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Coach Babers’s Show will be at the new Marriott Syracuse, (the former Hotel Syracuse). The first show will be Wednesday night at 7PM because the game is Friday, (the show will normally be two days before the next game). They will be in Shaughnessy’s Irish Pub, which can be accessed from the street.
This article contains the schedule:
http://cuse.com/news/2016/8/30/football-dino-babers-radio-show-debuts-wednesday.aspx
You can also listen to the show live each week on the Syracuse IMG Sports Network and Cuse.com. Wednesday's show will be on 99.1 FM and 97.7 FM, as well. The show will regularly air on 99.5FM (Syracuse) 99.1 FM (Utica) and 1200 AM.”
You can also get it on: WGVA
There hasn’t been any change in the phone numbers, which last year were 315-424-8599 (local) or 1-888-746-2873. You can call to ask questions or submit them via Twitter at: #AskDino hashtag on Twitter
Or through Cuse.com, (the SU Athletic website):
http://cuse.com/sb_output.aspx?form=4
My Question(s)
“Coach, this year is a difficult one upon which to judge the progress of the team. Every team we play seems to be either ranked or farther along in the rebuilding progress than we are. We’ve had significant injuries to two of the key units of the team: the offensive line and defensive backfield. We’ve played three road games, one on a windy day and one in a hurricane. We’re halfway through the season. Is this team progressing? Are we on schedule toward becoming the team and football program we want this to become?”
The Show
(I sometimes 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.)
(They were still in the Cavalier Room. They will move to Shaughnessy’s when it is finished. )
Coach commented that the Marriott was “a beautiful place. I’ve been all over the world and this place is fabulous.” His recruiting must be interesting if he’s going all over the world to do it. Matt said that the Shaughnessy Bar is “on the come”. No comment.
He was happy to be back in the Dome- no Hurricane. “There were three games played in North Carolina that day and the better throwing team lost all three. That’s why we are effortlessly, (sic) trying to balance our attack.”
They introduced the trivia question for the day: Who scored the winning touchdown in SU’s 3OT, 50-42 win over #8 ranked Virginia tech in 2002?
I called in my questions. Coach said that injuries had held back the offensive line and defensive backfield but there’s an upside to that- they’ve had to play young players and those players will be better next year for the experience they got this year. “They’ve tasted the water.”
Liam in Pompey said this was “the hardest loss to swallow – you had the game right in your hands. What went wrong? The weather? The wind? I hear you are three touchdown underdogs to Virginia Tech.” He asked for a comment on that. Coach Babers said Tech was “an exciting team, well coached – Frank Beamer didn’t leave the cupboard bare. But the ball isn’t round and you never know how it might bounce. Against Wake Forest the weather affected us because we were more of a throwing team. They took advantage of our young personnel and dominated the clock. It was the closest game we’ve had in a comparison of personnel. It was a disappointment.
Matt noted that the Virginia Tech-Syracuse series “decided a lot back in the 90’s. DB: I know Vick vs. McNabb, (actually they never played each other), OT games. Who won was the champion and the winner goes home with his sister. (Who’s sister?!?)
They did an injury report: Cordell Hudson is out for this game and Kendall Coleman is suspended for the first half due to his “targeting” call. “De’Jon Wilson will play in his spot. Maybe he’ll be Pipped.”
John in Baltimore wanted to know “How do we get depth? Can you get it from New York State? From Milford Academy? Can you go the JUCO route?” DB: “There’s a lot of good players in new York. You need the right academic fit and the right temperament. JUCOs are a quick-fix based on need. You don’t want to bring in Junior college players to be back-ups: you want them as starters. The problem is that if you build slowly, you could get fired before you get to where you want to be and the next guy will get all the credit.” John wondered if Amba Etta-Tawo will make it easier to recruit wide receivers and the coach he certainly would.
Mark from Phoenix wondered “What are you looking at?” in terms of recruiting JUCOs. Coach took it as a general question about recruiting. Dino said “We don’t want our opposition to know everything we are looking for in recruiting. If we have 22 scholarships, we want to recruit a whole team, except for the kickers. You don’t need them every year.”
Dave in Syracuse asked about Dino’s previous two programs: did they get better in the second half of the season or did fatigue take over? DB: “My two previous teams had fantastic depth and numbers, so this is a new experience. The big question si do we use strategies more appropriate to the talent we have and try to keep it close or do we use the strategies we want to use and then recruit the players for those strategies once they’ve seen what we are doing? I think that will work in the long run and the long run is the best bet.”
A caller named Dean said he’d heard a commentator on the radio say that Syracuse should put their wide receivers in motion more to let them gain speed. DB: “The rain slows them down- they don’t want to slip. It also gives the defense time to respond to the formation and the play. You can use motion to see what they are going to do on defense but our tempo allows us to see if they are in man or a zone without the motion.”
