Went to the FB event tonight in the village at the Gael. Started thinking about what my expectations are for this season.

From an opening game perspective, the last 4 new coaches, I'd like to see something like Fred or Toad (win vs SMU or almost vs UH) rather than Ken (awful game vs Tulane) or DB (one of the worse losses ever).
I am thinking we beat PVAMU handily

From a season perspective, hopefully like Toad or Ken. Given we are at about where we were in 1988, 89 was so so and except for the UH Andre Ware Heisman game, things seemed to have been turning the corner. That would be my best hope.

From an on the field perspective, I'd like to see competitive special teams, use of players in positions and schemes that fit their skills and not square pegs in round holes and extremely few, preferably none, delay of game penalties or timeouts in horrific situations like at the beginning of a quarter or after a timeout.

Opinions?

My expectations are that when we take the field, we look like a real team and not like the coach found 22 guys at the nearby bar, gave them pads and helmets and sent them out.

I also expect we stop the self pleasuring cycle of celebrating mediocrity and actually strive to attain something meaningful. And this means that the win loss record isnt as important as the structure being put in place to keep climbing.

Finally, I do not want to hear how awesome CUSA teams are and how they are on the up (despite still being bottom 20). We need to stop mentally bracing ourselves for failure by planting seeds of excuses weeks in advance. PVaTm may be coached by Bill Belichick level talent or whatever... were still expected to win and we need to approach it like we will vs gentle breadcrumbs of failure justification we seem to like to drop everywhere.

I expect that any flaws in our special teams will be due to a difference in physical talent and not mental mistakes or poor gameplans.

Offensively I appear to have more confidence in Tyner than most here. I think he has the physical stature that Coach Bloom wants in his QB and his type of offense. Sort of Jack Mildren like, nothing flashy but tough and dependable. For the first time we have a competent OC and QB coach who can put Tyner in the type of plays he can best execute. If a reasonable O line with depth can be assembled I think our RB’s should do well against the bulk of our opponents.

Defensively I think ultimately we are headed to the type Fred and early Ken teams had. Somewhat undersized but quick with a tenacity of hitting hard. We could stand all the type of plays Brigance, Dawson, Stanley, Ortega, and Kalu gave us. I think we will see glimpses of that this year but it will take us more time to become what we want to be on defense compared to the offense and special teams.

Like others I want to see a competitive team that doesn’t beat itself and if healthy for the entire year one that fully buys into Coach Bloom’s vision and something that can be built on.

Crisp, disciplined play unlike anything we've seen over the last 10 years. I want to see a squad that's been coached unlike anything we've seen since the Hatfield era. That's it. I can handle some losses as long as I know we're headed in the right direction.

I am most encouraged by what I read just now in the transcript of today's press conference, under the heading about "incremental improvements".
It was Bloomgren's reference to practicing "situations", until the team got them down.
....and the implied fact that the whole team was a bit clueless about this previously...

As I told Coach Bloomgren when I met him last fall at his meet and greet at Trauber, no more series like the opening series aganst Stanford in Sydney...ever. He agreed.

(08-21-2018 08:03 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  As I told Coach Bloomgren when I met him last fall at his meet and greet at Trauber, no more series like the opening series aganst Stanford in Sydney...ever. He agreed.

+1,000

(08-21-2018 08:03 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  As I told Coach Bloomgren when I met him last fall at his meet and greet at Trauber, no more series like the opening series aganst Stanford in Sydney...ever. He agreed.

Meaning no Sydney and national televised games? Or no assclown performance like we did in Sydney?

The game wasnt a bad idea. Our decision to not show up was.

(08-20-2018 11:42 PM)Antarius Wrote:  My expectations are that when we take the field, we look like a real team and not like the coach found 22 guys at the nearby bar, gave them pads and helmets and sent them out.

I also expect we stop the self pleasuring cycle of celebrating mediocrity and actually strive to attain something meaningful. And this means that the win loss record isnt as important as the structure being put in place to keep climbing.

