SWC75
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The coach’s show is on TK99, (FM 99.5) in the Syracuse area and can also be heard through Orange All-Access on the SU Athletic website. This year it’s 7PM Thursdays- or two days before each game, when they are not on Saturday. They have a link to their “Radio Mailbox” for submitting E-Mail questions on the SU Athletic website. You also can call in questions at 1-888-746-2873 or locally at 315-424-8599. The show is broadcast from the Red Robin in Fayetteville. T
hey are available on Twitter under "CDMS".
It can take a while but pod casts of the show are eventually posted here:
http://www.suathletics.com/podcasts.aspx
MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
“Coach, Venric Mark had a huge impact on Saturday’s game with two punt returns for 134 yards and a score. We got one return for zero yards. Last year we returned 12 of 47 opposition punts for 37 yards. The opposition returned 25 of our 64 punts for 189 yards. That’s a 152 yard advantage. The year before we returned 32 of 68 punts for 294 yards. We had Mike Holmes. In 1997 we had Quinton Spotswood, who returned 31 punts for 463 yards and set an NCAA record with 4 touchdowns. We haven’t had a touchdown on a punt return, (as opposed to a block), since 2003. Do we have anyone on this team who could do what Mark or Holmes or Spotswood could do? Is it all about who you have returning punts or is there a way to make punts returns a regular part of the offense?”
COACH MARRONE
Coach came right off the practice field and said that he couldn’t call it a great week of practice but it was a good week. “There was a lot of banter on the field today” so the team’s spirits are definitely not down despite the loss and the challenge ahead. “You have to remember that you are dealing with young men. They are disappointed and they should feel that way. I told them that we could have won the game in any of the three phases but we lost it because of all three phases. I told them not to get discouraged.”
Matt Park said one of the positives was Ryan Nassib passing for 470 yards. Coach also liked the fact that we could still run the ball. “We want to run the ball for 100 yards a game”. He probably wants more than that- and he got it with 144 yards. Last year we averaged only 120 yards.
I called in my question. “We worked on punt returns quite a bit in the off season. It makes a big difference to have a special player. We didn’t really give Steve Rene a chance to see if he was that special player last year. He was out for this game and we went for the block. We will now have return schemes in that will allow us to see if Steve is that special player. If he isn’t, we’ll try someone else.”
He talked about punt coverage. He wants punts to be between 38-42 yards with a 4.0 hang time. He adds a second for each 10 yards beyond that. “Both punters have good legs. But if they boot it 55-60 yards and we aren’t set up to cover it , that’s bad.” They have worked very hard on this week on avoiding the double teams that held up our gunners in the Mark returns. They spent two days on it.
Coach wanted some of the special teams success noted. The missed snap on the punt was caused by Shamarko Thomas sneaking in toward the line of scrimmage. A line drive kickoff caused NW to mishandle the ball. He’s happy with the kickoff return unit. Matt pointed out that we have had 9 touchbacks on kickoffs in the last five years and got 5 in one game vs. NW.
Talking about the team’s attitude going into the USC game, Matt said “Character is not a concern because it will be revealed in this game.” Coach responded “ Character carries through to life. I asked the team if anyone will quit and they all said ’No!’’” (Stop the presses.) “If the players and coaches communicate and rely on each other, then you have a chance.
Matthew from East Syracuse wanted to know who the strongest defensive player Doug Marrone played against and who was the strongest he coached against. For the former, coach chose Mike Ruth but didn’t elaborate. He was anxious to tell this story: “When I was coaching for the jets against the Dolphins, they had Tim Bowens. I set up a double-team against him and the players came back to me and said ‘We can’t move him.’ I was going on that coaching rage when the half ended and I was walking off the field and looked to my side and saw feet that must have been size 16-17 and massive ankles. I was 6-4 or 5 and looked up at Tim Bowens. I went into the locker room and told my guys ‘I get it.’”
