The 'Bare Cupboard' excuse beginning to rear its ugly head...

[OrangePA]

That 2005 defense that Greg took over did not have a bare cupboard either. McClain and Gregory are still in the league. Anthony Smith was a high draft pick. Wyche and LaCasse were more than capable ends. Tanard Jackson was on that team too- issues now but was good then. Now after that? Yes the cupboard did become bare. Much the same way your cupboards would be bare if you never went to the grocery store.

The defense played fairly well in 2005.

The offense was pathetic.

Robinson tried to run the Denver Bronco offense with players who could do it.

There was decent talent at OL and RB but the WRs were very weak that year.

 

[djcon57]

their scout qb is awesome and our scout qb starts.

The game of football is now QB driven on both levels.
If you have a shitty QB, you will lose.

 

[Millhouse]

The game of football is now QB driven on both levels.
If you have a shitty QB, you will lose.

we need some high school coach to start 7 on 7s in NY, get a million kids to throw and catch without getting hit (which will suit the moms just fine), build it up, then hire him to recruit those kids

worked well for briles

 

[javadoc]

we need some high school coach to start 7 on 7s in NY, get a million kids to throw and catch without getting hit (which will suit the moms just fine), build it up, then hire him to recruit those kids

No chance. Who has time to play in camps like that when your old man makes you rake leaves and shovel snow all year?

And people wonder why so many NY prospects seem desperate to get out of the state.

 

[djcon57]

No chance. Who has time to play in camps like that when your old man makes you rake leaves and shovel snow all year?

Wait... the old man is making them rake leaves...
AND the old man can't go to the dome to watch the beloved Orange because he has to rake leaves.

Something doesn't add up here.

 

[BlackKnight76]

Wait... the old man is making them rake leaves...
AND the old man can't go to the dome to watch the beloved Orange because he has to rake leaves.

Something doesn't add up here.

I smell a god damn conspiracy. Man only has so many leaves to rake.

 

[orangenirvana]

Thanks for the post and not to diminish the point you are making but boy, what s stupid list. Drew Alen and Rishard Anderson - really? We need whatever CBS is drinking.

Not my list but what's so stupid about it? Anderson is rated the 56th best CB and 524th best prospect overall. That means chances are he'll sign to a team's roster for a week or two in August, maybe bounce to a team or two after that, then career over. Is that unrealistic for him? Have you watched all of the CB prospects ranked 57th and below?

 

[Noexcuse]

Wait... the old man is making them rake leaves...
AND the old man can't go to the dome to watch the beloved Orange because he has to rake leaves.

Something doesn't add up here.

 

[anomander]

Agree with Millhouse that the 0 concerns me more than the 56. I think the 56 will prove to be an anomaly. Doesn't mean our defense is issue-free, but I think the staff overthinking plan completely backfired and they know it. Go back to our base, and we should have better results against 4 of the 5 remaining teams.

The passing game situation is such a mess, they really have to fix it this week off. We'll play a team that it shouldn't be all that hard to pass against, or run against for that matter. Especially in our own building. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm favoring going back to Allen at QB. The OL has improved since Hunt took over, so maybe give him another game and see if he can settle in a little better. Worst case scenario, it's just more of the same.

As bad as it sounds I think the defense is the biggest issue. We have been able to move the ball at times. The first 3 drives vs GT we were moving the ball. We are just so limited, any penalty, or negative play totally disrupts it. We can run the ball with Hunt, but our defense can't seem to hold off anyone for more then 1 drive. By the time the first quarter is over the game is out of reach and we are already out of our game plan. I'm willing to chalk the offense up to talent issues, the defense however has no excuse, and is far more troubling. There is talent there, and the yardage, and points other teams have racked up is mind boggling. I am far more concerned about that because I don't see our overall talent level on defense increasing that much more then it is now.

 

[Crusty]

Not my list but what's so stupid about it? Anderson is rated the 56th best CB and 524th best prospect overall. That means chances are he'll sign to a team's roster for a week or two in August, maybe bounce to a team or two after that, then career over. Is that unrealistic for him? Have you watched all of the CB prospects ranked 57th and below?

I just keep seeing the back of his jersey chasing someone heading into the end zone.

 

[Chip]

As bad as it sounds I think the defense is the biggest issue. We have been able to move the ball at times. The first 3 drives vs GT we were moving the ball. We are just so limited, any penalty, or negative play totally disrupts it. We can run the ball with Hunt, but our defense can't seem to hold off anyone for more then 1 drive. By the time the first quarter is over the game is out of reach and we are already out of our game plan. I'm willing to chalk the offense up to talent issues, the defense however has no excuse, and is far more troubling. There is talent there, and the yardage, and points other teams have racked up is mind boggling. I am far more concerned about that because I don't see our overall talent level on defense increasing that much more then it is now.

But if you look at the teams remaining and where they rank in total offense. In yards per game, Pitt is 93rd, BC is 100, Wake is 114. All are under 370 yards per game. Maryland is #52 at 440 yards per game but much of that is based on the first two easy games where they had nearly 600 yards each. Since then, only once above 400, against a pretty bad UVA team where they managed 27 points. For comparison purposes, NC State is 56th, and we did a nice job against them.

We need to look better on D against those weaker opponents. I imagine Maryland will move the ball in that home game, but we need to get some things straightened out during this time off. Need to look more like the D that dominated a weaker NC State team.

 

[Chip]

I did and I thought he threw the ball pretty well considering there were 4 drops, each getting progressively worse.

I finally watched the 2nd half on ESPN3. Only our offense, I couldn't bear to watch GT with the ball. Anyway, agree with you, Allen really didn't play that bad. Only one tipped pass that I saw. The pick was a bit of a rocket, but it was also Kobena being Kobena. There was a lot of Broyld being Broyld as well. That personal foul on Parris (which I didn't see the actual play), cost us the chance to avoid the shutout.

Staff needs to figure out during this week off if Hunt is capable of seeing more than his primary WR. Something he hasn't done in league games. If they don't think he is, then they need to go back to Drew and pray. Line needs to hold up better for Drew as well. Seemed like there was always one guy getting through in the 2nd half. He's not as good at avoiding that.

I'd also like to see them figure out how to get Estime more involved. Legit speed, offense could use it. Practice him catching deep balls all week. Get him one in the game, and the entire defense won't key on stopping him on bubble screens when they see his # on the field.

 

[OttosBestFriend]

Well the number in parentheses is the Top 253 (approximate number of players drafted) and Syracuse is tied for 4th behind only FSU, Clemson, and UNC.

Syracuse has 1 Top 100 player, which is more than Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Boston College, Maryland, Wake Forest, NC State, Virginia, and Duke.

Not sure why you think 1,000 is too big a number - considering how often depth is brought up.

Maybe 1000 is too big a number because Charley freakin' Loeb is on that list - At #639 no less.

Is this based on his place holding abilities?

If he's #639, that tells me the list is at least 362 names too long.

 

[Entropic]

i would be interested to how the GT game would have went if we used the 4-3 defense that we used all year. The assignments against GT would be hard enough on 4 days prep then mix in an entire scheme change, non sense.