Total Offense

[Chip]

I agree that's where they need to get. I just don't expect them too. I predicted 7-5 because a) i don't want to be an ahole 2 days before the season and b) who wants to win a prediction for a disappointing record? getting to 340 or 350 in conf games would make those games so much easier to stomach. but generally i'm expecting this year to be a bit of a slog.

bright side, bagging the empty backfield no shotgun clusterf will keep a lot more drives going this year

To be honest, I was doing the picks with only kool aid on my mind because, like you said, is being right about 4-8 something to feel good about? Sounds more depressing than anything else.

Agree with Rahme's comment 100%, I think URI is the only game impossible for us to lose, and USC is the only one impossible for us to win. All the rest, I could see going either way (like you). First time I got that comment on the new board.

 

[OrangeMojo]

The biggest question is and I know that Lemon and Chew aren't going to be the guy for this but we need to find a gameday receiver that makes the big catches like Sales. Who knows maybe its Anchione ,Flemming, or West , he doesn't need to be the fastest, the strongest, etc because god knows Sales wasn't but he caught the freaking football and made plays. We need a gamer to emerge, I know Lemon isn't that guy, Chew, doubt it

ah yes, the great Marcus Sales - Mr Clutch with one big game in his entire career against a bad defense as a r/s junior. I just looked at Sales stats after 2 years in the program and then Lemon's after two years in the program and there's no comparison - and Lemon played half of one of those years with a bad hand. So please save all of the Sales was such a clutch gamer or whatever you've anointed that underperforming kid and stop knocking Lemon.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Rutgers game, USF Game last year the kid made the big catches, that is my point. Look at the Louisville game and tell me who was a better receiver. Sales had beaten Lemon out as well, BTW. Say what you want about Marcus but he got open and caught the ball when we needed it most. He was the best gameday receiver we had. We have now seen why he had or had been in the doghouse and Sales clearly showed very very poor judgement but that is not was we are talking about here. Sales will be missed on gameday and miss a lot. Do you honestly think that Lemon makes those catches that Sales did versus K St- there is at least 1 dropped that would have been a TD.

Lemon is a good kid, works hard, blocks, practices well, but as Coach Marrone said, there is a difference for some when the lights come on. Talent is talent, and gamers are gamers. Sales wasn't fast, not that strong but when he played albeit not as much as Lemon he ALWAYS seemed to make plays, the issue is he didn't see the field that much. Sales never redshirted BTW and like I said had beaten Lemon out in the spring

DROPS ARE DROPS, Let me repeat that DROPS ARE ING DROPS.

 

[Millhouse]

But maybe with one extra TD per game, there aren't as many nailbiters? We can hope, at least.

An extra TD a game is a big jump. 30% scoring increase. and that's just to get to 29 which puts you at 48th in the country. And they only scored 16.6 per game in conference. It'll be quite a story if they can improve that much.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

An extra TD a game is a big jump. 30% scoring increase. and that's just to get to 29 which puts you at 48th in the country. And they only scored 16.6 per game in conference. It'll be quite a story if they can improve that much.

especially with the same people minus Sales and Carter, lets hope so

 

[OrangeMojo]

Rutgers game, USF Game last year the kid made the big catches, that is my point. Look at the Louisville game and tell me who was a better receiver. Sales had beaten Lemon out as well, BTW. Say what you want about Marcus but he got open and caught the ball when we needed it most. He was the best gameday receiver we had. We have now seen why he had or had been in the doghouse and Sales clearly showed very very poor judgement but that is not was we are talking about here. Sales will be missed on gameday and miss a lot. Do you honestly think that Lemon makes those catches that Sales did versus K St- there is at least 1 dropped that would have been a TD.

Lemon is a good kid, works hard, blocks, practices well, but as Coach Marrone said, there is a difference for some when the lights come on. Talent is talent, and gamers are gamers. Sales wasn't fast, not that strong but when he played albeit not as much as Lemon he ALWAYS seemed to make plays, the issue is he didn't see the field that much. Sales never redshirted BTW and like I said had beaten Lemon out in the spring

And Chew had beaten out Sales. The Louisville game Lemon had a bad hand. And yes, with two good hands I think Lemon makes those catches against K St. You don't set the state receiving records in Maryland with bad hands. Marcus hadn't done squat at Lemon's age, and yet you 'know' that Lemon isn't going to step up and be a go to guy - that's what bothers me here.

and nice edit at the bottom of the post quoted here

 

[Millhouse]

especially with the same people minus Sales and Carter, lets hope so

everyone knows i wasn't the biggest carter guy but lots of people are hoping for a big improvement based on a a game where 370 yards and 5 TD came from guys playing their last game

 

[SmilinBob]

Last year SU averaged 322 yards per game which ranked 97th in the country. Can SU crack the top 40 in yards per game this year? The number 40 ranked offense last year was Arkansas St. which averaged 403 yards per game. The number 30 offense was UAB at 422; number 20 was Ohio State at 488.

