Sure Tyler Varga fumbled for the fourth time in his last two games and Henry Furman added another — all in the first half. Yale had some costly mistakes reminiscent of last year’s 2-8 season and the Bulldogs gave up their most points since Brown dropped 55 on them in 2003.
Read the rest of the story here.
Enormous question: How is Varga?
ReplyDeleteI'll be anxious to hear what his status is. It's great Rich had a big game, but he's still a freshman. Fumbles aside, you just don't replace an All-American. If Varga is out for extended time it likely kills our Ivy title hopes.
It's also crucial that Smith be able to go vs. Penn. Next Saturday is truly make or break. A win, with patsy Columbia next on the schedule, makes us 3-1 with the final three games remaining, two of which are at the Bowl.
I agree, Varga and Smith ARE the play makers
ReplyDeleteChris... You are a typical spectator. You only see the stats and know nothing about the reasons and dynamics of why these happen. Nothing happens without a logical reason and that includes injuries, fumbles, interceptions, completions etc. it is much easier to be a spectator than a reporter that actually knows what is going on.
ReplyDeleteBad news re Chris Smith. He's not expected back prior to the Harvard game.
ReplyDeleteYou're much too harsh 9:13, and you're way off base. You hypothesize a world in which chance plays no role. That's not our world.
ReplyDeleteL et V
There is a recurring theme that should be a concern to any parent that has a son on the team. That is Reno leaving injured players on the field. He did it last year with Williams in I believe the Columbia game. He kept sending him out there when anyone could see he was too injured to be on the field. He did the same thing with Varga against Fordham.
ReplyDeleteThe coach must pull the player. The player is trying to prove to the coach he is tough. What he did to Williams last year was criminal. He has shown the same lack of concern as it applies to Varga. When Yale was within the Fordham 5 yard line in the first quarter, it was clear that Varga was hurt, Carm indicated this during the webcast, yet he remained on the field and needless to say was ineffective.
So if you had any doubts, he values himself over your child which is arrogant, stupid, and short sighted. There is a difference between pain and injured and either Reno does not know the difference or he does not care.
Before someone gets technical it was the second quarter.
ReplyDeleteSorry 3rd quarter 8:13 left
ReplyDeleteThis is clearly not an Ivy League Championship team (Dartmouth falling to a weak Bucknell after beating Yale), but I am convinced that with a couple more recruiting years like this one it will be in 2015. However, outstanding recruiting doesn't help a lot if all the good players are out with injuries.
ReplyDeleteThe injuries to star players over the past two years have been staggering compared to other teams in the league. Anyone have an answer? Or is this just chance?
Congratulations !;35. You've really outdone yourself. Don't you think there'd be some indication from the players themselves if they were being mistreated? And what about all the assistant coaches? Are they in on it too?
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Valuable lesson for young men, 1:35. If you're hurt, you (a) probably hurt your team by staying in the game; (b) raise the probability you REALLY hurt your team in the long run by opening yourself to worse injury. If a player lies to the coach and says he's OK, it's the coach's fault? Lots of athletes do it, but it's selfish, not devotion to the team. Hard to teach, though.
ReplyDeleteHey 9:13, don't bag on Chris, he is doing the best he can and is the only reporter covering Yale FB.
ReplyDelete4:28, Actually there would not be an indication because the players (young adults) want to play and want to prove to their coach that they are committed and tough. Whether it is HS, College, or NFL, the same problem exists, football is a physically demanding sport which at some point in time no players are truly 100%. Therefore players need to understand and be supported by their coaches to understand the difference between pain and injury. In the past players in the NFL lied about concussions because they wanted to play and did not to be perceived as weak, not committed....
ReplyDeleteThis is why the coaching staff must create an atmosphere that does not look negatively upon players who are injured.
Anyone who saw the Columbia game last year knew Williams was hurt and should not have been out there.
I was told that the practices last year during the season were so physical that players were not fresh for Saturdays and were therefore more susceptible to injury on game day.
Coach Williams last team did not fail because the players were not conditioned, they failed because of coaching decisions and players failure to execute.
There is a reason that coaches are moving away from lots of hitting in practices once the season starts.
@ 12:26am obviously you haven't been to a Yale practice or read the Ivy rules that govern practice now. There is minimal "full" contact in practice and this was true last year as well.
ReplyDeletePercy Houghton, Harvard's legendary coach of the early twentieth century, would have no-contact practices the week before the Yale game, partly to prevent injuries but mostly because he wanted his players starved of contact so they would come into the game dying to hit and hit hard.
ReplyDeleteA good coaches number one responsibility is the protection of his players on every single play. This protectionism must start the first time the player sets foot on campus grounds and involves everything that makes up that player and the team. Perfect outcomes include perfect preparation and perfect control of all things that ultimately culminate in a given play on the field. Minimizing player injury risk will go a long way toward any championship. The saying used to be that "great players make great coaches", but you can add "healthy great players are what truly make great coaches". Coaches that don't understand this and do the opposite soon find them selves without great players. I am sure you have heard Reno speak about his "next man up philosophy"? Do you think it is easier to win with the next man up or making sure that the first man doesn't go down?
