We are NOT "Snakebit" or "Cursed"

[passinghog]

A&M is pathetic.  The Raiders of college football.  They recruit like LSU but were outcoached and outplayed for most of tonight and it will be their downfall this season.

Still soft under Sumlim. The hiring of Chavis means basically nothing because teams have always been able to run it right at him and that won't change at A&M with their offense killing their defense.

[Steef]

Coaches bear the ultimate responsibility. If the players commit dumb penalties, guess they're not being coached to be disciplined enough, are they?

Well, coaches have ultimate responsibility, regardless.

But I have a hard time believing our coaches have NOT told the players that penalties are bad. That they have NOT had line drills with alternating cadence, to train them about false starts. That they have NOT taught them what is...and isn't...a hold.

I suspect (though I don't really know...just a guess) that the real problem is BECAUSE our guys are just so blasted big...and our opponents are just FAST. Something has to give.

[rtr]

Well, coaches have ultimate responsibility, regardless.

But I have a hard time believing our coaches have NOT told the players that penalties are bad. That they have NOT had line drills with alternating cadence, to train them about false starts. That they have NOT taught them what is...and isn't...a hold.

I suspect (though I don't really know...just a guess) that the real problem is BECAUSE our guys are just so blasted big...and our opponents are just FAST. Something has to give.

Wasn't that part of the plan to get as big as possible?  Some players look slower this year than last.  Maybe we have trained this way.

[Steef]

Wasn't that part of the plan to get as big as possible?  Some players look slower this year than last.  Maybe we have trained this way.

Yeah. That may not be working out too well.

[sloot]

I suspect (though I don't really know...just a guess) that the real problem is BECAUSE our guys are just so blasted big...and our opponents are just FAST. Something has to give.

That'd be a recruiting problem, right? Guess I'd file that under another coaching problem.

[WoodyHog]

Hiring a non-guru sort of HC, whether it be offensive or defensive, was/is a mistake. He brought a guiding philosophy, but is heavily reliant on coordinators on both sides of the ball to be homerun hires. If you have an offensive guru as a HC, then at least that side of the ball is sured up. Likewise with a defensive guru.

What does this even mean?  Who are these "gurus" you speak of?  Muschamp is a defensive "guru" and Auburn's defense still sucks.  Gus has respect as a decent offensive mind, and Auburn's offense stinks too.  Chip Kelly is an offensive "guru" and the Eagle's offense has been terrible this season.

A lot of great coaches have more of a guiding philosophy than being known for just focusing on one side of the ball -- Bill Parcels, Jimmy Johnson, Tom Coughlin -- what are those guys? 

[Atlhogfan1]

QB

We had one real option to play in 2013 and 14.  It makes sense as a 5th yr Sr he is the qb in 15.  With mistakes and personnel losses on D and penalties and whatever, till this position improves, we won't win darn.  Fire coaches all you want.  Arkansas needs winning qb play and/or experience on D to win a lot of games in a season. 

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

I guess some fans expect the QB to be a co-head coach....

[urkillnmesmalls]

QB

We had one real option to play in 2013 and 14.  It makes since as a 5ht yr Sr he is the qb in 15.  With mistakes and personnel losses on D and penalties and whatever, till this position improves, we won't win darn.

ATL...Sadly, I agree.  But it's not just on him.  Take away the stupid penalties, and we win that game...period. 

By now we all know what CBB wants to do....it's no secret.  When you play keep away, and can't stop people, it's always going to be close at the end.  For whatever reason, BA hasn't shown the ability to rise up and win games.  I don't want to rip the kid, and he's certainly not the only one to blame, but it's simply not arguable.  He hasn't shown the ability to lead the team to victory at the end.

You would think...that we would win one of these just from blind luck right?  Maybe a defender falls down, or something.  But instead...time and time again we fold, and the opposition rises up. 

We're Vanderbilt.  It's uncanny how we can lose games.   

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

ATL...Sadly, I agree.  But it's not just on him.  Take away the stupid penalties, and we win that game...period. 

By now we all know what CBB wants to do....it's no secret.  When you play keep away, and can't stop people, it's always going to be close at the end.  For whatever reason, BA hasn't shown the ability to rise up and win games.  I don't want to rip the kid, and he's certainly not the only one to blame, but it's simply not arguable.  He hasn't shown the ability to lead the team to victory at the end.

You would think...that we would win one of these just from blind luck right?  Maybe a defender falls down, or something.  But instead...time and time again we fold, and the opposition rises up. 

We're Vanderbilt.  It's uncanny how we can lose games.   

Again, we could also say A&M "lost" that game when the kicker missed the field goal.  Why were we in that position in the 1st place?

[jabohog]

Continuing to make the same mistakes over and over and at critical times can be blamed on coaching. 

