Last night I was disappointed, not I'm just angry.

[Carl Spackler]

I've coached youth, I've coached adults. I have several children. All people are not created equal. All athletes are not equal. All students are not equal. SOme teams simply have better players, and to beat those teams, you have to be smarter, better planned, and better fundamentally . Some people are better than others at things naturally. If you're not better, you need to work harder. IF you are better, and you're a slacker, you drive coach's nuts. EIther way, I digress. I said that to preface this, because I know there are people out there with personal connections.

It was a tough loss, tough, because of what was riding on it, and the way we played. I felt bad for our guys. I felt terrible last night. Sorry for everybody. Just sorry. But you know what, i was right on with what I thought looking at that game during the game, last night, and again after I looked at it today. We lost this game for one reason only, they had better athletes.

And it pisses me off because we lost that way, because we should not have. We were in position to beat this team, and that's a ducking hard thing to do, when you're talent deficient and going up against a more talented team. It pisses me off.

We have scholarship athletes out there, for the most part, and they're here to get an education and to play football. I hope they're getting an education doing great in the classroom because they failed miserably on the field yesterday, and it cost us a shot at conference title share.

That's the worst thing for a coach to see. Players in position to succeed and then literally blowing their own feet off. Never mind shooting yourself in the foot, we're talking complete removal of the lower limbs.

The fact yesterday, is that we got beat by a young team, with a bunch of top notch athletes on the field. Our game plan was better. We had way more opportunities to make good things happen than they did. THey turned it over more. They had more penalty yardage. They made the back breaking mistakes that we should capitalize on. We made mistakes too, but he mistake of running into a kicker happens, and can be overcome. YOu can't overcome repeated problems with the basics of running, throwing and catching. We couldn't do basics. They beat us with talent. Period. The long pass catches they threw and caught. The speed and tackling. They had better players.

Recruiting. Louisville in the past two years has brought in impressive recruiting classes, adn they were the better team physically yesterday - with a bunch of freshman on the field. They're game plan and mistakes were not godd. Our game plan, is the only reason we were in this thing, and had we done the basics, we'd have won. We'd have been in great opportunity to beat a physically superior team.

So I'm pissed off. These guys weve got are scholarship athletes and save a number I can count on my fingers, the vast majority of them sucked yesterday. Sucked. I"m not asking for players to do more than they're capable of.

Got one home game left to make it right.

 

[zls44]

I'm not asking for players to do more than they're capable of.

Disagree.

 

[gars44]

Mr. Spackler, you've said a lot in here but one thing is true. We do not have the offensive playmakers that other programs have, even MAC programs. We have much better defensive athletes than MAC programs, and better O lineman, but not quarterbacks and receivers. I think that is a combination of Randy's reputation as a run first type of guy, a general inability to deal with the egos that the higher skill players bring to the table, and the fact that the program is just not very well established and therefore is not a destination program for most kids. I mean the proof is on the field. We cannot throw and catch. It's just a game of block, tackle, run, throw and catch. We are good at the first three, not great, but good. As to the last two, we are truly beyond recognition as a college football program. And it has been that way since Dan O graduated. By now, it has become genetic, a phenotype of the organization. A phenotype is a trait of a particular organism. You can recruit against on this phenotype alone. Not a good thing.

 

[whaler11]

Things must be pretty bad if we have worse 'athletes' than a team that lost at home to Marshall and FIU.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Disagree.

If you mean that catching the ball, running with the ball, and tackling on special teams is asking more than they're capable of? Then maybe I am wrong.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Mr. Spackler, you've said a lot in here but one thing is true. We do not have the offensive playmakers that other programs have, even MAC programs. We have much better defensive athletes than MAC programs, and better O lineman, but not quarterbacks and receivers. I think that is a combination of Randy's reputation as a run first type of guy, a general inability to deal with the egos that the higher skill players bring to the table, and the fact that the program is just not very well established and therefore is not a destination program for most kids. I mean the proof is on the field. We cannot throw and catch. It's just a game of block, tackle, run, throw and catch. We are good at the first three, not great, but good. As to the last two, we are truly beyond recognition as a college football program. And it has been that way since Dan O graduated. By now, it has become genetic, a phenotype of the organization. A phenotype is a trait of a particular organism. You can recruit against on this phenotype alone. Not a good thing.

I can see things out there this year, that weren't there before, when it comes to the last two. It's just a matter of building up that depth chart, and we're working on it. I'm much more confident moving forward with that as things are now, than if nothing had changed after 2010.

I don't know how many have played/coached whatever around here. But when you are in the position we've been in this year, all year, and you have the chance to win games and reach goals, it stings. It just stings when you don't close the deal and bring the chick home. Especially to do it the ways we did this past week.

I don't know, the only thing I can think of is being like being an overmatched team in hockey or soccer, but doing all the things you possibly can do right to get to PK's or a shootout, and then choking and going wide on the open net when the goalie commits, bites and goes the other way. I must have had that feeling two dozen plays in that game.

The only question is how they're all going to respond. Because we play the conference leader standing at 8-3 in 6 days.

 

[ctchamps]

I've coached youth, I've coached adults. I have several children. All people are not created equal. All athletes are not equal. All students are not equal. SOme teams simply have better players, and to beat those teams, you have to be smarter, better planned, and better fundamentally . Some people are better than others at things naturally. If you're not better, you need to work harder. IF you are better, and you're a slacker, you drive coach's nuts. EIther way, I digress. I said that to preface this, because I know there are people out there with personal connections.

