Making the case for patience

[Dr. Starcs]

I firmly believe that CBB is building our program the right way. And if that we as a fan base are patient, we will see the dividends. I'm certainly not guaranteeing a national championship or even sec title, but I think we will be in a position to compete for those.

However, my dad (60 years old) has just about had enough already. As was pointed out on this site yesterday, I do think it is a generational thing to some extent.

My question is, what are our facts?  Hard, solid, concrete evidence that a) CBB inherited a terrible situation, b) he is the right man for the job and c) we are on the right track for improvement?

I'm trying to arm myself with as much evidence as I can to make my point. Lol. Any help would be appreciated.

Go Hogs!

[Dr. Starcs]

Al, you are clearly not the person I was looking at for evidence.

[thefisher]

Here are a few thoughts you might want to be aware of in your quest for reasons to show some patience -

CBB has a coaching tree he comes from.  He also has branches off of that tree.  The Hogs are headed to the best years they have experienced in a long while over the next few seasons.  CBB comes from the Hayden Fry coaching tree having both played and coached for him back in the day. The similarities between the coaches on that tree - CBB, Hayden Fry, Barry Alvarez, and Bill Snyder - and CBB's coming to Arkansas are astounding.  Please consider the following -


Hayden Fry - Coach Fry took over the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1979.  They had experience 17 straight losing seasons!  After Fry arrived they did not have a winning season for three years! However, he then lead that team to 14 bowl games, 3 conference championships, 10 top 10 finishes, and in 2003 was inducted as a coach into the College Football Hall Of Fame.
               

Barry Alvarez - Coach Alvarez took over at Wisconsin after they had experienced 5 straight losing seasons.  He did not have a winning season until the fourth year!  However, he then lead Wisconsin to 11 bowl appearances. This would include winning 3 Rose Bowls. He also saw the Badgers finish in the top 25 six times with half of those in the top 5. In 2010 he was inducted as a coach into the College Football Hall Of Fame.
                 

Bill Snyder - Took over as head coach at Kansas State in 1989. This was his first head coaching job - at age 50.  Kansas State had losing seasons for 46 of the previous 50 years.  Several of those losing seasons were 0-fers. They didn't win a single game! When he accepted the job in 1989 Sports Illustrated labeled it "Futility U". Three of his first 4 seasons were losing ones. However, he had passion, a plan, and persistence. They then turned the corner. Kansas State went on to many bowl victories. They finished in the top 20 twelve times and the top 10 six times. Coach Snyder is now seen as an elder statesman of college football. He was been named a 7 time Big 8-12 Conference Coach Of The Year and is a multiple National Coach Of The Year recipient. He is also enshrined in both the Kansas and Missouri Sports Halls of Fame.

All three of these coaches took over very weak programs in sparse recruiting areas that showed no potential to be football powerhouses.  However, they had a passion, a plan, and the persistence to see it through.

They also followed a method and plan to success.  CBB is following that same plan at Arkansas. If you will reread the statements he made when coming to Arkansas you will see him telling everyone exactly what he was going to do.  Reread his statements about what he told Coach Herbert the prioritized method of player development was.

CBB further reiterated that in a recently posted article. He stated

"I've got a plan and it's working,' Bielema says. "I knew last year was going to be tough, because we brought in new philosophies. But I have a proven formula for success. Man, the formula won three Big Ten titles. It's working here. It is. You'll see. People outside the program can't see it yet. But they will. There is zero doubt in my mind."

article can be seen if full at http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/88095792/despite-2013s-struggles-arkansas-still-has-faith-in-coach-bret-bielema#

CBB has a proven coaching tree of phenomenal success.  He has also used the dna sparks from that tree to bring success before. It will soon be seen at Arkansas as well.

He inherited a situation not so awfully different from those coaches in his coaching tree. There is no large in state recruiting base.  The program has been down for a few years. However, all of the coaches on that tree found a process in those type situations that could produce winners. Arkansas is next!

Do you think the folks in Iowa are glad they didn't freak out and rail Coach Fry out of town for a few losing seasons while building the foundations for long term continued success?   

Do you think the folks in Wisconsin are glad they didn't freak out and run Coach Alvarez off for a few losing seasons while building the foundations for long term continued success?

