[Oskee] FW: Juice benched

Mon Oct 19 12:09:05 EDT 2009

Leshoure suffered an ankle injury

http://www.illinihq.com/news/football/2009/10/18/zook_guenther_meet_like_always(bottom
of article)

On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 11:05 AM, Robert Mingee <mingee at swbell.net> wrote:

> Man, I can't tell you how much I wish I could be with you, but I just can't
> (and I would have said that even if I hadn't read this after Saturday's
> game).  There just doesn't seem to be any spark on the offensive side of the
> ball, and the defense gives up too many big plays, for whatever reason.
> They make a lot of spectacular individual plays, but they cannot
> consistently stop anyone.
>
> Leshoure was definitely the lone bright spot for the offense Saturday.  If
> it hadn't been for him eventually wearing out, I can't understand why they
> simply didn't keep going to them until Indiana figured out how to stop him,
> which never seemed to happen.  He just kept making play after play, moving
> the chains.
>
> -- robert
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* "Hooker, Anthony" <hooker at uillinois.edu>
> *To:* Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List <oskee at heins.net>
> *Sent:* Thursday, October 15, 2009 2:55:33 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Oskee] FW: Juice benched
>
>  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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