RSSYALE FOOTBALL LIVE: The 130th Edition of The Game
posted by Chris Hunn at
10:07 AM
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Saturday, November 23, 2013
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87 Comments:
Hard to believe Yale wasn't better prepared.
Yale was not even competitive vs Princeton and Harvard. Both teams could have scored 60 points if they wanted to.
Now that the season is over, I will say it. I TOLD U SO!
Hopefully the boy wonder Reno will not deny the Seniors the opportunity to speak and thank their parents, family, and friends at the football banquet as had been the tradition, until he became coach, in order to spend time once again telling everyone how great he is as he did last year.
TruthTeller
Truth Teller, you told us nothing. Yale was blown out by Harvard in 2007, 2011, and 2013, all at the Bowl. Did you tell us that, too? What a loser.
Harvard has better talent and performed better and Yale was banged up. Simple.
Amen TruthTeller
Aunt Betty, Harvard was the better team, but Yale was clearly out coached.
4:00. Do you really believe that if Murphy coached Yale and Reno coached Harvard it would have been different?
Harvard dominated the line of scrimmage. That's talent, not coaching.
Reno is unproven as a recruiter, which is 90% of coaching. I'll make that judgement in 2 years.
Aunt Betty.
Sorry. As a 45 year Yale fan, the defense - Reno's defense - is the worst I've EVER seen.
They didn't get dominated at the line of scrimmage. They were out of position.
As for "banged up", that was on offense. Which actually performed reasonably well, with nearly 300 yards & 18 first downs.
The team was absolutely non-competitive - worse than last year - vs. top 1/2 of Ivy League.
This year, the coach made a few adjustments, namely that his O-line couldn't block, so they needed to run more read option.
But the team is terrible. Reno DID get outcoached, though not really that relevant.
And the closing practices, luncheon stuff, non fan friendly behavior, "we've turned a corner" nonsense has turned off a LOT of folks.
I mean, announced crowd was 50,000 today. Looked more like 35-40,000 to me. Sitting at HOME.
Students don't even show up at games any more, that's how bad it's gotten.
Or townies, or 40+ year alumni.
Reno has the same "recruiting" and playing "his guys" smell as Tom Williams. Morgan Roberts, meet Patrick Witt. Khalil Keys, meet Mordecai Cargill.
The best players should play. The upperclassmen should play before the freshmen.
That's ALWAYS been the formula for winning Yale football.
Yale '86
Yale '86:
He closed practices after reports of violations of the contact and practice time rules. No witnesses, no violations.
However, as a parent of a former Bulldog I agree based on experience that he is very anti fan and anti parent.
He shows the players no loyalty, but expects loyalty from them. He runs the team into the ground during the week with his per Chism in the NHR "practices as intense as summer camp" foolishly thinking he is making them tougher when all he is doing is running them into the ground leaving them stale on gameday. He uses next man up as a threat to get injured players to play when they should not or say they are OK when they are not in order to prove to him that they are tough.
He is either bias or can't identify talent as demonstrated by the amount of shuffling that takes place in his starters from end of camp to mid season.
For Reno it is all about him 24/7 365. After a 2-8 season last year him taking the traditional Senior thank you time (without telling them until right before the banquet, most had their thanks written already) to spend what seemed like forever to tell us how great he was, was disgusting. He only cares about himself. He is not authentic, he is a fraud.
TruthTeller
Yale needs a NEW COACH
Beckett, cut your losses or YOU may be gone.
Bad decision to hire this guy.
Many good O and D coordinaters out there or find a good D-1AA coach with a worthwhile diploma
Mr 1971
Mr. 1971: Mr. 1978 here. Just attended my 40th straight GAME. With all due respect to my slight elder, your position makes no sense. Coaches who have better records in their second season than their first season are never fired... ever. And changing to a fourth coach in 6 years is an incredibly stupid move that would harm recruiting for a decade. We were uncompetitive today... get over it. Plenty of time for Reno to get the players he wants and prove himself or not. I can wait five more years. Giving up after two is just stupid, whether you like Reno or not.
In the long run the team will be fine. We have good Athletes and Reno will hopefully learn and get smarter. However the route he chose is sad for the current juniors and seniors who have worked so hard and have been replaced with good athletes that just weren't ready yet.
