The state of eastern football

[elkeed]

The Balkanization of the east has brought my worst fears to fruition. Their is not a single eastern school even receiving votes in the latest pole. Whether its the Big Ten, Acc or big 12 every eastern school is on the outside looking in. Wake up people, things won't be changing. These are the inevitable consequences of chasing a false narrative.

 

[sutomcat]

The Balkanization of the east has brought my worst fears to fruition. Their is not a single eastern school even receiving votes in the latest pole. Whether its the Big Ten, Acc or big 12 every eastern school is on the outside looking in. Wake up people, things won't be changing. These are the inevitable consequences of chasing a false narrative.

I agree. Don't remember Eastern football ever being weaker than it is right now. I don't think there is a team in the East that even belongs in the top 50 in the country.

I disagree with you that this will never change. There has been an extraordinary turnover in coaching staffs for Eastern schools that coupled with all the conference re-alignment changes has put a lot of Eastern schools in flux. In a couple of years, there will be a couple of Eastern schools back in the top 25. It remains to be seen if one of them will be Syracuse.

 

[Millhouse]

I agree. Don't remember Eastern football ever being weaker than it is right now. I don't think there is a team in the East that even belongs in the top 50 in the country.

I disagree with you that this will never change. There has been an extraordinary turnover in coaching staffs for Eastern schools that coupled with all the conference re-alignment changes has put a lot of Eastern schools in flux. In a couple of years, there will be a couple of Eastern schools back in the top 25. It remains to be seen if one of them will be Syracuse.

we need to open the dome up for 7 on 7 passing tournaments

there's nothing magic about the south. it's just repetitions. these guys throw and catch a hundred million times before they ever set foot in college and once college starts, they run the same offenses.

parents would be on board because their kids wouldn't be getting killed

it's ancient history but we hoped that cecil howards 17 completions as a senior will bring us to the promised land. that's how slim the pickins are here.

 

[Quazzum69]

Look at every recruiting source and see where the players are coming from: it's not the east. There is something special about the south: year-round practice and a football culture. Baseball is very similar - the best schools are located in warm places.

You may be able to hire a great coach or build better facilities, but you can't create a culture overnight nor can you change the climate.

 

[Millhouse]

Look at every recruiting source and see where the players are coming from: it's not the east. There is something special about the south: year-round practice and a football culture. Baseball is very similar - the best schools are located in warm places.

You may be able to hire a great coach or build better facilities, but you can't create a culture overnight nor can you change the climate.

there are enough places to throw inside nowadays, these giant barns where people play soccer etc.

not ideal but kids can throw and catch in the winter.

 

[PhatOrange]

Kids manage to play indoor lacrosse and indoor scoccer, but I think part of the problem is football is so low on the totem pole many of the best athletes are better at lacrosse, hockey, soccer and basketball. That's what they play in the winter.

 

[JoeSU]

Kids manage to play indoor lacrosse and indoor scoccer, but I think part of the problem is football is so low on the totem pole many of the best athletes are better at lacrosse, hockey, soccer and basketball. That's what they play in the winter.

Yep. There's a reason Texas, Florida, California and Georgia produce the most D-1 talent. Alabama and Louisiana aren't far behind.

 

[mizzou15]

Its too late now Eastern foot ball is dead. Syracuse will be regulated to the ACC trash heap along w/ BC. Penn State will never play for a national championship. Rutgers will be happy to receive its welfare check from the big 10. WV might be in the best position in its state of western limbo. There is hope for UCONN if they find the football equivalent of Jim Calhoun. Temple could win 7/8 games w/ like Uconn, the right coach. I really don't feel sorry for the schools except Penn state & WV. The others prostituted themselves for money instead of doing everything they could to solidify the east and now are getting pimp slapped including SU.

 

[FortyFourCT]

Somebody on another board I frequent had this to say, and I gotta agree with it:

It's pretty much the whole northeast. Syracuse, BC, UConn, UMass, Rutgers, Buffalo, Army (I give them a pass), etc. And the worst part is all of them seem to have a hard on for old-school football and ex-defensive coordinators and won't hire a new coach who'll try something different. There are always going to be the inherent facility and recruiting disadvantages, and yet plenty of FCS schools make noise with high-octane attacks, but guys like Chip Kelly, Brian Kelly, Mark Whipple, Bobby Wilder all had to leave the area to get head coaching gigs. Even a guy like Paul Johnson would be a good hire because he would bring something unique and different, which is your best chance of beating teams with more money, fans, and better recruiting areas than you.

 

[mizzou15]

Their similiarities are more the reason for them staying together. They have imposed the divide and conquer theory upon themselves.

 

[Alsacs]

Its too late now Eastern foot ball is dead. Syracuse will be regulated to the ACC trash heap along w/ BC. Penn State will never play for a national championship. Rutgers will be happy to receive its welfare check from the big 10. WV might be in the best position in its state of western limbo. There is hope for UCONN if they find the football equivalent of Jim Calhoun. Temple could win 7/8 games w/ like Uconn, the right coach. I really don't feel sorry for the schools except Penn state & WV. The others prostituted themselves for money instead of doing everything they could to solidify the east and now are getting pimp slapped including SU.