Let me say Drew Morgan played a great game. Alex was awesome and the Oline for the most part plowed the road. The tight ends blocked well most of the game so we didn't hear much from Myles Garret until the end. That's what great players do, they step up in the clutch. Defense started slow, but picked it up, got some sacks, held this team to 28 points which is pretty good play. This was our game, had more that one shot to take it but we CHOKED. I sound like a broken record, but until this team learns to play without the penalties, turnovers, and 4th quarter chokes that have plagued them their entire career, this will be the out come most every time.

Go Hogs, please beat somebody.

[passinghog]

Again, we could also say A&M "lost" that game when the kicker missed the field goal.  Why were we in that position in the 1st place?

Because our QB did the one thing they couldn't do and that was fumble the ball inside our own side of the 50 on the previous possession?

[bigbadhog]

Firing Bobby was a big mistake.

Ya think???

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

Because our QB did the one thing they couldn't do and that was fumble the ball inside our own side of the 50 on the previous possession?

Wouldn't have mattered had we had an offense that can score more points.  BA didn't bring in this philosophy - in fact, during most of the game he managed to over achieve in it.

[Hogz87]

This is a bit off-topic but seems to be the most appropriate thread to post it under because I didn't want to start a new thread for something so whiny and meaningless.

But I'm 28 years old and have finally come to accept this is who we are athletically as a school.  I mean I came to accept it somewhere between the Toledo loss and the first half of the Texas Tech game.  But yeah, I don't think we're necessarily cursed or snakebitten, although I do a little bit, I just think it's "because we're Arkansas."  Meaning, we're just always going to be this "2-steps forward, 3-steps back" school when it comes to athletics.  We'll have great years every so often, but when it looks like we're going to gain traction and get back to our glory days, we'll have a season that's doomed by a handful of things like injuries, stupid play on the field which results in a lot of penalties coupled with a season long theme of "why do we always get called for holding but the other team almost never gets called for holding even though I can see a blatantly obvious hold that doesn't get called every other possession?" 

Maybe I should've just realized and accepted this earlier in life and by now I'd be use to it.  Regardless, it's extremely frustrating and a little bit depressing.

[passinghog]

Wouldn't have mattered had we had an offense that can score more points.  BA didn't bring in this philosophy - in fact, during most of the game he managed to over achieve in it.

In what system is it ever acceptable to turn the ball over inside your own zone with under 2 minutes left? If the score was 41-41 instead of 21-21, would you give it a pass? You turn it over in that situation, it's a recipe to lose, no matter the system.

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

In what system is it ever acceptable to turn the ball over inside your own zone with under 2 minutes left? If the score was 41-41 instead of 21-21, would you give it a pass? You turn it over in that situation, it's a recipe to lose, no matter the system.

It's not acceptable, as are many overall problems that this team has.  Our D played well enough to win, with the right coaching on the offensive side..

[urkillnmesmalls]

Again, we could also say A&M "lost" that game when the kicker missed the field goal.  Why were we in that position in the 1st place?

If the penalties don't consistently KILL our drives, we're up a few TD's at the end.  They couldn't stop us...we stopped ourselves.  All we needed was a few stops from the defense, and that's what we got.  We just couldn't execute well enough on offense, or make a big play for a turnover on defense. 

Why do you think we lost?  Explain the fatal coaching flaw that you saw.  Sumlin said after the game that we did an excellent job of playing our game plan, and they KNEW what we were going to try to do. 

And what did they do?  They got it in the hands of #3 in space whenever possible, and he won the game for them...almost single handedly.  I'd LOVE it if every time Drew Morgan touched the ball, he looked like everyone around him was running in soft sand.  We don't have that weapon on the team right now. 

The ENTIRE team made just enough mistakes to lose the game.  That's the cold hard truth.  We shouldn't even be able to play with TAMU based on the last few years recruiting numbers, but we did.  That's good coaching isn't it?  Never mind how many HUGE injuries we have.  Do you think having some of our best players on the field would have made a difference?  I do...100%.  So doesn't that further show that CBB can coach lesser talented teams to big wins?   

I hear you blaming CBB.  Please explain to me what you would do with our players to convert to a "quick strike" offense like you want to see.  Remember...the most times we miss on big plays, the less chance we have to grind it out, and the more times the other team gets the ball with a chance to expose our young defense.  It's a double edged sword. 

If he doesn't have the players to win with next year, and probably 2017 too...then it will be game over for him.  But in the mean time, I think we have some fans who are being a little unfair, and I think you're one of them. 

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

If the penalties don't consistently KILL our drives, we're up a few TD's at the end.  They couldn't stop us...we stopped ourselves.  All we needed was a few stops from the defense, and that's what we got.  We just couldn't execute well enough on offense, or make a big play for a turnover on defense. 

