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express long term opinions based on short term observations. So, I have been holding off for a while, preferring to reflect on a larger data sample. I thought about posting this last week, so please don't think that my following comments are based on the single, most recent win.
I am starting to believe in CGC as the right person to run our program. I base that comment on how he has handled himself during the losing streak and the tough times, combined with how hard the kids have played and stuck together despite it all. To be truthful, I wasn't really bought in during the off season hype. That stuff just doesn't resonate with me. Then our season began. You can tell so much more about athletes and coaches (and fans) when things aren't going well. EVERYBODY is great when things are going well. That cannot be said about the opposite. IMHO CGC is doing the only thing he can do under the circumstances, and that is teach kids how to compete in his system, as well as setting standards for effort and behavior etc etc. It is no small task to create an environment where kids that age stick together, despite some very humbling circumstances. Yet we have. Compare that to what you saw from MyHammy yesterday. Additionally, I believe our kids have played harder than our opponents in every FBS contest thus far, all the way to the final snap. We have been better than our opponents in the second half. I know big leads/deficits can affect that dynamic, but it hasn't affected us in the least bit. CGC has taken a lot of pages straight out of the USMC playbook (competition is king with rewards and consequences for every single training event) and I so appreciate that. There is zero doubt in my mind that that stuff works. I would bet the house that CGC has sat down at some point with a person in the Marines and discussed leadership training etc etc in an effort to build the correct culture for his CFB teams.
In no way shape of form do I think we are a good ACC football team at the moment. We are not. With that said, we are an amazing TEAM in a more general sense. If we can be a great TEAM in the current circumstances, imagine what we can become in better ones.
I also do not think that yesterday's game was a turning point. Certainly, it represents something to build on. It was a "gut check" and "fortunate" win where we simply found a way. We may go on to win more games, but I have no illusions in thinking they will be easy or pretty. Literally no result, in any week, moving forward, would surprise me, unless we were to quit on the field. That would surprise me.
Finally, I will say, I don't think we are THAT far off of having a very formidable presence in the ACC. To be truthful, Graham is starting to remind me of frosh Joe Hamilton. Most of the tools look similar, as are the type of mistakes that are being made. Fridge was Lil' Joe's mentor, and by mid-sophomore year, he had him dialed in to the point that he was one of the most feared QBs in the land. We are simply a year's experience (for most position groups, not just QB) and a couple of guys on the interior of each line away from being pretty darned good. I believe the culture has been established and the skill position talent is there to be further cultivated.
Thanks for listening (err, reading).
I am starting to believe in CGC as the right person to run our program. I base that comment on how he has handled himself during the losing streak and the tough times, combined with how hard the kids have played and stuck together despite it all. To be truthful, I wasn't really bought in during the off season hype. That stuff just doesn't resonate with me. Then our season began. You can tell so much more about athletes and coaches (and fans) when things aren't going well. EVERYBODY is great when things are going well. That cannot be said about the opposite. IMHO CGC is doing the only thing he can do under the circumstances, and that is teach kids how to compete in his system, as well as setting standards for effort and behavior etc etc. It is no small task to create an environment where kids that age stick together, despite some very humbling circumstances. Yet we have. Compare that to what you saw from MyHammy yesterday. Additionally, I believe our kids have played harder than our opponents in every FBS contest thus far, all the way to the final snap. We have been better than our opponents in the second half. I know big leads/deficits can affect that dynamic, but it hasn't affected us in the least bit. CGC has taken a lot of pages straight out of the USMC playbook (competition is king with rewards and consequences for every single training event) and I so appreciate that. There is zero doubt in my mind that that stuff works. I would bet the house that CGC has sat down at some point with a person in the Marines and discussed leadership training etc etc in an effort to build the correct culture for his CFB teams.
In no way shape of form do I think we are a good ACC football team at the moment. We are not. With that said, we are an amazing TEAM in a more general sense. If we can be a great TEAM in the current circumstances, imagine what we can become in better ones.
I also do not think that yesterday's game was a turning point. Certainly, it represents something to build on. It was a "gut check" and "fortunate" win where we simply found a way. We may go on to win more games, but I have no illusions in thinking they will be easy or pretty. Literally no result, in any week, moving forward, would surprise me, unless we were to quit on the field. That would surprise me.
Finally, I will say, I don't think we are THAT far off of having a very formidable presence in the ACC. To be truthful, Graham is starting to remind me of frosh Joe Hamilton. Most of the tools look similar, as are the type of mistakes that are being made. Fridge was Lil' Joe's mentor, and by mid-sophomore year, he had him dialed in to the point that he was one of the most feared QBs in the land. We are simply a year's experience (for most position groups, not just QB) and a couple of guys on the interior of each line away from being pretty darned good. I believe the culture has been established and the skill position talent is there to be further cultivated.
Thanks for listening (err, reading).
