[Oskee] FW: Juice benched

Thu Oct 15 14:21:58 EDT 2009

Oh yeah, I hear you, but other than simply giving up, what can you do?  All of hte timeframes below except for Valek were long enough to allow time for the coach to bring in all their own players and establish their system, and yet they still weren't getting it done.  It's really tough in college where you don't have the mechanisms in place to ensure parity like in the pros (there are scholarship limits, but they're high enough that the top programs still stockpile most of the best players and continue to leave the "have nots" like us out in the cold).

Honestly, I really don't know what the answer is.  I don't expect a conference title and Rose Bowl every year, or even every 3-4 years.  I expect some sort of bowl most years, and expect to seldom finish out of the top half of the conference.  With the recruits Zook has had, we should be there, but we're not.  If he can assemble a staff around himself that can do the above, fantastic.  But if he can't or won't, I don't see any choice but to start over (again).

Sadly, we can't all have Joe Paterno :-).

I appreciate the perspectives from everyone.  I was somewhat glad to hear the O-line has been off this year, because it at least offers some glimmer of hope that the skill players really can be as good as advertised, assuming the O-line can be improved.

-- robert

________________________________
From: Larry Roller <larrol at hotmail.com>
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2009 10:14:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Oskee] FW:  Juice benched

 But we've tried that housecleaning thing before.  Eight times in my tenure starting with Elliott being fired after seven years (and the slush fund) with a winning percentage of .477.  Valek came in for four years and was fired after winning % of .2.  Blackman came in for six years and was fired after a winning % of .439.  Moeller came in and was fired after three years with a winning % of .227.  White came in for eight years and was fired after a winning % of .533 and various run-ins with the NCAA.  Mackovic came in and left after three years and a winning % of .663.  Tepper came in and was fired after six years and a winning % of .446.  Turner came in and was fired after eight years and a winning % of .38.  Zook came in and has a winning % of .358 in his fifth year.  It's a recurring nightmare.  Forty years and eight coaches later and we are no better off.

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 Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:45:46 -0700
From: mingee at swbell.net
To: oskee at heins.net
Subject: Re: [Oskee] FW: Juice benched

Well, so much for that.  I went against what I said I'd always do this weekend as far as avoiding the score and watching anyway.  We were at Six Flags all day Saturday, and I wouldn't have had time to watch the game yesterday because of other commitments, so I actually followed the score on my phone while we were there, and decided it really wasn't worth staying up late Saturday just to watch us lose again.  Sounds like Eddie was pretty awful -- no idea how much of that was the MSU defense and how much was him.

I'm sure I'll continue to watch when I can, but it's clear there's no more hope to be had for this season.  And honestly, what reason is there to have any optimism at all going into next season?  I said the same thing after last season, when clearly we should have been much better than we were, and as much as I had hoped I was wrong, sadly I was not.  This is not a rhetorical question, I'm really hoping someone has an answer -- short of a major coaching staff overhaul, which seems very unlikely in light of Zook getting extended in the offseason, is there any hope at all we're not in for another humiliating season next year?  Can this train wreck really be fixed without a housecleaning from top to bottom?

Someone in this thread said we're not nearly as bad as we were in the Tepper years, and I agree, but from a purely pragmatic point of view, is it really any better to lose all of your games against even marginally competitive teams by an average margin of say 7-10 points instead of 21-28 points?  They all still count the same in the final record.

-- robert

________________________________
 From: "Arbuckle, Jeanne" <jarbuck at ilstu.edu>
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>
Sent: Thursday, October 8, 2009 3:32:45 PM
Subject: [Oskee] FW: Juice benched

As opposed to really poor planning for Michigan State – I’m going to the game. I hope Eddie can give the offense an excitement we haven’t seen yet against a decent team.

From:oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf Of Robert Mingee
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 8:55 AM
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List
Subject: Re: [Oskee] Juice benched

Well, that was good planning -- you saw the part where they didn't look hopelessly overmatched...

-- robert

________________________________

From:"Arbuckle, Jeanne" <jarbuck at ilstu.edu>
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 12:14:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Oskee] Juice benched
For the first time in more than 23 years, I actually planned (and it was my choice) to be somewhere else during the 2nd half. 

From:oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf Of Chad Kahl
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:37 AM
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List
Subject: Re: [Oskee] Juice benched

I have chosen to detach myself emotionally from the football team.  I record the game on the DVR and check on the results before hitting play.  No more allowing a poor performance to ruin the rest of my day/weekend/week...

I hate being a fair weather fan, but I can't take it anymore.  I reserve my blind allegiance for the Illini mens basketball team and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Chad
On Wed, Oct 7, 2009 at 7:32 AM, Arbuckle, Jeanne <jarbuck at ilstu.edu> wrote:
I appreciate the conversation here, as well. If you put it in my mailbox, I will take time to read it, but I don’t have time to go looking for it! 

I, too, am starting to question Zook’s ability as a head coach. I wanted it to work out because on paper, he recruits great players. Better than we’ve ever had before. But now I’m starting to question whether they really are better than we’ve ever had. Maybe we are getting them because they have flaws we don’t realize at the time.

________________________________
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