Bowl or Bust?

[Damon]

My earlier comment about bringing up the McNeese was about re-opening the wound, not about burying facts. Take it easy, Jethro.

1st or 2nd place in the 'Belt with an over .500 record is the only way I don't call for Bustle's "resignation."

[Gbbaseball7]

_ .....Think about it, where do we geaux after Des and Fenroy leaves us. THis year has to be the year!!!! If not we are done for a while. ......

Geaux Louisiana! _

I feel the frustration in all the fans. But to say that we have nothing without Des and Fenroy is to sell the rest of the team down the road. True Des and Fenroy have given a great deal to Cajun Football and should be well thought of but they are not the entire squad.
If I remember from my youth and exposure to sports they are TEAM activities.
We have a great deal of talent on this team and I believe that we will continue to improve even after Des and Fenroy move on in their lives.
To say something like this is to insult the rest of the team. Give them our support as they battle in the trenches for the University.
Ok I will get off my soap box now.

Geaux Cajuns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[IHateLaState]

My earlier comment about bringing up the McNeese was about re-opening the wound, not about burying facts. Take it easy, Jethro.

1st or 2nd place in the 'Belt with an over .500 record is the only way I don't call for Bustle's "resignation."

I think you and others are a year late in that call... but my thoughts on that are well hashed out on this board.. Right now I am hoping against hope that Bustle can turn this thing around

[CajunNation]

They do ring a bell since I was an athlete at the same time as they were. We did have a few stars who were better but as a team we are much improved talent wise than we were with Baldwin.

This is a very interesting topic. Talent levels.

Stamps is our best WR since Stokley.(mid 90's)

Tillman and Taylor are our best DBs since Orlando Thomas and Todd Scott.(early 90's)

Stanley Smith and Ross Brupbacher are our best linebackers since Charles Pool and Patrice Alexander.(mid-90's)

Where Bustle has improved the team is on the line with decent depth.

What has allowed Bustle to win more than Baldwin, is he got Tyrell Fenroy. A player the caliber of Brian Mitchell and Jake Delhomme.

That is what Baldwin never could find. A skill player that could carry a program on his back.



Remember, this is just talking talent. We are not talking financial support or anything like that.

[Damon]

I think you and others are a year late in that call... but my thoughts on that are well hashed out on this board.. Right now I am hoping against hope that Bustle can turn this thing around

I thought he should have been fired in the locker room after the McNeese game... or the end of the season. Now, I have a new set of criteria for me not to call for his early retirement.

Sorry if I come off harsh. Losing to McNeese has really jaded my view of the FB staff.

[Hammer58]

_
That is what Baldwin never could find. A skill player that could carry a program on his back. _

Not to drag up old topics but while Baldwin may have been able to evaluate athletic talent he was not a very good coach on the field. He made some really stupid in-game decisions. And many of those decisions seemed to be based on some personal prejudices he has. Prime example is his insistence on trying to make Nick Dugas his star QB. Dugas was very athletic and could have probably been a great contributor at another postion or maybe he could have been a successful QB in a different system. But Baldwin used a more typical drop back passer to move the team down the field and then inside the redzone would change QBs to insert Dugas. And typically the drive would stall becaue the opposing team would know that we would try to run with Dugas rather than passing. At best the result was 3 pts rather than a TD. This cost us a number of games with the Tulane visit to Cajun Field being one that sticks out.

[CajunNation]

Not to drag up old topics but while Baldwin may have been able to evaluate athletic talent he was not a very good coach on the field. He made some really stupid in-game decisions. And many of those decisions seemed to be based on some personal prejudices he has. Prime example is his insistence on trying to make Nick Dugas his star QB. Dugas was very athletic and could have probably been a great contributor at another postion or maybe he could have been a successful QB in a different system. But Baldwin used a more typical drop back passer to move the team down the field and then inside the redzone would change QBs to insert Dugas. And typically the drive would stall becaue the opposing team would know that we would try to run with Dugas rather than passing. At best the result was 3 pts rather than a TD. This cost us a number of games with the Tulane visit to Cajun Field being one that sticks out.

Yes, while all of that is true. This is also true.

Baldwin won 2 out of every 10 games he coached.
Pre-Fenroy, Bustle won 3 out of every 10 games he coached.

Take Fenroy away, and the difference in records is negligible.

Look, I'm not here to defend Baldwin and his ways. Dude should have never been hired.

I do want people to understand correctly the current state of the program.

[Zeebart21]

clutch, you're scaring me. deep breaths.

you ever check your email? Just ignoring me?

