The thing is we could have won. We REALLY could have beaten USC.

[44PRIDE]

I have no doubts we could have beaten this team. Absolutely no doubts whatsoever. A bit more aggressive of play calling would have been the difference.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

There were a couple of key drops that really, really hurt.

 

[PeteCalvin]

There were a couple of key drops that really, really hurt.

And some horribly missed tackles. Big plays killed us.

 

[44PRIDE]

Yeah...
Nassib needs to learn to quit throwing heat. And our receivers need to learn that if a ball hits their hands, it MUST be caught.

As for the tackling, that has been something that's plagued this team for the better part of 7 years now. HORRIBLE Tackling seems to be a Syracuse Football calling card.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

We're not yet good enough to overcome some of our own mistakes.

But we're getting better every day.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

And some horribly missed tackles. Big plays killed us.

Eh. That guy who shed four tackles to score a TD wasn't just bad tackling. He was also really, really, really strong.

 

[PeteCalvin]

What drove me crazy was the lazy block by Smith that led to Nassib's pass being deflected for the INT. If he lays the wood on that guy, we retain possession and probably gain yards. Inexcusable.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Eh. That guy who shed four tackles to score a TD wasn't just bad tackling. He was also really, really, really strong.

That's not the only play where we had hands on a guy and let him slip by for a big gain.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

Yeah...
Nassib needs to learn to quit throwing heat. And our receivers need to learn that if a ball hits their hands, it MUST be caught.

As for the tackling, that has been something that's plagued this team for the better part of 7 years now. HORRIBLE Tackling seems to be a Syracuse Football calling card.

You ever heard of the Elway cross?

 

[JackBauer44]

What drove me crazy was the lazy block by Smith that led to Nassib's pass being deflected for the INT. If he lays the wood on that guy, we retain possession and probably gain yards. Inexcusable.

Also blame Lou for not getting in on him either. Jerome had to try and chip because he abused Lou.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

That's not the only play where we had hands on a guy and let him slip by for a big gain.

I know. I was there. I don't think the tackling will be as bad when we play anybody else. USC's guys were insanely athletic.

 

[qdawgg]

Also blame Lou for not getting in on him either. Jerome had to try and chip because he abused Lou.

That's being nice, jerome barely got his elbow on him. They might have touched elbows but that's about all jerome did.

 

[orangecuse]

Yeah...
Nassib needs to learn to quit throwing heat.

Agreed...he needs to add the off speed pitch to his repertoire.

 

[kingtidge]

I have no doubts we could have beaten this team. Absolutely no doubts whatsoever. A bit more aggressive of play calling would have been the difference.

We had no answer for their wideouts. They were both future nfl playmakers. We could runwith them... but we could not contest them in the air. We tackled poor, especially 2nd half when our D wore down. Nassib throws a tight, hard spiral (as does barkley). Usc's receivers casught the balls that hit them in hands... we dropped a bunch.

Our punt package on ST was very poor again.

We tightened the game up in 4th qtr when they began rotating their second string players in.

Could we have won? Sure.

...but we'd have to play close to flawless.

There's a lot to like about this team this year, but we are far from flawless

 

[RF2044]

We had no answer for their wideouts. They were both future nfl playmakers. We could runwith them... but we could not contest them in the air. We tackled poor, especially 2nd half when our D wore down. Nassib throws a tight, hard spiral (as does barkley). Usc's receivers casught the balls that hit them in hands... we dropped a bunch.

Our punt package on ST were very poor again.

We tightened the game up in 4th qtr when they began rotating their second string players in.

Could we have won? Sure.

...but we'd have to play close to flawless.

There's a lot to like about this team this year, but we are far from flawless

All very true and fair. However, it is important to point out that our game today was against the #2 team in the country, with a commensurate amount of talent on their side. We were FAR from flawless; but we held out own for most of the game, certainly into the 4th quarter. That's a long way from how inept we've seemed in recent years.

The coaches have really done an amazing job transforming this roster.

 

[44PRIDE]

All very true and fair. However, it is important to point out that our game today was against the #2 team in the country, with a commensurate amount of talent on their side. We were FAR from flawless; but we held out own for most of the game, certainly into the 4th quarter. That's a long way from how inept we've seemed in recent years.

The coaches have really done an amazing job transforming this roster.

Completely and totally agree. We are light years away from where we were under the GRob "dark ages".

 

[RF2044]

Completely and totally agree. We are light years away from where we were under the GRob "dark ages".

Doesn't mean that we don't have further to go, or to imply that we are all the way back.

But the difference between this year and last year [and the previous year, and the previous 5 years] is palpable.

 

[kingtidge]

All very true and fair. However, it is important to point out that our game today was against the #2 team in the country, with a commensurate amount of talent on their side. We were FAR from flawless; but we held out own for most of the game, certainly into the 4th quarter. That's a long way from how inept we've seemed in recent years.

The coaches have really done an amazing job transforming this roster.

Understood.

I guess I see us losing 9 of 10 to that team (with a win coming with some bottled lightning a some kind bounces).

And most games would likely be competitive. Which is leaps and boundsfrom 10 straight blowouts we'd see under gump.

That said, marrone's job is to recruit d1 talent and depth and coach them to be competitive.

If that is where we are at, i'm glad but we still have a ways to go before annointing marrone "fantastic".

Glass half full, but we also just lost our 7th game in a row. Looking good losing is still a loss.

 

[RF2044]

Understood.

I guess I see us losing 9 of 10 to that team (with a win coming with some bottled lightning a some kind bounces).

And most games would likely be competitive. Which is leaps and boundsfrom 10 straight blowouts we'd see under gump.

That said, marrone's job is to recruit d1 talent and depth and coach them to be competitive.

If that is where we are at, i'm glad but we still have a ways to go before annointing marrone "fantastic".

Glass half full, but we also just lost our 7th game in a row. Looking good losing is still a loss.

I don't disagree with anything in your post. The perspective I think is important to keep in mind is how rapidly the talent / depth has improved, even over what the product on the field was like last year. In that regard, we're not only trending in the right direction, we're really starting to see things pop.

That said, time to win some games. Nobody is advocating Pyrrhic victories anymore. It's encouraging to play competitively against a team like USC, but we're still 0-2. I just think that it is interesting that some posters are expressing frustration with today's loss [which seemed like a fait accompli before the season]--that's a sign of how far we've come.

Also, I don't put any stock in 0-7. Losses from last year don't have any impact on this year, just like wins from last year don't mean anything this year. 0-2 is where we're at, but the performances in both games suggest that this team is bowl caliber. Now it's time to go out and make that happen.

 

[kingtidge]

I don't disagree with anything in your post. The perspective I think is important to keep in mind is how rapidly the talent / depth has improved, even over what the product on the field was like last year. In that regard, we're not only trending in the right direction, we're really starting to see things pop.

That said, time to win some games. Nobody is advocating Pyrrhic victories anymore. It's encouraging to play competitively against a team like USC, but we're still 0-2. I just think that it is interesting that some posters are expressing frustration with today's loss [which seemed like a fait accompli before the season]--that's a sign of how far we've come.

Also, I don't put any stock in 0-7. Losses from last year don't have any impact on this year, just like wins from last year don't mean anything this year. 0-2 is where we're at, but the performances in both games suggest that this team is bowl caliber. Now it's time to go out and make that happen.

Agreed... I like we're at and the growth and depth. I hope your right about bowl. It would be quite feat with this year's schedule.