Finally, I do not want to hear how awesome CUSA teams are and how they are on the up (despite still being bottom 20). We need to stop mentally bracing ourselves for failure by planting seeds of excuses weeks in advance. PVaTm may be coached by Bill Belichick level talent or whatever... were still expected to win and we need to approach it like we will vs gentle breadcrumbs of failure justification we seem to like to drop everywhere.

I think while there's always been an acceptance of mediocrity and excuses for failure surrounding the program, it's also important to keep things in perspective. On the Prairie View thread, there are guys over there predicting a loss. While I don't think that'll happen at all, it goes to show how depleted we are right now, and the enormity of the work that needs to be done. All the transfers out of the program and the graduation of some good talent is going to hurt. This is a complete rebuild in every way, and it is being done against the backdrop of an improving conference and tough schedule. It's not just a handful of us fans around here saying this, it's Glenn Hill, Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, and Dave Campbell. People who know. I hope that being brutally honest about the challenges we face isn't misconstrued as accepting failure and making excuses. If CUSA is bottom 20, we're bottom 5 right now. It's just the truth. We're projected by everyone to only finish ahead of UTEP.

I am trying to have no expectations for this game other than a win. Most of the things y'all list on your wish lists are on my "what if" list.

What if the team is not crisp, disciplined, prepared, whatever adjective you are looking for?

What if the ST are not sharp? What if we give up a blocked punt or a punt return for a TD? Or both?

What if we have a bad start a la Sydney? What if the line jumps offside twice in the first series?

What if the line cannot block for the runners? What if the QB of the moment throws an interception?

What if we use 2 TOs in the first 10 minutes?

What if we have turnovers?

What if the coach claps?

What if we lose?

I hope not so see these what-ifs, at least not in abundance, and not to point of losing. But I worry about what will happen if we see some or all of them. I don't want to see the air go out of the balloon.

So I approach this a lot like when your child has a major solo, or their first start, or anything like that, where you feel like they should do well, but you hold your breath anyway until it is over.

I'll be holding my breath Saturday (figuratively, not literally), not so much hoping/expecting to see good things, but hoping not to see bad things we have seen before and didn't like.

Short-term expectations are not a lot given how terrible we were last year. We could very well play a competitive game against PV and get demolished by UH and beat by Hawaii.

It is still unknown if last year was due to talent or execution, but execution was definitely a huge minus last year (See: first half of Army game here http://www.espn.com/college-football/pla...=400934564 ). I expect average to above average execution with the quality of execution increasing throughout the year.

I can't judge the talent level of the current team, but I would blindly assume we are at least close to the median CUSA team in terms of talent since the only times we got run off the field last year in CUSA play was due to puzzling play calls and hilarious gaffes by players put in lose-lose situations. It might take a month or so to fully implement the new system at game speed, but I would expect us to be a 0.500 level CUSA team by mid October if not slightly better.

(08-22-2018 08:31 AM)Ourland Wrote:  

(08-20-2018 11:42 PM)Antarius Wrote:  My expectations are that when we take the field, we look like a real team and not like the coach found 22 guys at the nearby bar, gave them pads and helmets and sent them out.

I also expect we stop the self pleasuring cycle of celebrating mediocrity and actually strive to attain something meaningful. And this means that the win loss record isnt as important as the structure being put in place to keep climbing.

Finally, I do not want to hear how awesome CUSA teams are and how they are on the up (despite still being bottom 20). We need to stop mentally bracing ourselves for failure by planting seeds of excuses weeks in advance. PVaTm may be coached by Bill Belichick level talent or whatever... were still expected to win and we need to approach it like we will vs gentle breadcrumbs of failure justification we seem to like to drop everywhere.