Do you think the folks in Manhattan, Kansas are glad they didn't freak out and rail Coach Snyder out of town for a few losing seasons while building the foundations for long term continued success?

If the fans and powers that be at Arkansas are as bright as the fine folks in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Kansas then they are going to see very similar strides in the Razorback football program over the next 2-4 seasons.

Razorback football is headed in a very good direction. Let's just hope the people of Arkansas are not less intelligent than the people of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Kansas.  Patience will pay off big again.  This coaching tree has proven it time and again.

[Dr. Starcs]

Good stuff fisher.

Not that this stuff will shut the true haters up. Keep the evidence coming.

[lrcentral]

Your father is right.

We can not pass. Blame the wr, qb, or coach doesnt matter the evidence is on the field. Auburn is not a stellar defense and the shut us down after halftime. People say well they were stacking the box, get use to it beacuse so will everyone else.

Blueprint for media and fans.

This year we are building.
Next year we are young what did you expect with these young players.
Year after we are a year away.
Coach leaves or is fired
Rinse and repeat.

Problem is that people want a great coach to leave their program and that just will not happen here at Arkansas. We have to get an up and comer or a tired coach about to get run off. It is just reality.

Tell your father that if we can CBB that no savior is on their way. We better tough it out and pray that he can land a matt jones in the next 3 years to extend his career.

[Steef]

Patience is something that comes hard to this Arkansas fanbase. For good reason...

We've been 'rebuilding'...for decades, now.

No one really believed John L was rebuilding. But we all believed Bobby was.

We believed Houston was rebuilding...the first couple of years. Then of course, he had to rebuild again and we all said 'huh?' Then of course, he had to rebuild again and half of us realized he was a snake oil salesman. Ten years of rebuilding.

Jack and Danny and Ken and Lou...all had to rebuild. And none of them were allowed to stay long enough to see it through (which makes Houston's ten years even more of a puzzle).

In short, there isn't a Hog fan alive that remembers a time when we WEREN'T REBUILDING.

Which means two things...
1. We have no more patience to spend
2. We don't know what rebuilding actually looks like, since we've never seen it. Or at least, never seen it completed.

Closest we came was 78. But then...poof!...Lou was gone.

Bobby just went out and got some offensive gunslingers, living (and dying) on the idea of outscoring everybody in shoot outs.

Houston just got the best athletes he could get at the last minute of every recruiting cycle...and stuck them into whatever position he could stick them in (except wide receivers, of course...because there really wasn't a need for them)

Bret is doing two things I like. He's deliberately building up an Oline...and he's recruiting people that fit their respective position.

I don't know if that will work any more than anyone else on this board. But it does at least make sense.

Bret has done something else I like. He's hired a staff that isn't family....or butt kissers. Most of them have pedigrees. We haven't seen THAT since the 70's either.

The good news? None of the 'sky is falling' members of Hogville....has a single thing to do with whether or not Bret is given time to make this work.

[lrcentral]

Here are a few thoughts you might want to be aware of in your quest for reasons to show some patience -

CBB has a coaching tree he comes from.  He also has branches off of that tree.  The Hogs are headed to the best years they have experienced in a long while over the next few seasons.  CBB comes from the Hayden Fry coaching tree having both played and coached for him back in the day. The similarities between the coaches on that tree - CBB, Hayden Fry, Barry Alvarez, and Bill Snyder - and CBB's coming to Arkansas are astounding.  Please consider the following -


Hayden Fry - Coach Fry took over the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1979.  They had experience 17 straight losing seasons!  After Fry arrived they did not have a winning season for three years! However, he then lead that team to 14 bowl games, 3 conference championships, 10 top 10 finishes, and in 2003 was inducted as a coach into the College Football Hall Of Fame.
               

Barry Alvarez - Coach Alvarez took over at Wisconsin after they had experienced 5 straight losing seasons.  He did not have a winning season until the fourth year!  However, he then lead Wisconsin to 11 bowl appearances. This would include winning 3 Rose Bowls. He also saw the Badgers finish in the top 25 six times with half of those in the top 5. In 2010 he was inducted as a coach into the College Football Hall Of Fame.
                 

