How I feel about today

[ForkEmBucky]

One thing I love about sports is seeing guys change, and teammates find each other in the middle of a shitty season. This isn't a shitty season, but it still could be. The way I see it, their backs are against the wall. Every down, no matter what the score is, they should be playing to prove something. It's time for the turning point in the season, like the Minnesota game last year. The offensive line needs to learn to play in the middle of the game. The special teamers need to prove they belong on the team. The defensive line needs to find it in their guts to play well above what appears to be their level.

[ForkEmBucky]

If I were the marketing guy at the stadium, the Badgers would walk through the tunnel with the first two minutes and fifteen seconds of this blasting in the stadium.....and a highlight reel of the season would be running on the tron for the fans to put that chip on everyone's shoulder before the game starts...

[ForkEmBucky]

solid performance for the badgers. But special teams are still terrible. That punt formation is absolutely stupid. They need to go back to 1 guy back with thethe punter like to do in the nfl. it just seems like this way, the other team gets a solid rush, waiting until they get 5 feet away from the punter before landing a block is playing with fire and it burned them twice. also I think it's time to let some of the younger guys have a shot on kick and punt coverage. number 25 made a nice play back towards the end of the game.

Other than that we should be proud. MSU played a hell of a game, as did OSU. I dont think MSU is consistent but we got their best shot at their hiuse and should havewon. tOSU is on the right track and had a bye week to prepare. Wisconsin just needs to get after it and worry about where the cards fall when the PSU game is over.

[Smart]

Originally Posted by ForkEmBucky

solid performance for the badgers. But special teams are still terrible. That punt formation is absolutely stupid. They need to go back to 1 guy back with thethe punter like to do in the nfl. it just seems like this way, the other team gets a solid rush, waiting until they get 5 feet away from the punter before landing a block is playing with fire and it burned them twice. also I think it's time to let some of the younger guys have a shot on kick and punt coverage. number 25 made a nice play back towards the end of the game.

Other than that we should be proud. MSU played a hell of a game, as did OSU. I dont think MSU is consistent but we got their best shot at their hiuse and should havewon. tOSU is on the right track and had a bye week to prepare. Wisconsin just needs to get after it and worry about where the cards fall when the PSU game is over.

I honestly think it is to the point where we should put some first teamers on special teams. Borland kicked ass on special teams his Freshman year. Bring in Taylor and Fenelus* as well on coverage. For punt protection, have a two man formation with Zeitler and Konz. Special Teams are just too important to trust to inferior players.

* He was playing some special teams yesterday. Keep it up.

[ForkEmBucky]

Originally Posted by Smart

I honestly think it is to the point where we should put some first teamers on special teams. Borland kicked ass on special teams his Freshman year. Bring in Taylor and Fenelus* as well on coverage. For punt protection, have a two man formation with Zeitler and Konz. Special Teams are just too important to trust to inferior players.

* He was playing some special teams yesterday. Keep it up.

Ya I saw Fenelus out there, but he's a busy boy. So are Taylor and Borland. But I agree, we can't keep giving up incredibly good field position like that.

I think they've gotta give younger guys a chance. Adam Hampton, #25, apparently a senior who doesn't play much.... He's the one that made that nice stop on the last punt. He's going to play FIRED UP out there. He doesn't HAVE anything else. Let him make his contribution.

I keep my eyes glued, hoping to catch body language on the sideline. The way one of the coaches went up to Bielima after Hampton made that hit makes me think that for some reason the older walkons and the younger players aren't getting their chances on special teams like Borland did. It happens sometimes when coaches "focus" on special teams because they'll look for starters who can handle the double duty first. This is according to my Dad's friend who has been in coaching a long long time.

We need some speed out there, too. Why not let guys like Gordon take a shot at it?

[ForkEmBucky]

Also, the punt formation should be easy. There's a reason it's done a certain way in the pros and you don't see it change.

You load up the line and fan it out so that it's pretty much impossible to get around the edge. Then you stick Wozniak or Ewing back there to wipe out anybody who gets through. Punt away. And ya, you've gotta use some starting OLs out there.

I just don't see what the hell the benefit of this 3 or 4 man shield in the back is. All it really does is let a load of guys shoot through the line. It's dangerous. A high snap is all it takes to put Nortmann in a shitty situation.

[anythingispossible]

Originally Posted by ForkEmBucky

One thing I love about sports is seeing guys change, and teammates find each other in the middle of a shitty season. This isn't a shitty season, but it still could be. The way I see it, their backs are against the wall. Every down, no matter what the score is, they should be playing to prove something. It's time for the turning point in the season, like the Minnesota game last year. The offensive line needs to learn to play in the middle of the game. The special teamers need to prove they belong on the team. The defensive line needs to find it in their guts to play well above what appears to be their level.

Already thinking about the Vikings and gophers?

[chucksker]

[ForkEmBucky]

Originally Posted by anythingispossible

Already thinking about the Vikings and gophers?

I hate how your goofers always pick one game every year to actually play with a little authority....and how it usually ends up being us. Apparently Iowa has taken up that duty, though. I'm hoping the road curse ends with a 70 point margin over the Gophers at TCF.