I think while there's always been an acceptance of mediocrity and excuses for failure surrounding the program, it's also important to keep things in perspective. On the Prairie View thread, there are guys over there predicting a loss. While I don't think that'll happen at all, it goes to show how depleted we are right now, and the enormity of the work that needs to be done. All the transfers out of the program and the graduation of some good talent is going to hurt. This is a complete rebuild in every way, and it is being done against the backdrop of an improving conference and tough schedule. It's not just a handful of us fans around here saying this, it's Glenn Hill, Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, and Dave Campbell. People who know. I hope that being brutally honest about the challenges we face isn't misconstrued as accepting failure and making excuses. If CUSA is bottom 20, we're bottom 5 right now. It's just the truth. We're projected by everyone to only finish ahead of UTEP.

My question related to the bolded part above (which I've read as well), is why is this considered to be a complete rebuild? Did DB leave the cupboard bare when he left? Did we lose too much via graduation and transfers? Do we just not have enough of the personnel Bloomgren needs to run his system? Is it a combination of those factors?

This is presented solely in the interests of discussion, and not to gin up any DB bashing or unwarranted shots across the bow. I understand that there are always growing pains when any new coach takes over, and I don't expect immediate success. But I am curious as to how we got to this point, and how long it will take to reverse the course.

Why is this considered complete rebuild? Start with the depth chart put out recently, ck out the number of freshmen and soph 1s and 2s. The best OL player is starting at UT next week.

If the discipline, schemes and player buy in all improve . . . success.

2 years to a winning record.

Not a popular opinion, but I don't think that this is a rebuilding year in the classic sense of completely starting from nothing. And each day we get closer to the Prairie View game, I begin to suspect that the cupboard is not as bare as we assume. If we beat Prairie View, the victory may be perceived as nothing more than a glorified scrimmage as we have nothing on tape for them and their DC last coached two years ago. Yet, the Prairie View game will show is 1. our ability to make coaching adjustments, and 2. our talent level. But if we beat Prairie View, Houston will be the real test in terms of scheme, adjustments, and overall talent. I think that Bailiff recruited well, but the coaching and conditioning was lacking. Guys like Cephus, Meyers, Trammell, Abercrumbia, Nywakol, Wilkins, affirm that the talent is there. But we will all find out soon.

(08-22-2018 08:46 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I am trying to have no expectations for this game other than a win. Most of the things y'all list on your wish lists are on my "what if" list.

What if the team is not crisp, disciplined, prepared, whatever adjective you are looking for?

What if the ST are not sharp? What if we give up a blocked punt or a punt return for a TD? Or both?

What if we have a bad start a la Sydney? What if the line jumps offside twice in the first series?

What if the line cannot block for the runners? What if the QB of the moment throws an interception?

What if we use 2 TOs in the first 10 minutes?

What if we have turnovers?

What if the coach claps?

What if we lose?

I hope not so see these what-ifs, at least not in abundance, and not to point of losing. But I worry about what will happen if we see some or all of them. I don't want to see the air go out of the balloon.

So I approach this a lot like when your child has a major solo, or their first start, or anything like that, where you feel like they should do well, but you hold your breath anyway until it is over.

I'll be holding my breath Saturday (figuratively, not literally), not so much hoping/expecting to see good things, but hoping not to see bad things we have seen before and didn't like.

That's a good post. I feel the same. I'm a little anxious, but very excited.

(08-22-2018 11:04 AM)Pan95 Wrote:  Not a popular opinion, but I don't think that this is a rebuilding year in the classic sense of completely starting from nothing. And each day we get closer to the Prairie View game, I begin to suspect that the cupboard is not as bare as we assume. If we beat Prairie View, the victory may be perceived as nothing more than a glorified scrimmage as we have nothing on tape for them and their DC last coached two years ago. Yet, the Prairie View game will show is 1. our ability to make coaching adjustments, and 2. our talent level. But if we beat Prairie View, Houston will be the real test in terms of scheme, adjustments, and overall talent. I think that Bailiff recruited well, but the coaching and conditioning was lacking. Guys like Cephus, Meyers, Trammell, Abercrumbia, Nywakol, Wilkins, affirm that the talent is there. But we will all find out soon.

Well, it is incredible how much talent was lost (to graduation and transfer) from the #127 team.

