Disregard post

[ericsaid]

i do think we would have taken the Heels down , not too sure about SC. Can we , yes. Will we......?

My personal belief is that we were going to go 10-2 this year if Satt returned. I thought we would beat UNC and lose to South Carolina with the only other loss coming against Troy. It will be interesting to see if Drink can improve upon that. I will be 100% thrilled if we somehow go 11-1 and sweep the SBC. Then win the SBC title game and a bowl game and finish ranked.

We could possibly go undefeated and depending on how others do have a shot at a NY5 bowl. Just going 13-0 won't get us in one unless we are the only undefeated G5 team.

UCF will be the pick if they go undefeated again but none of that matters if we don't beat ETSU in week one so I hope our focus as a team right now is 100% on beating ETSU. Take it one game at a time and we should be just fine.

What is your reasoning for us losing to Troy? South Carolina I cant argue at this point that we may take a loss to an SEC team. My reasoning is we were 10 points plus better than every team in the Sun Belt that we played this year, even The Gumroots even though we lost because of injury to our QB. With the majority of our starters returning, APP is going to field the best team in history as long as we stay healthy.

You have to remember that Brown is returning to Troy and that was a huge win for them. He has done a great job and had them playing very well against a pretty good Buffalo team in the bowl game. They will be hosting us in the middle of the week with revenge in mind. Same as we will for GSU in 2019. It would not shock me if we lost to Troy in a close one and beat GSU by about 20 points. I'm not picking us to be and I hope (and expect) us to win but I could see a loss because of those reasons.

As far as our team we do have the potential to be our best ever for sure and be a legit top 20 team in the entire country but we our staff and players still must take it one game at a time. Hopefully everyone learned the lesson in the GSU loss when we were ranked and got our butts beat. Nothing is given and we have to earn it. We had not earned that ranking during the year but I believe we truly can this year. I actually don't want to be ranked in the preseason but would like to see us very close with a win over UNC putting us in there. Regardless, we can't lose a single game or we will not be ranked unless the Gamecocks are a top 20 team and it is a very close loss. We have to sweep the SBC and win all non P5 OOC games just to have a shot to keep any ranking we may get early.

The Troy game this season wasn't chippy though. Was hard fought, but I didn't get the impression of a rivalry game.

[AppSt94]

Article about Coach Roof as DC at Minnesota in 2008. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.twinci ... -roof/amp/

The thing is, the defense needs to be sustained, not necessarily improved. While there is always room for improvement, at this point, the need is in nuance and not an overhaul.

It will be interesting to see which approach they take, but with all of the experience returning, I'd hope they try to maintain as much of the existing defense as possible.

Why are you so hell bent and convinced that the defense is going to be worse off? In fact, your comment could not be more wrong. We need to continuously improve and tweak or we will become stagnant, predictable and easier to gameplan for.

[GoBoone]

The google article gives me hope.

[AppStFan1]

i do think we would have taken the Heels down , not too sure about SC. Can we , yes. Will we......?

My personal belief is that we were going to go 10-2 this year if Satt returned. I thought we would beat UNC and lose to South Carolina with the only other loss coming against Troy. It will be interesting to see if Drink can improve upon that. I will be 100% thrilled if we somehow go 11-1 and sweep the SBC. Then win the SBC title game and a bowl game and finish ranked.

We could possibly go undefeated and depending on how others do have a shot at a NY5 bowl. Just going 13-0 won't get us in one unless we are the only undefeated G5 team.

UCF will be the pick if they go undefeated again but none of that matters if we don't beat ETSU in week one so I hope our focus as a team right now is 100% on beating ETSU. Take it one game at a time and we should be just fine.

What is your reasoning for us losing to Troy? South Carolina I cant argue at this point that we may take a loss to an SEC team. My reasoning is we were 10 points plus better than every team in the Sun Belt that we played this year, even The Gumroots even though we lost because of injury to our QB. With the majority of our starters returning, APP is going to field the best team in history as long as we stay healthy.

