(05-08-2013 08:25 PM)gocards#1 Wrote:  

(05-08-2013 10:28 AM)mikecat Wrote:  Cant wait to take down Louisville!!!

I still fail to see why everyone here is so confident you're going to beat us next year.

Because we are all homers, like you obviously are.

In terms of preseason predictions of any sort, not just bowls, you all should know by now how much UC gets shafted. These are not worth the websites they are posted on.

I can't blame them, really. Not sure anyone knows what to expect from this team yet.

(05-10-2013 11:05 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I can't blame them, really. Not sure anyone knows what to expect from this team yet.

Tim Adams (someone who watches every Spring practice and someone who I consider credible) thinks UC is a LEGIT BE contender. Anyone who knows Tim, knows that he doesn't just hand out praise generously.

We tend to prove these pre-season pundits full of sh*t more often than not.

Curious. What was Tim's take before Butch's first year? I recall some seriously deranged predictions that summer. New coaches, holes in the roster, no problems, right?

Even with talent on hand, when a new system is installed by new faces in golf shirts on the sidelines and in the booth, just no way of knowing what to expect.

I hope we will be damn good. I have no idea if they will or not without having a couple games to gauge.

Rath- Good points. I think what I'd argue is that the talent is clearly there for UC to have a special season. That does mean there are not questions. The defensive line is a question and the switch to a new staff/system is also a big question. I don't think the change in system is going to be nearly as extreme as the change from Kelly to Butch. I also think the dropoff from a coaching perspective from Kelly to Butch was pretty large. I think this is an ideal team in terms of a transition for what this staff wants to do.

I am feeling good going in, but there is always that uncertainty when you change staffs. I cannot wait to see them take the field though.

Heard dat. Looking forward to it.

Part of my ??? is that this staff is a bit of a grab bag...meaning most of the staff didn't come en mass from the new HC's prior gig where there was an established track record to refer to. I am very interested to see how the new staff meshes together diverse backgrounds and play books to form cohesive units. Should be a fun season.

(05-11-2013 11:59 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Curious. What was Tim's take before Butch's first year? I recall some seriously deranged predictions that summer. New coaches, holes in the roster, no problems, right?

Even with talent on hand, when a new system is installed by new faces in golf shirts on the sidelines and in the booth, just no way of knowing what to expect.

I hope we will be damn good. I have no idea if they will or not without having a couple games to gauge.

I don't recall Tim being over the top either way in 2010.

I know a lot of the people thought Butch could plug in a similar spread and do well in transition, but they were clearly mistaken.

I know predictions that beat 4-8 sure as hell would have been reasonable. Look what they did to RU and Miami (12-1 Miami) that year. And they should have beaten Oklahoma.

(05-11-2013 01:26 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Rath- Good points. I think what I'd argue is that the talent is clearly there for UC to have a special season. That does mean there are not questions. The defensive line is a question and the switch to a new staff/system is also a big question. I don't think the change in system is going to be nearly as extreme as the change from Kelly to Butch. I also think the dropoff from a coaching perspective from Kelly to Butch was pretty large. I think this is an ideal team in terms of a transition for what this staff wants to do.

I am feeling good going in, but there is always that uncertainty when you change staffs. I cannot wait to see them take the field though.

Agree. Transition from Butch to Tubs >>>>>>> Transition from BK to Butch.

I think the cupboard is much better stocked going into 2013 than it was in 2010. Also the players seem to buying into TT a lot more than they did with the transition from BK to Butch. One of the assistant coaches said that the current upperclassmen remember what happened when they were freshman and the seniors didn't buy in to Butch and they ended up 4-8. They are consciously working to not repeat that history.
I realize it's not a real accurate gauge, but each time I hear TT speak, I'm a little more impressed with the guy. I don't think there's much of anything in college football that ole boy hasn't dealt with. He knows how to win and I think he's a lot happier here than he was in Lubbock, but then, who wouldn't be?

(05-11-2013 08:17 PM)BJUnklFkr Wrote:  

(05-11-2013 01:26 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Rath- Good points. I think what I'd argue is that the talent is clearly there for UC to have a special season. That does mean there are not questions. The defensive line is a question and the switch to a new staff/system is also a big question. I don't think the change in system is going to be nearly as extreme as the change from Kelly to Butch. I also think the dropoff from a coaching perspective from Kelly to Butch was pretty large. I think this is an ideal team in terms of a transition for what this staff wants to do.

I am feeling good going in, but there is always that uncertainty when you change staffs. I cannot wait to see them take the field though.

Agree. Transition from Butch to Tubs >>>>>>> Transition from BK to Butch.

Butch took a finesse spread offense that aired it out numerous times a game and converted it into one who played power football where it ran the ball more than it threw the ball. The offense line that year had zero depth-- it a nutshell he tried to force a square peg in a round hole. The biggest factor for our losses in 2010 was turnovers. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but that team put the ball on the ground waayyy too often.

This time a round the team is being converted from a power spread offense with depth on the OL into a pro set offense. Should be a much easier transition. On the defensive side of the ball, we have more depth than the 2010 squad as well. I don't recall even having a two deep at the LB spot in 2010 and the secondary was mostly 1st and 2nd year players. Wolfe and Hughes never left the field because there was nobody behind them and got gassed. In 2013 we have bodies up front and a strong linebacking corps. I am a little nervous about the secondary as we lost a lot of experience, but I do think we have some talent that can make up for that. Plus, if the front 7 plays like I believe they are capable of it will make the secondary look that much better.

2010 team had zero depth on defense either, I remember noticing that our defense seemingly had the same 11 players on the field almost every play for the entire game. That was going to be a rebuilding year regardless of coaching although Kelly would have kept the offense running better than Butch did. I thing BK could have won 2-3 more games since there wouldn't have been a system change and BK is just a better offensive coach anyway.