- November 15th, 2010, 11:29 am
#328673
Everyone has their own thread. I am claiming mine. Don't confuse the title with how I feel. It just sounded cool, and I know you clicked on this thread because the title looked like a good rant in the making.
Look at all the factors when creating expectations and opinions for this team. Winning Pct has factors(playing poor teams - I don't have time to pull up these stats) that make 70% not as impressive as it sounds. 3 Time Champions should never be used here, unless it refers to us choking
. Being ranked in the top 25 also has factors that make it a bit unfounded. Firing Rocco is not a valid reaction to these factors. A weak schedule has boosted our record and rankings, but it also has helped in keeping us hard to gameplan against. Unlike previous years, we played 3 good teams in the first 4 weeks. Every team in the conference has film from the Robert Morris game. And the Ball State game. And the JMU game. More than ever before, Big South teams get a good look at what teams do to stop us.
Danny Rocco has NFL experience. Liberty would have an extremely difficult time finding a coach with a religious background who has NFL experience and played a big part in a BCS program(insert UVA-is not-really-a-BCS-program joke here). NFL experience does not automatically translate to a schematically advanced system - see the Cowboys, Titans, and Broncos for evidence. Advanced schemes don't automatically translate to success, and simple schemes are not doomed either - See Jim Zorn and Jeff Fisher respectively. Danny Rocco is part of the Bill Parcells tree. Bill Parcells has never been called a friendly coach. Some college athletes are not ready for Rocco-style discipline, but tough players looking to prove something always thrive under this system. One thing that may need to happen is a minor adjustment in how Rocco approaches some of his players, especially if this whole "meaningless meeting" tweet is true. I have never been inside a Rocco meeting, so I can't speak like I know something. But I've talked with enough players to guestimate that Rocco's style resembles his coaching line.
1-10 is an accurate barometer for how the '05 team played, not how good the players were. See the Dallas Cowboys for larger scale example of the difference between talent and execution. There is also a major difference between the facilities and resources given to football in 2005 and 2006. Rocco never had to coach a game on that green asphalt. Danny Rocco took over as HC of a decently talented team and used transfers as part of a quick fix. That transfer pipeline (UVA) is drying up - putting more importance on the players Rocco recruited during the 6-5 and 8-3 season. It is very difficult to bring in top 15 talent from a 6-5 record in the Big South. That is our Senior class.
With all this I present this set of ideas. We were never as good as we thought we were (DANNY GREEN!) through last week. We were hit with the harsh reality that Liberty is not a top 15 team. We promoted our team based on our record against a weak schedule and championships against a poor conference. That doesn't mean we're not good or that a Big South championship is a meaningless accomplishment. It does mean that within the scope of a top 25 discussion, Liberty Football is unproven. It doesn't mean Danny Rocco is not a great. It means that after 5 years, coaches now know what Rocco is doing, and in order for Liberty to reach greater heights, Rocco will need to reinvent himself and his schemes sooner or later. This isn't a slight to him - football is an ever-changing game where coaches are required to adjust and adapt in order to survive.
Rocco has earned more than enough time to make those changes. He was blessed with a coaches dream - a school with no expectations, an easy conference, an easy schedule, an AD with expertise in fund raising, and commitment from the Head Honchos who understand that football can be a great addition to the atmosphere of a college campus. He's also a coach who was out of Liberty's league when he came here, and he's proven that over time. The fact is if we fired Danny Rocco and then hired a second Danny Rocco everyone would be thrilled at the hire.
If anyone else has anything of value to add, please feel free.
Look at all the factors when creating expectations and opinions for this team. Winning Pct has factors(playing poor teams - I don't have time to pull up these stats) that make 70% not as impressive as it sounds. 3 Time Champions should never be used here, unless it refers to us choking
. Being ranked in the top 25 also has factors that make it a bit unfounded. Firing Rocco is not a valid reaction to these factors. A weak schedule has boosted our record and rankings, but it also has helped in keeping us hard to gameplan against. Unlike previous years, we played 3 good teams in the first 4 weeks. Every team in the conference has film from the Robert Morris game. And the Ball State game. And the JMU game. More than ever before, Big South teams get a good look at what teams do to stop us. Danny Rocco has NFL experience. Liberty would have an extremely difficult time finding a coach with a religious background who has NFL experience and played a big part in a BCS program(insert UVA-is not-really-a-BCS-program joke here). NFL experience does not automatically translate to a schematically advanced system - see the Cowboys, Titans, and Broncos for evidence. Advanced schemes don't automatically translate to success, and simple schemes are not doomed either - See Jim Zorn and Jeff Fisher respectively. Danny Rocco is part of the Bill Parcells tree. Bill Parcells has never been called a friendly coach. Some college athletes are not ready for Rocco-style discipline, but tough players looking to prove something always thrive under this system. One thing that may need to happen is a minor adjustment in how Rocco approaches some of his players, especially if this whole "meaningless meeting" tweet is true. I have never been inside a Rocco meeting, so I can't speak like I know something. But I've talked with enough players to guestimate that Rocco's style resembles his coaching line.
1-10 is an accurate barometer for how the '05 team played, not how good the players were. See the Dallas Cowboys for larger scale example of the difference between talent and execution. There is also a major difference between the facilities and resources given to football in 2005 and 2006. Rocco never had to coach a game on that green asphalt. Danny Rocco took over as HC of a decently talented team and used transfers as part of a quick fix. That transfer pipeline (UVA) is drying up - putting more importance on the players Rocco recruited during the 6-5 and 8-3 season. It is very difficult to bring in top 15 talent from a 6-5 record in the Big South. That is our Senior class.
With all this I present this set of ideas. We were never as good as we thought we were (DANNY GREEN!) through last week. We were hit with the harsh reality that Liberty is not a top 15 team. We promoted our team based on our record against a weak schedule and championships against a poor conference. That doesn't mean we're not good or that a Big South championship is a meaningless accomplishment. It does mean that within the scope of a top 25 discussion, Liberty Football is unproven. It doesn't mean Danny Rocco is not a great. It means that after 5 years, coaches now know what Rocco is doing, and in order for Liberty to reach greater heights, Rocco will need to reinvent himself and his schemes sooner or later. This isn't a slight to him - football is an ever-changing game where coaches are required to adjust and adapt in order to survive.
Rocco has earned more than enough time to make those changes. He was blessed with a coaches dream - a school with no expectations, an easy conference, an easy schedule, an AD with expertise in fund raising, and commitment from the Head Honchos who understand that football can be a great addition to the atmosphere of a college campus. He's also a coach who was out of Liberty's league when he came here, and he's proven that over time. The fact is if we fired Danny Rocco and then hired a second Danny Rocco everyone would be thrilled at the hire.
If anyone else has anything of value to add, please feel free.
- By thecomeback
- By Sly Fox
- By jmclaughlin