Wisconsin Football 2022- The Jim Leonhard Show ends, the Luke Fickell era begins

[SomewhereInTime]

29 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I don't know because I don't follow the NFL, but sometimes I think FB fans around here spend their whole fandom lives watching Favre & Rodgers & get some kind of odd standard of what should be expected. Mertz has looked mediocre at times, sometimes even poor, and at times very good, sometimes within the same game. He needs to function within an offense that keeps mistakes down to a minimum, forces defenses to honor the run, and get put in down-and-distance situations where they throw when they CHOOSE to, not because they HAVE to. He's also dealing with an offense that is without a pass-catching TE for the first time since he's been here, and that's always been a security blanket for him.

 

I literally played with a more talented QB while in D3.  I'm not asking for Favre or Roders here.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 minutes ago, SomewhereInTime said:

I literally played with a more talented QB while in D3.  I'm not asking for Favre or Roders here.

How many D1 defenses did he successfully probe in his career?

And, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall anyone categorizing Mertz' performance as "fine".

[Brewcrew82]

3 minutes ago, SomewhereInTime said:

I literally played with a more talented QB while in D3.  I'm not asking for Favre or Roders here.

Sure you did. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

9 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Sure you did. 

Never underestimate those 4TD, no-pick performances vs Gustavus Adolphus.

[Samurai Bucky]

There are a lot of problems.  However, for those who say that Jim Leonhard "isn't it," I will start off by disagreeing with you.  However, he is responsible for the players he recruits.  I did like how he got angry and started lighting up his players in the second half.  Was it Saban-like?  Not quite -- I couldn't see as many veins popping out.

The defense is predicated on the defensive lineman engaging the defensive lineman and allowing the linebackers to get in and make the tackle.  The linebackers are not as good, obviously, as what we had in the past.  Herbig was close, but he was abysmal today.  That flop at the end of game was a joke.

The defense also has cornerbacks that can't cover a bed with a quilt.  They can grab the blanket, and get called for a PI.  They also don't tackle for crap.  They are undisciplined and unreliable.  That, coupled with the poor linebacker play, has affected the amount of times Leonhard blitzes.  It seems when they do bring in a corner, it turns into a big play for the opposing team.  I guess the safeties are also to blame.

Was it only me, but did the defense completely suck against the counter today?

The offense is a mess, too.  The thing that frustrates me is that Mertz can make some good passes, but then he can make some terrible passes.  He appears to scan the field and has, at times, moved the safeties.  But there are other times, like the pick at the 12 yard line, where his passes are awful.  I thought up to that point, he was doing pretty well.

In the Badgers first drive, it looked like the Spartans were not focusing so much on the run.  That allowed Allen to carve them up.  Once the defensive lineman started stunting more, we couldn't run.  Our guards don't pull very well... not like they used to.

I would like to see Allen put his shoulders down and truck some guys.  Even when he near the boundary.  Take that big body and issue some punishment.

I'm frustrated.  I hope that there isn't a mass exodus to the transfer portal at year end.  I still have visions of Don Morton's veer offense dancing in my head (oops... sorry... that is a dollar in the swear jar).

[yourout]

I will say the Spartans are better than their record.

Certainly plenty of talent but not particularly well coached and undisciplined as hell.

Certainly had an advantage in the defensive line and linebackers over Bucky

[SomewhereInTime]

1 hour ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Sure you did. 

Its not that big of a deal, theres easily 150+ better qbs throughout college football right now.  Probably a few better high school qbs at least at the national powerhouse high school programs.

[Brewcrew82]

Just now, SomewhereInTime said:

Its not that big of a deal, theres easily 150+ better qbs throughout college football right now.  Probably a few better high school qbs at least at the national powerhouse high school programs.

Sure there are. 

[SomewhereInTime]

1 hour ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Or Mike Samuel (if we're strictly grading on passing ability), Matt Schabert, Allen Evridge, Danny O'Brien, Dustin Sherer, Tanner McEvoy (see Samuel comment), and arguably Tyler Donovan.

Im not old enough to remember Mike Samuel or Matt Schabert.  Wasnt allen evridge benched after two games?

[SomewhereInTime]

1 minute ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Sure there are. 

