Wisconsin Football 2024

[yourout]

52 minutes ago, nate82 said:

But this has been a problem before Fickell got here at least on the offensive side of the ball.  With PC there was very little to no improvement anywhere and most regressed or got worse than when they came to the program.

Allen didn’t even improve all that much year over year with PC as the HC.  The OL kept on getting worse and worse after year 2 or 3 under PC.  The only thing that stayed constant for the Badgers was the defense.  There was also very little to no improvement on the defensive line for a while.

There were warts and issues under Leonard that were popping up.  The D-line being the biggest problem.  I can’t remember anyone on the D-line making much if any improvements year over year during PC’s reign as the HC.  It was a talent issue but at some point there should have been a few players who could have been coached up a bit and I can’t remember a single one.  The D-line has been a problem since PC took the job and probably a bit before that.

One of the things that made us successful in the 3-4 was that we were good at finding hidden gold in the linebackers and then we didn't need as many big athletic bodies up front. And for the most part our linebackers were disciplined and athletic and now they're just athletic and undisciplined as hell. 

And the schemes that were used starting with Aranda all the way up through Leonard were very good at generating lanes for linebackers to use.

[CheezWizHed]

15 hours ago, nate82 said:

If you have a QB that can play under center sure run that but majority of HS QB’s will be running some kind of spread offense.  Nearly all of Carter Smith’s snaps at HS came from the shotgun.  Majority of your top recruits are going to be used to that than being under center.

Maybe it is time to change the term "quarterback" to "fullback" to reflect how often they take a snap from the shotgun position.  NFL seems to be the norm also.  They are rarely under center anymore (i.e. one quarter back)

[nate82]

50 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Maybe it is time to change the term "quarterback" to "fullback" to reflect how often they take a snap from the shotgun position.  NFL seems to be the norm also.  They are rarely under center anymore (i.e. one quarter back)

The QB position has actually gone back in time to where the QB is basically a RB who can throw the ball just that the QB’s now are more athletic and have better arms and better receivers a long with the protection to limit the hard hits.

[Jim French Stepstool]

9 hours ago, nate82 said:

But this has been a problem before Fickell got here at least on the offensive side of the ball.  With PC there was very little to no improvement anywhere and most regressed or got worse than when they came to the program.

Allen didn’t even improve all that much year over year with PC as the HC.  The OL kept on getting worse and worse after year 2 or 3 under PC.  The only thing that stayed constant for the Badgers was the defense.  There was also very little to no improvement on the defensive line for a while.

There were warts and issues under Leonard that were popping up.  The D-line being the biggest problem.  I can’t remember anyone on the D-line making much if any improvements year over year during PC’s reign as the HC.  It was a talent issue but at some point there should have been a few players who could have been coached up a bit and I can’t remember a single one.  The D-line has been a problem since PC took the job and probably a bit before that.

Overall, I'd agree the player development has taken a dip since Alvarez/Bielema. Still, I think the staff that preceded Fickell did more than you may think. You could argue they got more than was expected from Bart Houston & Jack Coan. Joel Stave was a walkon QB that started out under Chryst as an OC & HC. I wasn't a huge Stave fan, but anytime someone can come from where he started out, to beat out all his competition, that's significant. Garrett Groshek greatly overachieved his expectations. Alex Erickson (WR) & Dare Ogunbowale (TB) were both walkons who went on to play in the NFL. And they continued to develop a lot of above-average fullbacks----a position that's non-existent at UW now.

As you alluded to, it was much better defensively in that regard. I thought the previous staff did a very nice job coaching up & getting production from Michael Caputo & Leo Musso (S), Conor Sheehy & Matt Henningsen (DL), and as mentioned by@yourout,  a ton of LBs, Especially Andrew Van Ginkel & a HS QB, Zack Baun.

I agree about the development taking a powder in Chrysts' last 2-3 years, especially in the offensive line. But overall I don't think it compares to what's (not) going on now.

[LouisEly]

3 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Especially Andrew Van Ginkel & a HS QB, Zack Baun.

And another HS QB, T.J. Edwards. 

The odd thing is that the LBs have looked the worst and Tressel is the ILB coach. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, LouisEly said:

And another HS QB, T.J. Edwards. 

The odd thing is that the LBs have looked the worst and Tressel is the ILB coach. 

Ahhh, forgot about Edwards being a QB. Body type doesn't exactly give it away😛.

Jake Chaney has been so incredibly all over the map this season.

[Underachiever]

9 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Ahhh, forgot about Edwards being a QB. Body type doesn't exactly give it away😛.

Jake Chaney has been so incredibly all over the map this season.

Pet peeve of mine, and it's not directed at you, Jim FS. 

OF COURSE a lot of these guys played quarterback in high school. You have an obviously superior athlete, put the ball in his hands. Every time a wide receiver throws a pass--"He played quarterback in high school!" Really? I'm some math teacher who coaches football on the side, and I got a kid with good hands who runs a 4.4? I think he just took a lot of my coaching decisions away. He's playing QB. 

