Watching Iowa State Defense

[The Great 8]

i find it ironic that you guys point the finger at anyone OTHER than the big guy at the helm, jim leavitt.  i think our lack of discipline (penalties) and overaggression are attributed to leavitt.

Without that 'overaggression' we wouldn't have shellacked FSU.

still not sure if leavitt is the coach that can get us to the next level..

Neither am I, we shall see this year though as we get into the meat of conference play. If we falter in the same ways under previous coordinators I'm ready to say he should be gone. We can only wait...

especially watching FSU about to go to 2-4, it kind of dilutes that win and makes me wonder if we're not as good as we believe this year.

FSU is about to go 2-4? Why? At the time you made the comment the game was probably in the 3rd quarter still because there are 11 minutes in the game now and I saw your post awhile ago.

Perhaps you subconsciously just want to moan about our SOS among other things?

FSU has a shot at this game, I doubt they'll win but they're down 4 points with 11 minutes to go. I never realized that was a sure fire win.

on offense, we know that the way to beat us is to blitz grothe (it may not be the case anymore with BJ, we shall see).. on defense, the way to beat us is to run straight up the middle and exhause our front 4, playaction over our linebackers, and take advantage of our overpursuit with screens.. that has ALWAYS been how to beat us...

It's a real shame that memo has only been circulated around the Big East because the OOC teams haven't figured it out in the previous 15 games. Hmm..perhaps lack of depth has something to do with it?

yet, you all find a way to blame someone other than the CONSTANT that's been here this entire time, with no adjustments.

What are we "blaming" Leavitt for right now exactly? How about you let the guy fail this year before you call for his head when he has a 5-0 record and another marquee win (regardless of how good this FSU team turns out to be).

[bullsbucsboltsrays]

Without that 'overaggression' we wouldn't have shellacked FSU.

Neither am I, we shall see this year though as we get into the meat of conference play. If we falter in the same ways under previous coordinators I'm ready to say he should be gone. We can only wait...

FSU is about to go 2-4? Why? At the time you made the comment the game was probably in the 3rd quarter still because there are 11 minutes in the game now and I saw your post awhile ago.

Perhaps you subconsciously just want to moan about our SOS among other things?

FSU has a shot at this game, I doubt they'll win but they're down 4 points with 11 minutes to go. I never realized that was a sure fire win.

It's a real shame that memo has only been circulated around the Big East because the OOC teams haven't figured it out in the previous 15 games. Hmm..perhaps lack of depth has something to do with it?

What are we "blaming" Leavitt for right now exactly? How about you let the guy fail this year before you call for his head when he has a 5-0 record and another marquee win (regardless of how good this FSU team turns out to be).

listen bub, you obviously havent been around enough to notice that this isnt the first time we've started off 5-0 with a key marquee win against some out of conference opponent, only to fall flat on our faces with conference play rolls around.  "let the guy fail this year before calling for his head"... i find it ironic that you say that because i'm basing my facts on previous records we've had in the past.. this isnt just a one-hit wonder, this is an epidemic trend that has happened.. beating auburn, and choking when the big east games rolled around 2 yrs ago.. beating kansas, and choking when the big east games rolled around last year..  oh, and let's not forget where we ended up last year:  st. pete bowl.

you wanna talk about lack of depth as a reason?  how about the fact that we had a 3rd year starting QB returning last year (thats THREE years of starting experience) and ended up in arguably the worst bowl game with a BCS conference tie-in.. cincinnati takes a QB who was THIRD on their depth chart, with a broken arm, and goes all the way to a BCS game?  oh, and don't give me the blah blah blah about depth when we are located in florida and they are in southern ohio-- it's not necessarily slim pickin's for recruits in these parts.

cincy and louisville also started the big east at the same time we did and both have already won a big east title.. granted UL was pretty nasty back in those C-USA days, but cincy wasn't much to cheer about.. along with their big east titles, as did UCONN, and they've been playing relevant football as long as we have.. notice the term "relevant".  we've all had our start in the big east at the same time, and we're the last team (along with RU) who haven't won a conference title yet.. so yea, i think we can start putting the blame on leavitt.

[The Great 8]

listen bub, you obviously havent been around enough to notice that this isnt the first time we've started off 5-0 with a key marquee win against some out of conference opponent, only to fall flat on our faces with conference play rolls around.

What does my post count have to do with length of watching Bulls football?

"let the guy fail this year before calling for his head"... i find it ironic that you say that because i'm basing my facts on previous records we've had in the past.. this isnt just a one-hit wonder, this is an epidemic trend that has happened.. beating auburn, and choking when the big east games rolled around 2 yrs ago.. beating kansas, and choking when the big east games rolled around last year..  oh, and let's not forget where we ended up last year:  st. pete bowl.

So, wait. Are you saying if we lost in our first 5 games it would be a good indication because it would differ from the results of the past 3 years?

I'm sure you're not advocating that we should've started, say, 4-1 because it would show something different. Thus, we haven't yet gotten to the point of the schedule that we've underperformed at and that you are aggravated about (unless you don't enjoy starting seasons off 5-0).

