Former Player Insider's Perspective

[StoneWallLoungeCane]

It's amazing how this issue is only affecting the offensive side of the ball. Somehow, the defense is immune!

 

[3FW]

You can always tell if I guy can coach in year 2 IMO. That is the year. Same will be true here.

 

[Canezum5]

So even if what OP is spewing wasn't total BS, let's look at it from VT's perspective:

Fine, one point worse than FSU - a team with a system and scheme in place and a veteran head coach. Cool.

Fine, 7 points worse than UNC - a team with a system and scheme in place and a groomed head coach (to be kind). Cool. Whatevs.

But even if that makes you happy, what's the excuse for being 21 points worse than Virginia Tech then? A team facing the exact same scenarios (excuses) as Miami and with a less "talented" roster on paper. Are you going to tell us now that you have inside information that Virginia Tech and Frank Beamer were secretly recruiting for Justin Fuente's scheme and planned on hiring him years in advance and that's why it's okay they are so much better than Miami?

Fuente dialed up a few trick plays and ran away with the momentum at home against a young and decimated defense.

 

[JgDaCane]

Our best offensive player is Richards. A true freshman. I don't think we're nearly as talented as people think.

 

[Angry Ibis]

Our best offensive player is Richards. A true freshman. I don't think we're nearly as talented as people think.

Come on man. We're awesome. Get the camo out.

 

[streetja]

Rick is the polar opposite of JJ and no one is revolting against him. Other than that, very insightful parallel, OP.

This is not what I am hearing at all. Nice and sweet in front of cameras but pretty driven, fair and an sob on the field. Face it, there are many players on this team from the Golden(Entitlement) era, and many that can't play, like Darling, that will not be here next year. He has already gotten rid of about 20 of them.

Lmao at your insider schtick. I don't know if you are trying to troll us or you're being trolled yourself.

Is your boyfriend telling you to tell us that our eyes are deceiving us and Richt is an "****** on the field" when in reality he looks like a xanax addict ready for bed? Maybe your boy is an "insider" in the same way I have a TV. Now I'm the insider and I'm hearing you're dumb as rocks.

 

[Dghustla]

Like many of you I am very frustrated with our season, However I personally work with a former Canes player from the Schnellenberger/Johnson era that offers a different perspective I had not thought of and from a player's point of view. According to him at the beginning of the Johnson era, there were about 30 players, including him, that revolted against Jimmy's approach and regime. Jimmy was a totally cut throat coach. If you did not do your job, you were replaced immediately. These 30 players were trying to transfer to other schools such as Louisville. His point is that a new coach has to have around 3 years to have his players, culture and philosophy in place. According to this former player, MR's situation is no different. The majority of our players are sub-par players. Not only were the first 4 games were against inferior competition, our Team talent is very inferior to those of the last 3 teams we've played. Defensively we are fine but that offensive line is not of MR's caliber, and as we lose games, the Team's internal negative chatter becomes louder and louder. There will be many other players leaving the team and I guarantee you that next year's offense/offensive live will look totally different than today's.

Our talent IS NOT inferior to UNC or VT.
If your friend said this, then he has no idea what he is talking about.
And your friend and you should consider not dumping on the current players, many of whom were recruited by all the major programs. It is Richt's job to have these players prepared and playing to their collective strengths.
Period.
And back to VT, Frank Beamer did a terrible job of recuirting his last few years, which is why he no longer is working.....left Fuente less than Golden did Richt....I''m not going to bag on our coach yet like many of the hysteria queens on this board but, by the same token, not going to bag on his players either. That's wrong and your friend needs to follow the program closer.

VT has a better O line, QB, and RBs alone

all our "nfl" players, it's all hype from practice. They haven't done sh*t except drop more balls than a **** star

You also left off CB and WR.

Ppl will cite that they lose to Cuse but I'm certain CUse Oline is better than ours.

