The Book: 2007 Football

[Sonsissymia]

_

Some more great things are getting ready to happen for UL Athletics so lets not thwarf the great efforts of many others, lets be more positive than "Crapbelt" statements!!

Thanks,
DaddyCajun _

i hate it when people thwarf my great efforts--and it's happening more all the time!! they can go thrwarf themselves, for all i care.

[WriterKnight]

Cajun fans,

For those making the trip to Orlando this weekend, I hope your journey is safe and that you enjoy your stay!

Now, for those who have an encyclopedic knowledge of Cajun football, tell us a little about your team.

I must confess I know little about your team othen than the record and that they seem to put up a ton of yards. Also, there seems to be a debate over whether it is more "proper" or "preferred" to refer to your school as the University of Louisiana or University of Louisiana-Lafayette... a little help so we don't insult your fans out of ignorance would be appreciated!

Who is fun to watch on your team? Who are your biggest playmakers?

How is the team performing vs. expectations? Is this a rebuilding year or do you have new coaches or a lot of young players?

Where did you expect the Cajuns would finish in the Sun Belt Conference before the season began and has that expectation changed at all based on the start of the season?

I'm expecting your team will come in here hungry and eager to win, and I hope our team will be as focused as they were for the conference opener last week... but I'm not taking anything for granted.

Thanks for any info you can give us on your team, and welcome to Florida.

GO KNIGHTS!

[DaddyCajun]

I agree, we need to get the ball to the tight ends more but on varying downs.

Receivers must do a better job of running routes(not behind D-backs on timing routes) and going to and catching the ball.

The Fullback should be used to soften up the line and linebackers and not just on the goal line. Get some of the linebackers keying on the fullback and not on Wallace and Fenroy.

DaddyCajun

[ShowDog]

_ Seems like you prove a point, there is a difference between staking a claim and part of the culture. I would bet there are French claims all over Louisiana, heck the whole world identifies Louisiana as French. It's just that only in Acadiana and over to Houma are French and Cajun ways part of the culture. _

I just figured once you were north of Ville Platte, we were out of cajun territory. LOL

_ Sorry, but I married a girl from Sorrento, so I am familiar with those areas. And they are not Baton Rouge. And Baton Rouge is not Cajun, no matter how many coonasses or Cajun live "near" or even in it. And until recently, when loads of them started moving out of Baton Rouge to areas like Prarieville, the people IN Baton Rouge looked down on the areas you listed as well (some probably still do I would guess).

I have no doubt that the "geaux" spelling was adopted by cajun fans of the Tigers, of which there are legion. That, however, also does not make Baton Rouge a cajun city.

And I figure we can squabble over any non issue we like and it wouldn't affect how many games we win or lose in the least. Unless some of the squabblers are coaches or players in which case they should be run off the team for thinking the answers lie on this board. _

There are plenty of cajuns in BR I've come to find out. I'm from Lafayette and I could say the influx of Texans with us being the oil center has cut into our cajun-ness, but not really.

By the way was through Sorrento on my motorcycle last Sat.

[Sonsissymia]

_ I agree with you that Lafayette has it over most places I've been. _

i've been gone from b.r. and in laf. for over 25 years. laf. is a great place to live, and, based on my regular visits back, b.r. ain't what it was when i left.

bit i do wonder if the vitriol seen here toward our capital city would be shared in the other 'major' louisiana cities. i think not; it all gets back to the ull hating lsu thing--got so much hate need to hate the city it's in as well.

[CajunFun]

Awwwwwwwww, come on. You know it's much more relevant to talk Swamps, Geaux, and my city is better than your city rather than football at this time of year.

Ouch. There you burned us.

In some places, people actually think education is about learning, about intellectual activities, about innovation, about culture, about originality.

But once again, State has revealed the error of our ways. Education ain't about learning.

It's about FOOTBALL!

[Damon]

Haven't we (fans) been saying this since the South Carolina game? Hopefully this isn't a "too little too late" situation.

[DaddyCajun]

_ Ouch. There you burned us.

In some places, people actually think education is about learning, about intellectual activities, about innovation, about culture, about originality.

But once again, State has revealed the error of our ways. Education ain't about learning.

It's about FOOTBALL! _

Ouch!

DaddyCajun

[Cajun Power]

Computer Science? UL was one of the very earliest pioneers, with one of the earliest graduate programs in the world. State rapidly duplicated it; their super-computing and grid computing programs are designed specifically to outflank UL in computer science.

And didn't they break their own law in doing so? The law that prohibited duplicate PhD programs within the state, so as to protect LSU's programs.

I lived in BR for two years and I can honestly say that my beef with that city is not LSU. It's the complete lack of creativity and the fake culture. I saw a commercial for Baton Rouge tourism on television and it touted the city as a center for Zydeco music. Zydeco music! Also, the press out of Baton Rouge after Katrina was almost celebratory of their temporary status as largest city in Louisiana.

[Damon]

Man... good set of questions, most will illicit an answer mumbled through grinding teeth.

We prefer to be called Louisiana or University of Louisiana, dropping the Lafayette part. The proper way includes the Lafayette, but I think we need to "earn" dropping that moniker by having an outstanding educational institution and winning athletics.

Fun to watch on offense is our QB, #6 Desormeaux. He's similar to Grothe at USF. If he's able to play (ankle), #32 Fenroy is another star player to watch on offense. In my estimation, we're lacking stars on defense. We gain alot of yards, but we always seem to give up more points... hmm.

Our performance has been well below expectations. Most of the conflict has been on the defensive side of the ball where we can never seem to get teams off of the field on 3rd down. There's also frustration on offense with bland or predictable plays. It's like the Saints from the late 80's/early 90's: run, run, pass, punt.

I expected them to be 2nd or 3rd in the conference, maybe competing for an at large bowl bid. Now, I'm hoping we can avoid being last in the division by winning 3-4 games.

Our head coach remains the same, but he axed several assistants at the end of the 2006 season. So far, it's business as usual and there is no difference from last year's team. Except, of course, we beat a few teams we should not have and won some games we should have. At this point last year, our spirits were high having beat a very good Houston team and whopping 1AA NC A&T and Ohio. So far this year, we've had two "moral" victories (lol...), lost to --check that, blown out by-- 1AA McNeese St, and lost our home conference opener to Troy St.

[VObserver]

Where to begin? The Cajuns have not been at all effecive on the defen sive side of the ball. Essentially we have stopped nobody. YOur coaching staff's big decision will be whether they want to score with the run or score with the pass.

Offensively, we put up lots of rushing yards with just enough passing to make it interesting. Tyrell Fenroy [#32], our outstanding tailback, will likely not play this week due to injury, but his backup [Deon Wallace #31] is quite capable of replacing him. Our QB, Mike Desormeaux [#6] is without question the best option QB in the country, and an adequate passer. Thus far this year, we have had over 250 yards rushing in all but one of our games. Also watch for Jason Chery [#5] and Derrick Smith [#18], both as receivers and running the reverse, or as pitch man on the option.

[CharlieK]

Don't listen to them. Our defense is reminiscent of the Steel Curtain squads of the 70's. You guys will be lucky to pick up a first down. When we are on offense, I'd drop back into nickel coverage on most plays, and watch out for the pass to the tight end, it's our favorite. When we have to run our QB can sometimes stumble for a yard or two, but he runs like Sid Bream.