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Fireside Chat with The Living Legend

The Franchise said:
That's bad recruiting, bad evaluations, and bad choices. Jennings shouldn't be our staring MLB. It's terrible no doubt, but Shaq wasn't having 1 tackle, and he was coached by the same guys. Jennings simply isn't a Miami caliber MLB.
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Yes, yes, and yes. And we’ve witnessed Shaq get 4(?) tackles vs Wisky while Pickney had (3). The coaching is bad in addition to all of the above.
 
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Go Canes!! said:
JFC take your L like a man dude.

You completely botched the basis for your argument and looked like a fool. Before that I posted ANOTHER half dozen games where pedestrian offenses scored a ton of points agains them.

Doubling down on your nonsense only makes you look dumber. Move on dude, it's ok.
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Hardly, you are deflecting from the fact that you said LSU got torched by every good offense it played while cherry picking games. It did not. Ignore facts all you want.
 
The Franchise said:
He should have just disappeared, as his entire argument was based on a mistake he made. Instead, he comes back with his chin out. LOL. Classic CISpool.
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It wasn’t my factually incorrect argument that said LSU got torched by every good O they played. Even the corrected “mistake” disproved that, then again, dont let me stop the circle jerk you guys got going on. Gotta love deflections and strawmen claiming people said LSU had a dominant D.
 
FrancisSaywer said:
You're right Chise. I do prefer waffle fries. I have no issue with McDonald's fries but if I am going to be served McDonald's fries I expect them to be fresh and hot. I don't want the old stale fries that have been sitting under some lamp for 30 minutes.

I understand about the pros and cons of Manny's defense and I'm ok with that. I understand that this defense has had similar issues in the past. My point is that the issues we are seeing now are greatly magnified. You have said it yourself that the defense in 2017 and/or 2018 was very good. I'm not expecting Lubbick and I really don't need to have Lubbick as I'm cool with Diaz. I just want a DC who can run the Diaz defense as well as it can be run and I don't think Baker is that guy.

Now if you tell me that you think that what we have seen from Baker is mostly the result of a glaring talent deficiency at CB and LB then I'm inclined to listen and I would agree to certain point. My theory is that this D is what it is due to Baker not being a UM level DC and the issues at CB and LB. Would you agree with that?
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I think our talent and depth at CB is a disgrace, and our experienced talent at LB is awful. Our starting MLB would be 3rd string in our good years.

I'm not going to blame Baker because he's Diaz's son, and Diaz had his **** pushed in pretty regularly just like Baker. Go look at that Miss State v. Arkansas game where he got humiliated. Look at how he turned subpar passers like Benkert, Bryant, and that feeble Wisconsin QB into Drew Brees. Those dudes set personal/team records on Diaz, not Baker.

So if you want to scapegoat, yeah fire Baker. I don't care. I'm the last guy to cape for Baker, but I'm realistic in my appraisal, and this is Diaz's D. If Diaz thinks Baker is failing operating his D, then Diaz can take it over at any time and do it better.

I'd fire some of the defensive coaches simply because they can't recruit and have zero pedigree (Rump and Patsy). If Manny wants to hand the D over to someone and let him run his own D, then I'd support that. But firing Baker and replacing him with another Diaz son is useless.
 
Mandingo said:
Yes, yes, and yes. And we’ve witnessed Shaq get 4(?) tackles vs Wisky while Pickney had (3). The coaching is bad in addition to all of the above.
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The bad coaching starts with the HC, whose D the DC is running. The HC got murked a bunch of times by subpar QBs like Benkert, Bryant, and Hochedorf or whatever that sorry *** Wisconsin QB's name was.
 
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thisu said:
It wasn’t my factually incorrect argument that said LSU got torched by every good O they played. Even the corrected “mistake” disproved that, then again, dont let me stop the circle jerk you guys got going on. Gotta love deflections and strawmen claiming people said LSU had a dominant D.
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Eat. Your. L.

You completely blew your own argument by quoting inapplicable stats. Then you wondered why we were talking about LSU being dominant defensively when the discussion was started by a guy who specifically said all the playoff teams had dominant Ds.
 
