Stallion and Charlie Waters...

[Charleston Pony]

must be out there hovering somewhere. Stallion is surprisingly quiet, but I imagine he's enjoying that "I told you so" feeling right now. The simple fact is that there are a lot of average football coaches out there who can win with solid I-A talent, but it takes someone special to win with a roster half full of I-AA caliber guys.

Charlie Waters is laying low and hoping Bennett reels in 3-4 quality classes but still can't produce results on the field. He can then remind Copeland, if he's still here, that ole Charlie would love to get back into the game. Of course, with talented players who just haven't produced, Charlie will instantly become one of the new head coaching sensations in college football.

[NavyCrimson]

come on cp...let's get off this charlie waters bs...we've got the best coach for the job plain & simple & he inherited a MESS!!!!!!

quite frankly, some of u guys...when it gets tough & the russians are coming over the hill i'd hate to have many of you in my foxhole!

let's stay positive, weather the storm & support the coach & the team!!

[Charleston Pony]

I hope Bennett is the guy and we can all laugh about this someday. I'm sure Bennett will get his 5 years and I really do hope he can go on to become SMU's all time winningest football coach. My post was not meant to be a "run him out of town" post.

[Cheesesteak]

CP, laughing at your Charlie Waters post? Trying to add some levity to PonyFans?

Clever entertainment, but not the right kind for SMU fans right now.

Charlie Waters would be a clown as SMU's HC.
He has no worthwile coaching experience only memories from a distant NFL career.
Charlie Waters would be like a shooting star on a dark night...catches your eye, excites, and then nothing.

SMU has a HC who stayed in the game all/most of his adult life. We don't need a memory from the 1970's-1980's who doesn't have enough commitment to to the game to stay in the game.

[Hoop Fan]

CP, what you are seeing now is some people are way too close to this situation either emotionally or with relationships to players. Perspective has been lost. Anyone who thought Bennett was gonna come in and X and O us to respectability was fooling themselves. Cavans staff was not that bad, no matter what you think of Cavan himself. Shumann and Kueck were competent professionals. They were not losing games for us in the booth. Maybe not winning them, but they weren't the reason for losing.

[Charleston Pony]

nobody should underestimate Waters as a potential coach. Before the problems with his son's health, he was DC for the Oregon Ducks when they turned that program around.

Again, I was trying to lighten things up, but like I said, Bennett will get 5 yrs to see if he's the guy. At his press conference today, he acknowledged that we have not lined up yet this year aginst a team that didn't have more talent than we do. He ended by saying SMU had 3 recruiting classes that just haven't shown up.

I'm with Stallion on this: good talent will make this coaching staff look a whole lot better than what it is today. BUT...Pat Sullivan had some talent at TCU and couldn't produce with it. Time will tell.

[sam]

No amount of recruiting classes will make this coaching staff look better.bennett has not done one thing in two years that would give anybody with the IQ over 70 the idea that he was a good coach.

[Roach]

Originally posted by sam:
No amount of recruiting classes will make this coaching staff look better....

That's as ridiculous as anything I've ever read on this or any other board.

[Stallion]

that really is a pile. The history of college football is filled with great coaches who were absolutely horrible in their first years. Didn't Bear Bryant go 1-9 in his first year at A&M. Other examples who took 4-5 years to turn around programs are Bill McCartney at Colorado, Jackie Sherrill at A&M, Jimmy Johnson at Dallas, Ron Meyer at SMU, the list could go on for many pages. You turn around programs with players-if a coach doesn't have the JC option it will take 4-5 years especially when the cupboard is bare.

[Ponymon]

Let's face it, you win or lose with great lineman (on both sides of the ball) and a great Quarterback! We haven't had the lineman since our return from the death penalty and the play of the quarterback has been atrocious at best. That may be because of the use of "watch-out" blocking by the current set of linemen, which is why it is important that our quarterback be mobile as Phillips apparently is! All this may finally start to change next year. I expect improvement on both sides of the line as Boren and Burley appear to have more size than we have had in a while on the offensive line and Desmond, Karrington, Berry, and Bonds will have more experience. (By the way, why hasn't Denman been used?) The year afters recruiting class has already started off well with Wardog's commitment. (I haven't seen him post recently so I hope he isn't too down about the team right now!) Our defensive backs this year have not been able to cut it, but the lack of a pass rush hasn't made it any easier in covering the opponents receivers. Adding Shavers would give our defensive line the athleticism that we haven't had on defense since the early 80's when Jerry Ball and Michael Carter dominated. I believe we will see improvement next year. WE could start to contend the year after as Bennett's classes start to reach maturity. Unfortunately, patience is required and I plan to buy my 6 season tickets again next year. At least I believe I will start to receive a return on my investment by then.

<small>[ 10-20-2003, 07:25 PM: Message edited by: Ponymon ]</small>

[gostangs]

Don't know Bartel but enjoyed watching him throw when he was allowed to. But I favor the new breed of QB ala Vince Young at Texas. The closest thing we have to that is Phillips, and I for one look forward to seeing how that changes this team. There is no telling how many games would have changed if Bartel would just have run to the open areas instead of forcing throws to short, covered receivers - he had tremendous confidence in his arm, to the detrement of the rest of his game and the team. I too wish for the best from him - but SMU is the prototype team (challenged on the o-line) that should have a roll-out, run oriented QB - if he has a great arm thats fine, but if they are covered I want to see that guy take off and do it himself. The famous SMU Irish QB Flannigan was the last guy we had who could do that - and we won several games in his era just becuase he refused to lose. Phillips looks to have even more basic talent - if he has the same kind of heart - look out - but everyone needs to not expect anything other then a young talented QB who will learn on the job -

[PerunaPunch]

Adding to Ponymon's post:

Don't forget about Caleb Peveto, a kid with GOBS of potential and who is extremely athletic. One of our fastest linemen despite his size. Great bloodlines, as his dad Cal played for the Saints. Along with Boren, one of our highest rated OL recruits since Sterling.

Also don't forget about Darrin Johnson. I assume he'll start at one of the tackle spots next year, and has the frame and athletic ability to be a cornerstone on line for the next 3 years.