From our postgamer interviews after Pitt.....

http://www.ricefootball.net

Austin Walter

“What it looks like to everybody else, is that it’ll be coaching, but honestly, it’s not.... It’s us not doing what we’re coached to do. It’s from procedure penalties, it’s from holding,”

“We’ve got to get to the point where we’re a hundred per cent bought in, where we’re holding ourselves accountable to one another and where we do what the coaches tell us to do. It’s no secret formula; it’s just, we’ve got to do what we’re being coached to do.”

J. T. Ibe

"I don’t think Coach put us in a bad situation, not one time this game. But I do think we had to win some of the one-on-ones that we just didn’t win.”
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Also feeled compelled to mention, not really in passing, that there was nothing even remotely resembling local coverage of this game, other than Elder and myself. The point being not at all looking for a pat on the back; rather, it's a statement of dismay that the local daily has stopped even bothering paying a local "stringer" a hundred bucks to do some kind of game writeup. They stopped sending the Rice beat writer to all but an occasional road football games 3 or 4 years ago, but typically they'd at least hire a 'stringer'....I got in the habit of trying to espy the stringer in the press box before kickoff, see if he/she wanted info on who were the Rice players to watch, offensive and defensive tendencies, etc. Not, now even that. They run the same AP wire story that every other newspaper in the country gets as well....

How the mighty have fallen.....

(10-01-2017 10:28 PM)Ricefootballnet Wrote:  From our postgamer interviews after Pitt.....
http://www.ricefootball.net
Austin Walter
“What it looks like to everybody else, is that it’ll be coaching, but honestly, it’s not.... It’s us not doing what we’re coached to do. It’s from procedure penalties, it’s from holding,”
“We’ve got to get to the point where we’re a hundred per cent bought in, where we’re holding ourselves accountable to one another and where we do what the coaches tell us to do. It’s no secret formula; it’s just, we’ve got to do what we’re being coached to do.”

I think he's spot on. But it's the job of coaches to get players to do what they are coached to do during the game. If you are coaching them to do A, but in the game they are doing B, then there's something wrong with your coaching. Change what you are trying to do, change how you teach it, change personnel, change culture and attitudes--but change something.

Yeah, it's pretty depressing. The players *are* losing nearly all 1-on-1's and I'm sure they're interpreting it as their own fault. Those individual 1-1 losses are of course the *proximate* reason we lose games. But the fundamental reasons have nothing to do with the players' shortcomings. Rather, it's 1. lack of institutional support, 2. lack of coaching intensity/ability, etc.

(10-01-2017 10:43 PM)Bailiff_Lingo_Bingo Wrote:  Yeah, it's pretty depressing. The players *are* losing nearly all 1-on-1's and I'm sure they're interpreting it as their own fault. Those individual 1-1 losses are of course the *proximate* reason we lose games. But the fundamental reasons have nothing to do with the players' shortcomings. Rather, it's 1. lack of institutional support, 2. lack of coaching intensity/ability, etc.

Stop with the lack of institutional support excuse. While it may very well be true in part, it is NOT the reason we get embarrassed on the field week in and week out. And though I admire the players for taking the blame and saying they need to be more accountable, so too do the coaches. It is the coaches that are putting the players in the at position. It is the coaches who are responsible for teaching technique, for developing game plans and developing schemes; not the players.

Coaches recruited the players and believed they were the ones who could make plays or they would not be on scholarship.

Three points that stick out to me..

a) What has been noticeable this season even more than others is how we are being out-athleted and losing so many of the 1:1 match-ups compared to prior years in the DB era. The DB heyday was 2012-14 where Rice went 25-15 and had announced and begun construction on the EZF. The kids who got recruited off-the-back of those winning seasons and future investment in facilities are now upperclassman. I think we all agree they are good, hard working kids but not kids who are difference makers between the lines when compared to prior years in the DB era. We will likely have another year with zero NFL kids. Something happened and talent fell off despite having many positives to sell between 2012-14.

b) The importance of QB play. We have seen > 10 QB's start in the DB era and two have the majority of his wins. Game manager types like Stehling, Tyner, etc. won't work for any G5 program to be successful...even for running/flexbone teams. We are seeing that again this year. Appears Smalls is going to keep his redshirt and we will hope the Glaesman potential > Glaesman actuals to date.

c) Injuries. Yes everyone has them but we are not deep (see points a and b above) and they have a disproportionate impact at Rice. True every year but seems exacerbated this year. Really getting exposed at all positions where they are present.

I think the asst. coaches are an upgrade (especially recognizing pay challenges) and schemes are an upgrade from prior years...but inability to overcome the three things above = another losing season and bad football team.

As a non-Rice friend of mine texted me over-the-weekend when sampling the Pitt game against other game choices, 'Rice is unwatchable'

What can you expect when 90% of your players are 2 star or less and did not receive
any scholarships accept from Rice and lower level colleges. Maybe that is telling us something. Also, why is Lynch still here and why did we hire a quarterback nobody hear of? I guess that is all we could get since Bailiff is on his way out.

(10-02-2017 04:59 AM)owl40 Wrote:  Coaches recruited the players and believed they were the ones who could make plays or they would not be on scholarship.

Three points that stick out to me..

a) What has been noticeable this season even more than others is how we are being out-athleted and losing so many of the 1:1 match-ups compared to prior years in the DB era. The DB heyday was 2012-14 where Rice went 25-15 and had announced and begun construction on the EZF. The kids who got recruited off-the-back of those winning seasons and future investment in facilities are now upperclassman. I think we all agree they are good, hard working kids but not kids who are difference makers between the lines when compared to prior years in the DB era. We will likely have another year with zero NFL kids. Something happened and talent fell off despite having many positives to sell between 2012-14.

b) The importance of QB play. We have seen > 10 QB's start in the DB era and two have the majority of his wins. Game manager types like Stehling, Tyner, etc. won't work for any G5 program to be successful...even for running/flexbone teams. We are seeing that again this year. Appears Smalls is going to keep his redshirt and we will hope the Glaesman potential > Glaesman actuals to date.

c) Injuries. Yes everyone has them but we are not deep (see points a and b above) and they have a disproportionate impact at Rice. True every year but seems exacerbated this year. Really getting exposed at all positions where they are present.

I think the asst. coaches are an upgrade (especially recognizing pay challenges) and schemes are an upgrade from prior years...but inability to overcome the three things above = another losing season and bad football team.

As a non-Rice friend of mine texted me over-the-weekend when sampling the Pitt game against other game choices, 'Rice is unwatchable'