The game had to be played and was way more important than the Georgia State game.

By all means, let's not play anyone who gives us an opportunity to achieve greatness. Let's beat cupcakes.

(10-01-2017 08:53 AM)memphisike Wrote:  Why don't we just drop down to DII and dominate, we did that in the mo. Valley, that worked well

Sometimes its better to be the big fish in a small pond than the small fish in the big pond.

We have worked on recruiting offensive players for the past few years but have not thought about the other side of the ball called DEFENSE!!!!

(10-01-2017 03:53 PM)Smith Wrote:  

(10-01-2017 08:53 AM)memphisike Wrote:  Why don't we just drop down to DII and dominate, we did that in the mo. Valley, that worked well

Sometimes its better to be the big fish in a small pond than the small fish in the big pond.

No.

You sound miserable.

(10-01-2017 03:53 PM)Smith Wrote:  

(10-01-2017 08:53 AM)memphisike Wrote:  Why don't we just drop down to DII and dominate, we did that in the mo. Valley, that worked well

Sometimes its better to be the big fish in a small pond than the small fish in the big pond.

I hope you're joking, although I'm afraid you aren't.

(10-01-2017 05:02 PM)Chicago23 Wrote:  We have worked on recruiting offensive players for the past few years but have not thought about the other side of the ball called DEFENSE!!!!

The offense went ten drives without scoring a point. Why would you blame the defense?

(09-30-2017 09:29 PM)MemphisFan95 Wrote:  NM

So right, because that one loss to a team in the other division eliminates us from AAC competition.

(09-30-2017 10:29 PM)MemphisFan95 Wrote:  

(09-30-2017 10:26 PM)TiminMem23 Wrote:  

(09-30-2017 10:07 PM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(09-30-2017 10:02 PM)MemphisFan95 Wrote:  

(09-30-2017 10:01 PM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  No guarantee of a win against Ga State on the road. It took all we had to beat SIU at home.

now there is a dumb statement

How? We struggled to beat SIU. We struggled to beat La Monroe. When you can't stop anyone then you can lose to anyone. Offense is fleeting. Defense wins championships.

Totally agree. We have a great offense, but great offenses have off nights. If our offense isn’t firing on all cylinders, we get beat. A good defense can keep you in the game every week.

We don’t stink, but we are probably limited to 7-8 wins because of the defense.

5 years ago we were limited to 1 or 2 wins

True, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't discuss this team's glaring deficiency.

When Fuente took over, he had to start from scratch. The defense was pretty good in years one and two but started to slip as the offense got better. That said, the Tigers won seven straight games in his third season and earned a share of the conference title. In his fourth year, Memphis was 8-0 before it became obvious that Fuente was moving on and everything went to crap. I don't believe Memphis finishes that year 1-4 if Fuente had plans to stay here.

I can't envision this Memphis team winning (a share of) the conference championship or 10 + games. Not with the defense Norvell has been trotting out there so far in his head coaching career. The offense has been by and large really good. Good enough that I believe we will continue to win 7-8 games on their performance alone. But with the defense being as bad as it is (injuries or not), I don't think the Tigers can get to the next level. There is a ceiling.

I realize this is better than being 2-10 under Larry Porter. Still doesn't mean I can't discuss it.

Because of the nature of our offense, we’ll never be a statistically dominate defensive team, but we seem so focused on generating a turnover that we don’t tackle, and are consistently out of position. I know he loves to blitz, but it kills us on 3rd down.

(10-02-2017 11:52 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  Because of the nature of our offense, we’ll never be a statistically dominate defensive team, but we seem so focused on generating a turnover that we don’t tackle, and are consistently out of position. I know he loves to blitz, but it kills us on 3rd down.

I agree. We know in terms of points and yards given up (against teams with winning records), the defense is bad. But how much of that should be attributed to the style of offense the Tigers play under Norvell? I think it's hard to say. Maybe somewhere in the middle?

If we recruit more guys like TJ Carter and Austin Hall, maybe things improve in the coming years. Right now, though, with the injuries and overall lack of talent on that defensive of the ball, the offense cannot afford to score less than 40 to beat good teams.