 

[TheUuuuu]

I really want to give Richt a pass because of the OL, but at the same time the play-calling is on him and that has been a huge part of the issue. I imagine the OL is creating issues with what he wants to accomplish but at the same time running into 8-9 man fronts on first and second down is reminiscent of the coker T.

Just a couple of questions, and not trying to be a smart ***. If you know that your OL aint worth a ****, what good would calling more complex plays, or running a more complex scheme, do for you? Wouldn't you rather call simple **** to actually give those less talented players a chance at being successful? Again, I'm just asking questions.

Hey man, you know the rules around here...stop with the comments that make sense.

 

[KrazyCane]

Like many of you I am very frustrated with our season, However I personally work with a former Canes player from the Schnellenberger/Johnson era that offers a different perspective I had not thought of and from a player's point of view. According to him at the beginning of the Johnson era, there were about 30 players, including him, that revolted against Jimmy's approach and regime. Jimmy was a totally cut throat coach. If you did not do your job, you were replaced immediately. These 30 players were trying to transfer to other schools such as Louisville. His point is that a new coach has to have around 3 years to have his players, culture and philosophy in place. According to this former player, MR's situation is no different. The majority of our players are sub-par players. Not only were the first 4 games were against inferior competition, our Team talent is very inferior to those of the last 3 teams we've played. Defensively we are fine but that offensive line is not of MR's caliber, and as we lose games, the Team's internal negative chatter becomes louder and louder. There will be many other players leaving the team and I guarantee you that next year's offense/offensive live will look totally different than today's.

ONLY IF BRAD KAAYA IS NO LONGER ON THIS TEAM... I have faith that Coach Richt knows that.

 

[Coach Macho]

Wait...

If Richt is so aware that our OL talent isn't where it needs to be then why is he calling "4-verts" versus a 6-man pressure?

When you have a poor OL you need to run "quick game" to get the ball out of your QB's hands and/or roll the pocket. Why haven't we seen any "quick game" concepts?

 

[brock]

Wait...

If Richt is so aware that our OL talent isn't where it needs to be then why is he calling "4-verts" versus a 6-man pressure?

When you have a poor OL you need to run "quick game" to get the ball out of your QB's hands and/or roll the pocket. Why haven't we seen any "quick game" concepts?

That's why I'm not understanding the kaaya hate from this year. Has he played like we expected? No but the play calling and oline has been worse. Albeit he should have thrown the ball away on some of the sacks but on a lot of those plays the receivers weren't even looking back to catch the ball and were running weird routes on 3rd downs

 

[Coach Macho]

Syracuse's offense was 13th in the ACC last season averaging 319 yards per game. (2nd to last behind Boston College)
In Baber's first year they're ranked 2nd in the ACC averaging 486 yards per game.

VT is averaging more yards and more points per game in Fuente's first year than they were previously.

UNC's offense instantly got better in 2012 when Fedora arrived.




Obviously there's more games to be played but these guys all made a positive impact in their first season. It remains to be seen how Miami's offense will finish the season but so far they've looked completely inept versus the 4 ACC opponents they've faced.

 

[Coach Macho]

Wait...

If Richt is so aware that our OL talent isn't where it needs to be then why is he calling "4-verts" versus a 6-man pressure?

When you have a poor OL you need to run "quick game" to get the ball out of your QB's hands and/or roll the pocket. Why haven't we seen any "quick game" concepts?

That's why I'm not understanding the kaaya hate from this year. Has he played like we expected? No but the play calling and oline has been worse. Albeit he should have thrown the ball away on some of the sacks but on a lot of those plays the receivers weren't even looking back to catch the ball and were running weird routes on 3rd downs

The Kaaya hate is completely unwarranted. A kid doesn't just magically get worse under a new staff. That's BS.

He's not getting rid of the ball because there's nobody to throw to!

 

[Gatorhater]

Rick is the polar opposite of JJ and no one is revolting against him. Other than that, very insightful parallel, OP.

