Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which would like to apologize to Scott Kozlowski. Not only is his personal comeback story kicking through a deserved ending, but no one will ask me about punting. Punting.

Of course we start with the week’s brushfire. “Ask me about kickoffs.” After seeing and hearing this from varied angles and places I rarely ever visit, I’m not even sure where to begin. I have to hit on a number of things, almost all of which did not occur here, so just stick with me if I ramble.

First, let’s give Tony Caridi his say, as told to smokingmusket.com:

Bill Stewart Press Conference

I saw a link to this conversation on Twitter and wanted to add some information.

The reason I was sitting in front this week was because Greg Hunter was unable to attend. He prints the Blue & Gold News on Monday and the press conference normally takes place on Tuesday. That’s also why Greg doesn’t appear on Sportsline on Monday nights. I sat in front to tape the press conference for use on the show.

Before the press conference I asked Stew what had happened on those two kickoffs that resulted in penalties. He said I wasn’t alone and he wanted to talk about it during his press conference.

I forgot to ask and he remembered that he wanted to talk about it. That’s when you see him asking me to ask him about it.

I agree it does look weird….but that’s the background on how and why that happened.

Just wanted to give you some info.

Thanks,

Tony C

So, based on that, and assuming that’s the true story, let’s start with the misinformation. Tony’s explanation as to why he was where he was is correct. Additionally, he’s frequently at the pressers and asks questions. Sometimes he tweets the news as it happens, which only bothers me because he’s getting the news out before I am. To say he was paraded out there to ask Stewart’s question is absurd and unfair to him. He works.

That said, he admits it was prearranged and he was reminded to ask during the press conference — when, by the way, we media are generally discouraged to ask about the prior game; reference my question about the fumble/touchdown replay. So it’s out there. It’s true. Caridi wasn’t planted for the occasion, but there was some form of an understanding a question would be asked. No matter whose idea it was or how that idea was crafted, Stewart remembered before Caridi did. I’ll never know or frankly care how and why those two arrived at that conclusion, but, to be perfectly honest, what happened shouldn’t have happened.

But let’s go a step further. Caridi is essentially a team employee. You can push and pull and talk about whether or not he’s a journalist, but why bother? At the end, he works for the team and he’s sometimes asked to do certain things. I’m sometimes asked to do things, too. We may do different things and send different vibes, but that’s the game. We really need to keep that in mind.

Could it have been handled in a tidier fashion? Indeed. Is it naive to say this hasn’t happened before in more clandestine style? Indeed, again. It was strange. It was funny. We point at it, talk about it, laugh at it. Are we not allowed to do that?

Transition: If you don’t do this for a living please don’t present your opinions and observations as reality. I won’t speak for everyone or anyone here, but I will speak. I’m generally among the last people to take myself seriously, but I’m a little more protective of my job and I’m a lot more sensitive when it comes to presumptions and insistences it’s being done irresponsibly. I will fight you on that every time especially when you just do not understand the way things go. 

You see, those opinions are then different than my reality. Example: People insist this happens all the time and there should be no shock because what we saw as abnormal is actually normal. Wow. This doesn’t happen all the time. Bill Stewart does not pull us aside and suggest we ask him specific questions. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve seen all week. (Check that, someone somewhere else [not you, thacker] said this happens all the time covering the White House so it should therefore be an accepted practice here. That was the dumbest.) Anyhow, I think Bill would be insulted by that, too. This doesn’t happen with us. It doesn’t.

That’s what’s a little unfortunate. We battle for access and hope to have our questions answered in a way that satisfies our story ideas. It’s kind of sad to see it all compromised.

Another example: This is a witch hunt. You’re absolutely out of your mind. If you think this was an attempt to undermine, to plant a conspiracy, to whip up controversy, I don’t know what to tell you except you probably don’t need to be here. A coach cued someone to ask a question, which is entirely separate from what happens within the program. Doesn’t have anything to do with 7-3, with recruiting, with third-and-9 or fourth-and-8, with the 90th-ranked kickoff return defense, with the back-to-back penalties, with … get the point? Those are the things I take to the newspaper. I’d be shocked and saddened if the A.D., either now or then, were to sit down and evaluate the job being done and think of this. That’s not how it works so you can cool that cattle prod.

However, if you found it strange a FBS football coach leaned in to his Top Cat and reminded him to ask a question about a game that ended three days ago and then produced a detailed and logical defense of an issue he was taking flak for, I think we can proceed.