A caller named Deano from Cooperstown wondered about “play calling on second and short”. DB: “You can’t be consistent in those situations. You must be inconsistent. Some people call it a “waste” down. You can go for the big play so you can get the first down and keep the ball and the clock moving. Do we think we can move them around and get that first down? If not we may want to use multiple plays to get it.”
Matt asked if he “self scouts” the team during the week. “We do it continually. We do it back for all five years (he’s been coaching). Everyone has tendencies. You’ve got to know what your tendencies are. We want to know what the defense knows. Do we want to keep our tendencies?”
Chip got in his question about the “jumbo” package via twitter. “Sometimes when you lose some players, the replacements might not be as good at run blocking. They may not be able to close together and wedge out that opening.”
Gordon in Canandaigua asked about rule changes. DB: Coaches have to take a test every year on rules and recruiting. Sometimes the older coaches are actually at a handicap to younger coaches because the current rules are the only ones the younger coaches have ever known while the older coaches answer questions on the way the rules used to be.”
A caller asked if it would be helpful to have Dungey roll out more to avoid the rush – or does that minimize his ability to check down on the receivers? DB: “ Eric actually throws pretty well on the run. We can move the pocket. On a wet surface, we’d rather “let the defenders try to find him. We also had leakage in a gap. But in the Dome there should be no issues.”
Reno Ferri, (no relation to Diamond: his last name is pronounced “Fur-rhee” was the running backs coach when Terrence West of Towson tore up Dino Baber’s second Eastern Illinois team just when they were anticipating playing North Dakota State for the national title. Instead, Towson won 49-39, (after falling behind 0-14) and they got the honor of losing to the Bison that year. “A massive snow storm had no effect. I decided that if you can’t beat them, join them, so I hired him for Syracuse.” However Ferri is coaching the tight ends here.
Reno said that Syracuse is a great place to live and he’s working with a great group of guys. Cam McPherson led us in receiving at Wake but “he’s probably had better games due to his blocking. That’s what I’m looking for. He’s a great worker with great intelligence. He’s up for a Rhodes scholarship.” Matt noted that Cam was a quarterback at CBA. Why don’t we throw to the tight end more? “We’ve got a talented group of wide receivers. Our use of the tight end will change as the talent changes.” Virginia Tech “has the best defense we’ve played so far. The key will be ‘winning on contact’ with my group.”
Matt asked Coach Babers what is the first movie he ever saw in a theater. He couldn’t recall the name of it because he was too little at the time- he just remembers it was at a drive-in. (Just like a kid.) Coach’s movie pick of the day is “The Magnificent Seven”, a remake of which is in theaters now. He correctly noted that it’s based on Japanese Classic “The Seven Samurai” and added “Brynner was ‘the bomb’”. (He likes the King and I, too.)
This article contains the schedule:
http://cuse.com/news/2016/8/30/football-dino-babers-radio-show-debuts-wednesday.aspx
You can also listen to the show live each week on the Syracuse IMG Sports Network and Cuse.com. Wednesday's show will be on 99.1 FM and 97.7 FM, as well. The show will regularly air on 99.5FM (Syracuse) 99.1 FM (Utica) and 1200 AM.”
You can also get it on: WGVA
There hasn’t been any change in the phone numbers, which last year were 315-424-8599 (local) or 1-888-746-2873. You can call to ask questions or submit them via Twitter at: #AskDino hashtag on Twitter
Or through Cuse.com, (the SU Athletic website):
http://cuse.com/sb_output.aspx?form=4
My Question(s)
“Coach, this year is a difficult one upon which to judge the progress of the team. Every team we play seems to be either ranked or farther along in the rebuilding progress than we are. We’ve had significant injuries to two of the key units of the team: the offensive line and defensive backfield. We’ve played three road games, one on a windy day and one in a hurricane. We’re halfway through the season. Is this team progressing? Are we on schedule toward becoming the team and football program we want this to become?”
The Show
(I sometimes 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.)
(They were still in the Cavalier Room. They will move to Shaughnessy’s when it is finished. )
Coach commented that the Marriott was “a beautiful place. I’ve been all over the world and this place is fabulous.” His recruiting must be interesting if he’s going all over the world to do it. Matt said that the Shaughnessy Bar is “on the come”. No comment.
He was happy to be back in the Dome- no Hurricane. “There were three games played in North Carolina that day and the better throwing team lost all three. That’s why we are effortlessly, (sic) trying to balance our attack.”
They introduced the trivia question for the day: Who scored the winning touchdown in SU’s 3OT, 50-42 win over #8 ranked Virginia tech in 2002?
I called in my questions. Coach said that injuries had held back the offensive line and defensive backfield but there’s an upside to that- they’ve had to play young players and those players will be better next year for the experience they got this year. “They’ve tasted the water.”
Liam in Pompey said this was “the hardest loss to swallow – you had the game right in your hands. What went wrong? The weather? The wind? I hear you are three touchdown underdogs to Virginia Tech.” He asked for a comment on that. Coach Babers said Tech was “an exciting team, well coached – Frank Beamer didn’t leave the cupboard bare. But the ball isn’t round and you never know how it might bounce. Against Wake Forest the weather affected us because we were more of a throwing team. They took advantage of our young personnel and dominated the clock. It was the closest game we’ve had in a comparison of personnel. It was a disappointment.
