The same staff that won 20 games 2022-23

[Afurmanfan]

Is coaching today. Believe it or not, not one coach threw a pic or fumbled today. And you take what a team gives you. Some secondaries take away the middle of the field and the openings are outside, sometimes otherwise. To think our coaches forgot about their tight ends is silly. It is a game of match-ups. When linebackers are covering TEs, we use them a lot, when better cover safeties do, you don’t. UTC went max protect on their passing plays, and i would too with the decimated secondary we have since we lost 3 of the 4 expected starters.
I am not a coach and none of my family is so i have no personal agenda here. Clay will tell you they are not perfect either, but i would not trade our staff with anyone in our conference.
We lost a player without whom we would have probably lost 2-3 more games last year. We now have 31 freshmen of 66 on travel squad, thanks to a bunch of seniors who voluntarily came back in 2023 because they wanted to win it all. That created what we have today roster wise with all the red shirt and true freshman playing.
Am a staunch supporter of our team and staff and constantly taking shots at our staff reveals much more about the poster (i would not use the word fan) than it does our staff.
Go Paladins.

[gofurman]

Is coaching today. Believe it or not, not one coach threw a pic or fumbled today. And you take what a team gives you. Some secondaries take away the middle of the field and the openings are outside, sometimes otherwise. To think our coaches forgot about their tight ends is silly. It is a game of match-ups. When linebackers are covering TEs, we use them a lot, when better cover safeties do, you don’t. UTC went max protect on their passing plays, and i would too with the decimated secondary we have since we lost 3 of the 4 expected starters.
I am not a coach and none of my family is so i have no personal agenda here. Clay will tell you they are not perfect either, but i would not trade our staff with anyone in our conference.
We lost a player without whom we would have probably lost 2-3 more games last year. We now have 31 freshmen of 66 on travel squad, thanks to a bunch of seniors who voluntarily came back in 2023 because they wanted to win it all. That created what we have today roster wise with all the red shirt and true freshman playing.
Am a staunch supporter of our team and staff and constantly taking shots at our staff reveals much more about the poster (i would not use the word fan) than it does our staff.
Go Paladins.

Completely agree on the max protect. We probably see that more going forward. Smart coaching by UTC… let’s force Furman DBs to cover for 5 seconds. It’s just smart by our opponents. I do wonder if we see this more in upcoming games

Also huge support for our coaches it’s just frustrating - especially for me as I HATE injuris …. Man that’s been brutal this year … BRUTAL

[Jasper]

Is coaching today. Believe it or not, not one coach threw a pic or fumbled today. And you take what a team gives you. Some secondaries take away the middle of the field and the openings are outside, sometimes otherwise. To think our coaches forgot about their tight ends is silly. It is a game of match-ups. When linebackers are covering TEs, we use them a lot, when better cover safeties do, you don’t. UTC went max protect on their passing plays, and i would too with the decimated secondary we have since we lost 3 of the 4 expected starters.
I am not a coach and none of my family is so i have no personal agenda here. Clay will tell you they are not perfect either, but i would not trade our staff with anyone in our conference.
We lost a player without whom we would have probably lost 2-3 more games last year. We now have 31 freshmen of 66 on travel squad, thanks to a bunch of seniors who voluntarily came back in 2023 because they wanted to win it all. That created what we have today roster wise with all the red shirt and true freshman playing.
Am a staunch supporter of our team and staff and constantly taking shots at our staff reveals much more about the poster (i would not use the word fan) than it does our staff.
Go Paladins.