Bill Snyder - Took over as head coach at Kansas State in 1989. This was his first head coaching job - at age 50.  Kansas State had losing seasons for 46 of the previous 50 years.  Several of those losing seasons were 0-fers. They didn't win a single game! When he accepted the job in 1989 Sports Illustrated labeled it "Futility U". Three of his first 4 seasons were losing ones. However, he had passion, a plan, and persistence. They then turned the corner. Kansas State went on to many bowl victories. They finished in the top 20 twelve times and the top 10 six times. Coach Snyder is now seen as an elder statesman of college football. He was been named a 7 time Big 8-12 Conference Coach Of The Year and is a multiple National Coach Of The Year recipient. He is also enshrined in both the Kansas and Missouri Sports Halls of Fame.

All three of these coaches took over very weak programs in sparse recruiting areas that showed no potential to be football powerhouses.  However, they had a passion, a plan, and the persistence to see it through.

They also followed a method and plan to success.  CBB is following that same plan at Arkansas. If you will reread the statements he made when coming to Arkansas you will see him telling everyone exactly what he was going to do.  Reread his statements about what he told Coach Herbert the prioritized method of player development was.

CBB further reiterated that in a recently posted article. He stated
article can be seen if full at http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/88095792/despite-2013s-struggles-arkansas-still-has-faith-in-coach-bret-bielema#

CBB has a proven coaching tree of phenomenal success.  He has also used the dna sparks from that tree to bring success before. It will soon be seen at Arkansas as well.

He inherited a situation not so awfully different from those coaches in his coaching tree. There is no large in state recruiting base.  The program has been down for a few years. However, all of the coaches on that tree found a process in those type situations that could produce winners. Arkansas is next!

Do you think the folks in Iowa are glad they didn't freak out and rail Coach Fry out of town for a few losing seasons while building the foundations for long term continued success?   

Do you think the folks in Wisconsin are glad they didn't freak out and run Coach Alvarez off for a few losing seasons while building the foundations for long term continued success?

Do you think the folks in Manhattan, Kansas are glad they didn't freak out and rail Coach Snyder out of town for a few losing seasons while building the foundations for long term continued success?

If the fans and powers that be at Arkansas are as bright as the fine folks in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Kansas then they are going to see very similar strides in the Razorback football program over the next 2-4 seasons.

Razorback football is headed in a very good direction. Let's just hope the people of Arkansas are not less intelligent than the people of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Kansas.  Patience will pay off big again.  This coaching tree has proven it time and again.

Those coaches and teams played in much weaker conferences than we do. They played sound solid football and beat the inferior teams of their conferences. There are no inferior teams in our conference.

[thefisher]

Those coaches and teams played in much weaker conferences than we do. They played sound solid football and beat the inferior teams of their conferences. There are no inferior teams in our conference.

Oh ... there are plenty more examples in that coaching tree of coaches who were. However, these most closely match the Arkansas situation left to CBB by the previous coaching staff.

Did you happen to see what those three coaches did accomplish?  Throw CBB in the mix and on just these branches you have -

47 Bowl Games
12 BCS Bowls
11 Conference Championships
30 Top 25 Finishes
22 Top Additional Top Ten Finishes
52 Total Top 25 Finishes
3  Coach Inductions Into The College Football Hall OF Fame
7 Conference Coach Of The Year Awards
Multiple National Coach Of The Year Awards

Nuf' Said.  You can sing it .... but they actually bring it.

Only in Arkansas are the fans to stupid to understand that you can not build a great and grand building if you do not set a sufficient foundation underneath it.  We have fans wanting to rip out the foundation before it dries because they don't have 100 stories up.

[Steef]

At this point Bielema hasn't given us anything to have hope about.

Not true.

No big wins, he's 3-10 overall, 0-9 in conference.

I get a kick whenever someone posts this 'stuff'.

Like the rest of us don't know that?

[hoghearted]

Not true.

I get a kick whenever someone posts this 'stuff'.

Like the rest of us don't know that?

What's more, BB knows it too.


I have not exactly been a 'Bielemer' up until now, but hearing about how our O line performed in the first half yesterday sure gave me my first glimpse of hope. I've reconciled to the fact that it is going to be an uphill climb, and not a sprint, to the top. In the mean time, I am taking pleasure in seeing this Razorback House being built.