You have to remember that Brown is returning to Troy and that was a huge win for them. He has done a great job and had them playing very well against a pretty good Buffalo team in the bowl game. They will be hosting us in the middle of the week with revenge in mind. Same as we will for GSU in 2019. It would not shock me if we lost to Troy in a close one and beat GSU by about 20 points. I'm not picking us to be and I hope (and expect) us to win but I could see a loss because of those reasons.

As far as our team we do have the potential to be our best ever for sure and be a legit top 20 team in the entire country but we our staff and players still must take it one game at a time. Hopefully everyone learned the lesson in the GSU loss when we were ranked and got our butts beat. Nothing is given and we have to earn it. We had not earned that ranking during the year but I believe we truly can this year. I actually don't want to be ranked in the preseason but would like to see us very close with a win over UNC putting us in there. Regardless, we can't lose a single game or we will not be ranked unless the Gamecocks are a top 20 team and it is a very close loss. We have to sweep the SBC and win all non P5 OOC games just to have a shot to keep any ranking we may get early.

The Troy game this season wasn't chippy though. Was hard fought, but I didn't get the impression of a rivalry game.

GSU is the rival but no question that Troy will want payback. We have become their hurdle for playing in the SBC title game and App is now the Super Bowl of every team. We have become the media darling and are going to be the preseason favorite in all the magazines. They will see how everyone is overlooking them to be the champs as I'm sure everyone will pick us. I think the Troy game could be as tough for us as the South Carolina game will be. Troy has our respect but the Gamecocks will look at us as a lower tier team they need to put in their place.

Like I said before, we really must focus on ETSU right now. Need to make a statement against them. I still remember the year they came to Boone and beat us when we were ranked and heard them chant "overrated" constantly while jingling their keys to signify us warming up the bus. I don't ever want that feeling against them again. They are a former SoCon rival just an hour or so away.

Looking at their team there are some pretty good players. Looks like a 6'5 DE who we missed bad on on and a safety who had a fantastic year. They also return a pretty solid running back who won a lot of freshman awards as well. Another freshman likely to return that I expect them to use against us is Jacob Saylors and DB Jeremy Lewis looked like he was a good one. They finished 8-4 overall and were tied for first in the SoCon with a 6-2 league mark. We really need to make sure we don't overlook these guys because it is guaranteed they are doing nothing but prepping for us and plan to shock the world on August 31. If we lose that game then we can forget ever being ranked and we likely would lose 5-6 more games.

Don't say we can't lose to ETSU because Michigan said the same thing about a tiny FCS program that nobody expected to win.

[WASU 93]

While I don't believe in looking past ETSU......
Give our program and our team some credit. We're not going to forget how to move the ball and score. Our defense is not going to lose it's edge and our special teams players are in place.

The team that left the field in New Orleans is not going to lose 5-6 more games, if they slipped up against ETSU.

And I'm not sure in the 6'5" FCS DE would have found room to play in our line-up.

Anything can happen, but we are a solid Top 30 program with a ton of returning starters and impact players.

[AppStFan1]

While I don't believe in looking past ETSU......
Give our program and our team some credit. We're not going to forget how to move the ball and score. Our defense is not going to lose it's edge and our special teams players are in place.

The team that left the field in New Orleans is not going to lose 5-6 more games, if they slipped up against ETSU.

And I'm not sure in the 6'5" FCS DE would have found room to play in our line-up.

Anything can happen, but we are a solid Top 30 program with a ton of returning starters and impact players.

True but we are also an injury to ZT or complete arrogance away from losing 1-5 games. Need to really stay focused. Can and should our team go 13-0 or 12-1? Absolutely. Will we? We will need some luck and to show up 100% each and every week.