Your statement is a bleeping joke it reeks of first class troll material. The WHOLE THING IS JOE PATERNO'S FAULT. The greedy ahole wouldn't treat everyone as equals when they wanted to create an Eastern football/basketball league. The guy was the Penn State AD and only wanted to play 2 for 1s with his so called conference mates. The guy didn't want to treat everyone as equals and then the Big East conference formed and boom it blew up. However, continue telling us you feel bad for Penn State and WVU lol their clown of an AD has them on an island in the Big XII. SU/BC have access to recruiting in FL, SC, NC, GA. Congrats for trolling.

 

[storange]

Its too late now Eastern foot ball is dead. Syracuse will be regulated to the ACC trash heap along w/ BC. Penn State will never play for a national championship. Rutgers will be happy to receive its welfare check from the big 10. WV might be in the best position in its state of western limbo. There is hope for UCONN if they find the football equivalent of Jim Calhoun. Temple could win 7/8 games w/ like Uconn, the right coach. I really don't feel sorry for the schools except Penn state & WV. The others prostituted themselves for money instead of doing everything they could to solidify the east and now are getting pimp slapped including SU.

There are so many things I disagree with in this post I wouldn't know where to start.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I look at it the other way - this is a prime opportunity for somebody to grab the bull by the horns and become WHERE IT'S AT for northeast football.

If only we had something completely unique from all other BCS schools (cough cough the Dome) that could facilitate a style of play that would attract the best talent in the northeast.

 

[Rocco]

Its too late now Eastern foot ball is dead. Syracuse will be regulated to the ACC trash heap along w/ BC. Penn State will never play for a national championship. Rutgers will be happy to receive its welfare check from the big 10. WV might be in the best position in its state of western limbo. There is hope for UCONN if they find the football equivalent of Jim Calhoun. Temple could win 7/8 games w/ like Uconn, the right coach. I really don't feel sorry for the schools except Penn state & WV. The others prostituted themselves for money instead of doing everything they could to solidify the east and now are getting pimp slapped including SU.

I found your pic online:

 

[martykobes]

My son took a recruiting visit to South Carolina this year and football is king, they get 70,000 for a team like Missouri Valley State. Hopefully SU can be "the" eastern school to attend and even if it is it will never be the powerhouse it once was.

 

[OttosBestFriend]

This whole thread is a farce...

Eastern football is dead, yet a couple of hundred miles west, Ohio State is tearing it up.

Oh and you need great weather to get the best kids??? Tell that to Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin and Boise.

Sure, lots of top flight players come from the South, but tons of studs are up North too... We just gotta get 'em to SU again.

Remember, McNabb was from Chicago, Marvin Harrison from PA, Keith Bulluck NY, and Freeney CT.

Those are 4 of SU's all time greats right there.

You just need a system and coaches to attract the very best kids - Geography be damned.

 

[Lou_C]

Somebody on another board I frequent had this to say, and I gotta agree with it:

It's pretty much the whole northeast. Syracuse, BC, UConn, UMass, Rutgers, Buffalo, Army (I give them a pass), etc. And the worst part is all of them seem to have a hard on for old-school football and ex-defensive coordinators and won't hire a new coach who'll try something different. There are always going to be the inherent facility and recruiting disadvantages, and yet plenty of FCS schools make noise with high-octane attacks, but guys like Chip Kelly, Brian Kelly, Mark Whipple, Bobby Wilder all had to leave the area to get head coaching gigs. Even a guy like Paul Johnson would be a good hire because he would bring something unique and different, which is your best chance of beating teams with more money, fans, and better recruiting areas than you.

Bingo. On the plus side, the field is wide open for any Northeastern team to be THE team in the region. And that could be an ACC school with it's unique ability to have both exposure and the opportunity to play in the South.

But I think you are right on. I think Northeastern schools want in their hearts to all do what Stanford does. But Stanford is the extreme exception when it comes to these "haven't been good, shouldn't be all that good, but damn they're good" schools. Frankly, I don't know how they do it, but I guess it probably has something to do with being able to offer QBs and O Linemen a Stanford education, Palo Alto setting, and an unparalleled alumni network.

But the reality is that schools that overcome big disadvantages of tradition or talent have done so by utilizing non-standard schemes. I don't care whether you are Baylor or Duke or Vandy or Texas Tech or Boston College or Syracuse, it's just a losing battle to try to win with a system that requires a 6'4" rocket armed QB or 6'1" CBs and 300 lb DTs that run a 4.6.

