Reality Check

[Seadog73]

For those of you crying for CCL's head, after 4 games, and crying he is worse than CDM or Bryce drew, here's your reality check from the Tennessean. Yes it is premium content, but I am a subscriber and this is just a few sentences from the article:
"According to the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, which attempts to measure the quality of teams based on the recruiting rankings of players on their roster, the Bulldogs are second in the country. Vanderbilt is 59th. That's not just on Lea but on Derek Mason, who preceded Lea as coach."

"Georgia has 66 players who had a four- or five-star ranking coming out of high school. Vanderbilt has five after a wave of defections in the offseason."

And this article does not even mention the neglect and disdain the VU Board of Trustees and Kirkland Hall had for sports generally, and football specifically, since the mid-1950's. As I have said before, not even Saint Nick Saban could correct this in the roughly 9 months CCL has had.

Take a chill pill and calm down. It appears we have a Board and a Chancellor who have a very different perspective than their predecessors and see the value in excellent athletic programs, including football. But NO ONE can turn an aircraft carrier on a dime.

[charlestonalum]

Well said: and it is going to take time to climb out of the deep, deep hole. If you can't wait go to some other team. For better or worse this is Vanderbilt football that finally aims to get better under Lea, Candace and the new Chancellor

[UltimateVUFan]

Where did ETSU rank in the 247sports Team Talent Composite? (Asking for a friend)

Edit: sorry to be a bit snarky. But my point stands. As of now, VU is not playing anywhere near like the 59th best team in college football. And while it is obvious that a total reconstruction of the program will take time, many of us are simply pointing out that so far there hasn’t been any evidence to suggest that this team is on a different trajectory than it was under Mason, who never had the institutional supports that you cited.

[buffy]

UltimateVUFan: What is the point of your complaining? In the games that I watched, I didn't see any real defects in overall scheme or play calling (the first game offensive play calling was a mistake). I see our players make mistakes. I see our players totally outgunned and overwhelmed. I see a new coaching staff, very modest talent, some difficult opponents and a whole lot of change. It's not unreasonable to just let the guy you hired work through the plethora of challenges in front of him? Who are you helping by complaining?

[UltimateVUFan]

UltimateVUFan: What is the point of your complaining? In the games that I watched, I didn't see any real defects in overall scheme or play calling (the first game offensive play calling was a mistake). I see our players make mistakes. I see our players totally outgunned and overwhelmed. I see a new coaching staff, very modest talent, some difficult opponents and a whole lot of change. It's not unreasonable to just let the guy you hired work through the plethora of challenges in front of him? Who are you helping by complaining?

Fair enough. Though I also take umbrage to a post that suggests anyone who isn’t pumping sunshine about Lea is in need of a “reality check.” Pointing out an alternative viewpoint of the current situation is viable, and just because it is a less glowing assessment, it doesn’t automatically constitute complaining.

[dore74]

Please sign me up for the sunshine pumping camp. Agree with '73; Charleston and the Vampire Killer. Gonna be a long, long season (or two) with some pretty ugly losses--and maybe, hopefully and upset or two as well. And I'm sure the new head coach will mess up a time or two to boot.
thanks for the sanity fellas!!

[VU1970]

That first real upset victory, when it comes, is gonna be so sweet.

[buffy]

UltimateVUFan: What is the point of your complaining? In the games that I watched, I didn't see any real defects in overall scheme or play calling (the first game offensive play calling was a mistake). I see our players make mistakes. I see our players totally outgunned and overwhelmed. I see a new coaching staff, very modest talent, some difficult opponents and a whole lot of change. It's not unreasonable to just let the guy you hired work through the plethora of challenges in front of him? Who are you helping by complaining?

Fair enough. Though I also take umbrage to a post that suggests anyone who isn’t pumping sunshine about Lea is in need of a “reality check.” Pointing out an alternative viewpoint of the current situation is viable, and just because it is a less glowing assessment, it doesn’t automatically constitute complaining.

That's also reasonable. Pumping sunshine is counter productive. Staying positive is important. They just need to stay focused and get better at everything. Recruit their rearends off. That will make everyone look smarter. Just look at Coach O at LSU. How does that guy have a National Championship?

[baseball1234]

Sunshine: Colorado State played Iowa tough; Stanford played UCLA ok after a tough start. This week will tell us how good [bad] we are. I am expecting ( I am an optimist) a comfortable win.

[BooMax]

Lets be honest and 100% real, Derek Mason took the best Vandy had become in FB and decimated the program!! Mason was the most clueless coach we have ever hired during his initial 4 seasons and yes he improved but my goodness he was provided $$Million$$ personally to be terrible in SEC level recruiting and terrible in coaching in general.

Who knows about Coach Lea at this point because we again hired a young inexperienced defensive coach that doesnt, isnt playing w/offensive creativity and trickery which is required for Vandy to have success.

[coachinwaiting]

Criticism is reality, optimism is reality, pessimism is reality. What isn't reality is waving a magic wand and making everything okay. I keep hearing about how quickly Sam Pittman turned Arkansas around. Well, I work with and know Arkansas fans, and while they are happy now, they weren't sold 3-4 weeks in. Most were out on Pittman before the first game. It wasn't an overnight success, it was a progression.

Nick Saban was 6-6 his first year at Alabama. He lost to UL-Monroe. UL-freaking Monroe! Some players had to go, and a lot had to get their minds right if they wanted to stay. He wasn't coaching for year one, it was for a new culture and new mindset. And it wasn't his first head coaching job, he already had a National Championship under his belt at the SEC level. I'm impatient too, it is one of my many faults, but except for crapping the bed with ETSU, nothing so far should be viewed as unexpected about this season.

