Doug Marrone Wants You To Shove Your Low Expectations In A Specific Place

by Sean Keeley on Aug 4, 2009 1:54 PM EDT

Call it the party before the pooper.

When not forcing me to picture Doug Marrone scatologically (not a word, but...), Rahme caught Marrone during the quiet before the storm at Big East Media Day. Marrone meets the Big East press for the first time today and the whirlwind of the proceedings are sure to be exciting and new, kinda like the Love Boat. One part of the day that won't be enjoyable to be sure is the news that Syracuse has been picked dead last in the Media Poll. It's information that could be disheartening to some, but not Doug Marrone. No sir, Tremendous takes one look at that and says...bring it on.

"Those are perceptions," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and defend them. Like everything else that comes out from a negative standpoint, it motivates me."

Doug goes on to talk about how, during his time with the New Orleans Saints, the team orchestrated a 10-6, division-winning season on the heels of last-place predictions. Marrone used that perception to motivate as well as put his guys at ease. Not to try too hard defending themselves off-the-field. Just worry about what happens between the hashmarks.

All good stuff for now. Except at the end of the article when Doug suddenly gets possessed by the ghost of Greg Robinson:

"I don't know what we're going to be," Marrone said. "I know we'll be a well-coached, well-conditioned football team that will go out and compete. I know that. How it shakes out with numbers and everything, I don't know. I don't."