Carl I love your attitude. All of that would be uncharted territory for this program. We have had a couple glimmers here and there but nothing even close to a sustained winning attitude. This university is at its best with a chip on its shoulder.
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Iām going to disagree a little bitā¦Iām not sure this university is at its best with a chip on its shoulderā¦itās had to try to do more, its best, because it has had to. We were in a very good conference once (CUSA 1.0) and did well, had sustained success, but that collapsed not because we did anything wrong (except not start football when USF didā¦big mistake). We had sustained success in hoops, and that was incredible, but even Bobby had a couple of down years.
Football, I just feel that the potential is there, no doubt the opportunity, so we have had one winning seasonā¦which makes me laugh when folks here claim that Biff was on pace to lead us to our second best season (5-7ā¦pathetic) meaning chips on our shoulders are by necessity rather than when weāre at our best.
Carl, like so many here, see the potential that we always talk about. I agree with himā¦Tulane didnāt become this great football program over night, nor Memphis. I believe we have a coach now who truly knows how to build. Biff knew how to buy good players (look at how he built success in HSā¦he paid for the scholarships, etc.), so I am very optimistic and yet realistic, it will take Albin time, but unlike any coach yet, he knows how to do it.
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I hesitate to bring this up, but I there is one more thing I can tell you. In 2005, the attitude on bobcatattack.com was very similar to the attitude here. Everyone was excited for the future, and about the prospect of becoming a winning program. They enjoyed every little detail, every glimmer of good, and forgave the mistakes, knowing that things were improving. The whole atmosphere was all positive, and fun. And, win they did. First, they won a big game, Pittsburgh at home in 2005. Then they often won the MAC East. Then they started beating their arch rivals, particularly Miami, but also Temple and Marshall. Then they started regularly winning bowl games. But, they never won the MAC Championship, until last year. So, it was never enough, and the fans were more dissatisfied than ever.
When teams win enough, such as Alabama, Ohio State, or Nebraska back in the late 1990s, the sense of entitlement runs deep among the fan base. A program can reach the point where a coach gets fired for a 9-4 season. So, in the event that Charlotte does start winning, whether under Albin or some other coach, never forget that winning isnāt automatic, and never forget to enjoy the pleasure of watching football on a windy fall day. Football is fun to play, itās fun to watch, and itās fun as an excuse to get together with friends. I spent my undergraduate years at Northwesten, from 1973-76, a time when they were transitioning from decent to abysmal in football. In the years after I left, Northwestern had the longest losing streak in the country, at 28 games, then beat Wyoming,and had to start over, and proceeded to lose another 32 games (if my memory is correct). Yet, we always had fun at the games. So, never forget that part. 
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Good morning! Check out my Charlotte 49ers Schedule Preview! Calling my shot (in March based on a silly concept) Charlotte going 10-2 in Tim Albinās first year. If you like what you read, please subscribe, like, and share today!
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clt says this is a quality breakdown. HOWEVER, the eCu pirate is riddled with various STDs and would have a slow reaction time. Norm would be able to get control of the pistol and end the fight.
The green wave is a wildcard, Norm may be in over his head.
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Good call on the various heath concerns of a pirate. Scurvy, STDs, whatever other plagues he could be infected with from lack of hygiene.
Green wave depends on how sentient/control of water he possess. I assumed he did not have a brain and could therefore not hold shape outside of water. If this fight was on a beach it could be a different story!
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Enjoyed the writeup @NinerLiner
I didnāt really comment on the schedule when it was released, but looking over it again today, it seems somewhat favorable, despite the opponent strength.
The hardest stretches are the first two games, and the end of the season (November), as noted. But we get CHeat at home and App downtown, and then we get bye weeks to prepare for our road trips to USF and ECU, and the aforementioned 8 days before Army.
Just looking at the schedule alone (forgetting issues with our team), it seems doable. @UGa is a loss - you just try to get out of there healthy, and CHeat at home is house money given the circus that will be.
The game we really need to win is the season opener (no pressure Coach Albin). Do that, and the schedule actually sets up pretty well. The hardest thing left is that we will have to go at least .500 in league play to get to a bowl, because we arenāt finishing better than 2-2 in non conference (and yes, the dreaded 1-3 is possible). Thatās why that App gane is so important. I donāt care how we do it, how ugly it is, etc, just find a way to win it, and we are setup for a doable season, IF Albin has put together a solid team by then.
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Schedule is extremely difficult and rear loaded. Need to start hot.
4 wins would be a success against this slate.
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Iām not really counting wins and losses yet. I am looking more at what the AAC did for us as far as scheduling. I think they were pretty nice to us. The rest of it is on us. We are the ones that scheduled such a tough out of conference slate.
