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.
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, congratulations on a great effort against the Trojans. The #2 team in the country knew they were in a game! ESPN says we are the “best 0-2 team in the country”. Let’s not be the best 0-3 team in the country. We have a 7 game losing streak. This is a different ream than last year’s team but one carry-over is that we seem to find ways to lose. We give up the big play or the big drive or the big turnover or miss a block or a tackle or drop a pass at exactly the wrong time in competitive games and, despite our efforts we lose. Is there such a thing as “learning how to win” and if so, how do you teach that?”
COACH MARRONE
(I’ve re-arranged the order of some of the comments based on the subject.)
Matt Park said that the coach must be excited by playing so well vs. the #2 team in the country. Coach Marrone said he was even more excited about the practice this week. “We‘ve had the best Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday practices we‘ve had this year. We didn’t want the players to believe that all they had to do was show up and win and we’ve really put the work in….We were extremely disappointed in that we left a lot of plays out there and could have won that game…We‘ve done a good job of getting other teams tired in the no-huddle. I though USC was getting tired in that second quarter but then we had the long break.“.
Matt mentioned that the “buzz” has kept up over the game. He said that it was the second highest rated game in the country on TV and was virtually tied for first. Coach was excited by “the recruiting aspect of it. The banter with the kids. The venue was unbelievable. They like the direction of the program. I told them that we need talented guys like you who can make a difference. They tell me they can make a difference at Syracuse.”
James asked what kind of non-conference games Coach would like to play. I think he was looking for names of specific schools but he didn’t get any. “I’m proud of our schedule. I’ve had some colleagues say that it’s brutal. The history of Syracuse football is that we’ve played his type of competition. We could bleed the fans and talk about hope. We could play 3 easy games and then one tough one and be 3-1, then win 3 in the conference and go to a bowl game. Would you rather see SU play USC or see one of our opponents play Howard?” (I can’t imagine who he was referring to.) Matt said “That’s a no-brainer.”
I called in my question. Coach agreed that the team needs to learn how to win. It’s very difficult. You need a lot of playmakers. You need them to step up and make a play. When I was at Tennessee or with the Saints and to an extent the Jets when we faced adversity, we felt good about overcoming it. ’We’re fine. We’ll win anyway.’ Back in the late 80’s and 1990’s we had that at SU. When that culture gets taken down, it’s hard to re-create it. It takes talent, dedication and communication. You need to get over the top. It’s hard to fabricate that in practice. You need confidence: Understand that we are a good team but that we have to earn the right to win the football game. People don’t want to hear it but that takes time.”
Brian, age 14, asked how the Fort Drum experience had impacted the team. Coach: “It’s a remembrance of all the heard work we put in. We are leaning on that experience.” Matt noted that a contingent from Fort Drum will be at the game Saturday.
Bob in Canastota asked about Marcus Sales. “You know, it’s funny but when Marcus wasn’t playing two years ago, all the reporters were asking about it. This year he has 20 catches in two games and nobody is asking about Marcus. We have pushed him to be more consistent on the practice field and in games and he has become much, much more consistent. Competition helps. The kids get along well. At this level it’s how to practice and then how to play. He’s excited. He has a different attitude. He’s doing everything he can to get a win for us.”
Jim from Mattydale wanted Coach’s reaction to “the blown call on the punt return where there was a block in the back”. Coach joked that he has good home owner’s insurance. “Coach” Kiffin, (I assume he meant Lane but it could have been Monte) had seen a bad call in the Northwestern game and Marrone’s clam reaction to it and told him after the USC game, “ I don’t know how you do it, (remain calm), I couldn’t do that.” Coach: “We can send in clips of plays after the game and we get an “agree or disagree” response. We go over it with the staff. Calls influence games. We’ll have Big East officials the rest of the way. We’ve worked hard on our relationship with them. All I look for is consistency.”
Jeremiah Kobena will be out for at least two weeks. They hope to have him back for the Minnesota game but Pitt is more likely. “When a player comes back that last week he is out it has to be a great work week.”
A caller wanted to know how to eliminate big plays on special teams, (for the other team, of course- we‘ve already eliminated them for us). Coach complimented Ryan Norton on his placement of the ball. He’s looking for great anytime. “We are going through drill progressions on special teams. Our coverage is better. We feel good about it.” He also felt, “the defense has tackled well for early in the season.” (Xavier Grimble was not on the show to give his opinion.) “What we haven’t done well is to react not a sudden change.”
