SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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- Coach Shafer was reduced to saying in his press conference that this was not as bad as getting you head chopped off by ISIS. I would agree, but the duration makes it a close thing. The game lasted more than three hours but everyone there knew that , (again), whatever happened, we just couldn’t make the plays necessary to win the game, even playing a team that wasn’t a model of efficiency, (Louisville had 9 penalties and 2 turnovers). It was like watching a life raft slowly deflate.
- Chris Gedney has a tendency to sigh audibly when a play goes bad for Syracuse. The post gamer highlight montage on the radio was mostly Gedney sighing.
- Even before he was injured, Terrel Hunt had significantly regressed. His throwing, even on the long passes he’d done well with in previous game, was awful. On one sideline pass near where I sit. Our guy clearly had enough space to catch a well thrown pass and Hunt threw it way over his head into the Louisville bench. He telegraphs his passes. Chris Gedney noticed he was throwing off his back foot and even falling backwards after the pass was released. The interception on the first play after the fumble recovery emotionally ended the game. Our effort seemed to just collapse after that. In five games, Hunt has thrown one touchdown pass- a 4 yarder to Brisley Estime vs. Central Michigan. His biggest virtue was his ability to run the ball and he’s stopped doing that due to injuries. In this game, he first got hurt when he failed to throw the ball away and took a rough sack. He should never have come back in but he got hurt again and was helped off the field. He should probably sit out next week, as his presence isn’t going to make any real difference. He needs to get healthy and work on his fundamentals.
- Louisville came in with the country’s #1 rushing defense and held us to 59 yards in 25 attempts. But I’m disappointed that we never even challenged them. We came out passing, depending on Hunt to win the game for us. You aren’t going to win by going to your weaknesses to avoid the other team’s strengths. If you have to go strength on strength, do it.
- Memo to George MacDonald: Don’t run a pitch-out from your own end zone using your slowest running back. AAM has slimmed down and has more speed than in past years but he’s not the one to beat a linebacker to the edge.
- Running trick plays in front of the goal line is an act of desperation. The defense doesn’t have much room to cover and a slow-developing, side to side play, (which trick plays are), just maximizes their reaction time. There’s no alternative down there to executing basic plays that move the ball forward.
- Field positon continues to be a big problem. We had 75+ yards to go on 10 of our 14 possessions. Louisville had 75 yards to go in two of their 14 possessions, 9and one of those was because of a clipping penalty). The total yards to go on each team’s possessions were 1025 for the Orange to 871 for the Cardinals. That’s the equivalent of 154 yards of offense that they didn’t have to have. Louisville’s kickers were excellent, hitting the blal high, placing it well and getting it to turnover and bounce back. Their gunners were great at getting to the ball. But field positon has been a problem for SU all year. We are averaging a decent 8.7 yards per punt return- when we return them. We’ve returned only 10 of 25 punts. Ritchie Desir let two punts bounce that were downed at the 1. One got wiped out by penalty. On that occasion, the ball was over his head and he was right to let it go. But on the one that counted, he could have fielded it but let it bounce to the 1. We wound up with a safety. On kickoffs, we are averaging a paltry 17 yards a return. Our returned typically gets knocked off his feet before he reaches the 20, much less the 25, as soon as he reaches the first defender. When an offense is struggling, it needs help from special teams. We aren’t getting it.
- Knowing what Bobby Petrino did his first time around at Louisville, this was the year to beat them. We didn’t come close to getting it done.
- That Brandon Radcliffe is one tough dude. Head on hits, gang-tackling. It didn’t seem to matter with him. And the number of hats we had to put on him to get him down, opened things up for the rest of their offense, what there is of it at this point.
- Why can’t you spike the ball with less than 3 seconds left? I know it’s a rule. Why is it a rule?
- Robert Welch jumped offside, pointed to the Louisvlle line and looked at the referee for a flag that never came. Players held up and Reggie Bonnafon passed to Matt Milton for 45 yards to set up a Cardinal touchdown. Chris Gedney said that if you jump offsides, go ahead and sack the quarterback. As long as you don’t commit a foul in doing so, you will prevent the play. Don’t jump and then stand there debating with the refs.
- We seem snake-bit. On some of it we are the snake but still. Terrel Hunt hesitates just a bit throwing to Ben Lewis in the end zone and he’s just out of bounds as he catches it. Adonis Ameen-Moore throws all 230 pounds in to trying to make it out of the end zone and misses by inches. Prince-Tyson Gulley if off to the races on that punt return until a guy grabs the heel of his back leg. Lewis comes within inches of making it to the goal line on his spectacular 48 yard catch and run. The guy presses the button for that railroad whistle, not noticing that the pass from West to Lewis is bouncing behind a crest-fallen Lewis. It’s been that type of season.
- And it’s going to get worse become it gets better. And it may not get better. It’s not just the schedule, although that’s a problem we are in a league where everyone has been good within recent memory and everyone can suddenly get good, (as NC State is with their new quarterback. In our situation, no game now looks like a likely victory. The games against the worst teams are now the toss-ups. But what’s really bad is all the injuries we are suffering. That’s what can really rip up your season. We have a shortage of playmakers when really healthy. With the injuries we are dealing with, we are a pretty toothless bunch. We won several games last year against teams suffering from too many injuries to key players. Now we are that team. This is a year that could turn from disappointing to truly dismal.