Why do you think we lost?  Explain the fatal coaching flaw that you saw.  Sumlin said after the game that we did an excellent job of playing our game plan, and they KNEW what we were going to try to do. 

And what did they do?  They got it in the hands of #3 in space whenever possible, and he won the game for them...almost single handedly.  I'd LOVE it if every time Drew Morgan touched the ball, he looked like everyone around him was running in soft sand.  We don't have that weapon on the team right now. 

The ENTIRE team made just enough mistakes to lose the game.  That's the cold hard truth.  We shouldn't even be able to play with TAMU based on the last few years recruiting numbers, but we did.  That's good coaching isn't it?  Never mind how many HUGE injuries we have.  Do you think having some of our best players on the field would have made a difference?  I do...100%.  So doesn't that further show that CBB can coach lesser talented teams to big wins?   

I hear you blaming CBB.  Please explain to me what you would do with our players to convert to a "quick strike" offense like you want to see.  Remember...the most times we miss on big plays, the less chance we have to grind it out, and the more times the other team gets the ball with a chance to expose our young defense.  It's a double edged sword. 

If he doesn't have the players to win with next year, and probably 2017 too...then it will be game over for him.  But in the mean time, I think we have some fans who are being a little unfair, and I think you're one of them. 

Maybe so.  But his "style" of play IMO, the overall philosophy and players he recruits and develops, put him in the position to not be able to make the plays and adjustments we've needed all year long.  Not just this year.  And by "coaching", I mean all of it, not just during this game.

[urkillnmesmalls]

This is a bit off-topic but seems to be the most appropriate thread to post it under because I didn't want to start a new thread for something so whiny and meaningless.

But I'm 28 years old and have finally come to accept this is who we are athletically as a school.  I mean I came to accept it somewhere between the Toledo loss and the first half of the Texas Tech game.  But yeah, I don't think we're necessarily cursed or snakebitten, although I do a little bit, I just think it's "because we're Arkansas."  Meaning, we're just always going to be this "2-steps forward, 3-steps back" school when it comes to athletics.  We'll have great years every so often, but when it looks like we're going to gain traction and get back to our glory days, we'll have a season that's doomed by a handful of things like injuries, stupid play on the field which results in a lot of penalties coupled with a season long theme of "why do we always get called for holding but the other team almost never gets called for holding even though I can see a blatantly obvious hold that doesn't get called every other possession?" 

Maybe I should've just realized and accepted this earlier in life and by now I'd be use to it.  Regardless, it's extremely frustrating and a little bit depressing.

Get back to me when you're 46.      There was OBVIOUS pass interference on the interception.  It was a MUGGING prior to the ball getting there...no call.  It's unreal to me at times how we're on the bad end of those type of calls. 

I've said it ad nauseum, and I still believe it.  We can compete, but it has to be with a team that if fielding most positions with upper classmen.  That means CONSISTENT recruiting for ALL positions over time.  You can beat a team full of 4 and 5 star players if you have Sr.'s that came in as 3 star, and have developed into 4/5 star players with their experience.  We don't have that at enough key positions yet.  Can we???  I don't know, but changing coaches every 3-4 years won't get us where we need to be at Arkansas.  It will take consistency, and patience, and that gets harder and harder for fans to swallow when we lose games we should have won. 

"Our coach is terrible...a monkey could do better."  - Fan base

OK, then HOW did we just come within a play or two from beating a team that has infinitely higher recruiting classes, with a team that is decimated by injuries to their best players?  How bad can the coaching really be?   

[sloot]

What does this even mean?  Who are these "gurus" you speak of?  Muschamp is a defensive "guru" and Auburn's defense still sucks.  Gus has respect as a decent offensive mind, and Auburn's offense stinks too.  Chip Kelly is an offensive "guru" and the Eagle's offense has been terrible this season.

A lot of great coaches have more of a guiding philosophy than being known for just focusing on one side of the ball -- Bill Parcels, Jimmy Johnson, Tom Coughlin -- what are those guys?

Looking over the long-term, it's hard to argue that Gus and Chip aren't offensive gurus. You can put your scare/snare quotes away. They've always had great offensives, and everyone experiences hiccups. Chip's largest problem has been as GM anyway. Gus's largest problem is at QB; the same goes for CBP.

We have a more articulate Les Miles without the stallions he has at LSU.

[urkillnmesmalls]

Maybe so.  But his "style" of play IMO, the overall philosophy and players he recruits and develops, put him in the position to not be able to make the plays and adjustments we've needed all year long.  Not just this year.  And by "coaching", I mean all of it, not just during this game.