John In Baltimore asked about the punt in USC’s territory in the first half. Coach said he expected to be questioned on that much earlier. That punt didn’t even come up in the post game news conference. “Before each game we go out on the field and do kicking drills from either end at various distances and take notes. We knew Ross Krautman couldn’t make a 50 yard field goal from there. And he did didn’t complain. He didn’t say ’Coach, I got this’. A failed kick would come back to the spot of the kick. So our options were to go for it, (it was 4th and 9), or try to pin them back. The defense was playing darn good at that point.” (And Riley Dixon’s 12 yard punt would make any strategy look bad.)
Dave in Syracuse asked about the John Raymon situation and why Zian Jones and Devon Walls weren’t playing more. The NCAA still hasn’t decided on Raymon, (Brent Axe has joked they hadn’t completed their investigation of Jerry Tarkanian yet). Jones has played considerably and they are “bringing Walls along”.
Matt noted that Coach had said that “we won a lot of plays” in the game, (is he reading my stuff again?). Coach was pleased with “the surge from the defensive line. We pushed Khaled Holmes all the way back into Barkley several times and that limited what he could do.” Coach said that when he was growing up he wanted to be Randy White but when he saw what defensive tackles have to do- take on two 300 pounders on every play, he decided he’s rather play offensive line.
A caller wanted to know how the team can get off to better starts. “We have to take care of our business in pre-game warm-ups and in the locker room. We are looking at what can be done schematically to get off to better starts. We’ll do a couple of things different this week.”
Matt asked about scripting the first 15 plays- is that too confining? “What people don’t understand about the first 15 plays is that they are given to the players the night before the game so they can study them and visualize them. Then there is less chance of error. There are back-up plays for if we bobble the kick-off and things like that. What we want is information on who the other team is playing us. How do they adjust? Are they doing anything different? If it’s the same then we just have to execute the game plan. If not, you have to figure out your adjustments.”
Matt asked about Stony Brook. Coach mentioned their two leading running backs, Miguel Maysonet, (“whom we were interested in“), and Marcus Coker, the transfer from Iowa who was second in the Big 10 in rushing last year. He noted that their offensive line is bigger than ours. “But it’s their production- I haven’t seen anything like this since Coach Switzer was at Oklahoma. They run, run, run and them slip a wide receiver by you. Kevin Norrell has had receptions of 89 and 84 yards for touchdowns. We need to do a good job tacking and make sure nobody gets behind us. Ball security is important. On special teams, we need to be aggressive and make things happen.” (Feel free to exercise your right of free speech on that one.)
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, congratulations on a great effort against the Trojans. The #2 team in the country knew they were in a game! ESPN says we are the “best 0-2 team in the country”. Let’s not be the best 0-3 team in the country. We have a 7 game losing streak. This is a different ream than last year’s team but one carry-over is that we seem to find ways to lose. We give up the big play or the big drive or the big turnover or miss a block or a tackle or drop a pass at exactly the wrong time in competitive games and, despite our efforts we lose. Is there such a thing as “learning how to win” and if so, how do you teach that?”
COACH MARRONE
(I’ve re-arranged the order of some of the comments based on the subject.)
Matt Park said that the coach must be excited by playing so well vs. the #2 team in the country. Coach Marrone said he was even more excited about the practice this week. “We‘ve had the best Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday practices we‘ve had this year. We didn’t want the players to believe that all they had to do was show up and win and we’ve really put the work in….We were extremely disappointed in that we left a lot of plays out there and could have won that game…We‘ve done a good job of getting other teams tired in the no-huddle. I though USC was getting tired in that second quarter but then we had the long break.“.
Matt mentioned that the “buzz” has kept up over the game. He said that it was the second highest rated game in the country on TV and was virtually tied for first. Coach was excited by “the recruiting aspect of it. The banter with the kids. The venue was unbelievable. They like the direction of the program. I told them that we need talented guys like you who can make a difference. They tell me they can make a difference at Syracuse.”
James asked what kind of non-conference games Coach would like to play. I think he was looking for names of specific schools but he didn’t get any. “I’m proud of our schedule. I’ve had some colleagues say that it’s brutal. The history of Syracuse football is that we’ve played his type of competition. We could bleed the fans and talk about hope. We could play 3 easy games and then one tough one and be 3-1, then win 3 in the conference and go to a bowl game. Would you rather see SU play USC or see one of our opponents play Howard?” (I can’t imagine who he was referring to.) Matt said “That’s a no-brainer.”
I called in my question. Coach agreed that the team needs to learn how to win. It’s very difficult. You need a lot of playmakers. You need them to step up and make a play. When I was at Tennessee or with the Saints and to an extent the Jets when we faced adversity, we felt good about overcoming it. ’We’re fine. We’ll win anyway.’ Back in the late 80’s and 1990’s we had that at SU. When that culture gets taken down, it’s hard to re-create it. It takes talent, dedication and communication. You need to get over the top. It’s hard to fabricate that in practice. You need confidence: Understand that we are a good team but that we have to earn the right to win the football game. People don’t want to hear it but that takes time.”
