[Oskee] FW: Juice benched

Thu Oct 15 15:55:33 EDT 2009

I just want to see them flying around, having fun and playing hard.  I
think we can win 5 more games if we just do that and give the ball to a
running back 20+ times a game. Leshoure makes plays every time they give
him a chance.    We've played the best teams on our schedule (except
cincy) so maybe we can put together a little win streak and get to a
minor bowl game.  I'm going to keep believing.  

From: oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf
Of Todd Sweet
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 2:48 PM
To: 'Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List'
Subject: Re: [Oskee] FW: Juice benched

This coaching staff is abysmal.  At the very least, even a bad team
should play hard and give 100% effort under a good coach.  This team
looks confused and uninspired.  Mark my words, if we lose at Indiana and
Purdue to get our 6th loss, I think this team will go downhill rapidly.
I see both of those games as toss ups right now at best.

If Zook has a losing season, he should be fired.  That will be 4 losing
seasons in 5 years (with the one looking like a total fluke now).  At
the very least we should be showing improvement but look nearly as bad
as when Zook got here (except we're faster).  Unfortunately, I think 4
wins will be enough for Zook to keep his job.  Anything less than that
will be thin ice.

TS

________________________________

From: oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf
Of Robert Mingee
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 1:22 PM
To: Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List
Subject: Re: [Oskee] FW: Juice benched

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.

________________________________

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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