So what do you think of our team now? | Syracusefan.com

So what do you think of our team now?

SWC75

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We're 3-0, just beat a good Big Ten team and are on the verge of breaking into the rankings. That was one of the greatest games in the history of the Dome -and we won it!

But did your estimate of how good this team is increase or did it deflate a bit? We looked like a powerhouse beating what should be a pretty good Louisville team and steamrolled a bad Connecticut team. Against Purdue we couldn't run the ball. Shrader and the receivers looked like they did last year. the defense got burned several times. Those high snaps on the placekicks could cost us. Injuries are starting to pile up. Purdue would have won if they'd kept their mouths shut. But we gutted it out and made the plays to win the game anyway.

What did that do to your estimate of how good this team is? I'm very happy but also more concerned than I was before the game.
 
I think Purdue is one of the better teams we will face this year. I think we can play with anyone left on our schedule after beating them.

HCDB says the most growth on the team happens between weeks 3-5. If we can get past UVA, we can lick our wounds/ work on stuff in a glorified scrimmage, then get a week off to really set ourselves up for the 2nd half of the season.

I'm more excited than anything!
 
We're 3-0, just beat a good Big Ten team and are on the verge of breaking into the rankings. That was one of the greatest games in the history of the Dome -and we won it!

But did your estimate of how good this team is increase or did it deflate a bit? We looked like a powerhouse beating what should be a pretty good Louisville team and steamrolled a bad Connecticut team. Against Purdue we couldn't run the ball. Purdue Shrader and the receivers looked like they did last year. the defense got burned several times. Those high snaps on the placekicks could cost us. Injuries are starting to pile up. Purdue would have won if they'd kept their mouths shut. But we gutted it out and made the plays to win the game anyway.

What did that do to your estimate of how good this team is? I'm very happy but also more concerned than I was before the game.
Purdue is a very good team. I'd be shocked if their QB and WR aren't high NFL draft picks. Plus, they were able to stop the run and had good enough defensive backs to make the passing game a challenge. I would not underestimate Purdue.
 
I am with you, SWC. I feel more concerned. Tucker and Shrader did not have good games. It’s okay if it’s a one off, but I am wondering about Tucker’s health.

On the other hand, that was one of the most exciting games I have ever seen! Alas, I am in Charlotte and will be for Friday’s game as well. However, I have season tickets with friend Gary and I was truly wondering how he reacted to that game? Normally, Gary sits with his head in his hands, shaking his head and muttering. Every now and then he will rise to his feet and yell in agony, “The clock! Time! TiME!” Then he’ll slump down again. He’s an aggravating guy to watch a game with. Luckily, the fans behind us are extremely enthusiastic.

So I texted Gary’s wife to ask how he did and she said that he was yelling so loud and with such fervor that the fan in “my” seat had to move away from him. At the moment I texted her, he was watching the 4th quarter again, which is exactly what I did as soon as my granddaughter went back to her mother. I honestly could not understand what had just happened. Anyway, I am glad old Gary perked up a little. :)

I think this team is determined to win. I am excited about games again, instead of being filled with dread. GO SU!
 
It really helps the next 3 games are at home.

Our D played well against Purdue all their big plays came into tight coverage and they kept making them. I don't know we could have been up 10 at half if the RBs didn't take points off the board with teh fumble and botched pass. We were the home team you don't get your doors blown off in a game like that week 3 unless you really suck.

Going back to last year and the Dungey era we've had years where there are 2 different teams when the QB goes down or like last year is badly banged up. But some of our opponents might be on different QBs by the time we get to them. FSU had to win without Travis already, ND lost their QB and the backup looks terrible, DJU hasn't played well in 2 years for Clemson if ever, Phil J probably won't make it to the last game of the year, Hartman missed time.

NC State is a home game off a bye after they play the 2 best teams in the ACC.

I like Shrader but we can't stick with him if he plays like he did the end of last season Del Rio Wilson has to be ready to go. I think Garrett is our guy through Clemson even if hes banged up but the hits are already adding up.
 
We're 3-0, just beat a good Big Ten team and are on the verge of breaking into the rankings. That was one of the greatest games in the history of the Dome -and we won it!