When hope is your plan you're in trouble. Hopefully Reno will learn and get smarter, yea right. Yale is not a place for a coach to 'cut his teeth'.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hope is what you do when you are stuck in a bad situation and wish it will improve. That's what I meant. All the ranting and raving I can do on this site does nothing. It falls on deaf ears. The people who can make a change probably don't read this. I do agree that hiring Reno was a bad move, but I also realize that changing coaches again is a worse move and will greatly affect recruiting. Therefore I hope.
For the record the two coaches Yale considered (and actually offered the job to one) besides Reno were 2-8 (Holy Cross) and 1-9 (Georgetown) going into the Harvard game.
By the time the majority of the 50,000 got to their seats,mid 2nd quarter, the game was long over. In August, I would have taken a 5-5 season. Games like the last two show Yale needs more size and talent.
Phil Steele picked the Elis to finish dead last in the league. We wound up fourth. We beat a ranked team, Cal Poly, on the road. We had to endure the mid-season loss of two of our playmakers, Chris Smith and Tyler Varga, and Furman's injury in the Fordham game kept him on the bench against Penn and Princeton. Had those three guys been healthy all season, we would have beaten Penn and looked much better against Princeton and Harvard. On balance, I'd say Reno did well by Yale football this season.
Mike Harrington, TD'69
Mark, I agree Iwalked out after it was 28 -0.Horrible,But I will give it him his 2years.I believe that is fair.He is young,but I think he will get wiser.Hopefully get a new DB coach and QB coach and new OC Rick Flanders needs to converse with a smarter DC.Change his philosophy.
Game was over in the first quarter. Time for Flanders to retire defense was over matched but equally out of position. Reno choked again on his game management should have gone for both fourth and two instead of attempting a field goal and punt. Hard to believe a head coac is that stupid.
I like Reno, but that field goal try you are talking about DID have me shaking my head.
Chris. Sad day for yale football and fans.Do we have a play book?same plays from the start of practice in august up to the harvard game. We started off great with three wins then the roof fell in .Injuries to key players put us in a hole. A good coach makes adjustments none where made. It would make sense to make some changes in the offense. Go to other formations give the other teams something to think about. THIS WAS NOT DONE EITHER. I think he should get away from the spread formation next year and go to the pro set get the tightend and fullback back into the game. This way the running backs will not have to do everything by them self. We have the backs for this offense. Give the kids the oppertunity to win games. One more thing some of the coaching decisions this year where incredible stupid and cost us games. Ihope he will make adjustments and make this team competive for every game next year. Lets have a great recriuting year and hope for the best next year. Happy holidays everyone. Good job Chris.
-Walt, YaleBlue
Not sure there are any Reno defenders left, but you can wait as long as you want with this guy to give him a "fair chance" and those years you wait will be wasted. You can talk all you want about giving him time to get "his guys" in place but let's face it - all these schools recruit the same kids and the talent pool is more or less the same. Coaching is what makes the difference. We didn't just lose to Princeton and Harvard; we were dramatically underprepared. We did not even show up. This is indicative of something much bigger than Varga and Smith being hurt, which has been the excuse all year. We lost these two games by a combined 63 points. If you think the absence of two players is worth 63 points you are as deluded about their talents as you are about Reno's. Two full years into his tenure and this program is a bigger mess than it ever was under Tom Williams. If you want to call moving from two wins to five progress, go ahead. But the teams we beat were a combined 19-35. If being better than Columbia is the goal, we're there. If competing at the top of the Ivy League is, not even close.
People seem to forget that the much maligned Tom Williams was 7-3 in his second year and second in the Ivy League!
If you want to understand the type of coach you have, Reno waited until about 15 seconds left in the game to put in seniors who have been with the program for 4 years. Harvard was taking a knee. That's how many of the seniors will remember their last play. He is clueless and has no respect for tradition. He should have taken out the few seniors who did play so the fans could recognize them, and then allowed the seniors he benched all year for the sake of the program to play a few series. Coach Murphy would have recogized the change and also made changes. Yale was never going to come back midway through the fourth quarter. But his coach just doesnt get it. Cant see how the extra 10 minutes of playing time for the seniors who hurt "his guys" or impact the outcome of the game. The fact that an Ivy League head coach doesn't have any sense of how much his actions have hurt the upperclassmen is sad.