SU has more weapons, more familiarity with the offense and I believe we will see more aggressive game plans. If the offense can put up top 40 numbers or better that would help the defense for sure. Last year the defense was #7 nationally in yards allowed per game.

Last year SU averaged 322 yards per game which ranked 97th in the country. Can SU crack the top 40 in yards per game this year? The number 40 ranked offense last year was Arkansas St. which averaged 403 yards per game. The number 30 offense was UAB at 422; number 20 was Ohio State at 488.

SU has more weapons, more familiarity with the offense and I believe we will see more aggressive game plans. If the offense can put up top 40 numbers or better that would help the defense for sure. Last year the defense was #7 nationally in yards allowed per game.

If you add a broken tackle or two, a nice catch and run (since we have more speed now) and a few more catches that were drops or bad throws you have your numbers. Now, if the O-Line can push and protect they will be even better and I think we'll see some nice numbers out of this offense this year.

The things I want are if an opposing D can't stop the run we can ram it down their throats. If they can't stop the pass we pass over and around them. If they try to stop one or the other we can adapt. If we are behind we have the ability to have a nice two minute offense. If we are ahead we can use the time wisely and run the ball or have short completions to keep the clock moving or go over them if they are pinching in and add another score. That's what I want and the numbers good should follow if they can produce that.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

And Chew had beaten out Sales. The Louisville game Lemon had a bad hand. And yes, with two good hands I think Lemon makes those catches against K St. You don't set the state receiving records in Maryland with bad hands. Marcus hadn't done squat at Lemon's age, and yet you 'know' that Lemon isn't going to step up and be a go to guy - that's what bothers me here.

Lemon is a good 3rd receiver, the problem is that Lemon drops too many passes, he dropped plenty his frosh year. I understand he already has a lot of catches but we also throw the ball alot more than we did years ago. I don't understand how you can't acknowledge Lemon has had issues catching the football and that to me makes me think that it won't change.. Part of being a good receiver is catching the ball, part of being a good golfer is being a good putter.

 

[qdawgg]

especially with the same people minus Sales and Carter, lets hope so

so the same people are going to play at the same level as they did last year? Nassib isn't going to be better, the O-Line isn't going to be better, the receivers aren't going to be better, and the depth is much better.

You love knocking kids, kind of like Mackey who you loved thrashing all last year and apparently for his lack of size he's doing a pretty good job.

 

[SmilinBob]

Lemon is a good 3rd receiver, the problem is that Lemon drops too many passes, he dropped plenty his frosh year. I understand he already has a lot of catches but we also throw the ball alot more than we did years ago. I don't understand how you can't acknowledge Lemon has had issues catching the football and that to me makes me think that it won't change.. Part of being a good receiver is catching the ball, part of being a good golfer is being a good putter.

I think Lemon has good hands and I believe you'll see that as the season progress's . I think some of his problem was that he was hurt and at times ran before he caught the ball, both are easily fixed.

 

[OrangeMojo]

if all you have to do is make big catches like Sales did - USF game 1 catch for 3 yds / 1 td - then it sounds like Stevens can play that role as he apparently catches everything thrown his way - so there's your Marcus Sales replacement

 

[Chip]

everyone knows i wasn't the biggest carter guy but lots of people are hoping for a big improvement based on a a game where 370 yards and 5 TD came from guys playing their last game

Ok, here's where I play my Kansas State D card that you play with Nassib's performance. Kansas State was, I believe, the worst run defense in all of 1A. If not worst, then definitely bottom 3. They had a 175 lb starting linebacker! Bailey, who had 7 carries for 50 yards and the same 7 yard average that DC had, could easily have had 200 yards if we just gave him the ball. In the game before the bowl, K State gave up 300 yards rushing to the North Texas Whatever Their Calleds.

DC was the right fit for the offense we needed last year to win games (play it safe, let the D dictate). This year's offense needs to be more wide open and win us some games on their own. Carter wouldn't be as good a fit, career high game against K State notwithstanding.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

The issue is that Sales barely played when he did he made the most of it.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

I dont love knocking kids, I said that I thought Macky was too small to play at this level and I maintain that belief. I had no issue with his scholarship because he can long snap. Lets see how he holds up when there is a kid that is 320 across from him, that is my comcern. Not rooting against the kid, just pointing out a concern and I think it's valid. I think there may have been a few games with big nose tackles where we saw Allport

 

[Chip]

I dont love kocking kids, I said that I thought Macky was too small to play at this level and I maintain that belief. I had no issue with his scholarship because he can long snap. Lets see how he holds up when there is a kid that is 320 across from him, that is my comcern. Not rooting against the kid, just pointing out a concern and I think it's valid. I think there may have been a few games with big nose tackles where we saw Allport

You don't love doing what to kids?