You ever watch other games and see what the passing attacks look like across the nation?  It isnt this hard for most teams.

[Brewcrew82]

3 minutes ago, SomewhereInTime said:

You ever watch other games and see what the passing attacks look like across the nation?  It isnt this hard for most teams.

Just stop. 

[SomewhereInTime]

3 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Just stop. 

You act like we run the option or something.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, SomewhereInTime said:

Im not old enough to remember Mike Samuel or Matt Schabert.  Wasnt allen evridge benched after two games?

Something like that, yeah. 

Samuel wasn't a pretty (or particularly effective) passer. He just won. Not a pretty boy, which made him a favorite of mine.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, Samurai Bucky said:

There are a lot of problems.  However, for those who say that Jim Leonhard "isn't it," I will start off by disagreeing with you.  However, he is responsible for the players he recruits.  I did like how he got angry and started lighting up his players in the second half.  Was it Saban-like?  Not quite -- I couldn't see as many veins popping out.

The defense is predicated on the defensive lineman engaging the defensive lineman and allowing the linebackers to get in and make the tackle.  The linebackers are not as good, obviously, as what we had in the past.  Herbig was close, but he was abysmal today.  That flop at the end of game was a joke.

The defense also has cornerbacks that can't cover a bed with a quilt.  They can grab the blanket, and get called for a PI.  They also don't tackle for crap.  They are undisciplined and unreliable.  That, coupled with the poor linebacker play, has affected the amount of times Leonhard blitzes.  It seems when they do bring in a corner, it turns into a big play for the opposing team.  I guess the safeties are also to blame.

Was it only me, but did the defense completely suck against the counter today?

The offense is a mess, too.  The thing that frustrates me is that Mertz can make some good passes, but then he can make some terrible passes.  He appears to scan the field and has, at times, moved the safeties.  But there are other times, like the pick at the 12 yard line, where his passes are awful.  I thought up to that point, he was doing pretty well.

In the Badgers first drive, it looked like the Spartans were not focusing so much on the run.  That allowed Allen to carve them up.  Once the defensive lineman started stunting more, we couldn't run.  Our guards don't pull very well... not like they used to.

I would like to see Allen put his shoulders down and truck some guys.  Even when he near the boundary.  Take that big body and issue some punishment.

I'm frustrated.  I hope that there isn't a mass exodus to the transfer portal at year end.  I still have visions of Don Morton's veer offense dancing in my head (oops... sorry... that is a dollar in the swear jar).

Good post. First off, if Leonhard isn't given the job at the end of the year--which would surprise me--It'll make folks' heads spin when they see how quickly he gets hired by someone. Long term, I agree he should be the guy.

Other than Benton, I agree the linemen certainly aren't engaging opposing O-lines well at all. I think they miss Mullens more than folks realize. Agree re the LBs, but compared to the group from last year they're going to pale in comparison. Need to get better.

It wasn't only you. The counter was killing them particularly in the 1st half. Also, I used to watch Jalen Berger toil for us, and the last time I saw him run this hard was........never.

The secondary needs to get better at making/finishing plays (obviously), but I think their cover skills are better than the results shown. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing someone work hard to stay with a WR, then not time the breakup/get a hand in/get a deflection/SOMETHING. Lots of room for improvement, but I think the capacity to improve is there. I thought the safeties were good most of the season, but not today.

Mertz is.......inconsistent, hot/cold, whatever phrase you want to use. He needs the running game to be impactful enough to make the defense honor it, and that doesn't happen often enough.  I also think he REALLY misses a TE presence. Think of how often he utilized Ferguson, and Cundiff before he got hurt. Then Rucci went down.

I'm not feeling real good about the workload Allen may be facing in the weeks to come. Guerendo was pretty non-existent when used. Wish something would light a fire under Julius Davis.

[Oxy]

2 hours ago, SomewhereInTime said:

I literally played with a more talented QB while in D3.  I'm not asking for Favre or Roders here.

LOLOLOL.

[MrTPlush]

Graham Mertz is not good, he is very far from it. This is arguably the best year of Mertz and I don’t know how far back I’d have to go to find a QB I would want less (at their best) than 2022 Mertz. Considering his ranking coming to Madison, his performance is pathetic and the fact he is so bad so often at such basic things is amazing.
 