Brian, age 14, asked how the Fort Drum experience had impacted the team. Coach: “It’s a remembrance of all the heard work we put in. We are leaning on that experience.” Matt noted that a contingent from Fort Drum will be at the game Saturday.
Bob in Canastota asked about Marcus Sales. “You know, it’s funny but when Marcus wasn’t playing two years ago, all the reporters were asking about it. This year he has 20 catches in two games and nobody is asking about Marcus. We have pushed him to be more consistent on the practice field and in games and he has become much, much more consistent. Competition helps. The kids get along well. At this level it’s how to practice and then how to play. He’s excited. He has a different attitude. He’s doing everything he can to get a win for us.”
Jim from Mattydale wanted Coach’s reaction to “the blown call on the punt return where there was a block in the back”. Coach joked that he has good home owner’s insurance. “Coach” Kiffin, (I assume he meant Lane but it could have been Monte) had seen a bad call in the Northwestern game and Marrone’s clam reaction to it and told him after the USC game, “ I don’t know how you do it, (remain calm), I couldn’t do that.” Coach: “We can send in clips of plays after the game and we get an “agree or disagree” response. We go over it with the staff. Calls influence games. We’ll have Big East officials the rest of the way. We’ve worked hard on our relationship with them. All I look for is consistency.”
Jeremiah Kobena will be out for at least two weeks. They hope to have him back for the Minnesota game but Pitt is more likely. “When a player comes back that last week he is out it has to be a great work week.”
A caller wanted to know how to eliminate big plays on special teams, (for the other team, of course- we‘ve already eliminated them for us). Coach complimented Ryan Norton on his placement of the ball. He’s looking for great anytime. “We are going through drill progressions on special teams. Our coverage is better. We feel good about it.” He also felt, “the defense has tackled well for early in the season.” (Xavier Grimble was not on the show to give his opinion.) “What we haven’t done well is to react not a sudden change.”
John In Baltimore asked about the punt in USC’s territory in the first half. Coach said he expected to be questioned on that much earlier. That punt didn’t even come up in the post game news conference. “Before each game we go out on the field and do kicking drills from either end at various distances and take notes. We knew Ross Krautman couldn’t make a 50 yard field goal from there. And he did didn’t complain. He didn’t say ’Coach, I got this’. A failed kick would come back to the spot of the kick. So our options were to go for it, (it was 4th and 9), or try to pin them back. The defense was playing darn good at that point.” (And Riley Dixon’s 12 yard punt would make any strategy look bad.)
Dave in Syracuse asked about the John Raymon situation and why Zian Jones and Devon Walls weren’t playing more. The NCAA still hasn’t decided on Raymon, (Brent Axe has joked they hadn’t completed their investigation of Jerry Tarkanian yet). Jones has played considerably and they are “bringing Walls along”.
Matt noted that Coach had said that “we won a lot of plays” in the game, (is he reading my stuff again?). Coach was pleased with “the surge from the defensive line. We pushed Khaled Holmes all the way back into Barkley several times and that limited what he could do.” Coach said that when he was growing up he wanted to be Randy White but when he saw what defensive tackles have to do- take on two 300 pounders on every play, he decided he’s rather play offensive line.
A caller wanted to know how the team can get off to better starts. “We have to take care of our business in pre-game warm-ups and in the locker room. We are looking at what can be done schematically to get off to better starts. We’ll do a couple of things different this week.”
Matt asked about scripting the first 15 plays- is that too confining? “What people don’t understand about the first 15 plays is that they are given to the players the night before the game so they can study them and visualize them. Then there is less chance of error. There are back-up plays for if we bobble the kick-off and things like that. What we want is information on who the other team is playing us. How do they adjust? Are they doing anything different? If it’s the same then we just have to execute the game plan. If not, you have to figure out your adjustments.”
Matt asked about Stony Brook. Coach mentioned their two leading running backs, Miguel Maysonet, (“whom we were interested in“), and Marcus Coker, the transfer from Iowa who was second in the Big 10 in rushing last year. He noted that their offensive line is bigger than ours. “But it’s their production- I haven’t seen anything like this since Coach Switzer was at Oklahoma. They run, run, run and them slip a wide receiver by you. Kevin Norrell has had receptions of 89 and 84 yards for touchdowns. We need to do a good job tacking and make sure nobody gets behind us. Ball security is important. On special teams, we need to be aggressive and make things happen.” (Feel free to exercise your right of free speech on that one.)
