SWC75
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The show this year will be broadcast from the Canyons at Destiny USA on the second level in front of Cantina Laredo. I don’t know if they will take questions from the audience there but they say you can watch the show whereas when it was a t a restaurant, their table tended to be in a secluded location. You can call in questions at 1-888-7-Go Cuse (746-2873) or, locally 424-8599. You can also send them in advance at this site:
http://cuse.com/sb_output.aspx?form=4
(I do both so they can be prepared to give me an informed, reasoned answer.) You can also contact them via Twitter (@SUSportsNetwork) using #AskShafe. The football show is an hour in duration, (Coach Boeheim’s basketball show is usually 2 hours).
They’ve actually been kind enough to post a schedule in advance:
The show will air at 7 pm on the following dates:
Wednesday, Aug. 27
Thursday, Sept. 11
Thursday, Sept. 18
Thursday, Sept. 25
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Thursday, Oct. 9
Thursday, Oct. 16
Thursday, Oct. 23
Thursday, Oct. 30
Thursday, Nov. 6
Thursday, Nov. 13
Wednesday, Nov. 26
The show can be heard in Syracuse on AM 1260 or FM 97.7.
My Question(s)
Congratulations, Coach on a resounding victory over Central Michigan. Really there are two goals in every game: to win and to do it in such a way as to create optimism that we are going to win the next one, too. We have that optimism now. I feel that you coaching staff and players were sick of spending two weeks hearing about the Villanova game and wanted to prove something in Mount Pleasant. But we’ve seen teams look really good one week and struggle the next. What can be done to retain the level of focus and aggressiveness that produced this victory?
The Show
(I sometime re-arrange the comments so that statements made on the same subject are reported together, even if they came at different points of the show.)
Coach said “It’s great to be 2-0. I just got off the practice field to come here tonight”. He described the emphasis for this weeks practice. “We went pretty hard Tuesday, almost like a game. Then we went a little less hard Wednesday with fewer pads. Thursday is a polish day- offense, defense and kicking schemes. “
I called in my question. I also pointed out that we’ve had no turnovers so far, knock on wood. (I told him to use Matt’s head if no wood was available.) Coach said the key to consistent performance is to “focus on the things we need to do. We tell the players each play is 5 seconds long: Can you concentrate for 5 seconds? It’s the six inch war: Can you win those six inches? It’s 11 guys vs. 11 guys. I didn’t do a good enough job for the Villanova game. We took the pads off too early. It’s a violent game and you have to practice with violence. We challenged the kids to play tough, hard-nosed football.” Keep practicing with those violins, coach!
Matt noted that we are also one of four schools in the country that has yet not suffer a sack, (yeah, bubble screens!). “You aren’t going to lose if you don’t get sacked and don’t turn the ball over.” SS: “We had a big emphasis in pre-season camp on not trying to force things downfield. A punt isn’t a bad play- your foot is part of your body, too.”
They got into a discussion of the unpredictability of the sport and Shaf said “The oblong ball represents life, in a way.”
Matt asked the coach about the issues of domestic violence that the NFL is dealing with. “In college we are big on student-athlete education. We meet in small groups, positon meetings, team meetings. We have professional speakers in, talking about how not to get into these situations.” Matt noted that a coach has to recruit kids form all different kinds of backgrounds. SS: “So much of where you come from is what made you. You are in charge of your own life. Just because your Daddy did it, it doesn’t make it right. Never make the way you were raised an excuse for doing bad things. Learn from it and pass the good things on to the next generation. This is why we call it being educated.”
Dave in Syracuse asked if a team plays to the level of its opposition. SS: “All too often. You’ve got to get your mind right. Be professional at what you do. You want to be consistent each week.”
They talked about the use of young players on offense. “If you’re going to play them on offense and you want to make sure they get a certain number of touches, get them on special teams. Special teams is 1/3 of the game. DeVante McFarlane, George Morris, Ervin Phillips. There are different ways to get kids in rhythm, to get the butterflies out of their stomachs. Running downfield on a kick-off gets them prepared to run the ball. McFarlane and Morris not only make tackles but they force the flow of the play where we want it to go. We are one of the leading teams in the country in kick-off return defense.”
They review the Central Michigan game. Matt pointed out that we ran for 255 more yards than the Chippewas did. Terrel Hunt scored 3TDs, the most by an SU quarterback since Donovan McNabb. Adonis Ameen-Moore “is laying off the pizzas” and had a big game. SS: I was happy to see that. He was disappointed not to get into the end zone.” Regarding all of the running backs we have, “We can roll the dice with any of those guys. The best high school players play running back or quarterback. I love to recruit those guys. I like to recruit guys who play more than one positon- running back and safety, for example. I also like guys who played more than one sport. Everyone is specialized now. It’s a shame. I used to play all of those sports. There are a lot of over-use injuries these days.”