Yes, there are plenty of Reno fans (not just defenders), and I am one of them. Let me add that I am not related to Coach Reno by blood or marriage or beholden to him in any way.
That said, let's recall we have three more wins this year, and if that continues...
One of the many things I like about our coach is his intense commitment. Like Steve Gladstone, the coach of men's heavyweight crew, Tony Reno has upped the ante, and when that happens the less committed will jump ship, sometimes literally. And that, by the way, is fine. Yale is about choices.
It's absurd to say the Ivy League is all about coaching. Football's kinda basic-you win if your guys can knock the other guys on their asses or elude them. We don't have enough of those guys...yet. Coach Reno has only one full recruiting class under his belt. By the time he has three or four, most of those who vent here will be singing a different song. Strike that...the Reno haters will be singing the same song with different and even more unfair lyrics.
L et V
I don't understand how many of you can think that an upperclassmen has the right to be on the field. It's about talent people. By getting the young, more talented, players experience they have something to build on for years to come.
11:05: Coach Reno has 2 recruiting classes under his belt.
Secondly, if you call practicing in midseason with "the same intensity as precamp" upping the ante, that is not upping the ante, it is stupid macho garbage which contributes to injuries both in practice and in games.
If you call upping the ante, expecting all the players to give 110% in practice all season even though you won't even give them playing time in games you are losing by 30+ in early 4th quarter such as the Princeton game, then you are stupid. You are correct, it is "about choices", so why would they choose to do so? What is their incentive? You would not do that.
Coach Reno shows his players no respect and no loyalty.
The only thing Coach Reno is "intensely committed" to is his self.
Feel free to attack me and not the content of the comments like you Reno Pom Pom people always do. Note to self, when you do not have the facts on your side just attack the messenger.
TruthTeller
Oh, Truth Teller, how wonderful to hear from you again.
But you are wrong. The sophomore class is, for better or for worse, almost entirely the work of Coach Williams. Don't you remember,Truth Teller,that Coach Reno was hired after virtually all of that class was signed up.
Please don't let your errors deter you. We love hearing from you, and are glad that Portal 31 provides an outlet.
L et V
2:25 PM: You are wrong, Beckett did not require Reno to honor commitments that Williams had made to young men and there were very many that he did not honor. If were following this blog then you would know that there were many complaints about Reno not being required by Beckett to honor them. So the sophomore class is his.
As I stated, no propaganda, just truth. Check the archives if you doubt my accuracy.
TruthTeller
BTW, Reno requested that he not have to honor the commitments that Yale had made to young men when he accepted the position. He was granted the freedom to bring in whoever he wanted.
For the record Coach Williams was not given that option when he came on board.
TruthTeller
Sorry, Truth Teller, Coach Reno did the right thing and honored virtually all of Coach Williams's commits, and Coach Williams commits constituted almost the entire class. The class belongs to Coach Williams.
Would you consider a different pen name?
L et V
4:53: You are arguing semantics. If Reno was not REQUIRED by Beckett to honor ANY of Coach Williams commits and he had the option to pick and choose, which he did, they are not Coach Williams recruits, they are Coach Reno's because ANY he kept was by HIS choosing as demonstrated by your "VIRTUALLY ALL" remark which isn't quite accurate but given that virtually is a subjective term I will not debate it.
The point is he was not required to keep any of them, so any he kept was not because of a commitment the school had made to the young men (which by the way given when the change was made should have been honored, it was because HE (Reno) wanted them. Therefore, they are his.
If this is too hard for you to understand then you are just looking for reasons to make excuses for Reno.
TruthTeller
Truth teller, do you really believe that he really wanted them all just because he honored the commitment? Maybe the alternative was a class of only 10-15 guys. Whether he kept them or not, he only started recruiting that class for Yale in January. How do you assemble a complete class that you really want in a few weeks? No summer camps, no time to build relationships for Yale. No offense to that class, but this year's class, that he had a full cycle to recruit, is demonstrably more complete. I think most would agree that, regardless how you feel about him as a coach, he does not have two full classes that belong to him.