But, there's a reason they don't play QB any more. They weren't good enough to stay at the position. Well, unless you are on the Badgers, apparently.

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 hours ago, Underachiever said:

Pet peeve of mine, and it's not directed at you, Jim FS. 

OF COURSE a lot of these guys played quarterback in high school. You have an obviously superior athlete, put the ball in his hands. Every time a wide receiver throws a pass--"He played quarterback in high school!" Really? I'm some math teacher who coaches football on the side, and I got a kid with good hands who runs a 4.4? I think he just took a lot of my coaching decisions away. He's playing QB. 

But, there's a reason they don't play QB any more. They weren't good enough to stay at the position. Well, unless you are on the Badgers, apparently.

Oh, absolutely. It's sort of the same as many MLB players having pitched in HS, or if they're RH played SS (or both). In Edwards' case, I think the more pertinent point (@LouisEly can correct me if I'm wrong) is that he was made into a LB, and a good one, by the staff at UW after not having played there--I think he was a safety as well as a QB as a prep.

Baun, yeah. At Brown Deer he would take the snap, look for a seam, and take off running (at least in the one prep game I saw him play). He had edge-rush LB written all over him.

[nate82]

Locke continues to regress.  I think he knows this is his last chance if the Badgers don't win today to start at QB at UW.

He is still horrible at getting the ball over the line with three tipped balls already.  I really wish they would demote him to QB2.  I just don't see the point of running Locke out there over and over again.  We know what he is and he is not a starting QB at a major D1 team.  I don't care if the other QB is not ready they need to get him in the game as Locke is not helping the team win games he is a detriment to this team even getting close to a win. 

[yourout]

What a freaking train wreck this is.

Will there be anybody left for jump around today?

[homer]

this might be Fickell's last game if they can't at least be competitive 

[yourout]

4 minutes ago, homer said:

this might be Fickell's last game if they can't at least be competitive 

I hope so. I've seen enough to know he ain't the answer.

This could be a 40 point beat down.

[CheezWizHed]

Wow, this game is just garbage for WI.  Getting outplayed pretty soundly.  The wind was our best player in the 1st quarter. 

[AKCheesehead]

5 minutes ago, homer said:

this might be Fickell's last game if they can't at least be competitive 

Depressing.  Might be Dad's last game too and he's had season tickets since Alvarez began.  Cites disgust with play, transfer, loud dj, night games, friday games. Hate to see the era end with a pitiful game vs rodents on a cold day.

[AKCheesehead]

Have to get something going here.  Have to have some guts and ability to execute.

[yourout]

Inept is to kind of a word to describe this team

[Samurai Bucky]

The Badgers are a hot mess.  There is no ingenuity on offense -- probably because they know that Locke can't make a play.

I temporarily stopped watching after the second TD.  Have they tried to move him out of the pocket?  I don't recall seeing any RPO 

[CheezWizHed]

2 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

I temporarily stopped watching after the second TD.  Have they tried to move him out of the pocket?  I don't recall seeing any RPO 

RPOs yes.  We had a flag on linemen downfield once on an RPO.  I don't recall Locke moving out of the pocket though.  They really need to change something...

[nate82]

10 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

I temporarily stopped watching after the second TD.  Have they tried to move him out of the pocket?  I don't recall seeing any RPO 

He can barely step up to make a throw moving a statue out of the pocket is not an option. 

[JosephC]

Great move by Fickell to fire Longo before the season ended.  That move looks like it really paid off.  1st half stats - 43 yards of total offense (37 passing yards and SIX rushing yards) and zero points.

[igor67]

Somehow the defense kept this to just two scores so far. But in the realm of hot takes I here the Bears need a headcoach...

[JosephC]

Bears interim head coach is a former Badger running back coach. 

[JosephC]

Despite the pitiful offensive showing, the Gophers are nowhere near a ranked team.  The Badgers can still win this game if they get their crap together.

[Jim French Stepstool]

47 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Locke continues to regress.  I think he knows this is his last chance if the Badgers don't win today to start at QB at UW.

He is still horrible at getting the ball over the line with three tipped balls already.  I really wish they would demote him to QB2.  I just don't see the point of running Locke out there over and over again.  We know what he is and he is not a starting QB at a major D1 team.  I don't care if the other QB is not ready they need to get him in the game as Locke is not helping the team win games he is a detriment to this team even getting close to a win. 

I figured that in a game where they have something like six yards rushing in a half of football, I'd read yet another comment about Locke. He had a poor half. The inability of UW to run the ball today exasperates that, and is a much bigger problem.

Much bigger.

And if the backup is not ready to compete at this level, which by their reluctance to use him seems pretty obvious, he isn't going to be used. By Fickell, or by anyone else coaching college FB. If Mettauer can't read or make decisions, believe it or not, he could be much worse. If/when he gets thrown out there I hope he performs well. The evidence so far shows that it would be an act of desperation, which is seldom a good idea.

 

 

[AKCheesehead]

At some point they might get to try kicking a field goal hopefully.