Matt praised the defensive performance, noting the only score Su gave up was on the first drive. Shaf talked about a couple of close plays that could have avoided even that, including a paly where the ball bounced off a Syracuse defender to a CMU player. “The first drive is the toughest. You are guessing what they are going to do. I’m pleased, but it’s time to get ready for the next game.”
Brian wanted to know if SU was getting more exposure nationally by being in the ACC. SS: “We’ve gotten great exposure. Dr. Goss did a great job getting this thing together. WE set a record last year with 11 bowl teams. We had a national champion and a Heisman Trophy. I think we got all but a couple of the individual awards. It’s great to have a chance to fight to be part of the hierarchy of such a conference.”
They talked about Maryland. “We’re going head-to-head with a Big Ten school. It’s a great opportunity for us.” Matt pointed out that their first Big ten game won’t be until the next week when they play Indiana.
SS: “They have speed on the perimeter and know how to sue it. Stefon Diggs can catch it way downfield and he can catch a shorty one and make something big of it. CJ Brown is very good- he split three defenders on a 75 yard run and threaded the needle on another long play (77 yards to Diggs: William Likely also had a 67 yard punt return.) William Likely is 5-7 180. Have you ever seen a tall punt returner? Being little makes it harder to tackle them. They have a low center of gravity.”
Matt asked if this was a different Maryland team than the one we beat 20-3 last year. SS: “It’s the same head coach, the same offensive and defensive coordinator. The nearest body of work is the clearest. We’ve got a feel for what they are doing and they’ve got a feel for what we are doing. Everybody has good X’s and O’s. You’ve got to hit harder, tackle better and make big plays. That’s the key to victory.” It’s interesting is that his first thought was to compare the coaching staffs to see if the teams were different but then he said that the way the players play will determine the outcome of the contest.
Matt noted that South Florida would be on our future schedules. “Herman Frazier did a good job. We have to find opponents we can compete with and in places we like to recruit.”
Matt noted that kids 12 and under will get in free Saturday if accompanied by an adult. He hoped it would give us a “Dome Field Advantage”. Coach said that the team wants to do a better job of performing “in front of the community” than they did vs. Villanova. Matt said that he’s sick about hearing about the Villanova game and he suspects the team is, too. He asked what the loudest crowds Shaf had heard since he’s been here. He mentioned West Virginia in 2011 and Louisville in 2012. Those are probably the two best performances of the post G-Rob era by a Syracuse team. Did the crowd noise create the performances or the other way around? They didn’t discuss that.
http://cuse.com/sb_output.aspx?form=4
(I do both so they can be prepared to give me an informed, reasoned answer.) You can also contact them via Twitter (@SUSportsNetwork) using #AskShafe. The football show is an hour in duration, (Coach Boeheim’s basketball show is usually 2 hours).
They’ve actually been kind enough to post a schedule in advance:
The show will air at 7 pm on the following dates:
Wednesday, Aug. 27
Thursday, Sept. 11
Thursday, Sept. 18
Thursday, Sept. 25
Wednesday, Oct. 1
Thursday, Oct. 9
Thursday, Oct. 16
Thursday, Oct. 23
Thursday, Oct. 30
Thursday, Nov. 6
Thursday, Nov. 13
Wednesday, Nov. 26
The show can be heard in Syracuse on AM 1260 or FM 97.7.
My Question(s)
Congratulations, Coach on a resounding victory over Central Michigan. Really there are two goals in every game: to win and to do it in such a way as to create optimism that we are going to win the next one, too. We have that optimism now. I feel that you coaching staff and players were sick of spending two weeks hearing about the Villanova game and wanted to prove something in Mount Pleasant. But we’ve seen teams look really good one week and struggle the next. What can be done to retain the level of focus and aggressiveness that produced this victory?
The Show
(I sometime re-arrange the comments so that statements made on the same subject are reported together, even if they came at different points of the show.)
Coach said “It’s great to be 2-0. I just got off the practice field to come here tonight”. He described the emphasis for this weeks practice. “We went pretty hard Tuesday, almost like a game. Then we went a little less hard Wednesday with fewer pads. Thursday is a polish day- offense, defense and kicking schemes. “
I called in my question. I also pointed out that we’ve had no turnovers so far, knock on wood. (I told him to use Matt’s head if no wood was available.) Coach said the key to consistent performance is to “focus on the things we need to do. We tell the players each play is 5 seconds long: Can you concentrate for 5 seconds? It’s the six inch war: Can you win those six inches? It’s 11 guys vs. 11 guys. I didn’t do a good enough job for the Villanova game. We took the pads off too early. It’s a violent game and you have to practice with violence. We challenged the kids to play tough, hard-nosed football.” Keep practicing with those violins, coach!
