Status of Furman Football on 3/20/21

[fu77fan]

It is my opinion that we are not a very good football team. While I do not know all the X’s and O’s, it is very apparent that we are really really struggling on offense. In today’s game against UTC, had they not helped us with their penalties as well as the mistake of the punter being down prior to punting , I do not think we would have scored a TD. It is obvious that we are inconsistent on offense. It is obvious that our passing game has struggled. It is obvious that when you cannot pass, that the defenses can shut down our running game.

You might argue that the kicking game has cost us both of our losses. The missed extra points against VMI as well as UTC ended up being huge. But, in my opinion, the losses are in fact related to our incompetent offense.

I do think the defense has played pretty well. Unfortunately, you need a good offense and a good defense to win.

While I love Furman , and will always be a Furman fan, I am very disappointed with the status of Furman football . I do not personally see a bright future in the near future.

[purplehorse]

It is my opinion that we are not a very good football team. While I do not know all the X’s and O’s, it is very apparent that we are really really struggling on offense. In today’s game against UTC, had they not helped us with their penalties as well as the mistake of the punter being down prior to punting , I do not think we would have scored a TD. It is obvious that we are inconsistent on offense. It is obvious that our passing game has struggled. It is obvious that when you cannot pass, that the defenses can shut down our running game.

You might argue that the kicking game has cost us both of our losses. The missed extra points against VMI as well as UTC ended up being huge. But, in my opinion, the losses are in fact related to our incompetent offense.

I do think the defense has played pretty well. Unfortunately, you need a good offense and a good defense to win.

While I love Furman , and will always be a Furman fan, I am very disappointed with the status of Furman football . I do not personally see a bright future in the near future.

I too will always be a Furman fan but anyone who sees anything to be optimistic about is wearing “purple-tinted” glasses. Based on the results on the field this year something about the program is “broken” as far as us putting a good football team on the field. We have gone backwards with CCH now playing with the players he has developed and recruited.

The most excited I have been about the future of Furman football was in December of 2003 when we heard Ingle Martin was coming to Furman. The second time in recent years was Sept 7 2019 when our offense looked so good against GA State. My how things have changed for the worse.

Hard to win when teams stack the box knowing we will not throw any vertical passes the entire game.

[apaladin]

VMI came back and beat Sammy in OT. How sad is SoCon football when VMI is the best team and Furman is barely competitive. FU could easily be 1-4.

[Thorny]

VMI came back and beat Sammy in OT. How sad is SoCon football when VMI is the best team and Furman is barely competitive. FU could easily be 1-4.

The most Furman has lost by is two with both losses coming down to the final plays of the game. You can't argue that Furman is barely competitive.

[AlValonge]

I also am very disappointed about the results of today's game. I am very getting tired of us starting every game looking completely disorganized on offense and playing into the hands of the defense. We are getting abused on the offensive line and Hamp has been running for his life for weeks now. We are too predictable with our play calling and do not have the skill players to make up for that glaring deficiency. However, I don't think that the entire program is lost and we should be proud of our defense keeping us in games. We have some talent in spots and I am proud of our guys wearing the Paladin purple. This game was an abortion from the start and we still had a chance to win it late if we could sustain any kind of drive. Our running game was stuffed and that is a huge problem. It was because of our defense and the lack of discipline/ special team blunders from the opponent that we had a chance to hang around at all in this game. We can still have a decent year if we regroup at the bye and finish strong by winning the remainder of our games.

[purplehorse]

I also am very disappointed about the results of today's game. I am very getting tired of us starting every game looking completely disorganized on offense and playing into the hands of the defense. We are getting abused on the offensive line and Hamp has been running for his life for weeks now. We are too predictable with our play calling and do not have the skill players to make up for that glaring deficiency. However, I don't think that the entire program is lost and we should be proud of our defense keeping us in games. We have some talent in spots and I am proud of our guys wearing the Paladin purple. This game was an abortion from the start and we still had a chance to win it late if we could sustain any kind of drive. Our running game was stuffed and that is a huge problem. It was because of our defense and the lack of discipline/ special team blunders from the opponent that we had a chance to hang around at all in this game. We can still have a decent year if we regroup at the bye and finish strong by winning the remainder of our games.

Based on what I have seen so far I see no way we go 6-3. A better guess I think is to go 1-2 and finish 4-4. I think having a decent season is largely behind us.

