11.10.23 Fallout - gloves off

[zeppelincajun]

No doubt. But with the aforementioned talent we would have skull drug all of them.

Respectfully disagree. Mike had half the guys you mentioned on his first team and still couldn’t produce a winning season.

I don’t care who you have out there. If they aren’t in position when the ball is snapped, it’s gonna be tough. Take a guy like Keyon Martin. Against ODU he looked like one of the worst CBs we’ve ever had getting burnt time and time again. Go back and watch the film and almost every play he got cooked he wasn’t ready when the ball was snapped. He has had several solid games since then.

[CajunVic]

. . . sounds like a coaching adjustment on Keyon Martin . . .

[JAB]

It's the schitt like this.. You can't actually be serious. lol

If UL's definition of a "good coach" means "someone who is successful in the Sun Belt Conference" then I suppose two things are true:

1) You are correct that Napier is a good coach.
2) UL will be champions of mediocrity. Congrats.

[KajunKrazy]

Respectfully disagree. Mike had half the guys you mentioned on his first team and still couldn’t produce a winning season.

I don’t care who you have out there. If they aren’t in position when the ball is snapped, it’s gonna be tough. Take a guy like Keyon Martin. Against ODU he looked like one of the worst CBs we’ve ever had getting burnt time and time again. Go back and watch the film and almost every play he got cooked he wasn’t ready when the ball was snapped. He has had several solid games since then.

Bailey, Johnson, Amos and Waites are all producing on P5 teams. Just Bailey and Johnson would be the 2 best offensive players on the team if they were here. The best 1-2 punch in the league by a long shot if they were here.

In the ODU game our DBs looked bad because they were looking at the sidelines trying to get the play when the ball was being snapped most of the time. That was on the coaches. If Trey Amos was here Martin would be a good back up which is probably more suitable to his skill set.

[CajunVic]

Bailey, Johnson, Amos and Waites are all producing on P5 teams. Just Bailey and Johnson would be the 2 best offensive players on the team if they were here. The best 1-2 punch in the league by a long shot if they were here.

In the ODU game our DBs looked bad because they were looking at the sidelines trying to get the play when the ball was being snapped most of the time. That was on the coaches. If Trey Amos was here Martin would be a good back up which is probably more suitable to his skill set.

. . . you have been attending Cajun games for longer than 32 is old, but hey, he knows better . . .

[Turbine]

If UL's definition of a "good coach" means "someone who is successful in the Sun Belt Conference" then I suppose two things are true:

1) You are correct that Napier is a good coach.
2) UL will be champions of mediocrity. Congrats.

When the talent level of players are "equal" you can, always judge coaching ability.

When the talent level of players, are "unequal" coaching ability can still come to the fore but making that determination is not as reliable.

Which means ... the conference is last on the list in determining whether a coach is good or not.

Now having said that, a great recruiter can mask his coaching ability.

[Big Poppa]

Yeah, who wants that? A coach that can put together a great staff and manage to be such a terrible in-game coach that you go 13-1 and gets us in the top 25 for 2 years. So glad we don't have THAT problem anymore! Give me what we got now...bad in-game coaching, no discipline or attention to detail, a mediocre record, lose to teams less talented and can't win the close ones. A real no-brainer there, ammarite?

Unfortunately we will never have a staff like that again unless we double attendance. Maggard was way over budget with that bunch and put himself in a financial pinch. Luckily billy had the talent and the off-season process of his mentors that allowed him to over come many of his boned headed in game decisions.

Our current coach not only makes questionable in game decision he also abandoned the process that was put in place by his predecessor. That is why we are seeing the lack of discipline and lack of attention to detail.

[CajunJeaux]

Y'all have to be joking. How can there be this many horrendous takes in one thread... You can't understand why the pageantry and total experience is important to the game??

From an in-game perspective, what's different today vs when Hudspeth was here and 25-30k were showing up?

[ManAboutTown]

If UL's definition of a "good coach" means "someone who is successful in the Sun Belt Conference" then I suppose two things are true:

1) You are correct that Napier is a good coach.
2) UL will be champions of mediocrity. Congrats.

One thing that is very obvious to everyone here: You are not a cajun. And I'm not totally convinced you are a person who consumes sports.

Doubling down on this idiotic take tells me everything I need to know about you. Billy Napier took over one of the most depleted rosters in CFB in easily the most elite conference in CFB, which just so happens to include the National Champion of the sport. Comparing that to any other conference is inconceivable. I'm not Billy Napier apologist, but there is no question he's a very good coach.

[ManAboutTown]

Bailey, Johnson, Amos and Waites are all producing on P5 teams. Just Bailey and Johnson would be the 2 best offensive players on the team if they were here. The best 1-2 punch in the league by a long shot if they were here.

In the ODU game our DBs looked bad because they were looking at the sidelines trying to get the play when the ball was being snapped most of the time. That was on the coaches. If Trey Amos was here Martin would be a good back up which is probably more suitable to his skill set.

Caleb Anderson and Tarik Miller both were hurt and they would have changed that game tremendously. Tyree Skipper and T-Lew both adequate replacements for Kam. Waites never played a snap here. Bailey and Johnson were a game changers, I'll give you that, but RB room is not a problem here. Amos was a huge loss.

