SB Nation - Max Suter

If You Value Your Health, Do Not Associate With Syracuse Football

Sean Keeley — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:36:05 -0000

Superduperstar DL Arthur Jones and starting offensive tackle Jonathan Meldrum are both out for the remainder of the season with knee injuries.

Son of a mother-loving bitch.

The school announced tonight in a release that Jones and Meldrum reported experiencing discomfort in their left knee during the Pittsburgh game. MRIs on Monday revealed each had a torn lateral meniscus in their knees that will require surgery.

They join a crowded sideline of Syracuse players lost for the season with injuries that includes safety Dorian Graham (shoulder), tight end Nick Provo (knee), defensive end Jared Kimmel (knee), strong safety Max Suter (arm) and tight end Cody Catalina (knee). Additionally, some 21 players on scholarship have left the program since Marrone's arrival last December. Just last Monday, all-star wide receiver Mike Williams quit the team.

We love to revel in guys who went pro only to find that they wish they stayed a year longer in college. Well Jones has officially joined Sam Bradford on the "Dammit, I Really Should Have Just Gone Pro" bandwagon.

Obviously we were elated to have Jones back, despite the fact that he failed to deliver at Big East Media Day LobsterFest. Art's stats were way down this year (12 tackles), helped in large part by the pec muscle injury he suffered in the off-season and the double-teams he faced off against often. Hopefully this won't impact his NFL status greatly though two major injuries in the span of a year cannot be good.

Meldrum still has two years left with the Cuse (assuming he doesn't quit, get suspended or gamble), so we'll still be seeing plenty of him.

Alright...who's next? Can we freeze Derrell Smith, Doug Hogue and Shamarko in carbonite during the week to prevent any further injuries or mishaps?

And for the record...yes I blame Greg Robinson. Somehow this is all his fault.

You have to take the good with the bad and so it's also worth noting that the remaining members of The Syracuse Gambling Four have been reinstated and will play this weekend.

The Syracuse University football team will have three familiar bodies back on its thinning roster Saturday when the Orange faces Louisville in a Big East Conference football game. Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone announced Monday night that tailback Antwon Bailey, offensive guard Andrew Tiller and defensive end Torrey Ball have bee reinstated.

Lose an OL and DT, gain an OL and DT.

The Rise Of Shamarko

Sean Keeley — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:55:31 -0000

via media.syracuse.com

View full size photo »

With Max Suter and Cody Catalina out for the rest of the season, the list of Syracuse players no longer eligible to play grows that much more. But there is one silver lining in this news. A door has opened. Through that door walks the one person capable of single-handidly returning Syracuse football to glory.

Freshman and Cuse Twitterati sensation Shamarko Thomas is now a starter.

Marrone said true freshman Shamarko Thomas would start at strong safety against Louisville. He said the Orange will look at a number of players and packages to replace the things Catalina could do in the backfield or on the line such as "cutting people off, leading on blocks and where our matchups are and what we can do. We're still looking into that." Marrone mentioned tailbacks Averin Collier and Mike Jones, and tight ends Carl Cutler and Dalton Phillips as persons of interest.

Marrone said the lack of personnel is taking it's toll on practice reps and he's got a standpoint on that:

"If you have a team in excess of 100 or 90 players," Marrone said, "I'm going to throw out some numbers of people that I've spoken to prior to the job -- 70 percent of the people may get 100 and something reps per practice compared to, let's say, an NFL team that may get 46 to 48 not including a walk-through compared to where we are right now, getting, during practice, probably in the 50s to low 60s. That's where we are from the standpoint of reps.

One area they might want to focus on...turnovers. Once again any opportunities the Orange has this past weekend were thwarted by turnovers. It's at the point where it's starting to make Greg Robinson's efforts last year look feasible.

Syracuse has committed 23 total turnovers for the season and is ranked 111th nationally. A year ago, Syracuse had 17 total turnovers. This year's club has three games to go.

Paulus has two more interceptions, though one of which was hardly all his fault. That brings his season total to 13, three short of the SU single-season record (Dave Warner, 1980). Not a good thing when you're closing in on obscure Syracuse QB's no one has ever heard and the season isn't over yet. Though to his credit, Paulus is also working on a much better Syracuse record as well:

At the same time, Paulus has completed 144 of 221 passes, a completion percentage of 65.2. If he maintains that rate, Paulus would set a Syracuse record for completion percentage. Bill Scharr completed 66.3 percent of his passes in 1989. Donovan McNabb has the next two slots. He completed 62.5 percent in 1998 and 61.8 percent in 1995. Paulus ranks sixth on the Big East Conference single-season record list in completion percentage..

