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Lets start by saying we didn't live up to expectations this year. Coaches, players and everyone involved didn't do a good enough job. That being said, we had more injuries than we ever had in one season that changed the way the season unfolded. Lets break it down.

Offense:

QB: We found a QB in Steven Williams (although im not happy about him missing meetings that resulted in him not starting the last 2 games). Larussa never really got going but should be a decent backup in the future. SW is going to be a good player for us, it was rough early but he has already started to adjust nicely to the FBS game and limit the turnovers. I think he has the ability to take us to bowl games and conference championships. Grade: C

RB: Tough way for Ray to go out, the O-Line never was able to consistently get him holes to run through and he was hurt pretty much the whole year. Glad to see he got to 4,000 career yds in his last game. Jeremy Cox was having a nice year while ray was out, until he broke his collar bone. We all know what he can do and should be our best RB next year. I really like what I saw from Sinclair in the last few games, should be a solid #2 back next year. Overall played decent when there were holes, not so much when there was nothing. Grade: C+

OL: Really didnt do what we hoped this year. Run game was pretty much non-existent at times and pass protection was average at best. Really hurt that Chad Hendrix was out pretty much all year. Nick Clark is going to be good as a senior as well as Issac Weaver. Although Weaver made some really dumb penalties at crucial times this year. We lose one starter in Darius Garcia but we should be able to replace him. Grade: D+

WR/TE: Probably the most disappointing group we had. Didnt see receivers fighting for the ball and way to many dropped passes in a lot of games. Again the injury to Duhart was killer and we never recovered. Having him for another year will be good and the whole group should be better next year. Fulgrahm never really stepped up and I think it was a disappointing year for him, hopefully he bounces back next year. Tough career for Melvin Vaughn, in flashes you could see how good of a player he could be but was never really healthy long enough to make a big impact for the team Grade D-

Defense:

DL: Probably the best group on the team, certainly the most talented group. Ximines, Rotimi and Appouh played great and are going to be tough next year. Only knock on this group is they need to tackle better when they get home and dont let QBs escape. Biggest loss is Rotimi but I think we can replace him with the depth we have. Grade A-

LB: One of our biggest question marks at the beginning of the season and still not sure what to make of it. Jordan Young and Marvin Branch are good players but we dont have much experience or depth. Sometimes they played good and other times it seemed like they were not on the field. Grade: C-

DB: Tackling, Tackling, Tackling. I was not really impressed with the DBs this year. Poor tackling from this group but I really feel that they were not put in very many good situations for success. We lose some talent here with Rob Thompson, Andre Bernhard, Brandon Addison and Justice Davila. Grade C-

Coaches:
I feel like the coaches should shoulder much of the blame. Rich nagy needs to go, we couldnt get off the field on 3rd down to save our lives and the tackling was terrible. Defensive schemes were not good and it showed. Offenses were able to shred us up the middle and beat us deep. Nagy is not good enough for FBS and his time should be up. Brian Scott really disappointed me with the play calling this year, especially when he has had good offenses in the past. Bobby Wilder, while I think he has been good for the program I am afraid we have hit the ceiling with him. How many more blowouts are we going to watch in games that matter. Its tough to watch our coaches constantly get out coached and then sugar coat it after. Grade: F


All that being said, I will be upping my donation and getting better season tickets for next season. We have some of the best fans that really do care about this program, its tough right now after a loss but I would rather be a part of a school and fan base that cares about the team even when they dont go to a bowl vs a fan base that burns the tickets during a bowl season. ROLL NARCHS!!!!!
Pretty fair analysis. Nagy and Scott have reached their expiration dates. I simply don't trust them to lead this team to any significant progress. They have totally failed to show any real creativity or thinking outside the box. Good FCS coaches, not good enough for FBS. We need new blood and fresh ideas.
(11-25-2017 07:00 PM)cmett003 Wrote: [ -> ]Lets start by saying we didn't live up to expectations this year. Coaches, players and everyone involved didn't do a good enough job. That being said, we had more injuries than we ever had in one season that changed the way the season unfolded. Lets break it down.