But seriously, thanks for asking that question. That clears up some things, yes? 

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, don’t be chicken.

glibglub said:

As entertaining as it sounds, I believe that parsing press conference footage like it was the Zapruder film is a sign of the football apocalypse.

I get that, but I kind of like the idea someone was out there, saw a foul and called it. To be honest with you, I saw Stewart lean over to Caridi, who was recording the show for the radio, and figured he was asking Caridi to omit the comment about how it was a good call on the field. I wouldn’t have been OK with that, either.

rekterx said:

Has the “my life will shortly end if WVU doesn’t impress on the football field” crowd over at the Blue Gold News board picked up on this so they can have one more reason to pull out their best histrionics?

Judging by the emails I got directing me over there to see the way the “controversy” was being censored, I believe it did happen.

Jeff in Akron said:

My only question with this, why didn’t Stewart simply address the subject in his opening statement? He called the press conference, early, correct?

That would be the tidier way of doing things I mentioned before. The presser was a day early, but that was announced before the Cincinnati game.

Bill said:

I think we are reading way too much into this supposed conspiracy. Maybe Stew knew the questions were coming but was just surprised that they hadn’t come up yet so he was baiting the guys in the booth so that he could talk about it and get it off his chest.

On a related note, have you EVER heard of ANY coach in history intentionally telling his team to run an illegal play twice in a row because he thought the refs weren’t going to call it a second time!?!?!?! In my opinion, after a ref sees something, and flags a team for it, if anything they will be looking for it again.

It seems almost weekly that Stew baffles me with something new and disturbing at the same time. I’m really starting to get concerned here.

Well, we did ask about it after the game. It was explained to us. I’m not sure why we were expected to follow up on something we’d followed up on three days earlier.

Mack said:

Now that we have caught Bill Stewart, will he try this tactic two more times?

Moving on …

Jim said:

Am I missing something? It’s my understanding that the reason the two kickoff plays were illegal is that they weren’t executed properly. Had the ball been snapped prior to the player crossing the kicker, WVU would have had sufficient number of players on each side of the ball and the play would have been legal. I guess you can fault Coach Stewart for having too much faith in the athletes at WVU, who I am sure must have practiced that play at least once prior to the game. 

It was practiced that week. I asked players. It was the first time they’d done it in a game and with officials, though. But you’re right: Had the player stayed left of the kicker before the ball was kicked, there is no penalty.  

Karl said:

Finishing 7-5 every year will have a bright side — plenty of trips to the Mariano Rivera Bowl.

Karl loves it when a plan comes together.

OB1 said:

Ask me about Birmingham.

What about — oh, never mind.

StraightOuttaNorthCentral:

I’m gonna go all Clements on you for a minute, similar to the new Prez’s take on the party school rankings:

If you look at the schools on that list, and you didn’t know what they were ranking, you’d be pretty impressed.

Silver lining! However, in an effort to take something else from WVU, Michigan is reviewing the party logs from frat row.

(Clements aside: There was a Mountaineer Week function at the Mountainlair last weekend. Jim was spotted leaning up against a garbage can and eating a slice of pizza while watching his kids take in a puppet show. He wore a T-shirt, shorts and loafers with no socks and chatted with anyone who stopped by his receptacle. Quite a shift from the predecessors, huh?)

Greg Bolt said:

Mountaineer Field was also listed as the “favorite place to visit” and WVU had the “rudest fans”. That is an interesting statement. Does that mean others enjoy people being rude to them or is there more to it than that?

Morgantown: Open for rude visitors’ business!

Sam Wilkinson said:

I really don’t understand the fury of the going-for-it-on-4th down call. The awful one was bringing Nehlen in to call for the Sanders draw on 3rd down. We had no reason to believe that a field would be a big deal at the time. And if we give up a touchdown on the next sequence, we’re right back to where we started.

I understand the furor — the final score was 24-21; WVU passed on a chance for three points — but I understand also it assumes many things of a team that maybe doesn’t deserve all those assumptions. Does Bitancurt make the kick? Does WVU stop Gillard on the kickoff return — and you know the ball was going to be kicked to him. Does the defense hold? Can the offense drive? You’re just asking WVU to do a whole lot right in a row against an unbeaten team playing at home. To the point, third-and-9 just wasn’t a good or even original call.