Kind of a silly argument here guys. Let's start here: the freshmen are his. And I think assuming his freshman class is a great recruiting class just because they played might be problematic. They played because he preferred them to the older kids. A few examples - Rich is a nice back - but he's got modest speed and size and a fumbling problem. Oluokon got moved around rather than sat down when he struggled and offenses just kept targeting him wherever he was. In fact, all the DB's with the exception of Champion were clearly playing because of Reno's preference; they simply were not better. Tyler played because the defensive line talent was weak. Can we say they will improve over time? Probably. Can we tell how good they are now? No. But I don't think recruiting will be Reno's big issue. It will be team solidarity and learning to prepare better, both in X's and O's and more importantly with conditioning and rest. His team was completely broken down by the end of the season. If you saw those kids the night before games, you saw a group that was exhausted, sore, and beat up. No one who saw that was surprised that the Harvard and Yale games were non-competitive. When you look at the scores against common opponents (Dartmouth beating Princeton for example) you see no reason for that lack of ability to compete at the end of the year except poor preparation. I agree with other posters that say there is a lot of macho posturing about toughness, but that doesn't get kids ready for games. The team solidarity thing will be big as well. This was a very divided team. Maybe cohesion just happens over time when he has four classes and they're are all "Reno guys," but that's no guarantee. If the poor communication, the favoritism of certain kids, the stubbornness about how to do things, and the inability to understand the importance of making every guy on the roster feel valued continue, the team will continue to be divided and will not improve. Even when they are all "Reno guys" only 11 of them get on the field. How will the other guys get handled? He obviously isn't going anywhere any time soon, so we will see.
Correction: In the prior post, I meant to say the Harvard and Princeton games, not Harvard and Yale
To 9:21
How do you know they were a divided team? I'm not challenging you - I'm just curious. Captain Palin,a senior, kept saying all year this was a "close knit" group.
Last year there were blogs suggesting all these defections from the team, yet no one could name any except John Whitelaw.
Where does this stuff come from?
11:28 AM, Not sure what time period you are counting, but if you think the team did not miss EJ Conway, then you never saw him play and there were others after last season ended.
TruthTeller
For the person asking who "defected" here are the names of a few of the kids who quit or who were on previous rosters, but not on the 2013 roster:
Winston Bouknight
EJ Conway
Alex Flanders
Victor Hicks
Jackson Liquori
Braden Meador
Obinna Nwakeze
Jake Simones
Elijah Thomas
John Whitelaw
Kyle Wittenaur
Kyle Aberton
Jack Bechert
Greg Carlson
Chris Coyne (concussion)
Ethan Dasilva
Max Fink
John Sheahen
Matt Spillane
Luke Thomas
To 2:10 PM; Your list does not include one starter with the exception of maybe EJ Conway. Kyle Wittnaur had a career ending injury and Max Fink never suited up. The remainder were never on the two deep with the exception of John Whitelaw, Elijah Thomas and Jackson Liquori. Out of the four excluding John Whitelaw do you know the real reason for leaving the team. There were twenty two seniors honored at the Harvard game out of thirty recruits about average after four years. I think coach Reno game manangement stunk this year but I do not think attrition as you suggest was because of him.
To 9:21; Oluokon made second team all ivy obviously you do not know what you are talking about.
Truth Teller: So great to have you back. Thought you might hang it up after the drubbing you took yesterday.
4:52 PM : When you are getting beat all the time you make a lot of tackles, how many passes did Oluokon defend? How many tackles were made after he allowed the receiver to catch the ball while playing corner? How many were 15 yards downfield after getting beat at safety?
Do not get me wrong I like Oluokon's size and athleticism. I believe he is going to be a good to very good player, but this year he was over his head, especially mentally.
It is a great honor for him to make 2nd team All-Ivy. However, the objective of a DB, especially CB is too prevent the receiver from catching the ball, not tackle him after he has done so. Therefore the important stat is pass breakups and a evaluation of how many times his receiver was not thrown to because of his coverage.
TruthTeller
5:02PM I experience a lot of personal attacks. However, there was not much attacking of the points I made. Personal attacks are what people do when they do not have a sufficient response to the points raised. So keep doing so, I'm a big boy, I can handle it.
I'm objective, prove me wrong and I will admit it. Note that a lot of my comments are based on documented facts/stats and personal interactions, not hearsay or wishful biased thinking?
