An Outsider's Take: Deeeep Breaths

[RUbacker]

The amount of experience and former Head Coaches on Maryland's staff compared to RU's is alarming.....they have tons more experience and it's showing with a similar talent base they have to start with vs RU's .....having their recruiting class being 15th in the country is a concern (to me) as well.......

To finish up with a potential 6-6 finish this year is something I expected from RU's staff, since we had limited experience vs last year staff and improved by leaps and bounds in the off season conditioning along with the schedule we played this year (hosting Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, along with New Mexico etc.)....and I know people keep telling me we have no talent, but Maryland is not exactly miles ahead of RU on the field/talent the last 2-3 years......

At some point with similar talent levels, one team is a 14 point favorite over the other...and DJ Moore is a player as well. We have to improve our staff of assistants and coordinators quickly, or RU runs a risk of falling way behind in the Eastern Division.....and find a punter!!!

Never thought we would be 6 and 6 . What team were you looking at ?

 

[Knight Shift]

Thanks for your post. To many fans on here are not educated in football and in their minds expected a bunch of wins in year 1 , even though they all knew it was a long term deal. Those are the ones that have to be talked off the ledge. The realistic fans get it.

I did not not expect a bunch of wins, but was hopeful for 4-6 wins, which IMO was not unrealistic. In fact, if we win on Saturday, and had pulled out Iowa and or Minnesota, we would have been there. Anyway, I never went to the ledge.

 

[RUbacker]

I appreciate the OP and the conversation in the thread. We've had this same conversation in a few other posts, for the last few weeks, and in particular since Saturday.

I am of the opinion that this is not JUST coaching. Sure, it's coaching. But, it's also talent. It's also ten other things. It would be easy to blame all of our ills on Ash but we had a number of these problems before Ash got here. (Hopefully, we won't still be having them after he's gone, however).

People like to talk about the team that Flood inherited, as well as the recruits, as being some kind of awesome. They were good. Let me rephrase, they were good by our own historic standards. But, they certainly weren't top 10 caliber. More so, they weren't championship caliber. That means, even after you get a great class, you have to follow that up with a few more great classes. And, you have to have the coaching in place that can develop those players and win, both on and off the field.

We're also playing a much more difficult schedule than we ever had before. And, yes - we have a former DC as our new HC, which - after one season - feels all too Schiano-esque. I wouldn't go jumping off any bridges just yet. But, like you - I'm none-too-pleased with how the season turned out. If history is any indicator, next season will be a 5-win season. The season after that 7 or 8 wins. Well, that's how seasoned/accomplished coaches (and their staffs) usually do it. I'm hoping Ash does that here, too. Otherwise, he'll get tossed (assuming we have money) and hire someone else.

I think we have a good shot at 4 to 5 wins next year.

 

[Knight Shift]

The posters who always come on ex post facto and proclaim how "right" they are about something after it happens are the most entertaining ones on this board.

 

[RUbacker]

I did not not expect a bunch of wins, but was hopeful for 4-6 wins, which IMO was not unrealistic. In fact, if we win on Saturday, and had pulled out Iowa and or Minnesota, we would have been there. Anyway, I never went to the ledge.

We can't keep doing the woulda coulda shoulda .

 

[Knight Shift]

We can't keep doing the woulda coulda shoulda .

By the same token, we can't play the I told you so game--it gets old. Nothing wrong with unbridled optimism at the beginning of the year.

The I told you so crowd are the same ones who will discredit the comeback wins under the previous coach to make their case that he was lucky. Can't have it both ways.

 

[RUbacker]

By the same token, we can't play the I told you so game--it gets old. Nothing wrong with unbridled optimism at the beginning of the year.

The I told you so crowd are the same ones who will discredit the comeback wins under the previous coach to make their case that he was lucky. Can't have it both ways.

I don't think anyone is saying I told you so. I think they are saying we were expected to win 2 to 3 games so we are right where expected.

 

[Knight Shift]

I don't think anyone is saying I told you so. I think they are saying we were expected to win 2 to 3 games so we are right where expected.

And all I am saying is that it was not unrealistic to think we would win six games going into the season, and those that thought that should not be labeled as unrealistic. Call it could have/should have, but we were in the games with Iowa/Minnesota/Indiana. Despite not making the number of wins I thought we would get, I am looking forward to progress in the coming years.