If you don't think there are players in FCS who could help our team or even help a lot of ACC or SEC teams then you need to watch around. Remember when we were FCS? You can't tell me Brian Quick, Corey Lynch, Dexter Jackson, Armanti Edwards, etc. couldn't have helped some P5 teams. There are some at that level too. I want to make sure we respect every opponent and give it out best. Hopefully we as fans show up consistently and don't take any game for granted. We could do something very special but every fan, player, coach, and support staff needs to put 100% effort in every opponent. I don't want to become arrogant or overlook teams because we are loaded. Do we have more NFL talent than ever before and more speed than any SBC team? Most definitely. However, our players need to focus and win. I believe in them and us as a fanbase but I also want to warn against arrogance. We got real arrogant after Michigan and lost to 2 teams who we had no business losing to that season during the regular season. I don't want that happening this year.

I'm just being very cautious and hoping to keep our heads level and prevent arrogance because I don't want to see a letdown. 2019 has a shot to be super special. You can't tell me there is a fan of ours who seeing a win over UNC or South Carolina and an undefeated season wouldn't be the best Christmas gift, birthday gift, or even lifetime gift ever but we truly better show up (players and fans) and make sure we have the best home-field advantage and also show up to road games and minimize their advantage the best we can.

[Yosef84]

Article about Coach Roof as DC at Minnesota in 2008. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.twinci ... -roof/amp/

The thing is, the defense needs to be sustained, not necessarily improved. While there is always room for improvement, at this point, the need is in nuance and not an overhaul.

It will be interesting to see which approach they take, but with all of the experience returning, I'd hope they try to maintain as much of the existing defense as possible.

DG said very clearly during the search for a head coach that we are not looking to change our overall scheme on either offense or defense. Coach Drink has clearly indicated we would be using the 3-4. I understand that folks like to analyze and think about things but we have already been told there isn't going to be an overhaul.

[ericsaid]

Article about Coach Roof as DC at Minnesota in 2008. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.twinci ... -roof/amp/

The thing is, the defense needs to be sustained, not necessarily improved. While there is always room for improvement, at this point, the need is in nuance and not an overhaul.

It will be interesting to see which approach they take, but with all of the experience returning, I'd hope they try to maintain as much of the existing defense as possible.

DG said very clearly during the search for a head coach that we are not looking to change our overall scheme on either offense or defense. Coach Drink has clearly indicated we would be using the 3-4. I understand that folks like to analyze and think about things but we have already been told there isn't going to be an overhaul.

Drink said both Multiple and 3-4. Multiple and 3-4 can be synonymous but are not always so. App could run a four man front with the larger DE's and NT on the line, most likely in pass rush situations. However, the base defense of a 3-4 on first and second downs I'd expect should remain the norm. In terms of recruiting, one has to wonder if the lack of stability will have any effect in landing guys. As per usual, you're going to have to sell App State and not necessarily the coaching staff because with success, and pending Satterfields success, App could become the next G5 that consistently is undergoing coaching changes.

The interesting part for fans will be the return of a traditional Spring Game by which we all can have some of the itch scratched to see what new developments are taking place.

[ericsaid]

Article about Coach Roof as DC at Minnesota in 2008. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.twinci ... -roof/amp/

The thing is, the defense needs to be sustained, not necessarily improved. While there is always room for improvement, at this point, the need is in nuance and not an overhaul.

It will be interesting to see which approach they take, but with all of the experience returning, I'd hope they try to maintain as much of the existing defense as possible.

Why are you so hell bent and convinced that the defense is going to be worse off? In fact, your comment could not be more wrong. We need to continuously improve and tweak or we will become stagnant, predictable and easier to gameplan for.

Roof's career is concerning. He has had a few good seasons but according to many here, since the proliferation of the spread, the performance of his defenses has fallen behind what they were in the era of more traditional pro style offenses. Predictability is a staple of the Cover 2 that has been Roof's base defense for quite some time. While he used a multiple front once in his career, 2008, he didn't stick around to continue running it at Minnesota a second year. He has left two places prior to being fired, Auburn in 2011 and Georgia Tech in 2017. Is it possible for an old dog to learn new tricks? Yes. In fact, as App showed in 2004, it is possible so long as there is buy in at the top. What will Roof's roll be? Will he be an administrator while Gasporato actually runs and calls the shots on Saturdays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays?

