Growl

[PawDawg]

I'll be listening (and chatting) tomorrow. I'll be in Shreveport next week and in Ruston on the 5th. Why? Because I'm a true fan. But being a true fan, I have the right to question and I'll continue to do it as we all should. We shouldn't accept this mess or the excuses we have been given.

Our offense has been lacking no doubt, but IMO our defense has cost us most of the losses this year. I know what I saw defense wise against Oklahoma St. and Penn St.. These guys are deflated and no longer giving 100%. I blame that on the mass substutions we've been seeing all year. There is internal bickering going on among the players and coaches and these guys just want the season to be over. All this falls on the shoulders of Bicknell. He should be man enough to recognize his mistake and take the blame. He has put team moral (for a few) ahead of winning.

[bulldawg1192]

This is beginning to look like what happened to Dinardo and LSU.

I did not agree with everything you said, but I did aggree with the above statement. It is beginning to look like the Dinardo situation. The pressure is on, Bicknell has got his hands into too many other people's responsibilities instead of coaching the team just like Dinardo did.

This is prelude to dissaster. Its only a matter of time. My guess, right after the season ends, Bicknell will be asked to leave.

[EJ]

My guess, right after the season ends, Bicknell will be asked to leave.

Bicknell is not going anywhere at the end of the season unless he takes another job or quits.

[HogDawg]

The biggest difference between the first half and the second half of the SJSU game was that SJSU QUIT DROPPING THE FOOTBALL in the 2nd half. The Spartans dropped 3 or 4 EASY passes in the first half that WOULD have been very big gainers. Several of these passes were to WIDE OPEN receivers over the short middle.

Yet, despite being given multiple reprieves, Bicknell made NO ADJUSTMENTS to compensate for these uncovered SJSU receivers over the middle. Those same patterns were wide open in the 2nd half and the SJSU offense eventually capitalized.

Beginning late in the 2nd quarter, SJSU started CATCHING these "wide open" passes. That's when the SJSU offense started improving dramatically and pulling away from Tech. I'm certain that the SJSU coaches were absolutley dumfounded that Tech's coaches never dropped a LB into that short middle zone the entire game.

HD

[glm47]

I hate to tell yall, but if Bicknell has any coaching aspirations beyond La Tech, he better get used to the heat. What he gets in Ruston is basically comatose compared to the crap he would have to put up with at a real football university.

I wasn't aware Jack had gone on so many interviews during the offseason until i heard it on here. maybe he should have gone to some coaching clinics instead.

One of you legal types answer this for me - would it be illegal for the coaches contract to include a clause allowing the school to terminate the contract if the coach went on other job interviews without getting consent from the school he is under contract with?

[weunice]

Hog, shouldn't the defensive coordinator be making these adjustments? I understand little about football but what is the purpose of defensive and offensive coordinators. Tech can save some money right there and give Budke a raise for beating Texas Tech JJ folks ... calm down ...

We DO have a NEW defensive coordinator this year. How come folks are calling for Bicks head and not the DC?

This does look eerily like the DiNardo situation, except that the DC that left LSU was actually good. We haven't had a good defense since the early-mid 90's. Something needs to change but that is what we pay admins to take care of ...

GO DAWGS!!!

[HogDawg]

A couple of callers asked Coach B if he thought we were being outcoached, and he said that may be the case. Then he said he doesn't have the answers and said his office is open for anyone who wants to come in and watch films and help him out coaching the team.

After stupid comments like that, how can Bicknell possibly instill confidence in his team? Young players have to BELIEVE that their coach has the answers, whether he really does or not. This team has NO CONFIDENCE, and now we can see why.

HD

[HogDawg]

Hog, shouldn't the defensive coordinator be making these adjustments? I understand little about football but what is the purpose of defensive and offensive coordinators.
GO DAWGS!!!

Sure, the defensive coordinator should be making the adjustments. And the DC should also be on the hot seat. But who hired him? Afterall, at the end of the year, it's the Head Coach that gets stuck with the 3-9 record, not the DC.

You know how this works. Managers are held accountable for the performance of their employees. And so are Coaches.

HD

[markay714]

Afterall, at the end of the year, it's the Head Coach that gets stuck with the 3-9 record, not the DC.


HD

Is the 3-9 and your prediction? I know it was pretty ugly last week, but UTEP is pretty bad! Let's hope we at least when 4 games, but I don't have the best of hopes for more than that. It sure would please me if PRIDE kicked in along the way, but I need this team to sell me on it!

[Jetstorm]

It was a very interesting Growl. A couple of callers asked Coach B if he thought we were being outcoached, and he said that may be the case. Then he said he doesn't have the answers and said his office is open for anyone who wants to come in and watch films and help him out coaching the team.

One comment really embarassed me. He said, "Halftime adjustments are overrated." He said there is only ten minutes to talk with the staff and the team and that he has never made a halftime adjustment. The only game he can remember a team truly making a halftime adjustment was the Rice game last year (out of necessity).