One has to look at all the details, not just the win-loss record. If we were 5-0, and had scored 5 more points this year, we would still be bad. Football teams need to be able to score to win. I do not season an easy fix and predict some very tough sledding for Furman this spring and fall.

[gofurman]

I say this in a positive light: I am glad no one is on here vehemently defending how good we are. At some point you have to look at things for what they are.. That Chatt team isn't playing with their best RB (Ford who is a monster), Nunnelly transferred, etc. If their QB was on target or they didn't have so very many miscues they coulda routed us. they tried to let us stay in the game and we still couldn't.

There are positives - I liked how the DBs were allowed to try man coverage at times (even though they had WRs open).. you have to pick a poison and that let us stack guys in other places much like they are doing to us.. Sisson is a threat with his feet etc. I am not all doom and gloom. Heck, Sisson was running for his life most plays so 'who could perform well in that environment?'..

But I have NEVER seen our OL beaten so consistently and so quickly upon the snap. We BARELY - and I do mean BARELY - were able to hand the ball off to the RB before the NG DL was in our backfield. I have never seen that so often. It's as if they knew our cadence and we couldn't block the DTs w our Center and Two guards at all. Several times I was afraid they would literally hit the ball as we were handing it off near the LOS. I haven't seen much of that since watching 4A HS play vs 2A HS. That's a Problem with a capital P

[cavedweller2]

It is deja vu 2003 all over again.

[gofurman]

It is deja vu 2003 all over again.

Was that the year the posters for our team said "the defense never rests" ? I am really asking... I recall feeling sorry for our outstanding defense around that time frame

[The Jackal]

It is deja vu 2003 all over again.

Was that the year the posters for our team said "the defense never rests" ? I am really asking... I recall feeling sorry for our outstanding defense around that time frame

It was 2003. Our defense surrendered something like 14.1 ppg and we were 6-5 because we couldn't score. It was the year before Ingle Martin arrived.

[apaladin]

Yes Sisson has not played well. He does not see the field well and does not handle pressure well. With this offensive line he sees pressure every play. To be honest with this OL I don’t see how any QB could look great. I agree with GF and noticed too even on a straight handoff they were very close to hitting the ball, there was immediate penetration just about every down. I’m just glad we are older, bigger, stronger and faster. Just think how bad it would be if we weren’t. It’ll all be ok, basketball season starts in a little over 7 months.

[gofurman]

It is deja vu 2003 all over again.

Was that the year the posters for our team said "the defense never rests" ? I am really asking... I recall feeling sorry for our outstanding defense around that time frame

It was 2003. Our defense surrendered something like 14.1 ppg and we were 6-5 because we couldn't score. It was the year before Ingle Martin arrived.

yes. I recall that year very well. Lost to wofford 7 - 6/ pains me still. that's why no matter our course this year I hope the guys stay focused and beat Citadel and woff !!!!!!!!!

You can always take pride in having a winning season even if you don't make the playoffs:


CH three records and one in progress-
2017 / ... 8 - 5
2018 / ... 6 - 4
2019 / ... 8 - 5
3 - 2 (conf only spring 21*)... w Mercer, Citadel and Woff to come

Win two of the three and CH has a winning record every year. Now, we could win and look like today... or win and look like we are improving on OL / offense etc - there is obviously a difference. But first we need to win. The true Seniors would have had 4 winning seasons. Redshirt Seniors would have had a losing season only in that last year of Fowler at 2016 / 3 - 8

[fu77fan]

It appears that Sisson has been running for his life all season. I do not think he handles pressure well. He in general does not look comfortable. He has made a number of bad decisions, which have resulted in interceptions. I hope he continues to get better. In order for him to have any chance at getting better, there needs to be better blocking.

[MidlandsPaladin]

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the snaps float back to Sisson and are often high, partly accounting for why defenders are breathing down his neck before he has time to react? Timing is thrown off from the get-go making it hard to run any option or play action as the backs are often well ahead of the QB.

[The Jackal]

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the snaps float back to Sisson and are often high, partly accounting for why defenders are breathing down his neck before he has time to react? Timing is thrown off from the get-go making it hard to run any option or play action as the backs are often well ahead of the QB.

Perhaps the hardest thing to do in football is to snap a football and move simultaneously to block some of these freak defenders bearing down on you.

That said, if the center is struggling with the exchange, you have to accommodate for it.