For example, 4:32 pm response to the person who listed the players who had left the team indicated that only 4 or 5 would have been on the 2 deep. Even if I follow that logic, anyone that saw the team this year and does not think 4 or 5 players better than those on the 2 deep this year would not have made a difference is an idiot. So, the response was not objective.
Reno could be a good coach if he could learn to manage his ego, have more personal integrity, not assume he knows everything and more importantly no one else knows anything.
A good manager, coach, supervisor, leader,...has to be secure enough to not feel like he has to keep reminding people who is in charge and to surround themselves with people who may offer an opinion different than theirs, otherwise they risk losing perspective. Reno has not proven he can do that.
BTW, did Reno allow the Seniors to do their pre-Reno traditional thank yous or did he fill the time with either him or his surrogates telling everyone how great he is and what a great job he is doing?
TruthTeller
Reno allowed the seniors to talk this year. I'm happy for the boys that it wasn't a repeat of last year.
8:34PM Thanks for the info. I am glad to hear that! Hopefully that demonstrates that he realizes not doing so last year was a big mistake and very disrespectful to both the Seniors and their parents.
TruthTeller
Truth Teller did not respond to any fact requested by 4:32 regarding reasons for leaving because obviously he does not know any. I am curious to know which four or five players should have been on the two depth chart who would have made a difference this year.
12:38: I have heard reasons through third parties, therefore I do not repeat them. Facts not hearsay.
It was 4:32 pm who said only 4 or 5 of the players who left the team would have been on the 2 deep. I simply pointed out that his response was not objective because the team could have used 4 or 5 players who would have been on the 2 deep (Better than either the starter or the backup).
So you will have to ask 4:32pm which ones he meant.
TruthTeller
Truth Teller if you heard facts through third parties it is indeed hearsay. Do you think some players on this years team should have been on the two deep depth chart and were not?
Do you really think that Freshman Candler Rich is a better back than Junior Kahlil Keys? It took Varga getting hurt and then Rich fumbling a couple of times for Keys to get a chance. Even then, he was behind Rich in the depth chart.
To 4:52, who is sure I don't know what I'm talking about: Did you go to any games? Did you see Oluokon play? I have no idea how All-Ivy is chosen; it is likely political like all other arbitrary awards, or maybe it is, as someone suggested earlier, a total tackles stat. And corners want big "passes defended" stats more than they want tackles. But I'm not certain Oluokon is even the second best DB on his team, let alone the conference. Good thing Fordham didn't have a vote. They ran by him like he was standing still all day. He has potential, and is very good in run support, but he is a sub-par cover guy. His coaches knew it, and moved him from corner to safety. Like all the frosh who played, he is very much a work in progress. With his size, he will no doubt end up a linebacker. But All-Ivy at DB? Headscratcher. And here's more evidence that it's political: Dylan Drake does not appear on this list but Beau Palin does? Anyone watch those two play? Both solid players and yes Beau had more tackles but who had more impact and disrupted things more?
To 2:04; I attended all of the games and know Oluokon was preseason stater at safety until Harris was injured. He did have a bad game against Fordham but do not think it counted toward all ivy selection. It was the interior defensive line and linebackers who did not play well against Princeton and Harvard. Just watch the replays of the scores. Larkin and Vaughn in particular were either out of position or missed tackles.
1:08 PM I think you intentionally misunderstood my response. I said I would not comment on why certain players left them after last season unless I heard it from them directly, even if the third person was my son who was on the team. That is the facts vs hearsay I was commenting on.
For the record my son was a starter, so I am not disgruntled, I am objective and view the team from the big picture perspective, not simply only caring about my son.
TruthTeller
To Truth Teeler; Did not misunderstand what you said "i have heard reasons through third parties" Whomever you are those are not facts but simple hearsay. Glad you are objective i am sure your son has told you the best players played.
6:25PM You are incorrect!
Do not assume that just because my son was a starter, he liked Coach Reno, agreed with how he ran the team, or thought the best players played, because he did not like him, did not agree with how he ran the program, and did not think the best players were playing or were even on the 2 deep.
Remember Vaughn was not on the 2 deep last year. In fact I am not sure he was even third team. While he did improve, there was not this miraculous improvement this year. Reno through his bias had him buried on the depth chart last year.
