…from the weekend that was. For your use in elevator rides, trips to the water cooler and other awkward moments on a Monday.Â
– Paging Dr. Lou. You’ve got an appointment with P.R. and then H.R.
– Auburn will bring a wild card to Morgantown.
– Stop me if you’ve heard this: Coaches aren’t worried about the T.B.A.
– Rifle revival!
– Remember him?
Welcome to the Friday Feedback as we wrap a bow around a mad-as-hell, not-going-to-take-it week in the WVU sports world. Sooner we finish this, sooner the week’s over, right? Let’s begin with a comment trilogy that could pretty much stand on its own to summarize this week:
Homer said:
I’m just going to keep posting this until it gets answered somewhere: Why does WVU refuse to throw a pass downfield? Are they coaches scared? Are they players unable or too dumb? Is it some combination? About 115 other teams do it every week with regular success, and the others are squads like WVU and Navy that don’t even try. Makes no sense.
A reply?
Mack said:
Homer, WVU will work on its passing game once it finds an easy, comfortable game to do so. So far, we’ve had to face such giants as Villanova, Marshall, Syracuse, and Rutgers. Give the coaches a break. You can’t just do whatever you want when you’re going against the Orange defense.
Sarcasm very much intended, huh?
Alli said:
Homer, first play of the game, we threw a downfield pass. Jarrett over threw the ball. Jarrett also missed some reads during 3rd downs where he chose to check down instead of throw it to the sticks. So the downfield pass is in the playbook, we just don’t do it very often. Some have pointed out that our WRs have had butterfingers all year, too, so they may feel uncomfortable giving them the ball. Regardless of the issues, we need to start throwing the ball down the field. Â
An explanation from Bill Stewart? He wants go deep, but sometimes the routes and/or the throws haven’t been there and sometimes the games have required a different approach:
“We’d like to pitch and catch more, but we’ve had to control the ball more for various reasons — Pat got dinged in the third quarter against Rutgers. We need to pitch and catch a little more, but we’re very content to win the football game with defense and the kicking game. That’s what I was raised on.”
As for the receivers …
“I’m very pleased that Wes Lyons has stepped up and done a nice job. He’s really made some nice catches. We do need to get the ball to Alric Arnett like we did early in the year. Dorrell Jalloh made a big catch against
Rutgers, a nice double-move and Pat threw the ball to the spot. When we have the ball 35 minutes, we can pitch and catch a lot more. You have more plays. When you have the ball 25 minutes and run 50-some plays, to get in a rhythm you have to keep the ball and sustain drives and time of possession and hopefully get a few more big plays.”
Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, careful is sometimes careless.
Shannon said:
I can’t blame Boyd at all for his decision. Ultimately, if he believed WVU, in its current situation, is not the best fit for him then he made the right decision taking back his commitment at this point. You can’t fault the kid for making the decision.
To Alli’s point about playing down the rumor, you could perhaps make an argument that Boyd wanted to see what would happen on the field against Syracuse, figuring that Syracuse was a lackluster opponent and the offense could show sparks of normality against the Orange. When the offense could only muster 17 points and essentially performed like it was infested with engine grime, I think that moved Boyd from uneasy about his commitment to wanting to get out of his commitment.
But you’re right, we’re screwed. Big time!
I’m reminded of the Big Lebowski: “Nothing is ****** here, Dude. Come on, you’re being very un-Dude.” I think it’s a big deal, but shouldn’t perspective be a WVU fan specialty by now. P-Rod’s departure was a far bigger deal and … I’ll stop. Â
Continue reading…
(Deep breath) I’m rolling the dice here with another post that tips the cap to Chuck Finder, but he did this interactive thing today where he went online, took questions from readers and answeredthem. I believe it’s called a “chat.” While observing I found something interesting withing the interaction.
Stef_Djordjevic: Is there any truth to the clash of personalities of the offensive coaches? Namely Mullen with Beatty and Doc?
Chuck Finder: Nice to see you back, Stef. I’m not going to name names because, frankly, i don’t know if it’s internal or external pressures that are affecting offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen and, as a result, the offense. There may be too many cooks trying to get into, if not already in, the kitchen. And Mullen may be too nice a guy to allow in too many cooks, especially this being his first OC rodeo. Look on the flip side, though: Jeff Casteel has a defensive meeting room where two out of his three assistants had careers as defensive coordinators before, and they all seem to get along and produce coherent, cogent, cohesive game plans and units.
I know what some of you are thinking, but let’s not, um, throw Chuck under the bus. After all, is this not highly relevant and resourceful?
Stef_Djordjevic: If you preface something with, “I’m not throwing him under the bus,” can you say anything you want about a player?