Got to agree with you. Plus, JJ was replacing god -- THE MAN who won our first NC just months before. Players want HC to come from his staff. Nobody wanted any coach from Golden's staff to become HC. JJ came in with chip bigger than all those players combined -- take this talent and kill OU with it. Mark should have similar chip. JJ was forced to keep Howard's leftovers; Mark got to clean house. When he fired his old roommate, Art, I had hope that he was a man possessed; then he hired his son and that hope fled. JJ had no mercy; Mark has The Bible. I am deeply religious but the good Marist brothers who educated me, made it clear -- mercy is for after the game.

Columbus grad?????

Monsignor Pace. I am old and the Marists ran the boys side of the school back then.

 

[RickyDaKing]

Just please no more ppl from New Jersey. Golden, Kevin Olsen, AQM, Badgely can all kick rocks. Only one that's decent is Njoku and he hasn't lived up to the preseason hype either.

 

[RickyDaKing]

Jamie Gordinier is another.

 

[TheMatador]

Rick is the polar opposite of JJ and no one is revolting against him. Other than that, very insightful parallel, OP.

Got to agree with you. Plus, JJ was replacing god -- THE MAN who won our first NC just months before. Players want HC to come from his staff. Nobody wanted any coach from Golden's staff to become HC. JJ came in with chip bigger than all those players combined -- take this talent and kill OU with it. Mark should have similar chip. JJ was forced to keep Howard's leftovers; Mark got to clean house. When he fired his old roommate, Art, I had hope that he was a man possessed; then he hired his son and that hope fled. JJ had no mercy; Mark has The Bible. I am deeply religious but the good Marist brothers who educated me, made it clear -- mercy is for after the game.

Howard's guys won a NC, there was no reason to want to clean house.

Yes there was. HS' players were not suitable for JJ's system and philosophy. Too slow and lumbering. He tried to get them to play to his style. Not surprising that there was a problem with HS' old players and Jimmy. Some adapted, some couldn't. JJ had to work with what he had from Howard's old recruits and mold them to his style. After that, he had to recruit more to his philosophy.

Some of Howard's players responded very well. Look at the players who flourished under JJ's new attacking philosophy on defense: Stubbs, Jerome Brown, Bill Hawkins, Winston Moss, Bennie Blades, and some others.

Other players who did well for Howard were not suited for Jimmy's system. I'll bet a disproportionate number of the disaffected players were defensive players who did not fit well with Jimmy's philosophy. I suspect Jimmy was more of a terror on the practice field on defense, since he probably turned the players' aggressions loose.

I had heard a story in the 1980's from a UM alum who officiated HS games in western Pennsylvania. he would officiate college practices and described the difference between Joe Paterno's practices at PSU and the practices at Pitt when JJ was DC. The players were almost encouraged to engage in wars with one another at Pitt. JJ had no problem with fights between the offensive personnel and the defensive personnel. (Paterno on the other hand, would come down from his tower if a fight started and lecture the players on why they should become better players if they were frustrated). The guy who told me the story said he thought the reason UM had so many practice injuries under JJ is that he fostered this aggression in practices.

I suspect the old players could not adapt to JJ his first year; it took a while for the survivors to respond to JJ's system and philosophy. Not everybody from the Schnellenberger era could. Some were just not JJ type players. They were good players in a different system.

Still, I heard that Schnellenberger was no softie. I think I heard stories years ago that HS was feared by his players. If they saw him in the Hecht Center they would almost back against the wall waiting for some criticism. I don't know if I remember that correctly, or if that was an exaggeration. JJ was more of a players' coach for those who were able to cut it.

That's just my interpretation. Who knows if the stories I heard are accurate, or if I'm right. The HS to JJ change was a sea-change. On the other hand, the changes to Dennis Erickson and then to Coker were not as big. Apparently, Dennis was able to keep his defensive philosophy with Sonny Lubick and after Steve Walsh was not suitable for the new system as they all realized in spring practice, he was able to install a somewhat different philosophy with current personnel because he had Craig Erickson.