“Cupboard is bare” is rarely true in the absolute sense. There are almost always some players, and this team does have some. But how many? You mentioned 6 guys, which is only a quarter of a starting lineup, and even some of them have only shown flashes or potential. There are just a lot of question marks.

OTOH coaching does count for a lot, and the new staff have solid resumes and mostly say the right things. Based on what has recently come out about the previous staff, the fact that last year’s team wasn’t even worse than #127 might actually be a credit to the players, as crazy as that sounds.

(08-22-2018 03:14 PM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(08-22-2018 11:04 AM)Pan95 Wrote:  Not a popular opinion, but I don't think that this is a rebuilding year in the classic sense of completely starting from nothing. And each day we get closer to the Prairie View game, I begin to suspect that the cupboard is not as bare as we assume. If we beat Prairie View, the victory may be perceived as nothing more than a glorified scrimmage as we have nothing on tape for them and their DC last coached two years ago. Yet, the Prairie View game will show is 1. our ability to make coaching adjustments, and 2. our talent level. But if we beat Prairie View, Houston will be the real test in terms of scheme, adjustments, and overall talent. I think that Bailiff recruited well, but the coaching and conditioning was lacking. Guys like Cephus, Meyers, Trammell, Abercrumbia, Nywakol, Wilkins, affirm that the talent is there. But we will all find out soon.

Well, it is incredible how much talent was lost (to graduation and transfer) from the #127 team.

“Cupboard is bare” is rarely true in the absolute sense. There are almost always some players, and this team does have some. But how many? You mentioned 6 guys, which is only a quarter of a starting lineup, and even some of them have only shown flashes or potential. There are just a lot of question marks.

OTOH coaching does count for a lot, and the new staff have solid resumes and mostly say the right things. Based on what has recently come out about the previous staff, the fact that last year’s team wasn’t even worse than #127 might actually be a credit to the players, as crazy as that sounds.

What recently came out?

There are some similarities to 2006. When TG came in, we had gone 1-11 the year before IIRC. A new rookie head coach after a long tenure. The transition seemed even more difficult in the sense that we had personnel recruited for a wishbone offense, suddenly asked to run more of a spread offense. While we did not lose as many players to graduate transfer and such then, the cupboard seemed even more bare than today going into the season. Nobody could've predicted Clement-Dillard would become one of the most prolific passing tandems in NCAA history. We'll need similar breakouts from some of our players now, to win more than 3 or 4 games this season. We needed some luck in 06, not just lucky bounces, but as to the parts TG inherited, some suddenly becoming perfect fits for a new offensive scheme - need the same thing to happen now.

My expectation is that we'll look well coached and improve significantly from last season, but my hope is that we get some huge pleasant surprises along the way, similar to the 06 season, and go to a bowl game again.

(08-22-2018 04:34 PM)Buho00 Wrote:  There are some similarities to 2006. When TG came in, we had gone 1-11 the year before IIRC. A new rookie head coach after a long tenure. The transition seemed even more difficult in the sense that we had personnel recruited for a wishbone offense, suddenly asked to run more of a spread offense. While we did not lose as many players to graduate transfer and such then, the cupboard seemed even more bare than today going into the season. Nobody could've predicted Clement-Dillard would become one of the most prolific passing tandems in NCAA history. We'll need similar breakouts from some of our players now, to win more than 3 or 4 games this season. We needed some luck in 06, not just lucky bounces, but as to the parts TG inherited, some suddenly becoming perfect fits for a new offensive scheme - need the same thing to happen now.

Hi, Buho Jr.....I'm just in the middle of a rough draft "Owlook" column that brings up exactly that point...it'll look like I stole the idea from you. Oh well, you know what they say about Great Minds....

Lord Uxbridge: [clears throat] Sir.
Duke of Wellington: [removing his copy of The Times from over his face] Ah, Uxbridge.
Lord Uxbridge: As I am second-in-command and in case anything should happen to you, what are your plans?
Duke of Wellington: To beat the French.
[goes back to sleep, replacing the newspaper]