Chuck Finder: I’m not throwing Stew under the bus, but, yeesh, i hear squealing tires every time that phrase is uttered. Same as when former coaches — including one at Pitt — used to invoke “no excuses,” then proceed to make one. Or several. Stew, who is new to this new age of head coaching, had just been up front about all injuries, a lot of trouble might have been avoided. Now, you can understand him hiding Jarrett Brown’s ailments. But first thing in the post-game presser, you should — after addressing the White head issue — is marvel about, “Man, that Jarrett Brown played with a bad thigh and a bruised throwing shoulder when we absolutely needed him to play, and wasn’t that courageous? Wasn’t that taking one for the team?” There goes my career as a speech writer, but you know what I mean….
Astute analyst Gary Danielson seems to think more teams will use less of the spread in the future. Rather than having it as the package it will be a part of the package and Danielson said the ever cyclical game of college football will go back toward the old days when better talent trumped better schemes.
As always, there will be exceptions.
Danielson, who will work the CBS telecast of Ole Miss’ visit to No. 2 Alabama on Saturday with play-by-play veteran Verne Lundquist, said West Virginia’s use of the spread isn’t as much of a stretch as it is at programs that can recruit superior talent.
“What has West Virginia gotten, maybe three of the top 150 players in the last five years?” Danielson figured. “When you’re in that situation, I can see it, because you need to keep people off balance, and the spread can do that.
“Still, it’s somewhat of a high-wire attack, and as West Virginia has learned recently, when you’re quarterback (Pat White) gets nicked, you lose your passing game and a good part of your running game. You go away from that, and it’s not a great fit.
“When an Alabama, LSU or Ohio State falls (from their offensive scheme), they land on the sidewalk, brush off the scratch and walk away. When a Missouri, Kansas or West Virginia falls from the high wire, they break their legs. You’ve got to have more that you can do.”
I think that’s a fairly accurate and rational explanation of what’s happened in the past and what’s happening in the present for WVU. It makes sense and to drive the point home, read on for Danielson take on when the spread “officially peaked” this season.
Everywhere I go this week I find the great boo debate. I don’t think fans were booing players. In fact, it seemed obvious to everyone that when the offense sputtered time and again, the boos were aimed right at the coaches and the play-calling.
Note to Coach Stewart: Fans weren’t booing the players. They were booing the play calling and the coaches calling the plays, chiefly offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen and Stewart himself.
How do we know this?
Because during the second serious chorus of boos, after another too-short pass on third down, dozens of fans in the south stands stood up, turned around, and looked upward to face the press box—where Mullen sits—and raised their arms in disbelief.Â
The play-caller himself admitted he was he target, as well. Even if the boos were placed upon players and their performances — short passes on third-and-long, etc. — it was because the players were repeatedly put in the position to submit those booable performances. To me, it seemed fans were mad their favorite players were put in bad spots.
Bill Stewart would beg to differ and addresed the issue on his radio show last night.
“You can boo me, you can write me, you can call me, you can come see me eyeball to eyeball. Let’s get that straight right now. Our quarterback has sensitive feelings like any other 18-, 19-, 20-, 21-year-old young man. He wasn’t playing well. He was hurt and he did the best job he could do. I totally disagree. I was raised by a gentleman I never heard boo one time in his life. That’s my father. Ask my son if he’s ever sat with me at a football game or any sporting event and has heard his dad boo. They can boo all they want and blame Bill Stewart, nine coaches, 20,000 legionnaires, but you’ll never, ever boo my football players in this stadium at home, on the road or anywhere. To say they’re just booing play-calling is a bunch of crap. That’s it.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t have a problem with booing. If you don’t like what you see, you don’t like it and you’re welcome to voice your disapproval. Really, if you like what you see, you cheer it and no one has ever said, “Hey, don’t cheer. It makes the other team feel bad.” It’s a silly philosophical debate. I think people should just stop going if they’re really upset. It completely removes the variable.
Do boos hurt the players? Probably. But doesn’t — or shouldn’t — bad play hurt more? And do you really think Mullen is calling plays going, “Aha! Let’s seem them boo this one!” Please don’t tie it together with recruiting, either. If an offense is getting booed, there’s a reason and the recruits already know it. A quarterback prospect at home or a receiver prospect on the sideline is affected more by 14 completions for 52 yards than a chorus of boos.
I’m trying to hook you up with some footage of Deniz Kilicli, who committed to WVU’s 2009 basketball recruiting class over the weekend, but I’m having no luck. Apparently he’s in this clip, but I’m not sure. If you know of any, pass it along please.
I will say that this appears to be a significant deal for Huggins.
