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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/21179...014/page/7

Let the euphoria begin.

That's more like it.

But our resident experts will disagree.

Got to keep that expectations bar lower than whale sh!t.

Major, you know the view on this board can turn on a dime.

It would be so cool if we see some success and Waldo starts to rock again.

"The nice thing about chocolate milk is that it tastes good"

I just think its interesting that some of the national media is predicting things that some here would almost rather did't happen.. its a strange phenomena on this board since PJ was hired.

damn, I want expectations to be very very low...

7-5?

Wow. I was NOT expecting anyone to predict that. Bleacher Report or not....I'm shocked.

I hope we are 7-5. WOW, that would really shut up some of the pessimism around here. Realistically, I'm still sticking with 3-4 wins. Mainly because of our young players...who will make mistakes regardless of coaching. BUT, the jury is still out on our coaching staff and that wont be determined until our 2014 and 2015 kids are in the system for couple of years...just sayn

Just wait until we take Purdue by 3 TD's.

ok pile it on...come on lets go! The brown cow dung that is

(07-15-2014 07:17 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  That's more like it.

But our resident experts will disagree.

Got to keep that expectations bar lower than whale sh!t.

That's really bizarre too. They like the guy so much they don't want him to expect him to do well?

(07-15-2014 08:38 AM)DesertBronco Wrote:  

(07-15-2014 07:17 AM)MajorHoople Wrote:  That's more like it.

But our resident experts will disagree.

Got to keep that expectations bar lower than whale sh!t.

That's really bizarre too. They like the guy so much they don't want him to expect him to do well?

Hell, raise the expectations, not lower them. Confident people like to be challenged and to challenge themselves. Bring it on!

In Cubits first year I thought we'd suck. Wasn't until we went to BG and Ismail just blew up on their stud QB, then suddenly I knew we had something.

The potential is there for a good crop of receivers and RBs. The Oline has enough talent, just needs to show some depth. We should have a solid group of DBs. To have a turn around like Cubit had the defense has to be vastly improved, particularly up front.

They will add depth, but a play maker or two up front has to emerge. Brant, Sylva, Lee, Ash, Braster, Matech sp., there is potential there for a couple of playmakers to emerge. Some have experience, they all have good size for their position, and the freshmen I mentioned have solid resumes. Braster was also here in the spring.

It seemed that every year during the Cubit regime someone emerged as a real stud.

Ismail came here as a RB, and came back from GRCC as a LBer, and became dominate. Simmons was a man without a position as a junior and became a dominate WR. White was injury prone, got healthy, and became unstoppable.

If Fleck is going to catch people off guard he needs a couple of players to blow up like Davis did.

Yeah, blow up.

(07-15-2014 09:32 AM)DesertBronco Wrote:  Yeah, blow up.

Yet another in depth, detailed response. Thanks Phil Steele jr.

I get the impression that you don't believe there could be another Corey Davis in this group. Heck, Davis wasn't even highly thought of coming out of high school. I really don't think it's far fetched to believe a standout player could emerge from a standout class. Happens every year at almost every school. If Fleck is to have a 6 or 7 win season he would have have many or all of the players I mentioned emerge as play makers. A lot to ask.

(07-15-2014 09:26 AM)Chipdip2 Wrote:  In Cubits first year I thought we'd suck. Wasn't until we went to BG and Ismail just blew up on their stud QB, then suddenly I knew we had something.

The potential is there for a good crop of receivers and RBs. The Oline has enough talent, just needs to show some depth. We should have a solid group of DBs. To have a turn around like Cubit had the defense has to be vastly improved, particularly up front.

They will add depth, but a play maker or two up front has to emerge. Brant, Sylva, Lee, Ash, Braster, Matech sp., there is potential there for a couple of playmakers to emerge. Some have experience, they all have good size for their position, and the freshmen I mentioned have solid resumes. Braster was also here in the spring.

It seemed that every year during the Cubit regime someone emerged as a real stud.

Ismail came here as a RB, and came back from GRCC as a LBer, and became dominate. Simmons was a man without a position as a junior and became a dominate WR. White was injury prone, got healthy, and became unstoppable.

If Fleck is going to catch people off guard he needs a couple of players to blow up like Davis did.

