SIAP: the nightmare is over

I’ll be honest, looking at Diaz’s m.o, it wouldn’t surprise me if PSU’s defense start off really well. Diaz’s tenure as a DC on the P5 level ALWAYS start off well; he’s only been at two schools as a P5 DC for longer than one yr, UT & us. We all know what happened at UT by yr 3. Truth be told, 2018 was an anomaly, & honestly, it’s due to the **** poor schedule we had compared to the previous yrs.


Per Team Rankings.com, here were our SOS & notice the Defensive Trend:

2016 - 18th SOS (20th in Total D)
2017 - 19th SOS (38th in Total D)
2018 - 43rd SOS (4th in Total D)
2019 - 62nd SOS (13th in Total D)
2020 - 27th SOS (62nd in Total D)
2021 - 32nd SOS (75th in Total D)

So the trend is:
Year 1, Defense looks good, Yr 2 defense takes a step back, & by Yr 3, it usually falls flat. However, the difference between yr 3 at Miami vs Texas was the SOS. At UT, in yr 3 Diaz faced the 14th ranked SOS; at Miami 43rd. Interesting to note, 2018 & 2019 were by far thee worst SOS Diaz had ever faced, & it’s no coincidence that both yrs were the best under his direction. He parlayed the fluke 2018 into the HC gig. Smh

Unfortunately, when u’re a leopard u can’t escape ur spots, so even though the FB Gods blessed him w/ the combo of talent + weak schedule in 2018, his m.o caught up to him, especially as the schedule tightened back up.

Like @The Franchise said, Diaz was a smoke & mirrors DC w/ no substance. When teams caught on, we got smoked.
 
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I was always on the side of saying we hype our players too much and we weren't getting right talent or enough talent.
My opinion was uninformed given the fact that we never played and was just a fan’s opinion.
I just couldn’t see how bad the coaching was.
But it’s amazing to me how the school just kept hiring and throwing millions of dollars at dudes who (now looking back) had no business coaching at a top p5 program.

We were warned by so many on here and I kept this notion that we just need a little more talent cause we would have some flashes and good stretches in a bad conference.

We were behind top teams from the president all the way down to the **** water boy.
SMDH


@M3N comes to mind when I read that. He's been calling out coaching since I joined this site. He was right too!
 
The new staff is most likely sticking with what they have. Frierson is moving to LB, because they don’t believe he has the athleticism to play in the secondary at the level they want this team. It’s a good move for him. My point is, they feel the same way that you do. I’m not sold on the guys we have, but I trust these coaches to make their evaluations.
I think Frierson with Chase Smith and Keontra Smith would be solid. All can fill gaps and have the speed and athleticism to cover.
 
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The new staff is most likely sticking with what they have. Frierson is moving to LB, because they don’t believe he has the athleticism to play in the secondary at the level they want this team. It’s a good move for him. My point is, they feel the same way that you do. I’m not sold on the guys we have, but I trust these coaches to make their evaluations.
IF GB can get off blocks better/or our dline can protect him, he’ll probably be our best LB. His instincts and IQ are high level and this is a make or break year for him.
 
@M3N comes to mind when I read that. He's been calling out coaching since I joined this site. He was right too!
There’s already people here calling out Mario. Being first in line to jump off a ship that hasn’t left the port yet doesn’t impress me. It’s easy to hedge your bets by immediately jumping on the negative. Let’s face it, almost every single coaching hire in college football eventually turns sour. How many guys have successful, long term runs at a school? Especially guys who want to take the hardline of “championship or bust”. There’s literally 5 active head coaches with a ring. Only two of them have more than one ring. Don’t worry, there will be a group of posters here ready to hammer Mario as soon as he loses his first game. ****, they’ll be here the first time they don’t blow out a supposedly inferior opponent.
 
There’s already people here calling out Mario. Being first in line to jump off a ship that hasn’t left the port yet doesn’t impress me. It’s easy to hedge your bets by immediately jumping on the negative. Let’s face it, almost every single coaching hire in college football eventually turns sour. How many guys have successful, long term runs at a school? Especially guys who want to take the hardline of “championship or bust”. There’s literally 5 active head coaches with a ring. Only two of them have more than one ring. Don’t worry, there will be a group of posters here ready to hammer Mario as soon as he loses his first game. ****, they’ll be here the first time they don’t blow out a supposedly inferior opponent.
I would agree, some fans just won't be patient and realize that wins and losses aren't always the most telling sign of progress when a new sheriff is in town. A new scheme, new culture, new players, new coaches, might as well get ready to sacrifice that first season as a learning experience. That doesn't mean you can't play good football and see a level of competitiveness that is different, but it takes time. I would be shocked if the first time the team faces serious setbacks this season that some of the malcontents of the Manny regime don't come out like ****roaches at night. It just takes time to get your players to reflect your football values going forward. Now the second year, I would expect a totally different mindset and better results.
 
No doubt! Remember the 2002 team going into Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to face Tennessee? The media was blowing it up like we were going to face real competition now because they were SEC blah blah blah. Our players didn't say much. We just casually went in there completely unfazed and beat them soundly. They had a long run that Kelly Jennings had a TD saving tackle on to open the game. With the ball on the 2, the defense held them out of the end zone, they kicked a FG and UT never threatened to score the rest of the game.
I was there. After that long run, I said oh ****. Held them to a FG and they never scored again. Wasn’t as close as the final score. We dominated them. I wore all green that day.
 