[ManAboutTown]

From an in-game perspective, what's different today vs when Hudspeth was here and 25-30k were showing up?

-Electronic Tickets are the disaster we predicted
-Band has gotten worse than bad
-Zero excitement
-OOC Scheduling is worse
-Food options have gone straight to hell
-They've moved the students 10 times and often the student section is empty
-They've harassed greeks and student groups to the point that they don't want to be there
-Parking situation remains a joke
-They changed the reentry rule
-They totally destroyed our tailgating by trying to monetize it
-RV lot is virtually empty as opposed to having a waiting list during Hud

I could go on

[Cajunsmike]

From an in-game perspective, what's different today vs when Hudspeth was here and 25-30k were showing up?

When we were doing well under Hud, the team had four consecutive 9 and 4 records. This team is in danger of a second consecutive losing season. Oil field was booming then. It has improved since the slump of 15 and 16 along with the Covid drop. However those companies who had several corporate ticket programs dropped them and will never pick them up again. A high percentage in season ticket drops is related to the corporate programs. Not every game was as easily available back then as today. Length of games causes many people to watch at home or at establishments. Covid caused many people to find something else to do on game day and they found they don't have to go to games to enjoy life. They have not come back. Our students are more academically oriented and don't care as much about sports as in the past. Granted the administration has committed some missteps in trying to foster that relationship. Repairing that should be top priority. Inflation is also a factor as going to games is a luxury not a necessity. If you are watching pennies, you prioritize other things. Finally, people in the area have forgotten the university is the lifeblood of the area in a multitude of ways. They need to be reminded. The old support the Ragin Cajuns, it's good for business program needs to be resurrected. Beyond the student issue, this reminder of how important UL is to the area should also be given a high focus. Having said all that, I did not mean to indicate the situation is hopeless, far from it. It is simply challenging. There are some good things planned to address these concerns. Hopefully things improve.

[CajunVic]

When we were doing well under Hud, the team had four consecutive 9 and 4 records. This team is in danger of a second consecutive losing season. Oil field was booming then. It has improved since the slump of 15 and 16 along with the Covid drop. However those companies who had several corporate ticket programs dropped them and will never pick them up again. A high percentage in season ticket drops is related to the corporate programs. Not every game was as easily available back then as today. Length of games causes many people to watch at home or at establishments. Covid caused many people to find something else to do on game day and they found they don't have to go to games to enjoy life. They have not come back. Our students are more academically oriented and don't care as much about sports as in the past. Granted the administration has committed some missteps in trying to foster that relationship. Repairing that should be top priority. Inflation is also a factor as going to games is a luxury not a necessity. If you are watching pennies, you prioritize other things. Finally, people in the area have forgotten the university is the lifeblood of the area in a multitude of ways. They need to be reminded. The old support the Ragin Cajuns, it's good for business program needs to be resurrected. Beyond the student issue, this reminder of how important UL is to the area should also be given a high focus. Having said all that, I did not mean to indicate the situation is hopeless, far from it. It is simply challenging. There are some good things planned to address these concerns. Hopefully things improve.

. . . how refreshing . . .

[CajunJeaux]

-Electronic Tickets are the disaster we predicted
-Band has gotten worse than bad
-Food options have gone straight to hell
-They've moved the students 10 times and often the student section is empty
-They've harassed greeks and student groups to the point that they don't want to be there
-They changed the reentry rule
-They totally destroyed our tailgating by trying to monetize it

Fair points. Definitely think students / greeks & monetizing tailgate are huge issues.

-Zero excitement
-OOC Scheduling is worse
-Parking situation remains a joke
-RV lot is virtually empty as opposed to having a waiting list during Hud

IMO excitement is purely driven by play on the field. If we're going 3 & out 60% of the game, nothing will change excitement.

Scheduling? Again, i think that is more on-field issue, not necessarily game-day experience

Parking? That's always been cluster.

RV - I'm not sure about that as I've never experienced it. Have prices skyrocketed or modest increase?

[Turbine]

When we were doing well under Hud, the team had four consecutive 9 and 4 records. This team is in danger of a second consecutive losing season. Oil field was booming then. It has improved since the slump of 15 and 16 along with the Covid drop. However those companies who had several corporate ticket programs dropped them and will never pick them up again. A high percentage in season ticket drops is related to the corporate programs. Not every game was as easily available back then as today. Length of games causes many people to watch at home or at establishments. Covid caused many people to find something else to do on game day and they found they don't have to go to games to enjoy life. They have not come back. Our students are more academically oriented and don't care as much about sports as in the past. Granted the administration has committed some missteps in trying to foster that relationship. Repairing that should be top priority. Inflation is also a factor as going to games is a luxury not a necessity. If you are watching pennies, you prioritize other things. Finally, people in the area have forgotten the university is the lifeblood of the area in a multitude of ways. They need to be reminded. The old support the Ragin Cajuns, it's good for business program needs to be resurrected. Beyond the student issue, this reminder of how important UL is to the area should also be given a high focus. Having said all that, I did not mean to indicate the situation is hopeless, far from it. It is simply challenging. There are some good things planned to address these concerns. Hopefully things improve.

Good post.

In reading it one can see where there are opportunities worth addressing and where the ROI in time and effort would be minimal.