So where are we??

Forum Forum Lehigh Sports Lehigh Football So where are we??

This topic contains 46 replies, has 14 voices, and was last updated by  hawktalker 9 years, 1 month ago.

Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 47 total)
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  • #23774
    hawkineer
    hawkineer
    Participant

    [quote=23762]OO:

    I respect your opinions and am happy when you nicely critique other folks’ comments — including mine.

    MY JOB: I get bashed every day — sometimes in public — mistakes or not. It’s a good incentive to do my job well. I’d expect most full-time coaches have thick skin. They’re feeding their families with their (nonunion) jobs.

    It’s called accountability — the thing most of us in America deal with. You don’t produce and you’re out — OUT.

    To me, it all goes back to the basics of recruiting. If you recruit good athletes who can play football, are coachable, ethical and trustworthy (they’re going to follow your directions) and you, as a coach, are a good leader, football coach and judge of talent (on and off field), you are going to win.

    IT IS NOT EASY

    It’s not much different than hiring young people to work for you — other than you can’t just fire them, at least not right away. Then again, most of us hiring teenagers are not hiring kids with the academic qualities demanded of a Lehigh applicant.
    [/quote]
    Amen!👍 Perfectly said.

    #23782

    objective observer
    Participant

    I POST COMMENTS TO GET A RESPONSE
    AND I SURE DID!!!!

    PLUS YES I DID COACH AND HAD TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE THAT POST ON HERE THAT THINK THEY KNOW MORE THAN THE COACH!

    GOD BLESS AND BE THANKFUL

    #23784
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Both of the active threads here have a commonality. Accountability. Whether you are a coach or a player makes no difference.It is not for me or any of us to decide the consequences of that accountability. For Brian,the process must play out both at LU and the court.
    For coaches,Andy must decide the appropriate measures to deal with his staff,which we all have an opinion :)

    #23785
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    The question is not we know or dont know. No doubt the coaches know more than we do. My issue is that the D staff has not used that knowledge successfully for the last 2 years. There may be extenuating circumstances with injuries and depth but neither of those explain the slide over the last 4 years to where ee are now.

    #23798
    van
    van
    Participant

    in my opinion, the 4 year slide has much to do with recruiting, is it really that hard to evaluate and recruit defensive talent?

    #23800

    objective observer
    Participant

    AS I SAID BEFORE THE HOTTEST RECRUITS ARE D BACKS AND D LINEMAN- IF YOU ARE A ONE STAR ATHLETE WITH THE SIZE OR SPEED YOU GET A LOOK AT MOST LEVEL TWO COLLEGES (SYRACUSE, ARMY, RUTGERS, VILLANOVA ETC.) WHAT THE PL GETS IS BASICALLY THE LEFTOVERS OR STUDENTS WHO REALLY WANT A GREAT EDUCATION–AND PLAY FOOTBALL

    IT IS THE SAME ARGUMENT THROUGH THE LATE 90’S WITH NOTRE DAME WHY COULDN’T THEY GET ATHLETES? HARD ACADEMIC GUIDELINES

    MOST 2,3,4 STAR ATHLETES THINK THEY ARE GOING TO PLAY IN THE NFL
    THEY HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF IN HIGH SCHOOL AND HAVE LARGE EGOS- WE DON’T SEE THE DARKSIDE OF RECRUITING-

    WE DON’T SEE STUDENT ATHLETES THAT GETTING FORCED OFF THE TEAM SO THEY COULD USE THE SCHOLARSHIP FOR THE NEXT YEAR’S RECRUITING CLASS (READ THE COMMENTS BY NICK SABAN)

    THAT IS WHY THEY ARE IMPLEMENTING THE GUARANTEED 4 YEAR SCHOLARSHIP POLICY

    #23804

    LehighGuy
    Participant

    Why must you post with ALL caps….we can read your posts! PS….LU has its share of 2 star recruits, some are DBs and Dlineman. Stop trying to make excuses for a horribly coached D. We know we have the talent because they have shown it in games. If you are a COACH like you say you are, you know its about putting the best players out there in a position to win, not a 3-3-5 on the one inch line, with your 200lb LB one yd of the ball against a 6’3 285lb lineman…LOL

    #23806

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    Mayes is a 3* and is on record as saying he turned down a “Tier 2” scholarship (FIU) to come to Lehigh. I don’t think you can generalize why some kids choose to come to Lehigh or not. Some might have gone to a Lehigh/Lafayette game when they were 9, others might have googled the team jersey and liked it. The reasons are varied.

