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10 years 1 month
# | Paramus Catholic(NJ) among others playing HS games at the Big House this year 
Recent Comments
Yes, it's brighter. But not extremely well lit.
My expecatation is to be higher than 31st in the world. Now. Why? Because we were #8 is 2005. And #14 in 2013. Call it a regression, a slip, whatever, but we should be in the top 15-20 consistently. (Sound like VT football at all?)
Pre-Bradley we were 2002-#10, 2003-#11, 2004-#11, 2005-#8 in the world. Heck, in 1996 we were #18! Successful. Playing our way into big tournaments. Winning some games. Gaining traction. Then it plummeted. 2006-#34 when Bradley took over. It went back up to #14 in 2009. Solid. Another plummet in 2011 to #34 when Klinsmann took over. In two years, he took us back up to #14 in 2013. Now we are at #32 & #31 the past two seasons. That's going backwards. Slipping from #14 to #20 is a hiccup. Sliding below #30 is regression.
Let's look at a few other Countries over a similar timeframe. Take Belgium. In 2009-#66. Switch managers. Go to 2010-#57. Switch again after missing the WC in 2006 and 2010, but keep momentum to 2011-#41. Still behind the US, even at a down swing in the USMNT. 2012-#21, then a new manager that takes them to 2015-#1 & 2016-#2 in the world. Now do I think the US will get to top 5, probably not. But in 7 years, Belgium went from #66 to #1. Progress, gaining momentum every year. Not ups and downs. (And out ups and downs aren't 2-3 spots...they are substantial 15 spot swings.)
Take Chile. 2002-#84 Missed the 2002 and 2006 WC's. New manager in 2007-2011, and another from 2012-current. Every year, except 2, from 2002 Chile has moved up in the rankings to #5. Copa America champs in 2015. And this is without qualifying for the Olympics in 2004, 2008, 20012, or 2016.
Ok, small country in Europe...Austria. 2007-#94. Climbs to #10 now. Hosted the 2008 European Championships to receive an auto-entry...to which 10,000 Austrian signed a petition for them to withdraw "to spare the Nation's embarrassment." They've got some young talent and are now #10.
For the talk that we were the better team, and over matched the Costa Rica squad; they are #23 currently, 8 spots ahead of the USMNT. And were #16 in 2014 when they made it to the quarter finals of the WC. They've gotten tournament experience, having won or finished 2nd in the Copa Centroamericana every tournament since 1991 except 1 in 1995. Small country, getting better results than the US.
Guess my point is that there are several countries that are much smaller, have a smaller pool of players, don't necessarily have the EPL or Spanish League in their backyard, and have grown the program to heights greater than ours, consistently. Yes, there are others that have fallen. But the USMNT should be able to achieve more than what it has. To add, I feel like no matter who takes over for Klinsmann whenever they will have to revamp things yet again. There will be a new system, approach, regression in the rankings, and not the progress and building upon past steps that it should be. He's here and now, but tomorrow will be something different. That's not the up-and-down yoyo ride that USMNT should be on.
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10 years 1 month
# | OT: Jeremy Clarkson fired by the BBC, Richard Hammond and James May will likely step away from Top Gear as well 'MURICA!
Sorry dude. Turkey leg?
Now am eagerly awaiting a remake of Crimson Tide with all the Alabama references changed to Michigan.
My expectations aren't really that different than yours. But I would prefer to have a coach who doesn't fracture the fanbase and insult our intelligence like Jurgen has done. As far as youth development goes, a lot of that would have happened with or without Jurgen since US Soccer just has access to more money as the game has grown in this country.
The most important changes he's implemented are probably ones that nobody really sees or talks about - things like updating coaching courses & making them more accessible, mandating financial-aid for USSDA clubs, introducing small-sided game standards, etc.
I point this out because I think that Jurgen is probably a really good technical director who can offer a lot to our county. I just don't think he's very well-suited to be our national team coach.
USS Michigan.
with natural route-running and receiving ability paired with terrific athleticism and hands.
some what agree with your comment and feel the same about bucky. only really terrific athleticism stands true to him. he catches with his body FAR to much and had quite a bit of drops last year and his route running is sub par and hes still learning and it takes a while to figure it out and develop good habits at this time his routes consist of running past LBs in mis matches and out bodying and jumping corners.
Why isn't it football season yet?
I am actually about to post some new Harbaugh news that will not make many people happy, stay tuned!
And yes I agree, Fernley really dropped the ball on this one.