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I would agree, some fans just won't be patient and realize that wins and losses aren't always the most telling sign of progress when a new sheriff is in town. A new scheme, new culture, new players, new coaches, might as well get ready to sacrifice that first season as a learning experience. That doesn't mean you can't play good football and see a level of competitiveness that is different, but it takes time. I would be shocked if the first time the team faces serious setbacks this season that some of the malcontents of the Manny regime don't come out like ****roaches at night. It just takes time to get your players to reflect your football values going forward. Now the second year, I would expect a totally different mindset and better results.
Oh, it’s not impatience for some of these “fans”. It’s just being a contrarian. There’s a weird fascination with being the first in line to be negative here. The odd satisfaction some folks get by saying “I told you so” to complete strangers drives the negativity. Personally I’m usually in the “wait and see” camp. I don’t expect immediate results. I’ll acknowledge when a coach does something I like and criticize when he does something I disagree with but I’ll always give a guy a chance to prove his worth.
 
There’s already people here calling out Mario. Being first in line to jump off a ship that hasn’t left the port yet doesn’t impress me. It’s easy to hedge your bets by immediately jumping on the negative. Let’s face it, almost every single coaching hire in college football eventually turns sour. How many guys have successful, long term runs at a school? Especially guys who want to take the hardline of “championship or bust”. There’s literally 5 active head coaches with a ring. Only two of them have more than one ring. Don’t worry, there will be a group of posters here ready to hammer Mario as soon as he loses his first game. ****, they’ll be here the first time they don’t blow out a supposedly inferior opponent.

No kidding.

Did you see the lineup of mouthbreathers that just a few weeks ago were already pushing the bail button on Mario because he wasn’t hiring coaches fast enough according to their make-believe timelines?

We even had a whole thread where posters in that thread were propagating the Mario is a racist falsehood.

And it was allowed to fester.

One of the low points of this new year and on this site.
 
If there's any life in that O-Line, and I have my doubts there is, this is the staff that will get it out of them.

The problems of the O-line was obvious to anybody who understood it. That Ostrich, head in the sand nonsense they tried to sell us about the most experienced line going into last season, people saying they'd "be fine" after they finished in the bottom 1/4 of most important rankings two years running,. And all the while the staff was moving them around trying to figure out where they could play, some 3 years in to their college careers. The only reason they looked better pass blocking at the end of this past season was a pocket passer (as oppose to a run first Q) who could make quick reads and had a quick release,

Man I wanted Manny to succeed at first (One of the desperate masses) but I never saw that O-line improve under him. I jumped ship after all his talk about changing the "culture" than he brings Thomas back. Actions speak louder than words.
 
If there's any life in that O-Line, and I have my doubts there is, this is the staff that will get it out of them.

The problems of the O-line was obvious to anybody who understood it. That Ostrich, head in the sand nonsense they tried to sell us about the most experienced line going into last season, people saying they'd "be fine" after they finished in the bottom 1/4 of most important rankings two years running,. And all the while the staff was moving them around trying to figure out where they could play, some 3 years in to their college careers. The only reason they looked better pass blocking at the end of this past season was a pocket passer (as oppose to a run first Q) who could make quick reads and had a quick release,

Man I wanted Manny to succeed at first (One of the desperate masses) but I never saw that O-line improve under him. I jumped ship after all his talk about changing the "culture" than he brings Thomas back. Actions speak louder than words.
Mostly agree but the line was legitimately good at pass blocking. We ran a ton of vertical routes last year and Van Dyke had time. It’s not like we were running some quick pass, dink and dunk offense where the quarterback gets rid of the ball in under 1.5 seconds. You don’t have success throwing the deep ball that often if you can’t pass protect.
 
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I would agree, some fans just won't be patient and realize that wins and losses aren't always the most telling sign of progress when a new sheriff is in town. A new scheme, new culture, new players, new coaches, might as well get ready to sacrifice that first season as a learning experience. That doesn't mean you can't play good football and see a level of competitiveness that is different, but it takes time. I would be shocked if the first time the team faces serious setbacks this season that some of the malcontents of the Manny regime don't come out like ****roaches at night. It just takes time to get your players to reflect your football values going forward. Now the second year, I would expect a totally different mindset and better results.
Easy for a Fan of a school that has been Fraudulent since their Coach has been there, to come on a UM board, and act like he's educating us on his views....
 
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There’s already people here calling out Mario. Being first in line to jump off a ship that hasn’t left the port yet doesn’t impress me. It’s easy to hedge your bets by immediately jumping on the negative. Let’s face it, almost every single coaching hire in college football eventually turns sour. How many guys have successful, long term runs at a school? Especially guys who want to take the hardline of “championship or bust”. There’s literally 5 active head coaches with a ring. Only two of them have more than one ring. Don’t worry, there will be a group of posters here ready to hammer Mario as soon as he loses his first game. ****, they’ll be here the first time they don’t blow out a supposedly inferior opponent.

My friend, several of these "fans" have already come out of the woodwork to yell at windmills and clouds. First, in anger (and, sometimes, with racial overtones) about hiring Mario over their preferred coach. Then, to ceaselessly complain about the timing of the staff hires (we all saw how that turned out). And again when Mario "missed" on Shemar Stewart (aka Moe's early retirement plan).

I know I am not telling you something you don't already know, but we will hear from these contrarian (and, sometimes, racist) anti-fans well before Mario's first loss of the season. The first reports from Spring camp where Player X is getting first-team reps (or Player Y isn't), they'll be making noise. Spring game miscues? They'll be making noise. And heaven forbid the OL doesn't look All-SEC by the Spring game, because their incessant chirping will be unbearable.

We will almost certainly have a handful of top targets commit elsewhere before the start of the season, too. Level-headed fans will know that's inevitable - no matter how elite a recruiter you are - when your program is going after the top blue-chip prospects in the nation and coming off a subpar season. But the anti-fan brigade will be tripping over themselves to porst threads with titles like "So THIS is Elite Recruiting? LOL".

It is, quite simply, what some of these joyless people do. It's all they know.
 
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