Is Taggart a bust?

[Frishmanflz]

Stupid thread.

This was a program in need of a complete and total rebuild.

The defense did a good job of turning around and did it while giving a lot of young guys valuable experience.

Special teams has been light years ahead of last the past few years. Some bad decisions to come out of the end zone the last couple of games on kickoffs, but I imagine those were on the guys trying to take things in their own hands to make something happen.

Let's look at reality about the offense.

We came in to the season with one QB with very limited, unsuccessful experience that probably would have struggled to be a 2nd or 3rd string guy at most Sun Belt schools.

The second guy is a former walk-on who has hung around the program basically on the success of one drive four years ago. I respect the efforts, but another guy more than likely never seeing the field at 122 of the 123 D1 programs. Even as a backup.

Third QB was a last minute transfer whose skill set is probably not best suited for our current offensive scheme. Plus he came in less than 100% physically.

Then we turn to an 18 year old true freshman in a somewhat sophisticated offense. With little supporting cast. He has performed about as well as a true freshman would be expected. Let's be for real. He was a middle of the pack QB recruit. People have expectations that this was a superstar, number one QB recruit in the country.

Then we turn to his supporting cast. He has one average receiver on the roster to throw to. Not really a playmaker, but a guy that had one big game then disappeared until just the last few games. That is it at WR. No real deep threat to stretch the field. Not one receiver that has shown he can get open consistently not catch the ball consistently. No receiver on the roster has shown any YAC ability either. Catch the ball and get tackled...if they catch it. No break away speed on the roster no ability to get to the open field. No playmakers.

At RB you started the season with an undersized RB with limited touches, mostly in non meaningful situations asked to be a feature back in a smash mouth running game. Shaw is about 30 lbs undersized to carry the kind of load needed for this offense. Then your options go to a Juco transfer with only about 2 years total football experience, a true freshman and an unproven, inexperienced soph.

The OL was recruited to play a faster, speed oriented game. They were smallish with a poor track record of being able to pass block. Now thrown in to a situation where they have to play power football in a scheme most probably never played before.

Come back and ask the question if Taggart has been a bust at the end of next year after he has a chance to both bring in some playmakers with FBS talent and develop the players he has on the roster both physically and football intelligence wise.

rational thought on this board....blasphamy!!!!

[SJT]

Tags is trying to run the Stanford run heavy offense here without the necessary offensive line. It's not working and you are putting this young qb in a bad spot when you have 3rd and long to go on every series. He needs to adapt this team to what works instead of forcing horrible play calls that results in failure every time.

[BDYZR]

NO.

My number one problem is the discipline on the field. THAT is a major failure IMO.

We know we're lacking in talent, speed, football IQ, etc. and that is impossible to coach, but discipline - FAIL.

[Hem]

NO.

My number one problem is the discipline on the field. THAT is a major failure IMO.

We know we're lacking in talent, speed, football IQ, etc. and that is impossible to coach, but discipline - FAIL.

Can't exactly bench guys for mental mistakes on the field when you have no depth though. I've seen him get up in their faces, but that's about all he can do...for now.

[usfgrad84]

Tags is trying to run the Stanford run heavy offense here without the necessary offensive line. It's not working and you are putting this young qb in a bad spot when you have 3rd and long to go on every series. He needs to adapt this team to what works instead of forcing horrible play calls that results in failure every time.

I think people are getting caught up in the comparison to the Stanford offense.  Without making a comparison to anyone in particular this is pretty much just a "pro-style offense".  The thing that makes it complicated is the need for the players to read what their assignments will be.

 

With the personnel that Skip left us you would have had similar, if not even less productivity with any offense we would have run this year.  Could you imagine trying to run a spread, read option with Eveld or White?  Too slow.  I am not sure Floyd would have been much better in a spread.  Spread may have worked a little better than we have now if we would have landed one of Willie's first QB transfer prospects.  We tried with Bench and that didn't work plus he got hurt.  Bottom line there is none of the QBs on the roster that Skip left us was the next Grothe or Daniels.  

 

Skip also left us with one consistent receiver on the roster (remember, Dunkley was not on the active roster when Taggart got here and he has not proven to be consistent at all anyway).  How do you run a 4 receiver set when you can really only count on one receiver?  Bravo-Brown, Welch and Hopkins drop more passes than they catch and none of them do a very good job of getting open any way.

 

Shaw was built for the spread, He would have pretty much been the only asset in such an offense.

 

We would have had to rebuild the offensive scheme no matter what we went to this year.  Skip ran an offense with no identity and he left us with a unit of players not really geared to play any particular offense.

 

I don't see where any different offense would have produced any different results this year.  

[Bull Martin]

I can easily and definitively state that Skip Holtz was a bust.

 

Taggart inherited a terrible team and is producing very similar results to Skip's last year. The defense looks improved this season and the offense looks the same as the post-BJ Daniels games from last season.

 

To call Taggart a bust at this point is premature.  It's going to take a few recruiting years to turn the team around.  Will he do it?  I have no idea, but I'm hopeful.

[BDYZR]

 

NO.

My number one problem is the discipline on the field. THAT is a major failure IMO.

We know we're lacking in talent, speed, football IQ, etc. and that is impossible to coach, but discipline - FAIL.

Can't exactly bench guys for mental mistakes on the field when you have no depth though. I've seen him get up in their faces, but that's about all he can do...for now.

 

Don't disagree with you, and I'm sure that some of that comes from some players having overall lower IQ's . But, if you continue having motion penalties, over and over and over again, STOP THE MOTION calls!

[mjadams]

There's enough players on the team to discipline repeat offenders. CWT is choosing not to because the repeat offender is better than the guy behind him

[Triple B]

 

It's too early to say if Taggart is a bust. While he was given a monumental rebuilding project (unless you ask hbryan who thinks we were on the verge of greatness heading into 2013), any goodwill he had heading into his first season has all but evaporated.

 

Stop the nonsense *******, I did not say we were headed for greatness you insolent clown.  I repeated the Pollyanna position of many concerning Taggart and this season espoused by said Pollyanna's at the beginning of the season. I really don't think you graduated from USF, as a alumnus could not possibly be that inept at reading comprehension and actually receive a degree. 

 

 

You did say CWT was handed the keys to a Vette, which indicates you apparently thought the program was in pretty good shape when he got it .... unless, as someone opined, you meant Chevette ...

[Vega]

No way is the guy a bust after 1 season. He is what any reasonable person though he would be. That's an ordinary CFB coach that was hired with the hope he is capable to turning USF into a winning program. No us know if he will or won't, juts have to see in the coming years. The AAC is a pretty weak FB league and I have to believe that Taggart's recruiting along can produce a winner.

 

 

The problem with all the Taggart bashing is these same people had to high of hopes for Willie after seeing and hearing his enthusiasm about his imaginary bus and rah, rah speeches trying to rally fan support. All this happen after the departure of a very unpopular HC in Skip Holtz, so people forced to high of expectations on Taggart to help them erased the sour taste that they perceived Holtz left them. Only winning can cure that and since you now know he can't walk on water, or isn't an elite coach on par with Saban or Meyer, let's give Taggart a little more time before calling him a bust.

 

 

I knew this was coming after seeing all those over hyped Taggart threads before the the man had even coached a game at USF.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Vega