It will be now for anyone with championship aspirations.
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Not getting super optimistic vibes from this presser. Might just be tired though.
Summary takeaways:
- A bunch of guys have been hurt and are hurt, but hopefully a number will be back for the first game. But because of injuries our O-line still hasn’t played almost any consistent rotations.
- Coach is seemingly somewhat frustrated with players’ nutrition and recovery efforts off the field.
- Sound like Coach has kind of realized he’s not at Clemson anymore. He compared our RBs to Etienne and said we don’t have anybody who could hit a HR like Etienne could, and when asked about where the team his overall, his mind went to “Well, it’s not what I’ve seen the past seven or eight years.” (not exact quote)
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I got bad vibes from that also. It sort of painted a bleak picture of this year
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Specifically hated the Etienne comparison
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Yeah, he kinda needs to stop talking about Clemson.
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Vibes are not great that’s for sure. There’s an increasing chance we’re going to feel like idiots for pushing Bronco out
I will say, I do appreciate him setting expectations in the right place though. Bronco came in and promised a bowl game his first season and then didn’t deliver – one of his biggest mistakes IMO.
Other things I liked:
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Seems like he’s got a firm grasp of the roster’s strengths and weaknesses, which is a good sign for a new coach. And I was impressed at how well he seemed to understand where many of the players are at an individual level.
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Clearly a smart coach and good to hear his comments on red zone, special teams, and overall importance of “balance.” I think improving these things would be great for the program.
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“Starting to see the mentality showing up on the offensive line” – I’m not going to expect too much from the OL, but hopefully they aren’t as far behind as we might have thought.
Overall, still love his calm demeanor and humbleness, on top of the firm grasp on reality and ability to manage everyone’s expectations (which I think Bronco sometimes lacked).
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Anyone that takes off te O&B glasses and takes an objective look can see we’ve got a lot of ‘things’ to overcome to be much past a .500 team.
- The D - It’s essentially the same pieces in yet another new scheme (which they have to learn of course). I do think they will be improved, but how much is the question. Games are won in the trenches
- The OL - It is going to be a train wreck, plain and simple. I hope hope hope I’m wrong, but…we’ve got 1 dude who has played P5 snaps. They’ve yet to be able to have sustained practice with a starting 5 because so many guys are banged up. Games are won in the trenches
- BA - BA is great, awesome, our bright light, BUT they are likely gonna design an offense to mitigate to OL issues. Quick reads, ball out fast, etc. This involves things that are not really BA’s strength. He’s not a quick read, accurate throw guy. He’ll be fine, but I worry how the O will look the first few weeks.
- Coaching - This is not really a negative or positive. We have no idea what to expect from a first year HC once he gets into live game situations. Lots of ballsy calls or bonehead ML and Bronco game management stuff?
- Schedule - The one saving grace is how easy our schedule is. This will save us from being under .500 and give us a shot at a good season if all the above work out in our favor
- I’m just glad it’s almost go time, but I’m keeping a very realistic perspective of how things might play out
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Nah his ass needed to go regardless after the abomination of that last VT game
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Its depressing because it’s sobering truthful and realistic. I’ve said this is likely a 5 win team and a 7 win team if everything breaks right. TE is being real about the situation the backs aren’t homerun hitters the oline is thin and can’t get healthy those are facts.
I rather a coach keep it real and tell me we suck but hes working on it than try to gaslight me.
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Nobody pushed Bronco out. Bronco decided he didn’t want to coach anymore and I don’t know how many times people commented during last season that he looked like he didn’t want to be there.
Having to deal with Howell and his poor defensive coaching is part of the job. Bronco didn’t want to do what was obvious he needed to do.
I’ve been saying all along that we’re going to be disappointed in the results of this season. The OL is a disaster and our defensive talent is still below par overall. Add new schemes on both sides of the ball and you have a formula for a lot of mistakes and confusion. It would have been worse for other reasons if we had another year of the same staff.
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It’s going to be a tough year for Tony. There are a lot of expectations to win now given the QB, the schedule and what they (esp. the offense) were able to accomplish last year.
Selfishly, I wish he would keep the same scheme because “the personnel is the personnel” and this is definitely a winnable year. Start your scheme next year when the QB isn’t a darkhorse for Heisman. The media isn’t helping with the expectations.
Appreciate the candor from TE. Shit will ring hollow though if the future doesn’t look brighter by the end of Year 2. Long way to get there though.
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Silver lining with the defense is that it’s pretty much impossible for them to be worse. Sounds sarcastic but honestly don’t think we can go anywhere but up. Even if that means 90th best defense then it’s still better. I’m afraid OL will kill us and possibly knock Brennan out for multiple games. Had we brought back our experienced OL then I’d be on the 8 win train. As things stand, I’m thinking 5-6. Believe we’ll lose some early games because of poor OL play that we would’ve won if the good OL guys didn’t leave
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So we have to win to turn recruiting around but it doesn’t look like we’re gonna win and we’re looking at talent falling off a cliff… going right into realignment
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Just caught myself up on how unskilled and green the expected starters at offensive line look to be. Yep, nvm shit ain’t going to be good.
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Yup that Oline is sketch at best and now they can’t get healthy not good at all. Appreciate the idea of not shifting schemes for a year, but no way a coach is going to bank their livelihood on running someone else’s stuff unless you’re Barry Switzer or Dennis Erickson, basically anyone following Jimmy Johnson, but I digress.
The reality is, for as fun as last season was, that was a 7 win team that got there with some luck. Easily could have been a 5 win team if the wind shifts in Miami or UofL.
The way I look at it anytime the argument for a teams success begins with the schedule and the opponents and not with the personnel I get worries.
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Also Bronco quit on UVA. Yes I wanted him gone but make no mistake he walked out on the team and the university and did the program no favors on the way out. If that’s the guy people want back in charge have at it.
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So what does the future hold? With bronco we would probably swing between 5-8 wins a year. This upcoming season, where we may go .500 at best, looks like our best for the next half decade to a decade. Recruiting is a disaster. Doesn’t sound like we’re gonna win enough games to turn recruiting around. It’s an all around dumpster fire
If Kansas had a coach who did what bronco accomplished and then let him walk we would be talking about how much of a disaster it would be
In three years or so we will know if Tony E is a replacement level coach (Bronco, basically), a good coach, or a bad coach. If he’s replacement level, then great. Keep him around for a few more. If he stinks, then we have good odds of replacing him with another mediocre coach.
I feel like you looked at the cover and author acknowledgements of a mystery novel, and decided “the butler did it!”
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