    #24540

    Doc Qb
    Participant

    I thin the ‘So Where are We’ should be revisited. We all know our D’s inefficiencies. We saw Folmar and our O come to life and put points on the board. Reasons for fear and optimism next year.

    But to know where ‘we’ are, I think we need to look at our PL brethren, the Ivied we want to (dare I say) pull away from, and CAA teams we want to maybe emulate. Feel free to add points, because I think this is as interesting as our program’s situation.

    Lafayette–ouch. Lame duck coach, could hurt recruiting a few cycles with no direction, a bunch of losing seasons, a losing-record-league champ getting smacked by UNH in their last playoff appearance, fans report no institutional support. Ouch. Pray Cecchini doesn’t go there in a year.

    Delaware–a once proud program in disarray, their fans are in meltdown, almost dead last in FCS passing, a coach no one wants, and a fan base who wants big changes.

    Fordham—what happens there? Prodigal son bolts, all world RB wants to reportedly test transfer waters. A stable program pacing our league is now a huge wildcard.

    Harvard-Yale-Princeton– despite their ‘scholarshipping’ their entire 125 man rosters and multiple media outlets proclaiming buckets of players turning down FBs offers in droves—I don’t see us ‘behind’ them at all. I was at PU. I was at Yale. And UPenn. And saw Harvard on TV twice. I ain’t seeing rosters loaded with FBS talent. I just don’t. We played well against an early/vulnerable Penn, and terribly against PU. We gave them enough turnovers to justify their 50+ points and the fireworks show after. Yale, we didn’t show up. In those two loses and the two Harvard games I saw, didn’t leave me feeling we have to catch up to anything talent wise, just execution.

    Villanova–probably still gets some kids we can’t, they always seem a little bigger, faster, skilled. they would be who we should chase for talent. They have had a few elite kids elevate them. Without, we gotta grow to compete with them. And what happens when Talley hangs it up?

    Colgate–did league proud and Hunt answered all identity questions with this year’s edition. We played them to a single possession, a series of poor play calls kept us out of end zone to end game. Then they soundly beat UNH, hold on at JMU. Did they play up? Could we have pulled of what they did given we were on that level of play at year’s end? UNH overrated? JMU simply too pedestrian without an ACC QB? I look at ‘gates run as very promising for us all.

    Duquesne–we don’t talk about them here much. Terrible stadium, NEC, blah, blah. But, I watched them play the Tribe really tough, and they had some speed. They impressed and belonged. Does that speak to the talent of the NEC or the diluting of FCS scholarship ball, more opportunities…parity?

    UPenn–Bagnoli gone, we whooped ’em, then they share the league. Now they’re on the schedule again, which I love. Again, parity? We’ll see.

    Bucknell–still don’t see them being a factor. It’s just how I grew up. Their O line looks like Bama’s, their D always statistically great, but they never take a significant step. Even though they smoked us two straight til this year.

    HC–until Mark Duffner comes back, they won’t ascend to that heyday where he went 66-5 or something, losing only to BC and Army. Their fanbase has dwindled according to sader87 on AGS, and they have no connection to PL football despite obvious commonalities, and all of their proclaimed ‘traditional’ rivalries become FBS, dropping football, not scheduling them, etc. and Gilmore is a DC not a HC.

    Thoughts? Additions? Argument? I hope some insightful banger ensues.