It is time for the Badgers to start recruiting, actually developing, and actually utilizing their QBs better. They are way too respectable of a program to be trotting out below average guys that barely eclipse 100 yards passing on 25 passes. Averaging 5.5 yards on a pass, come on man.

Who is in charge of QB recruiting at Wisconsin? Mertz isn’t good and the next up? Their backups are usually straight garbage you wouldn’t pay to watch. I just don’t get it.

[SomewhereInTime]

5 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

Graham Mertz is not good, he is very far from it. This is arguably the best year of Mertz and I don’t know how far back I’d have to go to find a QB I would want less (at their best) than 2022 Mertz. Considering his ranking coming to Madison, his performance is pathetic and the fact he is so bad so often at such basic things is amazing.
 

It is time for the Badgers to start recruiting, actually developing, and actually utilizing their QBs better. They are way too respectable of a program to be trotting out below average guys that barely eclipse 100 yards passing on 25 passes. Averaging 5.5 yards on a pass, come on man.

Who is in charge of QB recruiting at Wisconsin? Mertz isn’t good and the next up? Their backups are usually straight garbage you wouldn’t pay to watch. I just don’t get it.

Finally a reasonable response here.

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, MrTPlush said:

Graham Mertz is not good, he is very far from it. This is arguably the best year of Mertz and I don’t know how far back I’d have to go to find a QB I would want less (at their best) than 2022 Mertz. Considering his ranking coming to Madison, his performance is pathetic and the fact he is so bad so often at such basic things is amazing.
 

It is time for the Badgers to start recruiting, actually developing, and actually utilizing their QBs better. They are way too respectable of a program to be trotting out below average guys that barely eclipse 100 yards passing on 25 passes. Averaging 5.5 yards on a pass, come on man.

Who is in charge of QB recruiting at Wisconsin? Mertz isn’t good and the next up? Their backups are usually straight garbage you wouldn’t pay to watch. I just don’t get it.

Joel Stave...There ya go. Graham Mertz had no time to throw today. He made a bad throw on the first interception, but otherwise was hampered by horrendous OL play. As I have said, this team's issues go so much deeper than Graham Mertz. For goodness sake's, the guy is 2nd in FBS in "big-time throws" per PFF. He's no Stroud, but he's not Petras, Hilinski, Bazelak etc. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Joel Stave...There ya go. Graham Mertz had no time to throw today. He made a bad throw on the first interception, but otherwise was hampered by horrendous OL play. As I have said, this team's issues go so much deeper than Graham Mertz. For goodness sake's, the guy is 2nd in FBS in "big-time throws" per PFF. He's no Stroud, but he's not Petras, Hilinski, Bazelak etc. 

That's a pretty good response. Stave had some success, but it was largely due to his supporting cast. When the supporting cast isn't as consistently good, this (2022) is what happens.

Kinda the point all along.

But it's easier to just blame the QB. And here's the deal: Mertz deserves some heat. But so do some other circumstances that have nothing to do with him (for the 597th time).

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, MrTPlush said:

 

Who is in charge of QB recruiting at Wisconsin? Mertz isn’t good and the next up? Their backups are usually straight garbage you wouldn’t pay to watch. I just don’t get it.

From '14 through '18 their backups were Bart Houston & Jack Coan, both of whom went on to have success as starters. Mertz was the backup in '19. Since then it's been Chase Wolf, who is hurt this year. He's slight of build & limited which I guess means he's straight garbage, if you're compelled to say that about a student-athlete.

I'm not certain but I assume their point men in QB recruiting in recent years were Chryst & possibly Jon Budmayr. 

[SomewhereInTime]

4 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

That's a pretty good response. Stave had some success, but it was largely due to his supporting cast. When the supporting cast isn't as consistently good, this (2022) is what happens.

Kinda the point all along.

But it's easier to just blame the QB. And here's the deal: Mertz deserves some heat. But so do some other circumstances that have nothing to do with him (for the 597th time).

I dont think anyone disagrees that this is a bad football team in many ways.  Mertz is part of the problem though.  Look around the country at how well teams pass the football these days.  I think UW has some talented receivers too.  Outside of Furtney, there's some talent on the O-line.  Plenty of teams pass the ball more proficiently with worse protection.