Excellent and well thought out post. The posters blaming the coaching staff for this poor performance know nothing about the game. They are simply disappointed fans who are striking out at whoever. It should be ignored as just some noise. It was obvious to me that this would be a down year from the gitgo - if only due to the loss of 41 seasoned players. It has gone worse since “Murphey’s Law” came into play with the further loss of 14 players to injury, etc who were counted on as key replacements. The coaching staff is left with a bunch of kids whose last action was in high school playing against college teams with scores of experienced transfers and returnees. What the hell id Coach supposed to do when the back he leaves in to protect the QB whiffs on his block? Or when the prime receiver is blocking instead of trying to catch the ball or a passer who throws the ball to a double covered receiver? They have simplified the play book to the bare bones and still that is happening. Can you imagine the frustration they are feeling? The good news is that what doesn’t kill you eventually helps you. These freshman and sophomores are going to get their asses kicked for a few more games and then a light bulb will hopefully come on just in time to beat the snot out of Wofford. The coaches won’t suddenly get smarter The kids that survive will get better. Blaming the proven coaching staff for what is going on is just plain stupid.

[gofurman]

Is coaching today. Believe it or not, not one coach threw a pic or fumbled today. And you take what a team gives you. Some secondaries take away the middle of the field and the openings are outside, sometimes otherwise. To think our coaches forgot about their tight ends is silly. It is a game of match-ups. When linebackers are covering TEs, we use them a lot, when better cover safeties do, you don’t. UTC went max protect on their passing plays, and i would too with the decimated secondary we have since we lost 3 of the 4 expected starters.
I am not a coach and none of my family is so i have no personal agenda here. Clay will tell you they are not perfect either, but i would not trade our staff with anyone in our conference.
We lost a player without whom we would have probably lost 2-3 more games last year. We now have 31 freshmen of 66 on travel squad, thanks to a bunch of seniors who voluntarily came back in 2023 because they wanted to win it all. That created what we have today roster wise with all the red shirt and true freshman playing.
Am a staunch supporter of our team and staff and constantly taking shots at our staff reveals much more about the poster (i would not use the word fan) than it does our staff.
Go Paladins.

Excellent and well thought out post. The posters blaming the coaching staff for this poor performance know nothing about the game. They are simply disappointed fans who are striking out at whoever. It should be ignored as just some noise. It was obvious to me that this would be a down year from the gitgo - if only due to the loss of 41 seasoned players. It has gone worse since “Murphey’s Law” came into play with the further loss of 14 players to injury, etc who were counted on as key replacements. The coaching staff is left with a bunch of kids whose last action was in high school playing against college teams with scores of experienced transfers and returnees. What the hell id Coach supposed to do when the back he leaves in to protect the QB whiffs on his block? Or when the prime receiver is blocking instead of trying to catch the ball or a passer who throws the ball to a double covered receiver? They have simplified the play book to the bare bones and still that is happening. Can you imagine the frustration they are feeling? The good news is that what doesn’t kill you eventually helps you. These freshman and sophomores are going to get their asses kicked for a few more games and then a light bulb will hopefully come on just in time to beat the snot out of Wofford. The coaches won’t suddenly get smarter The kids that survive will get better. Blaming the proven coaching staff for what is going on is just plain stupid.

Jasper Agree !! . That’s why the thread of “how many games do we win this year” was shocking to me.

As more and more posted “we win 9 or 10 games”. I’m thinking either these guys don’tunderstand football or haven’t looked at our roster.

Any realist woulda put us at winning 5/6 games this year. I’m too much of an optimist. I got sucked in and said we win 8 games. Stupid.

Injuries were not a known data point. But EVEN CCH SAID WE ARE TOO YOUTHFUL this year in an early presser. . I guess our fans don’t trust our coach. That’s clear coachspeak for “it’s gonna be a struggle and up and down year”

Hope we beat VMI and Wofford - if I could take two those would be them. Dont hate VMI but it would be embarrassing to be their only Socon win. I HATE WOFF and we owe them.!!!

I do say again - that with some players going down it doesn’t really help us for next year. If a senior goes down the next man up helps because he’s probably the starter next year. If a sophomore starter goes down and a freshman fills in.. it helps some but not too much as now the sophomore comes back and maybe starts next year and so he just lost valuable experience. Oh well. Let’s improve

Anyway, I really hope we don’t have more injuries and beat Wofford.

[FUwolfpacker]

As more and more posted “we win 9 or 10 games”. I’m thinking either these guys don’t understand football or haven’t looked at our roster.

