New Season - SLC play

[TrackDemon]

There is no reason we can’t win at NSU. Facilities are just as good if not better than Nicholls and SLU. We have a better fan base than both. Yet despite the same shortcoming we face they are building winners while we are through the worse stretch in Demon history.

Absolutely unacceptable. The culture needs to be changed

[purplestorm]

We have some of the best facilities in FCS. Not the best, but we're in the top-half, for sure. That's not an argument at all. It's not Natchitoches, it's not the players in many cases. A few in some cases, sure. We're still putting athletes in the NFL and CFL, though. The issue is our leadership has accepted that the program is still successful even when we're losing. Look at all the cool and nice upgrades we've had in the past 10-15 years. Seriously impressive, yet the fans still show up and support the team. This is honorable if you live closer. Those of us who live hours away either no longer show up, no longer show up as often or are tired of the trek and what we get in return. It's really hard to get an alumni to this point, too, but many of us are there. So, this falls square in the lap of the man who has made us look so good as an athletic program. This man has done a TON for the university and we love and respect him, but it's time for him to set some timed goals and hard parameters for the program else we fall completely in the ditch and won't recover. We're already running off the road way, way too much. Heck, maybe we're already in the ditch. I mean, we're 0-4 and looked lost as we could be last night in the first-half. No disrespect to HBU as they whipped us. They fully deserved that win and we fully deserve the ire for looking the way we did. This is how the sport works. Also, we're not asking for much as fans. We just want a competitive, tough program that wins more than it loses. We're not saying we can never lose. Those crazy fans are in Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Columbus, Norman, Athens and Clemson on the weekends. That said, the fans and alumni deserve a better, more competitive football program to support. The university, team and coaches deserve better also. For the record, I want the current football staff to be very successful. I hope they stay for 20 years and do better than any coaching staff we've ever had, but they have to do better. They must do better or we need someone to come in from far outside of Louisiana who can get the job done. It's not personal. It's football.

[juice]

Sept 22, 2019 16:12:54 GMT purplestorm said:

We have some of the best facilities in FCS. Not the best, but we're in the top-half, for sure. That's not an argument at all. It's not Natchitoches, it's not the players in many cases. A few in some cases, sure. We're still putting athletes in the NFL and CFL, though. The issue is our leadership has accepted that the program is still successful even when we're losing. Look at all the cool and nice upgrades we've had in the past 10-15 years. Seriously impressive, yet the fans still show up and support the team. This is honorable if you live closer. Those of us who live hours away either no longer show up, no longer show up as often or are tired of the trek and what we get in return. It's really hard to get an alumni to this point, too, but many of us are there. So, this falls square in the lap of the man who has made us look so good as an athletic program. This man has done a TON for the university and we love and respect him, but it's time for him to set some timed goals and hard parameters for the program else we fall completely in the ditch and won't recover. We're already running off the road way, way too much. Heck, maybe we're already in the ditch. I mean, we're 0-4 and looked lost as we could be last night in the first-half. No disrespect to HBU as they whipped us. They fully deserved that win and we fully deserve the ire for looking the way we did. This is how the sport works. Also, we're not asking for much as fans. We just want a competitive, tough program that wins more than it loses. We're not saying we can never lose. Those crazy fans are in Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Columbus, Norman, Athens and Clemson on the weekends. That said, the fans and alumni deserve a better, more competitive football program to support. The university, team and coaches deserve better also. For the record, I want the current football staff to be very successful. I hope they stay for 20 years and do better than any coaching staff we've ever had, but they have to do better. They must do better or we need someone to come in from far outside of Louisiana who can get the job done. It's not personal. It's football.

[seat16demon]

As I stated earlier on a different thread, we won't win a game this year. I have always been somewhat reluctant to say this, but it's time for major change in the athletic department. I do like our current coaches, but I'm not sure what to make of where things are right now. This season is a wash, probably next year as well, but who knows, for only time will tell. On to baseball, this fall will probably be brutal again on the hardwood.

