A Sea Of Red

checkmate wrote:Let's hope it is better than the over hyped football season.

As promised, I'm bringing our new user checkmate's opinions about football out of the basketball forum and into the football forum. I just wanted to make sure he had the opportunity to have his post read by our football crowd.

But, I'm sure all of you agree with him, right?

We are 3-3 at the mid-point in the season; if you're realistic, I think most of us predicted a record of 4-2 at this point. With that said, we were within an inch (W&M) and a point (UT) of being 5-1. Still, if we run the table and win the BSC championship, 2007 will be a successful season for us. To use the oldest cliche' out there, "Rome wasn't built in a day."

Never said season was over. However we still have maybe one credible win in two years and haven't beaten anybody of significance. The playoff talk has long passed and we focus on winning a five team league. Schedule is weak. Coach Rocco should be supported. A Big South Championship is a major step. It will be a process as in all sports. There are things that only time will tell.

I disagree and yet I partially agree. They are plays away from being good. The over hype I agree with only because of the Good to Great" slogan.

A big south championship has always been the goal of the coaching staff, they said it from day one. Coach Rocco did not want to hear anything about the playoffs, just the big south championship. Which is a great goal and something this school has never had, but winning the big south conference does not make you "great". So this slogan "Good 2 Great" was a mistake from the beginning, giving impatient students reason to think we would be much better. But this is a process and I firmly believe that Coach Rocco has this program right where it needs to be.

checkmate wrote:Never said season was over.

I do apologize for that, because the title was supposed to read "overhyped" but was cut off. I didn't even know we had title length limitations.

checkmate wrote:However we still have maybe one credible win in two years and haven't beaten anybody of significance.

That's fine. You're new and entitled to your opinion. However, I think the W's and L's (though I know they're all that really matter) don't completely tell the story of the football program over the last year and a half. Perhaps the slogan used for this year was a bit much, but my interpretation of the football program overall is that it is not overhyped. Taken as a whole, it's significantly better than it has been for the ten years prior to Rocco's arrival.

I agree that only time will tell, but I think this season is still going to be an improvement over the last.

I think most people on here misunderstood the "Good to Great" bit in the first place, especially if you're looking at it from a strictly record perspective. I think Rocco's focus is more long-term and "good to great" applies more to building the program as opposed to one particular season. Think about it. While 6-5 in '06 was a huge turnaround, that's not what anyone would realistically call "good".

Honestly, I just viewed it as marketing hype. I never really thought about it past that. To me, it just looked like an effort to attract fan support.

I agree with you guys...but when you are dealing with impatient students you should avoid using such slogans because it gives the student body the wrong idea. Few people will look past wins and losses...and wins and losses is part of being great. its just the way it is

somethingbrewing wrote:I agree with you guys...but when you are dealing with impatient students you should avoid using such slogans because it gives the student body the wrong idea. Few people will look past wins and losses...and wins and losses is part of being great. its just the way it is

Fortunately, at home we've only had wins so far this season.

true...but I have heard the conversations...and students are saying things, "It be nice if we could beat some real teams".

Anyways, the team is exactly where I thought they would be...they are getting better...there are areas that still need improvement, like extending drives so the defense doesn't get too tired...but this team is improved from last year and there is doubt in my mind that they will win the big south championship...and that is far from failure.

The loss that bothers me the most is the William and Mary loss. Lets face it, William and Mary is having a sub par year based on the results and a win over them would have been good only because of their great past. The game should have never gone into overtime and our defense didn't show up. In the Elon, Toledo losses at least I can say that we lost to pretty good teams. Can't say too much for our wins this year. No comment about the BSC.

Position wise I am very disappointed in how bad our defense has been. I didn't think that lossing Jason Horn, Manny Rojas, and EL Estes would have made that much of a differenct especially since Vince Rede became eligible. He have quit a bit of seniors starting too so that adds to the disappointment.

somethingbrewing wrote:true...but I have heard the conversations...and students are saying things, "It be nice if we could beat some real teams".

Proof that things have changed! When I was a student no one even talked about the football team. No one went to games. No one would have cared if we beat William & Mary because they didn't follow I-AA football closely enough to even know that it would be a good win for us.

