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  1. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    New Bern, NC unless it's a home football game then I'm grilling on Devil's Alley
    The Chronicle was down this morning, so it took me a bit to find this quote..but it speaks volumes since it is not coming from a Duke supporter.

    "Those days of Duke being a pushover... are long gone,” said Hurricanes linebacker Sean Spence at the time.

    Not only have current ACC players seen the Blue Devils’ improvement under head coach David Cutcliffe, but recruits have taken notice of the progress made on the gridiron too. And now many prospects view the Duke program in a new light, allowing it to be on the same playing field as its conference foes in recruiting
    http://www.dukechronicle.com/article...ges-recruiting
    Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC
    As Duke fan and and Duke alum, I believe that everything Duke does should be as good as it possibly can be. Coach Cutcliffe has turned the football program in the direction of that happening - something that hadn't occurred in a fairly long while.

    Our football program has made slow but steady progress on the field, but the culture surrounding it has improved exponentially under Cutcliffe. In my book, he's got an awful lot of slack in that rope before someone starts tugging on it.

  3. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by devildeac View Post
    If Tennessee is interested, I heard Butch Davis is available for the right price ;>) .
    A match made in heaven...
    "Something in my vicinity is Carolina blue and this offends me." - HPR

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    N. Charleston, SC
    Quote Originally Posted by dyedwab View Post
    As Duke fan and and Duke alum, I believe that everything Duke does should be as good as it possibly can be. Coach Cutcliffe has turned the football program in the direction of that happening - something that hadn't occurred in a fairly long while.

    Our football program has made slow but steady progress on the field, but the culture surrounding it has improved exponentially under Cutcliffe. In my book, he's got an awful lot of slack in that rope before someone starts tugging on it.
    Back to back 7 win seasons and it will be "Welcome to David Cutcliffe Field at Wallace Wade Stadium"

    Cut inherited a program that was pulseless. The progress on the field is to the point of leaving games somewhat angry after a loss, rather than either accepting defeat as the norm, or not going at all.

    In Cut I Trust.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by blazindw View Post
    In my 4 years at school (2000-2004), I saw 5 football wins. The only time most students went to the games was when the rumor got out we were winning (which didn't happen till the first game of my junior year). I remember the OT game against Rice where there were so few fans in the stands, the students were able to run down to the open end of the field for the 2nd OT to put pressure on Rice's offense. And I saw every game except one. Granted, I was working for the team for 3 of those years, but I've seen how bad it can get, how it feels when no one cares enough to show up at the games, and when they do, they're gone by halftime.

    It takes time to build (or in our case, rebuild) a program. Ted Roof tried and wasn't successful, but I credit him for getting that initial seed of working hard and seeing some results into the minds of football players that put on the Duke uniform. Coach Cutcliffe has taken that to a new level, a level even I thought I wouldn't see for decades at Wallace Wade. Before, it was a miracle when we were losing by single digits. Now, our players EXPECT to win every single game and, most importantly, they are ANGRY if they do lose. Coach Cutcliffe has our team thinking like a major football program, and the amenities that have been put in to help that growth (the new football building, new practice fields, improved stadium culture at Wallace Wade) is all a part of that...we're not thinking like a FCS school. We're thinking like the Ole Misses, the Texas Techs, those teams that know they should be going "bowling" every single year and start to compete to be in the top half of the conference.

    Getting to a bowl game is the next step, which involves beating the teams we should (the DII opponent, the lower half of the ACC, our mid-tier nonconference opponents), beating our football rivals (UNC, Wake) and competing against the top half of the ACC and perhaps stealing a game or two (we came close against VT last season). I love that every year we are competing and we're just THIS close to winning more games than losing. This is the year that we need to take that next step. But, I'm glad there's more of us thinking this way as opposed to 10 short years ago, when many of my class thought we would never see the football team win while we were in school.
    About as well-said as I could imagine.

    I always think back to Cut's comment when he first came to Duke about the conditioning of our team. Something to the effect that it was the softest, most out-of-shape team he had ever seen in D1. You look at where we have gone in that metric alone, and tell me we haven't progressed.

    We are moving in the right direction, and in the right way. We also have a very tough schedule this year. So the boys better strap their helmets on and get ready to fight. Game On.