[hoghiker]

Those coaches and teams played in much weaker conferences than we do. They played sound solid football and beat the inferior teams of their conferences. There are no inferior teams in our conference.

There's no way out of here. Once you are in, you are in for good.

[razorjack12]

I firmly believe that CBB is building our program the right way. And if that we as a fan base are patient, we will see the dividends. I'm certainly not guaranteeing a national championship or even sec title, but I think we will be in a position to compete for those.

However, my dad (60 years old) has just about had enough already. As was pointed out on this site yesterday, I do think it is a generational thing to some extent.

My question is, what are our facts?  Hard, solid, concrete evidence that a) CBB inherited a terrible situation, b) he is the right man for the job and c) we are on the right track for improvement?

I'm trying to arm myself with as much evidence as I can to make my point. Lol. Any help would be appreciated.

Go Hogs!

For starters, last year we only had about 15% of our offensive production returning.  Few teams can do well with that statistic.

CBB took over a complete rebuilding job.   Its a daunting task in the toughest division, in the toughest conference in all of CFB.

[TeufelHog]

My goodness people, it even took "Saint Petrino" 3 years to install his system and recruit his players.  CBB JUST STARTED his second season and that doesn't even include the debacle of the year preceding his arrival.  At a MINIMUM you give this staff 5 years.  If for no other reason it provides our program stability . . . which we haven't had in forever!

[Pig Worshipper]

Gosh, I'm giving out plus ones for many of the posts in this thread. We have a very good coach and staff. Stability is the KEY. I'm almost as old as your dad, OP, but I'm willing to give Bielema five years to prove what he can do and so should every other fair-minded Razorback.

[snoblind]

Please.  The best/deepest squads Lou and TCTWF had were the ones in place when they showed up.  BP had the advantage of a rare quality high school class when he came in.  Not a coincidence that he put it together in years 3 & 4.  Contrary to the pipe dreams of the fan boys, years 5 & 6 weren't going to match those.

Until Arkansas produces 15-20 SEC quality high school players including defensive players every single year consistent/consecutive years of success aren't happening.  UNLESS we have a staff that outworks everyone else and upgrades our recruiting...   

Will the current staff be able to that?  Don't know.  But as one of the old guys who was around for all of the coaches mentioned there is no question they couldn't/didn't.  My time in the stands started in 64.  Frank came as close as anyone, but even then we had down years.

[WashUhog6]

Those coaches and teams played in much weaker conferences than we do. They played sound solid football and beat the inferior teams of their conferences. There are no inferior teams in our conference.

Compared to Arkansas, each of those coaches took over teams have less fertile recruiting territory, poorer history, and less financial resources.

Iowa alone had 17 straight losing seasons before Hayden Fry took over. Bill Snyder took over a program dubbed "Futility U." We're only a couple of years removed from a top 5 finish, while Snyder, Fry, and Alvarez all took over programs that had over 30 combined losing seasons in the years leading up to their hires.

So yeah, they coached in a weaker conference. They also coached weaker programs, and achieved things that made them extremely well known in college football history.

[poloprince]

My goodness people, it even took "Saint Petrino" 3 years to install his system and recruit his players.  CBB JUST STARTED his second season and that doesn't even include the debacle of the year preceding his arrival.  At a MINIMUM you give this staff 5 years.  If for no other reason it provides our program stability . . . which we haven't had in forever!

Petrino didn't start 0-9 in SEC play.

[Bucksnort]

I firmly believe that CBB is building our program the right way. And if that we as a fan base are patient, we will see the dividends. I'm certainly not guaranteeing a national championship or even sec title, but I think we will be in a position to compete for those.

However, my dad (60 years old) has just about had enough already. As was pointed out on this site yesterday, I do think it is a generational thing to some extent.

My question is, what are our facts?  Hard, solid, concrete evidence that a) CBB inherited a terrible situation, b) he is the right man for the job and c) we are on the right track for improvement?

I'm trying to arm myself with as much evidence as I can to make my point. Lol. Any help would be appreciated.

Go Hogs!

I'm a Hog fan. I want the team to win and win consistently and convincingly. With that said, I have little confidence in Bret Bielema getting us there. Just what I'm thinking and can't tell you why exactly.

