We are making progress

[SmilinBob]

That snap by Keller wasn't good but Hofrichter surely didn't bail him out. What a poor fu&@ng effort to catch it.

I think Hof hesitated on what to do and once he did decide he made the next best right move. But you're right...if he moved quickly and booted it he probably would have been ok. That said, if he kicked it 20 yards it might have ended up being a TD for MTS and the free kick and coverage pinned MTS back. It could have been 7-0 MTS and not 2-0.

 

[saltine44]

I think Hof hesitated on what to do and once he did decide he made the next best right move. But you're right...if he moved quickly and booted it he probably would have been ok. That said, if he kicked it 20 yards it might have ended up being a TD for MTS and the free kick and coverage pinned MTS back. It could have been 7-0 MTS and not 2-0.

I thought taking the safety was the smart play. The effort to catch the high snap is what I was referring to. It was pretty weak. Most punters I believe make the catch and get the punt off.

 

[saltine44]

I thought taking the safety was the smart play. The effort to catch the high snap is what I was referring to. It was pretty weak. Most punters I believe make the catch and get the punt off.

Watched it again and I'll give Hofrichter the benefit of the doubt. He didn't have time to really get off his feet to make the catch.

 

[shu 49]

I am way more nervous about our secondary especially at corner. Not sure how it will be a strength next year. I saw the left corner let the receiver go on inside release without safety in middle of field and then he outran our guy buy three steps. Kinda goes against anything I have ever learned. Shouldn't he have used sideline as extra man and forced him to sideline and as ball is in air gently lead him out of bounds. Instead he releases inside without safety help and even if he wasn't beat by 3 steps its and easy throw for qb. Just sitting in endzone watching this happen a lot. Didn't know if Tampa2 man to man is different from 4-3 man to man. Didn't really see corners jam the crap out of anyone at line of scrimmage.

 

[kcsu]

Tampa 2 is not going to work against ACC comp in my opinion.

 

[TheCusian]

This is probably as good a place as any to point this out.

Lots of fans here and elsewhere had this kind of "here we go again" attitude after this loss. That's because it felt and looked like so many L's we've taken from the previous 3 coaches. It was by far the worst loss of the Babers era. So much so, that it stands out. Someone said "step back and you'll see just what we are" as a dig... but I think if you step back you see that this loss was really freaking weird. These are new things for a Babers coached team:

- the amount of drops by sure handed ACC WR
- our O looking that inept
- Dungey bailing on plays way early (reminded me of the Louisville game his freshman year, playing like he expected to get hit every play)
- lethargic tempo
- no "swag" or confidence

All of that, is unique to this game in the Babers era. Not to Syracuse and our mediocre/bad last 15 years, though.

I know some meatheads think emotions and mental stuff is an "excuse" but it's spot on. Throw in the respect for Shafer as a DC that Dungey and the other Shafer recruits have? All the stuff can be traced to a mentally draining emotional hangover due to Shafer's return. Rewatch the postgame interviews. It's 100% clear.

There are real systemic problems this season that have nothing to do with Shafer, that need fixing or improvement ASAP:

- OL run blocking, blitz pickup
- running the ball without getting Dungey killed
- Outside WR who can beat man to man coverage
- secondary got beat too many times in the 4th Q, pressure disappeared

I expect the MTSU game to be the exception to the rule. Babers can coach, our system works, and the talent can and has played way, way better than last week. This is not "more of the same."

But getting 6 games will be tricky as hell.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

A lot of "Next Year" in this post. Seem to hear that phrase every year.

Yep next year for the last 13-14 years.. Would of.. could of.. should of. Every year next year is going to be the BREAK OUT year.

