Mistakes happen all the time, and while I can't blame Flood for initially picking Laviano, he is culpable for stubbornly sticking with a qb that clearly doesn't have the skillset to play at this level. I felt this last year when we saw him vs Nebraska and Wisconsin, and this years performance has confirmed my belief.
We've seen many bad passes over the years, but I can't remember seeing so many passes that didn't have a prayer of reaching our WRs. Ridiculous! We haven't seen this kind of offensive futility since the Cubit years. Let's recap:
- 0 TDs vs PSU
- 0 TDs vs OSU (excluding the Rettig TD)
- 0 TDs vs Wisconsin
- really don't have a reason to believe things will be much different vs. Michigan
I don't have a problem that We lost to the aforementioned teams, but to show little in the way of scoring TDs is flat out unacceptable. Army and Buffalo both had two TDs vs PSU and we had none, which best exemplifies our offensive futility. Maryland lost to PSU 31-30, and really should have beaten them, so I don't know how people rationalize a victory over them when their qb is better than ours.
Laviano needs an effective running game to do well as his best plays come off playaction. An ineffective running game indicates Laviano will struggle. His struggles are especially pronounced when there is no Carroo, the only guy he seems to be comfortable throwing to, and the only guy who seems capable of adjusting to his under thrown balls.
Flood went against the will of the fanbase when he chose Laviano, which was fine, as long as his choice produced consistently. Every fan poll I saw prior to this season had Rettig as a significant fan preference. In the fan poll I started last week, roughly 60% of fans wanted Rettig exclusively and 20% wanted Rettig to split. Floods choice hasn't produced, which is why it is time for change. But my guess is that we will see more of the same, which many, including myself, find infuriating. I'm at the point where I'm dreading upcoming football games because of the expected less than stellar result. It's like we've seen the movie many times, and already know how it ends.
There is talent, it just isn't being properly utilized. We are light years away from the Terry Shea years where there was no program, no talent, and no facilities. Yet we are losing to some teams by similar scores, and that's difficult for me to reconcile.
This is not to say, that Rettig would be anything special. But at least with that big arm of his, he gives us a better chance. His throws arrive faster, and he can put the ball where only our taller WRs like 6'6" Agudosi can get it, even when covered. If the big arm of his results in one less defender in the box, it gives us a better chance of success, because it will give our running game a better chance of succeeding. And if he screws up, there's comfort in knowing that we played our best players and they just weren't good enough. I and many others feel frustrated because we feel our best qb is chained to the bench. And to continue to hear BS rationalizations following the game is starting to drive me mad. There have been times where I wanted to toss my laptop out the window. And I'm usually a calm guy.
If the backup doesn't know the playbook, as has been speculated, then it's the head coaches responsibility to ensure the backup knows the playbook. Coaches spent a lot of time ensuring that true freshman Tom Savage knew enough of the playbook to be able to perform respectably in 2009. And it worked. If the coaches have to burn the midnight oil to make sure Rettig knows the playbook then they have to do it.
I can respect that Flood is sticking to his guns and is doing things his way. But in the end, we are all accountable for producing results, and Flood and his staff have to be held to the same standard.
We've seen many bad passes over the years, but I can't remember seeing so many passes that didn't have a prayer of reaching our WRs. Ridiculous! We haven't seen this kind of offensive futility since the Cubit years. Let's recap:
- 0 TDs vs PSU
- 0 TDs vs OSU (excluding the Rettig TD)
- 0 TDs vs Wisconsin
- really don't have a reason to believe things will be much different vs. Michigan
I don't have a problem that We lost to the aforementioned teams, but to show little in the way of scoring TDs is flat out unacceptable. Army and Buffalo both had two TDs vs PSU and we had none, which best exemplifies our offensive futility. Maryland lost to PSU 31-30, and really should have beaten them, so I don't know how people rationalize a victory over them when their qb is better than ours.
Laviano needs an effective running game to do well as his best plays come off playaction. An ineffective running game indicates Laviano will struggle. His struggles are especially pronounced when there is no Carroo, the only guy he seems to be comfortable throwing to, and the only guy who seems capable of adjusting to his under thrown balls.
Flood went against the will of the fanbase when he chose Laviano, which was fine, as long as his choice produced consistently. Every fan poll I saw prior to this season had Rettig as a significant fan preference. In the fan poll I started last week, roughly 60% of fans wanted Rettig exclusively and 20% wanted Rettig to split. Floods choice hasn't produced, which is why it is time for change. But my guess is that we will see more of the same, which many, including myself, find infuriating. I'm at the point where I'm dreading upcoming football games because of the expected less than stellar result. It's like we've seen the movie many times, and already know how it ends.
There is talent, it just isn't being properly utilized. We are light years away from the Terry Shea years where there was no program, no talent, and no facilities. Yet we are losing to some teams by similar scores, and that's difficult for me to reconcile.
This is not to say, that Rettig would be anything special. But at least with that big arm of his, he gives us a better chance. His throws arrive faster, and he can put the ball where only our taller WRs like 6'6" Agudosi can get it, even when covered. If the big arm of his results in one less defender in the box, it gives us a better chance of success, because it will give our running game a better chance of succeeding. And if he screws up, there's comfort in knowing that we played our best players and they just weren't good enough. I and many others feel frustrated because we feel our best qb is chained to the bench. And to continue to hear BS rationalizations following the game is starting to drive me mad. There have been times where I wanted to toss my laptop out the window. And I'm usually a calm guy.
If the backup doesn't know the playbook, as has been speculated, then it's the head coaches responsibility to ensure the backup knows the playbook. Coaches spent a lot of time ensuring that true freshman Tom Savage knew enough of the playbook to be able to perform respectably in 2009. And it worked. If the coaches have to burn the midnight oil to make sure Rettig knows the playbook then they have to do it.
I can respect that Flood is sticking to his guns and is doing things his way. But in the end, we are all accountable for producing results, and Flood and his staff have to be held to the same standard.