Looks like he is rocking the hat of a Navy surface ship. I'm curious which one he chose? Did he go with CVN-78 for Gerald Ford (a Michigan alum) or a custom made USS Harbaugh?
I love that a thread thread talking about Harbaugh devolved into an argument about morality. How fitting. Although I have to say some I have just read some of the worst arguments for a certain moral inclination that I have possibly ever heard. I'll let you decide who I'm talking about though...
Ford is an explosive big-play threat, whether it's downfield or on short passes with him using his lightning-quick feet to make plays after the catch in space.
I love Ford but I don't think I would characterize him, or his feet, as lightning quick. Is this guy talking about the same Isiah Ford I have watched for the last couple years? Ford is silky smooth in his route running but I never thought he was a track star type of guy who can catch a bubble screen and run past the defense making them look like statues on the way to the end zone.
I posted this earlier today in another Fuente thread, but I'll duplicate the post here for the sake of self-containment of referenced articles suggesting Fuente will succeed quickly:
Didn't see a better place to put this, but SI.com's Zac Ellis thinks Fuente is one of a handful of first-year coaches who are in a position to win immediately:
6. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
It's a new era in Blacksburg, where Fuente arrives from Memphis to replace legendary coach Frank Beamer. Fuente brings with him a little bit of old and new. He and offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen will install a spread offense, but Fuente opted to retain longtime coordinator Bud Foster on defense. That recipe should combine well with 14 returning starters if the Hokies can navigate a schedule that includes a nonconference meeting with Tennessee and road trips to North Carolina and Notre Dame. But an eight- or nine-win season isn't out of the question for Fuente, who knows how to rebuild a program.
Projected 2016 record: 8-4
You're completely missing my point. Don't think about dogs and toddlers specifically, rather, think of the concepts of teaching living beings the definitions we have created for "right" and "wrong." In order for morality to work there has to be clear definitions for "right" and "wrong." Those definitions don't just exist. Morality, conceptually, just can't exist without someone defining the upper and lower bounds. Your argument that morality is inherent and rigid just doesn't make any sense and you have failed to articulate why it makes sense to you. Your comments tend to be snarky and condescending but they don't actually shed any light on why you believe morality is inherent.
you and I just disagree and you're clearly not going to change your stance on the matter so any further comments for either side are futile.
Matt also had an article yesterday where he ranked Isaiah Ford as the #4 WR in the nation and Bucky as the #4 TE in the nation going into next season.
College Receiver Rankings 2016
4. Isaiah Ford, Virginia Tech. Ford has been a revelation for the Hokies, providing a huge spark for an offense that has had plenty of struggles the last few years. A 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior, Ford is coming off the first 1,000-yard receiving season in Virginia Tech history, with 75 catches for 1,164 yards and 11 TDs. He was especially hot down the stretch, with 26 catches for 503 yards in the Hokies' final three games. Ford is an explosive big-play threat, whether it's downfield or on short passes with him using his lightning-quick feet to make plays after the catch in space.
4. Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech. The Hokies' offense found some signs of life last season and should take another step forward under Justin Fuente's staff. Isaiah Ford is one of the nation's top wideouts, and Hodges is a fantastic asset at tight end. The 6-foot-7, 245-pound junior has 85 catches over his first two seasons, including 40 catches for 530 yards and six TDs last year. A wiling blocker on the perimeter, Hodges is terrific as a detached tight end, playing in the slot or out wide, with natural route-running and receiving ability paired with terrific athleticism and hands.
Maybe that's why Bradley seems aloof sometimes. He's doing too much soul searching on the pitch instead of just playing the way he's been taught for 25 years. And why Jozy doesn't seem to get a fair shake. Or Donovan was at home the last WC. Or Brooks can't seem to find his way onto the pitch despite playing with his own style; like he's told.
Bradley plays out of position frequently i feel (a fault to Klinnsman), Jozy gets all the chances but can't stay healthy (paper hamstrings), Donovan missed the last WC because he took time off and perhaps JK held that against him, and Brooks has been playing consistently for the US the last two years or so. I don't think JK is some sort of wizard or managerial god but we could be doing worse. I think he's the right manager for us at this time but not the manager after 2018 (im still certain we make the WC).