But DJ...He didn't jump on 4th and 3.  He didn't hold someone needlessly and get 10 yard penalties over and over again.  He didn't fumble the ball at the end of the game.  He didn't inexplicably just dive at the DE's legs and ole' him.  He didn't short arm a simple pass to the TE at a critical time.  He didn't wait until after the receiver made his break to throw the ball being overly cautious, allowing the defender to close on the ball.

We haven't EVER been able to be at the top in recruiting.  Even under the might BP that everyone thinks was so good that we were going to win the Super Bowl under him, when we couldn't even compete with Alabama minus one game in 2010, we never landed anywhere near the top even in the SEC in recruiting. 

Will we EVER get high enough recruiting classes to compete for SECC?  I don't know...but CBB is competing closely against SEC teams that are recruiting MUCH higher.  Why would you want to be so quick to get rid of him when it seems like common sense  that if we can just make a modest improvement in recruiting, we could compete with anyone?   

 

[urkillnmesmalls]

Looking over the long-term, it's hard to argue that Gus and Chip aren't offensive gurus. You can put your scare/snare quotes away. They've always had great offensives, and everyone experiences hiccups. Chip's largest problem has been as GM anyway. Gus's largest problem is at QB; the same goes for CBP.

We have a more articulate Les Miles without the stallions he has at LSU.

LSU?  We wrecked them last year.  Come out from under the rock man!  Look over the long term.  We just came a few plays away from beating TAMU with a team that's decimated by injuries. 

Yet you act like he can't coach his way out of a paper bag???  Really?   

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

But DJ...He didn't jump on 4th and 3.  He didn't hold someone needlessly and get 10 yard penalties over and over again.  He didn't fumble the ball at the end of the game.  He didn't inexplicably just dive at the DE's legs and ole' him.  He didn't short arm a simple pass to the TE at a critical time.  He didn't wait until after the receiver made his break to throw the ball being overly cautious, allowing the defender to close on the ball.

We haven't EVER been able to be at the top in recruiting.  Even under the might BP that everyone thinks was so good that we were going to win the Super Bowl under him, when we couldn't even compete with Alabama minus one game in 2010, we never landed anywhere near the top even in the SEC in recruiting. 

Will we EVER get high enough recruiting classes to compete for SECC?  I don't know...but CBB is competing closely against SEC teams that are recruiting MUCH higher.  Why would you want to be so quick to get rid of him when it seems like common sense  that if we can just make a modest improvement in recruiting, we could compete with anyone?   

 

You're right, he didn't do all of those things on the field.  But when do you start holding him responsible for the big picture of mistakes?  He sets the tone, he runs the practices, the preparation, the motivation and the overall identity of the team.  One game like this is one thing.  3, 2 of which were much worse than this one against teams we should have been better prepared for falls on him.  This team has no identity, not even the one he claims to be successful at.  He's the one that doesn't have "it", because he is the one with the overall philosophy that isn't working here.  And he's not going to change, he's made that very clear. 

[sloot]

LSU?  We wrecked them last year.  Come out from under the rock man!  Look over the long term.  We just came a few plays away from beating TAMU with a team that's decimated by injuries. 

Yet you act like he can't coach his way out of a paper bag???  Really?   

CBB is 2-15 in SEC play. You can't argue with that...well, except to say Hey, we almost won! Meaning what exactly? Oh yeah, that we actually lost. The guy can coach, but it doesn't appear that he can do so in the SEC, at least as of yet.

[urkillnmesmalls]

CBB is 2-15 in SEC play. You can't argue with that...well, except to say Hey, we almost won! Meaning what exactly? Oh yeah, that we actually lost. The guy can coach, but it doesn't appear that he can do so in the SEC, at least as of yet.

Meaning...that we're competitive.  We were competitive in every SEC game last season, minus UGA.  That was a step in the right direction.  This season, we're struggling to this point, but we still competed with TAMU.  Obviously we didn't pick up where we left off last season, and there are a lot of reasons adding up to a negative result. 

I look at it like this.  If we're only a few plays away from winning these games with recruiting that's below mid pack, and a team that still doesn't have experienced players at most positions that CBB recruited , then there's STILL plenty of upside. 

If you want to completely disagree, and you THINK he's doomed to fail, then that's fine.  It's your right, but you don't know that anymore than I know he's going to win the SECCG in 2017.  You don't have a crystal ball.  He's going to get two more years unless he leaves on his own accord.  That's just how it is. 

I was encouraged tonight.  I thought we would get KILLED based on our defensive issues, and it would be like 52-17 or something like that.  Instead, we stood toe to toe with a team that's infinitely more talented, and we did it with not only LESS talent, but KEY injuries. 

If we're competitive for the remainder of this season, I'm still cautiously optimistic that we could do some good things the next few seasons.  He's trying to do what he thinks will win....which is not something everyone seems to like.  But...the days of 3 yards and a cloud of dust seem to be over.  Our passing game is more diverse, and we're going to take what the defense gives us. 