Given my sons relationship with his teammates, I believe what he told me was true regarding why certain players left and those reasons were not simply to focus on their studies. I just chose not to repeat what he said because I am not willing to identify which players left for what reason anymore than the Yale is when a player takes a year off away from school.
Players know when the Coach is a fraud, they are just not in a position to do anything about it.
TruthTeller
To everyone talking about Yale's DBs.I agree with Truth Teller and 2:04. Here are the facts. Harvard's top DB's break up stat is 16. Princeton's is 9. Oluokon's is 4. Our top DB stat is 5. End of debate.
I do not believe a single word "Truth Teller" has written. He's more likely an irrational crank who for some reason has it in for Coach Reno and has invented a starter son to try and make his angry barbs sound more plausible.
The facts are what they are. 8:17 makes a good point. Our DBs have potential but were not ready to start. Their inexperience had a lot to do with the outcome of the season. Reno is responsible for it. There is no reason the more experienced DBs did not play this year. The stats don't lie. And, no disrespect to the freshmen. It's not their fault. Just like it wasn't Eric Williams fault last year. What happened to Eric last year was a crime.
9:01PM When you do not have a credible response, attack the messenger.
Since they are just angry barbs, debunk them please. One by one. It should be easy. I look forward to your response, but I will not hold my breath.
TruthTeller
My son is also on the team and truth teller does speak the sad truth.
My son is on the team. Truth Teller is telling the truth. Sad, but true. Another example of Reno's bad coaching decisions is the fact that he awarded 4 freshmen the Charles Loftus Award which is supposed to be given to the most valuable FRESHMAN. How many times in the history of Yale football was the award for the most valuable freshman been given to 4?????????????? It's ludicrous.
2 of the 4 Freshman that got the most valuable Freshman Loftus award were DB'S. I was at or watched all the games and I didn't see much Value in them. I agree giving the award to 4 is just Ridiculous.
To 9:01: If Truth Teller has "invented a starter son" he has done a really good job. Because his fictional kid sounds exactly the same as the "real" kids. As another parent of a player, I concur that he's dead on in virtually all his commentary.
TruthTeller's a parrot.
TruthTeller's starter son is a late arrival to this party. I suspect he read other posts and decided that having one might add a degree of plausibility to his screeds.
I think I'll claim one too.
6:43
Not a late arrival. I've been blogging for several years. Just came up with signature
TruthTeller
11:37: Get some sleep and some reading comprehension, you imposter. Not talking about you (Who cares about you?); talking about your newly-minted starter son. Nice try. By the way you can't have a starter son, I do and he says you don't.
TruthTeller
8:15AM I said my son was a starter. I did not say when.
But keep focusing on whatever you need to other than the points I raised so you do not have to address them. That will be far easier than debunking my comments.
TruthTeller
Poor 12:16. Now you're waffling. "I didn't say when."
Puleeeze. This century? And you don't make points; you just call Coach Reno names. Face it, you don't have and never had a relative at Yale.
TruthTeller
C'mon 2:59: Stop pretending to be me. I'm me, and I'm really fair-minded and I have sons starting on offense, defense, and special teams. So I really know what's going on and I can't be said to be holding a grudge because, my boys aren't playing.
The One and Only TruthTeller
this blog is very sad! the reality is at least 90% of us on the team wouldn't be at Y if it wasn't for football. at least 90% of us are going to get job opportunities because we will be Y football alumni not because we are the most qualified for the job. the coaching staff isn't going to change any time soon and the reality is we are in a better situation than with TW. well over half the team was at excom at some point under TW, that staff turned their heads to a lot of bad that was going on. yes Reno is tough on us but so was my dad. we are in a generation where everyone wants to feel good but that's also why our society is a mess and our country as well. life is hard Truth Teller, little johnny isn't going to be handed everything you want. to come on here and bash things because you don't agree with them is very sad. you are supposed to be the example for your son. what kind of example are you setting? think about it. my dad always told me, if you don't have something good to say, keep your mouth shut. Y football is moving in the right direction and everyone on the team knows it or will when reality sets in.
'15
Thank you, 9:26. Maybe what you wrote will at least partially silence TruthTeller in all his incarnations. BTW: what does "excom" mean?
I hope that Yale and your football experiences there are living up to your expectations.