Offense:

QB: We found a QB in Steven Williams (although im not happy about him missing meetings that resulted in him not starting the last 2 games). Larussa never really got going but should be a decent backup in the future. SW is going to be a good player for us, it was rough early but he has already started to adjust nicely to the FBS game and limit the turnovers. I think he has the ability to take us to bowl games and conference championships. Grade: C

RB: Tough way for Ray to go out, the O-Line never was able to consistently get him holes to run through and he was hurt pretty much the whole year. Glad to see he got to 4,000 career yds in his last game. Jeremy Cox was having a nice year while ray was out, until he broke his collar bone. We all know what he can do and should be our best RB next year. I really like what I saw from Sinclair in the last few games, should be a solid #2 back next year. Overall played decent when there were holes, not so much when there was nothing. Grade: C+

OL: Really didnt do what we hoped this year. Run game was pretty much non-existent at times and pass protection was average at best. Really hurt that Chad Hendrix was out pretty much all year. Nick Clark is going to be good as a senior as well as Issac Weaver. Although Weaver made some really dumb penalties at crucial times this year. We lose one starter in Darius Garcia but we should be able to replace him. Grade: D+

WR/TE: Probably the most disappointing group we had. Didnt see receivers fighting for the ball and way to many dropped passes in a lot of games. Again the injury to Duhart was killer and we never recovered. Having him for another year will be good and the whole group should be better next year. Fulgrahm never really stepped up and I think it was a disappointing year for him, hopefully he bounces back next year. Tough career for Melvin Vaughn, in flashes you could see how good of a player he could be but was never really healthy long enough to make a big impact for the team Grade D-

Defense:

DL: Probably the best group on the team, certainly the most talented group. Ximines, Rotimi and Appouh played great and are going to be tough next year. Only knock on this group is they need to tackle better when they get home and dont let QBs escape. Biggest loss is Rotimi but I think we can replace him with the depth we have. Grade A-

LB: One of our biggest question marks at the beginning of the season and still not sure what to make of it. Jordan Young and Marvin Branch are good players but we dont have much experience or depth. Sometimes they played good and other times it seemed like they were not on the field. Grade: C-

DB: Tackling, Tackling, Tackling. I was not really impressed with the DBs this year. Poor tackling from this group but I really feel that they were not put in very many good situations for success. We lose some talent here with Rob Thompson, Andre Bernhard, Brandon Addison and Justice Davila. Grade C-

Coaches:
I feel like the coaches should shoulder much of the blame. Rich nagy needs to go, we couldnt get off the field on 3rd down to save our lives and the tackling was terrible. Defensive schemes were not good and it showed. Offenses were able to shred us up the middle and beat us deep. Nagy is not good enough for FBS and his time should be up. Brian Scott really disappointed me with the play calling this year, especially when he has had good offenses in the past. Bobby Wilder, while I think he has been good for the program I am afraid we have hit the ceiling with him. How many more blowouts are we going to watch in games that matter. Its tough to watch our coaches constantly get out coached and then sugar coat it after. Grade: F


All that being said, I will be upping my donation and getting better season tickets for next season. We have some of the best fans that really do care about this program, its tough right now after a loss but I would rather be a part of a school and fan base that cares about the team even when they dont go to a bowl vs a fan base that burns the tickets during a bowl season. ROLL NARCHS!!!!!

Really liked the analysis .... thought that it was spot on.

Would add that i thought the DB play this year was incredibly weak. Playing off the receivers with a cushion almost guaranteed 5-8 yard pitch and catch most games - would give them a "D". Also, I thought we were continually outcoached in almost every situation and game. Continually saw other teams adjust and it was like we did not respond - disappointing to say the least. Would not assign a grade for coaching as I don't think they deserved one, would give an "I" for incomplete as I don't think they even deserved a "F". Finally, I would judge the 'offseason' as a looser by looking at the product on the field -- I thought that our team continually looked in poor condition compared to our foes -- bragging about not needing the allotted practices seems like a loser proposition for a team with the tagline "Aim High"?

I will nevertheless continue to support the team. Win or lose they are still my team and I am thankful that ODU has football -- although disappointed in this season, especially the coaching and preparation.
(11-25-2017 07:58 PM)Old Dominion Wrote: [ -> ]Pretty fair analysis. Nagy and Scott have reached their expiration dates. I simply don't trust them to lead this team to any significant progress. They have totally failed to show any real creativity or thinking outside the box. Good FCS coaches, not good enough for FBS. We need new blood and fresh ideas.

There were likely good reasons for Nagy's soft cover "philosophy"; not the least of which was the lack of experience at LB. However, there were few adjustments, and the only time we really deviated to "fit the offense" was in the Charlotte game.
Nevertheless, our defense was still at least decent, if not stellar.


I am not sure what to make of Brian Scott. I have spoken to him one-on-one a number of times. This is not out of school as it was in public in front of other people.
He knows personnel.
His first insight to me was a warning of sorts; telling me that David born, and to a lesser extent DJ Morrell were special players, Born almost a once-in-a-lifetime talent. He said that the fans needed to be aware that our OL was not likely going to be at that level in the foreseeable future.
He was correct.

He also was very, very high on David Washington and was confident that DW would be able to maintain a high level at QB.
He was correct.
Although he never said so, I don't for a minute think that replacing DW with SB was his decision.