Matt noted that we are also one of four schools in the country that has yet not suffer a sack, (yeah, bubble screens!). “You aren’t going to lose if you don’t get sacked and don’t turn the ball over.” SS: “We had a big emphasis in pre-season camp on not trying to force things downfield. A punt isn’t a bad play- your foot is part of your body, too.”
They got into a discussion of the unpredictability of the sport and Shaf said “The oblong ball represents life, in a way.”
Matt asked the coach about the issues of domestic violence that the NFL is dealing with. “In college we are big on student-athlete education. We meet in small groups, positon meetings, team meetings. We have professional speakers in, talking about how not to get into these situations.” Matt noted that a coach has to recruit kids form all different kinds of backgrounds. SS: “So much of where you come from is what made you. You are in charge of your own life. Just because your Daddy did it, it doesn’t make it right. Never make the way you were raised an excuse for doing bad things. Learn from it and pass the good things on to the next generation. This is why we call it being educated.”
Dave in Syracuse asked if a team plays to the level of its opposition. SS: “All too often. You’ve got to get your mind right. Be professional at what you do. You want to be consistent each week.”
They talked about the use of young players on offense. “If you’re going to play them on offense and you want to make sure they get a certain number of touches, get them on special teams. Special teams is 1/3 of the game. DeVante McFarlane, George Morris, Ervin Phillips. There are different ways to get kids in rhythm, to get the butterflies out of their stomachs. Running downfield on a kick-off gets them prepared to run the ball. McFarlane and Morris not only make tackles but they force the flow of the play where we want it to go. We are one of the leading teams in the country in kick-off return defense.”
They review the Central Michigan game. Matt pointed out that we ran for 255 more yards than the Chippewas did. Terrel Hunt scored 3TDs, the most by an SU quarterback since Donovan McNabb. Adonis Ameen-Moore “is laying off the pizzas” and had a big game. SS: I was happy to see that. He was disappointed not to get into the end zone.” Regarding all of the running backs we have, “We can roll the dice with any of those guys. The best high school players play running back or quarterback. I love to recruit those guys. I like to recruit guys who play more than one positon- running back and safety, for example. I also like guys who played more than one sport. Everyone is specialized now. It’s a shame. I used to play all of those sports. There are a lot of over-use injuries these days.”
Matt praised the defensive performance, noting the only score Su gave up was on the first drive. Shaf talked about a couple of close plays that could have avoided even that, including a paly where the ball bounced off a Syracuse defender to a CMU player. “The first drive is the toughest. You are guessing what they are going to do. I’m pleased, but it’s time to get ready for the next game.”
Brian wanted to know if SU was getting more exposure nationally by being in the ACC. SS: “We’ve gotten great exposure. Dr. Goss did a great job getting this thing together. WE set a record last year with 11 bowl teams. We had a national champion and a Heisman Trophy. I think we got all but a couple of the individual awards. It’s great to have a chance to fight to be part of the hierarchy of such a conference.”
They talked about Maryland. “We’re going head-to-head with a Big Ten school. It’s a great opportunity for us.” Matt pointed out that their first Big ten game won’t be until the next week when they play Indiana.
SS: “They have speed on the perimeter and know how to sue it. Stefon Diggs can catch it way downfield and he can catch a shorty one and make something big of it. CJ Brown is very good- he split three defenders on a 75 yard run and threaded the needle on another long play (77 yards to Diggs: William Likely also had a 67 yard punt return.) William Likely is 5-7 180. Have you ever seen a tall punt returner? Being little makes it harder to tackle them. They have a low center of gravity.”
Matt asked if this was a different Maryland team than the one we beat 20-3 last year. SS: “It’s the same head coach, the same offensive and defensive coordinator. The nearest body of work is the clearest. We’ve got a feel for what they are doing and they’ve got a feel for what we are doing. Everybody has good X’s and O’s. You’ve got to hit harder, tackle better and make big plays. That’s the key to victory.” It’s interesting is that his first thought was to compare the coaching staffs to see if the teams were different but then he said that the way the players play will determine the outcome of the contest.
Matt noted that South Florida would be on our future schedules. “Herman Frazier did a good job. We have to find opponents we can compete with and in places we like to recruit.”
Matt noted that kids 12 and under will get in free Saturday if accompanied by an adult. He hoped it would give us a “Dome Field Advantage”. Coach said that the team wants to do a better job of performing “in front of the community” than they did vs. Villanova. Matt said that he’s sick about hearing about the Villanova game and he suspects the team is, too. He asked what the loudest crowds Shaf had heard since he’s been here. He mentioned West Virginia in 2011 and Louisville in 2012. Those are probably the two best performances of the post G-Rob era by a Syracuse team. Did the crowd noise create the performances or the other way around? They didn’t discuss that.
I kid, I kid
