Start Westin Elliot Now!

Ya know....Holtz had Higgins as a starter, or sometime starter his freshman year, and then Higgins rode the pine as Sokol and Driskel were brought in. To Higgins' credit he didn't quit (might have pouted, but kept it to himself) and when again given a chance to be the starter he shined! So....! wonder if Holtz would consider that re: Smith? Why not bring in a QB for next year, like a Sokol or Driskel, or maybe a JUCO transfer who, like Smith would have two years of eligibility left?

Some insist that no way will Holtz bench Smith, but he sure as hell did it to Higgins after 2013.

I don't think it is a question of would he do that again, I am sure he would. What people don't believe is that he would bench him before the season was over. People will argue is the back up ready, etc. we don't know but some believe he couldn't be worse. I have no doubt he would replace him in the off season if he had a chance.

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Originally Posted by DallasDog

I don't think it is a question of would he do that again, I am sure he would. What people don't believe is that he would bench him before the season was over. People will argue is the back up ready, etc. we don't know but some believe he couldn't be worse. I have no doubt he would replace him in the off season if he had a chance.

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Some people argue he couldn't be worse. I would argue that, yes, he could be worse. Much worse, in fact. At least we have been competitive with J'Mar. We've had a fighting chance. And we still have a chance to get bowl eligible. If we put in the unproven backup -- who the coaches see every day in practice -- those close contests could turn into blowouts.

Finally a comment I can agree to he is playing those who he believes give the Team the best chance to win

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Originally Posted by frogdog

Finally a comment I can agree to he is playing those who he believes give the Team the best chance to win

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I would believe this except that Holtz is totally clueless as to why his intentional game calling choices have NOT given us the best chance to win. If he'd done that, then I'd be able to say, yea, JMar could be better, but I trust Holtz." As it stands, I 1000% do NOT trust Holtz.

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Originally Posted by frogdog

Finally a comment I can agree to he is playing those who he believes give the Team the best chance to win

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The highlighted part is what's wrong with your assumption. If Holtz had a 75% winning percentage since arriving at Tech, then more of us might agree with you. But Holtz's inability to win games means he obviously doesn't always make the right decisions.

I find these 2 statistics very interesting about Skip Holtz:

1) Holtz has a career winning percentage of .567 (122-97).
2) And his 5-year winning percentage at LA Tech is .564 (35-27).

This is who Skip Holtz is. He's a guy that's only going to win 56% of his games. And he's just not going to change much.

http://www.coacheshotseat.com/Winnin...eCoachesIA.htm

Holtz is playing for the field goal no matter which QB we have in the game, and FG's aren't going to beat FAU even if our defense does another admirable job and holds them under 30 (which I believe has happened twice this year). Bowl eligible is not a concern of mine, my concern is he continues this play calling with this QB and this isn't a one year slide, but turns into two or three. I would rather see in real time action that neither of these guys is our guy going forward or maybe one is. Those extra practice days are going to mean a thing because according to Skip we have 342 players injured and they will all use that time to heal up for the corndog stick makers bowl in BFE.

Skip has proven over his career to be very hard headed and I don't trust that he is putting the best option on the field at this point, because I know he isn't putting J'Mar in the best position to win.

Nothing would bust up Holtz ego more than the 2nd stringer to come in a perform well. Holtz is all about his ego not what is best for his employer. For evidence see who he continues to start at RB and what dumb ass plays he runs on Saturday. He has already quit.

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Originally Posted by PawDawg

Nothing would bust up Holtz ego more than the 2nd stringer to come in a perform well. Holtz is all about his ego not what is best for his employer. For evidence see who he continues to start at RB and what dumb ass plays he runs on Saturday. He has already quit.

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Let me toss out a point to ponder. Has anyone considered that toe to toe, head to head, up and down the line and in the backfield, that our opponents might just have had BETTER athletes. Could it be that were just outmanned overall?

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Originally Posted by Exes&Ohs

Let me toss out a point to ponder. Has anyone considered that toe to toe, head to head, up and down the line and in the backfield, that our opponents might just have had BETTER athletes. Could it be that were just outmanned overall?

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That may well be true, BUT

We have moved the ball with ease at times when we play to our strengths: running Scott, shorter downfield passes (not the lofted bombs). We have the athletes. What we lack is coaching. Holtz makes INTENTIONAL choices that hamstring us.

OL, maybe.

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Originally Posted by Exes&Ohs

Let me toss out a point to ponder. Has anyone considered that toe to toe, head to head, up and down the line and in the backfield, that our opponents might just have had BETTER athletes. Could it be that were just outmanned overall?

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Not on offense. Our HC is doing stuff that is just plain STUPID.

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Originally Posted by Exes&Ohs

Let me toss out a point to ponder. Has anyone considered that toe to toe, head to head, up and down the line and in the backfield, that our opponents might just have had BETTER athletes. Could it be that were just outmanned overall?

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I might believe that if it were true. Except our opponents don't believe it.

Tech has at least equal if not better athletes. The injury parade hasn't helped, but our coaching staff is not putting our players in the best position to be successful.

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Originally Posted by Exes&Ohs

Let me toss out a point to ponder. Has anyone considered that toe to toe, head to head, up and down the line and in the backfield, that our opponents might just have had BETTER athletes. Could it be that were just outmanned overall?

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I think we would all love to find out. The way to do that is to STOP SETTLING FOR SO MANY FGs! Only 1 kicker in FBS football has attempted more FGs than Jonathan Barnes this season. http://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/change_sport_year_div

LET THE TEAM (not just the kicker) SHOW US WHAT THEY CAN OR CANNOT DO!!!!!! We might be pleasantly surprised!

After about the 3rd or 4th pass J'Mar bounced to our open WRs in the Southern Miss game, I watched Skip put his head in his hands in disgust and then run behind the black sheet to hide. Never seen Skip do anything like that. At that point, it was obvious to everyone watching including Skip that J'Mar didn't have it that day, and J'Mar should've been temporarily benched to give Elliot at least one possession to see if he could do any better. That USM game was one of the worst QB performances I've ever witnessed.

And Smith was so much better in the UNT game?????!!!!

That USM game BOTH QBs sucked! Easily the worst game I've seen in a very long time at the QB position. It was just that Smith was worse.

As for defending the coaches...well, it's not rocket science to see the effects of good and bad coaching. It always amazes me when Sunshine Pumpers defend our coaches like they are infallible. Or, my favorite, "oh, tell us about your experience coaching college football. I think our coaches know better than you....blah, blah, blah."

Coaching matters. Sorry, but it's true. And no program is immune.

Rummel's long time DC (20+ years) retired last year. We have a new DC this year. Was promoted from LBs coach and Asst. DC. Well...I have never seen a Rummel defense so confused and out of position as I've seen this year. I'm sure I'll be cringing tonite watching the Raiders vs. Byrd. Point is, this new guy is in over his head. He has been a good assistant for 12 years, but clearly calling the shots on defense is beyond his capacity.

Coaching matters. It's not about being anti-anybody. It's about caring to see the program be successful. No one has a "right" to coach. You have to earn it to get your shot, and then continue to earn the privilege of staying on. And coaches lose jobs all the time, when they fail to deliver results. Just learned that a longtime friend and fellow coach, has been dismissed from his head coaching position after 8 years. His off-the-field accomplishments are beyond reproach. His players set school records for team GPA and were active in the community. Unfortunately, his on-the-field results failed to measure up. He is one of best human beings you would hope to know. Helped his players (all within the rules) when he could. But that AD had to finally pull the plug because W-Ls matter too.

All this to say, Holtz is on notice to get the dreaded "vote of confidence."