ReplyDelete9:21 am - Coaches push the rules. Why?, because despite the limitations the rules place on them to what they think they need to do to win, they will be fired if they do not win. They are not teachers. This is how they feed their families.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a rule on how many hours a week a team can practice. I have personal knowledge of that rule being violated multiple times last year.
I can't speak to this year, but I can assure you that the contact rule was violated last year also. Having a son on the team I had personal knowledge of both.
Before you say players would complain, you are correct. They most likely complain only to each other and to their parents. Their parents do nothing with the information because they do not want their son to be punished if the coach finds out it was them who told. My son told me and I said nothing for the reasons previously mentioned.
It is all about the culture of the team established by Reno and just like the corporate world if you do not agree with that culture your only option is to vote with your feet. If you voice a contrary opinion, you will pay a heavy price for it.
This happens during the course of the season.Player is not 100% if he is it's because he does'nt play that much.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the competition Cal Poly, Dartmouth and Fotdham really good teams that were hard fought
Yale is top tier Ivy Team with alot of upswing.
Cheers Jon Harris, Good job Chris
12:55 continuation ....They can never tell even after their careers are over and neither would I because of the risk of losing all the contacts and good will built by attending Yale and being on the team.
ReplyDeleteWhether Yale, Harvard, USC, Stanford, or Alabama, the coaches always have the players at a disadvantage. If you think otherwise, you do not have a clue.
looking forward to the penn game. would like to know the status of chris smith, tyler varga,henry furman,andrew larkin and what type of injury to each and expected return.
ReplyDeleteSmith is definitely out for the Penn game with a leg injury. He's not expected to return till the Harvard game.
DeleteLast year the Reno bashers' primary charge was: he plays his guys over more deserving upperclassmen. Starting Furman has presumably put that one to rest.
ReplyDeleteNow the bashers have upped the ante and unveiled uglier charges which might be summarized as follows: he's unconcerned or too little concerned with his players' welfare. The recent injuries to Messrs Smith, Larkin, Varga, and Furman are held out as evidence of this brutal, coercive Bridge on the River Kwai-like atmosphere. Come on guys, this is the Ivy League not a totalitarian state. If this is going on, and you know about it, and are doing nothing, you don't deserve to have children.
Also, has anyone bothered to see if our injuries are out of line with the other Ivies, not that this would be dispositive one way or the other.
Coaches are attracted to the Ivy League for a number of reasons, one of the most significant being the relative absence of pressure to behave as Coach Reno is accused of behaving.
So, guys, what's next in the way of mean-spirited charges?
L et V
If you are at all concerned with winning the number one priority has to be injuries to skilled position players. Not saying that others are less important but we all know a good QB, RB or WR have pretty high value and keeping them healthy is paramount to success at any level. Are Reno and Morris doing everything possible to make this happen and ensure the success of the team? So far it looks like "no" for two years running. And I don't think its as much a Reno problem as it is Morris. He is just not utilizing his skill players in a way that makes good sense and use of their talents and abilities and continually exposing them to risk due to poor play calling, design and execution. Honestly, when he came here from UMass I expected more. I guess I shouldn't have such high expectations?
ReplyDeleteAgree with 3:28 above. I find this whole thread a complete bore -little bit of knowledge, lot of opinion. Let's talk football. The fact that Dartmouth lost to Bucknell is definitely troubling but I still believe we have seen enough Ivy play to know every game is going to be tightly contested. No one can be written off as a potential league champ until their second loss. Convincing wins against Colgate and Cornell and a very impressive win against Cal Poly don't just go away in the wake of the Dartmouth loss. Tough as it was, it was understandable for a team that had just completed a cross-country trip to a football game for the only time in their lives, and who are real students up against the pressure of mid-semester papers and midterms. Let's go beat Penn and get this thing rolling again!
ReplyDeleteSweeping problems under the rug will not make them go away.
ReplyDeleteNo but how about you.4:00
ReplyDelete3:50 made the best comment of all. Let's go beat Penn!!
ReplyDeleteFYI, Brett Bietek was exonerated from the charge of targeting the head of Roberts.
ReplyDeleteSmith's absence is gigantic
ReplyDeleteHate to see Smith hurt, love watching him play, what a play maker. Still think he'll go to the next level
ReplyDelete12:55 ... I don't think coaches do the wrong thing for just no reason. The reasons that I see most often are lack of resources, incompetence and old school mentality or combination of these. To do the right thing takes great conscious awareness and the will to fight for what's right. That is just not the coaching culture and certainly not when $ are involved. Most will end up fired before they can accomplish anything and if you look at it from that perspective you can see how the motivation to do the right thing would go right out the window. If coaches had job security and unlimited financial resources things might change. But that is a whole other discussion. This is the Ivy League and the pursuit of excellence stops at the library. Your kid will be at the school for a short time. As long as he doesn't get seriously injured just move on and forget about it like the thousands before you.
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