Stanford--

[IthacaBarrel]

1. I think if you want to run an NFL system you need an NFL linemen and a qb that can throw accurately.. All this talk about speed, etc etc etc doesn't seem to matter with Stanford. I know how good Luck is but they run the ball with what looks to be 4 running backs and a great offensive line. I don't see a ton of speed out there if any for Stanford. The O Line is the key and accurate passing but their power running game is unbelievable

2. I think the Stanford O is about as good as our offense could EVER look under Marrone, I just think our O line is horrendous, qb accuracy horrendous. Surprised Marrone doesn't use that 7 lineman set at times

3. West to me looks like he could have been recruited at Stanford to add 15-20 pounds and play TE there.

4. I know many purists will disagree but I really like the Stanford band... Find it refreshing and humorous.

Rose and Fiesta were fantastic games...unbelievable talent in both. We are playing in the dark ages compared to these programs, like 1AA versus 1A. All 4 of those teams would beat us by 60.

 

[kingottoiii]

At this point it is hard to guess at what Marrone's plan is. Hopefully he has one because at this point it is questionable. We hear that his plan on O is a different system, which makes one wonder What? Why possibly get fired having never ran your system? Then part of me thinks he wants to do what Harbaugh did at Stanford. Except Marrone is no where near as successful at implementing that plan. Even then, I think that Stanford will never be able to sustain the success they have had the last three years.

The OL was a huge disappointment this year. We had 4 returning starters and were able to finally shotgun snap. And we have 3 guys on staff to teach them. Yet we took a step back.

 

[GoSU96]

1. I think if you want to run an NFL system you need an NFL linemen and a qb that can throw accurately.. All this talk about speed, etc etc etc doesn't seem to matter with Stanford. I know how good Luck is but they run the ball with what looks to be 4 running backs and a great offensive line. I don't see a ton of speed out there if any for Stanford. The O Line is the key and accurate passing but their power running game is unbelievable

2. I think the Stanford O is about as good as our offense could EVER look under Marrone, I just think our O line is horrendous, qb accuracy horrendous. Surprised Marrone doesn't use that 7 lineman set at times

3. West to me looks like he could have been recruited at Stanford to add 15-20 pounds and play TE there.

4. I know many purists will disagree but I really like the Stanford band... Find it refreshing and humorous.

Rose and Fiesta were fantastic games...unbelievable talent in both. We are playing in the dark ages compared to these programs, like 1AA versus 1A. All 4 of those teams would beat us by 60.

And Wisconsin.

Marrone wants to run is what Stanford and Wisconsin are with a bit more sophisticated passing attack.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

And Wisconsin.

Marrone wants to run is what Stanford and Wisconsin are with a bit more sophisticated passing attack.

And I like that and seems to make sense given Marrone's background and personality, having a tough nasty O line makes a lot of sense but damit we need to get there sooner rather than later. A great running game can be extremely dynamic as well. I think that is the goal we just need to find the O Line. Like I said, I think they are the difference makers for both offenses as good as their QB's are

That first TD toss by Luck last night was a thing of beauty

 

[ImperialOrange]

And Wisconsin.

Marrone wants to run is what Stanford and Wisconsin are with a bit more sophisticated passing attack.

Agree with Wisconsin. Watching some of their games this year, and most of ours, I really think that's what are coaches are trying to do.

 

[SWC75]

Marorne wants to play like Stanford and Wisconsin without their size and talent. If we got as good as they are, there would be a statue of Doug next to Ernies and we'd all chip in for it.

Maybe the same theory I enunciated in aother post about wide open offense applies here: if we play that the players who want to play that way will come here. The thing is you become famous for something by doing it well. Which offense can you do well enough to get noted for it before you get the elite athletes?

 

[ImperialOrange]

Marorne wants to play like Stanford and Wisconsin without their size and talent. If we got as good as they are, there would be a statue of Doug next to Ernies and we'd all chip in for it.

Maybe the same theory I enunciated in aother post about wide open offense applies here: if we play that the players who want to play that way will come here. The thing is you become famous for something by doing it well. Which offense can you do well enough to get noted for it before you get the elite athletes?

If Marrone doesn't work out building a "traditional" football team then I hope we will go a different direction and try a unique, college specific offense.

That doesn't put as many players in the pros, but it does put fans in the seats and W's on the board if you can do it well.

 

[kingottoiii]

If Marrone doesn't work out building a "traditional" football team then I hope we will go a different direction and try a unique, college specific offense.

That doesn't put as many players in the pros, but it does put fans in the seats and W's on the board if you can do it well.

That is something that worries me about Marrone's recruiting strategy. He has mentioned that he will look at a kids measurables. That is great if you are a minor league team for the NFL. Personally I do not want the Al Groh UVA teams. I rather have the RRod WV teams any day. At a school like SU it will be hard to get a bunch of NFLesque players. We need to get a bunch of guys who aren't typical NFL prospects that slip through the cracks because of their size. Kids who are good FB players who will make out in college. Give me a bunch of Suters. Give me Major Applewhite and not Chris Simms.

 

[ImperialOrange]

That is something that worries me about Marrone's recruiting strategy. He has mentioned that he will look at a kids measurables. That is great if you are a minor league team for the NFL. Personally I do not want the Al Groh UVA teams. I rather have the RRod WV teams any day. At a school like SU it will be hard to get a bunch of NFLesque players. We need to get a bunch of guys who aren't typical NFL prospects that slip through the cracks because of their size. Kids who are good FB players who will make out in college. Give me a bunch of Suters. Give me Major Applewhite and not Chris Simms.

Give me Colt Brennan... oh wait.

