WVU vs. UConn Grades: A Unit-By-Unit Look At The Mountaineers' Loss Against The Huskies
by 5th Year Senior on Nov 2, 2010 1:21 PM EDT
in Mountaineer Football
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PrintA time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
The above lyrics are from The Byrds "Turn, Turn, Turn", perfectly describe my emotions throughout Stew's career at WVU. At the start, I wanted to get everyone on board. Following the Colorado game, I was just mad. After beating UNC in spectacular fashion, I celebrated. After our loss to USF, I was sad. At the end of last season, I supported the man against a fanbase that was growing ever-the-more skeptical of HCBS. Now, I'm jumping on the fire Stew bandwagon.
It's time to gather stones together. This is not going to be pretty.
Let's hand out the grades...
Offense: F I honestly do not know what to write in this space. Should I go with the cliche, "Our offense is down right offensive?" Or maybe, "Our offense couldn't score at an Alpha Phi formal?" Either way, all of you unfortunately watched Friday night and know there are not many positives to take out of our performance. Our season high 254 rushing yards was squandered by penalties and fumbles. Geno's efficient passing was wasted because Mullen refuses to throw the ball more than 5 yards down field. The only positive that matters the remainder of the season is that Jeff Mullen will not be our offensive coordinator next season.
Offensive Line: D- This unit has been horrible from day one. I understand wanting to develop some semblance of a passing game, but why completely change the type of linemen we feature. Johnson has beefed up our line to "dominate" the line of scrimmage. However, Mullen's "offensive system" features speed backs and quick passes that would play better in a Trickett style zone blocking scheme. Again, the only positive coming from this unit is that Dave Johnson will not be our offensive line coach next season.
Defense: A This season has to be driving Casteel absolutely crazy. After years of getting Fraud's table scraps, Casteel finally has players recruited specifically for the 3-3-5 and is one of the best defenses in the country. Yet, that talent and skill is completely wasted by an offense that can't outscore anybody.
Special Teams: D- This unit is the perfect example of what is wrong with most of our coaching staff. We improve in one area, but fall way behind in another. Our kick coverage is vastly improved this year. On the other hand, our kick return game is non-existent. What the hell is going on? To me it shows that our coaches are in over their heads and cannot handle more than one problem at once. Sad state of affairs at the Puskar Center right now.
Offensive Coaching: F From day one HCBS has been compared to a painter. Following Friday night's game, I finally understood what those people were talking about. He and Mullen tried to create a perfect offensive system by pulling pieces from many different schemes. It would be like a painter trying to create a new masterpiece by combining the Mona Lisa, Whistler's Mother and Starry Night. That shit just ain't gonna work. If you analyze a little piece at a time, it looks pretty decent. When you step back and look at the system as a whole, however, it is just a clusterfuck of pretty pieces.
Coaching Search: TBD Hopefully, Luck is currently evaluating a crop of potential coaching candidates.
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couple things
OL: Need to lump McMichael in w/ Johnson, as he has charge of the tackles this year (not to excuse Johnson one bit, btw)
Offensive coaching: you created the best analogy that I’ve seen
agreed
its so spot on… its impossible to be great at everything consistently.
I am saddened and disheartened...
That is all.
’’They've done studies you know... 60% of the Time, it works every Time...’’ – Brian Fantana
Stages of Loss/Grief
I am not sure what stage I am currently on. I can easily say that I have witnessed Denial, Anger, Bargaining, maybe even a little Depression. But when we ended up going into OT with UConn, I was laughing hysterically. I couldn’t even watch the game play out so I chugged some Nyquil, punched myself in the face, and slept for 14 hours. It’s like I watch the games now to see what new thing we fuck up each week.
And I thought I was the only one who did this.
“It’s like I watch the games now to see what new thing we fuck up each week.”
by sadanddisgusted on Nov 2, 2010 8:10 PM EDT up reply actions
A point that doesn’t get made about Casteel enough – his players get better every year. Tandy improved. Hogan improved. Anthony Leonard, Najae Goode, Eain Smith, Julian Miller – all improved. More importantly, the defensive unit as a whole improves. You can even see it from start to finish of the season.
The offensive line, with 4 starters back – no improvement whatsoever. The QB’s get worse over the season. They just don’t improve from one game to the next or one season to the next.
How very right you are my friend
Leave no doubt tonight! Leave no doubt tonight! No doubt! They shouldn't of played the Old Gold'n Blue.
by 5th Year Senior on Nov 2, 2010 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Agree with most of your post.
But I’m not sure you can say that the QBs get worse over the course of a season or from one season to the next. Pat White, IMO, improved (as evidenced by the Car Care Bowl). JB got hurt and wasn’t the same after that. Geno…had one bad game and otherwise the jury is out. Obviously, none have come back for a second year to make that evaluation.
But overall, I agree…there is no improvement by the offense as a whole over the course of the season.
by Country Roads on Nov 2, 2010 6:22 PM EDT up reply actions
agree to disagree about the quarterbacks. the car care bowl is a one game sample in which wvu again scored touchdowns on its first 3 possessions and struggled to get anything else going the rest of the day. the receivers made two 1-handed catches, etc.
i’ll go ahead and assume i’m right since i was right about stewart.
My Five Stages of Grief from the Bill Stewart Era:
Denial – Jan. 3, 2008 – Sept. 5, 2008: I was willing to give this schmo a chance, if for no other reason than Pat White told me to.
Anger – Sept. 6, 2008 – Sept. 18, 2009: This guy wasted an uber talented offense and over performing defense. He should never have been hired and the sooner we get rid of him the better.
Bargaining – Sept. 18, 2009 – Oct. 16, 2009: The offense did seem to be better. Though not great, I knew we were stuck with him, so I’d give them a chance.
Depression: Oct. 17, 2009 – Oct. 22, 2010: It was clear in victory or defeat we just weren’t good and we weren’t improving, but people wanted to keep him, so we were stuck with bad 9-4 teams. Very depressing when not everyone saw this.
Acceptance – Oct. 23, 2010 – present: Acceptance made the Syracuse and UConn games very easy to deal with. We just aren’t good and now everyone sees it.
damn
I couldn’t have said any better than that……and those specific dates are about how I felt too.
What pisses me off most
Noel and Jock coming back in what should have been blockbuster senior years, but… fill in your own rant.
Add to that Pat White coming back
in what should have been a blockbuster senior year only to end up in the Meineke Bowl.
Hey Oliver Luck, I absolutely hate that WVU is "the winningest college football team to have never won a National Championship". You think you could do something about that?
One minor point
Those lyrics are from the BIble: Ecclesiastes 3
Also I agree with all your points
"Thus, it is with those nurtured in Appalachia—they leave, but they look back, remembering pleasant things. The land has claimed them, and its ties will not be severed." --Maurice Brooks
Dr. Charley West, Please don't block me if I have typos or poor grammar.
by Oregon Mountaineer on Nov 2, 2010 5:37 PM EDT reply actions
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