Eric said:

All the PR spinning in the world won’t make me think Stew knows what he is doing.

Is it safe to call BS on the fact that Stew knew what he was doing when he called that play again and just assume he actually didn’t know the rule? Furthermore, why would you tell the media you knew something was wrong but you called it again because “they won’t call it a second time”? Why?

And let’s think about his second quote … who cares if it didn’t have an adverse effect on the game? The real question is why would you call that play TWICE IN A ROW? That has an adverse effecct on credibility.

The guy just doesn’t get it. We can see through his thin veil of lies.

Say what you will about the explanation — and the willingness to break the rule again — but I’d wager he does know the rules.

thacker said:

Then again, wouldn’t it be neat to see him fly off the handle once, just for principle?

At times, contempt and its associated disobedience is the only rational act simply because it has been earned.

That said and on another note, I bet Stewart would ‘fly off the handle’ if someone were foolish enough to call him a liar to his face. Personally, I didn’t view Stewart’s decision to call a repeat on the kickoff, as either stupid or ignorance. My read was that it was a very distinct way of saying, “Go pound sand.” It fit well into the sandlot ambition.

Loud and clear. But suppose Stewart orders salt pounding, WVU’s flawed plan works, Gilyard is swarmed and stripped of the ball, WVU recovers and returns it for a score. The penalty flag certainly matters there and actually looks even worse. It’s more bizarre every time I think about it.

rekterx said:

I think that those who are pointing to Wanny in Pittsburgh as a good reason for Mountaineer fans to be patient have a very good point.

But in addition to following the team I am now following the relationship between our fans, the football program, and the head coach. I don’t think we will see a fifth Stew season and we’ll never know if he could get it together because our fans will devour the man.

For the record: I now have some doubts about the Stew regime. But I can’t see throwing the man under the bus as accomplishing anything good. I guess that makes me different than the average WV neurotic … er, fan.

Wannstedt is helping a lot of coaches today. Charlie Weis is not. There is no formula for this. I think there are four factions out there. One wants Stewart gone, another is concerned this team hasn’t gotten better, another thinks the process takes time and another thinks everything’s fine. How those four grow/shrink and how the performance of the coach and players influence that is pretty important right now. Eventually, one rises above the others.

overtheSEC:

If it was an obvious blown call (some of the SEC errors come to mind) then I think it’s very possible we would have seen a grandiose Stew speech using phrases like “integrity of the game” and “denying young men the ability to compete fairly.” But do we really expect him to get that worked up over a very very close call? If that was Noel Devine who fumbled after waving the ball so close to the goal line do you not think every Mountaineer would be yelling at their TVs that it was a TD? I mean after all, the tip off the ball just needs to touch any part of the white line. I just don’t think the call if worth getting that upset about.

I’d been waiting for someone to say this. No need for Stewart to scream into the night on this one. One, it wouldn’t have changed anything except the way he’s seen. Two, it wasn’t worth the effort because it wasn’t all that egregious. I think it was the wrong call, but I don’t think it was that blatant.

thacker said:

The fan base is this athletic program’s largest albatross.

Valid point.

jtmountaineer said:

Re: fan base as albatross…

The same could be said of any fan base in so far as fans are inherently less patient than administrators. But patience isn’t always a virtue. The problem with waiting out a storm is, well, sometimes the storm gets you.

That, too, is a valid point.

ccteam said:

Right up front let me say I am just a casual fan and claim no expertise. But something seemed to stick out to me in the Cincinnati game. The Bearcats seemed to throw a lot of passes on timing routes. Three step drop, set up, throw (no delay). WV never seemed to do that except on screens. Brown would do his drop, proceed to hold the ball, and dance around a while before he threw. Was this because WV was looing to throw deep patterns? Was it because Brown held the ball too long? Was it because the receivers couldn’t get open? Did anyone else see this? I am honestly just asking why this seemed to occur all game long. No timing routes thrown past the line of scrimmage by WV. It seemed to me that Brown was getting rushed hard, and it might have been advantageous to try to get the ball out of his hand quicker. Any comments?

Just the style of the offense. WVU doesn’t have very much of that. Cincinnati is a rhythm offense and many routes and plays are based on a ball getting to a spot at the moment a receiver is to be running through that area. WVU was trying to throw deep against Cincinnati and, afterward, felt it had a few plays, but those were spoiled when a pass rush or a line breakdown forced JB to run or scramble or throw to someone else. Good observation. 

unknown said:

I personally talked to ebanks today. He said he had some family issues to work out. He said he will be on the court soon. There is your answer. No need to dig further. Family comes first and I respect him for putting his family first. I mean even if he misses the next game or two, is it really going to kill us? 