I will say that the CMU game is the a very big game. We have 6 losses already ( MTSU, LSU, Ville, Miami, FSU and Clemson)

I believe we have more talent than we had 5 year ago for sure but it's not mid level ACC talent quite yet. I am more discouraged by the offense than anything, it hasn't evolved and actually has looked worse since spring

 

[Janner]

I was very disappointed in what I saw from the coaching staff. They seemed totally unprepared for the MTSU defense and looked shell shocked for the first quarter of the game. That should never have happened. As for the rest of the game, we were beat and out coach on both sides of the ball, period. MTSU isn't a bad team, but they are not that great of a team either. Right now their offensive line is at best below average and is no where near the lines we are going to face in ACC play. Our WRs are going to struggle to get any separation in conference and our running game is going to be ugly. Right now I think 3-4 wins this year is probably what were looking at. IMO the jury is still out on this coaching staff. I think they can get the job done given time (need at least 3 more years) but they still have A TON to prove before their should be any talk of an extension.

 

[Killdozer]

This is probably as good a place as any to point this out.

Lots of fans here and elsewhere had this kind of "here we go again" attitude after this loss. That's because it felt and looked like so many L's we've taken from the previous 3 coaches. It was by far the worst loss of the Babers era. So much so, that it stands out. Someone said "step back and you'll see just what we are" as a dig... but I think if you step back you see that this loss was really freaking weird. These are new things for a Babers coached team:

- the amount of drops by sure handed ACC WR
- our O looking that inept
- Dungey bailing on plays way early (reminded me of the Louisville game his freshman year, playing like he expected to get hit every play)
- lethargic tempo
- no "swag" or confidence

All of that, is unique to this game in the Babers era. Not to Syracuse and our mediocre/bad last 15 years, though.

I know some meatheads think emotions and mental stuff is an "excuse" but it's spot on. Throw in the respect for Shafer as a DC that Dungey and the other Shafer recruits have? All the stuff can be traced to a mentally draining emotional hangover due to Shafer's return. Rewatch the postgame interviews. It's 100% clear.

There are real systemic problems this season that have nothing to do with Shafer, that need fixing or improvement ASAP:

- OL run blocking, blitz pickup
- running the ball without getting Dungey killed
- Outside WR who can beat man to man coverage
- secondary got beat too many times in the 4th Q, pressure disappeared

I expect the MTSU game to be the exception to the rule. Babers can coach, our system works, and the talent can and has played way, way better than last week. This is not "more of the same."

But getting 6 games will be tricky as hell.

"This is not more of the same.".....right now it is, until it isn't. Unless they win games like this it is exactly the same.

 

[TheCusian]

I was very disappointed in what I saw from the coaching staff. They seemed totally unprepared for the MTSU defense and looked shell shocked for the first quarter of the game. That should never have happened. As for the rest of the game, we were beat and out coach on both sides of the ball, period. MTSU isn't a bad team, but they are not that great of a team either. Right now their offensive line is at best below average and is no where near the lines we are going to face in ACC play. Our WRs are going to struggle to get any separation in conference and our running game is going to be ugly. Right now I think 3-4 wins this year is probably what were looking at. IMO the jury is still out on this coaching staff. I think they can get the job done given time (need at least 3 more years) but they still have A TON to prove before their should be any talk of an extension.

We lost by 7. We dominated them on D in the first half. We had more 1st downs, less turnovers, less penalties, and more rushing yards in the game. We had a better 3rd down conversion rate.

We averaged less per play, and per pass. Got sacked more. We went for it 6 times on 4th down and got half. They faked more injuries.

It was an ugly loss - but it's starting to take on mythic promotions to what *actually* happened.

 

[TheCusian]

"This is not more of the same."...right now it is, until it isn't. Unless they win games like this it is exactly the same.

If by "same" you mean except for the other 15 games under Babers. It's a blip. We lose next week, I'll lean towards "more of the same"

 

[Killdozer]

If by "same" you mean except for the other 15 games under Babers. It's a blip. We lose next week, I'll lean towards "more of the same"

No, by "same" I mean losing games to what I consider lower level. I don't care what Babers did the other games if he loses to a non P5 school.

 

[OrangeFoo]

To me it's a question of whether Babers makes any changes. If he rolls out the same exact game plan next week then he is a meat head coach and he should suffer the fate of all meat head coaches. Belicheck is the best coach ever because he changes his system based on his players and the team he is playing. Not because he's married to
A system.