So he's got that going for him.

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh Postmortem

Sean Keeley — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:08:04 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Browse more photos »

On Wednesday, Syracuse players and coaches marveled about how amazing their practice has been that day. It was pretty much the only bright spot in all of last week for Syracuse football, culminating in the 37-10 drubbing at the hands of the Pitt Panthers:

A tumultuous week ended with the Orange offering its poorest performance of the season. Hammered by injuries and reeling from the defection of Mike Williams and the suspension of three front-line players, Syracuse committed three turnovers and had no answers in the second half of a painful blowout loss to an old rival.

The Panthers rushed for 247 yards against the best-run defense in the Big East. Freshman tailback Dion Lewis rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Pittsburgh wide receivers gained 117 yards on end-arounds.

Pittsburgh quarterback Bill Stull picked apart a wounded secondary for 225 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers defeated their rivals for the fifth straight year.

The final salt-rub in the wounds? Tight end Cody Catalina and safety Max Suter will both miss the rest of the season with injuries.

Suter sustained a left radius fracture, which was surgically repaired on Sunday, Nov. 8 by Dr. Irving Raphael. Catalina sustained a right knee injury and will have surgery in the near future. Raphael will also perform Catalina’s surgery.

The lone bright spot on the day? Delone Carter again. Carter put up solid stats and showcased some extremely noble effort fighting for the Orange all day, even out-rushing Pitt's Dion Lewis.

The leading rusher in the game was Syracuse’s Delone Carter, who gained 143 yards on 17 carries. He broke a 58-yard run on the game’s second play and nearly had 100 yards by the end of the first quarter. No tailback had rushed for 100 yards this season against the Panthers.

"That’s fine, but it really doesn’t matter to me unless I win," Carter said. "All the yards and all that, it really doesn’t mean nothing to me unless I get a W."

Paulus and Nassib combined for three picks though two of them weren't their faults entirely. In fact the Mike Williams-less receivers didn't help out the QBs very much at all.

Syracuse's receivers didn't do Paulus and Nassib many favors, either. On several key third downs, they cut their routes shy of the first-down marker. Two such instances stalled promising drives in the first half, when the score was still close. Faced with the ensuing 4th-and-shorts twice in the first half, Marrone opted to punt.

More links and game stories after the jump:

Pick-six opens floodgates, washes away Syracuse University football team...Dave Rahme

The story? SU scored first and it scored last, but Pittsburgh scored 37 points in between...Bud Poliquin

Similar plans, but Pitt's execution was better than Syracuse University football team's...Dave Rahme

SU-Pittsburgh Recap "At least it's basketball season"...Brent Axe

Ponder this if you dare, but Rutgers and Temple (yes, both!) are looking down on SU...Bud Poliquin

BROKEN DOWN: Syracuse unable to overcome injuries, suspensions in blowout defeat...Jared Diamond

Running back Carter lone bright spot in struggling Syracuse offense...Jared Diamond

Syracuse - Pitt Observations...Three Idiots on Sports

Monday Morning QB - 11/9/09...Orange44

Daily Links - West Virginia Tidbits

Sean Keeley — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:27:11 -0000

Audio: West Virginia preview with Donnie Webb on TK99's "Gomez & Dave" show | Orange Football Blog
West Virginia visits the Carrier Dome at noon on Saturday to take on the Orange. Will the fans rebound from last week's tough loss to South Florida?

Neild, Berry face tough task - WVU Football - Charleston Daily Mail - West Virginia News and Sports -
It's not often hype heading into a game manages to involve the matchup of interior defensive linemen.

Syracuse assistant gets a taste of home - WVU Football - Charleston Daily Mail - West Virginia News and Sports -
Although he's a Charleston native, has very deep Mountain State connections and has been in college coaching since 1991, it will be Adkins' first game against West Virginia when the Mountaineers visit the Carrier Dome at noon Saturday.

Suter brings toughness to Syracuse
There's absolutely no question Dan Conley is a Western Pennsylvania tough guy -- same with Max Suter.