I'm genuinely curious as to what peoples' expectations are for US soccer at this point in time. Keep in mind our domestic league is still only what 20 some odd years old? Top flight clubs in England were founded in the 1800's. I keep reading people say we're getting mediocre or below average results... and gold cup last year aside i don't see it (and quite frankly i don't care if we win the gold cup or not). I care about tournaments like this and the WC, which at this point we can only hope to get out of the group and maybe win a game or two realistically. The other factor is youth development which I think there is a good amount of going on, even if you look at who has played for us recently. IMO the future is brighter now then it was 4-6 years ago.
This thread...
It just has to be said.
The fact that you're having to consider dogs and toddlers moral agents makes for an awfully weak argument. A dog shitting on the carpet is not morally wrong. It may be breaking a rule, and "bad," but there is no moral question there, so the example is meaningless here. As for the toddler, simply because a person does not have the cognitive function to have an understanding of morality does not mean that morality does not exist there. One can, and many people do, behave immorally without necessarily realizing it's immoral. That's a human flaw, not an argument against natural law.
Lucky. Given the previous snark, invocations of Hitler and gay marriage, and the fact that I am completely uninterested in the sub-thread basically is a moderator's nightmare.
Is it football season yet?
I haven't seen any arguments in this thread. I have, however, seen a lot of collapsed yellow comments.
Morality and Justice was my least favorite class I took at VT. Mainly because of the types of arguments seen in this thread.
I think we fundamentally disagree then. I don't believe that morality just exists and is rigid. That doesn't make sense to me. You literally can't define "right" and "wrong" without the existence of set parameters. Those parameters have to be set by someone. They don't just exist in nature. The only things that are inherent are instincts to fulfill basic needs to live. Morality has zero bearing on those instincts. Morality requires complex thought and cognitive recognition of specific scenarios. Sharks who bite people are not necessarily immoral or amoral. They are sharks swimming through the ocean and succumbing to their instincts. There is no moral code or structure which tells sharks something is right or wrong.
You know when you come home and can tell that your dog has done something wrong. He looks guilty. You discover that he's pooped on the rug for the 3rd time. The only reason the dog knows that pooping on the rug is wrong is because he's been conditioned to that understanding through punishment for earlier episodes of pooping on the rug. A dog does not look guilty the first time it does something we perceive to be wrong. It is only after you have punished it and trained it to know that pooping on the rug is "bad" that it will start to understand it is "wrong". You have just adjusted that dog's moral compass by teaching it pooping on the rug is a punishable offense.
In the same way people are not born with adjusted moral compasses and a rigid set of morals. They are born with needs (food, air, water) and a mechanism to alert capable caretakers that one of their needs is not being met (crying) and we teach them, over time, what we understand to be "right" and "wrong." You don't blame a 3 year old for stealing little Tommy's lunch. You blame the parents for failing to teach the child that stealing little Tommy's lunch is "wrong."
Actually i asked you questions you can't answer and explained the difference between morality and morals in effort to get you to understand what you believe is not universal and absolute to everyone else.
You can keep being reductive and insulting, but the facts still stand.
Agree to disagree then.
The last paragraph is Bingo. I hear it a lot, and even have read it in this discussion topic, crediting him with the youth movement in the US, but giving him a pass for us not qualifying for the last 2 Olympics with the U23 squads because he's not the coach. It can't be both ways. Soccer has taken off in the US because of past successes (Ramos, Agoos, Cobi Jones, Balboa, McBride, Reyna, Lalas, Wynalda from the '98 WC team...) parents getting their kids interested in it instead of baseball or football, and having more access to coaches that played and know the game versus just a dad stepping in. It's taken time, and hasn't blown up overnight. And could be a very good reason why it could actually be successful as a whole across the county if managed properly. Keep it up and some good will come out of it.
As to the "manager" Mourinho saying that, no I can't. But he's a true manager. For some reason Klinsmann has taking over this "wizard" role of sorts, over seeing this, speaking to that, discussing this, working on that. He talks in generalities to guys that haven't been spoken to in that manner. He's not speaking their language, or what they've been used to. Maybe that's why Bradley seems aloof sometimes. He's doing too much soul searching on the pitch instead of just playing the way he's been taught for 25 years. And why Jozy doesn't seem to get a fair shake. Or Donovan was at home the last WC. Or Brooks can't seem to find his way onto the pitch despite playing with his own style; like he's told.
I don't dislike Klinsmann, I just don't feel like he's the answer to US soccer at this time. Maybe he has pointed the ship in the right direction, but it needs a better engine to take it to where it needs to be.
Mich. coaches can't go to the games or interact with the players and it costs the schools money to play there.