  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by CameronBornAndBred View Post
    Cutcliffe is totally safe at Duke. He may not be winning as much as we or he would like, but he has helped change the culture of football at Duke, and that was one of his goals.
    However, there is one coach on his staff that is on MY hotseat. Kurt Roper, you need to rewrite your playbook or turn over the reigns.
    I agree with this. I read this as I am holding the remote I had to buy, because I smashed my other one, after we decided to kick a fg on 4th and 1 to go up 6 against Wake. I dont know whose call it was but its way to conservative for me. It seemed like when we got in the red zone we were happy just to get 3.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    I'd say he's safe for the time being, but not "totally safe" in the intermediate term. I'd consider him to be on the warm seat.
    Another three win season, and the seat will get distinctly warmer.
    p.s. Cut certainly bears responsibility for Roper and his playcalling for what it's worth. That must improve if we expect our record to improve.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    North Raleigh
    The only "hot seat" Cutcliffe is on are the black vinyl seats in his car when he leaves the top down.

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    North of Durham
    I am hesitant to even reply to this thread and dignify the article with a response, as it is further proof that anyone with a pulse is now able to portray themself as an "expert" and get published on the internet. That being said...

    Cutcliffe is far from the hot seat. The program has made remarkable progress, and continues to be on the way up. He is a class act and has brought a sense of hope that we haven't had since Fred Goldsmith's miracle in 1994. If, for some dumb reason, we were were to get rid of him, it would be incredibly difficult for us to find a replacement, as it would be final proof that it is impossible to win at Duke, and no one in their right mind would want to take on that challenge.

    However, as much as I am supportive of Coach Cut, I do think there is much more room for improvement and I'm sure he realizes this. There continue to be too many dumb mistakes - much like the military academies structure their style of play around their core competencies, we allegedly have brighter players than most of our opponents - at least in the classroom, if not on the football field - so we need to cut down on the mental errors, both by coaches and players.

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    yeah, he's on the hot seat...by that i mean, NO he's DEFINITELY NOT on the hot seat...


    bad thread...can we lock?
    "One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese

  11. #31
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Nashville
    Quote Originally Posted by blazindw View Post
    Before, it was a miracle when we were losing by single digits.
    Great post overall, and I think this is the type of detail we tend to forget (or not realize, if you didn't really follow Duke football a decade ago). The simple fact that we have a team that is consistently competitive with legitimate BCS conference teams and demands some measure of respect from opponents is a huge accomplishment, as ridiculous as that sounds.

    Building a BCS conference program "from scratch" is one thing; building one from where Duke was when Cut inherited the reins is magnitudes more difficult.

  12. #32
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    I'd say he's safe for the time being, but not "totally safe" in the intermediate term. I'd consider him to be on the warm seat.
    Another three win season, and the seat will get distinctly warmer.
    p.s. Cut certainly bears responsibility for Roper and his playcalling for what it's worth. That must improve if we expect our record to improve.
    I think this is more or less accurate. Cut has done a great job, I'm a huge Cut fan, and have been to as many games as work and geographic location permitted the past few years (starting with Roof's last game against unc...ugh) but there has to be measurable improvement in wins eventually. Obviously we have improved from where we were before Cut got here, but have we improved upon his first season or two? I'm not in the bowl or bust camp (I assume there is such a camp based on posts at the end of last season) but 3 wins would be a bad look and less than three would be pretty concerning.

    Anyways, see you guys at the Devil Walk!

  13. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    We also have a very tough schedule this year. So the boys better strap their helmets on and get ready to fight. Game On.
    Here's what we are looking at with our schedule (note, we don't have BC, Maryland and NC State this year, two of which would be considered at the bottom of the ACC in terms of talent):

    Non-conference:
    FIU
    @Stanford
    NC Central
    Memphis

    ACC:
    @Wake
    UVa
    @VT
    UNC
    @FSU
    Clemson
    @GT
    Miami

    Here's how we should approach them:

    Should Wins/Must Wins/Gotta Wins
    FIU
    NC Central
    Memphis

    Football Rivals (UNC + teams we've played very tough the past few years):
    Wake
    UNC
    UVa

    Middle of the Pack
    GT
    Miami (though will be much improved this year)

    Reaches
    Clemson

    Stretches
    Stanford
    FSU
    VT

    If we win all of those first two categories, pick off one or both of the middle of the pack and play tough against the final 4, that's 7-8 wins. We probably should have won against VT last year and I know our boys will be out for revenge, but it will be tall orders to go to Palo Alto, Tallahassee and Blacksburg and pull out victories. Victories in those games could be viewed as program-defining.
    Check out the Duke Basketball Roundup!

    2003-2004 HLM
    Duke | Mirecourt | Detroit| The U | USA

  14. #34
    Anyone on this board who thinks he has done a good job is completely biased. Take of the duke goggles, in 4 years at Duke he has 6 conference wins and the acc is a horrible football conference. His should be extremely hot.

