Excuses

[lakecityhog]

I am tired of the excuses thrown around by some of you guys.

1. We have just as much talent on our team RIGHT NOW as we need to win and be competitive. Yes, some teams have a bit more talent than us and some even a lot more. But, some teams THAT WE PLAY, have even less talent than us.

2. We have enough quality players on our roster that we SHOULD be able to have quality depth at very nearly every position. Depth is built by actually playing the back-ups, giving them quality minutes throughout the season. For all we know Jalen Merrick may be as good or even better that Gibson.

3. The University of Arkansas has just as much to offer a kid as Starkville, Stillwater, Lincoln, Colombia, Waco and MANY other home cities. Recruiting to Arkansas isn't about "whiteness" or location, it is about work and closing.

4. We DO NOT have a team full of losers, we have a group of kids that play their guts out trying to win ball games. We have kids that need one thing and one thing only and that is LEADERSHIP! Like any team, when things go south players look to their coaches for answers and when no answers come things only get worse.

I'm not here to advocate firing ANYONE! I will say that if our entire coaching staff doesn't do some soul searching and find it within themselves to provide the leadership that all players need, then nothing will ever change.

[NuttinItUp]

Recruiting to Arkansas isn't about "whiteness" or location, it is about work and closing.

Racist.

[lakecityhog]

Not me! I read it as an excuse and think to myself "how lame."

[Arky]

idjet 

[Bebop]

It's aggravating to hear all the things that people will use to excuse any responsibility from the head coach. At some point, it all goes back to him: leadership, recruiting, game-planning, adjusting, discipline, etc. Sure, there are some responsibilities delegated to others and players gotten execute the plays, but it is his job to oversee all of it. He is doing a poor job at it.

[reddogjcss]

Every bit of it falls on Coach B. The buck stops at him.

[Sooie71923]

Can't force kids to Fayetteville. The recruits decide whether or not Arkansas has more or less to offer than other places, not you or anyone else.

We have 1 defensive player that would start for other sec teams. Agim. We have 3-4 offensive players that would. We have 0 depth on OL. 

I know we ll be fine but trying to convince yourself Arkansas is a tier 1 program does nothing but make you complain more. We are who we are.

It's up to the players to make plays. This isn't pee wee. This staff hasn't got this far in their careers for all of a sudden to not have leadership skills.

Go blow it out your you know what.

[hogsanity]

1,2,& 3 are just devoid of reality. I agree with the start of #4, the kids are not losers.

CBB is just the latest coach that has not been able to get sufficient talent, especially on defense, to get to the top of the sec hill.

[Tarheelhawg]

Just got back from the game.  I watched an Arkansas team execute on offense and defense in the first half in a dominating way.  V_tech fans were commenting about how strong the SEC is compared to the ACC.  Arkansas has enough talent to beat V_Tech and Missouri etc (IMHO).  V Tech brought well executed corner blitzes , used Ford more in the second half as well as Jarrod Evans running effectively in the second half.  V Tech made adjustments ; Arkansas didn't.  Arkansas has corners who can blitz but I guess its too risky.  Whatever,  I blame Bielema not the players or lack of talent.  Has there ever been an Arkansas coach lose a game after leading 24 to zero at the half?

[Porcine Coprolite]

Sprinkle caught stealing from the bowl sponsor and Morgan ejected for spitting in an opponent's face.  I suspect these are symptoms of a larger problem. 

There is definitely something festering inside this football program.  There is a lack of discipline, lack of conditioning, and lack of toughness that caused the second half meltdowns against Missouri and VT.  Could the players just be following the example set by their coach?

[hogsanity]

Just got back from the game.  I watched an Arkansas team execute on offense and defense in the first half in a dominating way.  V_tech fans were commenting about how strong the SEC is compared to the ACC.  Arkansas has enough talent to beat V_Tech and Missouri etc (IMHO).  V Tech brought well executed corner blitzes , used Ford more in the second half as well as Jarrod Evans running effectively in the second half.  V Tech made adjustments ; Arkansas didn't.  Arkansas has corners who can blitz but I guess its too risky.  Whatever,  I blame Bielema not the players or lack of talent.  Has there ever been an Arkansas coach lose a game after leading 24 to zero at the half?

cant blitz corners when your safeties are so bad.

To answer your last question there has been now.

[Bebop]

1,2,& 3 are just devoid of reality. I agree with the start of #4, the kids are not losers.

CBB is just the latest coach that has not been able to get sufficient talent, especially on defense, to get to the top of the sec hill.

2 maybe debatable. The rest hold some merit. You can have all the talent in the world and piss it away. It takes a good coach to recognize what they have (good, average, or bad talent) and make that player fit into their system. We are not devoid of talent. For example, if a team like KState can beat A&M, then we can as well. Coaching matters, not just stars.

[hogsanity]

2 maybe debatable. The rest hold some merit. You can have all the talent in the world and piss it away. It takes a good coach to recognize what they have (good, average, or bad talent) and make that player fit into their system. We are not devoid of talent. For example, if a team like KState can beat A&M, then we can as well. Coaching matters, not just stars.

never said devoid of talent. The Hogs were 3-5 against ranked ( ranked when they played them ) teams this year so they do win some of those games. Talent, or lack of it, shows up over a season. I think the starters on offense, and on the d-line are as good as anyone in the sec except Bama. The problems show up when the backups have to play. Look what te loss of Greenlaw did to the defense. Then on D when your safety play is not very good, it impacts what you can do with things like blitzes.

But for the Op to say they have all the talent they need is simply laughable

[buldozer]

No matter what you lay this off on.....  recruiting, motivation, half time adjustments...... whatever it is, it is the head coach's responsibility. Period. 4 years and he has taken nearly $20M from Arkansas and what do we have to show for it? A half time melt down on national tv such as no other this year so far in CFB!