Andy Katz's Daily Word: Impact of Wesley Johnson's transfer felt at Syracuse and Iowa State - ESPN
No transfer enters the season with as much expectation as Wesley Johnson.

Former Syracuse aide becomes high school coach | Orange Basketball Blog
Clay McKnight, who served as an administrative assistant in the Syracuse University men's basketball program for four years, recently accepted his first head coaching position at Fairmont Prep in Anaheim, Calif.

Syracuse University's Sports Centre gets Thermally Efficient Walls
Like a soda can in a koozie sleeve, Syracuse University's new Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center is wrapped in insulating foam to protect indoor temperatures from outside extremes.

The D.O. boys take a look at the SU-WVU game:

The Cuse Countdown crew take a look inside the matchup between the Orange and the Mountaineers

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Friday (10/9/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:55:34 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, Syracuse Pre-Game Edition. We're being brought to you today by Michelob Golden (is it even still available?).

It's Syracuse tomorrow people!!! I'm getting antsy already. This edition has gone full epic. We're talking Cecil B. DeMille epic. Dare I say it. Yes, we've gone to Plaid. Anybody traveling to the game, have a safe trip and scream your heads off for the Mountaineers. Trust me, I'll be screaming myself, if only at my TV. Send in your tips and requests and May the Schwartz be with you!!!...

What You May Have Missed:

Scouting Report: Syracuse - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Bits & Bytes: WVU - Syracuse - BlueGoldNews.com
Another preview.

College GameDay Kickoff: Week 6 preview - College Football - ESPN

News of Note:

#BeatWVU Tomorrow - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
I'm not on Twitter, but I encourage anyone who is to get on here and put these Vitamin C lovers in their place.

Orange looking to get over Mountaineer hump - Big East - ESPN

Tough and Tougher - MSNsportsNET.Com
Comrade Antonik's notebook.

Mountaineers’ Williams at home on field - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

Suter brings toughness to Syracuse - PPG

Basketball Success Has Helped Brown and Paulus - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Syracuse’s Paulus faces Brown once again - Register-Herald
Notebook

WVU To Face Improving Syracuse - WVMetroNews.com
Caridi's article (includes audio link)

Fumbling around with football - Charleston Daily Mail
The horse is dead. Let it RIP.

WVU punter thriving the second time around - The Charleston Gazette
How many times are these stories going to be re-tread each week?

Back-to-back check, bowl news, update on Brunetti - The Charleston Gazette
Vingle's Notebook. Inside - "Yeah, Michigan State and Tennessee are still recruiting me,'' he said Thursday. "But they're finally getting the hint.'' Tennessee, his home state school, "should have gotten on me early.'' "Now,'' he said, "I'm very happy with my decision.''

Neild, Berry face tough task - Charleston Daily Mail

Back In The Mix - BlueGoldNews.com
Scooter Berry is looking forward to playing this weekend.

Syracuse assistant gets a taste of home - Charleston Daily Mail
OL coach at Syracuse is a Nitro, WV native.

Orange Run Defense Strong - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Syracuse will test West Virginia running game - Inter Mountain

Aerial Attack Coming - WVIllustrated.com

Clarke gives WVU bang for its buck - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"While Noel Devine is the third-best runner in the NCAA, West Virginia's football team has quietly gained a solid one-two punch at running back."

Big East Road Trip - WVMETRONEWS.COM

‘Stewisms’ Becoming Part of the Norm at WVU - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Honoring The Mountaineer - WVMETRONEWS.COM
I'm not posting this to stir things up again, I swear.

What's On Tap:

West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Syracuse Orange Preview, October 10 2009 - ESPN
Noon on ESPN regional, MASN for sure.

Recruiting:

Mountaineer Dream Comes True for Bridgeport's Tonkery - Eersports.com
Bridgeport High's Wes Tonkery has never doubted his decision to accept WVU's scholarship offer.

Huggins' Loyalty Pays off at Prep Hoops Power - Eersports.com

Around the League (and Beyond):

Big East Roundup - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Next up for UC's Kelly: ESPN - The Cincinnati Enquirer
Brian Kelly has never been one to turn down ~~positive~~ publicity.

Rutgers QB Dom Natale returns to back-up role, ready if called upon again - Star Ledger

Lewis, Graham and Hynoski filling void for Pitt - PPG

Full Kenny Klein statement (ed. RE: Krags) - Card Chronicle
I can't find out who started this rumor (Card Chronicle or another blog), but UL's doing everything they can to shoot it down.