I'm probably in the minority, but I don't hate our defensive schemes. I'm willing to give up a little soundness if it means getting in the backfield and disrupting. College QB's make bad decisions when the heat is on. The defense we ran in 2016 was good enough to win a championship, and we have a better defensive line today. The only thing I can complain about is our depth and talent at CB is not up to UM standards. Recruiting matters. I just have to hope that doesn't cost us a game.

This season could be really special. We're elite at QB and on the DL.... and those are the two most important spots in football.

I even think we have a shot against Clemson, believe it or not. Trevor Lawrence is special, but he's still a college kid. I have yet to see him in a game where he's consistently knocked on his *** and running for his life. If Phillips and Roche have career days, who knows what can happen. I think we can test him, anyway.
 
The Franchise said:
He would have to do more than make changes on the D staff to make any appreciable difference. He changed the entire philosophy and approach on offense. That was easy for him because he's not an offensive coach.

For him to change his approach on D, it will be much tougher because he'll have to go away from what he does and hire a DC who runs his own D. He hired his sons on D to run Manny's D. 3 of those guys are literally his sons with no experience outside of what Manny taught them.
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Here’s the thing - how much change do we really want on the d? Sure, the d has holes... just like every single defense that can possibly be run in today’s game. Saban’s pattern match zone, coupled with the horses he brings in to run it, is pretty good... until you get a Johnny football/deshaun Watson/joe burrow/D’eriq King??? type playmaker behind center that can avoid the rush, run around long enough to let his receivers separate and then drop a dime.

With that said - The defense has forced more turnovers than any P5 team since Manny got here and has to be top 5 in tfl/sacks/hurries in the same time - you know, the things we were begging for when Golden was here. Things that every single coach will tell you is the difference in the outcome of most games.

I’ve never been in the game thread, but we’re people bythching about the delayed blitz when it netted a sack on 4th and 3 from the +45? Or when it forced the qb to roll to the short side, where he couldn’t see Blades, who then came underneath for the pick?

Is the scheme perfect? No. Might it look better with more talent? Obviously. Can we win big running it? I think so.
 
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The Franchise said:
I think our talent and depth at CB is a disgrace, and our experienced talent at LB is awful. Our starting MLB would be 3rd string in our good years.

I'm not going to blame Baker because he's Diaz's son, and Diaz had his **** pushed in pretty regularly just like Baker. Go look at that Miss State v. Arkansas game where he got humiliated. Look at how he turned subpar passers like Benkert, Bryant, and that feeble Wisconsin QB into Drew Brees. Those dudes set personal/team records on Diaz, not Baker.

So if you want to scapegoat, yeah fire Baker. I don't care. I'm the last guy to cape for Baker, but I'm realistic in my appraisal, and this is Diaz's D. If Diaz thinks Baker is failing operating his D, then Diaz can take it over at any time and do it better.

I'd fire some of the defensive coaches simply because they can't recruit and have zero pedigree (Rump and Patsy). If Manny wants to hand the D over to someone and let him run his own D, then I'd support that. But firing Baker and replacing him with another Diaz son is useless.
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All good points. I agree that replacing Baker with another Diaz boot licker would be useless. What I want to see is Manny hand the D over to a qualified DC. That is what I ultimately want to see. As for Manny's D being exposed while he himself was running it yes those examples you cite are irrefutable. He did make Benkirk look like Ben Rothlisberger and that Wisky QB too. I just thought that he ran that style D a bit better than Baker and with our new OC maybe that would be good enough but ultimately you are correct. Manny needs to make a big decision this off-season and that is if he truly wants to be an HC or if he wants to keep his precious D around and have everyone tell him what a smart guy he is. The guy needs to give the D over completely to a good DC, get rid of Rumph and Patke and start stacking as much elite talent as he can.
 
FrancisSaywer said:
Your point is well taken but fans calling for a much better defense aren't necessarily living in the past. Nobody that watches the game today truly thinks that we can have some Sonny Lubbick 11 pts a game juggernaut. What we do want and what this team needs is to be the best they can be in the context of today's wide open scoring orgies.

We need to address to gaping hole at CB and find a way to play to our strengths on a consistent basis. The constant mindless and gratuitous blitzing and playing soft zone behind it setting up a virtual pitch and catch clinic by the offense is just plain asinine! We regularly sit back and allow any WR to be high school wide open on any in cutting route.