There is just simply too much ground to make up for Northeastern teams to strive to play purely physically dominating football to long term success. Despite the stellar histories of Syracuse and Pitt, unfortunately being in an area that is very disadvantaged as far as talent, and very lukewarm in terms of fan support and therefore facilities, those schools are definitely in the "disadvantaged" category. And I mean no disrespect. There just aren't enough legit D1 athletes in these areas, and it's not getting any better. It's just getting worse, and will continue to do so.

Baylor and Texas Tech KNOW they are never going to get first (or second, third or fourth) pick of kids in Texas. GT KNOWS it will never be able to recruit the kinds of kids that Georgia, Florida State and Clemson can admit.

Schools that have been able to somewhat overcome severe disadvantages are ones that have figured out how to utilize a 5'10 receiver, or a quarterback with a quick release but a weak arm. Are they winning national titles, no. But they have put themselves on a different competitive level, and someday will...Oregon may this year.

The first step I think is for Northeastern schools to admit to themselves that they really are at a huge disadvantage due to local talent and support. I just don't think people want to appreciate just how far away they are from being able to match up physically with the top teams and utilize that. They can go into Georgia or Florida and get a kid who has played against the best of the best in high school competition, but isn't getting looks from UGA, Bama or FSU.

I think the Northeastern school that breaks out is one that rolls the dice with innovative coaching minds that can at least somewhat level the playing field. They need to put in a system that will be a selling point for a certain kind of talented kid. And with success, and being the most successful program in the region, they will slowly be able to get the attention of more traditional athletes I think, like what happened at Oregon, where they now have legit big boy athletes running that system.

I just don't see anyone being able to channel '86 Penn State to national prominence.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think the Northeastern school that breaks out is one that rolls the dice with innovative coaching minds that can at least somewhat level the playing field. They need to put in a system that will be a selling point for a certain kind of talented kid. And with success, and being the most successful program in the region, they will slowly be able to get the attention of more traditional athletes I think, like what happened at Oregon, where they now have legit big boy athletes running that system.

And this is why I want to be bullish on Syracuse, because we are the only BCS team that plays in a Dome. Controlled weather conditions should be extremely conducive to innovation.

 

[Chip]

I look at it the other way - this is a prime opportunity for somebody to grab the bull by the horns and become WHERE IT'S AT for northeast football.

If only we had something completely unique from all other BCS schools (cough cough the Dome) that could facilitate a style of play that would attract the best talent in the northeast.

If I were the only school in the northeast that could guarantee ideal climate conditions for 6-7 home games per year, I'd probably pump that up as my marketing plan to be the most exciting place for offensive football in said region.

Not sure if anyone has such a magical facility, but if they did...

 

[rosconey]

i also cant fathom how the north east doesnt change styles- we gained prominence by being different --playing fast football-
we let evolution die -

 

[OttoinGrotto]

If I were the only school in the northeast that could guarantee ideal climate conditions for 6-7 home games per year, I'd probably pump that up as my marketing plan to be the most exciting place for offensive football in said region.

Not sure if anyone has such a magical facility, but if they did...

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!?!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Quazzum69]

I worry the epidemic will soon spread to basketball.

I know that the basketball culture is still alive and well in the NE, but as the old timers (Boeheim, Calhoun, Izzo, etc.) start leaving, what kind of impact will that have on the region? What if the next crop of influential coaches decide to go to Texas, the Carolinas, California, Florida, etc. Billy Donovan is a great example of one of this generation's best coaches and he's at Florida; Self is at Kansas. If Brad Stevens ever returns to college, chances are it will be located outside of the northeast.

Football is becoming the driving force behind the major conferences, and as such will be centered in the south and west, maybe the great lakes region. When absurd amounts of football money flowing into athletic departments meet the best athletes (across all sports) in the region, there will be a shift in basketball power. If Texas or LSU or any other program with deep pockets and athletes were to get consistency and become competitive, it will be game over for everyone else.

Syracuse is lucky to be tied into a southern conference that has some good football teams.

 

[RICuse44]

Its too late now Eastern foot ball is dead. Syracuse will be regulated to the ACC trash heap along w/ BC. Penn State will never play for a national championship. Rutgers will be happy to receive its welfare check from the big 10. WV might be in the best position in its state of western limbo. There is hope for UCONN if they find the football equivalent of Jim Calhoun. Temple could win 7/8 games w/ like Uconn, the right coach. I really don't feel sorry for the schools except Penn state & WV. The others prostituted themselves for money instead of doing everything they could to solidify the east and now are getting pimp slapped including SU.

And we beat you last year. Enjoy your time in the sun now buddy.

 

[omniorange]

And this is why I want to be bullish on Syracuse, because we are the only BCS team that plays in a Dome. Controlled weather conditions should be extremely conducive to innovation.

This should be true. But unfortunately, hasn't been the case. We tend to hire "old school" coaches instead of the innovative offensive ones.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[OttoinGrotto]

This should be true. But unfortunately, hasn't been the case. We tend to hire "old school" coaches instead of the innovative offensive ones.

Cheers,
Neil

I am optimistic that McDonald will get there. He wants to throw the ball. That's a step in the right direction.