College matches, prep football game postponed - Martinsburg Journal (AP)
Flu is causing concern everywhere.

Tailgate Recipe of the Week:

Sausage-and-Pepper Heroes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 pound(s) red bell peppers, thinly sliced

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

2 clove(s) garlic, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon(s) dried oregano, crumbled

1/2 teaspoon(s) crushed red pepper

Kosher salt

6 chicken sausages, about 5 ounces each, preferably with roasted pepper or parsley and cheese

3 long hero rolls, split lengthwise

Directions

Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick griddle (you can also use 2 cast-iron or nonstick skillets). Add the oil, bell peppers, onion, garlic, oregano, and crushed red pepper and season with salt. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are softened and just beginning to brown, 6 minutes. Push the vegetables to the back of the griddle, cover with an inverted heatproof bowl, and keep warm over low heat; stir occasionally as you cook the sausages.

Prick the sausages with a knife and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until no trace of pink remains, 10 minutes. Add the sausages to the vegetables and keep warm. Brush the rolls with oil and toast on the griddle. Fill the rolls with the sausages and peppers, cut each one in half, and serve.

Recipe and picture courtesy of Delish.com

Video of (Dis)Interest:

I almost fell off my stool the first time I saw this trick in person in Raleigh, NC.

Videos of Interest:

Coach Lockwood:

and Syracuse's Mike Owen:

both videos courtesy of WVIllustrated.com

Animated Picture of the Day:

I could stare at this for hours, even days and not get bored. How can you not love this face?

courtesy of gifbin.com

Gallery of the Day:

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

My only beef with this list is: Where is Christina Hendricks?!?!

via theryancokeexperience.files.wordpress.com

Miss Throwdown:

I've been in love with today's Miss Throwdown from the first day I saw her on the silver screen. Her notable films include Pearl Harbor, Underworld and Van Helsing (not saying they are great movies, but she looks wonderful, as always, in them). She's recently been named Esquire Magazine's 2009 Sexiest Woman in the World. I'm not gonna argue with that. Each pic leads to a different gallery.

via www.cloutonline.com

via www.tccandler.com

There's another video I wanted to embed, but that has been disabled. I will LINK TO IT INSTEAD. It's worth the click, trust me.

Michelob Golden image via imgs.inkfrog.com

Syracuse Defeats Northwestern: Postmortem

Sean Keeley — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:39:44 -0000

More photos » by Kevin Rivoli - AP

3 months ago: Syracuse's Ryan Lichtenstein (19) signals the winning score on his 40-yard field goal as teammate Rob Long celebrates while Northwestern's Ben Johnson, right, looks on during an NCAA college football game in Syracuse, N.Y., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. Syracuse won 37-34. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

Browse more photos »

Hey, did you hear? We won!

First up, let's watch that again, shall we? Say it with me...LICHTENSTEIN!!!!!!!

Northwestern QB Mike Kafka completed 35-of-42 passes for 390 yards with three touchdowns against Syracuse. That SU was able to win the game in spite of that performance is impressive enough as it is. Of course, a big reason for that was Max Suter, who intercepted Kafka's pass with less than a minute left to set up the game-winning field goal. And who knows if that interception would have even been possible had Northwestern's kicker not missed a gimme extra-point just minutes earlier.

Yeah, it was one of those games.

The Orange overcame terrible snaps from center Jim McKenzie, Greg Paulus-fumbles, Northwestern trickery and a 2nd quarter in which Kafka led the Wildcats to 21 unanswered points.

The heroes on the day?

You have to start with Mike Williams. Held scoreless last week, Williams exploded for 206 yards and 2 TDs on 11 grabs. Mike's re-coming out party to the nation was glorious.
Delone Carter muscled his way to 87 yards and a TD on 18 carries. He also gained 20 yards on two catches. Carter also became the 39th player in Syracuse history to rush for 1,000 yards during the contest.
Greg Paulus, who had his shaky moments, but cemented his part as this team's leader with a 24-35, 346 yards, 2 TD, 1 Int performance. Paulus and Williams earned a Helmet Sticker from Rece Davis for their troubles.
LB Derrell Smith who nabbed eight tackles and two sacks to lead the SU defense.
SHAMARKO! Thomas, who introduced himself to Orange faithful with 7 tackles.
Max Suter, for his game-changing interception that turned the tide when it mattered most.
And finally, freshman kicker Ryan Lichtenstein, who proved to have ice-water in his veins and made Syracuse fans wonder "Shane-who?" with his game-winning kick.

