Reasons for 2023 Football Optimism

[CajunT]

T, you are wasting your breath and time here. These are the same people that believed Fields was a better option at QB than Levi.

I know, I'm just tired of the same conversations popping up in every thread concerning football. Do I know for certain Coach Desormeaux is the right guy, of course not. I do believe that he has the right tools to be a good head coach given time to rebuild this organization and put his own stamp on this program.

I said from the beginning that this coaching staff would have a learning curve when some people were predicting 10 wins in the preseason thread. Given what we know happened to this program during and after Billy Napier's departure, that was simply unrealistic. I predicted 8 wins on the high end, and that certainly was attainable given the losses to ULM and Troy. That is the difference between being 8-4 and 6-6, situational football and game management. As disappointing as that may be, it is correctable with experience and improvement at certain positions.

What Billy Napier pulled off his last two seasons here was unprecedented, it was also aided by the maturation of Levi Lewis and over 30 players returning as staters or the rotation receiving an extra year of eligibility from the Covid waiver. That will never happen again. Napier's last 2 years were also aided by the game management experiences from his previous two seasons. That's something Coach Desormeaux clearly didn't have to help transition this program in his first year. That is the reality of our situation and people can dismiss it if they want to but spare me the hyperbole concerning MD in every football discussion thread.

My expectations are clear, this staff must improve next year and win more games. I'm certain that challenge will not come without some obstacles along the way, especially with a young QB. It is their job to overcome those obstacles and get this program to a better place. It's really that simple.

[Esqueleto]

See my edited post #149.

Appreciate the insight. Good post

[JMV JustMyView]

...uhh nope. Those OL and RB's didn't help LL escape a sack, like he did time and time again. They didn't help him run as fast as he did either. LL was a legit run threat, elusive with game speed. CF is a pocket passer, lacks height and doesn't have the wheels to scare anyone. Sorry this bothers so many but the facts are the real. He does have a good arm, if not he wouldn't be on a college team.

I was watching NFL on Fox and few days ago. They were talking about Miami QB, Tua Tagovailoa and the 3 picks he threw in the 4th quarter. Terry B. said due to his lack of height, he probably didn't see the all the coverage guys making those plays. He was throwing from the pocket. LL also lacked height and rarely if ever threw over the middle. He also had some head scratcher throws, but they were from the pocket too. Hell, every time CF got into a game after LL lost his helmet (happened a lot) CBN would call a bubble screen more often than not. Generally, the only throws over the middle from LL were deep passes, mostly post routes. LL got better each season and was easily one of the top QB's statistically to ever play for UL and was feared by our conference mates.

Comparing our QB play this past season to our conference mates, we were near the bottom. IMO this led to as many L's as any other reason I've read on RP. BW was our best option due to his ability to throw from the pocket and he proved to be a capable runner....not elite. Unless we have a seriously good OL that can pass block and give a pocket passing QB time to go thru progressions, we need a dual-threat QB. ZC is our future and I hope he can master the offense this spring to give CMD the confidence to start him.

Tua Tagovailoa and the 3 picks he threw in the 4th quarter was probably due to the concussion not his height.

[SlickRick]

Tua Tagovailoa and the 3 picks he threw in the 4th quarter was probably due to the concussion not his height.

Just paraphrasing what Terry B. said and he might know a little more about this than you or me.

[cajun_lannister]

Your kidding right?

Answer the question

Any game we rushed under 100 yards it was not pretty.

[Cajunsmike]

Your kidding right?

Lance Legrende was the either the fourth or fifth QB at the end of camp. No way would he have played one second at that position in a real game. With a couple of receivers entering the portal, they also won't consider moving him back there during spring. It is important for him to develop at his new role come spring.

[JMV JustMyView]

Just paraphrasing what Terry B. said and he might know a little more about this than you or me.

No doubt he does, but the concussion had to factor in.

[SlickRick]

Lance Legrende was the either the fourth or fifth QB at the end of camp. No way would he have played one second at that position in a real game. With a couple of receivers entering the portal, they also won't consider moving him back there during spring. It is important for him to develop at his new role come spring.

I think he was referring to Levi, not Lance, which explains my response. I always use LL2 for Lance and LL for Levi.

[JamesTheJeweler]

There are many many ways to create interest without spilling every detail.

When Nelson Schexnayder said he was flying to the Virginias to conduct an interview, he didn't say it was Mike Leach.

The silence is inexcusable but if that is where they are most comfortable, then they will have to live with the lack of interest of thier own making.

Agreed

[anhil8tor]

Looking at the 4 games on the schedule for next year. Northwestern is a W and NMSU should be a W. UAB is 50/50 IMO. Minnesota is a L.

[fanof71]

More RPCA non-sense...

[CajunNation]

Looking at the 4 games on the schedule for next year. Northwestern is a W and NMSU should be a W. UAB is 50/50 IMO. Minnesota is a L.

There are no absolute losses or wins next season.