Matt noted that the Virginia Tech-Syracuse series “decided a lot back in the 90’s. DB: I know Vick vs. McNabb, (actually they never played each other), OT games. Who won was the champion and the winner goes home with his sister. (Who’s sister?!?)
They did an injury report: Cordell Hudson is out for this game and Kendall Coleman is suspended for the first half due to his “targeting” call. “De’Jon Wilson will play in his spot. Maybe he’ll be Pipped.”
John in Baltimore wanted to know “How do we get depth? Can you get it from New York State? From Milford Academy? Can you go the JUCO route?” DB: “There’s a lot of good players in new York. You need the right academic fit and the right temperament. JUCOs are a quick-fix based on need. You don’t want to bring in Junior college players to be back-ups: you want them as starters. The problem is that if you build slowly, you could get fired before you get to where you want to be and the next guy will get all the credit.” John wondered if Amba Etta-Tawo will make it easier to recruit wide receivers and the coach he certainly would.
Mark from Phoenix wondered “What are you looking at?” in terms of recruiting JUCOs. Coach took it as a general question about recruiting. Dino said “We don’t want our opposition to know everything we are looking for in recruiting. If we have 22 scholarships, we want to recruit a whole team, except for the kickers. You don’t need them every year.”
Dave in Syracuse asked about Dino’s previous two programs: did they get better in the second half of the season or did fatigue take over? DB: “My two previous teams had fantastic depth and numbers, so this is a new experience. The big question si do we use strategies more appropriate to the talent we have and try to keep it close or do we use the strategies we want to use and then recruit the players for those strategies once they’ve seen what we are doing? I think that will work in the long run and the long run is the best bet.”
A caller named Dean said he’d heard a commentator on the radio say that Syracuse should put their wide receivers in motion more to let them gain speed. DB: “The rain slows them down- they don’t want to slip. It also gives the defense time to respond to the formation and the play. You can use motion to see what they are going to do on defense but our tempo allows us to see if they are in man or a zone without the motion.”
A caller named Deano from Cooperstown wondered about “play calling on second and short”. DB: “You can’t be consistent in those situations. You must be inconsistent. Some people call it a “waste” down. You can go for the big play so you can get the first down and keep the ball and the clock moving. Do we think we can move them around and get that first down? If not we may want to use multiple plays to get it.”
Matt asked if he “self scouts” the team during the week. “We do it continually. We do it back for all five years (he’s been coaching). Everyone has tendencies. You’ve got to know what your tendencies are. We want to know what the defense knows. Do we want to keep our tendencies?”
Chip got in his question about the “jumbo” package via twitter. “Sometimes when you lose some players, the replacements might not be as good at run blocking. They may not be able to close together and wedge out that opening.”
Gordon in Canandaigua asked about rule changes. DB: Coaches have to take a test every year on rules and recruiting. Sometimes the older coaches are actually at a handicap to younger coaches because the current rules are the only ones the younger coaches have ever known while the older coaches answer questions on the way the rules used to be.”
A caller asked if it would be helpful to have Dungey roll out more to avoid the rush – or does that minimize his ability to check down on the receivers? DB: “ Eric actually throws pretty well on the run. We can move the pocket. On a wet surface, we’d rather “let the defenders try to find him. We also had leakage in a gap. But in the Dome there should be no issues.”
Reno Ferri, (no relation to Diamond: his last name is pronounced “Fur-rhee” was the running backs coach when Terrence West of Towson tore up Dino Baber’s second Eastern Illinois team just when they were anticipating playing North Dakota State for the national title. Instead, Towson won 49-39, (after falling behind 0-14) and they got the honor of losing to the Bison that year. “A massive snow storm had no effect. I decided that if you can’t beat them, join them, so I hired him for Syracuse.” However Ferri is coaching the tight ends here.
Reno said that Syracuse is a great place to live and he’s working with a great group of guys. Cam McPherson led us in receiving at Wake but “he’s probably had better games due to his blocking. That’s what I’m looking for. He’s a great worker with great intelligence. He’s up for a Rhodes scholarship.” Matt noted that Cam was a quarterback at CBA. Why don’t we throw to the tight end more? “We’ve got a talented group of wide receivers. Our use of the tight end will change as the talent changes.” Virginia Tech “has the best defense we’ve played so far. The key will be ‘winning on contact’ with my group.”
Matt asked Coach Babers what is the first movie he ever saw in a theater. He couldn’t recall the name of it because he was too little at the time- he just remembers it was at a drive-in. (Just like a kid.) Coach’s movie pick of the day is “The Magnificent Seven”, a remake of which is in theaters now. He correctly noted that it’s based on Japanese Classic “The Seven Samurai” and added “Brynner was ‘the bomb’”. (He likes the King and I, too.)
Nice to see so many questions from the show.