[johnnytata]

i am more than a little bit bitter about this season.

i fuckin hate the ranking system.

i fuckin hate that we can lose two games on hail mary plays (busted coverages, i know) and the whole season essentially now amounts to nothing in the eyes of the "voters."

i fuckin hate the sec and was completely underwhelmed by lsu/alabama, supposedly the top two teams in the country. i could care less if both defenses are really good, because i also saw 3 qbs who can't throw the ball to an open player for shit, while the team i root for has a qb head and shoulders better. neither team could score ONE FUCKIN TOUCHDOWN? and people today actually speculating that bama should only drop a couple spots? fuck you. the badgers dropped NINE after a disputed hail mary on the road.

i fuckin hate a system that makes it so i couldn't fuckin care less about what happens anywhere else in the country because my team no longer has a shot.

i fuckin hate that a dominating 50 point win means nothing to me, when i should feel good for the players for bouncing back, showing resiliency, and growing from these experiences.


there's a lot that i fuckin hate about college football right now, overlying a lot of hate that i already had for a fraudulent system that picks it's best by votes cast by people who don't even watch every game, that tells undefeated teams "you don't get to have a chance because we don't respect you enough," that makes a shit ton of money and refuses to change because a few greedy sons of bitches don't wanna share that money, and then claims it's all about the students.


it kills me because i knew these guys. i met these players many times on campus when i went to school. big time players and no name players. i lived on the same dorm floors, went to the same parties, had classes with them. they're by and large good guys. and they don't deserve for people to not give a shit because of two flukey fuckin plays.

sorry for the rant, but this has been pent up for a while, and thanks for listening if you made it this far.

[ForkEmBucky]

I hear ya Johnny. There's a lot wrong with the whole thing. Until everyone from high-school up is forced to play by the same rules academically, it's almost pointless. It's kind of impressive what Stanford and Northwestern are able to do, honestly.

There will always be something kind of sketchy about CFB until major changes are made. It's about $, more so now than ever. The "program" has become more important than integrity and doing the right thing, as PSU has demonstrated; the last group of leadership that any of us would have expected.

One positive. I think 7 teams have a legit chance, still, to win the conference. 8 will fight to stay bowl eligible. We've built a conference that is fun again, and we can build on that by getting some exciting new coaches back into the league, starting with tOSU, and likely continuing with PSU. Our top two teams won't be off the field for so long this time, and hopefully that will count for something.

I too am disappointed with the season in a way. I think Bielema got away from the 1-0 concept, and I think he made a mistake in not letting his guys go after revenge at MSU. The punt formation is retarded. I am not going to let up on that, and I may call in to radio shows until he gets the picture. It has no benefit, and to be perfectly honest, that ONE fucking decision probably cost him two games and a shot at the big dance.

But Russel is there. He's been incredible to see. Ball is a badass. Taylor and Borland are healthy and flying around. Toon is still dinged up and not playing at full speed, but he and Abbredaris have put on a show at times. I'm still loving it.

[ForkEmBucky]

Actually I think 10 teams still have a chance to either stay bowl eligible or become bowl eligible.

[johnnytata]

yeah, i agree. i still loved watching the badgers pummel purdue.

i guess i just really feel the sting when i watch this team, even now, after two losses, and still believe they are a good enough team to win it all, especially after watching that snorefest on saturday night, but they will never get that shot, because there are really only a handful of teams that ever do, and it seems like it's the same teams every year, because the voters and the media fall in love with them and never fall out of love. it took almost 15 years for notre dame to become irrelevant in the polls, and even now they aren't totally irrelevant. somehow, florida state was near the top of the preseason polls. for what? pick your sec team dujour for #1 then sprinkle in 3-4 more in the top 10. this year the badgers had a real, legitimate shot.

i guess i am upset that they completely shit the bed twice against inferior opponents, and sure they can learn from their mistakes and get better, but unlike ALL other sports, the "learning from their mistakes" is only for posterity's sake and won't amount to much else.

i feel bad for the players because i know they genuinely believed they had a shot. now, no matter what happens, they have to hope for everyone else to lose 2 and maybe even 3 games, and even then it would be a long shot given the love fest for the sec.

then i think about teams that will never have a shot like boise, and i feel kind of bad for those players and fans because they're not part of the "in" crowd.

argh here i go ranting again.

[ForkEmBucky]

Yup. The whole thing has to change. Playoffs or what's the point of crowning a champ. Teams evolve as a season goes on.

[johnnytata]

i wonder what would happen if if i went the sec boards and told them their top 2 teams look like ass.

granted their defenses are good, i will give them credit for that, but let's not get fooled into thinking these are the greatest defenses of all time. those looked like less than mediocre offenses against above average defenses.

wonder why voters can't see that. most years i agree the sec is pretty damn close to as good as advertised. but this year, it really doesn't seem like it. i really hope the sec gets a reality check this year, and maybe voters can see that there are other good teams in the country, i just hate rooting for another team to do it besides the badgers.

[johnnytata]

looks like the badgers chances of having another shot at michigan state got a lot better today

[Smart]

Originally Posted by johnnytata

looks like the badgers chances of having another shot at michigan state got a lot better today

Yep, we control our destiny. I saw the end of the OSU-Purdue game at TCF Bank Stadium. Let's just say that we were pretty excited.

[ForkEmBucky]

Johnny. I am kind of with you on the SEC. It just makes our two losses sting more, though. I think the Badgers are similar to the Packers. Impossible to shut down the offense entirely, QBs playing at the top of their league of football, some playmakers on defense but a lot of problems as well especially up front...

But the Badgers special teams are horrific. Absolutely horrific. I still believe that Bielema's horrible decision as the "special teams" coach cost them two games, and a chance to stay in the conversation. If the Gophers were a better team, that kick return at the start of the 2nd half would have been very, very dangerous.

[Smart]

Yep. We might quite literally have the worst speecial teams coverage and protection in America. I'd say its something to be concerned about, but we're passed that. They've cost this team two wins, and most likely an undefeated season.

[Driaz]

Originally Posted by Smart

Yep. We might quite literally have the worst speecial teams coverage and protection in America. I'd say its something to be concerned about, but we're passed that. They've cost this team two wins, and most likely an undefeated season.

Care to expand upon this point?