By the way, if Doug Marrone could sum up Greg Paulus' performance in one word, I wonder what that word would be...

"I think Greg had a tremendous game. Statistically, he had 346 yards, 24-of-35, and the interception. It’s always amazing to me and I think we take it for granted because he was such a tremendous high school player and a tremendous basketball player, that here’s a player who’s only been playing football for seven or eight weeks now, and he can go out in a Division I football game against a team that returned eight out of 11 starters and won nine games last year, granted, they had some people who were injured today, and throw for more than 300 yards is really tremendous.

Bud Poliquin has but one question for you...Caaaaaan Youuuuuuuu Diiiiiiiig Iiiiiiiiiit???

Well, do you believe now? Do you believe things have changed around here? Do you believe that this new sheriff in town, this Orange son named Doug Marrone, has breathed life into what had been a carcass lying on the side of the college football road?

Couple post-game videos for you. First up, The Marrone celebrates the only way he knows how...tremendously.

Syracuse win over Northwestern: Doug Marrone

Bud Poliquin in his Saturday-finest talks about the extraordinary things he saw in the Dome.

Bud Poliquin: Syracuse win over Northwestern

Finally, CitrusTV's Amy Johnson sums up the victory:

Daily Links - Paulus' Challenge & Arinze's Puzzling Play

Sean Keeley — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:13:13 -0000

Orange::44: 2009 Big East Prospectus Part 8: Syracuse
Everything is new in the Salt City. New coach, new quarterback, new staff, and a new attitude that will hopefully include winning.

Ex-Duke guard sparks woeful Orange team - Washington Times
Among the many tasks Greg Paulus faced this week was the challenge of learning his way around a new campus.

Syracuse graduate assistant Kip Wellman joins Western Kentucky coaching staff - Orange Basketball Blog
Kip Wellman, a graduate assistant at Syracuse University for the past three years, will join Western Kentucky coach Ken McDonald's staff, according to SU assistant Mike Hopkins.

Rush The Court " Blog Archive " RTC’s 2009-10 Impact Players – Northeast Region
Arinze Onuaku is one of the most puzzling players in all of college basketball.

Big East records that could fall in '09 - Big East - ESPN
Rob Long and Max Suter have the chance to break some Big East records this year.

Syracuse University Athletics - Doug Marrone Show Debuts Tonight
Know your Syracuse radio affiliates!

Take a tour of the Dome...

For The Depth Charts, They Are A Changing

Sean Keeley — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:36:52 -0000

The official-ish Syracuse football depth chart is sorted and it looks, well, like a completely different team than the one we started with four months ago.*

Position	Pre-Spring	Post-Spring	Regular Season
QB	Cameron Dantley	Ryan Nassib	Greg Paulus
RB	Delone Carter	Antwon Bailey	Delone Carter
FB	Carl Cutler	Daniel Collier	N/A
WR	Mike Williams	Mike Williams	Mike Williams
WR	Lavar Lobdell	Marcus Sales	Marcus Sales
WR	Donte Davis	Donte Davis	Alec Lemon
LT	Jonathan Meldrum	Nick Speller	Nick Speller
LG	Ryan Bartholomew	Ryan Bartholomew	Ryan Bartholomew
C	Jim McKenzie	Jim McKenzie	Jim McKenzie
RG	Nick Allport	Adam Rosner	Tucker Baunbach
RT	Tucker Baumbach	Tucker Baumbach	Jonathan Meldrum
TE	Mike Owen	Mike Owen	Mike Owen
TE	Nick Provo	Nick Provo	Nick Provo
DE	Jared Kimmel	Jared Kimmel	Mikhail Marinovich
DE	Mikhail Marinovich	Chandler Jones	Chandler Jones
NT	Arthur Jones	Arthur Jones	Arthur Jones
DT	Andrew Lewis	Andrew Lewis	Andrew Lewis
SLB	Derrell Smith	Doug Hogue	Doug Hogue
MLB	Mike Mele	Derrell Smith	Derrell Smith
WLB	Parker Cantey	Derek Hines	Ryan Gillum
CB	Kevyn Scott	Kevyn Scott	Kevyn Scott
CB	Nico Scott	Nico Scott	Nico Scott
SS	Max Suter	Max Suter	Max Suter
FS	Mike Holmes	Mike Holmes	Mike Holmes
K	Austin Wallis	Shane Raupers	Ryan Lichtenstein
P	Rob Long	Rob Long	Rob Long
LS	Max Leo	Dalton Phillips	Max Leo

*Final depth chart not 100% street legal but based on Marrone's admissions and what we've seen.