If we can get it together and limit mistakes, I still think we will surprise some people this season. 

[WashUhog6]

I think it comes down to this: we don't have the characteristics of a well-coached team. We have talent issues to be sure, but we're bad situationally and late in the game on both sides of the ball when the game is close. We tend to beat ourselves with penalties and turnovers, have a habit of missing assignments and looking lost that results in our D getting torched on game deciding possessions, and then we follow it up with poor execution on offense. All of those things have continued to happen in varying combinations throughout Bielema's time at Arkansas, and I can cite numerous examples of each contributing to a close loss since the beginning of 2013.

But then there's one major consistency among all of those late game deficiencies, and it comes from arguably the most important position on the field: QB. Brandon Allen has played in 7 SEC games decided by 7 points or less at Arkansas, and in 4 of those--2013 LSU, 2014 Alabama and Mississippi State, 2015 TAMU--he has turned the ball over with less than 2 minutes to play. If you want to add a turnover on downs here, it goes up to 5/7 with the addition of 2014 TAMU (he can't be penalized twice since 2015 TAMU is already accounted for here due to the late fumble). That's pretty miserable. And in 1 of those 7, 2014 Mizzou, he ended the game by completing 5 of his final 15 passes. None of this counts late game misses such as the Hunter Henry miss against Toledo, or skipping the ball to Sprinkle on 3rd down tonight in overtime. It doesn't even account for all of the poor second half play and turnovers in games that ended up as losses of 10 or more but that were still in question within grasp in the 4th quarter.

So yeah, we've got issues across the board that have helped account for these late game frustrations. I think those issues are symptomatic of a poorly coached team, and there is plenty of blame to go around. No one is denying that. But you absolutely cannot have a QB who turns the ball over late that frequently when the game is on the line.

[mlloyd4]

The greatest coach in the history of football is heading to Fayetteville to take his "dream job" and doesn't make it because war breaks out.
The winningest college football program in history is basically 3 and a half miles away from Fayetteville in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, and they stole our uniforms.
The best college football game in history and we are the losing team.
We go undefeated in 64 and don't even get the consensus national championship.
Petrino's Harley ride.
Houston Nutt has a Heisman candidate and can't win.
Jack Crowe lost to Citadel.
We run off Lou Holtz.
Hatfield can't beat Texas.
Stoener's fumble.
Fish's fumble.
That darned mystery pass interference flag in the 1982 SMU game.

Every year it's the same story, same ending, different players, different coaches.
But no, we are not cursed. There is a rational explanation.

[SPAL]

With all due respect, we played the ONLY style of game that gives us ANY chance to beat a team like TAMU.  Period.  You can argue that we should be throwing bombs, or trying to "quick strike" all you want, but we DON'T have those players on this team.  I'm pretty sure BB wishes we have #3 from their team on our team, but we don't. 

You want to see track meets, and I completely disagree with you.  WE CANNOT win those games with these players.  We aren't getting top 5 recruiting classes like TAMU.  It's somewhat of a testament to just play them that close isn't it? 

Hey, I'm as sick of choking at the end of games as the next person.  We are Vanderbilt.  I'm sorry...but FOREVER they have played well enough to win until the 4th quarter, and then they just hand games to the opponent.  That's what we do now. 

I like BA, but he can't win games for us.  His heart is in the right place, but he just chokes and I hate that for the kid, his teammates, and the state.  I've yet to see the kid win a game at the end, but I'd be glad for someone to discredit that and refer to a game he did win. 

No sooner was Blackledge talking about our rookie RB holding onto the ball when BA coughed it up...our Sr. QB. 

It's just the little things that are killing us.  HOW IN THE HELL do you get a procedure call on 4th and 3 when the WHOLE GOAL should be to draw the opposition off sides?  How does that happen? 

I could go on and on...it's just incredible how we can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.      

Post of the day

[hellwonthaveme]

That's bull crap.  Our coaches did a decent job tonight.  The players shot themselves in the foot repeatedly.

Dude coaches to lose....pathetic.

PRJ

[gchamblee]

For those of you blaming CBB for this loss and being out coached on that game, you're flat out wrong.  He coached a very good game, but the players didn't execute.  They made mistakes on their own accord, and we're simply not talented enough to overcome that stuff against a team like TAMU. 

If you want to say he's not doing a good enough job of holding the players accountable, then that's hard to argue, because it's amazing that we continue to get that many penalties.  But...who's he going to put in to take their place? 

If no one else is going to say it, I will.  The entire team needs to have a stronger desire to win, and some people need to step up and MAKE PLAYS instead of doing stupid things to lose games.  That's across the board....both sides of the ball.

+1

[gchamblee]

Get back to me when you're 46.      There was OBVIOUS pass interference on the interception.  It was a MUGGING prior to the ball getting there...no call.  It's unreal to me at times how we're on the bad end of those type of calls. 