I can actually agree with this... Cubit was able to really emphasize those athletes he would find on a year to year basis. Last year you could see Fleck trying to do the same with Davis... but there just wasn't enough depth around him to really be able to expand on it. You cant just throw to ONE guy EVERY TIME... but you could see the same philosophy unfolding. Hopefully this year a little added depth will go a long way.

Quote:Sustained success is difficult in the MAC, but Western Michigan has managed to reach three bowl games since 2007 despite usually playing a nonconference slate that's heavy on power programs. The Broncos also have a very bad season every eight or nine years, which was the case in 2013 in P.J. Fleck's first season.

Look it that, some respect from the media. They do see some consistency in our history. Might partially be why the project 7-5 for the season. Highly toted recruits and a history of some success at the U.

Quote:It seemed that every year during the Cubit regime someone emerged as a real stud.

I agree with the comments in your post CD. In my mind the above quote (and fact) can be attributed to coaching. Getting the most out of a player(s). Think about it. We had one person, a WR step up to be that stud last year. And the coach was a former wide receiver himself.

I suspect that many people are trying to keep expectations low so that when we overachieve versus expectations, even if it is still a losing record, a positive spin can be put on it. Heck, I played that game in creating profit plans (and usually got called on it :-) ).

My take away is that its nice to finally see some respect from the media, and that the opportunity for success is there in 2014. WMU just needs to be able to rise to the challenge.

Anything but last place would be a surprise.

(07-15-2014 08:13 AM)Cant make this sh t up Wrote:  I hope we are 7-5. WOW, that would really shut up some of the pessimism around here. Realistically, I'm still sticking with 3-4 wins. Mainly because of our young players...who will make mistakes regardless of coaching. BUT, the jury is still out on our coaching staff and that wont be determined until our 2014 and 2015 kids are in the system for couple of years...just sayn

Why would that shut up the pessimism? If anything a preview like this simply sets everyone up for a let down again. See, THESE are the kinds of things that drive me nuts about our program. Obviously, this one didn't come from the Athletic Dept the Football Program itself. But this is the kind of stuff we hear year after year after year.

As I believe maybe Major eluded to earlier that some of us hope this doesn't happen. For me that is not even close to the case. I hope with all my heart that this happens. I just think its foolhardy and silly to think that it will happen. Or to try and spin things as all unicorns and rainbows all the time.

Bleacher Report has their opinion. I'm sure they have a valid reason for it. Good for them and I thank them for their confidence in PJ turning our program around that quickly. Personally, I just don't see it happening, but as they mentioned, there are winnable games early in the schedule and the MAC is a pretty weak conference so maybe they will nail it and prove me wrong.

I'll stick with 4 wins and wish for better.

(07-15-2014 12:44 PM)WheresWaldo42 Wrote:  

(07-15-2014 08:13 AM)Cant make this sh t up Wrote:  I hope we are 7-5. WOW, that would really shut up some of the pessimism around here. Realistically, I'm still sticking with 3-4 wins. Mainly because of our young players...who will make mistakes regardless of coaching. BUT, the jury is still out on our coaching staff and that wont be determined until our 2014 and 2015 kids are in the system for couple of years...just sayn

Why would that shut up the pessimism? If anything a preview like this simply sets everyone up for a let down again. See, THESE are the kinds of things that drive me nuts about our program. Obviously, this one didn't come from the Athletic Dept the Football Program itself. But this is the kind of stuff we hear year after year after year.

As I believe maybe Major eluded to earlier that some of us hope this doesn't happen. For me that is not even close to the case. I hope with all my heart that this happens. I just think its foolhardy and silly to think that it will happen. Or to try and spin things as all unicorns and rainbows all the time.

Bleacher Report has their opinion. I'm sure they have a valid reason for it. Good for them and I thank them for their confidence in PJ turning our program around that quickly. Personally, I just don't see it happening, but as they mentioned, there are winnable games early in the schedule and the MAC is a pretty weak conference so maybe they will nail it and prove me wrong.

I'll stick with 4 wins and wish for better.

I don't see ANYONE spinning unicorns and rainbows. I do see a few who clearly are invested in his failure, to the point that they won't even recognize that he's added value to the program.