Observations from Happy Hour

by **MrMustang1965** » Tue May 03, 2005 11:38 am

Ponysnob: you only need to say it once. Damn. Go back to the Frog board.

by **MrMustang1965** » Tue May 03, 2005 11:42 am

OldPony wrote:Copeland- Please just go away.

Were you at the 'happy hour' yesterday? Copeland was there. I'd have paid money to see you say that to his face.

And let's remember that Copeland did not give Bennett that contract extension by himself. It had to have the approval of SMU's Board of Trustees as well as Turner, too...correct? :shock:

by **huntnfish** » Tue May 03, 2005 12:05 pm

just b/c he has everyone in the administration and all the "wealthy" alumni fooled doesn't mean anything to me; he has fooled them because that is where he spends his time, he only cares about those who can write him a big fat check- he needs to start reaching out to the entire SMU community- AND you cant' argue with his lack of success, we need ship him back to Virginia and get us an SMU guy who bleeds SMU red and blue

by **Dooby** » Tue May 03, 2005 12:31 pm

huntnfish wrote:just b/c he has everyone in the administration and all the "wealthy" alumni fooled doesn't mean anything to me; he has fooled them because that is where he spends his time, he only cares about those who can write him a big fat check- he needs to start reaching out to the entire SMU community- AND you cant' argue with his lack of success, we need ship him back to Virginia and get us an SMU guy who bleeds SMU red and blue

I couldn't give a rats @$$ whether the AD is an SMU alum or not. I want somebody who can (i) find coaching talent; (ii) tell this d@mn university how successful athletic departments are run; and (iii) market the program by selling tickets and raising money. Personally, I would love to have TCU's problems when they hired a non-froggie alum as an AD.

by **ponydawg** » Tue May 03, 2005 12:32 pm

"he only cares about those who can write him a big fat check"

I have to disagree, he can probably tell I might be good for about $50 a year, far from a "big fat check" and every time I see him he goes out of his way to carry on a personal conversation with me and my poor friends.
Hell, even when I was unemployed he would ask how things were going and how the job seach was.

Errr......I am talking about Bennett......
Copeland has never Spoken to me.
Wrong tax bracket......

by **MrMustang1965** » Tue May 03, 2005 12:49 pm

at yesterday's happy hour, Bennett went so far as to say - and I'm quoting as best as I can - "If you need tickets to an SMU game to bring a friend or a group of friends...call me, write me, email me! I'll find the tickets, some how - some way!" I don't think he was offering up freebies but - perhaps - discounted tickets so that we can butts in seats this year.

by **DallasDiehard** » Tue May 03, 2005 1:58 pm

OldPony wrote:Bennett guaranteeing/promising wins? I think I may have heard that before. Also, didn't he say he ran defenses last year that he couldn't run because of "lack of talent" the year before? Sorry, but it seems this might have been last years' talk. I'm glad the guy's still optimistic but at some point, SHOW ME.

Agreed, we all want to see more results. But we DID run some packages last year that we hadn't run in 2003 (such as in the T.Tech game, when we ran a lot more nickel and dime packages .... which was fairly effective in keeping that bombs-away offense out of the end zone.) Sure, I'd like to see the Steel Curtain out there every Saturday, but it goes in steps. And steps are being taken in the right direction.

by **The PonyGrad** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:28 pm

DallasDiehard wrote:
OldPony wrote:Bennett guaranteeing/promising wins? I think I may have heard that before. Also, didn't he say he ran defenses last year that he couldn't run because of "lack of talent" the year before? Sorry, but it seems this might have been last years' talk. I'm glad the guy's still optimistic but at some point, SHOW ME.
Agreed, we all want to see more results. But we DID run some packages last year that we hadn't run in 2003 (such as in the T.Tech game, when we ran a lot more nickel and dime packages .... which was fairly effective in keeping that bombs-away offense out of the end zone.) Sure, I'd like to see the Steel Curtain out there every Saturday, but it goes in steps. And steps are being taken in the right direction.