[(notOM)Rebel123]

Petrino didn't start 0-9 in SEC play.

He didn't follow Petrino and John L. Smith either.

[texas tush hog]

At this point Bielema hasn't given us anything to have hope about. No big wins, he's 3-10 overall, 0-9 in conference.

You might want to find another team for two or three years, cause Bielema isn't going anywhere and neither are any of these other coaches. Save yourself the frustration. As for me and my house we will continue to fill the stands win lose or draw.

[phadedhawg]

To whatever end that's how long I will follow the hogs. I've saw a few things yesterday to give me reason to hope. Our offensive line is bigger. That's a good foundation to start from. Allen looked a lot sharper but our receivers didn't help him any.

The defense....Not much I can say for them. They are terrible. Hopefully recruiting will show some progress in that area.

[Quickdraw]

I've lived in Wichita Kansas since 1989 and i am a witness to some of the statements concernind K State. They where truly bottom feeders. Beliema was part of K State succsess during the 90's. I wathed alot of big ten football Wisconsin imparticular. Coach Beliema is one of the best coaches in the country. He builds teams that last and he does it his way and he really does not care what anyone says about it. The more people criticize the more he is determined to prove you wrong! People today gets pissed and will totally twist off just because you are not going fast enough to there liking. Adults are worse than kids about not being patiant. This will be a very good team in year 4 But even then it wont be good enough for the complainers...

[shotgun7]

[quote author=lrcentral link=topic=573299.msg9158161#msg9158161 date=1409521083

Problem is that people want a great coach to leave their program and that just will not happen here at Arkansas. We have to get an up and comer or a tired coach about to get run off. It is just reality.

[/quote]

We did get a good coach to leave his program to come to Arkansas, The proof of that is in his record.

Why would we want a coach that is Tired and about to get run off? I guess we could have went after Mack Brown? 

Yea, last year sucked... the year before that too. We had a few bright spots but there has been alot of bad years. We need someone who can build us into a CONSISTENTLY Competitive football team, I think CBB offers that. Yea, there is gonna be a couple years of bad before we get to another bright spot. Hopefully, the sun will shine a lot longer this time, when we do get there! I still think we have a pretty good chance of going 6-6 this year which I would consider successful all things considered. 

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

Oh ... there are plenty more examples in that coaching tree of coaches who were. However, these most closely match the Arkansas situation left to CBB by the previous coaching staff.

Did you happen to see what those three coaches did accomplish?  Throw CBB in the mix and on just these branches you have -

47 Bowl Games
12 BCS Bowls
11 Conference Championships
30 Top 25 Finishes
22 Top Additional Top Ten Finishes
52 Total Top 25 Finishes
3  Coach Inductions Into The College Football Hall OF Fame
7 Conference Coach Of The Year Awards
Multiple National Coach Of The Year Awards

Nuf' Said.  You can sing it .... but they actually bring it.

Only in Arkansas are the fans to stupid to understand that you can not build a great and grand building if you do not set a sufficient foundation underneath it.  We have fans wanting to rip out the foundation before it dries because they don't have 100 stories up.

+1 for your enthusiasm...  BUT... Never, ever, ever ever, call anyone "to stupid" in the future.  If you're gonna call them too stupid do it the right way...   

[flynhog]

Our O line is monstrous.  I guess you saw how there was almost no pressure on Brandon in the pocket. Our backs are all sec types.  It took stacking the box  for Au-burn to stop the run. 
Our D needs work-  no doubt about it. But we knew that up front.

Gus beat by bringing in the starting QB after he saw his first win in question at the half. 

I'm proud of the way our guys played Saturday.    We all knew this was going to be a much better year than the last two.  After our performance in the first half the rest of the SEC knows too. 

Most people outside the SEC see another Wisconsin team.  I'm fine with that.    WPS!   :razorback:

[Hog N Bama]

At this point Bielema hasn't given us anything to have hope about. No big wins, he's 3-10 overall, 0-9 in conference.

I disagree.. Go back and look at the LSU game last yr. I like what I saw in the AU game. We just need depth and WRs. CBB will get it done. Just be patient. It's tough.