 

[SoBeCuse]

Ok, here's where I play my Kansas State D card that you play with Nassib's performance. Kansas State was, I believe, the worst run defense in all of 1A. If not worst, then definitely bottom 3. They had a 175 lb starting linebacker! Bailey, who had 7 carries for 50 yards and the same 7 yard average that DC had, could easily have had 200 yards if we just gave him the ball. In the game before the bowl, K State gave up 300 yards rushing to the North Texas Whatever Their Calleds.

DC was the right fit for the offense we needed last year to win games (play it safe, let the D dictate). This year's offense needs to be more wide open and win us some games on their own. Carter wouldn't be as good a fit, career high game against K State notwithsttanding.

Very valid points.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

You don't love doing what to kids?

easy... dont get to excited

 

[Millhouse]

Ok, here's where I play my Kansas State D card that you play with Nassib's performance. Kansas State was, I believe, the worst run defense in all of 1A. If not worst, then definitely bottom 3. They had a 175 lb starting linebacker! Bailey, who had 7 carries for 50 yards and the same 7 yard average that DC had, could easily have had 200 yards if we just gave him the ball. In the game before the bowl, K State gave up 300 yards rushing to the North Texas Whatever Their Calleds.

DC was the right fit for the offense we needed last year to win games (play it safe, let the D dictate). This year's offense needs to be more wide open and win us some games on their own. Carter wouldn't be as good a fit, career high game against K State notwithstanding.

agree with all that. but people like to point to that game as some kind of turning the corner. if you start saying yeahbut k state's defense sucks, it's harder to convince ourselves that game means a lot for our offense

 

[CaliCuse]

Last year SU averaged 322 yards per game which ranked 97th in the country. Can SU crack the top 40 in yards per game this year? The number 40 ranked offense last year was Arkansas St. which averaged 403 yards per game. The number 30 offense was UAB at 422; number 20 was Ohio State at 488.

SU has more weapons, more familiarity with the offense and I believe we will see more aggressive game plans. If the offense can put up top 40 numbers or better that would help the defense for sure. Last year the defense was #7 nationally in yards allowed per game.

We must crack that 350mark consistently and nassib needs to start a 300 ypg roll going. We have the WRs to do that this year and next. Including Nick Provo's last year here for him to get it done big time.

 

[CaliCuse]

easy... dont get to excited

Really !! Don't go there. Really not even as a joke,not there.:bat:

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I don't think there's any question that the defense stays above average. The DEs, MLB and safeties are very good, the corners both would've played significant minutes last year if not for injuries and at least from reports, what the DTs lose in experience they make up for somewhat in explosiveness. Swapping true frosh Spruill last year for r/s jr Vaughan is at worst a push at one LB spot, so there's a drop in two LB spots and in experience, but an overall team speed & athleticism increase. The added experience at DE and S will pay dividends this year.

D will drop off YTY, but that's going to happen after a #7 ranking - that being said, I think the offense ranking jumps more than the defense drops off.

I really hope you're right. I actually think there are a lot of questions that the defense stays above average. I'm very nervous that where we're weak we're going to be very weak.

 

[sutomcat]

Last year SU averaged 322 yards per game which ranked 97th in the country. Can SU crack the top 40 in yards per game this year? The number 40 ranked offense last year was Arkansas St. which averaged 403 yards per game. The number 30 offense was UAB at 422; number 20 was Ohio State at 488.

SU has more weapons, more familiarity with the offense and I believe we will see more aggressive game plans. If the offense can put up top 40 numbers or better that would help the defense for sure. Last year the defense was #7 nationally in yards allowed per game.

Here is how Big East schools ranked in total defense in 2010:

TCU 1st (something to look forward to)
WVU 4th
Syracuse 7th
Pittsburgh 8th
UL 14th
USF 17th
UConn 58th
Cincinnati 63rd
Rutgers 65th

Here is how Big East schools ranked in total offense in 2010:

TCU 12 (sigh)
Cincinnati 32nd
WVU 67th
UL 71st
Pitt 72nd
UConn 96th
Syracuse 97th
USF 105th
Rutgers 114th (worst BCS offense in the country)

Why did BE defenses do so well and BE offenses so poorly?

Part of it is because the top defenses in the conference were really well coached and legitimately good. Jeff Casteel of WVU, Scott Shafer of Syracuse and Charley Strong of UL are among the finest defensive minds in college coaching right now.

But a bigger part of this was because the BE had a number of really bad offensive teams last year.