At other times he was confident in our RBs but, like at OL, worried about the WR position.
He was correct.

I never discussed tactics or gameplans with him.

Some of you for years have remembered me as someone who was not happy with our offensive scheme, even when we had Heinicke. When some defenses "solved for TH" we seemed to have no fallback, made no adjustments. We ran multiple sets leading to the same outcome, the inside handoff, and the passing game was often most successful when the play was broken, and TH and some extraordinary receivers were able to improvise. In other words, almost a sandlot offense.

Early on, ODU benefited from the elimination of Hofstra football

More recently, our recruiting, IMHO and by the ranking services as well, has been sub par for the last few years.
Part of that has certainly been about facilities. however, the loss of Zohn Burden cannot be minimized.

The offense seemed vanilla again this season and I am not sure whether it was the lack of creativity from the OC, or simply just doing the best we could with what we had.

First and foremost we need to improve recruiting.
03-banghead
Its all about the Jimmy's and Joe's...
The coaches are locked in for another 2 years right? Man it's gonna suck when the new stadium opens. Chair-back empty seats... Something's got to give! I knew last season's 10-3 finish was a one time thing! ODU can't beat real teams. We have a track record of losing to them!

There's a rumor churning that Georgia Southern is going after JMU's head football coach...
(11-26-2017 03:16 AM)Retroview1955 Wrote: [ -> ]The coaches are locked in for another 2 years right? Man it's gonna suck when the new stadium opens. Chair-back empty seats... Something's got to give! I knew last season's 10-3 finish was a one time thing! ODU can't beat real teams. We have a track record of losing to them!

There's a rumor churning that Georgia Southern is going after JMU's head football coach...

There will probably be bigger fish than Ga. Southern going after their coach.
Fair assessment. My biggest concerns this year was the OL, WR and LB. The staff also drives me crazy, we are so predictable. I like JMUs HC, but there would be a push back about hiring a FCS coach again. FAU has shown us, what a turnaround a HC can make.
We athletically identify as FBS but we haven't gotten the operation done yet
Fair overall analysis.
Team:
Positives: QB could turn out to be a good one. He has the basic tools. At the RB position we appear to have depth. DL seems to have turned the corner. Overall, we beat 1 good team this year in FIU.
Negatives: POOR recruiting has left us in dire straights at QB, OL, WR, LB, DB/S. I am thinking our Defense philosophies were predicated on the talent we have. Still not even remotely competitive against decent or good teams.
Overall this team and staff sit at a C-/D+

Game Atmosphere:
Positives: Atlantic Bay Mortgage ! Support them as much as you can. Fog horn is a positive. Flyovers getting better. Love the focus on military. Tailgating!
Negatives: Band seems to be getting smaller with same old pregame show. No fourth quarter tradition. Student section was OK but needs better participation. Still difficult to grow the fan base. Sound system.
Overall Game atmosphere is a C+
(11-26-2017 08:12 AM)DaBigBlue Wrote: [ -> ]Fair assessment. My biggest concerns this year was the OL, WR and LB. The staff also drives me crazy, we are so predictable. I like JMUs HC, but there would be a push back about hiring a FCS coach again. FAU has shown us, what a turnaround a HC can make.

FAU made a concerted effort to go after transfers (some with baggage) from larger programs. I don't see BW doing that. We have enough issues. I agree true FBS coaching is Huge ! But, we have to be willing to step up financially. I don't think ODAF members are willing to go to $2K minimum.
(11-25-2017 10:53 PM)ODUalum78 Wrote: [ -> ]
(11-25-2017 07:58 PM)Old Dominion Wrote: [ -> ]Pretty fair analysis. Nagy and Scott have reached their expiration dates. I simply don't trust them to lead this team to any significant progress. They have totally failed to show any real creativity or thinking outside the box. Good FCS coaches, not good enough for FBS. We need new blood and fresh ideas.

There were likely good reasons for Nagy's soft cover "philosophy"; not the least of which was the lack of experience at LB. However, there were few adjustments, and the only time we really deviated to "fit the offense" was in the Charlotte game.
Nevertheless, our defense was still at least decent, if not stellar.


I am not sure what to make of Brian Scott. I have spoken to him one-on-one a number of times. This is not out of school as it was in public in front of other people.
He knows personnel.
His first insight to me was a warning of sorts; telling me that David born, and to a lesser extent DJ Morrell were special players, Born almost a once-in-a-lifetime talent. He said that the fans needed to be aware that our OL was not likely going to be at that level in the foreseeable future.
He was correct.

He also was very, very high on David Washington and was confident that DW would be able to maintain a high level at QB.
He was correct.
Although he never said so, I don't for a minute think that replacing DW with SB was his decision.