[jgphillips3]

He's two wide receivers who can catch a ball that hits them in the hands away from being competitive on offense (one, KJ, is coming, the other may be a freshman this year).  On defense we are at least two cornerbacks and four safeties (for rotation) shy of being competitive.  I have no idea whether they are here or we can find them in this recruiting class but we better hope so.  If we can, the future will get brighter.

[LJHOG]

I firmly believe that CBB is building our program the right way. And if that we as a fan base are patient, we will see the dividends. I'm certainly not guaranteeing a national championship or even sec title, but I think we will be in a position to compete for those.

However, my dad (60 years old) has just about had enough already. As was pointed out on this site yesterday, I do think it is a generational thing to some extent.

My question is, what are our facts?  Hard, solid, concrete evidence that a) CBB inherited a terrible situation, b) he is the right man for the job and c) we are on the right track for improvement?

I'm trying to arm myself with as much evidence as I can to make my point. Lol. Any help would be appreciated.

Go Hogs!

Patience!  You don't think 25 years of being patience is long enough?

[Pig Worshipper]

Patience!  You don't think 25 years of being patience is long enough?

Boy, do I get where you're coming from but we can't blame Coach Bielema for the last twenty-five years (I'm not saying YOU do but some folks on here seem to!). I think we are beginning to see the turn around and it is going to be sweet.

[TeufelHog]

Patience!  You don't think 25 years of being patience is long enough?

So many programs across the nation have never even "sniffed" a conference championship let alone a NCAA championship.  As recently as three years ago the Hogs were ranked #3 in the country behind Alabama and LSU.  Too many fans have unrealistic expectations instead of just enjoying the ride.  We will be back in the thick of it soon.  I happen to think we already are.  We are just in a "spoiler" role currently.  NOBODY -not one SEC program- takes the Hogs lightly and we are members of the most competitive conference in the land.  Be proud and keeping pulling for this team and the staff.  They are going to pull some upsets this year and it's going to be fun to watch!

[Großer Kriegschwein]

He's two wide receivers who can catch a ball that hits them in the hands away from being competitive on offense.

This

[EastexHawg]

Sometimes I don't think the facts line up with the statements I read.  One of the reasons we supposedly can't be expected to win is because Petrino's recruiting was so awful.  Here we are in the third season after he was fired and when I looked on the field Saturday I saw 60% of the offensive line (Charpentier, Cook, Smothers) brought in by Petrino as well as the starting QB, Jonathan Williams at TB, and our leading receiver on the day (Wilson).  When we went with a fullback (Arinze) he was a Petrino recruit as well.

On defense we had Flowers, Philon, virtually the entire defensive line. Rohan Gaines is a Petrino recruit.  And so on.

The point is that here we are playing our third season since an allegedly terrible recruiter left and no one has been able to replace enough of his players to keep them from making up half the starting lineup.

[GTOWNHOG]

I firmly believe that CBB is building our program the right way. And if that we as a fan base are patient, we will see the dividends. I'm certainly not guaranteeing a national championship or even sec title, but I think we will be in a position to compete for those.

However, my dad (60 years old) has just about had enough already. As was pointed out on this site yesterday, I do think it is a generational thing to some extent.

My question is, what are our facts?  Hard, solid, concrete evidence that a) CBB inherited a terrible situation, b) he is the right man for the job and c) we are on the right track for improvement?

I'm trying to arm myself with as much evidence as I can to make my point. Lol. Any help would be appreciated.

Go Hogs!

DR.Starcs, I am older than your Dad, and unless we have some stability in the program, we will be unable to recruit the players that we need to be competitive in the toughest division of the toughest conference in the nation.  This is not the old SWC, in which we played one or two good teams a year.

Coach Bielema needs to be allowed to complete his contract.  This will give him time to recruit players that fit his system and also to re establish some depth at each position.  To say that the "cupboard was bare" when Bielema got here is the understatment of this century. 

Although I am tired of waiting for success in the SEC, there are other teams that have had a more futile existence in the SEC than we have.......Ole Miss (ZERO SECCG APPEARANCES), Kentucky (ZERO SECCG), Vanderbilt (ZERO SECCG), MS State (ONE SECCG), South Carolina(ONE SECCG) come to mind......

I think we are on the right track if we will just let Bielema implement his system. However, like a lot of other "Old Codgers", I don't know if I will be here to see the results. 