    #24544
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    There are no gimmes next year but by the same token every game is winnable. OOC ,Nova should likely be the only reach game.Without Robinson they were a very ordinary squad. Dont expect they will be substantilly better next yr.PL ? Expect there will more swings in the standings as more schollie kids populate rosters. Have no idea who will do what. On a week to week basis parity will prevail.
    Doc is right that understanding where we are has to include the status of our opponents. We do know one fact absolutely. Our Defense is abysmal.

    #24545
    Go Lehigh TU Owl
    Go Lehigh TU Owl
    Participant

    I think the expectation for next year should be a return to the playoffs. I won’t say a league championship/automatic bid because every league game can be a grind.

    The pieces are in place on offense to have one of the most explosive units in FCS. The skill position talent is as good as the 2011 team, if not better imo. TP and Bragalone are the best RB/WR combo since Jean/Braswell in ’98. When you look at the depth at RB and WR it is scary good relative to the rest of the league and even nationally. QB will be interesting. Shafnisky has to be able to stretch the field. If he can’t then the offense will never fully take off.

    Defense remains the wildcard. I can’t believe the staff remained as is after the worst defense I’ve seen since the 2005 Temple Owls(look up that points against). Even a decent defense next year could produce a Top 20 team. However, if the unit does not improve then something has to be done and the HC should take a lot of heat.

    Lehigh has all the resources to be the best program in the league. Overall, it has been the last 25 or so years but recently there’s been some missed opportunities. The 2012 absolutely got robbed of a playoff bid. 2013 ended in bitter disappointment. Yet, it still produced some good moments, the win over UNH/Princeton and a Top 25 ranking for much of the year.

    It is time to return to the playoffs and put together a run. Colgate got it done this year in surprising fashion. I said 3-4 years ago that when the dust settled from the transition to scholarships that Lehigh and Colgate would once against be the dominant programs. The right culture exists at those two schools for success over the long run.

    I’ll be shocked if the Colgate and Lehigh aren’t picked 1-2 in the preseason poll given the coaching change in the Bronx. I think Lehigh will get some consideration for the Top 25 based on their offense alone. Next year will be very interesting for sure….

    #24546
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Agree owl. Our expectation should be a playoff team . O can certainly do that with all the ifs we have recounted numerous times. Bottom line D lost us games this year. If they can just not lose us games next,regardless of stats,we will be very good.

    #24547
    Go Lehigh TU Owl
    Go Lehigh TU Owl
    Participant

    [quote=24546]Agree owl. Our expectation should be a playoff team . O can certainly do that with all the ifs we have recounted numerous times. Bottom line D lost us games this year. If they can just not lose us games next,regardless of stats,we will be very good.

    [/quote]

    The defense must improve. I think the expectations should be based on the belief that it will be. Otherwise, the HC has simply no excuse for what would be 3-4 years of failures on that side of the ball.

    The OOC is very solid but not daunting. After the last two years it’s time for payback against Yale and Princeton. Monmouth is good but that’s a game you need to win at home to start the year. It really should come down to the Big 5 schools. Penn and Villanova have the potential to be damn good. Go 1-1 in those two games and people will take notice. Go 2-0 and Lehigh could be a Top 15 team heading into league play.

    Fordham and Colgate visit Goodman. The toughest league road game would appear to be HC. It’s time to smack around Bucknell, Georgetown and Lafayette again…..

    One saving grace is that Fordham’s defense was arguably just as bad as Lehigh’s. Holy Cross’s was not much better. Even Colgate’s defense was average which this year was more than good enough.

    My early guess at the league..
    1. Colgate
    2. Lehigh
    3. Holy Cross
    4. Fordham
    5. Bucknell
    6. Georgetown
    7. Lafayette

    #24548
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Wont say I dont like it,cant say its wrong :)
    Gate was one of the games that D lost us. If,as we hope and expect D is better,we win next one. Samw with Tiges and Rams.

    #24577

    hawktalker
    Participant

    So much predicated on defense being better. Since staff has not changed how does that happen? Dump 3-3-5 for 4-3? Assuming Githens doesn’t return, D backs will still be a major concern.
    I’m afraid we’ll have to outscore people again

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