Stallion is the only.........

[i10pony]

sensible person on this board. I wish he was the athletic director at SMU err... I mean SMJC. SMJC needs more people like Stallion.We need alums and people who truly love SMU football running this athletic department.

[Hoop Fan]

I used to think that, but thats not it. What
we need are alums to care to put real pressure
on this admin to fix whatever problems exist. I don't even know what those are anymore after all the smokescreens and spin.

[FloridaMustang]

You hit the problem on the head Hoop Fan. Everyone has grown complacent. We don't demand results because no alums in the past 15 years has cared. They were never used to winning, why should they now? Once all the great old rich alums die, we're totally screwed. Schools with winning traditions.. well their alums would have already forced out someone like Bennett. 2 years, and I don't see improvement.. some weeks, yes, but two or three games later, its like the team has a freaking relapse.

Amazing. I've seen heroin addicts make more progress. :no:

[Ponymon]

I hate to tell you, but the Alums at this school have been the main part of the problem. They had Hayden Fry (of all people) fired after going 7-4 in 1973 (my freshman year) and installed Dave Smith from OSU who was a DISASTER for the program! Then they didn't know when to stop paying the players in the early 80's and had our former governor, Bill Clements, admit that they were "winding" down the payments on NATIONAL TV!

What we really need is a new OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR! Running for 1 yard on 1st down, running for 2nd down and long, and throwing on third down and long doesn't cut it. The last drive, we ran the ball on first down for 3 yards, ran the ball on second down (against a NINE MAN front), and threw a dink pass on third down that was incomplete. I thought we should have gone for it on 4th down, given how bad our defense was playing. By the way, why do we ALWAYS run the ball when the other team has 8 to 9 guys in the box. Isn't Bartel competent enough to check off and throw a pass???? Also, I saw only one pass to the tight end all game and NO passes to the MIDDLE of the field. I also didn't see any screen passes to negate their pass rush. Just smash mouth football, which we, quite frankly, do not have the lineman to play! Yes, we need a new OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR or we will continue to play close, LOSING football!

<small>[ 10-05-2003, 05:40 AM: Message edited by: Ponymon ]</small>

[cowboypony]

New offensive philosophy? Yes. The question is: Do we need the Head Coach to allow the offensive coordinator to open it up? Perhaps he's not being allowed to do anything more. Either way, something must change quickly. Rice, Baylor, Tulsa, etc....., are all programs that are showing tangible improvement. As bad as I hate to say it, we're actually getting worse.

[SMU4u2000]

Impression of Bennett based on observation, conversation, and players' comments: Bennett is a control freak. He is totally running the offense (with his defensive background experience)and is indeed not allowing the offensive coordinator to do so. Same for the defense. But, because he is a defense-background head coach, the defense is not doing as poorly as offense. There are actually puppet names the players have for the coordinators. Bennett has not a clue how to collaboratively develop a winning coaching staff or team.

[PerunaPunch]

It's interesting to see how quickly the Pony faithful start to fold. If Bennett has a fault, it's that he drastically overestimated the talent pool we have here when he took the job. That, and he was too ethical to to renege on the scholarships that Cavan offered to his last recruiting class.

Stallion and I don't see eye-to-eye on many points, but he's right about this – prior to Bennett, there was only 1 guy on the entire team that got an offer from a legit D1A ranked school. That's it. Period.

In his first real recruiting class, Bennett hauled in Philips, Massey, Boren, Avery Cleveland, Hall, Muse, Moss and Sturdivant – all of whom had signed offers from big conference, D1A schools. And so is it a wonder that so many of them are already seeing action as true freshmen? I say it again and again, if you see one freshman starter, he's a stud. If you see a bunch of freshmen, you've got a talent issue.

Further, I don't totally buy off on the JUCO issue either, when we have a good JUCO transfer in Bobby Chase, and quality full qualifying transfers from TTech (Munlin) and Air Force (Akinyemi).

It was extremely painful for me to sit through UTEP as well, but come on. What happened to all the "it's going to take 3-4 years to rebuild" talk the we almost universally agreed on when Bennett was hired? In many respects, this is only his first year, as we're only now seeing his first year of recruits on campus.

[SMU4u2000]

And IF those star recruits had known THEN what they know NOW, would they have signed with Bennett?

[sam]

Punch, i have said this before about your posts,You print lies and the sad thing is some people will believe it.If you are going to print something as fact at least make it a fact.

[Hilltopper]

Interesting quotes:

From i10pony: ".... needs more people like Stallion.We need alums and people who truly love SMU football ...." You mean the guy who preaches doom every week? Who says SMU will never do anything? Right - that's the guy we need running the show.

From UNFMustang06: " .... Everyone has grown complacent. We don't demand results because no alums in the past 15 years has cared ...." If nobody cared, would this board be lit up with complaints today? And if nobody cared, how did the alums cough up $56 million for that beautiful stadium? Gerald Ford's name is on the outside, but he didn't foot the whole bill. There are a lot of alums with a lot more money than you and I have who care - a lot."