I'd prefer that his role be less involved in defensive design and he actually be there as a mentor of sorts to a young staff who has shown the ability to take App's defense to a height that not many fans thought that they would reach.

Also, while improvement is an innate part of life (if you're not moving forward, you're falling behind), the purpose of the comment on sustaining success of the defense doesn't suggest overall, overhaul, improvement. Defensive improvements at the stage of the cycle of the defense can be made through nuance adjustments (i.e., technique, play design, player fit, play calling).

[AppSt94]

Eric: your points are noted. As for enhancements and tweaks to the current defense, who better qualified to do that then a guy with 30 years of coaching experience? He has seen a lot and done a lot that could be implemented. I think a large part of his role here is as mentor. Seems like a steep price tag for such a position, but let’s see how the staff shakes out first.

[Gonzo]

Can we change the thread title please?

Between this, the Drink assistant thread, and Mo Mamba you'd have no idea that this is a fan base coming off a season with it's teams' best football team ever.

We signed a great recruiting class to add to a LOADED team that's third youngest in the FBS, ie not many holes to fill. No ratings system disagrees, and even if one did, those metrics have been verified as unreliable time and time again over the years. This is 100% hysterical nonsense and my only concern is the possibility of casual fans or god forbid recruit stumbles in to this forum and sees this bull shit.

[proasu89]

Can we change the thread title please?

Between this, the Drink assistant thread, and Mo Mamba you'd have no idea that this is a fan base coming off a season with it's teams' best football team ever.

We signed a great recruiting class to add to a LOADED team that's third youngest in the FBS, ie not many holes to fill. No ratings system disagrees, and even if one did, those metrics have been verified as unreliable time and time again over the years. This is 100% hysterical nonsense and my only concern is the possibility of casual fans or god forbid recruit stumbles in to this forum and sees this bull shit.

Amen! It’s like a hand full of posters decided it was time to throw out all of the worst possible scenarios in hopes that they come true JUST so they can say “See, I told you so”. However, it is good to know that we have so many defensive geniuses here to step in should Coach Drink need them.

[AppStFan1]

Can we change the thread title please?

Between this, the Drink assistant thread, and Mo Mamba you'd have no idea that this is a fan base coming off a season with it's teams' best football team ever.

We signed a great recruiting class to add to a LOADED team that's third youngest in the FBS, ie not many holes to fill. No ratings system disagrees, and even if one did, those metrics have been verified as unreliable time and time again over the years. This is 100% hysterical nonsense and my only concern is the possibility of casual fans or god forbid recruit stumbles in to this forum and sees this bull shit.

Some of the comments are funny because our 2014 class was the highest ranked we ever had but they have been the worst in terms of players panning out and production of any since that year. We seemed to get more and more talent as we go. Good coaches know that these stars mean nothing when we are talking about G5 and lower players. There are 3-star guys who go to FCS and never do anything and then a guy who was never listed by 247 or no stars will be a future 4th round pick from the FCS or D2 program.

It will be interesting to look back at this thread in 2022 or 2023 and see what people think about the 2019 class then.

[Rekdiver]

You fellas don’t think the coaches previous fan sites were all peaches and cream do you?

[AppStFan1]

You fellas don’t think the coaches previous fan sites were all peaches and cream do you?

No but people who are being negative about us for next year are most likely those who did not want Drink and had someone else in mind so they are just having a pity party. Did I have other names in mind? Yes. Was I surprised at Drink? For sure. But anyone who wants Drink to fail means they are pulling for us to fail. Coaches and players succeed in my mind when we graduate the players and win games. Anyone who does not want to win with Drink is not a true fan and should probably just go somewhere else. Until we have evidence that these coaches are messing up by us losing games we should not and seeing a mass exodus of players and decline of the program then we have no reason to talk so negative.

[NewApp]

Can we change the thread title please?

Between this, the Drink assistant thread, and Mo Mamba you'd have no idea that this is a fan base coming off a season with it's teams' best football team ever.

