At last a reasonable thought out post.
1. Recruiting...this team is the result of 4 yrs of average to below avg recruiting. This is the actual reason for the struggles on the field. No speed,depth and avg talent or inexperienced talent at key positions.
2. Penalties.. mental mistakes cost ball games...LSU NCarolina. The reduction in penalties indicates the coach staff demands discipline.
3. Defense.. defense is an attitude. Our very young secondary is getting better each game and the d line has shown up in all 5 ball games. This did not happen in yrs past.
4. Running is also an attitude. The coaching staff has outlined the way it will be done (north-south) and the backs have risen to the challenge. The o line is getting better at run blocking as well.
5. Special Teams.... this phase of the games was total neglected for 3 yrs. And, we lost close games because of this. If you think that a disciplined attitude is not being projected by the coaching staff in all phases of the game, you only have to look as far as Palardy to see the difference. Btw, the botched fg was the holder's fault. The holder blocked the field goal.
4. Team Motivation...I have not seen any "me" players on the team. They all are helping each other even when their team mate makes a mistake. I believe Bray would have done well if he had been under this system during his tenure.
5. Better clock management... CBJ is a football coach where the past 2 were a lawyer and not sure what kiffin was or is.
6. Off field issues: there have been some but CBJ has worked with those individuals to resolve the issues.
With all the uproar on the VN board this weekend, has anyone asked the question what happened at Fla and why was USA game so close? I have not seen any threads. It is mostly bomb throwing by many here on VN. The Fla game went south because of turn overs. USA was let back into the game because of turn overs. Then,why so many turn overs? Lack of game experience (playing 14 true freshmen) is the reason. All this unmitigated bs about bad coaching was best addressed by freak when he said "the rudeness on the internet is increasing". I would have been less polite.