Z

[Sonsissymia]

_ you ever check your email? Just ignoring me?

Z _

z, it was full and not telling me i had a new one. just deleted some stuff, so reshoot.

[CajunT]

_ This comment is right on imo. There can be no question that Baldwin recruited better players. Just check the NFL for Baldwin players vs. Bustle players.

I know Baldwin sucked, please don't crucify me, but the talent level on Bustle's teams have suffered due to him not taking many chances on players of questionable character/grades. I realize this is noble and good for our program, but unfortunately it means we miss out on some truly exceptional NFL caliber talent, and then we lose more games.

At this point, I think we could afford to take a few more chances!

Because let's be honest... Was Mcneese less talented than us? I don't think that game was a fluke, but rather a sad reminder of where we stand in football. _

Baldwin had two very good recruiters on his staff named Bartel and Tyke Tolbert. Most of the best athletes from Balwins early years were recruited by these two including Stamps, Tillman,Batiste, Sean Jones,Dugas, Coleman and Van Cleve. Ike Taylor was a walk-on.

Baldwin had no selective admissions and he recruited like it. His philosophy was simple, he didn't care if the recruit had character and was a good student athlete. He really believed that his back ground as a minister could help him change kids from the inner city and change the work habits of poor student athletes. As one of the few people that bought into his philosophy, he was wrong on both counts.

When Baldwin left the program, we had over a 30% attrition rate of athletes. It was not unusual for him to sign 10 to 12 props a year. Not unlike what McNeese State has done over the past few years. Baldwin couldn't build this program, because he couldn't keep his recruits qualified more then one or two years at a time. Not to mention his coaching decisions on the field.

Bustle faced a up hill climb when he took over the worst Div.1 football program in the country. His first recruiting class had few impact athletes because he had to beg kids to come to Lafayette and play. The lack of a winning tradition killed this programs recruiting as did losing Bartel and eventually the coach that replaced him Jennings. No assistants wanted to come here and coach for less money then a high school head coach. Let's not mention the lack of funding and quality facilities. If Bustle is gone after this season, then people better be ready to invest a whole lot more money instead of the lip service I read on this board. If not, then we don't deserve Division I football.

[CajunNation]

Bustle faced a up hill climb when he took over the worst Div.1 football program in the country. His first recruiting class had few impact athletes because he had to beg kids to come to Lafayette and play. The lack of a winning tradition killed this programs recruiting as did losing Bartel and eventually the coach that replaced him Jennings. No assistants wanted to come here and coach for less money then a high school head coach. Let's not mention the lack of funding and quality facilities. If Bustle is gone after this season, then people better be ready to invest a whole lot more money instead of the lip service I read on this board. If not, then we don't deserve Division I football.

You could have replaced Bustle with Baldwin in this paragraph and it would be even truer.

Bustle has received much more support from the fans and the administration than Baldwin did.

And, you know what? The next coach after Bustle will receive much more support from the fans and the administration than Bustle did.

The state of this program when Baldwin and Bustle took over can be blamed on 1 person. You know who. He go Bye-Bye.

The future of Cajun football looks very bright my friend.

Cheer up!

[MissingMandy]

_ Baldwin had two very good recruiters on his staff named Bartel and Tyke Tolbert. Most of the best athletes from Balwins early years were recruited by these two including Stamps, Tillman,Batiste, Sean Jones,Dugas, Coleman and Van Cleve. Ike Taylor was a walk-on.

Baldwin had no selective admissions and he recruited like it. His philosophy was simple, he didn't care if the recruit had character and was a good student athlete. He really believed that his back ground as a minister could help him change kids from the inner city and change the work habits of poor student athletes. As one of the few people that bought into his philosophy, he was wrong on both counts.

When Baldwin left the program, we had over a 30% attrition rate of athletes. It was not unusual for him to sign 10 to 12 props a year. Not unlike what McNeese State has done over the past few years. Baldwin couldn't build this program, because he couldn't keep his recruits qualified more then one or two years at a time. Not to mention his coaching decisions on the field.

Bustle faced a up hill climb when he took over the worst Div.1 football program in the country. His first recruiting class had few impact athletes because he had to beg kids to come to Lafayette and play. The lack of a winning tradition killed this programs recruiting as did losing Bartel and eventually the coach that replaced him Jennings. No assistants wanted to come here and coach for less money then a high school head coach. Let's not mention the lack of funding and quality facilities. If Bustle is gone after this season, then people better be ready to invest a whole lot more money instead of the lip service I read on this board. If not, then we don't deserve Division I football. _

BJ I love what you write because it is based in fact.