“He’s a definite NBA Player, no question about it,” Fulford said. “If he had been here all summer for the AAU season, he’d be a top 10, top 15 in the country kid. Some sites and some places have him rated as a three-star (prospect). He’s a five-star, hands down. He’s a top two big man in the country. They didn’t get an average player.”  Â
Yes, that’s his coach, so consider the source, but know that one “person” replied to an e-mail to me seeking insight as said Kilicli will have interest from the NBA and European leagues very soon and perhaps sooner than we think.
I don’t want to alarm you, but WVU just went 4-2 playing the third-easiest schedule in Division I-A.
And guess what? It only gets more vexing for West Virginia from here: The Muntaineers have the eighth-toughest schedule remaining, at a collective 26-9.
Four of the six opponents left are formerly or currently ranked: 4-3 Auburn (20th last week and once as high as 9th), 5-1 Connecticut (once 24th), 5-1 Cincinnati (which received a vote this week and, remember, lost only to fourth-ranked Oklahoma), 3-2 Louisville, No. 23 and 4-1 Pitt, No. 19 and 5-1 South Florida (as high as 10th before losing to Pitt). Although, by the NCAA’s mad math, those upcoming foes are only a combined 24-7. Still, it’s the toughest road belonging to any major-college team outside the Big XII, Southeastern Conference and (at least this will make for Wild Wonderful smiles) Rich Rodriguez’s employer.
(Furious I didn’t come up with Muntaineers) Also of note in that piece is WVU’s upcoming series with LSU.
If the deal comes off as expected — and ESPN has been involved as a go-between and interested telecast partner, as was the case with West Virginia’s 2008 and ’09 Colorado series — the Mountaineers would visit imposing Tiger Stadium in 2010 and get a return game at Mountaineer Field the next season.
That would mean six SEC non-conference games in as many years for WVU — Mississippi State in 2006 and ’07, Auburn this year and next (at Auburn), and the LSU dates. West Virginia also upset Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to cap the 2005 season.
Here’s an interesting e-mail I received about the Tajh Boyd Announcement — hereafter referred to as T.B.A.
One question – every picture, article, website I have seen for the past five or six months had Tajh as the poster child for WV. Â His MySpace page, his pictures, his quotes – everything was MOUNTAINEERS. Â
Â
How does a kid, who was WV’s only QB and the lead recruiter for WV “all of a sudden” de-commit and then say he’s not even considering WV. Â I’m certainly not buying a bad offense or not his style of offense . . .
Â
Doesn’t this seem really really odd to you, like something happened between Stew and / or Mullen and / or Beatty – it just doesn’t add up.
I’ve been thinking that over and I think there was something going on for a while now, something beyond an anemic offense. Throughout his high school season, Boyd went from that poster boy to 95-percent sure he’d go to WVU, then 90-percent and then “reportedly” re-thinking his decision.
It seems fairly obvious to me that last week’s unsourced report Boyd was most certainly sourced from Boyd and his people. I was told so convincingly there was nothing to worry about that I’m pretty disappointed I didn’t see through it. People didn’t want this getting out and getting bigger than it was behind the scenes. Once private becomes public, it gets real ugly. That report was a precursor to the T.B.A., a clever way of Boyd and Co. saying “Listen, we’re serious about this.”
Yet what was this that was threatening to split the thing in half? The smoke is clearing and quite clearly it seems it had everything to do with the offense and the direction it’s headed — or not headed. Cue Bill Stewart from yesterday’s press conference.
“You’ll hear all about Bill Stewart and my philosophy on signing day,” he said. “I promise you it will all be clear and no one will leave this room on signing day having any doubt where I stand on what it means to wear the old gold and blue. I promise you and the West Virginia nation you will know exactly where Bill Stewart stands on wearing the old gold and blue.
“I will tell you I will call the plays, (offensive coordinator) Jeff Mullen will call the plays, (defensive coordinator) Jeff Casteel will call the plays on special teams, offense and defense. No player will call plays. They will play. I’m glad I found that thing out sooner rather than later. No player’s daddy is going to call plays.”
This is Brady Quinn at his sister’s wedding and this man is actually the reason I’m excited about tonight. I’m sitting in Cleveland right now preparing for tonight’s Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants and I’m quite certain this the beginning of the Brady Quinn Era. The Browns have reached a a critical juncture and if Derek Anderson struggles, Quinn is in. Since I’m here, the Browns will struggle. If you’re watching on TV, I’ll be the one holding my hands on my head wondering what in the world happened to the season.
Tomorrow is a recovery travel day. I’ll post a general discussion topic to carry the day then hit it strong again on Wednesday. Hi-O-Hi-O!
