http://www.easternecho.com When you’re at rock bottom, there’s only one place to go. Second-year coach Ron English and his staff will look to an influx of junior college players and the benefit of his returning players to improve a team that went winless in 2009. en-us Gryphon 2.3.1-dsw (pewabic)/Foundry5 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:15:38 -0400 webmaster@easternecho.com http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/923 Why does the coach get a free pass? The upcoming season should be based on improvement – not wins or losses. With the schedule they have two wins is an improvement – but game to game they have to improve… something that did not happen last year as the team (and coaches) regressed towards the end of the season. The same team played played even with Northwestern on the road early in the season gave up 47 points to Toledo in the pentultimate game of the year! Who can forget giving up 50 at Northern Illinois? There are no free passes in Division I football — improve or move on … Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:50:42 -0400 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/923 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/924 English gets a free pass because this season will still be about setting the foundation. Its the same reason Jim Schwartz got a free pass with the Lions, and it’s the same reason Rich Rod (should have) got one in his first season. You can’t fire a guy in the infancy of his program. You have to atleast wait and see what kind of guys he brings in and what they do on the field. After year three, if the program isn’t on the up swing, that’s when you take away the free pass. This program doesn’t exactly have the history of other programs, so if it takes some patience to get to where they want to go, you be patient. Last season they did not win a game, so in a way EMU’s season is all about wins and losses. Winning one game is “improvement” for this team.I agree with you that the team needs to improve game to game, but more importantly they need to show they can win a game or two. EVERY season is about wins and losses, even if the expectation is low. Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:34:54 -0400 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/924 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/925 I guess we are in agreement – there is no free pass from the challenge of improvement! Week to week – game to game – season to season! Not improving and in fact, regressing, is not acceptable. I am not suggesting he be fired, simply laying the foundation of the expectations. And there is no way in hell we can give up 56 points to Central this year! If this school is our supposed rival – we have to compete with them (and we have for years, often beating their best squads.) Beat CMU – then we are improved! Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:22:30 -0400 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/925 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/927 I am an alum that for the last forty years or so, have attended 90% of the home games, and a few away games as well. I have seen many changes in that time, with stadiums, coaches, uniforms, etc. The most important change though, I have not seen much of, and that of course is winning. In the time period I have just mentioned, Eastern has had only a dozen winning seasons. That means 6-5 is a winning season. If you check the records, that was our last winning year, and it was in 1995! Part of this miserable record is directly the fault of some of the coaches (Woodruff), and athletic directors we have had (Diles). We are the laughing stock of the MAC. If you donot believe me just check Central’s football bloggers. They demean Eastern and want us kicked out of the league. Part of that may be because we have beaten them four out of the last six seasons, but also because we are not deemed a credible opponent. Because I have been around Eastern football for so long, to me it is not enough to win a couple of games this year. We need to win at least five games or more. We need to do it now! Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:38:20 -0400 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/927 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/929 I was a student athlete at EMU in the early 80’s during the longest losing streak in our history. The program has suffered from many setbacks and poor direction for years. Starting with the short sighted decision to relocate the stadium away from the main campus, the program has never been able to overcome obstacles that other schools take in stride. I’ve heard all the excuses: too close to UM; poor fan support; coaches just using EMU as a springboard to other jobs. All you have to do is look at Florida A&M and Florida State, both coexist in the same city, have great fan support and both are winners (most of the time). The difference FAMU is a FCS school and FSU is a BCS school. If EMU would join the Ohio Valley, Horizon or the Missouri Valley Football Conference for football, you would see overnight results. Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:15:38 -0400 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/929