I don't have a problem living and dying with the pros and cons of the Diaz system. The issue is Baker isn't capable of running that system to its true potential. In this game your defense is going to get beat but my problem is that on many of these defensive calls by Baker we are not even attempting to challenge the play.

I'm very happy about this win and right now I am pumped by the direction of this program seeing where we were 1 to 2 years ago. Diaz made the moves he had to make and he made them well, real well. The Lashlee effect on the offense? Check! The addition of Borregalles? Check! Getting a mature experienced playmaker and leader at QB? Check! Enhancing the recruiting operation while galvanizing the program by adding Ed Reed and guys like Telly Lockette? Check! Seeing the early results of these moves in recruiting as evidenced by the commitments of giants like James Williams and Leonard Taylor both super blue chip elite 5 star national recruits who we supposedly had no chance at getting because Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Georgia and every other elite level program had the red carpet super star treatment all laid out for them? Check! Those are boss like moves and we should all be super pumped and excited about them and what they truly mean/signify.

We still have a few move hurdles to clear in the next off-season and those will most likely be...

Closely evaluating the Defensive Staff and upgrading it.

Having the cojones to part ways with Baker and some position coaches even if they are personal friends.

Manny needs to make a great DC hire. It doesn't have to be a household name like Brett Venables. It does have to be a substantive hire that can have a similar effect to what Lashlee has had in offense.

This a subpoint of the above but crucially important. Address the CB situation in the short term by aggressively going after the best player/s possible through the portal or Junior College or whatever.

Figure out which position coaches on defense to fire or reassign. Rumph, Patke and Baker should all be on the block. It's not personal it's business.

It is all about improving the team in any way you can so there should be no sacred cows. Think about getting a better DL coach in terms of coaching and developing. Stroud has done an excellent job on the trail but we could move him to a role in the recruiting department and bring in a better position coach. Stroud was originally hired to an administrative role so maybe he is best suited to that. Nothing against Stroud. I'm just making the point that we should always be looking to improve.

That's basically it in a nutshell. There is a very positive energy going through this program right now. I am more optimistic than I have been in a very long time. We have made great strides in one off-season that we should all be proud of. What we need to focus on now apart from having the best season possible is to finish the joEst
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FrancisSaywer said:
Your point is well taken but fans calling for a much better defense aren't necessarily living in the past. Nobody that watches the game today truly thinks that we can have some Sonny Lubbick 11 pts a game juggernaut. What we do want and what this team needs is to be the best they can be in the context of today's wide open scoring orgies.

We need to address to gaping hole at CB and find a way to play to our strengths on a consistent basis. The constant mindless and gratuitous blitzing and playing soft zone behind it setting up a virtual pitch and catch clinic by the offense is just plain asinine! We regularly sit back and allow any WR to be high school wide open on any in cutting route.

I don't have a problem living and dying with the pros and cons of the Diaz system. The issue is Baker isn't capable of running that system to its true potential. In this game your defense is going to get beat but my problem is that on many of these defensive calls by Baker we are not even attempting to challenge the play.

I'm very happy about this win and right now I am pumped by the direction of this program seeing where we were 1 to 2 years ago. Diaz made the moves he had to make and he made them well, real well. The Lashlee effect on the offense? Check! The addition of Borregalles? Check! Getting a mature experienced playmaker and leader at QB? Check! Enhancing the recruiting operation while galvanizing the program by adding Ed Reed and guys like Telly Lockette? Check! Seeing the early results of these moves in recruiting as evidenced by the commitments of giants like James Williams and Leonard Taylor both super blue chip elite 5 star national recruits who we supposedly had no chance at getting because Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Georgia and every other elite level program had the red carpet super star treatment all laid out for them? Check! Those are boss like moves and we should all be super pumped and excited about them and what they truly mean/signify.

We still have a few move hurdles to clear in the next off-season and those will most likely be...

Closely evaluating the Defensive Staff and upgrading it.

Having the cojones to part ways with Baker and some position coaches even if they are personal friends.

Manny needs to make a great DC hire. It doesn't have to be a household name like Brett Venables. It does have to be a substantive hire that can have a similar effect to what Lashlee has had in offense.

This a subpoint of the above but crucially important. Address the CB situation in the short term by aggressively going after the best player/s possible through the portal or Junior College or whatever.