[JosephC]

The only thing that prevents me from declaring Mertz to be a one-man trainwreck is the fresh memories of Alex Hornibrook who was somehow even worse.

Mertz is really just that bad.  In addition to the horrible interception early in the game, Michigan State stone-handed defenders dropped what would have been two more critical late-game interceptions. 

I'd definitely take Joel Stave over Mertz.  Stave was a known worker and his teammates liked him and had confidence in him.  Who in their right mind would trust Mertz to take a team anywhere with many of the late-game performances he has?  Mertz completed 9 out of his first 10 yesterday, then from early-mid third quarter to the end of the game finished 5 out of 13 for 56 yards with a couple ugly dropped interceptions.

Early last year I was all for the idea that the supporting cast is weak, but after watching this guy start nearly 30 games, it is completely obvious at this point that Mertz is below average Big 10 starting QB material who has more than good enough physical skills but can't read a defense, makes too many boneheaded decisions, and is a big and complete total zero when it comes to elevating the performance of the people around him.

Time for Leonhard to start giving Myles Burkett some series during the ballgames and see if he can provide a spark.  Worst thing that could happen is Mertz jumps into the transfer portal, which I would consider a blessing to Badger fans at this point.  To think that Chryst just handed this guy the starting QB job...pretty much explains why Chryst is unemployed.

[nate82]

3 hours ago, SomewhereInTime said:

I dont think anyone disagrees that this is a bad football team in many ways.  Mertz is part of the problem though.  Look around the country at how well teams pass the football these days.  I think UW has some talented receivers too.  Outside of Furtney, there's some talent on the O-line.  Plenty of teams pass the ball more proficiently with worse protection.

The Badgers WR's are not all that talented.  They have stones for hands and football IQ of a peewee football receiver.  Athletically they are better than what they have had in the recent past but they are still extremely poor at route running.  In the 4th quarter before the game tying TD there were two WR's running the exact same route in the same spot they actually ran into each other.  

The WR's at Wisconsin are an absolute joke and have been running wrong routes for awhile now.  Some of the mistakes are on Mertz with his bad passes and some are on the WR's where they have ran the wrong route or absolutely drop catchable balls.  The only route these receivers are ever able to run correctly are the 5-yard slant routes.  Anything more complicated than that and they don't know what they are doing.

The Illinois game is a perfect example of how bad the WR's are on this team.  They had a bunch of miss catches where the ball went right through their arms.  I don't think any of the WR's on this team can make an over the shoulder catch consistently other than consistently whiffing on them.  Even balls that are somewhat contested these WR's will more than likely gator arm the catch or will completely have the ball go through their arms without even touching the ball.  

UW has 0 talented receivers on this team and it is why you are seeing Allen in the passing game more which he should have been in from the start.  Also having 0 TE's to pass to is hurting this team as the offense is built around the TE for the passing game.  

While Mertz has been bad the WR's have been equally if not even worse than Mertz.  The offensive line is also beat up and gives Mertz on average about 1-2 seconds to go through his reads.  I don't see any QB being successful with this offensive line it is an absolutely horrible offensive line.  None of the offensive lineman can even hold a block for a few seconds and they get confused on simple stunts on who should be blocking who.  There was a sack where the left guard just sat there and watched the defensive tackle run right by him and he looked confused on what he was supposed to do about it.  He didn't even put his hands on him and stood there like a statue.  If he moves his feet to the left just a little bit the defensive tackle would have had to go wider which would have given the QB another second to get rid of the ball.  

This offensive line feels like it hasn't practiced even the simplest of techniques.  Either the coaching is poor which I doubt or the players are just extremely bad.  I am going to go with the players being extremely bad on this one as Bostad has had some really good offensive lineman and it is his first year back as the offensive line coach.  

[SomewhereInTime]

All very good points.  Great post.

[Jim French Stepstool]

7 hours ago, JosephC said:

 

 Mertz completed 9 out of his first 10 yesterday, then from early-mid third quarter to the end of the game finished 5 out of 13 for 56 yards with a couple ugly dropped interceptions.

 

......Which is the definition of inconsistency. If the "9" was changed to a "5" it would be the definition of something else.

I said he had around 5 really bad throws from the 4th quarter on. That's indisputable.