Recruiting vs. Coaching

[Bullish]

Bane, positive is not a bad thing but my concern is USF always seems to have a UCON game every year. Look back at their prior seasons and they always have a let down game.

Can they compete yes, but as USF gets better so does PITT, L'Ville, WVU, RU, Cuse, etc. It will never be easier then USF had last year to win the BE because USF beat Lville (one of the programs I see ahead of USF), and the other programs were still rebuilding and coming off of program lows. I see a storm brewing because imo the more established schools in the BE have also out recruited us the last 2 years (per scout and rivals).

I want to bullieve you are right nd I am proven wrong!!  

[BullBlood]

"USF always seems to have a UCON game every year."

True.....But, we've never had a Grothe before.

[Justin Boza is cee]

Bane, positive is not a bad thing but my concern is USF always seems to have a UCON game every year. Look back at their prior seasons and they always have a let down game.

Dear GOD.. I was trying to forget the Army homecoming game a few years back  :-/

Anyways, the way I see it, USF loses games like these (a.k.a. "chokes") too often and it's NOT because of lack of talent.  We had the talent to beat UCONN last year and Army, but that falls on the coaches.  I can't blame the program for losing to WVU last year or Penn State, but someone deserves the blame for the Army and UCONN losses.  Even with Julmiste, we should have beaten these teams.  This is where Leavitt's playcalling and preparation comes into question.

Another cliche arguement is that a lot of people on this message board use the excuse after losses that, "We beat ourselves."  Well, a lot of that is due to our team not being prepared, and that falls on the coaching staff as well.

[___ Eats It]

We've almost had three UConn games this year, but Matt Grothe and the team have pulled them out.

Would that have happened last year?

[windbane]

ok, so 1 letdown loss every year.  i'm not so sure the army game was that critical, correct me if i'm wrong.  but regardless, 1 letdown a year isn't that bad. i know all the top 10 teams are going to have a "let down" game or go undefeated every year.  

but one year we won't.

[SANJAY]

CJL is a decent gameday coach and a pretty good in week coach.  His major problem will be loyalty to assistants who are not that good, and therefore not helping coach players up.

Would the loyalty that you refer to be that of Rod Smith?  Just curious.  Based on what you've said, I question his in-week coaching specifically for the penalties that we have.  For instance, we get a lot of technique penalties like facemasks and pass interferences.  We also get a lot of holds.  As compared to formation penalties like offsides, false starts, # of men on the line of scrimmage, etc.  The discipline is also a big reason why I question Leavitt, especially with all of our off the field problems.  It seems as if the inmates are running the assylum.

I would question loyalty to Rod Smith, although he appears to be doing better this year.  I questioned having Lawrence Dawsey as well since the WRs did not run good patterns and dropped way too many balls.  Those problems seem to have been corrected to some degree but we had 5 or 6 illegal procedures on the WRs.  The DLs have had some problems too.  When will we see the ends do something other than a speed rush up the field?  Maybe the players are too young to know to go to another move?  Also, the stupid defensive penalties have been around for several years and throughout this season.  Hell UConn would not have made it past midfield if not for the ton of penalties.  These are all coaching issues and things to be addressed if we want to "coach up" players.

Having said all that, our players are young as are many of our coaches.  The coaches need more experience at this level.  Our coaches should be spending a good amount of time in the offseason at other schools learning how to improve their own coaching abilities.

[dabull80]

Gee, Rod Smith looks better this year ?  You guys kidding me.  He has a much better QB playing in Matt Grothe, maybe, just maybe that has something to do with it.  

Wally Burnham is an outstanding coach.

Bernard Clark has grown each year and looks to be a pretty good coach but does lack the resume.

Lawrence Dawsey - Young young young  I guess you ask the question Are the WRs getting better ?

Troy Douglas - Lots of experience Mich St,Ind etc.  I would say he is doing a good job with the secondary.

Carl Franks - 12 years under Spurrier,head coach at Duke,etc.  Franks is probably the most important assitant coach we have.  excellant recruiter and excellant RB coach.

Greg Fry - Only experience has been at USF but I like the way he has developed our offensive line.  They just seem to get better as the year goes on.

I think the next two years will tell you how good these guys are and I hope they stay under the radar otherwise you have lots of turnover.

[SANJAY]

Yes Rod does look better.  UCF game- first TD was a nice playcall allowing Marcus Edwards to catch the ball with their slow LBs trailing.  There have been others as well.  However, having MG makes up for a lot of shortfalls.

[BDYZR]

Not often, but I agree with Smazza that USF is an average team. BUT, I think we have the potential to move to above average quickly.

That begins with coaching and discipline, PERIOD.

I've seen improvement in the players. NONE in discipline.

I also agree that we seem to lose a gimme game every year. Think back and you can recall a play where a penalty has hurt/cost points and the mighty MO goes to the other team. Coaching and discipline.

We'll get there and have a **** good time doing it!

GO BULLS!

[dabull80]

Don't most college teams lose games that they are "supposed" to win ?  Only a few elite teams each year win them all.