I've said it ad nauseum, and I still believe it.  We can compete, but it has to be with a team that if fielding most positions with upper classmen.  That means CONSISTENT recruiting for ALL positions over time.  You can beat a team full of 4 and 5 star players if you have Sr.'s that came in as 3 star, and have developed into 4/5 star players with their experience.  We don't have that at enough key positions yet.  Can we???  I don't know, but changing coaches every 3-4 years won't get us where we need to be at Arkansas.  It will take consistency, and patience, and that gets harder and harder for fans to swallow when we lose games we should have won. 

"Our coach is terrible...a monkey could do better."  - Fan base

OK, then HOW did we just come within a play or two from beating a team that has infinitely higher recruiting classes, with a team that is decimated by injuries to their best players?  How bad can the coaching really be?

+1 again. well said

[ChitownHawg]

If the penalties don't consistently KILL our drives, we're up a few TD's at the end.  They couldn't stop us...we stopped ourselves.  All we needed was a few stops from the defense, and that's what we got.  We just couldn't execute well enough on offense, or make a big play for a turnover on defense. 

Why do you think we lost?  Explain the fatal coaching flaw that you saw.  Sumlin said after the game that we did an excellent job of playing our game plan, and they KNEW what we were going to try to do. 

And what did they do?  They got it in the hands of #3 in space whenever possible, and he won the game for them...almost single handedly.  I'd LOVE it if every time Drew Morgan touched the ball, he looked like everyone around him was running in soft sand.  We don't have that weapon on the team right now. 

The ENTIRE team made just enough mistakes to lose the game.  That's the cold hard truth.  We shouldn't even be able to play with TAMU based on the last few years recruiting numbers, but we did.  That's good coaching isn't it?  Never mind how many HUGE injuries we have.  Do you think having some of our best players on the field would have made a difference?  I do...100%.  So doesn't that further show that CBB can coach lesser talented teams to big wins?   

I hear you blaming CBB.  Please explain to me what you would do with our players to convert to a "quick strike" offense like you want to see.  Remember...the most times we miss on big plays, the less chance we have to grind it out, and the more times the other team gets the ball with a chance to expose our young defense.  It's a double edged sword. 

If he doesn't have the players to win with next year, and probably 2017 too...then it will be game over for him.  But in the mean time, I think we have some fans who are being a little unfair, and I think you're one of them.

While I'm with you on most of it I am placing a lot harsher blame on the coaches. Time to make the players accountable. When CBB got here he said he punishes players for making penalties during practice. Well on Monday have those game time penalty violators in front of Herb for some extra "workout sessions".

And while they are at it have the coach who told Brooks to spy on the running QB. That was stupid. Brooks doesn't have the speed for that. Want to hurt a good player's pscyhe? Having him running like a fool trying to catch a player he has no business chasing. I felt sorry for Brooks.

And time for coaches to hold the QB accountable. Don't want to hear CBB chatting about how BA isn't having any fun. Put him on the bench. You cannot let the rest of the team see that it is ok to underperform in the 4th quarter. You consistently underperform and you sit on the bench.

It the next QB stinks it up then you go to the next one. If someone doesn't rise to the occasion - well you know what your season is going to be like. We recruited good QBs, so I believe one of them will rise.

Time for the coaches to rise to the occasion. Lastly - I don't like CBB calling upset fans haters. I'm upset, but I am not hating. I am EXPECTING accountability. And this isn't a short term thing coach. We are 0 and 10 in close games. 10 loses isn't short term.

[Steef]

"Our coach is terrible...a monkey could do better."  - Fan base

OK, then HOW did we just come within a play or two from beating a team that has infinitely higher recruiting classes, with a team that is decimated by injuries to their best players?  How bad can the coaching really be?

This bears repeating.

[ChitownHawg]

This bears repeating.

Steef - since you liked that comment I have a question for you. How many games and losses do the coaches get before you begin to say they need to make adjustments.

Whatever the coaches are doing isn't working. Playing a team close isn't satisfying nor should be a coach's objective. I'm old school so the teams I played for people would be benched.  Star player or not. My coaches felt losses due to bonehead mistakes were unacceptable.

Just as being two minutes late to a meeting is punishable, so should these in game mistakes. Only the coaches can control that. I'm not impressed with their adjustments if they have adjusted at all.

Sorry I'm not feeling much love for the coaches this morning. Our players deserve better.

[Steef]

Steef - since you liked that comment I have a question for you. How many games and losses do the coaches get before you begin to say they need to make adjustments.

Whatever the coaches are doing isn't working. Playing a team close isn't satisfying nor should be a coach's objective. I'm old school so the teams I played for people would be benched.  Star player or not. My coaches felt losses due to bonehead mistakes were unacceptable.