From ponymon: ".... Also, I saw only one pass to the tight end all game and NO passes to the MIDDLE of the field...." Well, I think there were three thrown to the TE (one catch), but your point is crystal clear. I realize Hampton is gone, but come on, if we have an extra target, we have to use it. And the middle of the field was wide open last night. You'd think the receivers could find a seam in the D and get open.

From PerunaPunch: "It's interesting to see how quickly the Pony faithful start to fold. If Bennett has a fault, it's that he drastically overestimated the talent pool we have here when he took the job.... Stallion and I don't see eye-to-eye on many points, but he's right about this – prior to Bennett, there was only 1 guy on the entire team that got an offer from a legit D1A ranked school. That's it. Period.... In his first real recruiting class, Bennett hauled in Philips, Massey, Boren, Avery Cleveland, Hall, Muse, Moss and Sturdivant – all of whom had signed offers from big conference, D1A schools. And so is it a wonder that so many of them are already seeing action as true freshmen? I say it again and again, if you see one freshman starter, he's a stud. If you see a bunch of freshmen, you've got a talent issue.... Further, I don't totally buy off on the JUCO issue either, when we have a good JUCO transfer in Bobby Chase, and quality full qualifying transfers from TTech (Munlin) and Air Force (Akinyemi).... It was extremely painful for me to sit through UTEP as well, but come on. What happened to all the "it's going to take 3-4 years to rebuild" talk the we almost universally agreed on when Bennett was hired? In many respects, this is only his first year, as we're only now seeing his first year of recruits on campus." Amen, Brother Punch. Perhaps we PonyFans got too excited about the records Kansas State had when Coach Bennett was up there, and thought he could make SMU equal to KSU with a snap of his fingers. Those freshmen that PerunaPunch mentioned are players. Go to a practice, or talk to someone who has. Ask them about Cory Muse and Avery Cleveland and Zach Hall. Ask the defense how easy it is to tackle Richuel Massey and Foy Munlin. Ask a receiver how often he runs past Akinyemi. According to the people I've talked to - people on the team - the talent that's waiting in the wings for next year is a different kind of cat from what we've seen before. And that's not to speak badly about who's playing now - just saying there are some players coming up who could be really special.

PP is right when he comments on how quickly the Pony faithful want to fold. Anyone who has been through a re-building or re-organization knows that regardless of who your leader is, it takes time and you have to have the right personnel. I hope those who are ready to abandon ship now will admit it when they're climbing back on board and singing Coach Bennett's praises when he turns the corner.

<small>[ 10-05-2003, 10:07 AM: Message edited by: Hilltopper ]</small>

[fbdad]

Peruna...both you and Stallion get on this lack of talent kick without any direct knowledge of player capabilities.To say some freshmen are playing because of a"..talent issue." is BS. Try injuries to both your SS's. That's the ONLY reason Sturdivant is playing and you'll find that thats the reason several other freshmen have started.Like Sam said, try to get your facts right before blowing off...

[HixsontoLeVias]

Stallion for A.D...?? Please, pass the barf bag....not sure we need a guy who "never changed his bed sheets his entire freshman year" to run our athletic dept.., now, do you..??

[Swamp Gas]

Originally posted by fbdad:
Peruna...both you and Stallion get on this lack of talent kick without any direct knowledge of player capabilities.To say some freshmen are playing because of a"..talent issue." is BS. Try injuries to both your SS's. That's the ONLY reason Sturdivant is playing and you'll find that thats the reason several other freshmen have started.Like Sam said, try to get your facts right before blowing off...

From what I've heard (from people a lot closer to the situation than I am), it sounds like PP's right on the money.

[PerunaPunch]

fbdad,

No offense, but my connections are every bit as "direct" as yours. No, my son doesn't play safety, but I talk to our coaches, players, and other player's parents on a daily basis – just like you do. And I'm well aware that Sturdivant is playing because Rico and Chris are banged up. Don't be so defensive, this is not a personal attack.

But my point is valid. Would we be a better team if Hargis, Harris, Godfrey, and Taylor weren't banged up and if Cunningham was 100%? Undoubtedly. But that's not the situation, and that's not the team we were able to roll out against UTEP.

Injury is an unavoidable FACT of the game. If you loose a starter due to age or injury, you need quality depth coming up. We don't have that. any way you slice it, we have a TON of freshmen on the field.

Also, it wasn't coach Bennett who threw into double coverage (both of whom were a half foot taller than our receiver), and it wasn't coach Bennett who fumbled on the one. Folks, we plain and simple gave this game away.

If you want to get right down to it, it wasn't Bennett who threw the 4th quarter pick against Nevada or Bennett who missed the chip shot against Baylor. Stop the screw-ups and we're 3-2, and all is well on the Hilltop. that's all I'm trying to say.

sam, I honestly don't know what your justification is for calling me a liar. I'd be real interested in knowing what in my post you find not to be factual. If you'd be considerate enough to point out where I err, I'd be happy to address it.

<small>[ 10-05-2003, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: PerunaPunch ]</small>

[Hoop Fan]

deleted post.

<small>[ 10-05-2003, 05:31 PM: Message edited by: Hoop Fan ]</small>