense has sacrificed a ton of size to get quicker. The result has been one good win a year against WV, and three agonizing defeats a year against Louisville, Pitt and UCONN (through BC in there too). Honestly, the Alabama defense doesnt have the team speed that SU does. But they are all big, strong as , and solid football players. That is enough to make up for the .1/.15 they are slower.

Hopefully is Raymon becomes eligible he rounds out the DT stable and Goggins can move outside. Though really, the ends are not undersized by college standards.

Davis and Tab are undersized. They are glorified safeties. Davis came in as a lanky kid that can run. He should have put on 10 lbs, redshirted, and he could have been a four year FS. Instead, he had to gain 20 lbs, is still undersized, and we have a 5'9" 180 lbs free safety. I could go on, but you get where I am going with this.

 

[SWC75]

Agree that Goggins needs to move outside vs. the power teams and let the 300 pounders take care of the run.

Also agree that Nassib, for all his big numbers, doesn't look like an NFL QB. His long throws are pathetic. I'm glad we have him here, though. He can pick a college defense apart when he gets going.

 

[upperdeck]

im not sold on SHafer's scheme period. The defense has sacrificed a ton of size to get quicker. The result has been one good win a year against WV, and three agonizing defeats a year against Louisville, Pitt and UCONN (through BC in there too). Honestly, the Alabama defense doesnt have the team speed that SU does. But they are all big, strong as ****, and solid football players. That is enough to make up for the .1/.15 they are slower.

Hopefully is Raymon becomes eligible he rounds out the DT stable and Goggins can move outside. Though really, the ends are not undersized by college standards.

Davis and Tab are undersized. They are glorified safeties. Davis came in as a lanky kid that can run. He should have put on 10 lbs, redshirted, and he could have been a four year FS. Instead, he had to gain 20 lbs, is still undersized, and we have a 5'9" 180 lbs free safety. I could go on, but you get where I am going with this.

if you think SU has the team speed of alabama you are not watching with clean glasses.. Im not sure we are faster than most of the BE d's, temple probably. after that not sure

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Rolando McClain = 4.68 40
Donta Hightower = 4.68
Mark Barron = 4.54
Dre Kirkkpatrick = 4.51

I am not making these numbers up and I could go on. That is considerably slower than what we read about guys like Davis and and other Syracuse players. The difference is the Alabama guys know how to play the game, are sure tacklers, and are beefy. Alabama somehow survives with backers that run in the 4.6-4.7 range. It must be because they can actually take on blockers and make plays. They play faster because at their size, they appear to be covering more space, and they dont get knocked off the ball as easily.

A kid like Davis should be brought in, given a year, and then play safety. A kid like Donnie Simmons should be given a year or two, get up to the mid-230s or low 240s, and let him learn to play Mike. (Same could have been said for someone like Maranovich [sp]). I met Donnie at the Pinstripe Bowl. I will be shocked if he ever gets big enough to play effective d-end at this level.

 

[memcorsu]

First, SB is no slouch. They have 16 5th year guys and will probably win or be at the top of their conference.

I also believe yesterday was used to work on somethings that we might not have been willing to try in our first couple of games or might see again this season.

In the second half, we went larger on the DL and dominated their running game. At least half of the DL are 3 games young at the D1 level. Our secondary is very young minus a few players.

DM has stated many times that we have a long way to go and that we must learn how to win. Most of the games here on out are winnable with these players. Most of the games here on out can be lost with these players. Can we enjoy watching football and same the extreme criticism till the end of the season?

Does everyone realize we won yesterday and broke a 7 game slide? Let's enjoy the win and get ready for next weekend.

I would rather be an Orangeman win or lose than anything else.

Mem