I'm not saying I wouldn't like some wins over programs that traditionally perform well, but that students are even following football right now is a big change. The fact that FlameFans is thriving and we're having a discussion like this indicates a big change as well.

I'm good with where we are right now. After Karcher, I can be plenty patient.

Maybe I am not seeing it in your light. We have numerous high level D-I transfer who are in their final year of eligibility, have significantly softened the schedule so what is going to create the jump in playoff opportunities. The university has poured a ton of resources into the program and coach has been a posistive in pr. However there still is a major gap from App St, JMU and even Elon. Wins against weak opponents to get a winning record are a smokescreen to real national competition.

El Scorcho wrote:

somethingbrewing wrote:true...but I have heard the conversations...and students are saying things, "It be nice if we could beat some real teams".

Proof that things have changed! When I was a student no one even talked about the football team. No one went to games. No one would have cared if we beat William & Mary because they didn't follow I-AA football closely enough to even know that it would be a good win for us.

I'm not saying I wouldn't like some wins over programs that traditionally perform well, but that students are even following football right now is a big change. The fact that FlameFans is thriving and we're having a discussion like this indicates a big change as well.

I'm good with where we are right now. After Karcher, I can be plenty patient.

oh me too...I was here for some of the karcher days....i would love to forget those days...things are improving...and I am excited about it

checkmate wrote:Maybe I am not seeing it in your light. We have numerous high level D-I transfer who are in their final year of eligibility, have significantly softened the schedule so what is going to create the jump in playoff opportunities. The university has poured a ton of resources into the program and coach has been a posistive in pr. However there still is a major gap from App St, JMU and even Elon. Wins against weak opponents to get a winning record are a smokescreen to real national competition.

Getting beat 156-0 in three weeks against good teams is completely stupid as well. These guys had absolutely no confidence coming into Rocco's first year. You have to learn how to win, and that's what they're still doing. People on here are so friggin obsessed with transfers it's not even funny. Sure, they can help, but transfers don't make a team. Name one of the transfers that has under-performed this year. You can't. The transfers are helping, but we don't have 22 transfers on the field.

What is all the emotion over. Facts are these are bigtime athletes! If any program adds talent that was contributing at the ACC/Big East level who physically have been in the weightroom than expectations are going to be driven higher. I-AA play-offs should be a goal and was a goal so why the picture like it was never was a goal? What is your timetable on turning a program that had a good nucleus of talent and added numerous high level transfers into a playoff team competing with upper level Southern/CAA teams? When do we step up the schedule or do we just sell Lynchburg, students and alumni that our opponents are quality.

checkmate wrote:I-AA play-offs should be a goal and was a goal so why the picture like it was never was a goal?

You're either deaf, blind, or dumb because the playoffs were never the goal. You cannot tell me one time where Coach Rocco said the playoffs were the goal for this year.

coach rocco said over and over his focus this year is not the playoffs...he had said lets focus on winning the big south conference is the goal this season as it is something we have never done before.

I am guessing you must have not been here the 1-10 year or else you would realize how much better we are now then back then...we have gotten better this year and as long as we continue to get better, that is all you can ask...I know everybody wants the playoffs...heck I want the playoffs....it will come soon enough, but there was nobody thinking we would make the playoffs this year...nobody...

Jennings, Terrell, Jackson, Redd, Pinigis, Sene, Turner and company. No goal of play-offs maybe you are the one who is as you describe.

you are a prime example to why the slogan "Good 2 Great" was a bad idea...because people automatically have unrealistic expectations

Terrell, Jackson, and Turner are not transfers.

We have talent, no one will deny that. Talent isn't the only thing that wins games.

My expectations are not unreal. Nor do I care to argue. I thought this is a forum of athletic opinions from many. I didn't say the team was comprised of all transfers just that when they come from those levels it drives expecttations higher. I have never heard of a competitive team that wasn't driving for play-offs. Now with our weak schedule maybe even 10-1 or 9-2 wouldn't have gotten in. At some point the schedule will have to step up but from what i hear next year is going to be another extremely weak schedule.

if we went 9-2 we would not have made the playoffs

This is all semantics and Checkmate's opinions are always welcome on the board. Just keep in mind that everyone's opinions are fair game for discussion.