  15. #35
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    boston, ma
    Quote Originally Posted by blazindw View Post
    Here's what we are looking at with our schedule (note, we don't have BC, Maryland and NC State this year, two of which would be considered at the bottom of the ACC in terms of talent):

    Non-conference:
    FIU
    @Stanford
    NC Central
    Memphis

    ACC:
    @Wake
    UVa
    @VT
    UNC
    @FSU
    Clemson
    @GT
    Miami

    Here's how we should approach them:

    Should Wins/Must Wins/Gotta Wins
    FIU
    NC Central
    Memphis

    Football Rivals (UNC + teams we've played very tough the past few years):
    Wake
    UNC
    UVa

    Middle of the Pack
    GT
    Miami (though will be much improved this year)

    Reaches
    Clemson

    Stretches
    Stanford
    FSU
    VT

    If we win all of those first two categories, pick off one or both of the middle of the pack and play tough against the final 4, that's 7-8 wins. We probably should have won against VT last year and I know our boys will be out for revenge, but it will be tall orders to go to Palo Alto, Tallahassee and Blacksburg and pull out victories. Victories in those games could be viewed as program-defining.
    That unfortunately is a huge IF for Duke Football. I would say our ceiling is accomplishing that "IF" and getting into a bowl at 6 wins. I put the most-likely win count at 3 with a range of 2-6.

    We will probably drop 1 of the must-wins (most likely FIU, Mario Cristobal is a great coach and will be looking for revenge) and pick up a rivalry win (most likely Wake Forest, although they've won something like 11 straight against us). Wake is possibly the only team in the ACC that might have less talent than us. We've had success against UVA in the past, but their new coach has been bringing in some monster recruiting classes, and UNC really outclasses us talent-wise.

    So Duke Football 2012 - most likely 3 wins, at most 6 if we're extremely lucky, and I'm hoping for 4. We really get screwed by not playing any of BC, MD, or NC State this year, and there is a decent chance we go winless in the ACC.

  16. #36
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by dukebballcamper90-91 View Post
    Anyone on this board who thinks he has done a good job is completely biased. Take of the duke goggles, in 4 years at Duke he has 6 conference wins and the acc is a horrible football conference. His should be extremely hot.
    You do know Cut has the best winning percentage of any Duke coach since Steve Spurrier, right?

    http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/d...e_database.htm

  17. #37
    I think Coach Cutcliffe had much more to do than just win games since he arrived on campus. As has been discussed, improving Duke football is more than just winning games. Upgrades to the facilities and changes in attitudes of the players and fans need to happen as part of the process. This leads to better recruits.

    I went to a lot of games when I was on campus - some in the rain, some where I wasn't sure I could find anyone to go with me, a lot of them losses as I recall. After graduation, I didn't see many games - living in Kansas limits the tv possibilities. I have watched more games in the years since Coach Cutcliffe came than in the way too many years to count between my graduation and his arrival. I have even flown back to Durham to attend a game and hope to fit one into my fall schedule this year. I think Coach Cut is making progress and will continue to do so. Didn't I just see that a highly ranked junior just committed to Duke? I think he will get the program back where it was long before my time at Duke. I don't think he is on the hot seat now and I fully expect the improvements to continue to happen so that he won't be on the hot seat in the near, and not so near, future.

    I'm looking forward to the next football season.

  18. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    You do know Cut has the best winning percentage of any Duke coach since Steve Spurrier, right?

    http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/d...e_database.htm
    While I agree that Cut has had a major turnaround and is NOT on the hot seat, that link isn't updated with last season's results. If you include it, Cut's winning percentage of .3125 is basically equivalent to that of Barry Wilson (0.307) and Fred Goldsmith (0.304), while being superior to the anemic results of Franks (.135) and Roof (.118). Cut's ACC winning percentage (.1875) is better than that of Wilson's (.133) and negligibly worse than Goldsmith's (.2).

  19. #39
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    While I agree that Cut has had a major turnaround and is NOT on the hot seat, that link isn't updated with last season's results. If you include it, Cut's winning percentage of .3125 is basically equivalent to that of Barry Wilson (0.307) and Fred Goldsmith (0.304), while being superior to the anemic results of Franks (.135) and Roof (.118). Cut's ACC winning percentage (.1875) is better than that of Wilson's (.133) and negligibly worse than Goldsmith's (.2).
    In fairness to Goldsmith and Wilson, I don't think they had the opportunity to play nearly as many
    non-Division 1A games as Cut. Wilson's teams were fairly competive, but they lost most of the close ones (a familiar theme).

  20. #40
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Why would you permit this thread to even appear. Coach Cut is the best head coach Duke could ever hope to have running their program. He's ethical to a fault, knowledgable, a great teacher and has former (now multi-millionaire players) returning for council and futher instruction. Maybe whoever started this thread doesn't deserve a quality person like Cut running their program.

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