L et V
9:26 AM: I will respond point by point.
9:26AM: “the reality is at least 90% of us on the team wouldn't be at Y if it wasn't for football”
Response: Hopefully you do not mean that the 90% were not academically eligible to attend Yale and were only accepted because of football. If that is not the case, you had something “handed to you” that you did not earn, so feel free to withdraw rather than being “handed everything you want”.
9:26 AM: “90% of us are going to get job opportunities because we will be Y football alumni not because we are the most qualified for the job.”
Response: Sounds like you are not against little Johnny getting handed everything he wants AS LONG AS YOU ARE LITTLE JOHNNY. So I doubt you would be against accepting a starting position you did not earn? Hopefully you write your Yale papers better than this, or we see why you “wouldn't be at Y if it wasn't for football” BTW, all your credibility is now gone.
9:26 AM “the coaching staff isn't going to change any time soon”
Response: Sounds like acceptance of this fact is driving your comments.
9:26 AM: “the reality is we are in a better situation than with TW”
Response: From a won-lost perspective the jury is still out. Year one the pundits thought Yale would win five or six games and they won two. Year two, they thought they would win three or four and they won 5. For every bad game decision made by Coach Williams and can point to at least one by Coach Reno.
From an integrity and leadership perspective, Yale is definitely not better off! The handling of the McHale situation last year was an embarrassment to Yale football and the university as a whole. Coach Reno removes McHale as captain because of the incident at Toads which I believe he allegedly poured a drink on a young lady, punched a young man and fled the scene. He then proceeded to allow McHale to effectively function as captain the entire season. Every week Reno started the Bulldog walk on the first row center with one arm locked with McHale. McHale was always the first player out of the tunnel at home games. McHale was on the traditional Harvard/Yale program. McHale was honored at the banquet. What message did this send to the team? Reno know how much money McHale’s dad was contributing prior to his removal as Captain. What happened? This clearly was handled very poorly.
Not allowing the 2012 Seniors to speak at the banquet which had been the tradition and not telling them of your decision until the last minute (Most already had their speeches written in anticipation of doing so) was disrespectful to them and their parents.
Not removing Eric Williams from I believe was the Columbia game in 2012 when he was clearly too injured to play showed no concern for him and allowing him to take that beating may have damaged him mentally for good. Clearly Williams was not the #1 QB even starting the season. If you think he was, then you were not at any games. A clear case of favoritism.
9:26AM “yes Reno is tough on us but so was my dad.”
Response: As I have blogged before, there is a difference between being tough and being abusive, between actions which build up and actions which tear down, between actions which work TOWARDS the goal and actions that do not. An in season practice regime “as intense as precamp” per Chism does is not toughness, it is stupidity. It is the false macho mentality that needs to be removed from football. It does not work towards the goal which is to be best positioned to compete on gameday. Look at the number of injuries pre and post Reno. Clearly something he is doing is contributing to the number of injuries.
The next time you choose to comment, make sure you do not contradict yourself. You expect and indeed DEMAND that you be handed everything you want.
TruthTeller
Thanks again, 9:26. It's nice to hear from someone who really knows what's happening. Don't worry about poor TT. Nobody is listening to him as he rehashes the same malignant nonsense. He can't help himself, but it's too bad he's polluting what once was reliable source of information about Yale football. Perhaps he could take his gifts to Harvard.
my point about getting into Y had nothing to do with being qualified, it had to do with the low % of acceptance rate at Y per applicants, we benefit from being football players. life is about who you know, not always what you know. we will benefit as Y football alumni it's a simple fact. i prefer this coaching staff. you are complaining about something that isn't going to change, that was my point. the McHale situation wasn't completely Reno's choice, very few know this. that is the reality of that situation. i'm done debating a parent who knows everything and has the only opinion that matters in the world. you are truly the greatest person in the world and unfortunately a complete loser for being on this blog and as often as you are.
'15
4:52PM: The point you made was that I was a parent who wanted "little johnny to be handed everything" while you were talking about all the unwarranted benefits you have or will have that "will be handed to you" because of Yale football. That makes you a hypocrite.
You can change your point after the fact that is your choice, but what you said was clear. That is why my response included your quotes.
This is not the Yale PR blog. We are not required to bring our Pom Poms.