It seems this is a much bigger transition. I foolishly thought we'd move right along Apparently I didn't realize how much ground we had to make up, more of it on offense. And we're starting too many freshmen on defense. They're all very good but need a bit more seasoning.

I also had the impression that Va Tech was stronger and more physical. If I am right in that observation, I don't know how much is a weight room issue and how much is a youth issue, or both.

 

[TheMatador]

Wait...

If Richt is so aware that our OL talent isn't where it needs to be then why is he calling "4-verts" versus a 6-man pressure?

When you have a poor OL you need to run "quick game" to get the ball out of your QB's hands and/or roll the pocket. Why haven't we seen any "quick game" concepts?

That's why I'm not understanding the kaaya hate from this year. Has he played like we expected? No but the play calling and oline has been worse. Albeit he should have thrown the ball away on some of the sacks but on a lot of those plays the receivers weren't even looking back to catch the ball and were running weird routes on 3rd downs

The Kaaya hate is completely unwarranted. A kid doesn't just magically get worse under a new staff. That's BS.

He's not getting rid of the ball because there's nobody to throw to!

That seems to be true. Need some playmakers, where are they? Sometimes Richards, but who else? Where's Coley?

 

[TheMatador]

Like many of you I am very frustrated with our season, However I personally work with a former Canes player from the Schnellenberger/Johnson era that offers a different perspective I had not thought of and from a player's point of view. According to him at the beginning of the Johnson era, there were about 30 players, including him, that revolted against Jimmy's approach and regime. Jimmy was a totally cut throat coach. If you did not do your job, you were replaced immediately. These 30 players were trying to transfer to other schools such as Louisville. His point is that a new coach has to have around 3 years to have his players, culture and philosophy in place. According to this former player, MR's situation is no different. The majority of our players are sub-par players. Not only were the first 4 games were against inferior competition, our Team talent is very inferior to those of the last 3 teams we've played. Defensively we are fine but that offensive line is not of MR's caliber, and as we lose games, the Team's internal negative chatter becomes louder and louder. There will be many other players leaving the team and I guarantee you that next year's offense/offensive live will look totally different than today's.

Our talent IS NOT inferior to UNC or VT.
If your friend said this, then he has no idea what he is talking about.
And your friend and you should consider not dumping on the current players, many of whom were recruited by all the major programs. It is Richt's job to have these players prepared and playing to their collective strengths.
Period.
And back to VT, Frank Beamer did a terrible job of recuirting his last few years, which is why he no longer is working.....left Fuente less than Golden did Richt....I''m not going to bag on our coach yet like many of the hysteria queens on this board but, by the same token, not going to bag on his players either. That's wrong and your friend needs to follow the program closer.

VT has a better O line, QB, and RBs alone

all our "nfl" players, it's all hype from practice. They haven't done sh*t except drop more balls than a **** star

I'm trying to picture that...am I going to the wrong sites?

 

[TheMatador]

That's a huge cop-out to say our talent is inferior to the last 3 teams, and it's simply not true.

You want to blame the depth, esp with all the recent injuries, but Jesus come on.

We lost because of:
Poor OL play
Kaaya being rattled
Dumb mistakes
Poor SP play

Good example of inferior talent. Hey I've never been an MR supporter. There is a reason why GA fired him! Butch has always been my man but I also have to be fair and objective here and say that most of our players could not even be back ups at Ohio State, Bama, FSU, etc... The players that have performed in the past but are not now are more than likely the ones anti-MR and Kaaya could very well be one of them. I do not think he is happy at all with the run most of the time offense.

Is that guy Dixon doing anything at OSU? He was supposed to be so important for us, a starter for sure.

EDIT: OK, I looked him up. To be fair, he's had injury problems. He's played in four games with a total of six receptions for 53 yards. He's almost equalled his receiving total with 25 yards rushing. Is he overrated or just too injured?