So, I now attend Razorback games to see the many friends that I have made over 45 years of regularly attending games.  That's what it's all about.  Take away the friends, and it really doesn't mean that much to me any more.  GO HOGS!   :razorback:

[Ironhawg]

I firmly believe that CBB is building our program the right way. And if that we as a fan base are patient, we will see the dividends. I'm certainly not guaranteeing a national championship or even sec title, but I think we will be in a position to compete for those.

However, my dad (60 years old) has just about had enough already. As was pointed out on this site yesterday, I do think it is a generational thing to some extent.

My question is, what are our facts?  Hard, solid, concrete evidence that a) CBB inherited a terrible situation, b) he is the right man for the job and c) we are on the right track for improvement?

I'm trying to arm myself with as much evidence as I can to make my point. Lol. Any help would be appreciated.

Go Hogs!

The first half Saturday gave me hope.  The defense gave up 21 to Auburn, but Auburn does have a heck of a productive offense.  The Arkansas offense showed signs of good things to come.  The second half took the hopes raised in the first half, threw them down a flight of stairs and stomped a mud hole in them.  To be 100% honest, the second half freaked me out.  A lot.  I saw an awful lot of last season in the second half.  For a long time Saturday I was disconsolate.  Twenty years of Arkansas football frustration in the SEC boiled over.  I was convinced of two things; Brett Bielema at Arkansas is a mistake and Arkansas will never win in the SEC.   
Then after venting my negative emotions and taking some time to think, I was able to see some positives to Saturday. 

1. The defense held its own in the first half against a very, very good offense.  This gives hope because this was the first test for a new DC.  Arkansas was never going to completely stop Auburn; they just had to slow them down.  The first half was mission accomplished.  The second half revealed how behind we are in quality and depth of defensive personnel.  The good news is that this can be fixed with recruiting and the staff is already working on fixing this.

2. On the offensive side of the ball the first half showed what is possible with the Arkansas offense.  The second half is just a puzzler.  I really still don't understand what happened to the offense in the second half.  Auburn showed other teams how to stop Arkansas.  As others have pointed out, part of the problem is a lack of a vertical threat to keep defenses honest.  IMHO though, the coaches are going to have to tweak the offense somehow to allow the offense to continue to be successful against a stacked line of scrimmage until the speed is here and ready.  The good news is that we have some speedy youngsters and more help is on the way via recruiting.

3. As long as I can remember I have heard that football teams make their most improvement on the season between the first and second games.  On Saturday instead of playing some creme puff Arkansas played a legitimate top ten team.  They had some success in the first half and got smacked in the mouth in the second half.  There were a lot of flaws exposed in the second half that the coaches can jump on and start fixing.  It also surely got the players' full attention.  So despite the fact that it was a bad loss, the coaches have a good idea of what works and what doesn't instead of it being glossed over by a big win over a rent-a-win.  IMHO this WILL work in our favor in the long run.

[hawgbawb]

BB inherited a team that deserved a nation ranking of about 60 or 70, and we played a schedule full of teams in the top 30. This year I'm guessing we've moved in the rankings to about 35-40. Most of our opponents will still be ranked higher. If we keep improving, next year we should flip that.

[silverandbluedc]

My goodness people, it even took "Saint Petrino" 3 years to install his system and recruit his players.  CBB JUST STARTED his second season and that doesn't even include the debacle of the year preceding his arrival.  At a MINIMUM you give this staff 5 years.  If for no other reason it provides our program stability . . . which we haven't had in forever!

Speaking of Petrino, look at his first tenure at Louisville as an example of what to expect. He won there as he won at Arkansas. He recruited players to fit his system. BP is an offensive genius and won with his system. When he left Louisville, it became a dumpster fire because he didn't recruit for just any system. It Louisville 5 years to win big again. I believe we are in the same boat. CBB is building this team the way all great teams are built. It will not happen overnight, but it will happen. Although difficult, we have to be patient because we cannot afford to hire a new coach every 2-3 years and expect to magically be a top 10 team.

[hogcard1964]

Please be patient.  He needs 36 games in order for anyone to properly judge him. 

[Phil D]

He didn't follow Petrino and John L. Smith either.

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