Just as being two minutes late to a meeting is punishable, so should these in game mistakes. Only the coaches can control that. I'm not impressed with their adjustments if they have adjusted at all.

Sorry I'm not feeling much love for the coaches this morning. Our players deserve better.

Actually, last night's game pretty much proves the statement I quoted.

Until we shot ourselves in the foot, we were leading a team whose yearly recruiting classes have consistently been better than ours.

Its ibvioys we do not yet have anyoirne on our defense with speed to match theirs. Even their QB is faster than us.

And yet, we hung with them.

Everyone we play in our conference, is ahead of us in recruiting. Some of them are years ahead and cannot be caught.

Bret had two full recruiting classes of his own to work with.

And half of our best talent is injured.

He may not be THE coach. But he hasnt had the chance yet to acquire enough talent to prove or dis prove that.

Watch the recruiting classes. He needs to bring in more speed at all positions. If he does, we're good. If he doesnt, he'll eventually be replaced.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Steef - since you liked that comment I have a question for you. How many games and losses do the coaches get before you begin to say they need to make adjustments.

Whatever the coaches are doing isn't working. Playing a team close isn't satisfying nor should be a coach's objective. I'm old school so the teams I played for people would be benched.  Star player or not. My coaches felt losses due to bonehead mistakes were unacceptable.

Just as being two minutes late to a meeting is punishable, so should these in game mistakes. Only the coaches can control that. I'm not impressed with their adjustments if they have adjusted at all.

Sorry I'm not feeling much love for the coaches this morning. Our players deserve better.

On the other hand, if Kirkland doesn't move (actually drawn off by A&M which should have been an encroachment call on A&M) and we convert on 4th down and either go down and score a TD or kick a FG making it a two score game with probably 2 minutes remaining and we win, much of this criticism would not even be heard this morning.

If you listened to Bielema in his post game and I am sure you did, then you heard the frustration in his voice as well. Due to depth issues we probably can't afford to sit someone for these penalties and if we did and got slaughtered, would the negativity and criticism be any less because he did what seem feel would be right...for having sat a starter for penalties committed in the last game? If you have a solid and experienced two deep you can get away with that, but that isn't the position that we are in at the moment.

There are other things that can be done as punishment for mental mistakes but it is probably better to drill down, find out why they are making these mistakes and take corrective action since we have to focus on getting ready to travel to Knoxville next weekend.

[ChitownHawg]

On the other hand, if Kirkland doesn't move (actually drawn off by A&M which should have been an encroachment call on A&M) and we convert on 4th down and either go down and score a TD or kick a FG making it a two score game with probably 2 minutes remaining and we win, much of this criticism would not even be heard this morning.

If you listened to Bielema in his post game and I am sure you did, then you heard the frustration in his voice as well. Due to depth issues we probably can't afford to sit someone for these penalties and if we did and got slaughtered, would the negativity and criticism be any less because he did what seem feel would be right...for having sat a starter for penalties committed in the last game? If you have a solid and experienced two deep you can get away with that, but that isn't the position that we are in at the moment.

There are other things that can be done as punishment for mental mistakes but it is probably better to drill down, find out why they are making these mistakes and take corrective action since we have to focus on getting ready to travel to Knoxville next weekend.

Most definitely heard the frustration and sadness for the players. For Kirkland I don't agree with the encroachment. Yes the defensive player moved but not excessively. Skipper's movement was blatant encroachment and my neighbors heard me clearly say that during the game. 

I know you coached so I trust your judgement on what the coach can do to correct it. Lord knows I am rooting for CBB and the team to correct them. But these next few games are going to be tough to iron out any wrinkles.

[dagnamit]

And that's our problem. Most of y'all are just satisfied to just "hang" in the SEC.

SEC  SEC   SEC      fans

[ChitownHawg]

Actually, last night's game pretty much proves the statement I quoted.

Until we shot ourselves in the foot, we were leading a team whose yearly recruiting classes have consistently been better than ours.

Its ibvioys we do not yet have anyoirne on our defense with speed to match theirs. Even their QB is faster than us.

And yet, we hung with them.

Everyone we play in our conference, is ahead of us in recruiting. Some of them are years ahead and cannot be caught.

Bret had two full recruiting classes of his own to work with.

And half of our best talent is injured.

He may not be THE coach. But he hasnt had the chance yet to acquire enough talent to prove or dis prove that.

Watch the recruiting classes. He needs to bring in more speed at all positions. If he does, we're good. If he doesnt, he'll eventually be replaced.

I hear ya. I think Greenlaw shows speed and promise. When he was beat was more of being out of position than the guy flying by him. What about Khalia?. Don't hear anything of him.