Coach said that it’s not just about strength, it’s about leverage,. “It’s not weightlifting or track. It’s a combination.” He said that it helps to have played a team before. He talked about playing Nebraska at Lincoln in 1983, when we lost 7-63. The strength coach Mike Wojcik had posted Syracuse’s weightlifting achievements next to Nebraska’s and “We had nobody in their top 40” We arrived at the airport in Lincoln and the guy waving the plane in was about 6-8 and I knew we were in trouble. But the thing is, once we played the game, we said, ‘Yeah they are good, but they don‘t hit harder than other teams we have played.’ The next year, Mike posted the weightlifting records and we were darn close to what they did. We knew how hard they would hit us. Coach Mac told us they put on their uniforms the same way we do. I thought I was prepared to play. I looked over at Derek Ward, who played on our kickoff team and he was crying. I wondered if I really was emotionally ready to play. Derek took out (Tom) Rathman on the first play and later took out (Craig) Sundberg, both on legal hits, and that set the tone.”
Matt said they had some questions from the patrons at Red Robin and “It’s always nice when you get one written in crayon”. One of them asked what coach would do if he ahs the option to kick and extra point and send a game into overtime or go for two and try to win it right then. Matt made a reference to the ’87 West Virginia game but we didn’t have overtime then. Doug said he would tend to go for it on the road and kick it at home. The home team goes last in overtime, which he feels is an advantage. On the road, “in that venue”, he prefers to go right for the win. He castigated himself for “a poor game a management decision” in the NW game. Jeremiah Kobena tried to return the kickoff after NW took the lead “and that cost us 6 seconds. I should have told him to down it in the end zone so we could have it at the 25 with 50 seconds left.” (Considering what we did with it, I’m not sure it mattered.) He said that “USC kicks it in the end zone well. We don’t want to kick it to Marqise Lee.”
Matt noted that coaches tend to say that the biggest improvement is game 1 to game 2. Coach said that was especially true for 1st year players. He talked about Markus Pierce-Brewster and how nervous he had been. He told MPB to use his nervous energy and focus on the game, rather than thinking about other things. “Markus did that. Now he can just go play the game.”
A caller noted that Floyd Little had praised Ashton Broyld as being able to “have a Cam Newton effect on the team”. The caller wanted to know if Ashton will get a shot at the quarterback position next year. Coach: “Absolutely. We want to get him on the field now. He’s a dynamic athlete but he’s a true freshman. He can be a difference maker. Nothing is out of the question in how we use Ashton Broyld.” Matt said that Ashton seems to have accepted his role, calling it a “Big Jump.”. Matt said “He seems willing to take it piecemeal. Coach: I told him I do not want to hold him back. We will be a better team the faster he comes along. The more he improves, the more we will use him.” He added that “We’ve simplified things. We’ve reduced a lot of verbiage and other things we are doing. We have fewer plays, less shifts, less motion. We want to let the players play but it’s still complicated.”
Jim in Mattydale asked if we had the sort of player on the team who was a “potential difference maker who could turn things around.” They’d already talked about Ashton Broyld. Other players who could be difference makers are Kyle Foster, who is out until next year, Quinta Funderburke and Julian Whigham. Matt noted that Funderburke “passed the look test” and compared him to USC’s Robert Woods and Marqise lee. Coach praised him for helping out with the scout team to prepared the defense for facing players like that. “You don’t normally get a player like Quinta on your scout team.”
From his time, Coach noted that Jim Collins, “Four Wheel Dive”, (our defensive line of Tim Green, Blaise Winter, Bill Pendock and Jaime Kimmel), Don McPherson and Scott Schwedes. He said that a big key is the quality of players around the ’difference maker’ since modern schemes can take out one player. “One thing we needed was speed. We have more speed and talent this year and the players can feel it.”
