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Many forget...

ISUFan22

ISUFan22

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2006
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Denver, CO
That having a rookie head coach can be much like breaking in a freshman quarterback.

The skills/fundamentals may be very, very good - however - the inexperience and decision making can cause some bumps in the road.

I really like Gene Chizik. The man he is and the coach I see in him. I've personally witnessed a few practices and have read various inside information on what's taking place in Ames. He's doing things the right way and the hard way - no short cuts.

That doesn't mean, he will be perfect. Unfortunately, some fans came into '07 with the notion that Gene would be perfect, a quick cure-all fix for the ISU football program.

That's just not feasible and quite frankly, it's unfair to expect it.

Now after two games, we've witnessed that there will not be a quick-fix in Ames.

My hope (and expectation) is, by the end of the year, we can say our team did improve as the year grew on - as did our coach.
 
People this is also a team that went 4-8 last year that could easily have gone 0-12 and we lost some key players.

I too, just want to see some fundamental improvement throughout the year and hopefully we can see a win or two to build on for next year.
 
I agree, but the second game is supposed to be a big improvement from the first. ISU looked worse. Hopefully that trend does not continue.
 
I agree with your post there. I truely believe we need to give Chizik time to grow. I'm happy there are no short cuts being taken. Although, I thought with him going after JUCO's on the O-line that he was gearing up to win this year. Thinking about it now, it could of been an attempt to keep one of our QBs from getting carted with a serious injury.

I have to think that not all the players have bought into this system yet. I can name one QB, one WR, and probably a few others. I have a feeling that if they don't take care of those problems, it will have an effect on the rest of the team.
 
ISUFan22 said:
That having a rookie head coach can be much like breaking in a freshman quarterback.

The skills/fundamentals may be very, very good - however - the inexperience and decision making can cause some bumps in the road.

I really like Gene Chizik. The man he is and the coach I see in him. I've personally witnessed a few practices and have read various inside information on what's taking place in Ames. He's doing things the right way and the hard way - no short cuts.

That doesn't mean, he will be perfect. Unfortunately, some fans came into '07 with the notion that Gene would be perfect, a quick cure-all fix for the ISU football program.

That's just not feasible and quite frankly, it's unfair to expect it.

Now after two games, we've witnessed that there will not be a quick-fix in Ames.

My hope (and expectation) is, by the end of the year, we can say our team did improve as the year grew on - as did our coach.
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How dare you show any reason or clarity into our internet forum area..... :no::notworthy:

- keep.
 
brianhos said:
I agree, but the second game is supposed to be a big improvement from the first. ISU looked worse. Hopefully that trend does not continue.
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I do not agree we looked worse. Perhaps not better, but definitely not worse. I actually think there was VERY minor improvement, but my glasses are rose colored.
 
IMO, if we don't have a false start on 1st and 10 inside UNI's 20 and/or throw a pick on 3rd and 8 a few plays later (on a drive that looked very good), we win that game Saturday. Again, goes back to this team not handling adversity worth a crap. That takes time to fix as well.
 
ISUFan22 said:
IMO, if we don't throw a pick on 3rd and 8 on our first drive (that looked very good), we win that game. Again, goes back to this team not handling adversity worth a crap. That takes time to fix as well.
Click to expand...

I would even argue that the interception which led to 3 points wasn't the culprit but Sandvig's muff/tournover that gave them 7 points.
 
The muffed punt was a bigger deal, no doubt.

However, our early mistakes (false start, interception) set the tone for the game. A "here we go again" feeling oozed throughout the stadium and no doubt on the sidelines as well.

Players need to find out how to handle that - instead of dwelling on it and making more mistakes - suck it up and make someone pay for it - preferably the other team.
 
ISUFan22 said:
IMO, if we don't have a false start on 1st and 10 inside UNI's 20 and/or throw a pick on 3rd and 8 a few plays later (on a drive that looked very good), we win that game Saturday. Again, goes back to this team not handling adversity worth a crap. That takes time to fix as well.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Our fate was sealed after that interception on the first drive. We appeared to have all kinds of momentum and then it was thrown out the door. If it wasn't sealed after that interception, then it was sealed after the punt fumble.

Our handling of adversity is not good. Until this can be corrected, it will take a nearly perfect game or a game where we get out to a lead to win. There is no reason why this can't happen, unfortunately it will probably take a few more games to get there. By that time, however, we will be facing teams that are deeper with a lot more talent (aka Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma).

It's going to take time. I just hope we can knock a team or two down along the way.
 
When looking at the fact they lost the turnover battle 4-0, I think it is pretty clear why we ultimately lost.
 
You can see the implications of the new system. Too much thinking. You can see that people are thinking through their assignments, etc. and that won't work. You wind up a step slow, in the wrong spot, etc.

They'll get better as they better understand and can play/react rather than think.
 
ISUFan22 said:
The muffed punt was a bigger deal, no doubt.

However, our early mistakes (false start, interception) set the tone for the game. A "here we go again" feeling oozed throughout the stadium and no doubt on the sidelines as well.

Players need to find out how to handle that - instead of dwelling on it and making more mistakes - suck it up and make someone pay for it - preferably the other team.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to blame penalties on the loss. That false start hurt our drive, but it was the only penalty of the game. I'll take one penalty a game every time.

We weren't completley pathetic in the game on offense. We did get about 400 yards and over 20 first downs. It's just that, so far, we've been so ridiculously bad at the little things, it's not even funny.

I mean, in consecutive games, we've turned the ball over because a shotgun snap went over a QB's head. Anyone else recall a time where that has happened to a team in consecutive weeks? Reminds me of two years ago when we thought it was cool to fumble on the goaline.
 
I completely agree on the thinking too much problem. It seems the entire team on both sides of the ball seems to be encased in molasses while the other team gets to spots first. Also, no team is going to win by turning the ball over that many times while not getting any in return. The first two games have been a cacophony of mistakes and over-thinking.
 
As a fellow sufferer (Indiana football fan) I think the point about first year coaches is right on. A first year head coach has to pick a staff, meet the players and has new priorities in terms of fans and promotions that an assistant does not have. No one know if Chizik will be a good coach or not. Fans live on faith and most will be very patient and I think Chizik will grow into a good coach. The key word is grow. Right now he is on as big a learning curb as the players. For schools like ISU and Indiana that lack the resources to hire a Steve Spurrier hope is sometimes all that sustains us.
 
I think also a lot of people forget what Hawkins and Colorado went thru last year - They lost 10 games last year, one of them including Montana St (I think), a D I-AA opponent. A year after that disaster, they may not be a great team this year, but they certainly look a lot better than they did last year. The difference? Hawkins has had one full year to implement his system and Colorado already looks better for it. Colorado actually began looking better by the end of the season, but it was miserable for them early. It's going to take several years for us to become really good in the North. Honestly, the best we can hope for this year is for visible improvement as the season rolls along, and hopefully we can pick off a win or two along the way.
 
AND...Hawkins was already a head coach...one many tabbed as "the next great one" in college football. He still suffered a horrible '06.
 
Totally agree 22, Chizik is here for the long haul, the long term and even in losing games it all has to be worked out: instilling attitudes, installing the program, getting it done. I personally am glad the players have to be accountable now.

Also, 22, you are usually in the know: there has been some talk floating around that Blythe could be seen yelling at both the coaching staff and at Meyer during the game... you have any insight on that?
 
The only thing I've been concerned about thus far is the lack of emotion and heart I see from time to time the last couple of games. At times it's like no one wants to play and they've accepted losing. To me, thats the first thing to fix.
 
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