We signed a great recruiting class to add to a LOADED team that's third youngest in the FBS, ie not many holes to fill. No ratings system disagrees, and even if one did, those metrics have been verified as unreliable time and time again over the years. This is 100% hysterical nonsense and my only concern is the possibility of casual fans or god forbid recruit stumbles in to this forum and sees this bull shit.

Geez. This isn't the first time threads have been posted that would be detrimental to recruiting and casual fans, many of which you have commented on. Self righteous much?

[goapps93]

Can we change the thread title please?

Between this, the Drink assistant thread, and Mo Mamba you'd have no idea that this is a fan base coming off a season with it's teams' best football team ever.

We signed a great recruiting class to add to a LOADED team that's third youngest in the FBS, ie not many holes to fill. No ratings system disagrees, and even if one did, those metrics have been verified as unreliable time and time again over the years. This is 100% hysterical nonsense and my only concern is the possibility of casual fans or god forbid recruit stumbles in to this forum and sees this bull shit.

Geez. This isn't the first time threads have been posted that would be detrimental to recruiting and casual fans, many of which you have commented on. Self righteous much?

Pot, I'd like to introduce you to kettle.

[WASU 93]

While I don't believe in looking past ETSU......
Give our program and our team some credit. We're not going to forget how to move the ball and score. Our defense is not going to lose it's edge and our special teams players are in place.

The team that left the field in New Orleans is not going to lose 5-6 more games, if they slipped up against ETSU.

And I'm not sure in the 6'5" FCS DE would have found room to play in our line-up.

Anything can happen, but we are a solid Top 30 program with a ton of returning starters and impact players.

True but we are also an injury to ZT or complete arrogance away from losing 1-5 games. Need to really stay focused. Can and should our team go 13-0 or 12-1? Absolutely. Will we? We will need some luck and to show up 100% each and every week.

If you don't think there are players in FCS who could help our team or even help a lot of ACC or SEC teams then you need to watch around. Remember when we were FCS? You can't tell me Brian Quick, Corey Lynch, Dexter Jackson, Armanti Edwards, etc. couldn't have helped some P5 teams. There are some at that level too. I want to make sure we respect every opponent and give it out best. Hopefully we as fans show up consistently and don't take any game for granted. We could do something very special but every fan, player, coach, and support staff needs to put 100% effort in every opponent. I don't want to become arrogant or overlook teams because we are loaded. Do we have more NFL talent than ever before and more speed than any SBC team? Most definitely. However, our players need to focus and win. I believe in them and us as a fanbase but I also want to warn against arrogance. We got real arrogant after Michigan and lost to 2 teams who we had no business losing to that season during the regular season. I don't want that happening this year.

I'm just being very cautious and hoping to keep our heads level and prevent arrogance because I don't want to see a letdown. 2019 has a shot to be super special. You can't tell me there is a fan of ours who seeing a win over UNC or South Carolina and an undefeated season wouldn't be the best Christmas gift, birthday gift, or even lifetime gift ever but we truly better show up (players and fans) and make sure we have the best home-field advantage and also show up to road games and minimize their advantage the best we can.

1. There are certainly players in FCS, Division 2, etc. that can play. My point is saying we "totally missed" on a DE who is playing at ETSU is exaggeration.
2. We won games this year without ZT. He gives us our best shot to win, but we are a program, not a player.
3. We were beat up after the Michigan game. FCS teams have less depth and our starters (including Armanti) were not at full strength against Wofford. Plus, our defense was not that good at the beginning of the 2007 season (we had great players, but we were not cohesive as a unit.) We only held Gardner-Webb and Lenoir-Rhyne to less than 17 points and gave up more than 32 points in 7 games including the two losses. Our defense is far superior to 2007.

There's a difference in being conservative and being fearful. There is no reason with the program we have to be fearful. Again, we will enter 2019 as a Top 30 program, potentially being ranked in the Top 25.

Look how our players and our program responded on December 15th.

[Stonewall]

We beat CCU without him , who else?

[WASU 93]

We beat CCU without him , who else?

You are correct, I thought he sat for two.