Thegreatone
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2010
- Messages
- 3,187
Great write up:
Butch Jones showed up here talking about holding the rope. He has told us his team will "represent the C." He has asked his players to all read the same book. He's promoted team building. His wife makes chip dip for the players. He asks his team to sprint to the other end of the field to start the fourth quarter. All that stuff is very, very, cute.
And none of it matters if you don't win.
Through three games, the Bearcats have represented the L more than they've repped the C. They may be holding the rope, but they're not blocking pass rushers. They may have a very tightly-bound, well-fed, literate team, and God knows they're excited when the fourth quarter rolls around. But know what they don't do? Cover the deep ball. Protect their quarterback. Get open downfield. Avoid penalties. Stay composed. Make adjustments. Win football games.
I don't know if Butch Jones is a good coach or not. I'm not silly enough to hand down a verdict after three games, and only the most blindly loyal Kook-Aid drinkers ignored this team's obvious holes as the season began. UC's early schedule has been tough, playing two decent road games while trying to find its identity and figure out who can do what for this team. Not an easy task by any means, and I think most of us knew there would be some growing pains this season, especially early. They're rebuilding a bad defense from late last year, and there's not much depth with which to do so. Maybe they're not rebuilding, but they ain't exactly reloading.
But three games in, I'm not seeing a well-coached football team. I'm certainly not seeing an offense that keeps the opposing defense guessing and on its heels, we see no poise from this team under pressure, and the players we thought we could count on have underperformed. Zach Collaros spends half of his time running for his life, his offensive line is getting destroyed, and the holes in the defense are getting exposed. Teams have gotten the memo: go deep on the Bearcats, early and often. When they get the ball, blitz. Hard.
Quite frankly, the UC Bearcats are hard to watch.
Oh, and up next on the schedule is the seventh ranked team in the country.
No one sane is pinning all the blame on the coach, and he's not going anywhere anytime soon, but perhaps instead of quotes from the latest leadership book, instead of inventing new hokey traditions, instead of talking about team building, I'd like to hear how Butch Jones will figure out a way to win a football game. Blocking helps you win. Tackling helps you win. Scoring points, and keeping the other team from doing so, helps you win. Holding a rope doesn't help you win. Holding on to the ball does.
The answers as to how this team plans on doing those things aren't being found in whatever books these guys read together. And so far, they're not being found by doing any representing of the C, whatever that means.
I'm familiar with the slogans. I want the answers. And I want some wins. Butch Jones and this football team need to start delivering both. Sooner, rather than later, would be great.
Butch Jones showed up here talking about holding the rope. He has told us his team will "represent the C." He has asked his players to all read the same book. He's promoted team building. His wife makes chip dip for the players. He asks his team to sprint to the other end of the field to start the fourth quarter. All that stuff is very, very, cute.
And none of it matters if you don't win.
Through three games, the Bearcats have represented the L more than they've repped the C. They may be holding the rope, but they're not blocking pass rushers. They may have a very tightly-bound, well-fed, literate team, and God knows they're excited when the fourth quarter rolls around. But know what they don't do? Cover the deep ball. Protect their quarterback. Get open downfield. Avoid penalties. Stay composed. Make adjustments. Win football games.
I don't know if Butch Jones is a good coach or not. I'm not silly enough to hand down a verdict after three games, and only the most blindly loyal Kook-Aid drinkers ignored this team's obvious holes as the season began. UC's early schedule has been tough, playing two decent road games while trying to find its identity and figure out who can do what for this team. Not an easy task by any means, and I think most of us knew there would be some growing pains this season, especially early. They're rebuilding a bad defense from late last year, and there's not much depth with which to do so. Maybe they're not rebuilding, but they ain't exactly reloading.
But three games in, I'm not seeing a well-coached football team. I'm certainly not seeing an offense that keeps the opposing defense guessing and on its heels, we see no poise from this team under pressure, and the players we thought we could count on have underperformed. Zach Collaros spends half of his time running for his life, his offensive line is getting destroyed, and the holes in the defense are getting exposed. Teams have gotten the memo: go deep on the Bearcats, early and often. When they get the ball, blitz. Hard.
Quite frankly, the UC Bearcats are hard to watch.
Oh, and up next on the schedule is the seventh ranked team in the country.
No one sane is pinning all the blame on the coach, and he's not going anywhere anytime soon, but perhaps instead of quotes from the latest leadership book, instead of inventing new hokey traditions, instead of talking about team building, I'd like to hear how Butch Jones will figure out a way to win a football game. Blocking helps you win. Tackling helps you win. Scoring points, and keeping the other team from doing so, helps you win. Holding a rope doesn't help you win. Holding on to the ball does.
The answers as to how this team plans on doing those things aren't being found in whatever books these guys read together. And so far, they're not being found by doing any representing of the C, whatever that means.
I'm familiar with the slogans. I want the answers. And I want some wins. Butch Jones and this football team need to start delivering both. Sooner, rather than later, would be great.