Figure out which position coaches on defense to fire or reassign. Rumph, Patke and Baker should all be on the block. It's not personal it's business.

It is all about improving the team in any way you can so there should be no sacred cows. Think about getting a better DL coach in terms of coaching and developing. Stroud has done an excellent job on the trail but we could move him to a role in the recruiting department and bring in a better position coach. Stroud was originally hired to an administrative role so maybe he is best suited to that. Nothing against Stroud. I'm just making the point that we should always be looking to improve.

That's basically it in a nutshell. There is a very positive energy going through this program right now. I am more optimistic than I have been in a very long time. We have made great strides in one off-season that we should all be proud of. What we need to focus on now apart from having the best season possible is to finish the job.
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Great diagnostic of where this team is and what has to happen in the future if Manny is going to develop as an elite coach and run an elite program. The best teams make changes every single year, either to personnel, systems, facilities, processes etc. EVEN AFTER THEY WIN IT ALL.
 
The easiest way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. I think it was smart of Manny to address the most glaring issue of the team - the offense. His D was more than serviceable and if changes are necessary on the D at the end of this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes them.
 
FrancisSaywer said:
All good points. I agree that replacing Baker with another Diaz boot licker would be useless. What I want to see is Manny hand the D over to a qualified DC. That is what I ultimately want to see. As for Manny's D being exposed while he himself was running it yes those examples you cite are irrefutable. He did make Benkirk look like Ben Rothlisberger and that Wisky QB too. I just thought that he ran that style D a bit better than Baker and with our new OC maybe that would be good enough but ultimately you are correct. Manny needs to make a big decision this off-season and that is if he truly wants to be an HC or if he wants to keep his precious D around and have everyone tell him what a smart guy he is. The guy needs to give the D over completely to a good DC, get rid of Rumph and Patke and start stacking as much elite talent as he can.
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If you’re using the term boot kicker it’s hard to take anything else you say seriously.
 
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The Franchise said:
That might have been one of my favorite parts of the game right there. He's the type of leader we can win with. He's friendly with the players and they like him. But he'll get in their *** when he needs to. It's a perfect blend, and I think that's the type of leadership that works best.
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Is this Lashlee you guys are talking about? I didnt get to see the game.
 
Ajcane8 said:
Here’s the thing - how much change do we really want on the d? Sure, the d has holes... just like every single defense that can possibly be run in today’s game. Saban’s pattern match zone, coupled with the horses he brings in to run it, is pretty good... until you get a Johnny football/deshaun Watson/joe burrow/D’eriq King??? type playmaker behind center that can avoid the rush, run around long enough to let his receivers separate and then drop a dime.

With that said - The defense has forced more turnovers than any P5 team since Manny got here and has to be top 5 in tfl/sacks/hurries in the same time - you know, the things we were begging for when Golden was here. Things that every single coach will tell you is the difference in the outcome of most games.

I’ve never been in the game thread, but we’re people bythching about the delayed blitz when it netted a sack on 4th and 3 from the +45? Or when it forced the qb to roll to the short side, where he couldn’t see Blades, who then came underneath for the pick?

Is the scheme perfect? No. Might it look better with more talent? Obviously. Can we win big running it? I think so.
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The safety blitz is to Diaz/Baker what the inside zone was to Richt. They are great plays and the plays themselves are not the problem. The problem is the predictability in how they are being deployed.

That predictability made us inefficient on both sides of the ball. Just look at our offense for Louisville vs UAB. We ran the inside zone predictability against UAB. When we mixed it up against Louisville, we were much more explosive.

I would prefer a more sound scheme. ****, I think even Randy Shannon would kill it here with the way he runs his defense now. But they don’t have to overhaul the entire scheme get more efficient results. Just mix in some more of the plays we have seen Diaz run that have worked well and get more physical with the receivers.
 
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The Franchise said:
Eat. Your. L.

You completely blew your own argument by quoting inapplicable stats. Then you wondered why we were talking about LSU being dominant defensively when the discussion was started by a guy who specifically said all the playoff teams had dominant Ds.
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I owned my mistake. Just curious, do you agree with the mouthbreather who said LSU got torched by every good offense they faced? You did say you watched every LSU game. He clearly didn’t.
 
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