[belair]

I think it is a fair point that if we are 59th in the country in talent, to measure the coaching staff on whether we are 59th on the field. Is the spread from #2 to #59 62 points? Seems like a lot of points.
It is impossible that Lea would be fired before the next game. Highly unlikely at the end of the season. Improbable after next year and I dare say even the next. He will get three years if even he is Deuce reincarnate.
That said so far his "outside of the box hires" and coaching up the current players has not been shown to be effective. Fewer corporate buzzwords and more getting lineman gap control would be welcomed.

[commadore]

For those of you crying for CCL's head, after 4 games, and crying he is worse than CDM or Bryce drew, here's your reality check from the Tennessean. Yes it is premium content, but I am a subscriber and this is just a few sentences from the article:
"According to the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, which attempts to measure the quality of teams based on the recruiting rankings of players on their roster, the Bulldogs are second in the country. Vanderbilt is 59th. That's not just on Lea but on Derek Mason, who preceded Lea as coach."

"Georgia has 66 players who had a four- or five-star ranking coming out of high school. Vanderbilt has five after a wave of defections in the offseason."

And this article does not even mention the neglect and disdain the VU Board of Trustees and Kirkland Hall had for sports generally, and football specifically, since the mid-1950's. As I have said before, not even Saint Nick Saban could correct this in the roughly 9 months CCL has had.

Take a chill pill and calm down. It appears we have a Board and a Chancellor who have a very different perspective than their predecessors and see the value in excellent athletic programs, including football. But NO ONE can turn an aircraft carrier on a dime.

And right now we have an aircraft carrier with an outboard motor.

[bornadore57]

I like numbers and find this measurement (59th vs. 2nd) interesting. Do you know which roster was used for all teams? Opening day roster or what? Just curious.

[Seadog73]

bornadore57, the Tennessean article said "According to the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, which attempts to measure the quality of teams based on the recruiting rankings of players on their roster, ... " I THINK (caps on purpose) they took the roster on opening day, and checked to see who had how many stars when they came out of HS. But I am certain the only way to be sure is to look it up on 247.

[UltimateVUFan]

I couldn’t contain my curiosity:
ETSU is ranked 193 in the Team Talent Composite with one 3 star player and three 2 star players. The rest are unranked. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer or “complainer,” but if we’re throwing out numbers-based comparisons, this one needs to be made to fairly assess the situation.

[Johnmn555]

If we are 59th and there are (I believe) 130 FBS teams, would we be likely to beat 71 FBS teams at the moment? If not, does it have something to do with coaching?

[alathIN]

UltimateVUFan: What is the point of your complaining? In the games that I watched, I didn't see any real defects in overall scheme or play calling (the first game offensive play calling was a mistake). I see our players make mistakes. I see our players totally outgunned and overwhelmed. I see a new coaching staff, very modest talent, some difficult opponents and a whole lot of change. It's not unreasonable to just let the guy you hired work through the plethora of challenges in front of him? Who are you helping by complaining?

Fair enough. Though I also take umbrage to a post that suggests anyone who isn’t pumping sunshine about Lea is in need of a “reality check.” Pointing out an alternative viewpoint of the current situation is viable, and just because it is a less glowing assessment, it doesn’t automatically constitute complaining.

By the same token, saying "I think four games is too soon to judge Lea's tenure" doesn't automatically constitute sunshine pumping.

"It really sucks right now, but I'm not quite ready to declare that future improvement is totally impossible and that we are doomed for time and all eternity" is about as optimistic as anyone on this board is getting.

If you are reading the overall tone on Vandymania as 'sunshine pumping,' you would need a welding helmet and SPF 10 x 10^10 sunscreen to watch a the first two minutes of a Shirley Temple movie.

[VUgearhead]

I certainly don't think CCL's first season should be judged in terms of wins and losses. But I certainly believe it can be judged (fairly, critically, emotionally or otherwise) on whether progress is made (or not) on the ballfield, relative to comparable opponents and the results of his predecessor in pre-pandemic times.

I think it is fair to criticize the coaching if we are not competitive against the likes of UConn, UK, etc. I would certainly like to see progress in our efforts against the opponents who outman us, as that is where we aspire to achieve. If ETSU taught us anything, recruiting is not the end all be all of college football success. Coaching does play a significant role! Let's see some!

[Dickeys Nightmare]

For those of you crying for CCL's head, after 4 games, and crying he is worse than CDM or Bryce drew, here's your reality check from the Tennessean. Yes it is premium content, but I am a subscriber and this is just a few sentences from the article:
"According to the 247Sports Team Talent Composite, which attempts to measure the quality of teams based on the recruiting rankings of players on their roster, the Bulldogs are second in the country. Vanderbilt is 59th. That's not just on Lea but on Derek Mason, who preceded Lea as coach."

"Georgia has 66 players who had a four- or five-star ranking coming out of high school. Vanderbilt has five after a wave of defections in the offseason."

And this article does not even mention the neglect and disdain the VU Board of Trustees and Kirkland Hall had for sports generally, and football specifically, since the mid-1950's. As I have said before, not even Saint Nick Saban could correct this in the roughly 9 months CCL has had.

Take a chill pill and calm down. It appears we have a Board and a Chancellor who have a very different perspective than their predecessors and see the value in excellent athletic programs, including football. But NO ONE can turn an aircraft carrier on a dime.

Anybody wanting Coach Lea fired after four games is not a serious person.