But did your estimate of how good this team is increase or did it deflate a bit? We looked like a powerhouse beating what should be a pretty good Louisville team and steamrolled a bad Connecticut team. Against Purdue we couldn't run the ball. Shrader and the receivers looked like they did last year. the defense got burned several times. Those high snaps on the placekicks could cost us. Injuries are starting to pile up. Purdue would have won if they'd kept their mouths shut. But we gutted it out and made the plays to win the game anyway.

What did that do to your estimate of how good this team is? I'm very happy but also more concerned than I was before the game.

I think we’re between a 7 and 9 win regular season team.

Purdue’s QB was throwing dimes against tough coverage.

We have legit NFL talent on this team. And our schedule seems a bit less daunting then first glance.

We need better play as a unit from the OL. We’ll need special teams to be great. We’ll need health to stay on our side. But this team is good.

Garrett, Duce, Mikel, Wax, Tucker, Berg, Shrader. I have faith in all of those guys.

Linton, Gadsen, etc. that next tier down that have to prove themselves, have done so in bits and pieces.

We’ll need a few balls to bounce our way, but this team is good.
 
I feel more confident to be honest, Garrett was off and Tucker was kept in check, and we still managed to pull out a win against a very very solid purdue team that has one of the best QB-WR combinations in the entire country. We’re not going to stomp our opponents 31-7 week in week out, we’re going to be in some dog fights, and the fact we were able to rally the troops after such a porous start, and come away with a win against a team like purdue, is very encouraging for me going forward.
 
i'm more comfortable seeing us pull out a close game against a peer school historically.

those are the type of wins you see in those end of the year retrospective videos about how resilient teams are. Even the 2001 Miami Hurricanes had to dig deep to beat the BC Eagles to finish undefeated.

This is the mark of a good team to find different ways to win. They aren't good enough to just dominate every game. This game will help them if we find ourselves in a dog fight with the teams we all penciled in as losses such a Clemson/ND/NC State. At this point I see us winning one of those games for sure and hoping like hell we can bat .666 against those 3.

Who knows how this season pans out. We could go 5-0 and finish 6-6. I suspect the best case scenario could be unfolding where we race out to a 5-1 like start and finish with 8-9 wins and realize Dino is the right man for the job because he found the right coordinator formula. Who knows maybe it becomes contagious and SU becomes the attractive school for players/coaches where the pressure isn't stupid, the support is stout and the school and resources are plentiful.

Just plain optimistic after feeing less so a month or so ago.
 
Am feeling about the same as I did at the beginning of the season. Very hesitant to say this is a ranked team. We have been burned with injuries down the stretch so many years it’s just wishful thinking to think it won’t happen again. And historically we don’t have the depth of other big name teams.

Our coaching and game planning is great. Our starters look fantastic. Our wide receivers look not much different from previous years. Our o line looks good enough. D line is surprising in a good way. Obviously we have NFL talent in important places.

But I’m still skeptical of this team. In my mind I’m even looking at what’s happened with big name schools getting upended all over the college football landscape and here we sit at 3-0. It’s a much more even landscape out there in terms of talent, something that might be our advantage in the long run.

But until we get to the meat of our schedule I won’t be confident in what this team can do. And by the time we get to Wake Forest will we have weathered the inevitable storm of injuries?

At least this year I’m able to enjoy the games and not lose my mind over the play calling. Last year I actually said out loud that I wasn’t going to watch Cuse football anymore, we had horrible play calls on offense and drops from our WR all over the field. Brutal to witness as a fan. Thankfully we had lots of good news over the off season. And if we go 6-0 I think maybe that skepticism goes away for the season …
 
I think we are definitely headed in the right direction as a program but a little concerned about our health and as a result, depth, more than anything in order to keep the momentum going this year. I thought the O line would be a strength but not seeing it. It's not a glaring weakness but it could be better.
 
Great W and that it the important thing.

Still, our great CBs were taken down a peg or two and the OL looked very ordinary. The secondary gave up a ton of yards. We did not run the ball well. Depth is a concern as no one emerged in that game except Gadsden.

We battled and won - with some luck and help from Purdue. Have a ways to go and much to prove before this team is ranked. Possible with more luck - keeping our top guys healthy.
 
If anything the Purdue game strengthened my belief that this is a very good team overall. We won a game we would have lost in most other instances. But we didn’t win by luck. We won because nobody on the team gave up, the coaching staff kept us in the game, the team wanted to win, the other team made mistakes, Purdue had significantly more overall yards but that’s meaningless if you end up with less points than your opponent.

