From ESPN piece today:

"[In the fall] we're going to have only four players [who] have been in the program for four or five years," he said. "We're dealing with some staggeringly low numbers of upperclassmen. Without guys that have played a lot of football, there is going to be some growing to do.

Last year, unprompted at the beginning of the season, he kept citing some Phil Steele stat about how young the team was.

Just not buying this guy at all...Please stop whining and win football games.

He will do his best.

SmellinRoses;842316378 said:

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From ESPN piece today:

"[In the fall] we're going to have only four players [who] have been in the program for four or five years," he said. "We're dealing with some staggeringly low numbers of upperclassmen. Without guys that have played a lot of football, there is going to be some growing to do.

Last year, unprompted at the beginning of the season, he kept citing some Phil Steele stat about how young the team was.

Just not buying this guy at all...Please stop whining and win football games.

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Is he lying or something? All he is doing is stating the truth.

SRBear;842316390 said:

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Is he lying or something? All he is doing is stating the truth.

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Until he wins, he will be attacked for every statement.

^ pretty much.

also for the length of that statement.

too long, he's rambling

too short, he's coach speaking

I think he is just trying to encourage the team to grow up and take the responsibility of an upperclassmen. He wants the juniors to act like seniors and so forth. The team does need to grow, especially on the O-line, I don't think that is a far fetched statement.

Cal Geek;842316382 said:

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He will do his best.

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We will do our best to critique him fairly.

I hate it when a coach speaks the truth.

SmellinRoses;842316378 said:

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From ESPN piece today:

"[In the fall] we're going to have only four players [who] have been in the program for four or five years," he said. "We're dealing with some staggeringly low numbers of upperclassmen. Without guys that have played a lot of football, there is going to be some growing to do.

Last year, unprompted at the beginning of the season, he kept citing some Phil Steele stat about how young the team was.

Just not buying this guy at all...Please stop whining and win football games.

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I think he started making excuses earlier this year when he hired new coaches. By doing so, he was implying that the prior coaches were not good enough. Worse yet, he was implying that the players are not yet ready and needs to be coached up. When will these excuses stop?!

And no, I am not being serious.

SmellinRoses;842316378 said:

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From ESPN piece today:

"[In the fall] we're going to have only four players [who] have been in the program for four or five years," he said. "We're dealing with some staggeringly low numbers of upperclassmen. Without guys that have played a lot of football, there is going to be some growing to do.

Last year, unprompted at the beginning of the season, he kept citing some Phil Steele stat about how young the team was.

Just not buying this guy at all...Please stop whining and win football games.

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Another "Is the glass half empty or half full" fan.

RighteousGoldenBear;842316403 said:

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I hate it when a coach speaks the truth.

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You can't handle ...

:rant

I think last year was a rude awakening for Sonny. I noticed a significant difference between his comments at last years SoCal recruiting event (this team is great, Bigelow is going to dominate, etc.) to this year where he pretty much said we hope to do better.

Seems like Sonny is trying to temper expectations, which is weird considering we won 1 game last year.

SmellinRoses;842316378 said:

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From ESPN piece today:

"[In the fall] we're going to have only four players [who] have been in the program for four or five years," he said. "We're dealing with some staggeringly low numbers of upperclassmen. Without guys that have played a lot of football, there is going to be some growing to do.

Last year, unprompted at the beginning of the season, he kept citing some Phil Steele stat about how young the team was.

Just not buying this guy at all...Please stop whining and win football games.

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Where's the whining?

Where's the awesome roster you must think he inherited? Is it the one that had nothing but freshmen for viable quarterbacks and a sterling 3 wins with a more experienced roster the year previous?

NYCGOBEARS;842316391 said:

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Until he wins, he will be attacked for every statement.

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Winning turns everything into gold. For the first 2 years at Furd, Harbaugh was a blathering idiot. For the last few years a Furd when he started to win, Harbaugh was this Rain Man like genius. Now he's winning at SF and he's an all-timer.

NYCGOBEARS;842316391 said:

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Until he wins, he will be attacked for every statement.

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I don't know about "every" statement, but he will be judged skeptically for statements that pertain closely to setting expectations for the program.

He should be too. When he took over, the message was "we're going to surprise people." Now it's, "we won't be able to win under present circumstances."

How many of us would have supported him being hired if he had come out and said it won't be until at least 2015 that we can expect to get out of the cellar?

KoreAmBear;842316424 said:

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Winning turns everything into gold....

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If we just significantly improve in the secondary (=from getting beat) and can consistently TACKLE everywhere else, I'll be happy.

:gobears:

HaloBear;842316422 said:

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Where's the whining?

Where's the awesome roster you must think he inherited? Is it the one that had nothing but freshmen for viable quarterbacks and a sterling 3 wins with a more experienced roster the year previous?

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Who said anything about an "awesome" roster? Why can't some people see any ground between unreasonably high expectations for an immediately "awesome" team and unacceptably low 1-4 win seasons?