They said that the USC game will be a “showcase game, played in one of the best football facilities in America”. Coach said that Matt Barkley “has everything you want. He’ll be a superstar on the next level.” “We will need everything we’ve got. He again referenced the Nebraska game, saying that their attitude is that “We’re a bunch of tough northeastern guys and we’re going to hit them in the mouth and bring the game to them.” Now we’re a bunch of ACC guys but “it’s going to be relentless vs. explosive and dynamic”.
hey are available on Twitter under "CDMS".
It can take a while but pod casts of the show are eventually posted here:
http://www.suathletics.com/podcasts.aspx
MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
“Coach, Venric Mark had a huge impact on Saturday’s game with two punt returns for 134 yards and a score. We got one return for zero yards. Last year we returned 12 of 47 opposition punts for 37 yards. The opposition returned 25 of our 64 punts for 189 yards. That’s a 152 yard advantage. The year before we returned 32 of 68 punts for 294 yards. We had Mike Holmes. In 1997 we had Quinton Spotswood, who returned 31 punts for 463 yards and set an NCAA record with 4 touchdowns. We haven’t had a touchdown on a punt return, (as opposed to a block), since 2003. Do we have anyone on this team who could do what Mark or Holmes or Spotswood could do? Is it all about who you have returning punts or is there a way to make punts returns a regular part of the offense?”
COACH MARRONE
Coach came right off the practice field and said that he couldn’t call it a great week of practice but it was a good week. “There was a lot of banter on the field today” so the team’s spirits are definitely not down despite the loss and the challenge ahead. “You have to remember that you are dealing with young men. They are disappointed and they should feel that way. I told them that we could have won the game in any of the three phases but we lost it because of all three phases. I told them not to get discouraged.”
Matt Park said one of the positives was Ryan Nassib passing for 470 yards. Coach also liked the fact that we could still run the ball. “We want to run the ball for 100 yards a game”. He probably wants more than that- and he got it with 144 yards. Last year we averaged only 120 yards.
I called in my question. “We worked on punt returns quite a bit in the off season. It makes a big difference to have a special player. We didn’t really give Steve Rene a chance to see if he was that special player last year. He was out for this game and we went for the block. We will now have return schemes in that will allow us to see if Steve is that special player. If he isn’t, we’ll try someone else.”
He talked about punt coverage. He wants punts to be between 38-42 yards with a 4.0 hang time. He adds a second for each 10 yards beyond that. “Both punters have good legs. But if they boot it 55-60 yards and we aren’t set up to cover it , that’s bad.” They have worked very hard on this week on avoiding the double teams that held up our gunners in the Mark returns. They spent two days on it.
Coach wanted some of the special teams success noted. The missed snap on the punt was caused by Shamarko Thomas sneaking in toward the line of scrimmage. A line drive kickoff caused NW to mishandle the ball. He’s happy with the kickoff return unit. Matt pointed out that we have had 9 touchbacks on kickoffs in the last five years and got 5 in one game vs. NW.
Talking about the team’s attitude going into the USC game, Matt said “Character is not a concern because it will be revealed in this game.” Coach responded “ Character carries through to life. I asked the team if anyone will quit and they all said ’No!’’” (Stop the presses.) “If the players and coaches communicate and rely on each other, then you have a chance.
Matthew from East Syracuse wanted to know who the strongest defensive player Doug Marrone played against and who was the strongest he coached against. For the former, coach chose Mike Ruth but didn’t elaborate. He was anxious to tell this story: “When I was coaching for the jets against the Dolphins, they had Tim Bowens. I set up a double-team against him and the players came back to me and said ‘We can’t move him.’ I was going on that coaching rage when the half ended and I was walking off the field and looked to my side and saw feet that must have been size 16-17 and massive ankles. I was 6-4 or 5 and looked up at Tim Bowens. I went into the locker room and told my guys ‘I get it.’”