 

[Chip]

Wake, BC, and NC State all hired new coaches around the same time. I detest Clawson and Doreen, but make no mistake it took time to build up the roster and get fits for their systems. Addazzio reminds me a lot of Shafer - meathead with no plan on O. He'll be a DC somewhere after he gets canned.

Everyone is impatient - me included. But I'm still trusting in Dino.

Yep, Wake and NC State had a head start.

As for BC, you don't think having a new starting 5th year grad transfer QB each year is a good way to develop your program?

 

[TheCusian]

No, by "same" I mean losing games to what I consider lower level. I don't care what Babers did the other games if he loses to a non P5 school.

Ok. This is the first game he's lost that he should have won. Every coach in our history has one of those.

 

[orange79]

Ok. This is the first game he's lost that he should have won. Every coach in our history has one of those.

Fixed it.

 

[blizz]

 

[Cuseregular]

This is probably as good a place as any to point this out.

Lots of fans here and elsewhere had this kind of "here we go again" attitude after this loss. That's because it felt and looked like so many L's we've taken from the previous 3 coaches. It was by far the worst loss of the Babers era. So much so, that it stands out. Someone said "step back and you'll see just what we are" as a dig... but I think if you step back you see that this loss was really freaking weird. These are new things for a Babers coached team:

- the amount of drops by sure handed ACC WR
- our O looking that inept
- Dungey bailing on plays way early (reminded me of the Louisville game his freshman year, playing like he expected to get hit every play)
- lethargic tempo
- no "swag" or confidence

All of that, is unique to this game in the Babers era. Not to Syracuse and our mediocre/bad last 15 years, though.

I know some meatheads think emotions and mental stuff is an "excuse" but it's spot on. Throw in the respect for Shafer as a DC that Dungey and the other Shafer recruits have? All the stuff can be traced to a mentally draining emotional hangover due to Shafer's return. Rewatch the postgame interviews. It's 100% clear.

There are real systemic problems this season that have nothing to do with Shafer, that need fixing or improvement ASAP:

- OL run blocking, blitz pickup
- running the ball without getting Dungey killed
- Outside WR who can beat man to man coverage
- secondary got beat too many times in the 4th Q, pressure disappeared

I expect the MTSU game to be the exception to the rule. Babers can coach, our system works, and the talent can and has played way, way better than last week. This is not "more of the same."

But getting 6 games will be tricky as hell.

Spot on Cusian (especially the mental/emotional part), will make a thread on this later and that ahole Stanizac, time to move on soon.

 

[djorange1989]

Progress this year was making a bowl game, and I think we can all agree that with our schedule we had to win the first 3 for that to be possible.

Unfortunately now progress will need to be 5 wins, a serviceable running game/OL and a defense that doesn't allow 50 points a game like last year. I am hopeful that the D is indeed improved, not feeling great about 5 wins and I give up on the run game/OL

 

[Janner]

We lost by 7. We dominated them on D in the first half. We had more 1st downs, less turnovers, less penalties, and more rushing yards in the game. We had a better 3rd down conversion rate.

We averaged less per play, and per pass. Got sacked more. We went for it 6 times on 4th down and got half. They faked more injuries.

It was an ugly loss - but it's starting to take on mythic promotions to what *actually* happened.

As you said it was an ugly loss and I agree with that. You also pointed out some additional issues that the team needs to work on, all of which I agree with as well. Not trying to call you out but did you feel that we were well prepared for this game? To me the team did not seem prepared for a blitzing scheme which is puzzling but others might see it differently, which is fine.

MTSU is a mediocre team who I felt won the game on both sides of the ball (again my opinion only). They turned the ball over 3 times on the road and walked out with a 7 point win. After watching the first 2 games of the year I think we are going to struggle with a lot of teams on the schedule in the weeks to come. I think we can get wins over CMU and BC, maybe 1 more somewhere down the line. I don't think that is unreasonable.

I am worried about our receivers getting separation down the field against ACC level talent. Im also worried that the running game is also going to have some serious issues against P5 competition.

