ponyboy wrote:Re the staff part of the question.
Short answer is we don't have sufficiently trained talent to win at consistently high levels. I still see this team trending upwards based upon team and fan expectations -- and what is at least as important, recruits.
We could have been perhaps a little more lucky the last few games, but we are right where any reasonable outside, objective observer would have said we should hope to be at this stage of the June Jones regime. Stuck in the top tiers of CUSA, heading to a better conference, getting some national pub.
All is good.
That is BS. I'm sick of excuses for our vaunted "genius" offensive coaching staff. San Jose State was able to put up 27 against Navy. UA frickin' B put up 34 on a team that we couldn't manage to score a touchdown against. No one can seriously argue that those teams have better offensive talent than we do (and if they do, then I ask whose fault is that?). Even Tulsa and Houston have given up more points to teams that (should) have supposedly inferior talent compared to us. Tulsa gave up 20 to UAB and Rice, and 24 to UNT (UNT!!). Houston somehow let Tulane, Rice, UNT, UAB, and LaTech score a lot more than we were able to muster.
Not to mention that watching the team use up 38 seconds just to get a play in and snap the ball every play, call timeouts, or have a false start while waiting to hear the snap count is just maddening, and is too frequent to chalk up to sucky players.
There is this culture around Jones that any questioning or criticism is treason. He's beloved by his staff and players, but as they say on all the mutual fund commercials, I'm beginning to believe that past performance is not indicative of future success, especially when everyone on the staff that matters seems so inflexible in adjusting the system to maximize the strengths of the players we actually have, and minimize their weaknesses, rather than require the players to fit the cookie cutter mold of a system that clearly isn't working. Jones seemed so quick and anxious to yank Padron in favor of McDermott, but seems stuck on trying to defend the decision by refusing to consider other options.
I have been impressed with Tom Mason's defense, but it can only do so much when the offense keeps having 3 and outs or worse, turning the ball over again and again -- worst in the entire FBS. Seriously, the Run n Shoot seems to run when it makes sense to shoot and shoot (or more accurately shoot ourselves in the foot) when it makes sense to run.
