[sigmo7]

From a PR stand point I think hctg is the perfect face for LU's mission, other than that iv'e never been impressed. I have to agree on the previous comparison between Wimbo and Clarke. Clarke pulled a little dirty move on me and I never really had much use for him after that. If/when they make a change I would like to see Wimbo given a shot at hc if they don't try to make a splash hire. He definitely would know the type of athletes needed to succeed on the field and to fit LU's mission. And yes, I think they can be successful with the right kids that also happen to be good players. Transfers are great if they pan out. In some situations they are just buried on the depth chart behind some amazing players and other times they just weren't a good player even though their measurable s were off the charts. iv'e only been around for 7 years and have seen some good wins and some bad loses but Saturday night was hard to watch.

[Jonathan Carone]

I'm not sure who would be able to answer this, but is the no tackling in practice mandate a Wimbo philosophy or a Gill philosophy? Given the fear of the quarterback being hit, I would imagine it would be a Gill thing but I don't want to assume.

[VAGolf]

Here's my thought...one of the reasons Oregon did so well under Chip Kelly with the uptempo offense (and now with Mark Helfrich) is they would get the ball into the hands of their playmakers and speed burners any way possible: jet sweeps, counters, bubble screens, middle WR screens, etc. when you run three straight up the middle you are really handcuffing your offense. If I was the new OC and I was getting ready to learn that style of offense, Id be in the HC's ear to go to Oregon and spend a week watching film, analyzing the playbook and learning every nuance I could, then come back to VA and watch film of my guys and see which guys best fit within that scheme at every position

Oregon hasn't done well with Mark Helfrich...

Chip Kelly's system was much more complicated than that.

[A Sea of Red]

Liberty football week in review

http://www.aseaofred.com/liberty-footba ... lle-state/

[PAmedic]

good piece

the quotes from the players interested me

esp S. McGinty

[BJWilliams]

Here's my thought...one of the reasons Oregon did so well under Chip Kelly with the uptempo offense (and now with Mark Helfrich) is they would get the ball into the hands of their playmakers and speed burners any way possible: jet sweeps, counters, bubble screens, middle WR screens, etc. when you run three straight up the middle you are really handcuffing your offense. If I was the new OC and I was getting ready to learn that style of offense, Id be in the HC's ear to go to Oregon and spend a week watching film, analyzing the playbook and learning every nuance I could, then come back to VA and watch film of my guys and see which guys best fit within that scheme at every position

Oregon hasn't done well with Mark Helfrich...

Chip Kelly's system was much more complicated than that.

Frankly I will gladly take what you call "hasn't done well". If those were the kinds of numbers we were getting and the kinds of results we were getting even this year over the first 5 games that Oregon has gotten (with this year being somewhat excepted) over the past few seasons under both Helfrich and Kelly, I'd reckon that the board would be exploding with praise for everyone involved and we'd be talking about how we are going to keep our coaches around because everyone would be trying to hire them away for their program.

Anyway, my point was that we need to get the ball in the hands of our playmakers in ways that will maximize their skill sets, which is something that we are not doing.

[VAGolf]

“We went into the game, as far as playing those guys, Stephon playing 2 series, Stephen Calvert’s going to play 2 series. After those 4 series, I told them, I was going to make a decision on who I was going to go with. That’s what I did. I made a decision to go with Steve Calvert a few more series, and then decided to give one more shot there with Masha. Unfortunately, then he had a turnover, and the rest of the game I went with Stephen Calvert.

So, he says he told the team he was going to make a decision and states that he made a decision but not really?

Forget playcalling and offensive gameplans for a moment...these are the decisions a head coach is supposed to make. The one word I would use to describe our offense so far is "confused." Between penalties, poor blocking, & bad decisions from the QB's, our offense is simply confused. That happens when there's either no leadership or no trust in leadership. When a coach can't decide on who to play at QB, trust issues develop. This is exactly why I didn't like both guys playing going into the VT game. Honestly, I'm not a fan of Calvert but it doesn't matter, pick one and roll with it. Neither is a good option but letting this continue isn't a solution.

“Finding where my check down is and getting the ball out quicker and faster. So, I could get the pressure off the offensive lineman so that doesn’t happen anymore.”

Two things. One, he needs to be reading through his progressions more...not trying to get the ball out quicker. Two, it shows you how little he trusts the offensive line. That is one excuse I'll give him. Bad offensive line play can make even great quarterbacks look average. In this case, our line has been borderline abysmal.

[VAGolf]

BJ, Kelly is twice the coach Helfrich is and both have very different coaching philosophies. Helfrich is a season and a half away from getting canned.