You’ve brought this up a few times now, and my question would be why does it matter? The only people this matters to are the ones “keeping score” on who’s right or wrong. (I’m not talking about anything related to gambling. Strictly speaking about what people posted on this board).

This is partly why I hate those types of threads. It’s a fine talking point for the off season as long as it stays there. No one wants to be constantly reminded that they were wrong about being hopeful about their team during a bad season. The people who are more pessimistic always come out on top in these things. If they’re right, they can bring it up all year. If they’re wrong, then why do they care? Their team is doing well! (Not talking about you specifically here GF, more of an observation from 20+ years on Furman and NC State message boards)

You say those predicting those scores either don’t understand football or don’t know our roster. Both of those might be true, but I don’t think you’re being entirely fair. You are only looking at it like a realist would. That’s fine, but you aren’t posting on a national football site or gambling site, you’re posting on a Furman message board. Most of us here care more about Furman sports than the average Furman fan. You’re going to have to excuse people who want to be “fanatical” when it comes to the team they love. Those people are never going to look at it as a realist would, and that’s ok. That doesn’t mean they didn’t understand the issues we faced coming into the year. Some people just choose to hope whatever the issue is won’t be as bad as they think because they would rather be hopeful about what’s to come.

I didn’t predict anything, so I have no hidden agenda here BTW.

[gofurman]

As more and more posted “we win 9 or 10 games”. I’m thinking either these guys don’t understand football or haven’t looked at our roster.

You’ve brought this up a few times now, and my question would be why does it matter? The only people this matters to are the ones “keeping score” on who’s right or wrong. (I’m not talking about anything related to gambling. Strictly speaking about what people posted on this board).

This is partly why I hate those types of threads. It’s a fine talking point for the off season as long as it stays there. No one wants to be constantly reminded that they were wrong about being hopeful about their team during a bad season. The people who are more pessimistic always come out on top in these things. If they’re right, they can bring it up all year. If they’re wrong, then why do they care? Their team is doing well! (Not talking about you specifically here GF, more of an observation from 20+ years on Furman and NC State message boards)

You say those predicting those scores either don’t understand football or don’t know our roster. Both of those might be true, but I don’t think you’re being entirely fair. You are only looking at it like a realist would. That’s fine, but you aren’t posting on a national football site or gambling site, you’re posting on a Furman message board. Most of us here care more about Furman sports than the average Furman fan. You’re going to have to excuse people who want to be “fanatical” when it comes to the team they love. Those people are never going to look at it as a realist would, and that’s ok. That doesn’t mean they didn’t understand the issues we faced coming into the year. Some people just choose to hope whatever the issue is won’t be as bad as they think because they would rather be hopeful about what’s to come.

I didn’t predict anything, so I have no hidden agenda here BTW.

FUWolfpacker. First THANK YOU for your kind and well-thought-out post.

Unlike some, you don’t attack anyone personally. You just mention an IDEA.

You have some very good points! I am indeed a complete realist and so it’s hard for me to understand the other side sometimes. No harm meant. . I do look at - as you say - National and Gambling sites where they post over /unders on total games to Win this season for each team…. Which is very interesting to me even if just for entertainment sometimes

As a realist just hard for me to understand different view points

I do still think the later thread of “now that we are X games in how many do you think we win” is interesting. Because that’s a little different. You know how many we have won. Have seen the team. So the guess almost has to be a realist guess at that point. And, as you said these are very common threads on other sports boards. I see them on ACC boards with very realistic answers by most. State. Duke. UNC. Etc. Most guesses are pretty realistic. And those are FANS too. Huge fans. But somehow the bigger school boards are generally more realistic. Not sure why?? Like Duke guys are guessing 6-6 at the start of the year. Much more realistic. Our Furman board is exceptionally optimistic. Even more than Clemson USC etc. I see 9/10 wins posted on Clemson for a superb team in a weak ACC.

But maybe I just need to TRY to remember what you are saying here.

Again, thank you !!! I DO APPRECIATE how you don’t attack me or others. You just talk about the “idea” or post

[FUTex]

There's only one coach out there better than CCH, and that's Coach Rick Vice of Pulham State. So no, the issue isn't coaching.