At other times he was confident in our RBs but, like at OL, worried about the WR position.
He was correct.

I never discussed tactics or gameplans with him.

Some of you for years have remembered me as someone who was not happy with our offensive scheme, even when we had Heinicke. When some defenses "solved for TH" we seemed to have no fallback, made no adjustments. We ran multiple sets leading to the same outcome, the inside handoff, and the passing game was often most successful when the play was broken, and TH and some extraordinary receivers were able to improvise. In other words, almost a sandlot offense.

Early on, ODU benefited from the elimination of Hofstra football

More recently, our recruiting, IMHO and by the ranking services as well, has been sub par for the last few years.
Part of that has certainly been about facilities. however, the loss of Zohn Burden cannot be minimized.

The offense seemed vanilla again this season and I am not sure whether it was the lack of creativity from the OC, or simply just doing the best we could with what we had.

First and foremost we need to improve recruiting.
03-banghead


I can buy this, what I don't understand is why Nagy isn't able to compensate for this lack of experience by being more creative. Is it not possible to change up looks from time to time? Can't you show man D then drop into a zone? Can't you blitz every now and then out of a zone look? I don't know, I'm not a coach so I'm seriously asking. The offense and defense never use deception of any sort. To me the difference in a decent coach and a below par coach is how they compensate for weaknesses. I did not see one single thing all season from Nagy or Scott that looked new. In fact our offensive play book seems to get smaller and smaller every year.

Read todays Pilot for quotes from Miles Fox. You can clearly see they were playing the wrong D and did not make any changes. Poor scheming from Nagy and no adjustments.
It's almost like he tried to protect his linebackers so much he gave away the farm elsewhere.
"We had a thing going all week that we were going to run off the ball, as D-tackles," Fox said. "Play with speed, as fast as we can. I guess they kind of caught us on the run game, playing fast every play. That definitely hurt."

Can someone explain what "run off the ball" means?
(11-26-2017 12:41 PM)bit_9 Wrote: [ -> ]"We had a thing going all week that we were going to run off the ball, as D-tackles," Fox said. "Play with speed, as fast as we can. I guess they kind of caught us on the run game, playing fast every play. That definitely hurt."

Can someone explain what "run off the ball" means?

I think he was referring to firing off the LOS attacking a gap. They played a zone read/PA that we never stopped .
So why didn't Nagy make a change? Is it impossible to have something in reserve in case what you are doing isn't working? Other teams seem able to have more than one approach. Is that the indication of a coach in over his head?
(11-26-2017 03:06 PM)Old Dominion Wrote: [ -> ]So why didn't Nagy make a change? Is it impossible to have something in reserve in case what you are doing isn't working? Other teams seem able to have more than one approach. Is that the indication of a coach in over his head?

They did. It didnt work.
2017 ODU Football Season Recap?
Total crap. I think that about sums it up.
A bit of irony ......

Last year ODU was picked by the league in the preseason conference rankings to finish 6th in the East. ODU coach Bobby Wilder acted insulted about the team being picked so low. ODU finished the season tied for 1st in the East, had a 10-3 record overall and won a bowl game.

This year ODU was picked by the league in the preseason conference rankings to challenge for the title in the East and possibly make it to the championship game. ODU finished the season in 6th place in the East and Bobby Wilder congratulate the team for their effort in almost getting back to a bowl eligible 6-6 record.
(11-26-2017 09:42 PM)Gilesfan Wrote: [ -> ]
(11-26-2017 03:06 PM)Old Dominion Wrote: [ -> ]So why didn't Nagy make a change? Is it impossible to have something in reserve in case what you are doing isn't working? Other teams seem able to have more than one approach. Is that the indication of a coach in over his head?

They did. It didnt work.

Not trying to be a smartass, but exactly what adjustment(s) did we make?

I honestly didn't see anything other than some apparent stunts that seemed to be designed to pressure the QB in passing situations.
(11-26-2017 10:43 PM)ODU BBALL Wrote: [ -> ]A bit of irony ......

Last year ODU was picked by the league in the preseason conference rankings to finish 6th in the East. ODU coach Bobby Wilder acted insulted about the team being picked so low. ODU finished the season tied for 1st in the East, had a 10-3 record overall and won a bowl game.

This year ODU was picked by the league in the preseason conference rankings to challenge for the title in the East and possibly make it to the championship game. ODU finished the season in 6th place in the East and Bobby Wilder congratulate the team for their effort in almost getting back to a bowl eligible 6-6 record.

It is odd. Bobby Wilder seems to drastically change his approach year-to-year. He used to approach big games like the underdog, taking chances and gambling. Now he plays it safe, being very predictable other than some fake punts.
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