[BJWilliams]

good piece

the quotes from the players interested me

esp S. McGinty

The quotes from Solomon, Nick and Dexter are the kinds of things you want and need from the leaders and captains of your squad. These guys know that there is more work still to do. They aren't taking a gumdrops and fluffy clouds attitude about the first four games of course because frankly, they sucked. But these guys are trying to keep everybody's minds and heads up and focused on what's ahead...the next 7 games, particularly the 5 Big South games that we are going into right off the bye week. If some of the fans (and some folks on this board) want to give up on the season, that is their right as fans and red-blooded football loving Americans. It sounds like these guys are moving on to (hopefully) pounding Robert Morris and getting ready to take back the conference title starting on October 15th.

[Jonathan Carone]

“We’re good because we know we still have the whole season in front of us. We have a lot of important games coming up, so, we’re going to focus on that now.”

We just played the defending runner-up for the national championship. We just got to take this one on the chin, and come back next week and just move on. Get ready to win against Robert Morris, and get ready to win conference. That’s what the focus is. That’s what these games are for, to get us prepared for the best competition that’s out there.

This isn't a criticism of the players, but it sure makes it seem like it's been stressed to them that the important thing is the conference season. It reinforces the idea from the program that they can go 0-5 and still be okay if they win the league.

[Purple Haize]

I have no #insideinfo here but you might be right and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. The team lost a lot of players from a lot of key positions. Why not try different things to see what might or might not work because as even JON is fond of saying, if they win Conference they go to the Playoffs. If there was that type of attitude with last years team THAT would be an issue. But this years team, I'm not sure it's a bad thing. (Or a good thing)
Just a thought.

[rmiller1959]

I'm not sure who would be able to answer this, but is the no tackling in practice mandate a Wimbo philosophy or a Gill philosophy? Given the fear of the quarterback being hit, I would imagine it would be a Gill thing but I don't want to assume.

I wondered about that myself after watching our defenders miss tackle after tackle in both the SMU and JSU games.

[Jonathan Carone]

I have no #insideinfo here but you might be right and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. The team lost a lot of players from a lot of key positions. Why not try different things to see what might or might not work because as even JON is fond of saying, if they win Conference they go to the Playoffs. If there was that type of attitude with last years team THAT would be an issue. But this years team, I'm not sure it's a bad thing. (Or a good thing)
Just a thought.

That's why I said it wasn't a criticism. It just shows where we are as a program.

[Jonathan Carone]

I'm not sure who would be able to answer this, but is the no tackling in practice mandate a Wimbo philosophy or a Gill philosophy? Given the fear of the quarterback being hit, I would imagine it would be a Gill thing but I don't want to assume.

I wondered about that myself after watching our defenders miss tackle after tackle in both the SMU and JSU games.

If it's a Gill directive then it would make sense considering he's a guy who had his career cut short by concussions.

[Chris Lang]

From an insider/outsider perspective:
* Is squeaking by Charleston Southern, getting to the playoffs and getting blown out at home in round 1 enough to save this staff? I really think that may be this team's ceiling.
* Five years into a coach's tenure and the offensive line is a total wreck. How did recruiting in that area lapse so badly?
* Five years into Gill's tenure, and I still have no idea what the identity of a Turner Gill team is. Other than not being able to figure out anything on special teams ...

Just some thoughts from someone with no rooting interest who is still an interested observer.

[Jonathan Carone]

Everyone please reread that post by Chris. It's spot on.

[LUnpretty11]

From an insider/outsider perspective:
* Is squeaking by Charleston Southern, getting to the playoffs and getting blown out at home in round 1 enough to save this staff? I really think that may be this team's ceiling.
* Five years into a coach's tenure and the offensive line is a total wreck. How did recruiting in that area lapse so badly?
* Five years into Gill's tenure, and I still have no idea what the identity of a Turner Gill team is. Other than not being able to figure out anything on special teams ...

Just some thoughts from someone with no rooting interest who is still an interested observer.

I blame you for the lack of success. You leave after 2014 and the whole program goes to pot. That goes for baseball too.

[thepostman]

Great point. This is all Chris' fault!

[Purple Haize]

I think the 'Identity' issue is my biggest question on Gill. What is The Turner Gill System. Is it an Offense? A Defense? I thinks he is a really good recruiter so maybe that's it. I dunno
This has always seemed like a rebuild year for LU And at this level weaknesses at the OL can become glaringly obvious and that's what happened. I think LU can be a Perrenial Top 25 Team but not sure a Perrenial national title contender. And let's be Frank (or Jones) if they win the BSC this year, that's 2 Playoff births in 3 years with a stable of young talent. Difficult to let a coach go with that

[Jonathan Carone]

And let's be Frank (or Jones) if they win the BSC this year, that's 2 Playoff births in 3 years with a stable of young talent. Difficult to let a coach go with that

This is my biggest fear.