And the issue isn't, at least at its core, the players. They're good, yet I hasten to add they could do with a few more months of seasoning. We've just got a lot of young guys on the squad. That just means there are constraints this year, but next year we'll have a lot of returners.

The problem is the fans. We're not focusing our mindwaves properly. You see, the spirit world surrounds us all, especially in Paladin Stadium.

This next game is key. A battle against Western is a war against evil. Those sumbitches got Cherokee Little People. They must be stopped. I'm coming to the game with Mrs. Tex, and we will be doing our part to rebuke those foul Catamounts back to their dark mountain forest where they belong.

[FUATT]

Good post. Can’t add much to that.

We lost a lot of talent off last years team. But the additional injuries have turned this from a “remodel the kitchen and bath year” to a “strip it down the studs and rebuild” year.

The experiences and the adversity of this year are going to teach these players and coaches lifelong lessons. These are painful trials but God allows things in our lives and it’s our choice to fly or fight. I think this teams and staff will fight and learn and build.

Our job is be supportive. We can be reasonably critical. No one is above question. But I’ve seen a lot of college football in my 57 years and the combination of circumstances inflicted on this team are truly extraordinary and I have a hard time recalling more than a handful of teams having a season with this many injuries and unforeseen calamities visited upon them.

Some people say that’s an excuse. I say it’s a hard reality you cannot ignore.

This group has something special in them. We just need to be supportive and patient and let it unfold. The experience these young players are getting is painful but valuable.

Go Dins!

[FUBeAR]

in my 57 years

FUBeAR’s suspicions are confirmed. FUATT has a split personality.

[The Jackal]

I think it's sort of an "all of the above" problem right now.

First, Injuries happen. Guys missing games happen. It happens to everyone. The next men up, however, still have to play and execute. That doesn't mean, though, that it's easy to play in a tough conference without a lot of guys you were counting on.

Hendrix said they went harder in the preseason in terms of contact and tackling than they did last year. He commented that this group needed those physical reps last year's group didn't. Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe they've sustained some practice-related injuries they could have otherwise avoided. Maybe they change their thinking on that next season.

On the field, the execution is just bad. It does, however, appear that we are trying to make adjustments.

For instance, we saw a lot more Gavin Hall Saturday. We also saw Hedden carry the ball on a few more keepers. We appeared to be using Myion Hicks as more of a north/south power scheme runner than an east/west zone runner. That all seemed positive.

At the same time, we just look confused out there at times. We're forcing the ball in bad spots. We're throwing to guys that don't have the right play. Hedden threw an interception Saturday on a play to Hester, who was blocking. I'd chalk that up to youth and inexperience between two true freshman except that the exact same thing happened last week, only the Citadel didn't pick off the pass.

It could be that our coaches are just asking too much of our young players. At times Saturday we had a freshman center, freshman QB, freshman WR, freshman TE, and freshman RB. We probably just have to dial down the playbook and do the basic stuff well before attempting more complicated stuff we are just not executing.

There is obviously talent. You can see that in the game. What isn't there is execution. Some of that is on the players. Some of that is on the coaches.

On a positive note, we'll return virtually everyone next year. This team will continue to get better with more repetition. We've got depth at every position. We just gotta get these guys comfortable executing out there.

[FUATT]

in my 57 years

FUBeAR’s suspicions are confirmed. FUATT has a split personality.

I’m a little nuts, and so am I.

[gofurman]

in my 57 years

FUBeAR’s suspicions are confirmed. FUATT has a split personality.

I’m a little nuts, and so am I.

Us too

[gofurman]

I think it's sort of an "all of the above" problem right now.

First, Injuries happen. Guys missing games happen. It happens to everyone. The next men up, however, still have to play and execute. That doesn't mean, though, that it's easy to play in a tough conference without a lot of guys you were counting on.

Hendrix said they went harder in the preseason in terms of contact and tackling than they did last year. He commented that this group needed those physical reps last year's group didn't. Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe they've sustained some practice-related injuries they could have otherwise avoided. Maybe they change their thinking on that next season.