- The search for Satori continues….
- Chris Gedney has a tendency to sigh audibly when a play goes bad for Syracuse. The post gamer highlight montage on the radio was mostly Gedney sighing.
- Even before he was injured, Terrel Hunt had significantly regressed. His throwing, even on the long passes he’d done well with in previous game, was awful. On one sideline pass near where I sit. Our guy clearly had enough space to catch a well thrown pass and Hunt threw it way over his head into the Louisville bench. He telegraphs his passes. Chris Gedney noticed he was throwing off his back foot and even falling backwards after the pass was released. The interception on the first play after the fumble recovery emotionally ended the game. Our effort seemed to just collapse after that. In five games, Hunt has thrown one touchdown pass- a 4 yarder to Brisley Estime vs. Central Michigan. His biggest virtue was his ability to run the ball and he’s stopped doing that due to injuries. In this game, he first got hurt when he failed to throw the ball away and took a rough sack. He should never have come back in but he got hurt again and was helped off the field. He should probably sit out next week, as his presence isn’t going to make any real difference. He needs to get healthy and work on his fundamentals.
- Louisville came in with the country’s #1 rushing defense and held us to 59 yards in 25 attempts. But I’m disappointed that we never even challenged them. We came out passing, depending on Hunt to win the game for us. You aren’t going to win by going to your weaknesses to avoid the other team’s strengths. If you have to go strength on strength, do it.
- Memo to George MacDonald: Don’t run a pitch-out from your own end zone using your slowest running back. AAM has slimmed down and has more speed than in past years but he’s not the one to beat a linebacker to the edge.
- Running trick plays in front of the goal line is an act of desperation. The defense doesn’t have much room to cover and a slow-developing, side to side play, (which trick plays are), just maximizes their reaction time. There’s no alternative down there to executing basic plays that move the ball forward.
- Field positon continues to be a big problem. We had 75+ yards to go on 10 of our 14 possessions. Louisville had 75 yards to go in two of their 14 possessions, 9and one of those was because of a clipping penalty). The total yards to go on each team’s possessions were 1025 for the Orange to 871 for the Cardinals. That’s the equivalent of 154 yards of offense that they didn’t have to have. Louisville’s kickers were excellent, hitting the blal high, placing it well and getting it to turnover and bounce back. Their gunners were great at getting to the ball. But field positon has been a problem for SU all year. We are averaging a decent 8.7 yards per punt return- when we return them. We’ve returned only 10 of 25 punts. Ritchie Desir let two punts bounce that were downed at the 1. One got wiped out by penalty. On that occasion, the ball was over his head and he was right to let it go. But on the one that counted, he could have fielded it but let it bounce to the 1. We wound up with a safety. On kickoffs, we are averaging a paltry 17 yards a return. Our returned typically gets knocked off his feet before he reaches the 20, much less the 25, as soon as he reaches the first defender. When an offense is struggling, it needs help from special teams. We aren’t getting it.
- Knowing what Bobby Petrino did his first time around at Louisville, this was the year to beat them. We didn’t come close to getting it done.
- That Brandon Radcliffe is one tough dude. Head on hits, gang-tackling. It didn’t seem to matter with him. And the number of hats we had to put on him to get him down, opened things up for the rest of their offense, what there is of it at this point.
- Why can’t you spike the ball with less than 3 seconds left? I know it’s a rule. Why is it a rule?
- Robert Welch jumped offside, pointed to the Louisvlle line and looked at the referee for a flag that never came. Players held up and Reggie Bonnafon passed to Matt Milton for 45 yards to set up a Cardinal touchdown. Chris Gedney said that if you jump offsides, go ahead and sack the quarterback. As long as you don’t commit a foul in doing so, you will prevent the play. Don’t jump and then stand there debating with the refs.
- We seem snake-bit. On some of it we are the snake but still. Terrel Hunt hesitates just a bit throwing to Ben Lewis in the end zone and he’s just out of bounds as he catches it. Adonis Ameen-Moore throws all 230 pounds in to trying to make it out of the end zone and misses by inches. Prince-Tyson Gulley if off to the races on that punt return until a guy grabs the heel of his back leg. Lewis comes within inches of making it to the goal line on his spectacular 48 yard catch and run. The guy presses the button for that railroad whistle, not noticing that the pass from West to Lewis is bouncing behind a crest-fallen Lewis. It’s been that type of season.
- And it’s going to get worse become it gets better. And it may not get better. It’s not just the schedule, although that’s a problem we are in a league where everyone has been good within recent memory and everyone can suddenly get good, (as NC State is with their new quarterback. In our situation, no game now looks like a likely victory. The games against the worst teams are now the toss-ups. But what’s really bad is all the injuries we are suffering. That’s what can really rip up your season. We have a shortage of playmakers when really healthy. With the injuries we are dealing with, we are a pretty toothless bunch. We won several games last year against teams suffering from too many injuries to key players. Now we are that team. This is a year that could turn from disappointing to truly dismal.
- The search for Satori continues….
