Operation: Keep Brandon

[orangeandbrown]

I'll be my usual pessimistic self and say the two main differences between Urban Meyer and Gregg Brandon are these:

1. Brandon knows when to say the right things that people want to hear and Urban didn't.

This is a good point.

[orangeandbrown]

I'm going to assume you meant big CONFERENCE road game. That Purdue win was pretty sweet.

I think the two neutral site wins that closed his first two years ought to count for something, right?

They do, but it doesn't make up for losing road games to winning teams...except Purdue. Winning on someone else's field is much different than winning on a neutral field.

[Warthog]

We have continually gone in a shell in certain games. Don't know why, but it is apparent that the gameplan against certain teams is to not screw up, rather than attack.

Do you mean to say we try to run the ball too much some times?

[hammb]

We have continually gone in a shell in certain games. Don't know why, but it is apparent that the gameplan against certain teams is to not screw up, rather than attack.

Do you mean to say we try to run the ball too much some times?

Certainly not. In fact we almost avoid it in big games. Heck I think PJ averaged over 5 ypc in the OSU game, but had hardly any carries. Of course if we tried to pound it with PJ 25+ times he wouldn't have had that averae against their defense.

I'm thinking more along the lines of making the bubble screen our #1 play all of a sudden. Rather than the posts & slants that can attack in the middle of the field. Sometimes it just seems like we go with the "safe" passes, rather than what has been so effective for us against everybody else.

It's just my impression, but I'd say we went into an offensive shell against OSU, NIU on the road, and Miami on the road. Even worse is that our team just doesn't seem to show up with any passion in the conference road games. They have come out flat a number of times. That's poor coaching, if you ask me.

[BGSUFootballFan]

Certainly not. In fact we almost avoid it in big games. Heck I think PJ averaged over 5 ypc in the OSU game, but had hardly any carries. Of course if we tried to pound it with PJ 25+ times he wouldn't have had that averae against their defense.

I'm thinking more along the lines of making the bubble screen our #1 play all of a sudden. Rather than the posts & slants that can attack in the middle of the field. Sometimes it just seems like we go with the "safe" passes, rather than what has been so effective for us against everybody else.

It's just my impression, but I'd say we went into an offensive shell against OSU, NIU on the road, and Miami on the road. Even worse is that our team just doesn't seem to show up with any passion in the conference road games. They have come out flat a number of times. That's poor coaching, if you ask me.

wow i could not agree more, the play calling on the road is down right silly... we should have beaten OSU if you see what we did on offense after it was too late. I think our biggest problem in MAC conf road games is the 3rd Q, we come out slow and lethargic from the locker room, and it seems we always lose the 3Q in games that we lose

[BGSU2005]

When Brandon starts winning with the players HE recruits instead of Urban's, I'll believe he is a good coach. Until then, he is average at best (the lack of winning a big road conference game is a tell).

[kdog27]

When Brandon starts winning with the players HE recruits instead of Urban's, I'll believe he is a good coach. Until then, he is average at best (the lack of winning a big road conference game is a tell).

Why does he have to win with the players he recruited to be a good coach? What difference does it make who recruited them? Urban Meyer won with another coach's players and he really laid some eggs in road games and I guess you can't say he did a good job at Utah either because they were someone elses recruits . So is he a good coach, not by your theory? Brandon can't help the fact that he has only been the coach for two years. 20-6 in two years. You people forget that 2-9 was not that long ago.

[TG1996]

Why does he have to win with the players he recruited to be a good coach?

It's the "Gary Blackney Hypothesis".

You people forget that 2-9 was not that long ago.

I'd bet dollars to donuts half the current fan base doesn't realize 2-9 ever happened.

[Flipper]

I'm going to assume you meant big CONFERENCE road game. That Purdue win was pretty sweet.

I think the two neutral site wins that closed his first two years ought to count for something, right?

They do, but it doesn't make up for losing road games to winning teams...except Purdue. Winning on someone else's field is much different than winning on a neutral field.

I didn't say winning on a neutral field was as difficult as winning on the road. My point is that it is somewhat silly to say you aren't going to keep a coach or give him a raise until he beats a UT, Miami or NIU on the road. If that's the litmus test, Joe Novak should be on the bricks because he's done less than Brandon.

Brandon's accomplished a lot in his two years here and I really don't think it's fair to minimize those accomplishments because the team hasn't beaten a good MAC team on the road.

Road wins in the MAC are as rare as hen's teeth. Toledo has been good at NIU, Miami was good on the road when they had Ben. But other than that, there hasn't been much success even amongst the top four teams.

I also think this eternal discussion about the OSU game is ludicrous. The team came within two plays of beating the defending national champs (gag) on their field. Two fricking plays.... Who the hell knows what would have happened if they would have tried to open things up? No one does.
I would have loved to see them win that game, but I'll be damned to a life of watching Tom Amstuts bobble head commercials if I 'm going to bitch about a game we had a shot to win until the last minute.

