Wednesday, July 30, 2008

2007 Trend Breakdown Pt 1

Going by my poll to the left its fair to say that all 4 answers disgust SU fans near and far just about equally. I couldnt help but notice that the Interlocked Arms Team Entrance (even though it counts for 'all of the above') hasnt received a vote yet. Try as I did to find a pic of it on the web I'm almost glad I didn't because this is one 2007 trend that is just embarassing to watch as a fan.

That's all I am. A fan. I have no idea what goes on in the locker room. But I'm willing to bet that Coach Robinson doesn't just post the starting lineup on a random locker and tell the guys to hit the field. My guess is that he tries to get our Orange fired up and ready to play like champs. So here's my biggest problem with the way our boys take the field. Imagine getting all fired up in the locker room. To the point where youre ready to knock someone over full speed on the way to punching a hole in the wall. Then its "Let's all hold hands and march onto the field together". There goes all that adrenaline - right out your ass along with this morning's omlette. To even the most mentally tough players that has to be pretty deflating.

From a fan's point of view its just as deflating. I'm almost 19 hours away so the living room is my little dome. But I can only imagine being in the Dome, jumping up and down getting pumped up and watching... the players.......
slowly.....
sloooooooowly...... almost there........... take the field.
They look like first graders heading out to recess. It almost appears as if they're being forced to play today's game. Don't forget to eat your brocolli!

OK, I get the whole team unity thing. I really do. But from an opposing team's point of view it's just laughable. Were I a player on the other side of the field I'd be slapping my buddy on the shoulder pads and pointing:

"Get a load of those clowns!"

So coach, if you're reading this please for God's sake let the kids have some fun. let em come out and jump around, but heads, slap leaping high fives that the 80's Bears would be proud of. Let em really get into it. Nobody's gonna pull a Grammatica or a Frerotte and wind up on IR as a result of the opening celebration. Let the players get the crowd as well as themselves into it. Its only fair to let them loose before kickoff. Its called the loud house for a reason.


GO ORANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Great Expectations





I think just about every SU fan who was listening to the Axe Man this afternoon (also on DWebb's blog) had the same reaction. Head coach Greg Robinson said today at BEMD that a reasonble expectation for this year's team is to win a bowl game.


Caught your breath yet?

I've been a tough critic of his since his arrival but I have to give the guy some credit. He could have said that they'll take it week by week. Their goal is to beat NW. Things are looking up. Blah Blah Blah. Nope. He went for the throat with the reasonble expectation of winning a bowl. Not getting to one - winning one. He may be on his way out at season's end, and he knows a 3 or 4 win season will have a Century 21 sign out in his front yard. But that was pretty ballsy on his part. I like that kind of thinking.


The only downfall? Last time he made a statement that bold was... well, see the post below this one.

What Goes Around....

Remember this?

"Paul (Pasqualoni) was here 14 years ... We got five in one year, that'd be 70 if we were here that long .... We'll recruit their tails off. They're (Rutgers) a one-year wonder. Do I like them? No. This recruiting thing? You wait and see ..."


For those who've forgotten, that was GRob's smack talk aimed directly at Rutgers last October. Well, I waited. Here's what I see.

Rivals Top 10 NY State Recruits 2009

See anyone commiting to Syracuse? Not a soul. Now granted we've seen GRob pull a rabbit out of his hat before. Granted the surprise commitment of Lobdell hasn't beared any fruit so far. But with Darrick Scott de-committing that brings the grand total of 2009 SU verbals to 1. Plus a soft verbal from NJ reciever Leavander Jones. So thats 2 to Rutgers' 18 - yes you read that right - 18 commits for 2009. So much for "recruiting their tails off".

Remember, Orange Faithful, what goes around..... comes around.

Title Town?

I've avoided commenting on this farse all summer long. But the winner has been announced (or leaked depending on your point of view) and its time to chime in. Before we get to the 'winner' (as voted on by the fans of course), let me begin by saying that this is one of the lamer, insignifigant marketing gimmics ESPN has run in a long long time.

Story Here

"Titletown" is Green Bay. Always has been. But ESPN had the brilliant idea of showcasing a bunch of cities and towns nationwide on SportsCenter and making a case for each so the fans can vote on the winner. ESPN apparently isn't above a popularity contest if it means new, and judging by the winner, younger viewers. The High School dominated areas showed that they were really grasping at straws. I've been opposed to giving a city/town/middlesex/whatever a nickname that's already got a home from the get-go. But I figured New York (Yankees, Rangers & Giants have all hoisted their respective trophy in the past 15 years), Boston (Pats and Sox have been on top recently), maybe LA or Chicago would be the front runners. OK maaaaaaaaaaaybe a college town. But that's where the line should have been drawn. So the winner (skip the drum roll) is....

Valdosta, Ga? Give me a friggin break. Sorry Green Bay, but you've been stripped of your nickname and the people have spoken. Your nicknme will be handed to a city that doesn't host an NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB or a D-1A program of any kind. Now I understand that the high school and D-II teams are top tier in that area, and they've got the hardware to prove it. But seriously. The typical American sports fan doesn't watch them religiously. Apye735 says:

To the people saying "high school sports don't matter" ... where do you think the athletes that the big cites pay to win titles come from? I would think that most professional athletes played high school sports.