[Purple Haize]

And let's be Frank (or Jones) if they win the BSC this year, that's 2 Playoff births in 3 years with a stable of young talent. Difficult to let a coach go with that

This is my biggest fear.

And yet I am the Potentate! You seem to be wanting my throne! Ha

[FlamesHighontheTide]

I have always enjoyed reading Chris Lang's posts on here, because of his talent in journalism and keen observations. Nevertheless, I disagree with his first point because we don't know the outcome. What if, what if, what if. . . we all make these statements about sports but to counter Chris's what if about squeaking by CSU, which if CSU wins out aside from the coastal game they will be top 15 if not top 10 in the polls. I would say, a great win for LU beating a top 15 or top 10 team, so squeaking by or not it is still an impressive win. However, really disagree with the second part of the first item in his post aka "getting blown out in round 1 of the playoffs at home". How can we even begin to figure 1. who we would play or 2. that we would get blown out in the first place. If Gill's track record shows anything and this is aside from the JSU game. The man wins at him ALOT!!! And against good and great FCS competition.

So, if we win the big south by beating CSU whether by a squeak or a shout, and if we make it to the playoffs, your looking at a team that goes potentially no worse than 7-4 with the possibility of winning an extra game or two in the playoffs so hmm, 8-5 or 9-5.

Carone, I know your not a huge Gill fan as a coach, but come on brother playoffs is something to be excited about and not be afraid of!

[Chris Lang]

Jacksonville State may well be the best team in the country. And by the time November rolls around, LU may actually have an answer to the quarterback situation. So I might be overreacting to the blowout nature of LU's loss on Saturday. When I mentioned "this team's ceiling," I meant this year's team, not the program. The uncertainty at quarterback and the offensive line issue leads me to believe this team will struggle to compete against elite competition should it make the playoffs. But as you point out, you never know. Probably best to let things play out, because as we've seen in the past all over college football, teams can make huge turnarounds from mid-September to mid-November.

[VAGolf]

I have always enjoyed reading Chris Lang's posts on here, because of his talent in journalism and keen observations. Nevertheless, I disagree with his first point because we don't know the outcome. What if, what if, what if. . . we all make these statements about sports but to counter Chris's what if about squeaking by CSU, which if CSU wins out aside from the coastal game they will be top 15 if not top 10 in the polls. I would say, a great win for LU beating a top 15 or top 10 team, so squeaking by or not it is still an impressive win. However, really disagree with the second part of the first item in his post aka "getting blown out in round 1 of the playoffs at home". How can we even begin to figure 1. who we would play or 2. that we would get blown out in the first place. If Gill's track record shows anything and this is aside from the JSU game. The man wins at him ALOT!!! And against good and great FCS competition.

So, if we win the big south by beating CSU whether by a squeak or a shout, and if we make it to the playoffs, your looking at a team that goes potentially no worse than 7-4 with the possibility of winning an extra game or two in the playoffs so hmm, 8-5 or 9-5.

Carone, I know your not a huge Gill fan as a coach, but come on brother playoffs is something to be excited about and not be afraid of!

Just an FYI, the team doesn't become magically better because your bias. Put the kool-aid down for a moment. There's nothing wrong with accepting the fact that we aren't very good right now. In fact, taking an objective approach shows that you have a little more pride in the program.

Go visit CSU's facilities, take a glance at their budget, and watch how little their fanbase cares. Beating them and making playoffs should not be something for us to be excited about. It should be an absolute expectation.

If our aspirations are to be a competitive FBS program, we have to stop hanging banners for "shared conference championships" and be honest with ourselves when we aren't very good.

[BJWilliams]

BJ, Kelly is twice the coach Helfrich is and both have very different coaching philosophies. Helfrich is a season and a half away from getting canned.

Youre focusing on the wrong part of my point Sweat...its not about whether Kelly or Helfrich is the better coach, its about the fact that no matter who their coach is, Oregon is having significant offensive success with the style of offense we want to run. They are getting the ball to their speed burners and playmakers and they are putting up almost video game type numbers on the stat sheet and the scoreboard (the last couple games notwithstanding). If we were putting up those kinds of numbers this year I seriously doubt we would be having the discussions we are having about HCTG's job security, attendance and the like.