BTW, the problem with this team is not QB, it's pretty much every other position. Sure, Dykes was not dealt a pat hand, but don't you think the approx. 15 guys who've left the program with eligibility remaining since Dykes took over might have been helpful in this regard? Yeah, some of them may have been problem cases who had to be removed. But some if not most may have been guys who a better leader could have salvaged. Exactly why does Dykes get the benefit of the doubt for every player who leaves this program?

KoreAmBear;842316424 said:

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For the last few years a Furd when he started to win, Harbaugh was this Rain Man like genius.

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Sonny as Rain Man is right...

SRBear;842316390 said:

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Is he lying or something? All he is doing is stating the truth.

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sometimes things are better left unsaid

KevBear;842316428 said:

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I don't know about "every" statement, but he will be judged skeptically for statements that pertain closely to setting expectations for the program.

He should be too. When he took over, the message was "we're going to surprise people." Now it's, "we won't be able to win under present circumstances."

How many of us would have supported him being hired if he had come out and said it won't be until at least 2015 that we can expect to get out of the cellar?

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to me its all stupid, whatever he says, it really doesnt matter. fans can judge him all they want. ulitmately as far as his job goes he'll be judged by what he does on the field and he has at least two more seasons to prove it.

KevBear;842316428 said:

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I don't know about "every" statement, but he will be judged skeptically for statements that pertain closely to setting expectations for the program.

He should be too. When he took over, the message was "we're going to surprise people." Now it's, "we won't be able to win under present circumstances."

How many of us would have supported him being hired if he had come out and said it won't be until at least 2015 that we can expect to get out of the cellar?

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Exactly. Can we run this guy already? Contrast his approach with Harbaugh (we bow to no one) and JT (hires great experienced staff for way less than Dykes signed up his buddies for, no losing seasons for his first 7 years or so).

KevBear;842316428 said:

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When he took over, the message was "we're going to surprise people."

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and he was right.

high calibear;842316436 said:

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and he was right.

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Boy was I surprised. Never thought in a million years we would have THAT kind of season.

gobears725;842316432 said:

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sometimes things are better left unsaid

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So when the ESPN reporter calls to ask about your team you just remain silent on the other end of the phone?

NYCGOBEARS;842316391 said:

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Until he wins, he will be attacked for every statement.

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He's already won, according to us Portland State Truthers.

calumnus;842316439 said:

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So when the ESPN reporter calls to ask about your team you just remain silent on the other end of the phone?

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maybe he shouldnt have done the interview, no publicity is usually better than negative publicity. for the record, i think what he said was kind of stupid. but hes said his fair share of stupid things over the course of the last 6 months or so. ive sort of come to expect it from him. but like i said, this will get sorted out on the field. ultimately, you either deliver acceptable results or not and hes got to start fielding a competative team or we'll start losing too much money. It'll come back around to him if he doesnt get it done because if we start losing too much money then itll be sandys job on the line

high calibear;842316436 said:

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and he was right.

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+1

At least that element of surprise is gone for this year.

Why the big debate over his statement? Historically, the team with the most upperclassmen with experience will customarily win. That seems to be historical fact in college football. We are still a youngish team with few upperclassmen with experience according to Sonny. I don't find this to be an excuse, but a picture of the team as it presently exists.

RighteousGoldenBear;842316403 said:

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I hate it when a coach speaks the truth.

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Exactly. I'd rather he say this then spout how awesome this team will be. Keep it realistic.

calumnus;842316439 said:

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So when the ESPN reporter calls to ask about your team you just remain silent on the other end of the phone?

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For me, as long as it's not malicious, I don't care what he says. He can say all the right things, and if he continues to lose, he would be viewed as just an empty suit. He can say all the wrong things, and if he wins and wins big, he will be viewed as the lovable, awkward football genius.

gobears725;842316434 said:

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to me its all stupid, whatever he says, it really doesnt matter. fans can judge him all they want. ulitmately as far as his job goes he'll be judged by what he does on the field and he has at least two more seasons to prove it.

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Why do you think he has two more years? If Cal only wins 1-2 games this season, would you support bringing Sonny back for a third year?

Sounds like the truth. He's having to clean up the Tedford / AD mess with academics, too.

With a preseason ranking of 116 and Sonny's comments, let the good times roll! He's got two years and only two years to start winning. He's a football coach in the Pac-12, he knew the risk.

climbingbear;842316457 said:

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Why do you think he has two more years? If Cal only wins 1-2 games this season, would you support bringing Sonny back for a third year?

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of course not, but just judging with how Cal athletics generally handles these situations, its a rough estimate. i dont think he'll be gone after this year regardless of how he does.

FYI. i did a rough count of our roster from calbears.com. 43 of the 85 players on our roster are either juniors or seniors, thats always been my definition of upperclassmen. :acclaim:

I have seen coaches on top ten teams say the same thing in the preseason. Some of you guys are making a big deal about nothing.