I did note that you failed to debunk my points. Just more personal attacks.
I will not respond to you anymore because you are not interested in facts or an objective perspective.
TruthTeller
To '15:
Like many others, you've made Truth Teller look like a fool, not that he's bright enough to realize it. It's a shame he's clogging up Portal 31 with his repetitious rancor, but those of us who are Yale football fans welcome your information. Please keep it coming, and if you choose a pen name, let me suggest Roto Rooter.
"BTW, did Reno allow the Seniors to do their pre-Reno traditional thank yous or did he fill the time with either him or his surrogates telling everyone how great he is and what a great job he is doing?"
Truth Teller lost me back at this previous comment. If he has a son, a starter no less, on the team, why did he have to ask this blog his question? Wouldn't his starter son, who apparently is the source of his wealth of information, been able to answer his question?
6:26PM My goal is to remain anonymous, so I will not prove anything to you. However, once again you have not invalidated my comments.
3:45PM As for '15 making me look like a fool, you either did not read my point by point response, his bashful change of direction, or facts do not matter to you.
Clearly those on this blog want it to be Yale FB propaganda blog where the sun always shines, 50,000 fans attend every game, every new Yale recruit was wanted by Alabama, every loss was because the refs cheated, and the next of what will be annual IVY Championships is only a season away.
Funny how when Tom Williams was the coach it was OK to use this blog to provide "constructive feedback"
Do not worry Cheerleaders, your Pom Poms must have blocked your view of the field on gameday and impaired your ability to think objectively. You are not worth anymore of my responses. We'll see how season three turns out.
TruthTeller
What wonderful news, TruthTeller! Can we contribute to your bus fare? One request: please don't resurface as another "anonymous" or with a different identity.
Hey truth Smeller, is your son gone now,is he graduating this May.
Congrats on that,Go haunt a house.
Go Back to the woods...
I will chime in as another 'parent' and can see there is a lot of emotion included in TRUTH TELLERS comments, but I also have to confirm there is quite a bit of factual information that can easily be confirmed, if one wanted to actually talk to the players 'off the record' and not on. From the promises of playing time to be followed by nada, to the promises of summer jobs that never materialized to keep kids on campus(unless you were one of the chosen few) to the overall comaraderie on the team. This staff hasnt figured out how to earn the respect of the players while trying in earnest to build this program into something more tangible and measureable in wins and losses. Without the respect and commitment from the players, you will never accomplish much.
Trust me, the TEAM loved each and every one of their teammates, however, from the soph to senior class, this team is like the Band of Brothers with the hated commander,successful but full of questions and concerns, until the disfuncitonal commander finally gets shipped off to run the supplies at HQ. Any and all cohesion on this team was due to the players themselves, and the commitment to Y and each other, and not due to the coach and some of this staff.
To also back up Truth Teller, its not even about playing time. A good football program makes players WANT to practice and be a part of something special. From the starters down to the scout team, visit any program and the scout teamers know how important they are to the rest of the team and they accept their roles willingly. Somehow, this staff has created an environment that even amongst half the starters, and a majority of the second teamers, they are always wondering if the effort is worth it.
There is a reason Yale doesnt have as many 5th year seniors wanting to, or trying to, stick around for that 5th year, like Penn, Harvard, and Princeton do, year in and year out. If the benefits were worth the effort, they would. We have the opposite occuring, with more leaving for 'whatever reason' than I can find or recall over the last 2 decades.
Would someone kindly name the seniors who are eligible to return for a fifth year next fall.
L et V
Any that didnt play their frosh year and/or could have filed for medical redshirt. Look at ANY of the top programs. They DONT start freshmen unless they HAVE too, keeping their 5th year of eligibility available.
Can anyone actually NAME the seniors who are eligible to return for a fifth year next fall and NAME the players who passed on a fifth year in recent years?
You cannot apply for medical redshirt if you are not injured. There must be an application. If someone doesn't play that is not reason for a fifth year.
Don't believe any of them will be back. Deon Randall came in with this senior group but is already listed as a junior because of the year he lost. Of those listed as seniors I think only Michael Leunen and Keith Coty can come back but I don't believe either is going to
Thanks a lot for your great post.it is informative post for football.it helps all football fan entertainment.thanks a lot again.
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