Fullbacks? We don't need no stinkin' fullbacks. With the two who were slotted into the spot now gone and the only active one on the roster a walk-on (Robert Nieves), it looks like the TEs, of which there are a plethora, will split into that spot. Expect to see Provo and Catalina get some looks here or in an H-back set.
The most consistent unit of the off-season? The defensive backfield. Go figure.
The least consistent unit of the off-season? The defensive line. Go figure.
Sir Alec Lemon. Welcome to the front line. We look forward to the many headlines that include the phrase "A Twist of Lemon" that you will initiate.
Candidate for least-appreciated Orangeman to date? Andrew Lewis. Quietly a starter the entire off-season and I don't think anyone's ever mentioned him.
LICHTENSTEIN!
Didn't include here but the official PR is Donte Davis and Mike Jones is your KR du jour.

Update: Donnie's article is up and he's all over this Lemon-Drop into the depth chart (sorry).

"He's proven he can do it in practice. He's been very consistent. He's caught the ball over 90 percent of the time. Everybody knows that we chart everything we do in practice. He's shown that he can go over the middle, can make the tough catches, can do a lot of different things. But now, it's a different evaluation. Until you see them do it live in a game, that's the big test. That's what's next for Alec Lemon. But he's passed everyone so far."

The Rejuvenation Begins: Syracuse Preseason Camp - August 24th

Sean Keeley — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:56:43 -0000

View full size photo »

So much to catch up on, let's get to it.

We're at the 2 week point now until the Minnesota Gophers come to town and the 2009 season begins. There's been plenty of off-the-field (and on-the-field) distractions for the Orange along the way. Most glaringly, the lack of depth thanks 18 players leaving the team, not to mention injuries.

"I don't think we're going to be the type of team this year that has a lot of depth," Marrone said. "We have to find some versatility from our players and make sure we stay healthy."

There is no guarantee of the latter, and the Orange will enter the season an injury or two away from having to use the nickel (five defensive backs) as its base defense.

That's a scary proposition especially given the recent news that Dorian Graham is out for the year, just one more player on the depth chart gone. Still, if the secondary is going to be needed to step up, Doug Marrone believes the unit is in good hands with Mike Holmes in charge:

"I'm not one to sit here and say what should be written or not be written, but I am just always shocked about how good of a player Mike Holmes is," Marrone said. "He is, gollee, is he under the radar, at least from I think our fans standpoint. I really believe that.

Can I get a ruling on gollee/golly? I would go with the latter on the spelling but perhaps I've been going about this all wrong.

If nothing else, the secondary does have a lot of veteran leadership. Holmes joins Max Suter, Kevyn Scott, Nico Scott and Randy McKinnon in the secondary, where freshmen Phillip Thomas and SHAMARKO Thomas are both coming up fast. It's one of the few defensive areas where depth still remains.

The team ran a 150-play scrimmage on Saturday though media was not allowed to attend. It's been said that Marrone has expanded the playbook now that Paulus is firmly established as the starter. Those still trying to understand how Paulus made the leap can point to this as another sign, the veteran athlete who can absorb more information and use it.

"I think it relates quite a bit (to Paulus)," Marrone said. "It really does. When you have someone that can handle that information, you can expand further. I don't think we're waiting for Greg to grow in the offense. I think we're force-feeding it on him."

Marrone was pressed on what fans can expect from the Syracuse offense. Would we see some things he did in New Orleans? Would we see things he had done at Tennessee? Would we see things from Rob Spence's Clemson package? Would we see things from Marrone's days as a player here?

...is it going to be llke the New Orleans offense or a Clemson offense? What kind of signature is it going to be? And I've answered this question. You're going to see things that easily, you can identify with what we did in New Orleans. You're going to see things at Tennessee. You're going to see things at Tampa, also, that we put in. And you'll probably see some things from when I was a player here.

