Welcome Illini Fans!
Hey, I want to thank all of you who stopped by today. Thanks to a posting on an Illini message board, I've more than doubled the lifetime readership of this blog. Oh I know a lot of you are angry and you are taking out your anger on me. That's fine. I didn't start this blog to make friends. I've got plenty, despite what some of you may think. I won't address the personal remarks because honestly I don't give shit about any of that. But I will address comments about the savior of Illinois football, Ron Zook.
Ron Zook has proven that he can attract athletes to Illinois that wouldn't have otherwise considered the school. That is obvious. What he hasn't proven to date is that he can coach a lick. And you know what I'm saying is true. Your very own message boards have questioned the boneheaded decisions that have been made during the games. The difference this year is that Illinois has the talent to overcome those boneheaded decisions. Perhaps your memories are short but how many rugby punts did the Zooker, the guru of special teams, attempt with disastrous consequences last season? How about going for a 2-point conversion early in the game when it's not called for?
Congratulations on the 5-1 record. It certainly is new territory for a program like Illinois. But don't kid yourself. You beat a Penn State team that lost to a Michigan team that lost to a division 1AA team. Wisconsin? Their signature win was against Michigan State. A paper tiger if ever their was one. Illinois just may be the class of the Big Ten, but let's face it, the Big Ten sucks donkey balls.
In any case, you can thank Ron Zook the recruiter, not Ron Zook the coach, for your recent success. You should enjoy your newfound success while you can because if history has taught me anything it's that if you keep watching, Ron Zook the coach will eventually get in the way of Ron Zook the recruiter. There's a reason I'm smiling in that picture in the sidebar. I'll still be here. Make sure to stop by.
P.S. Eat me.
15 comments:
Good Lord, you need to let it go.
Three things:
a) Zook's coaching blunders you cited were all from last season. Which makes sense, since that's totally applicable to our success this season.
b) You may want to stop focusing on Zook's coaching blunders and look instead at Urban Meyer's abysmal clock managment that cost you two games in a row, including a home loss to a crappy Auburn team.
c) Illinois currently has a better record than Florida.
www.thanksforfiringRonZook.com
A) Zook hasn't had to make any tough calls this season. Although some have raised eyebrows like benching the starting QB in a game that the Illini seemed to have in control. If McGee had thrown an interception for a TD that one could have backfired. But it didn't and that's fine.
B)You didn't see me defending Meyer's clock management did you? But if I had to build a resume for both coaches you know as well as I do that Zook would lead Meyer in blunders by 30 lengths to borrow a horse racing expression.
C) "Currently" is the operative word. You may also notice that Florida despite having one more loss is currently ranked higher than Illinois.
Thanks for your readership.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but Ron Zook still sucks.
I'll freely admit that Meyer's coaching resume runs laps around Zook's. But it's a little odd for you to still be focusing so much wrath on Zook when Meyer certainly isn't beyond reproach this year.
No doubt you knew that going after Zook at this juncture would rile up Illini fans like myself and draw more attention to your blog.
Regardless, your analysis on part A is still way off. No tough calls? How about going for it on 4th and 1 with a minute left to seal the deal again Wisconsin?
And switching out the QBs made perfect sense when Juice Williams (the starter) hadn't completed a pass in the second half and the offense stalled, and then the backup proceeded to move the team right down the field, and finish out the win. And sure, McGee throwing an interception would have been bad - but so had the two interceptions Juice ahd already thrown in Illinois territory.
Either way, yes, Meyer clearly has the more established record, and yes Zook has raised many an eyebrow over the years. These are the facts.
But he has also turned around a program in just over 2 years that had MAC-level players when he took it over. To try and claim he doesn't deserve credit for that, or that accomplishment doesn't prove he's a solid coach is ludicrous.
Enjoy your season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viSJgjoqLFs
Anon,
Recruiting is only half of the job of a coach. And when you're talent deprived as Illinois was it can become the most important thing. But when your predecessor built up a championship caliber (Conference level, I don't believe that national championship crap) program over the years don't shit on it by saying you inherited an empty cupboard just because you couldn't win with those players.
All I'm saying is wait. Zook's teams will win games hey have no business winning and they will lose games that they have no business losing. That's because it's not just about getting players. It's about developing them and also putting them in the right position through schemes, game planning, and in-game adjustments. All 3 of which Zook has PROVEN himself to be disastrous at.
And don't worry about the Gators. We'll be just fine. Just make sure to drop back by when Zook has a brain lock. I'll be here.
Illinois is Zook's second time as a head coach. Isn't it fair to say that his trouble at Florida stemmed more from inexperience than him being a bad coach?
And why do you care anyway?
This guy is crazy! why are you guys even getting upset? It's not worth it! GO ILLINI!
ILL
He didn't just go for 2 against Indiana. He did it twice! We lost 34-32
I suspect that part of your ire is that Zook is building a program and team based on speed and athleticism. The kind of team that will compete nicely with the SEC boys on January 1.
I shall look forward to your backpedaling.
Baggy-
Look, you very may well have a point. We Illini fans may see a ceiling with Zook in a few years - better than we used to be, but never really reaching the top of the Big Ten. Only time will tell.
But you came on here and made things up. And we called you on it. You're hatred for Zook runs so deep that it bothers you to see him succeeding, so you throw out statements like "despite a very weak schedule" without looking it up. There's the rub. The Illini have played an extremely difficult schedule thus far (3rd toughest in the country according to CBS Sportsline). They've beaten 2 ranked teams and came within a goal-line interception of beating #11 Missouri. Illinois' opponents are 23-6 apart from the games they played against the Illini. That's amazingly difficult.
To say they've played a weak schedule simply ruins your argument and damages your credibility. Again, you very well may have a point, but when you make something up without doing any research, you're gonna get called on it.
putting that fine Florida education to good use. kudos to you!
This blog = F minus.
I'm being kind.
INI
Let's see where strength of schedule washes out at the end of the year. Don't go tooting that SOS horn so quickly. You need to root for your past opponents to win otherwise your SOS will go in the tank. That means every time JoPa goes down, your claim goes down a little bit. If I am wrong and the Big 10 is not weak then your SOS will remain strong. But they don't give trophies out for being at the top halfway through the season. This ain't minor league baseball.
I do believe that JoPa won on Saturday, albeit to a crappy Iowa team. But a win is a win.
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