Is it the talent?

[slick1ru2]

Yes, a big part of what we're going to have to overcome as we go forward is the talent we have. It doesn't matter if you say "well, he had offers to play at Auburn or Georgia or LSU or Michigan, but he chose USF"...it's one thing to have a team show interest, quite another FOR WHERE YOU PLAY. There is room for improvement across the board. This is, for all practical purposes, ground zero. 

Its not the talent. Its the hype that surrounded Taggart. Like many of the fans, they thought his arrival meant all is fixed. Takes more than that and when the mistakes started to appear it suddenly dawned on them that they were deceiving themselves. But some of it was coaching too. I bet this will be fixed before the season is over and prove that its not the talent.

Edited September 1, 2013 by slick1ru2

[Supersurch]

It's not physical talent alone that makes you a great or even a good player...it's your football intelligence, coaching, and most importantly the teammates around you with the same attributes that will make you a decent player. 

 

USF has always been able to get talented players (not top 100), but the physical attributes were (are) there, comparable to those high valued kids .  But football IQ??  IMO, it is definitely inferior to what top programs are able to get.

 

Alabama, LSU, Florida, FSU, etc. get top players across the board.  Players with great/good physical attributes, but also understands how the game is played and most importantly situational awareness.

 

You can run the 40 at 4.29 all you want, but if you can't hang onto the football, then whats the point.  Or if you can't catch with your hands, what's the point?  You can be a 300 lb DT and bench 225 lbs 37 times, but if you can't get to the QB or stop the RB, then what's the point?

 

Same goes for the other way around:  you can have a smart, knows the ins and outs of game situations, and an understanding of your opponent and teammates, but with a noodle arm, runs like a snail, and weighs 155 lbs...what's the point?

 

There is one ingredient that can negate all of these attributes...moxy.  I'm no Grothe lover, but that kid had moxy.  Wasn't exceptionally fast, wasn't exceptionally strong armed, but good football IQ and a lot of guts and leadership.  Won many games.  Didn't make it professionally after USF primarily because of his short-comings, but he has proven he can play with anybody and make others around him good/great players.  His teammates rallied around him and gravitated towards him because he was a winner. 

 

If we can't get top 100 or even top 150 kids, then we have to find kids like him.

[Skingraft]

I sat through last year, a 1-15 Dolphin season, and I'll sit through this...

It's no ones fault, but it's everyone's responsibility to fix it... Including us fans continuing to support the team

[USFBrown]

I think skip left us in a terrible position. Yes we lack talent but if you play college ball at any level you should be able to tackle. We sucked at the basics last night. Guys missing tackles left and right. D line getting blown up. Soft corner coverage. Same stiff different year.

[slick1ru2]

Honestly, I just don't know. With a loss like this everything is on the table for evaluation and I don't think we can assume that anything is function as planned or meeting expectations.

 

 

One game. You can't make any decisions after one game especially when a QB change did so much to the offense.

[NewEnglandBull]

Talent is not there. This is the third year of a nightmare, I need no further proof.

[slick1ru2]

Talent is not there. This is the third year of a nightmare, I need no further proof.

 

Explains why no USF Bull has made an NFL, CFL or any other pro team for years.

[slick1ru2]

 

 

Honestly, I just don't know. With a loss like this everything is on the table for evaluation and I don't think we can assume that anything is function as planned or meeting expectations.

 

 

One game. You can't make any decisions after one game especially when a QB change did so much to the offense.

 

 

I hope our coaching staff doesn't subscribe to that way of thinking. I think its a safe bet that they will be making decisions this week based on what they saw last night.

 

Not what I meant. He sounded like firing the coaching staff this week was on the table. Of course the only way to get better, AS I'VE BEEN POINTING OUT IN THREADS ALL MORNING, is to pick the game film apart and practice.

[WoolyBully]

 

Talent is not there. This is the third year of a nightmare, I need no further proof.

 

Explains why no USF Bull has made an NFL, CFL or any other pro team for years.

 

And I'm just gonna guess that no FCS player has ever played in the NFL...'cause if he had the talent, he would have been playing for a FBS school? 

 

There's a HUGE difference between the dozen or so USF players  - the stellar players, the best we ever had - that play(ed) in the NFL and the other 99% of the team. You don't have "talent" and get bulldozed by McNeese State. What level of 'talent' does one have to have to stop a running back from running right through the center of your line? What level of talent does it take to NOT WRAP UP a tackle? 

 

USF is short on talent and all you have to do is watch the game to see it.  That was a dismantling  by McNeese State. And the guys that play for McNeese State play there because that's where their talent level landed them a position. It was a record breaking night. Of course coaching is critically important, and I have every confidence that CWT will do everything he possibly can to turn this around (as he did at WKU). But let us not think that we have this great reserve of talent that is waiting to be uncorked by a miracle or 'just the right coach'. It's gonna be a long season - or two - before USF is where we want it to be. 

 

I like that quote from earlier on, about it not being anyone's fault - necessarily - but it's everyone's responsibility to fix it. 

[DELdaBull]

That was unacceptable