What I Learned

[javadoc]

After watching all or most of the first three games this year.

We are bigger and faster in general. We look like a real defense again, with the notable exception of LB's (to small). Our WR's look taller than I can remember since the final days of Coach P's stint and show some signs of playmaking ability. Nassib is better than I expected him to be. The OL is much better than I expected it to be, with the exception of RT.

How many D-1A teams are there now, something like 110? We look to be squarely in the middle of the pack talent-wise, a huge upgrade from a couple years ago with lots of room still to improve. We can give top-25 teams a scare even if they play reasonably well, can definitely take them if they slouch. We can lose to a lower-tier 1A team if we don't take them seriously and leave points on the field (Stony Brook, which is basically a lower level MAC type team right now).

We can win every game on the schedule, and probably don't need luck to be able to do so. If the young guys keep improving, we can take the BE title.

The main takeaway is that it is what it is. The talent level difference between us and Stony Brook is definite, but it's not as much as some might think. By the same token, apart from their two star WR's, the difference between us and U$C was definite, but again not as much as some might have thought. We should expect something like 7-5 this year, and be realistically content.

Got to keep the facilities upgrades going and pound the pavement in recruiting.

 

[Scooch]

The one area where we are still glaringly deficient IMHO is elite speed at RB and WR. All weekend I watch games where guys have a gear, after they burst through the hole, or get behind a defense, that turns 5-10 yard gains into 30-40 yard gains.

Closest guy we have to that is PTG, and he's not quite that kind of fast.

 

[javadoc]

The one area where we are still glaringly deficient IMHO is elite speed at RB and WR. All weekend I watch games where guys have a gear, after they burst through the hole, or get behind a defense, that turns 5-10 yard gains into 30-40 yard gains.

Closest guy we have to that is PTG, and he's not quite that kind of fast.

Agree, and it drives me nuts. After 4 years, it makes me wonder if Marrone & co. simply don't value that one asset as much as other factors, because you'd think we'd have at least one of those guys by now. Take a flyer on such a kid even if you have to teach him how to play the game from scratch. Maybe the JUCO Clark is supposed to be that guy.

 

[Frozen]

There are 124 Div. 1-A teams right now. That's probably 20 more than there needs to be.

 

[RMH44]

Agree, and it drives me nuts. After 4 years, it makes me wonder if Marrone & co. simply don't value that one asset as much as other factors, because you'd think we'd have at least one of those guys by now. Take a flyer on such a kid even if you have to teach him how to play the game from scratch. Maybe the JUCO Clark is supposed to be that guy.

I think AB is much faster in the open field than many think. Additionally, I really like Morris' speed but it looks like he is headed for a RS season.

Speaking of RS seasons...does anyone have any info on the staff's plans for Moore?

 

[anglerman]

Agree, and it drives me nuts. After 4 years, it makes me wonder if Marrone & co. simply don't value that one asset as much as other factors, because you'd think we'd have at least one of those guys by now. Take a flyer on such a kid even if you have to teach him how to play the game from scratch. Maybe the JUCO Clark is supposed to be that guy.

Kobena is also very fast at wr. Our RS backs bothhave very good speed.

 

[Rocco]

Good post. 100% with the recruiting and the facilities. We've made huge strides so far with the talent/speed level of the team overall, and it will continue to improve.

In Doug We Trust.

 

[syr02esq]

We are getting better but not quite "good".

 

[RF2044]

The one area where we are still glaringly deficient IMHO is elite speed at RB and WR. All weekend I watch games where guys have a gear, after they burst through the hole, or get behind a defense, that turns 5-10 yard gains into 30-40 yard gains.

Closest guy we have to that is PTG, and he's not quite that kind of fast.

Paging Laray Smith.

 

[javadoc]

We are getting better but not quite "good".

Agree. We could be good by end of year, but not yet.

 

[wfschrec]

This team could beat anyone ranked 15 or lower ... of course they could also lose to anyone. Frankly we have enough talent that I could see SU beating a bevy of teams out there, even those that are ranked. We have enough talent to defeat the Clemsons, NDs and Nebraskas. Of course we could just as easily lose to them but we have more talent than we have had in a decade. I agree that we are improving but not quite good yet. And based on what I have seen out of the B1G we could very well see NW climb into the top 25 ... I know some people feel they aren't all that great but the B1G looks weak and NW took care of business against Vandy and has seemingly improved week after week ... they put up nearly 600 yards on BC and should have blown them out. They could very easily (and probably will) end up taking on Penn State while being 5-0 and inches away from Bowl qualification in week 6. Frankly I don't read much into our performance against Stony Brook ... I see it for what I feel it was ... a much more resounding win against an FCS team that was better than Colgate or Maine or RI and if you recall we really struggled in those contests. We left 12 points off the board minimum and I don't feel you could say that about our other games against lesser opponents ... we were very close to making it a 20+ point spanking. With the next class coming in my confidence continues to elevate ...

 

[upperdeck]

we were about 4-5 plays away from winning the SB game 45-3.. some of that caused the by coaches not wanting to change things until half time. I hope someday we get to the point where these changes dont need to wait so long to be made.

 

[Orangepace]

Agree, and it drives me nuts. After 4 years, it makes me wonder if Marrone & co. simply don't value that one asset as much as other factors, because you'd think we'd have at least one of those guys by now. Take a flyer on such a kid even if you have to teach him how to play the game from scratch. Maybe the JUCO Clark is supposed to be that guy.

This is why we're going so hard after Laray Smith.. But, I would also state that even if we had a guy who had that type of speed, would it have really mattered? Our OL in the past 3 years has been rough and hasn't been able to open the holes to get a guy to the second level all that often. So we needed a masher who could turn a 2-3 yards into 4-5. Now that the OL is improved, having that speed guy would be huge when the back hits the second level. But we haven't had one in tow other than PTG. Jerome Smith has speed, but doesn't seem to have that "extra gear" to accelerate fast enough to hit top speed. Charles Davis seems to have it. PTG has shown signs of it last year. But we don't have the burst guys currently on the roster because it didn't directly address a need until now. So I would blame Marrone & Co's ability to foresee us hitting this point, but not for lack of valuing this type of player quite yet, because it wasn't a need until we had an OL that could make it worth having that type of player.

 

[Orangello]

This team remains a work in progress. The one thing I want to see more than anything is consistency. The wild inconsistency from one game to the next and from one half to the next signals to me that the clay is still being molded here and that we are not yet a good team. We really need a four quarter effort this week without the mindless miscues and penalties that drive me mad.

 

[Orangello]

and please please please fix the fiasco that is special teams. It's going to cost a game at some point this year.

 

[wfschrec]

and please please please fix the fiasco that is special teams. It's going to cost a game at some point this year.

It already cost us NW ...