Is the sky falling and the world ending for this program? No. Its a rebuilding process which takes patience, especially in one of the toughest divisions in the country. Look at any program that had to rebuild, it take time. Im hoping for some surprises but realize this might very well be a tough year given our schedule. I think and hope Dino can get it done, but I personally need to see a lot more from him before I draw any conclusions on the type of coach he is.

 

[FrancoPizza]

All in all next year is the year we break out.

Last year showed us how important it is to have a game breaker wideout. AET single handedly won us several games and made dungeys life so much simpler. AET was clearly a cut above everyone else in the WR corp and he still wasn't drafted. That's all you need to know about the remaining talent level.

So, good news is we don't need a 5-star receiving threat to make this O functional... bad news is there is nobody on the current roster who can get the job done. I'd feel a lot better about the future if we can get a couple 4-star types at the skill positions.

 

[TheCusian]

As you said it was an ugly loss and I agree with that. You also pointed out some additional issues that the team needs to work on, all of which I agree with as well. Not trying to call you out but did you feel that we were well prepared for this game? To me the team did not seem prepared for a blitzing scheme which is puzzling but others might see it differently, which is fine.

MTSU is a mediocre team who I felt won the game on both sides of the ball (again my opinion only). They turned the ball over 3 times on the road and walked out with a 7 point win. After watching the first 2 games of the year I think we are going to struggle with a lot of teams on the schedule in the weeks to come. I think we can get wins over CMU and BC, maybe 1 more somewhere down the line. I don't think that is an unreasonable.

I am worried about our receivers getting separation down the field against ACC level talent. Im also worried that the running game is also going to have some serious issues against P5 competition.

Is the sky falling and the world ending for this program? No. Its a rebuilding process which takes patience, especially in one of the toughest divisions in the country. Look at any program that had to rebuild a program, it time. Im hoping for some surprises but realize this might very well be a tough year given our schedule. I think and hope Dino can get it done, but I personally need to see a lot more from him before I draw any conclusions on the type of coach he is.

Good response.

It's hard to say if it was coaching or if a lot of it was Shafer being in Dungey's head. Probably a combo.

It was clear to me that they were mentally out of it and were lacking focus. Looked like a team that got hit with a bus.

I do think they won on both sides of the ball - but just barely. Our D played really well in the 1st half and our O made changes and looked good enough to score every time down.

As for the rest of the season - I think we need this next game against an inferior opponent to get some confidence back. I think they will respond. I want to see Pierre get some run.

 

[TheCusian]

Last year showed us how important it is to have a game breaker wideout. AET single handedly won us several games and made dungeys life so much simpler. AET was clearly a cut above everyone else in the WR corp and he still wasn't drafted. That's all you need to know about the remaining talent level.

So, good news is we don't need a 5-star receiving threat to make this O functional... bad news is there is nobody on the current roster who can get the job done. I'd feel a lot better about the future if we can get a couple 4-star types at the skill positions.

I think RTB form the last class and Butler from Babers 1st can be effective eventually. But they are young yet. We have a 4 star type in Hendrix in this class. I like the FL WR too.

Reinforcements are coming. But it's going to be tough this year.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I was very disappointed in what I saw from the coaching staff. They seemed totally unprepared for the MTSU defense and looked shell shocked for the first quarter of the game. That should never have happened. As for the rest of the game, we were beat and out coach on both sides of the ball, period. MTSU isn't a bad team, but they are not that great of a team either. Right now their offensive line is at best below average and is no where near the lines we are going to face in ACC play. Our WRs are going to struggle to get any separation in conference and our running game is going to be ugly. Right now I think 3-4 wins this year is probably what were looking at. IMO the jury is still out on this coaching staff. I think they can get the job done given time (need at least 3 more years) but they still have A TON to prove before their should be any talk of an extension.

Why is it always people with not that many posts who come on here to bash the team and the coaches after a disappointing loss?

 

[FrancoPizza]

I think RTB form the last class and Butler from Babers 1st can be effective eventually. But they are young yet. We have a 4 star type in Hendrix in this class. I like the FL WR too.

Reinforcements are coming. But it's going to be tough this year.

What were the star ratings for Kevin Johnson, spotwood, Harrison?