I have never coached before and I know very little about it. I respect coaches when they are successful. One sign of a good coach, to me, is seeing adjustments being made. For example: If a team is running the toss sweep very successfully against a team, there are adjustments that can be made to slow it down and force them to try something else. That may open up something else, but maybe they aren't as good at that as they are the toss sweep. It was depressing to here that we don't do this. Several times I have thought, "Man, if we can just make an adjustment for that tight end getting so open, we can win this game." Now, I have to sit there and realize that there isn't going to be an adjustment.

Did he really say that?

I sure hope not.

My high school coaches at Cedar Creek made halftime adjustments! If the other team was running a play that was absolutely killing us, our coaches brainstormed to try to solve the problem. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not, but I KNOW we often made halftime adjustments. I thought all coaches did that.

I'm beginning to rethink my earlier statements about how firing of coaches after this one bad season was premature.

I'm with you guys no matter what, but frankly, prospects for the last three games aren't looking good.

GEAUX TIGERS!! GO DAWGS!!

[HogDawg]

[quote:4b1fe39f37="HogDawg"] Afterall, at the end of the year, it's the Head Coach that gets stuck with the 3-9 record, not the DC.


HD

Is the 3-9 and your prediction? I know it was pretty ugly last week, but UTEP is pretty bad! Let's hope we at least when 4 games, but I don't have the best of hopes for more than that. It sure would please me if PRIDE kicked in along the way, but I need this team to sell me on it![/quote:4b1fe39f37]

Good question. Unfortunately I'm alot like Aub when I predict W's for Tech, because I go with my heart instead of my head. So this week I'm predicting a 6-6 finish on the season. If we lose to BSU this week (which I expect), I'll be predicting a 5-7 finish next week. And so it goes.

Facing the won-loss reality of this season is particularly difficult because I know Louisiana Tech has more RAW TALENT than any team in the WAC, including Boise State. This is very frustrating.

HD

[bulldawg1192]

I still have a hard time beleiving the adjustments comment.

If we aren't making adjustments at halftime or anytime during a game, then we are much worse off than I first thought.

I actually think I beleive I remember our team making adjustments in Flag Football, but definately high school for sure.

[Reddawg]

I hate to tell yall, but if Bicknell has any coaching aspirations beyond La Tech, he better get used to the heat. What he gets in Ruston is basically comatose compared to the crap he would have to put up with at a real football university.

Thats exactly what I have been trying to say!! I think some of these guys think that this critisism/negativety is only at Tech! He would be catching so much more heat at almost any other university.

Reddawg

[GrassyNoleHitman]

two weeks ago at Wake Forest, they got up to a 14-0 lead. their offense was confusing our defense and picking up 7-8 yards at will. we looked like a pop warner league team out there.

yes, Wake friggin Forest made FSU look like we were not man enough for the challenge. our coaches had 2 options.
A) say "OH HELL!!!" give up and wait for next week and hope things get better...or...
B) make a freaking adjustment and stop them.

luckily FSU does not have JBIII as the head coach or we would have been whipped badly by Wake. instead our coaches sat down with the defensive captains and figured out what was wrong. (they were giving us a look we hadn't seen on film, and the positioning of the tight end was causing our ROLB to line up on the wrong man, leaving the TE open in the middle and a WR with one-on-one coverage from a LB...ie. defensive mismatch they explioted)
the coaches drew up a whole new game plan while our offense was in their series (i.e. less than a halftime) and we shut them down offensively. final score FSU 38- Wake 21

if JBIII can't figure out how to make adjustments then he needs to go. period. if FSU can come up with an entirely new defensive game plan in 3 minutes, then JBIII should be able to know how to make SOME of the adjustments to win.

get rid of him, bring in Chris Hatcher from VSU...

[Dawgbitten]

Here is the low down on Chris Hatcher:

The company I work for is based out of Valdosta, GA. Our Pres. and VP give a good chunk of change to this school. I was able to find out some things about this guy and I really like what I hear!

He is Very young! This was a strike against him when he was hired at VSU. Our Pres. was against the hiring due to his age. My source guesses that he is about 29-30. He has proved his detractors all wrong about being too young. Right now he sits ranked #2 in div. II and they are working on an undefeated season. He also had a successful season last year. I don't know how long he has been HC.

Last week against AR Tech, who has a very good defense, the game ended up tied very late in the game. The starting QB had not been playing up to Hatcher's expectations. On VSU's last drive, Hatcher pulled the starter and replaced him with the #2 QB. The #2 QB took over and led a scoring drive to win the game. That is BALLS and these have been lacking in Ruston for a few years.

He played QB at VSU and was an Academic All American (If they have that in Div. II? He didn't know the title, but knew he was very smart.). He is a hometown boy with two small children.

My source thinks he will be getting attention very soon from bigger schools. He thinks he would leave Valdosta is the money is right. Estimated salary is 75K.

IF we lose our coach (not holding my breath), this guy along with Jackson and Conque would top my personal list of canidates.