Coach said that it’s not just about strength, it’s about leverage,. “It’s not weightlifting or track. It’s a combination.” He said that it helps to have played a team before. He talked about playing Nebraska at Lincoln in 1983, when we lost 7-63. The strength coach Mike Wojcik had posted Syracuse’s weightlifting achievements next to Nebraska’s and “We had nobody in their top 40” We arrived at the airport in Lincoln and the guy waving the plane in was about 6-8 and I knew we were in trouble. But the thing is, once we played the game, we said, ‘Yeah they are good, but they don‘t hit harder than other teams we have played.’ The next year, Mike posted the weightlifting records and we were darn close to what they did. We knew how hard they would hit us. Coach Mac told us they put on their uniforms the same way we do. I thought I was prepared to play. I looked over at Derek Ward, who played on our kickoff team and he was crying. I wondered if I really was emotionally ready to play. Derek took out (Tom) Rathman on the first play and later took out (Craig) Sundberg, both on legal hits, and that set the tone.”
Matt said they had some questions from the patrons at Red Robin and “It’s always nice when you get one written in crayon”. One of them asked what coach would do if he ahs the option to kick and extra point and send a game into overtime or go for two and try to win it right then. Matt made a reference to the ’87 West Virginia game but we didn’t have overtime then. Doug said he would tend to go for it on the road and kick it at home. The home team goes last in overtime, which he feels is an advantage. On the road, “in that venue”, he prefers to go right for the win. He castigated himself for “a poor game a management decision” in the NW game. Jeremiah Kobena tried to return the kickoff after NW took the lead “and that cost us 6 seconds. I should have told him to down it in the end zone so we could have it at the 25 with 50 seconds left.” (Considering what we did with it, I’m not sure it mattered.) He said that “USC kicks it in the end zone well. We don’t want to kick it to Marqise Lee.”
Matt noted that coaches tend to say that the biggest improvement is game 1 to game 2. Coach said that was especially true for 1st year players. He talked about Markus Pierce-Brewster and how nervous he had been. He told MPB to use his nervous energy and focus on the game, rather than thinking about other things. “Markus did that. Now he can just go play the game.”
A caller noted that Floyd Little had praised Ashton Broyld as being able to “have a Cam Newton effect on the team”. The caller wanted to know if Ashton will get a shot at the quarterback position next year. Coach: “Absolutely. We want to get him on the field now. He’s a dynamic athlete but he’s a true freshman. He can be a difference maker. Nothing is out of the question in how we use Ashton Broyld.” Matt said that Ashton seems to have accepted his role, calling it a “Big Jump.”. Matt said “He seems willing to take it piecemeal. Coach: I told him I do not want to hold him back. We will be a better team the faster he comes along. The more he improves, the more we will use him.” He added that “We’ve simplified things. We’ve reduced a lot of verbiage and other things we are doing. We have fewer plays, less shifts, less motion. We want to let the players play but it’s still complicated.”
Jim in Mattydale asked if we had the sort of player on the team who was a “potential difference maker who could turn things around.” They’d already talked about Ashton Broyld. Other players who could be difference makers are Kyle Foster, who is out until next year, Quinta Funderburke and Julian Whigham. Matt noted that Funderburke “passed the look test” and compared him to USC’s Robert Woods and Marqise lee. Coach praised him for helping out with the scout team to prepared the defense for facing players like that. “You don’t normally get a player like Quinta on your scout team.”
From his time, Coach noted that Jim Collins, “Four Wheel Dive”, (our defensive line of Tim Green, Blaise Winter, Bill Pendock and Jaime Kimmel), Don McPherson and Scott Schwedes. He said that a big key is the quality of players around the ’difference maker’ since modern schemes can take out one player. “One thing we needed was speed. We have more speed and talent this year and the players can feel it.”
They said that the USC game will be a “showcase game, played in one of the best football facilities in America”. Coach said that Matt Barkley “has everything you want. He’ll be a superstar on the next level.” “We will need everything we’ve got. He again referenced the Nebraska game, saying that their attitude is that “We’re a bunch of tough northeastern guys and we’re going to hit them in the mouth and bring the game to them.” Now we’re a bunch of ACC guys but “it’s going to be relentless vs. explosive and dynamic”.
