SWC75
Bored Historian
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The show this year will be broadcast on Thursdays at 7PM from TGI Fridays on the third floor of Destiny USA, (just past the theater ticket booth and on the right after you walk down the hallway). 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 at a restaurant, their table tended to be in a secluded location. (Remember its Thursdays at TGI Fridays, not Fridays at TGI Thursdays). The football show is an hour in duration, (Coach Boeheim’s basketball show is usually 2 hours).
Note: because the first game is on a Friday Night, the first show will be on Wednesday, September 2nd. After that it will be on the Thursday before each game until the last game when the show will again be on a Wednesday, (11/25) due to Thanksgiving.
“Fans are invited to attend the show in person or participate via telephone (1-888-7-Go Cuse or 424-8599) or Twitter (@CuseIMG) using the hashtag #AskShafe. 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: http://tunein.com/radio/WGVA-1240-s29191/
That first phone number is 1-888-746-2873 numerically.
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.)
My Question(s)
“Coach, congratulations on another victory. I’d like to apologize on behalf of Syracuse fans for the small number of people who were at the Dome to support your team and honor Coach Mac. If we keep winning and playing an exciting brand of ball, hopefully more people will get on board.
It was fun to see those long plays to turn the game around. It’s tough for a college team to execute 10-12 plays in a row without making mistakes that stop a drive and big plays can help make up for that. But we need to sustain drives, too. It concerns me that we gained 3 yards or less on a dozen first downs and were 1 for 9 on third down. What can be done to enable us to sustain drives better so we won’t have to wait for the big play to put ourselves in a position to win?”
With all the talk of attendance, I decided to ask this instead:
“Coach, I was watching the Tennessee-Oklahoma game. The Vols have had a down period with lots of frustrations and several coaching changes. They have a 100,000 seat stadium and it was packed for that game, with each section alternating wearing orange and white. It was very impressive. Up here we had a stadium half the size that was half full. You’ve had some success recruiting, but when a recruit sees a half empty stadium, what impact does that have on his thinking? What impact would it have on a coaches thinking about whether he want to coach here? “
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.)
Matt congratulated the coach on winning the conference opener and being 2-0 with a chance to be 3-0 for the first time in 24 years. Coach was disappointed that “we left some plays on the field” but “We’re getting closer each week.” Matt asked him to “balance being 2-0 and maybe 3-0 with the drive to get better every day. “ Coach: “It’s the latter. We have to control getting better every day. (Control the controlables!) The staff and the kids have really bought in, in the practice sessions and in the classroom.”
Matt asked what the importance of having the first four games at home is. “It’s the routine. We have 8 new starters on defense and a freshman quarterback. The freshmen are able to get settle academically. We can educate them as to what to expect on the road.”
I called in my revised question and also told the story of the 1983 Kent State game I posted in the Cyracuse.com article comments and to our board. “As far as recruiting, it’s big. We try to make good decisions as to when to bring the kids in. It’s my job to get good coaches in here. I’m most appreciative of the fans that do come to the games. I focus on putting a better team on the field. I tell the kids to “control the core”- take coaching well, focus on academics and football. The rest is ‘context’. We need to stimulate the community. I’ve seen some big crowds since I’ve been coaching here. I remember the big crowds we got when we beat West Virginia three years in a row. That was truly a 12th man. All the noise really confused Geno Smith. (So that’s what confused Geno Smith.) The Louisville crowd was not quite as big but we got after ‘em good. I loved calling defensive signals when Teddy Bridgewater couldn’t hear. We’ll be wining again before packed houses.”
Matt asked if the coach would rather play all the out of conference games at once and then go into the season. That is the coach’s preference, although “it worked out pretty good this year”. But it doesn’t really matter that much. “Just tell me the rules, give me the schedule and let’s go!”
Central Michigan “offers the same kind of threat as Wake Forest”, (to complete a lot of short passes). He recalled that game against Louisville. “Teddy through for a mile but couldn’t get into the end zone.” Wake Forest: “They picked on the linebackers with the cornerbacks playing bump and run. We blitzed on the screen and didn’t clamp down on the backside.” You really need to clamp down on your backside to be successful. “We stick with the philosophy of stuffing the run and forcing the pass when they have to do it….In football up front is where the glory is.”
Stefan called in to ask if they were already simulating what Eric Du7ngey will face against LSU in practice. Can you guess the response? 1…2…3…4… “Our only prep is for CMU. I’m not sure who we play after them.” He did discuss quarterback depth. Austin Wilson is #2, A. J. Long #3 and Zach Mahoney, “a walk-on who has been practicing very well”, is #4. We’re not running out of QBs this year!
Shafe was sked what other quarters he would compare Dungey to. “We don’t compare him to others. We compare him to how he practiced the day before. He’s fun to watch. He’s extremely bright and hates to lose. He could be really so0mehting in three years. He can change a game with his feet and not necessarily by taking off. He can slide to his right or to his left, the way Ryan Nassib used to. I remember when I was at Stanford, Bill Walsh would give us lectures on the passing game, He pointed out how many times Joe Montana bought time or even ran for first downs.”
Coach is excited about working the option into the offense. That’s what they were working on when practice was closed. Defensively, I was always reluctant to pressure against an option team because they could take it to the downs.
He praised DC Chuck Bullough. “The best coordinators don’t have all the answers. They look at what other teams are doing and use what works.” He also praised running backs coach Deandre Smith, who was the offensive player of the decade in his conference, (the Missouri Valley and the ‘decade’ was 1985-95 per our media guide.
We have two pick 6’s in two games. “There’s nothing better as a defensive player . We practice interceptions and returns every day….redundance is the key to consistency.” Matt suggested that something comes close: forcing a fumble. Coach: “We’re not going for the sack- we’re going for the ball on the sack.”
