Thursday, October 25, 2007

The natives are getting restless

Daily Illini columnist Kevin Olsen explains why coaching has been the reason the Illini aren't better than their 5-3 record.

Some excerpts:

Poor decisions seal Illini fate against Big Ten opponents

...I can't help but wonder what may have happened if Ron Zook and his coaching staff knew how to coach a college football game. And it didn't help that there were obvious breakdowns by players on key plays.

I'm not saying we should have or would have beat Michigan, but the sloppy play and coaching did not help us and Zook single-handedly lost the game for us at Iowa...

I know Illinois did not play a lot of great football that game, capped off by Eddie McGee's inexplicable interception in the end zone at the end of the game, but Zook is the head coach and is not supposed to make those mistakes.

Yet, one week later versus Michigan I found myself questioning the great recruiter once again....

I am not losing the faith by any means, but it makes it that much harder when Illinois beats itself, and Zook continues to convince me he is no more than a recruiting coach.
Wet Paper Bag: 1, Ron Zook: 0

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm.... no comments on this post. Weird. Where are all the UI fans... oh that's right, like I said before, they only come to talk when they win something. Always there to prove why they are the worst fans in the Big Ten. I know Not a Baghead doesn't have much experience with Illinois fans, but I do, and let me tell you they're the kind of fans who, when they suck (which is basically every year), claim "Oh, we're a basketball school, we don't care about football... except their Bball program blows too. Real die hard types. Now they can claim "Well, at least we're bowl eligible, and Zook brought us that." No jackass, a half-assed schedule against some weak Big Ten teams and a talented running back got you there, your coach managed to stay out of the way just long enough for that to happen. From what I've seen, he's been out coached in the second half of EVERY game they've played thus far. But hey, have fun with the kool-aid and with his extension they are drinking it by the barrel full in that cornfield town they call Champaign. Nice win against a terrible Ball State team, which managed to make it close. At least when Ohio State decimates you you can enjoy your Toilet Bowl game where Zook will inevitably blow another tough one because of bonehead calls like pulling his QB for no reason and being unable to control his own players. I happened to be at the Michigan game and it was quite enjoyable to see Illinois flop and make ridiculous penalties, with their coach just sitting there looking like a jack off. Then of course came the usual Illinois fans leaving the stadium acting like they didn't care and couldn't wait for Tennis season to start up... what a joke. I'm sure this site will keep attracting more Illini fans who wake up and realize their program is still a joke and this guy is a fraud. Keep up the good work.