On the field, the execution is just bad. It does, however, appear that we are trying to make adjustments.

For instance, we saw a lot more Gavin Hall Saturday. We also saw Hedden carry the ball on a few more keepers. We appeared to be using Myion Hicks as more of a north/south power scheme runner than an east/west zone runner. That all seemed positive.

At the same time, we just look confused out there at times. We're forcing the ball in bad spots. We're throwing to guys that don't have the right play. Hedden threw an interception Saturday on a play to Hester, who was blocking. I'd chalk that up to youth and inexperience between two true freshman except that the exact same thing happened last week, only the Citadel didn't pick off the pass.

It could be that our coaches are just asking too much of our young players. At times Saturday we had a freshman center, freshman QB, freshman WR, freshman TE, and freshman RB. We probably just have to dial down the playbook and do the basic stuff well before attempting more complicated stuff we are just not executing.

There is obviously talent. You can see that in the game. What isn't there is execution. Some of that is on the players. Some of that is on the coaches.

On a positive note, we'll return virtually everyone next year. This team will continue to get better with more repetition. We've got depth at every position. We just gotta get these guys comfortable executing out there.

Yeah, despite Hedden not being the most fleet of foot I think you have to make the other team at least respect the fact he might pull the ball and run it. Otherwise, the opposing D just has too many guys gang tackle the RB. Especially as our OL is struggling to run block !! I didn't see Heddens runs (got the internet feed in the late 2nd quarter when we fumbled) but have been thinking that's something we need to do. It is one more thing the D has to account for.. just run the QB say 5 times?

And now I don't have internet again.. first world problems

[Davemeister]

7This next game is key. A battle against Western is a war against evil. Those sumbitches got Cherokee Little People. They must be stopped. I'm coming to the game with Mrs. Tex, and we will be doing our part to rebuke those foul Catamounts back to their dark mountain forest where they belong.

If WCU wins they will tear our goalposts down. Again.

[FUATT]

I think it's sort of an "all of the above" problem right now.

First, Injuries happen. Guys missing games happen. It happens to everyone. The next men up, however, still have to play and execute. That doesn't mean, though, that it's easy to play in a tough conference without a lot of guys you were counting on.

Hendrix said they went harder in the preseason in terms of contact and tackling than they did last year. He commented that this group needed those physical reps last year's group didn't. Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe they've sustained some practice-related injuries they could have otherwise avoided. Maybe they change their thinking on that next season.

On the field, the execution is just bad. It does, however, appear that we are trying to make adjustments.

For instance, we saw a lot more Gavin Hall Saturday. We also saw Hedden carry the ball on a few more keepers. We appeared to be using Myion Hicks as more of a north/south power scheme runner than an east/west zone runner. That all seemed positive.

At the same time, we just look confused out there at times. We're forcing the ball in bad spots. We're throwing to guys that don't have the right play. Hedden threw an interception Saturday on a play to Hester, who was blocking. I'd chalk that up to youth and inexperience between two true freshman except that the exact same thing happened last week, only the Citadel didn't pick off the pass.

It could be that our coaches are just asking too much of our young players. At times Saturday we had a freshman center, freshman QB, freshman WR, freshman TE, and freshman RB. We probably just have to dial down the playbook and do the basic stuff well before attempting more complicated stuff we are just not executing.

There is obviously talent. You can see that in the game. What isn't there is execution. Some of that is on the players. Some of that is on the coaches.

On a positive note, we'll return virtually everyone next year. This team will continue to get better with more repetition. We've got depth at every position. We just gotta get these guys comfortable executing out there.

This is the posts here are all sober and smart. Good observation on the Hester plays and the preseason injuries, for instance. This is what happens when you have two guys who were not the 1's for a lot of Summer and did not consistently get starter level reps getting thrown into conference play. I'm sure the coaches would be the first to say they have to coach them better too. Maybe they have and its experience. We just don't know.

I think the Western game will tell us where we are headed rest of the season.