Coach Shafer is looking forward to this Saturday: “The kids will be there, the fans of the future. (Kids under 12 get in free if an adult ticket is bought.) It will be SU employee day. Let’s have fun!”
Note: because the first game is on a Friday Night, the first show will be on Wednesday, September 2nd. After that it will be on the Thursday before each game until the last game when the show will again be on a Wednesday, (11/25) due to Thanksgiving.
“Fans are invited to attend the show in person or participate via telephone (1-888-7-Go Cuse or 424-8599) or Twitter (@CuseIMG) using the hashtag #AskShafe. 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: http://tunein.com/radio/WGVA-1240-s29191/
That first phone number is 1-888-746-2873 numerically.
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.)
My Question(s)
“Coach, congratulations on another victory. I’d like to apologize on behalf of Syracuse fans for the small number of people who were at the Dome to support your team and honor Coach Mac. If we keep winning and playing an exciting brand of ball, hopefully more people will get on board.
It was fun to see those long plays to turn the game around. It’s tough for a college team to execute 10-12 plays in a row without making mistakes that stop a drive and big plays can help make up for that. But we need to sustain drives, too. It concerns me that we gained 3 yards or less on a dozen first downs and were 1 for 9 on third down. What can be done to enable us to sustain drives better so we won’t have to wait for the big play to put ourselves in a position to win?”
With all the talk of attendance, I decided to ask this instead:
“Coach, I was watching the Tennessee-Oklahoma game. The Vols have had a down period with lots of frustrations and several coaching changes. They have a 100,000 seat stadium and it was packed for that game, with each section alternating wearing orange and white. It was very impressive. Up here we had a stadium half the size that was half full. You’ve had some success recruiting, but when a recruit sees a half empty stadium, what impact does that have on his thinking? What impact would it have on a coaches thinking about whether he want to coach here? “
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.)
Matt congratulated the coach on winning the conference opener and being 2-0 with a chance to be 3-0 for the first time in 24 years. Coach was disappointed that “we left some plays on the field” but “We’re getting closer each week.” Matt asked him to “balance being 2-0 and maybe 3-0 with the drive to get better every day. “ Coach: “It’s the latter. We have to control getting better every day. (Control the controlables!) The staff and the kids have really bought in, in the practice sessions and in the classroom.”
Matt asked what the importance of having the first four games at home is. “It’s the routine. We have 8 new starters on defense and a freshman quarterback. The freshmen are able to get settle academically. We can educate them as to what to expect on the road.”
I called in my revised question and also told the story of the 1983 Kent State game I posted in the Cyracuse.com article comments and to our board. “As far as recruiting, it’s big. We try to make good decisions as to when to bring the kids in. It’s my job to get good coaches in here. I’m most appreciative of the fans that do come to the games. I focus on putting a better team on the field. I tell the kids to “control the core”- take coaching well, focus on academics and football. The rest is ‘context’. We need to stimulate the community. I’ve seen some big crowds since I’ve been coaching here. I remember the big crowds we got when we beat West Virginia three years in a row. That was truly a 12th man. All the noise really confused Geno Smith. (So that’s what confused Geno Smith.) The Louisville crowd was not quite as big but we got after ‘em good. I loved calling defensive signals when Teddy Bridgewater couldn’t hear. We’ll be wining again before packed houses.”
Matt asked if the coach would rather play all the out of conference games at once and then go into the season. That is the coach’s preference, although “it worked out pretty good this year”. But it doesn’t really matter that much. “Just tell me the rules, give me the schedule and let’s go!”
Central Michigan “offers the same kind of threat as Wake Forest”, (to complete a lot of short passes). He recalled that game against Louisville. “Teddy through for a mile but couldn’t get into the end zone.” Wake Forest: “They picked on the linebackers with the cornerbacks playing bump and run. We blitzed on the screen and didn’t clamp down on the backside.” You really need to clamp down on your backside to be successful. “We stick with the philosophy of stuffing the run and forcing the pass when they have to do it….In football up front is where the glory is.”
Stefan called in to ask if they were already simulating what Eric Du7ngey will face against LSU in practice. Can you guess the response? 1…2…3…4… “Our only prep is for CMU. I’m not sure who we play after them.” He did discuss quarterback depth. Austin Wilson is #2, A. J. Long #3 and Zach Mahoney, “a walk-on who has been practicing very well”, is #4. We’re not running out of QBs this year!
Shafe was sked what other quarters he would compare Dungey to. “We don’t compare him to others. We compare him to how he practiced the day before. He’s fun to watch. He’s extremely bright and hates to lose. He could be really so0mehting in three years. He can change a game with his feet and not necessarily by taking off. He can slide to his right or to his left, the way Ryan Nassib used to. I remember when I was at Stanford, Bill Walsh would give us lectures on the passing game, He pointed out how many times Joe Montana bought time or even ran for first downs.”
Coach is excited about working the option into the offense. That’s what they were working on when practice was closed. Defensively, I was always reluctant to pressure against an option team because they could take it to the downs.
He praised DC Chuck Bullough. “The best coordinators don’t have all the answers. They look at what other teams are doing and use what works.” He also praised running backs coach Deandre Smith, who was the offensive player of the decade in his conference, (the Missouri Valley and the ‘decade’ was 1985-95 per our media guide.
We have two pick 6’s in two games. “There’s nothing better as a defensive player . We practice interceptions and returns every day….redundance is the key to consistency.” Matt suggested that something comes close: forcing a fumble. Coach: “We’re not going for the sack- we’re going for the ball on the sack.”
Coach Shafer is looking forward to this Saturday: “The kids will be there, the fans of the future. (Kids under 12 get in free if an adult ticket is bought.) It will be SU employee day. Let’s have fun!”