It seems like we're trying to recruit and mold potential all around talents. It may still work out depending on how you feel about some of the recruits we have and are getting. I haven't given up yet but we'll know in 2 seasons if it's possible.

IF that ends up not working out then I'm with you. Give us a bunch of specialists with high football IQs that might not do everything well but excel in at least one area.

 

[rosconey]

the lack of any continuity after 3 years in the system is staggering-

 

[RMH44]

the lack of any continuity after 3 years in the system is staggering-

At least we know there is continuity with your posts...lather, rinse, repeat.

You never offer solutions, like KOII for example, just spew negatives from the cheap seats. Hit and run.

 

[GoSU96]

the lack of any continuity after 3 years in the system is staggering-

lack of continutity? I thought it was 3 years of the same dead horse offense?

You guys need to get your stories straight.

 

[GoSU96]

At this point it is hard to guess at what Marrone's plan is. Hopefully he has one because at this point it is questionable. We hear that his plan on O is a different system, which makes one wonder What? Why possibly get fired having never ran your system? Then part of me thinks he wants to do what Harbaugh did at Stanford. Except Marrone is no where near as successful at implementing that plan. Even then, I think that Stanford will never be able to sustain the success they have had the last three years.

The OL was a huge disappointment this year. We had 4 returning starters and were able to finally shotgun snap. And we have 3 guys on staff to teach them. Yet we took a step back.

Step back?

It didn't progress as much as wanted, anticipated or needed, but the offense did not step back.

The passing game was significantly better, more total yards per game (best since 2004), better on 3rd down than last year (first times north of 40% since P was here), most points per game since 2003, first time since McNabb was here that they had a minimum of 350 yds in 2/3rds of their games, 3 less sacks allowed on 51 more pass plays than last year.

The area that there was a step back was in the run game.

There is a still a great deal of work to do, but don't mischaracterize what happened.

 

[SaintTristan]

If Marrone doesn't work out building a "traditional" football team then I hope we will go a different direction and try a unique, college specific offense.

SU will never have a quality "traditional" team because you dont get the linemen. Marrone has already failed if thats his plan.

the lack of any continuity after 3 years in the system is staggering-

But i thought the great thing about dougie is that he guaranteed continuity...

We are wasting time on marone. every minute he coaches puts us further away from building a program.

 

[ImperialOrange]

SU will never have a quality "traditional" team because you dont get the linemen. Marrone has already failed if thats his plan.

I actually like some of the line commits we have gotten recently on both sides of the ball. Perhaps that's where our views differ

 

[billsin01]

Step back?

It didn't progress as much as wanted, anticipated or needed, but the offense did not step back.

The passing game was significantly better, more total yards per game (best since 2004), better on 3rd down than last year (first times north of 40% since P was here), most points per game since 2003, first time since McNabb was here that they had a minimum of 350 yds in 2/3rds of their games, 3 less sacks allowed on 51 more pass plays than last year.

The area that there was a step back was in the run game.

There is a still a great deal of work to do, but don't mischaracterize what happened.

I don't know. I guess I agree with you that it wasn't necessarily a step back for the OL, especially since DC3 was a big part of the success from the prior year. But we basically had identical yards per attempt passing, which would suggest that we were simply passing more b/c we were having a bit more trouble running the ball. The third down numbers are nice but I tend to think those are more QB dependent and, while I know some here will disagree, I think Nassib's year this year was by far the best QB play we've had since McNabb (which I agree is somewhat depressing). And, as you mentioned, we took a big step back running the ball.

I'm not sure it was a step back for the OL but I don't think it's out of line to suggest that it was. And either way, the bottom line is they need to improve drastically for us to have any hope of taking a good step forward offensively.

 

[billsin01]

And I like that and seems to make sense given Marrone's background and personality, having a tough nasty O line makes a lot of sense but damit we need to get there sooner rather than later. A great running game can be extremely dynamic as well. I think that is the goal we just need to find the O Line. Like I said, I think they are the difference makers for both offenses as good as their QB's are

That first TD toss by Luck last night was a thing of beauty

Stanford is a program that should be an inspiration to the Orange on many levels, not the least of which is the example of a program the experts and many CFB fans said could never be big time (in their case due to academics) is legitimately BIG TIME.

Remember part of the genius of Bill Walsh was that he was .500 at Stanford. That's what made Ty Willy's career as well. Now they are playing with the big boys. It may end with Luck but they at least have had a ridiculous 3-year run and firmly established themselves as a player.

Anyone who feels the cuse can never compete at a high level should take heart in the Stanford narrative.

 

[Millhouse]

And Wisconsin.

Marrone wants to run is what Stanford and Wisconsin are with a bit more sophisticated passing attack.

makes sense to me for wisconsin to base their offense around their players eating a lot. that's knowing your recruiting territory.

stanford is a different question, i'm not sure how they did it. curious if they sustain anything without harbaugh. marrone had better be a really good recruiter if that's the way he wants to go

i would go with a more speed oriented attack here but who knows

 

[OttoinGrotto]

i would go with a more speed oriented attack here but who knows

I do. I know. Yes, speed oriented attack.

 

[Fjoinkay]

Last night Andrew Luck was 27-31. He was under pressure more often than not... 27-31. He was the projected #1 draft pick after last year after his sophomore season, and he's the #1 pick this season leaving after his junior year. Impossible to compare.

 

[kingottoiii]

Step back?

I was referring to the OL. The run blocking took a step back. The pass blocking was helped by an greater emphasis on getting the ball out quickly. And this year we had the addition of the shotgun. Even so I do think overall the pass blocking was better, but still not where it should be with so many returning starters. Then there is Chibane who regressed.