Just thought I’d throw that out there.

Foul Shot said:

Yes, this kind of stuff does get frustrating.
Just like last Bowl season with the defensive back.
Fans of teams are somewhat stakeholders in the team.
The school expects the fans to buy tickets (season tickets, game tickets, bowl tickets, heck they are even adverstising on the BE network to travel to Anaheim with Coach Huggins), buy the jerseys, etc.
Then, just prior to the first game of the season, we are just told that there is a personal issue which has prevented the top player (what has been rumored to be an NBA pick) to miss the game. No explanation.
I understand personal issues, it is just a kid (not a professional) but this is really strange.
I guess if they dont care to be up front, why should we care to get excited for the season?

I think it’s a disservice, yes, but I also think that’s just the way it is here. It’s Huggins world and he is, as he said, very good at saying nothing. I really don’t know what else to tell you. An indignant attitude won’t work. Remember, though, it goes both ways. If you have questions you cannot get answered, remember that the next time you’re asked to buy tickets or travel packages or jerseys, etc.

Christie said:

Pitiful, sad and depressing…but so true. Love my Mountaineers, but something is definitely wrong ::Sigh:: WVU is in serious need of a new Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach…no team in the Big East has the talent that WVU has…no one on staff seems to know how to bring about execution. Leadership starts from the top. Glad basketball season has started.

That’s about the typical reaction to WVU having two of the Big East’s seven biggest disappointments this season, as according to ESPN.com.

Sam Wilkinson said:

Gotta get a new Offensive Line coach. Mullens’s offense collapses without an effective one.

The line — as well as what opponents are throwing at it — does have a good deal to do with the offense’s trouble. I still think the overall youth and inexperience is a factor, though maybe it shouldn’t be so late this season. Does a new coach change the way they develop or stunt it? I wonder.

thacker said:

A question that I don’t know nor can answer, is how much of what is taught/required by an offensive line coach of his players is dependent upon style/plays/tactics dictated by the offensive coordinator?

I thought it was strange Dave Johnson was hired a week before Jeff Mullen for the reason you touched on. Typically, a line coach has to coach the style the O.C. wants. Otherwise, why bother? I think, however, Johnson teaches what Mullen requires, so it’s not an issue.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

not saying there’s nothing wrong here, but this idea that no team in the BE has the talent WVU has just doesn’t hold water.

Pitt has a lot of talent. Baldwin is amazing and would be a national star in a passing offense. Lewis is just as good, and two years younger, than Devine. Dickerson is a rich man’s Will Johnson. Lots of talent on defense, too.

Cinci has a lot of talent. Pike? Very talented. Callaros? Very talented. Pead? Quite talented. Binns and Woods? Pretty damn good receivers.

WVU has a nice collection of talent. But it doesn’t measure up. Devine is very talented. Sanders is very talented, though playing in the wrong position. Starks is a good athlete, but isn’t a great receiver, having played QB his whole life. Arnett is okay. Brown has a nice arm and good feet, but is missing that certain something you look for in a QB. Lyons is just tall.

Shoot, if you think about it, no matter if we’re on offense or defense, we’ve probably got at least two QB’s on the field at all times, if you count Starks on offense and Hogan, Tandy and Sowers on defense. These guys are good athletes, but it would be nice to be able to a few more WR’s who were recruited as WR’s, and defensive backs who were recruited as defensive backs.

Bingo. Well done. I would say WVU is as talented as all the other teams. I wouldn’t say the talent is superior. What hurts is depth and the talent there. Rodriguez’s last class and Stewart’s first weren’t as strong as the ones before and, possibly, after. The coaching rumors and the coaching change matter. Additionally, Pitt has done a very good job recruiting several years in a row now. Their junior and senior classes are solid. Brian Kelly is winning in Ohio. South Florida is on Florida. Even Rutgers is getting a Tom Savage here and there. People are catching up. It was bound to happen and it’s started at a time when WVU was slipping (Rodriguez’s exit, I mean. Not the present).

 

EER96 said:

Wes Lyons looked great this spring and summer because he was going against WVU’s secondary!! I couldn’t resist that cheap shot!

Enjoy the weekend!