Everything else people mention I’m concerned with as well. But other than fixing injuries, improvements can be made as the season unfolds. You know what can’t be taught easily during the season and as fans we’ve seen this. The ability to handle business and do it when things aren’t going your way. This team has that, we haven’t had many even decent seasons in the last 20 years. Not only is this team a pretty good team but they’ve come in to this season ready to win. We’ve had letdowns before. We’ve already passed three potential letdown games.

This team is different and Purdue only strengthened my belief in that instead of questioning it.
 
Regardless of the circumstances, at teh beginning of the year I always publicly aver we're playing for a National Championship (not including GRob's tenure). This team is 3x better than I thought we'd be. Louisville's stolen our lunch money for years. Purdue had at least two NFL players on the team. UConn was a gimme. Even though I would never tell anyone, I had us at 1-2. We slipped with Purdue because Garrett (by his own admission) had been having issues during the week and Tucker is still in Rhino mode. The offense is geared to Tucker hitting the line on first down and getting 4 yards. That's do-able with Elmore in front of him. Now they have to rework the offense to get him into space. Anae's a freaking genius. He'll find a way without Shrader losing his efficiency again. I would not be surprised if the play used to spring Gadsden is not used a bunch more. Only this time they'll add another crosser and open the flat.
We're playing for a championship.
 
Great W and that it the important thing.

Still, our great CBs were taken down a peg or two and the OL looked very ordinary. The secondary gave up a ton of yards. We did not run the ball well. Depth is a concern as no one emerged in that game except Gadsden.

We battled and won - with some luck and help from Purdue. Have a ways to go and much to prove before this team is ranked. Possible with more luck - keeping our top guys healthy.
One of the biggest problems most teams have at the beginning of the year is adjusting to superstars. They either throw the defense away (like UConn and Purdue did with Tucker); or use the Boeheim mentality ("He's going to get his points. Stop everybody else"). Our defense is really good right now on 90% of the plays. Think UConn's two long plays and Louisville's one long run. Jones burned us a bunch but only really got behind the secondary a couple of times. Failure analyzed and understood is good for growth. Garrett, Duce, et al. won't get burned too many more times. Plus I'm not sure there's a better quarterback in the country than O'Connell.
 
I am much more confident schematically than I have been since the Marrone years. Still think we are suspect on both lines and over confident in our secondary. I think we get to 5-0 and our easiest games after that are ND and BC. Sneak one more and have 8 going into the bowl game. Health will tell the tale - our margin for error is slim.
 
My belief preseason was that after losing a number if close games in 2021, that we would win more of those thus year and go bowling. It seems they overperformed the first two games and underperformed against Purdue, but I feel great that one of those close wins came about. More to come, I'm sure.
 
The only game that would be really surprising for us to win is Clemson. And that’s only because it’s at their place.

Get it done this Friday and there’s a real chance that we are bowl eligible before we lose a game.
 
On the positive side: 1) we're 3-0 with victories over two quality programs (and UConn); 2) the team has "bought in" and plays with a lot of heart; 3) we have the best coaching staff we've had in years; and 4) we have better talent at the skill positions than we've had since at least 2018 - including a mobile QB, excellent ST's, an all American RB, a huge OL, and a ranked defense with a surprising DL and pro potential at the second and third levels.

Realistically, however, assuming our DL continues to develop and we clean up our TE coverage, the offense is what is holding us back. Here's why: 1) at WR we are struggling to get separation against press coverage or catch the ball when open. We also don't have a big TE to catch in traffic or a vertical threat to back off the coverage; 2) because of #1, our QB is forced to throw (mostly) 5-15 yard passes, through tight windows to smaller players, and expose his body on runs and scrambles; and 3) because of these passing challenges, the OL faces heavy boxes that make it difficult to open running lanes. These problems are pretty much the inverse of the strengths that Purdue used against us. THeir vertical threat (Jones) forced our secondary to back off (zone in the first half, some press in the second) while their pinpoint QB gashed us underneath with a big TE (Durham). 400+ yards is a lesson we don't want to repeat. Great to see us overcome this adversity and still win the game.

Against UVA, we might not see a vertical threat like Jones. But they have a very good QB and a big WR (K. Thompson). I hope our D has some answers for them. On offense, I expect GS to be healthier, less hurried and more accurate than he was against Purdue. This week the staff will be coaching up our WR's - especially Gadsden - I think these guys hold the key to unlocking this team's top-20 potential.
 
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