[kdog27]

I didn't say winning on a neutral field was as difficult as winning on the road. My point is that it is somewhat silly to say you aren't going to keep a coach or give him a raise until he beats a UT, Miami or NIU on the road. If that's the litmus test, Joe Novak should be on the bricks because he's done less than Brandon.

Brandon's accomplished a lot in his two years here and I really don't think it's fair to minimize those accomplishments because the team hasn't beaten a good MAC team on the road.

Road wins in the MAC are as rare as hen's teeth. Toledo has been good at NIU, Miami was good on the road when they had Ben. But other than that, there hasn't been much success even amongst the top four teams.

I also think this eternal discussion about the OSU game is ludicrous. The team came within two plays of beating the defending national champs (gag) on their field. Two fricking plays.... Who the hell knows what would have happened if they would have tried to open things up? No one does.
I would have loved to see them win that game, but I'll be damned to a life of watching Tom Amstuts bobble head commercials if I 'm going to bitch about a game we had a shot to win until the last minute.

Flip, you are spot on as far as I believe. Everyone rips him apart for not winning against UT, Miami, and NIU on the road. Why not be fair and give him some credit for being 11-1 at home, COLLEGE FREAKIN GAMEDAY, and 2-0 in bowl games? The OSU is game is ancient history. You can 'what if' it to death. It was the man's 2nd game vs. a 1-A opponent. He has gone 2-1 vs. the Big Ten and I can live with that.

[Schadenfreude]

I'd bet dollars to donuts half the current fan base doesn't realize 2-9 ever happened.

And I'll bet one of Tom Noe's double eagles to one of his Beanie Babies that three-quarters of that group doesn't know 11-1 happened.

[orangeandbrown]

I'm going to assume you meant big CONFERENCE road game. That Purdue win was pretty sweet.

I think the two neutral site wins that closed his first two years ought to count for something, right?

They do, but it doesn't make up for losing road games to winning teams...except Purdue. Winning on someone else's field is much different than winning on a neutral field.

I didn't say winning on a neutral field was as difficult as winning on the road. My point is that it is somewhat silly to say you aren't going to keep a coach or give him a raise until he beats a UT, Miami or NIU on the road. If that's the litmus test, Joe Novak should be on the bricks because he's done less than Brandon.

Brandon's accomplished a lot in his two years here and I really don't think it's fair to minimize those accomplishments because the team hasn't beaten a good MAC team on the road.

Road wins in the MAC are as rare as hen's teeth. Toledo has been good at NIU, Miami was good on the road when they had Ben. But other than that, there hasn't been much success even amongst the top four teams.

I also think this eternal discussion about the OSU game is ludicrous. The team came within two plays of beating the defending national champs (gag) on their field. Two fricking plays.... Who the hell knows what would have happened if they would have tried to open things up? No one does.
I would have loved to see them win that game, but I'll be damned to a life of watching Tom Amstuts bobble head commercials if I 'm going to bitch about a game we had a shot to win until the last minute.

OK, I didn't mean to weigh in with the no-extension crowd because of the road losses. I also don't believe (as another said), that he is average, at best. He's a good coach, maybe better...whose teams have not won a conference championship because they have lost the big games on the road...and generally, bad losses. To me that has to effect how you evaluate his tenure here. Heck, I think he'd say that. It doesn't eliminate the positives, but its part of the story.

As for hen's teeth, every team with a conference championship has a big road win, including Miami from 2003. Others have done it.

Finally, for the sake of the sustained success of the program, it does matter how well he recruits. I believe he will show himself to be successful on this front as well.

[TG1996]

I'd bet dollars to donuts half the current fan base doesn't realize 2-9 ever happened.

And I'll bet one of Tom Noe's double eagles to one of his Beanie Babies that three-quarters of that group doesn't know 11-1 happened.

Or why the "1" never should have happened. Or at least not as feloniously as it did.

[BGSU2005]

Why does he have to win with the players he recruited to be a good coach? What difference does it make who recruited them? Urban Meyer won with another coach's players and he really laid some eggs in road games and I guess you can't say he did a good job at Utah either because they were someone elses recruits . So is he a good coach, not by your theory? Brandon can't help the fact that he has only been the coach for two years. 20-6 in two years. You people forget that 2-9 was not that long ago.

What I'm saying to be a good coach is, you have to recruit your own players and then win with them. Brandon has not done this. Name one outstanding player Coach Brandon has had that he recruited. Urban IS a good coach because the situations he walked into were completely different. The players he won with, the former coach could not win with (here and Utah, and what he did with Utah was amazing). They are two completely different situations. Coach Brandon walked into a situation when the last two seasons had been very successful and he continued that success. For that part, makes him average, not good. There are a lot of people who could have won the games he won with the players he had. Only time will tell if Coach Brandon is good, especially after this group of players is gone (ie. Omar, PJ, Sharon, Sanders, Teddy, Jelani, Terrill, Thaler.....)[/quote]

[kdog27]

To not factor in Brandon as a part of the success in 2001/2002 is foolish. Can't say exactly who is responsible for landing these guys but it looks like Luke Alexander, Corey Partridge, Kory Lich..., Anthony Turner, Rubin Ruiz, I am sure I am missing some others, are going be some good players.