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Glad to see UNC on the schedule week 2. It will be interesting how prepared they look. They play TCU week 1 so I think we may be able to judge how we will fare after watching that game. If UNC comes out and looks competitive against a middling Big 12 team I like our chances less, but if they look messier I would love a chance to steal a win. Byes are certainly favorable like you said. I know the UGA game will be a loss, but I think the teamās attitude will be a tell on how Albinās first year is going. Is the team staying competitive? Do they look sad, or do they look angry? I donāt think itās a new sentiment but I definitely think it matters. We avoid Memphis and Navy which is a plus. Navy not as tough but would be a grind of a game Iām glad we avoid.
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Wins and losses in year 1 wonāt be as important as attitude/skill shown. Are the players improving from Poggi to Albin? How is the coaching? Do we see an over-year improvement at QB and skill positions? How is team morale?
I agree 4 wins would be an achievement. 6 wins would be an incredible start. I think 4-6 is a realistic and somewhat achievable goal. Iād love to see Charlotte as a team that can steal a win a year as an underdog.
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My second post of the week is live! Continuing my look at the spring roster, this week I typed up the linebackers.
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Time for another story, one you may hear again this fall. In 2005, something unexpected happened in Athens on Friday, September 9th. Ohio had been a losing team for most of the last twenty years, so they hired a guy named Frank Solich, who had been fired from Nebraska. His first game, at Northwestern, did not go well, with a 38-14 loss. In their second game, back at home, they faced Pittsburgh, who had a newly hired former NFL coach, Dave Wannstedt, and no one expected much from Ohio. The game started badly, with Pitt returning the opening kick for a TD. Late in the first quarter, Ohio DB Deon Byrum had a pick six on an out pattern, to tie the score. Ohioās offense did little in the game, but did manage one FG. Ohioās defense was relentless, and the Pitt offense was held scoreless until a game tying FG at the end, to send the game to OT. Pitt went first, and Deon Byrum grabbed another pick 6 for the win.
Just because NC has a successful NFL coach, that does not mean that they win. The players need to believe in themselves, and play to their abilities, and you just never know what might happen. Here are some highlights of that day (i love the Ohio fanās face fault at the end - I hope he wasnāt hurt):
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These are the things that make college football great. I am pulling for a UNC collapse for both my newsletter and hopes for Charlotte but also some family ties to NC State. Would love nothing more than that program to look like a shit show under Bill.
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Coaching college and coaching in the Pros are very different. In the pros, coaches deal with the best of the best. In college, they take inexperienced high school players, and teach them fundamentals, trying to make them better. In the pros. they a small roster, many/most being the same players year after year, so they can build incrementally on their knowledge. In college you have roster twice as big, as many as half of them new each year, so they have to constantly start over. In the pros you have a draft. In college, itāsā recruiting. And, many other thingsā¦
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I would actually prefer beating the Holes and then see them roll through the ACC. If they turn out to be an SS under Belichick, then a win would be meaningless.
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I agree that the linebackers are, on paper, the most solid player grouping. It wouldnāt surprise me if the coaches try to get more of them on the field, by sliding one of them over to Jack, for example. I believe the defense will be very solid, once they get used to what the coaches expect, and understand where they can expect help from other defenders. The offense is my major concern. It will be a new system, and mostly all new players. I expect the offense to struggle a lot early in the year. The defense can win games, however, and they need to, until the offense catches up.
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clt says letās run a 4-6!
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I must be crazy because I donāt see the LB room as a strength. Compared to 2 years ago, itās still a very limited group. Last year it was a weakness, and that was with Prince Bemah.
Maybe Iām not giving some of the new guys their due. Also it gets confusing when you group edge rushers in with the LBs because I donāt really do that. They are DL to me. You can NEVER have enough edge rushers at any level of football, and at this level, solid DTs are also really hard to find / valuable commodities.
As usual, I will wait for the 2 deep. But honestly, I wasnāt going to be surprised if Albin added another LB (or Edge or DT) via a late add.
For reference Carl, 2 years ago we had Demetrius Knight (GT), Nikhai Hill-Green (Michigan), Eyabi Okie (Michigan), Derek Boykins (SC), as well as Prince Bemah and Reid Williford. Plus we had better Edgesā¦ That was a much stronger LB room. Knight in particular was fantastic.
Nineradvocate, Iām including one other factor that you probably are not. While I like all the position coaches, probably the one I have the most confidence in, is the LB coach. Note that, of all the positions on the team, the one where multiple Ohio players followed their assistant coach was at LB.
Edit - The flip side of the fact that the players followed the coach because he is good, the coach brought in those 2 players, knowing what he was getting. Note that neither played much last year, but he must confidence that they will develop into something special.
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