It was a tough loss, tough, because of what was riding on it, and the way we played. I felt bad for our guys. I felt terrible last night. Sorry for everybody. Just sorry. But you know what, i was right on with what I thought looking at that game during the game, last night, and again after I looked at it today. We lost this game for one reason only, they had better athletes.

And it pisses me off because we lost that way, because we should not have. We were in position to beat this team, and that's a ducking hard thing to do, when you're talent deficient and going up against a more talented team. It pisses me off.

We have scholarship athletes out there, for the most part, and they're here to get an education and to play football. I hope they're getting an education doing great in the classroom because they failed miserably on the field yesterday, and it cost us a shot at conference title share.

That's the worst thing for a coach to see. Players in position to succeed and then literally blowing their own feet off. Never mind shooting yourself in the foot, we're talking complete removal of the lower limbs.

The fact yesterday, is that we got beat by a young team, with a bunch of top notch athletes on the field. Our game plan was better. We had way more opportunities to make good things happen than they did. THey turned it over more. They had more penalty yardage. They made the back breaking mistakes that we should capitalize on. We made mistakes too, but he mistake of running into a kicker happens, and can be overcome. YOu can't overcome repeated problems with the basics of running, throwing and catching. We couldn't do basics. They beat us with talent. Period. The long pass catches they threw and caught. The speed and tackling. They had better players.

Recruiting. Louisville in the past two years has brought in impressive recruiting classes, adn they were the better team physically yesterday - with a bunch of freshman on the field. They're game plan and mistakes were not godd. Our game plan, is the only reason we were in this thing, and had we done the basics, we'd have won. We'd have been in great opportunity to beat a physically superior team.

So I'm pissed off. These guys weve got are scholarship athletes and save a number I can count on my fingers, the vast majority of them sucked yesterday. Sucked. I"m not asking for players to do more than they're capable of.

Got one home game left to make it right.

What do you think the OSU, Boise, Oregon, and Clemson people are feeling today?

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Carl,
Maybe this dovetails with your philosophy on players vs plays. RE was a "plays" coach and P is trying to win with a "player" approach but with personnel recruited for a "plays" system. Think about just the wr position. I can think of only four times in the last 5-6 years where the wr made a nice play on the ball.
Kash made two against ND and S. Carolina and Brad Kanuch made two against Navy and South Florida. Other than those I cant remember any other time a wr actually made the play. Also not a fan of bye weeks late in the year, they looked and played like they were in preseason camp. No excuse though.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Carl,
Maybe this dovetails with your philosophy on players vs plays. RE was a "plays" coach and P is trying to win with a "player" approach but with personnel recruited for a "plays" system. Think about just the wr position. I can think of only four times in the last 5-6 years where the wr made a nice play on the ball.
Kash made two against ND and S. Carolina and Brad Kanuch made two against Navy and South Florida. Other than those I cant remember any other time a wr actually made the play. Also not a fan of bye weeks late in the year, they looked and played like they were in preseason camp. No excuse though.

I agree with all of that. Kashif is a senior captain, and he's producing like one. He's a bright spot out there, but even he was dropping balls from the bread basket on Saturday.

I've moved past this game though, the anger's over. THe game is over, nothing really to dwell on in this one, no sugar coating. We sucked. We're a lot better than that. It's time to get ready for Rutgers.

It's funny how wins can fix all the problems real fast, and a win on Saturday is something that would really be nice.

So I'm done ith the negative energy, I've reflected on the game, hopefully it falls off the discussion board quick. Not going to write any more on Louisville, it's in the rear view mirror.

 

[huskyrob1]

If you mean that catching the ball, running with the ball, and tackling on special teams is asking more than they're capable of? Then maybe I am wrong.

"WHAT HELL'S GOIN ON OUT HERE?"

"ALL WE DO IS GRAB, GRAB, GRAB"....."NO ONE"S TACKLING OUT THERE"

 

[traitor71]

Things must be pretty bad if we have worse 'athletes' than a team that lost at home to Marshall and FIU.

Having the better athletes doesn't always mean that you will win. But his point is clear and not really one that can be argued in my opinion. This team simply doesn't have anyone that is explosive and the quarterback position is below average. Pasqualoni is going to have to find those guys and convince them to come to Connecticut because it is simply too hard to consistently win by just grinding it out and playing defense.

 

[whaler11]

All those explosive Louisville athletes didn't even put 300 yards of total offense together in that game. They lost to Marshall and FIU for a reason.

 

[traitor71]

All those explosive Louisville athletes didn't even put 300 yards of total offense together in that game. They lost to Marshall and FIU for a reason.

Yes, they lost because they aren't a good team. But if you are happy with the level of explosiveness on this team, especially on offense, then I don't know what to say. You simply have to be able to score a cheap or easy touchdown once in awhile and we don't have that ability.

 

[businesslawyer]

Whaler is not disagreeing with you that we don't have explosive playmakers and can use them. He is, however, disagreeing with that being an excuse for losing Saturday or being 4-6 against this schedule.

Speaking for myself, we did not have the talent to be a Top 25 team this year. But we had the talent to go 8-4 or 7-5. And we didn't play up to the level of the talent we had.

 

[whaler11]

Yes, they lost because they aren't a good team. But if you are happy with the level of explosiveness on this team, especially on offense, then I don't know what to say. You simply have to be able to score a cheap or easy touchdown once in awhile and we don't have that ability.

I'm not happy with it at all. I just didn't see anything good about Louisville. If UC had showed up, Ville would have had to win on the road this week to get bowl eligible. You don't lose at home to Marshall by accident.