No one's downplaying the importance of high school sports, but if your case is to be made then lets pencil in Mouth Of Wilson, Va in the top 5 shall we? Any hoops fan knows that Oak Hill not only sports the top talent every year, but also knows the players who've come out of that program.

If you want to read more comments on various blogs or message boards, simply google "Valdosta WTF" and you're sure to have an hours worth of reading ahead of you.

joker0348: We even had Ms. Valdosta be named Ms. Georgia.

Damn that must have been the clincher. I'll bet she be made it far in the Miss America pageant too.

Other than showcasing nationwide sports accomplishments, this was a complete waste of time. Maybe next summer they can vote on who should be "MJ" - Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, or ... oh what the hell Montel Jordan. And why not toss in Mike Jones while we're at it. Who????

Mike Jones!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Team Poster

Now is the time of year when I call up and get my SU Football Poster shipped down here to SC - one for the office, one for the kids. Last year's "Sudden Impact" wasn't all that bad. It wasnt the greatest thing I'd ever seen, but not bad. I've seen no word on any blogs as to what this year's looks like. I'm just hoping it doesn't look like the top of the Athletic site. "Get On The Express"?? I love that theyre paying tribute to the much anticipated movie but it sounds a little Willie Wonka-ish.



Down here in ClemPson (the P is intentional) country theyve got their new posters out and Ive never seen such a mess.



Dear God did they forget anyone? An usher or equipment manager maybe?? You just gotta love a poster that features both the place kicker and punter. Fearsome! How about next year just have the team picture with a schedule underneath.

New Look for 2008??



I've been complaining about the jerseys every since they swithced everything around in 2005. I really let off some steam last year with that just downright ugly all orange getup. What made the orange jerseys so putrid looking were the blue numbers and trim. I said time and time again that orange jerseys would work with white numbers and stripes and it looks like someone finally listened. In the past two weeks I've noticed these new jerseys showing up on ebay - produced by Nike of course. I'll be getting mine soon!


A new look for the football program?? Lets hope so. I think these jerseys with white pants would look damn sharp and I hope thats what they'll go with once Akron pulls into town. If NCAA 2009 is any indication, the blue home jerseys will have matching white numbers as well; though I'm not one bit fond of the Orange Helmet/Blue Jersey/White Pants look for our team. I say either go Orange Jerseys/White pants or Blue Jerseys/Orange pants for the home games. Either one would look a hell of alot better than this abomination.

Pre-Season Thoughts - Offense

It seems like everyone else is blogging away about SU football so I figured what the hell. I'm new at this, so this blog will only get better as the season goes on. Hopefully SU football won't be far behind.

As preseason camp gets closer it seems like the two biggest topics regarding the Orange are the WR corps and how well the running game will fare. Offensive Line was the biggest problem last year. The unit, which gave up 54 sacks and rarely opened holes for Boonah or Doug Hogue, is the key to both concerns mentioned above. Mitch Browning was brought in after a year off following his gig at Minnesota to get the running game (and offense as a whole) back on the right track. With last year's offensive production being last in the Big East and damn near the bottom nationally, the only way to go is up. Factor in that both leading recievers are gone (thanks to an early departure and an issue in the classroom) and he's really got his work cut out for him.

The good news is Boonah appears to be near 100% and heres hoping that he can have that 1000 yard season we all know he's got in him. He, along with Delone Carter (back from a hip injury that cost him all last year) have to be in top form for this to be a successful 2008 season. Behind those two are sophmore Doug Hogue and could-be-frosh Averin Collier. Hogue filled in decently last season in Brinkleys absense but doesnt look to be getting a great deal of playing time this season. Maybe a switch to LB or Safety is in his future? Collier has a big upside but from what I've read and the film I've seen of him he'll pound out some yardage but isn't much of a home run threat.

The bad news is that ... check that ... the really bad news is that not one returning WR this fall caught more than 17 balls last season. Its put up or shut up for former prize recruit Lavar Lobdell. Since his arrival at SU he's snagged 13 catches and hasn't seen the endzone yet. Newcomers Trey Fairchild & Marcus Sales may wind in the mix sooner rather than later. I really like what I saw of Fairchild on film. He's got good hands, good vision, and can take a pop or two. Half the film I saw was of him bouncing off would-be-tacklers in stride. He's got good speed, but speed is deceptive on game film. The ball is in the air, its just a matter of time until we see who grabs it.

Andrew Robinson, when he wasn't on his ass, looked solid for a first year starter. He took a ton of lumps but he hung in there. Between sacks he even magaged to complete half of his throws and put up a 2-1 TD to INT ratio. He doesn't have a cannon for an arm but the kids got guts! Hopefully, with a brutal year under his belt, he can become the leader that he was brought in to be.

I think its fair to say that no one is expecting miracles from Browning. Hell, just not ever seeing that ridiculous "pistol" formation again will earn him some points with me. Its been mentioned in every preseason preview and every blog Ive seen so I won't go into detail on just how bad last year's numbers were. But there are are a few positives to look forward to this season. If the running game has some holes tho run through I think the passing game will take care of itself.

More to come.


Go Orange!!!