So...everything. Got it.

And of course, a major catalyst in whether or not the offense will be able to do anything with those plays is the offensive line. The unit has been moved around, re-worked, juggled and re-shaped so many times it's hard to keep track of who's going to be the starters. It might not even decided yet. It would seem that we're looking at Nick Speller at left tackle, Ryan Bartholomew at left guard, Jim McKenzie at center, Adam Rosner at right guard and Jonathan Meldrum at right tackle, but that could all change yet.

OL Coach Greg Adkins says its a case of unlearning everything that was wrong in order to do what's right.

"Our whole deal is to get them to understand a little more how to play the game of football and the techniques we're going to coach," he said, "which are different from what they were taught before. That's been the biggest adjustment for these kids. The techniques and fundamentals have totally changed from what they have been taught before here, and that takes time."

And of course that brings us to the ever fun reminder that the previous coaching staff didn't seem to have any clue what the hell they were doing. And nowhere has that been more evident than in the weight room:

Ambitious weight-room and running goals and the dogged pursuit of them is a decidedly different direction than the one Robinson chose to take, although neither [strength and conditioning coaches Will Hicks or Hal Luther] would comment beyond that.

The two coaches have been working overtime to make sure each player is challenging themselves in the weight room and improving on the field. If nothing else this season, the behind-the-scenes issues seem to be fixed. How the team responds at gametime remains to be seen.

The Rejuvenation Begins: Syracuse Preseason Camp - August 13th

Sean Keeley — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:18:42 -0000

Looks like someone's got a case of the dropsies. Actually, looks like a lot of someone's got a case of the dropsies.

"The one thing I was disappointed with today was at the receiver position," Marrone said. "We’re dropping too many footballs. Outside of Mike Williams, I need to see more separation at that position - who is our No. 2? Who is our No. 3?"

Doug Marrone was not pleased with his receivers on Day 3, though it thrills me to no end with how nonchalantly Doug mentions Mike Williams' greatness. As if it's a foregone conclusion that he's already back in top shape and en route to a 30-TD season.

Who is Doug's #2 and #3? Donte Davis, Da'Mon Merkerson, Marcus Sales and even freshman Alec Lemon have their work cut out for them to step up at this point.

One group that's quickly moved from weakness to strength is the tight end position and one player who seems to have stepped it up in particular is Mike Owen.

"Mike Owen does a tremendous job, he is stretching the field better than he did in the spring, that is a fact. I’m comfortable with that," Marrone said. "He has gotten much faster. From where he was last year in the spring, not throwing out the exact numbers, he is two-tenths of a second faster, which is big on the football field. I’m excited about him. He has worked extremely hard. There is a maturity and a leadership quality about Mike."

Doug also says he sees tremendous ability with Nick Provo and Cody Catalina and, from the standpoint of where they can all play, he sees tremendous opportunities at H-back, fullback and receiver. Tremendous.

In the backfield, it looks like there's a new competitor in the mix. Mike Jones seems to be making a name for himself and breaking through the three-headed hydra of Carter-Bailey-Collier:

"Now you have four players there that are going to compete," Marrone said...I've played with three backs in the backfield. I've played with two backs. I've played with one back. I like the ability of being able to put our best personnel on the field. With the competition we have at that position, I feel that it'll be very easy for us to figure out who the best players are, because the competition is so high."

Jones and Collier are also seeing lots of time fielding kicks along with Max Suter and others.

Marrone didn't stop his praise with the offense. He also had some nice things to say about defensive players as well:

"Mike Holmes, I've always felt was a tremendous player."

Dave Rahme mentions how the new regime is changing the way Syracuse players practice. In particular, a very specific and very daunting test they all must pass:

The test came during "finals week," a five-day trial that ended the voluntary summer workout season. Each day featured some combination of lifting and running and each player's attempt to surpass ambitious goals set before the summer began. A new addition was three 400-yard "gassers" designed to test a player's endurance - and his will.

"These players have never had to experience anything like that," Luther said.

I promised myself I'd stop, but...WHY HAVEN'T THEY EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE? ARGH...

The team will continue to practice as-is until Friday when Marrone plans to bring in the pads and kick things up a notch. In the meantime, check out the Syracuse.com Photo Gallery on the day.