[purplestorm]

I think we'll win a game or two this year, but in the grand scheme of athletics and football at NSU, that won't matter other than to act as a temporary salve. It's really hard for me to believe that a coach and a staff from "somewhere" can't come in and change our direction in just a couple, three years. Look at Vic Shealy at HBU. He is 16-50 overall, but has his Huskies clicking right along this season. HBU has only been in FCS for a few years. No, they won't win conference this year and I doubt they make the playoffs, but he has increased the worth of the program. That team was much better than us Saturday night. A brand new football program smoked us like a Havana Cohiba. That said, NSU is NOT a brand new football program. We've been around for a long time and never in a million years should we have that kind of patience with a staff to be 16-50. This staff is already 5-10 with 8 games left this season. So, we'll be 7-15 after two years if we're lucky. We need to find coaches that can get us to 50-16 or 40-26. Nothing worse. I hope it's this staff, I really do, but if it's not, then we need to go find the coach and his staff that can get the job done. I don't care if he's Southern Anglo-Saxon, Rocky Mountain Samoan, East Coast African-American, Midwest Slavic or West Coast Hispanic or different variations of this mix. It matters not to me, but the product we're putting on the field is the worse I've ever seen at NSU sans the Peveto Promise year in 2009, which was the worst of ALL-TIME. All this said, I think we have to give Laird a third-year. This isn't even his team fully. So, we have to be patient and suffer through this year, such as suffering is watching football. Compared to real life, football doesn't mean jack shit. All I'm asking for Mr. Burke is to walk in with strong expectations -- timed goals and hard parameters -- at the end of the year and look Coach Laird and company in the eyes and ask them if they can get it done. If not, time to start anew with a staff who know how to get the job done. No more recycling of Louisiana coaches. Time to move on. Now, if Laird and company can get the job done, that's awesome and I look forward to seeing them succeed. I like him a lot. He's one of us. We need to be cheering him on, but he also needs to know this product he's putting on the field is just not remotely good enough. Sorry.

[NSU2003]

Sept 22, 2019 13:40:25 GMT purplestorm said:

NSU is D-I. I'm guessing you meant to FBS (I-A) from FCS (I-AA), but I see your point. I don't know if I buy this reasoning fully. To an extent, maybe, but Nicholls and SLU have had success in these so-called lean years you mentioned post-Stoker. Are Nicholls and SLU great programs? No, but they are winning more than they are losing. This is all a fan-base wants. Lean years are fine if you're building up to a good season or two. So, I can't really buy this excuse fully. Thibodaux, Hammond, Natchitoches ... I mean, all similar size towns. Facilities-wise, we are much farther along in football than either of those schools. The only advantage they have is they're closer to larger population centers -- Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

I know we're D1. I guess I wasn't very clear. The addition of teams into D1 (from D2...UCA, ACU, etc), the addition of teams who now have football (UIW, HBU, Lamar, SLU) and the teams that moved to FBS (Texas State, UTSA, etc). All of these are in our recruiting footprint. How much of a difference does it make? I have no idea but it does give you just another variable into our struggles the past 15 years.

[jneal318]

I think Laird needs to look at a blast from the past to inject some youth and new ideas into the coaching staff. One of my close personal friends was an elite safety for us when we won the Southland Conference Championship in 2004 and is currently coaching on the West Coast at the junior college level in California. I'll let you guys figure out who he is, but it shouldn't be hard if Stoker called him, "The smartest football player he's ever coached." This is not to knock on Lucas and we must now value the losses on the defense with Stephenson and Bourgeois, but the next man up mentality means you need to always be ready. Plus, this is a new defense that was installed this year. Are we coaching up the guys that come behind them or are these guys not the players the coaching staff thought they were coming out of high school? Maybe an infusion of youth on the coaching staff can help not only with recruiting, but development!

[Guest123]

You are correct. The kids signed out high school get very little development. If they are not one of the SELECTED starters the only work they get is warmups and a few drills. After that they stand around and watch. It seems like the some of the coaches don't want to spend the time and effort to teach them. I'm not sure if the reason is laziness or arrogance, but it's a progress stopper for sure. The coaches keep bringing in transfers and thrust them ahead of the signed players. They say it's because of their game experience. If the signed players aren't getting game or practice reps how can they get better. You may have NFL talent standing there and wouldn't know it. If they are lucky enough to get into games they get pulled out for mistakes, and are rarely given another chance. It's on to the next available transfer. That's great for experience and motivation. It's also great for recruiting when the word gets out. And beleive me it's OUT. Why would a player that has any other offers want to come here when they know that's how it's going to be? So much of the teams problems are the results of consistent poor coaching choices over several years. Some poor coaches, and poor decisions made by some coaches have put this program at the bottom of the conference where it will remain until things are done differently. I want to say that not all of the coaches here now and that have been here recently are guilty of this, but plenty are.