SU put in a new offense and became one dimensional and easy to defend once injuries took their toll early
Pitt had a poor OC and a new QB who really struggled despite being surrounded by top notch skilled players
USF put in a new offense that their QB was not well suited for
UConn had a fine RB and OL but average WRs and poor QB play
UL had a good RB, a good senior based OL and decent WRs and QB play
WVU had a good QB, a good OL and a bunch of fine veteran skilled players but was held back by some horrible coaching
Rutgers had a great group of WRs, who mostly got hurt playing other positions, and nothing else (no D1 QBs, RBs, or offensive linemen). They were also extremely poorly coached
Even UC, blessed with a top QB, a couple of top WRs and one of the best RBs in the countrt, had a bunch of injuries, most notably to their veteran QB, and suffered through some questionable coaching

If BE teams had to face good BCS level offenses on a regular basis, I think you can argue that their defensive rankings would have been at least 20 places higher across the board (except for Rutgers, who was the worst BCS defense in the country even beforehand).

Given that, how will BE defenses do this year compared to last?

WVU had some major losses on defense but played a lot of players, have a lot of talent returning and they have Casteel back coaching that unit. They will probably step back a bit but still be a fine defense.

Syracuse's should definitely be worse, not that it matters when projecting how the SU offense might do. But the overall athletic ability on the unit improves and Shafer has a track record that indicates he can be successful with inexperienced personnel. Should still be an above average unit.

Pitt returns some quality players on defense. They had some significant losses but have a good stockpile of talent and should be quite good. They are changing their scheme from 4-3 to 3-4 and they will probably cause some problems. Overall, they will be good but not as strong as they were last season.

UL had major graduation losses. They have some promising young players who will likely be thrust into major roles early. Will probably struggle a lot early but come on strong down the stretch. Overall, this unit will be significantly weaker than last season.

USF had some major graduation losses but returns a lot of talent. Should be good, probably a little weaker than last year but not much worse. Still a good unit, and clearly better than UL.

UConn finished last year surprisingly low in total defense. They have a lot of experience coming back and it looks like they are going to use the same schemes as last year. I think they will be very good, at least as good as last year and probably quite a bit better than they were.

Cincinnati returns almost everyone from last year, and there is generally major improvement from year one to year two with a new staff. They should be significantly better on defense in 2011.

Rutgers should still be bad on defense, probably about as bad as they were last year.

What does all this mean? Of the 7 teams SU plays in conference play, 2 should be better (one marginally), one should be about the same and 4 should be weaker. In terms of OOC opponents, there isn't much to be in awe of.

No great defenses in play...WF was awful last year (101st in total defense) and while they will be improved, they are still learning the 3-4 scheme they started to implement in the middle of last season, are still playing a lot of youngsters and we are fortunately playing them early, when they will be at their worst. Toledo had a surprisingly good defense but no great shakes (56th in total defense playing mostly against MAC competition), Tulane finished 74th in total defense against weak competition (they almost lost to Rutgers), USC finished 84th (against admittedly very good offenses) and Rhode Island is...well...Rhode Island.

Last year, BC had a very good defense (13th in total defense), Washington was a little ranked better than USC (70th), Akron was 99th and Colgate and Maine were Colgate and Maine.

Overall, I think the defenses we will face OOC are about the same. We lose a big offensive day against a FCS school but don't have to play a defense like BC's. Maybe things will be a little tougher for us this year...Akron, Colgate and Maine were all really awful last year while only Rhode Island should be at that level this season.

Finishing in the top 40 in the country would be a remarkable turnaround. In the BE , only UC did that last year and they were loaded with top notch skilled players. A more realistic goal would be to finish somewhere in the top 60 or 70. That would still be, IMHO, an excellent achievement and should ensure we have a winning season and another bowl bid. I am guessing we end up around 70th. Time will tell.

 

[SmilinBob]

Just make the plays, don't blow your assignments and keep the penalties/turnovers at a minimum and this offense will do fine. If Nassib has a receiver open long he hits him in stride...a TE brakes a tackle and gets an extra 10 yards...swing pass to Bailey and he gets a good block and breaks it long. if these things happen the O will be in good shape, when the opportunity presents itself they just have to be able to take advantage.

The defense may struggle a bit early but if they can force some turnovers that will help the offense put some points on the board as well and heck, let's have the D put a couple of scores up themselves!

 

[Millhouse]

Just make the plays, don't blow your assignments and keep the penalties/turnovers at a minimum and this offense will do fine. If Nassib has a receiver open long he hits him in stride...a TE brakes a tackle and gets an extra 10 yards...swing pass to Bailey and he gets a good block and breaks it long. if these things happen the O will be in good shape, when the opportunity presents itself they just have to be able to take advantage.

The defense may struggle a bit early but if they can force some turnovers that will help the offense put some points on the board as well and heck, let's have the D put a couple of scores up themselves!

every offense in the world could say this. have accurate passers, good blockers, open receivers, athletic tight ends, few penalties, and few turnovers and we'll be all set

do we have those things?