[DeltaBoy]

Agree, we're not snakebite -we just have a 5th year senior starting QB that wilts under pressure every game.

YEP and we have had these heart breaks every other year since the loss to Texas in the 1969 game.

[redeye]

I agree with your point, but not your reasoning for why it happens.

[hoghearted]

Arkansas is not a well coached team.

[DeltaBoy]

               

This is HOG Football a out every  3-5 year time span.

[porknbeans]

On the other hand, if Kirkland doesn't move (actually drawn off by A&M which should have been an encroachment call on A&M) and we convert on 4th down and either go down and score a TD or kick a FG making it a two score game with probably 2 minutes remaining and we win, much of this criticism would not even be heard this morning.

If you listened to Bielema in his post game and I am sure you did, then you heard the frustration in his voice as well. Due to depth issues we probably can't afford to sit someone for these penalties and if we did and got slaughtered, would the negativity and criticism be any less because he did what seem feel would be right...for having sat a starter for penalties committed in the last game? If you have a solid and experienced two deep you can get away with that, but that isn't the position that we are in at the moment.

There are other things that can be done as punishment for mental mistakes but it is probably better to drill down, find out why they are making these mistakes and take corrective action since we have to focus on getting ready to travel to Knoxville next weekend.

Most definitely heard the frustration and sadness for the players. For Kirkland I don't agree with the encroachment. Yes the defensive player moved but not excessively. Skipper's movement was blatant encroachment and my neighbors heard me clearly say that during the game. 

I know you coached so I trust your judgement on what the coach can do to correct it. Lord knows I am rooting for CBB and the team to correct them. But these next few games are going to be tough to iron out any wrinkles.

I agree that the A&M player moved - but I don't think he ever was in the neutral zone. The official made the correct call, unfortunately.

[Danny J]

CBB is 2-15 in SEC play. You can't argue with that...well, except to say Hey, we almost won! Meaning what exactly? Oh yeah, that we actually lost. The guy can coach, but it doesn't appear that he can do so in the SEC, at least as of yet.

Exactly.....wins and losses...only stat that matters at the end of the day. I am tired of the sunshine pumpers.

It is year 3....paid this man a lot of money....regressing. That is the reality. These same people have expectations so low now that if we went 6-6 they would be happy!!! They don't even realize that it is happening. It is like the frog being slowly heated up in a pot of water.

I am sorry folks...we look at best to go 5-7 this year...at best. That is not acceptable.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

On the other hand, if Kirkland doesn't move (actually drawn off by A&M which should have been an encroachment call on A&M) and we convert on 4th down and either go down and score a TD or kick a FG making it a two score game with probably 2 minutes remaining and we win, much of this criticism would not even be heard this morning.

If you listened to Bielema in his post game and I am sure you did, then you heard the frustration in his voice as well. Due to depth issues we probably can't afford to sit someone for these penalties and if we did and got slaughtered, would the negativity and criticism be any less because he did what seem feel would be right...for having sat a starter for penalties committed in the last game? If you have a solid and experienced two deep you can get away with that, but that isn't the position that we are in at the moment.

There are other things that can be done as punishment for mental mistakes but it is probably better to drill down, find out why they are making these mistakes and take corrective action since we have to focus on getting ready to travel to Knoxville next weekend.

Not even close to being in athe neutral zone. The penalty that kept us from sealing the game was Ledbetter's roughing the passer, which was correct. But then again I could point at any of the 11 penalties as critical. I'm just tired of losing due to piss poor play calling in overtime and piss poor play calling in the 4th quarter.

[ChitownHawg]

Not even close to being in athe neutral zone. The penalty that kept us from sealing the game was Ledbetter's roughing the passer, which was correct. But then again I could point at any of the 11 penalties as critical. I'm just tired of losing due to piss poor play calling execution in overtime and piss poor play calling execution in the 4th quarter.

Fixed your typos for you. 

[Overtheroadtruckdriver]

I thought we showed a lot of heart last night.  If we had won the last two games and lost this one in the manner we did we'd be 3-1 and most of us would be pretty satisfied.  The problem with last night's loss is that it's coming not the heels of two games we should have one (maybe one game we should have one - TT looked pretty good yesterday against the #3 team in the country).

We're really not that far off.  Toledo was a fluky game and there was no excuse for losing it. At this point I don't think we are nearly as good as Texas Tech.  Not as good as A & M either but gave them all they wanted.

Maybe we're not as bad as we think but then again we may not win more than three games this year either and still be a pretty good team. 

I don't know what to think anymore. I know the players have to be down and heaven help any of them that click on hogville to see what the fans are thinking right now.

There's a lot more important things going on in the world than whether we win or lose, although you wouldn't know it by reading MMQB today.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

Fixed your typos for you. 

Thanks boss. I wrote that before my first cup of coffee.