[Tex]

Sept 25, 2019 12:10:38 GMT Guest123 said:

You are correct. The kids signed out high school get very little development. If they are not one of the SELECTED starters the only work they get is warmups and a few drills. After that they stand around and watch. It seems like the some of the coaches don't want to spend the time and effort to teach them. I'm not sure if the reason is laziness or arrogance, but it's a progress stopper for sure. The coaches keep bringing in transfers and thrust them ahead of the signed players. They say it's because of their game experience. If the signed players aren't getting game or practice reps how can they get better. You may have NFL talent standing there and wouldn't know it. If they are lucky enough to get into games they get pulled out for mistakes, and are rarely given another chance. It's on to the next available transfer. That's great for experience and motivation. It's also great for recruiting when the word gets out. And beleive me it's OUT. Why would a player that has any other offers want to come here when they know that's how it's going to be? So much of the teams problems are the results of consistent poor coaching choices over several years. Some poor coaches, and poor decisions made by some coaches have put this program at the bottom of the conference where it will remain until things are done differently. I want to say that not all of the coaches here now and that have been here recently are guilty of this, but plenty are.

You sound like a disgruntled parent or player. I don't know of a program in the country, at any level, where backups get the same reps as starters. For one, there is a 20-hour practice rule and an NCAA mandated off day each week and there's no way every player on a roster can get the same number of reps unless there's a violation of NCAA rules. Coaches are human and make evaluation mistakes during recruiting, and may undervalue a player or two on their roster, but by-and-large, they get it right as to the best 22 to put on the field each week. If you or your son isn't one of the best 22, maybe there's a reason why, other than the coaching staff not knowing what they're doing or trying to screw you. Maybe the mistake was made on the front end recruiting them to begin with. That's the more likely answer. 

As for NFL talent: Trust me, if a player on this roster has NFL ability, they'll be on the field -- a lot. 

As for transfers: To quote former Colorado and present UC-Davis head coach, Dan Hawkins, "this is Division I football. It ain't intramurals." 

[Guest123]

Thanks Tex for making it personal. I find it humerous. You obviously don't know my son, and haven't talked to his coaches or team mates. He wouldn't be on here expressing an opinion. He works hard and keeps his mouth shut. You don't know anything about his time and experience at NSU. If I told everything it would give great insight into why we can't win games. I'm not going to do that. If my son doesn't get the development that he needs from the staff then it's up to him to put in the extra time and effort to get it. He must own that. I'm not against transfers. They just need to earn their spots like many do. I'm happy for you and your son, or whoever that hasn't had to deal with our NSU experience. I honestly hope that you don't. It's not all bad, but the short falls are plenty. Like I stated, I could give lots of examples, but won't. People say that the definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting different results. The same thing applies to losing. I hope we turn things around this weekend. I'll leave you with a quote by Vic Shealy the head coach of Houston Baptist since they just put a beating on us. "You're trying to out recruit the players you have on campus and then you're trying to develop your players on campus so they can't be out recruited."

[Tex]

Sept 26, 2019 15:42:09 GMT Guest123 said:

Thanks Tex for making it personal. I find it humerous. You obviously don't know my son, and haven't talked to his coaches or team mates. He wouldn't be on here expressing an opinion. He works hard and keeps his mouth shut. You don't know anything about his time and experience at NSU. If I told everything it would give great insight into why we can't win games. I'm not going to do that. If my son doesn't get the development that he needs from the staff then it's up to him to put in the extra time and effort to get it. He must own that. I'm not against transfers. They just need to earn their spots like many do. I'm happy for you and your son, or whoever that hasn't had to deal with our NSU experience. I honestly hope that you don't. It's not all bad, but the short falls are plenty. Like I stated, I could give lots of examples, but won't. People say that the definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting different results. The same thing applies to losing. I hope we turn things around this weekend. I'll leave you with a quote by Vic Shealy the head coach of Houston Baptist since they just put a beating on us. "You're trying to out recruit the players you have on campus and then you're trying to develop your players on campus so they can't be out recruited."

Had a hunch I was right. 

[Guest123]

Tex, about you being right. I'm disgruntled because we are losing, not because my son is not starting. He has and still does. I'm proud of him for overcoming the B.S. that he has had to fight through to be a starter. I'm just sick and tired of losing, and feel horrible for the players that work hard every day. They deserve some success. I hope it begins Saturday evening.