That is exactly right. He said we had enough DB for nickle and dime packages, which we ran until various injuries last season. An additional opportunity this season are the number of linebackers of differing types that will allow similar flexibility there. With more depth the injury factor should be less this season.

by **OldPony** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:12 pm

MrMustang- It is difficult to get to these events from KC. When I lived in Dallas, I attended every b'ball and football game and forced my son to go with me. Now he patronizes me and acts like SMU has a sports program but he knows we don't and so do I. That has now been about 7 years. I see nothing that Copeland brings to the table and I'll be happy to tell him so. No- he didn't give the extension himself but he did recommend it. If I have someone in charge, I let him run his department. If his decisions are that poor though, he gets replaced.
It is time to replace him and all but those who live in eternal sunshine know it.

by **MrMustang1965** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:20 pm

OldPony wrote:MrMustang- It is difficult to get to these events from KC. When I lived in Dallas, I attended every b'ball and football game and forced my son to go with me. Now he patronizes me and acts like SMU has a sports program but he knows we don't and so do I. That has now been about 7 years. I see nothing that Copeland brings to the table and I'll be happy to tell him so. No- he didn't give the extension himself but he did recommend it. If I have someone in charge, I let him run his department. If his decisions are that poor though, he gets replaced.
It is time to replace him and all but those who live in eternal sunshine know it.

OP: Did not know you lived in KC. Next time you're down this way (maybe for a football game this year...?), go find Copeland on The Boulevard and tell him what you think. Seriously. I'll make another donation to the Mustang Club just to see you do it.

by **Dooby** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:22 pm

I believe I have said this many times, but the assumptions that the Bennett extension will hurt SMU are speculative at best. Nobody knows how much, if any, of the extension involves guaranteed money. Therefore, nobody has any idea what, if any, negative impact there would be if the decision were made to remove him. Not suggesting that would be a good or bad move.

You are free to assume that every single decision made by SMU is wrong (and there is plenty of evidence to support it), or you can give SMU the benefit of the doubt (which they probably don't deserve). At the time of the extension, I provided several examples of other institutions that did the same thing. Some of those coaches turned it around and others didn't. Those that didn't were still replaced at about the time they would have been otherwise. It isn't a big deal.

I know we aspire to greater things, but lets not start acting like a cargo cult and firing coaches every two to three years because Florida and Nebraska do it.

by **BUS** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:11 pm

Oh yes, I do like the flashing Mustang that I was wearing.

Correction:
"Everyone lean to the RIGHT ( never left ) we are turning the corner."

What I find remarkable and a sign of commitment - Coach Bennett knows every mans name that is on the team. WOW

by **BUS** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:52 pm

Second post... Hey guys, if you do not like the FLAMES thrown by others on this board..... do not resopnd and they will wilt and go away.

At least they will not re-post and post again.

Just consider the source.

GO MUSTANGS

by **EastStang** » Wed May 04, 2005 9:09 am

First, I agree with those who say that so far Copeland's hires have not broken down any doors. But the jury is still out on Bennett and on Tubbs. Let's wait and see. Copeland did a great deal at UVA before coming to SMU. He helped land George Welch who did turn that football program around. He also worked well with Terry Holland which produced an era of UVA basketball that has yet to be repeated with four or five ACC championships (Ralph Sampson, Olden Polyneice, etc) and three final four appearances. So he has had success. I for one hope that Bennett and Tubbs have great years and that our entrance into CUSA will be a positive one. In basketball the quitters and malcontents are gone. In football, we now have enough talent to field a two deep team (a first since the DP). The second rung players are still young, but we really ought to be competitive this year in every game. I would love to serve the Bears, Froggies, Aggies, Owls and Cougers a big juicey doo doo sandwich this year.

by **Corso** » Wed May 04, 2005 9:21 am

It is kind of a new feeling to know that if a starter goes down, there's a capable backup behind him, huh? In addition, there's no way last year's run of injuries can repeat itself. For the second year in a row, we look bigger, stronger and faster at damn-near every position on the field. But the schedule is tougher, too, I think. I'll say improvement is visible, although marginal in the wins/losses. But I love the increased talent on the roster. We might not have the Oklahoma-bound blue-chip guys, but the Patriots don't have Randy Moss or LaDanian Tomlinson, either, and they've done OK. A faster, deeper team can win some games.

Observations from Happy Hour

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