Hence, we have not yet gotten to the point of our "epidemic trend" of choking in conference play. Yet, you're stating it as a foregone conclusion that it's going to happen again this year...?

you wanna talk about lack of depth as a reason?  how about the fact that we had a 3rd year starting QB returning last year (thats THREE years of starting experience) and ended up in arguably the worst bowl game with a BCS conference tie-in.. cincinnati takes a QB who was THIRD on their depth chart, with a broken arm, and goes all the way to a BCS game?  oh, and don't give me the blah blah blah about depth when we are located in florida and they are in southern ohio-- it's not necessarily slim pickin's for recruits in these parts.

Sounds to me like Cincinnati deserves a lot of praise for their performance last year. Our play last year was below what it should've been, and I'm not claiming it's all related to depth. But, I'm advocating that it was a large part of it. How else do we manage to go 15-0 in OOC play against some very good teams (Auburn, UNC, Kansas, FSU, etc). We're the only team in the COUNTRY to start the past 3 years 5-0. That doesn't mean much, but it means something (Missouri had a shot this year but lost to Nebraska on their 5th game).

...we've all had our start in the big east at the same time, and we're the last team (along with RU) who haven't won a conference title yet.. so yea, i think we can start putting the blame on leavitt.

Of course I would've liked to have a conference title by now, and I agree that other programs have done better than us. UConn and Cincy come to mind as teams we should've beaten to the conference title race. Edsall and Kelly are regarded as probably the best coaches in the BEast and some of the best in the country. Leavitt is a good coach, just maybe not better than those two. If you have a replacement prepped that is better for our situation then let the AD know.

At this point I feel like we have bonafide BCS assistants at most of the positions, with the exception of Carl Franks and maybe Canales. Bobby Bowden talked about not micromanaging his assistants tonight, I don't expect Leavitt to do that either, Leavitt finally was able to pony up the money to get some top notch assistants and we'll see if it pays dividends.

Listen, I'm on the fence about Leavitt. If the team fails this year in a way similar to years past I'll be calling for his head just as you are now. However, how the hell can you be calling for the head of someone and saying he repeatedly does certain things wrong when his team hasn't even had a chance to show that yet? Again, our collapses happen in conference play and we just played our first game last week and you're ready to say he's going to do it again?

You could be right, we'll see...right now it's just a prediction though...yet, you're trying to imply it's reality for this season already.

[Bullpride08]

Tresey > Burnham

end of discussion.

Burnham had his time, but he's well past due at this point.

besides, i always saw Burnham as a DLine/Linebacker-oriented coach, whereas i think Tresey brings an added element of ballhawking that Burnham seemed to forget.

That's absolutely nuts.  Burnham is a brilliant coach, and an excellent D-coordinator.  CLearly there is a talent differential between us and them on defense, but remember Burnham's defenses at USF were top 30 the past 5 years.  Come on, get real you don't do that and not be a great coordinator, and Tresey is the recipient of the best collection of defensive talent we've ever had this year, Burnham would have done well with these kids.

Two areas that were Burnham's weakness, and at times hurt our program is that Wally is a real players guy to an extreme.  So there were moments over the past 7-8 years when Wally and Kravitz defenses had issues with Leavitt and the rest of the staff-  the Daley Speech to the team comes to mind.  ALso, Burnham emphasized fundamentals, tackling right, but was never big on working 'turnover drills' whreas Tresey was/is.  Burnham always felt that if you did everything else right the turnovers would come.  Thirdly, and this is big, Burnham was a stickler about not allowing guys to play until they had absolutely mastered the position.  Perhaps this is why at times the past few years we saw our defenses wear down, guys were tired and Wally lacked the absolute confidence in back-ups to allow them to play.  For example by this time in the season no way Burnham would have played Barrington as much as he has, or Lejiste, or even Raymond...and C-Rob was going to remain in Wally's doghouse forever.

The positive is though I think Burnham was a better schemer, and the kids played tough for him, I think Tresey doesn't take a huge backseat. Also, while Burnham's squads were always so sharp and precise because he only played the best kids....they also wore down at the end of the season. Tresey rotating in Barrington, Lanaris, and Jacquian WIlliams with C-Rob, WIlson, and Joseph will help down the road, and the same at DB where as many as 6 guys have played safety so far this year.

Still, I haven't experienced 'big game' with Tresey yet, albeit he proved capable at Cinci....but Burnham, once he got the 11-15 players he could trust...there was none better coaching up for the big game.  Most college coaches will never learn even the amount of coaching knowledge Coach Burnham has forgotten in his 35+ years coaching under Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden, Leavitt and others.

[smazza]

you guys love to throw former coaches under the bus but never criticize them whenthey are here

[T-Man]

There is no way to make comparisons of the two of them!  Bottom line, what is the biggest difference between year 1 and this year?  As the years go on USF adds MORE and MORE depth.  Think about it, for those of us old bastards who have been around since year one and that have suffered at many games.  Whether it be Alabama (Yes we led 17-7 at half and then hit a wall) or mid season collapses, if you do not have superior back-ups you lose at the end of games or the end of seasons.  It amazes me how we try to compare things like this!  Anyone who watched the FSU game knows the depth of talent on Defense won us that game.  I remember when one stud would get hurt or run out of gas and I would say, "**** now we are in trouble, the sub is coming in.."  Now when one stud comes out they are replaced by a Hungry-I have to prove something-talented stud!  Impossible to compare this kind of stuff!

[SANJAY]

you guys love to throw former coaches under the bus but never criticize them whenthey are here

You must have missed Greg Gregory.  And Rod Smith. And Hobby.