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what grade would you give Lovie

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Judge Judy

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #15 on: December 15, 2020, 09:59:38 AM »
Quote from: Breal31 on December 15, 2020, 09:00:25 AM
Some people swear that Fleck was a done deal, contingent upon Lovie saying no. He’s done nice things there but ...he’s annoying as fuck too

Yeah Fleck is a hard no from me. I’d shoot myself having to deal with that bullshit all the time. I don’t think he’s all that good either honestly.

Row row row your boat....
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ThePAMan

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #16 on: December 15, 2020, 10:04:06 AM »
Quote from: Breal31 on December 15, 2020, 09:13:14 AM
People couldn’t let their disdain of Beckman/Cubit go enough to see that the roster Lovie inherited was a bowl caliber team. Whatever is left of this team is likely going to be brutal

It was an older team and Lovie burned it down to start younger guys.

If the new guy can get people to come back (and add some transfers?), that could make things interesting. At least for one year. Does not seem to be much to work with on the roster after that...
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Custard

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #17 on: December 15, 2020, 10:05:15 AM »
Luke Ford just isn’t very good. At least not as good as Barker.

There were a lot of transfers and turmoil after the Beckman/Cubit fiasco. That team that took the field 6 months after Lovie was hired probably could have been better results-wise but not sure they were a bowl team even if Knute Rockne came back from the dead to coach them.

Illinois doesn’t have the extreme negative aura it had around it that it had back then and facilities have been dramatically improved.

Fleck hadn’t even had his breakthrough season at WMU yet when Lovie was hired. It was about 6 months later when Fleck and WMU blew our doors off at home and went on to a 13-1 record that really crystallized everything. Had we hired Fleck before that breakthrough season it would have been seen as a very risky and brazen hire although I’m sure it would have turned out much better than Lovie did. I don’t recall any other schools at Illinois’ level or above pursuing Fleck in late 2015 or 2016, either.

Bernstein talking about Illini football now
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Somewhere in Mn

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #18 on: December 15, 2020, 10:10:37 AM »
Quote from: Breal31 on December 15, 2020, 08:50:14 AM
I blame Lovie for a lot....but Luke Ford appears likely to be what they call a Tarzan and Jane player who looks one way in practice and another in a game.

It was a giant red flag when he decided to leave the pinnacle of football and come play for Lovie Smith at Illinois. Horrific decision
It wasn't fair of me to pick on Ford, but the "skill" players on offense left a bit to be desired. Peters finished at 51% with a 112 rating, compared to 55% and 128 last year. With a returning Bhebhe, an improved Barker, a 4 star Miami Fla transfer in Hightower and 4 star Ford at TE; I expected to see more. Chase Brown was a surprise .......
But, Rod Smith looked as tho he got in the way, even tho he had a returning offensive line.
The Smith brothers had the offense and the defense to coach. They're probably both still scratching their heads over what in tarnation happened in the 1st quarter of the xxxx game.
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Custard

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #19 on: December 15, 2020, 10:49:31 AM »
Had Peters been able to play against Rutgers and Purdue his stats probably would have looked a lot better. I don’t think Rod is a great play caller but is there anyone in the receiving corps that even has an outside chance of sniffing the NFL?

Bhebe is a lot like Cockburn, he does great when he’s just bigger and stronger than the other guy but he isn’t overly skilled as a route runner and he’s not fast enough to get much separation. We really could have used Dre Brown back this year although Chase had some nice moments here and there.

This team looks and performs like a team constructed of mediocre to bad HS recruiting classes and P5 transfers who couldn’t make it at better programs, which is exactly what it is. 
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dwc13

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #20 on: December 15, 2020, 11:37:19 AM »
Quote from: Breal31 on December 15, 2020, 08:52:26 AM
Different way to look at that..

A bizarre Rutgers QB meltdown and Nebraska starting Blake Martinez instead of Mcaffrey away from winning 1 game.

The way WI has looked over the just 3 weeks versus that opener against Lovie is crazy


Most of you know I follow Ohio State and Nebraska (in football) much more than Illinois. Adrian Martinez (Nebraska's 3rd year starting QB) was in a big funk early in the season and that's why he was benched for the Illinois game. To his credit, Martinez continued to work hard and maintained a positive attitude, so I'm rooting for him to recapture that 1st year magic. He did play better the last couple of games. At this point, Luke McCaffrey doesn't have the arm strength to play QB. He's a fantastic athlete (think poor man's Braxton Miller), but opposing defenses should stack 9 in the box and dare him to throw when he's the QB.

Nebraska is a mess right now, and really has been for a while. Lovie Smith isn't the only coach who couldn't put together a decent group of assistants. IMO, that's the biggest issue at Nebraska right now; well, that and really poor play calling at inopportune times. Frost took all of his assistants from UCF -- none of which had meaningful (if any) experience coaching or recruiting in the B1G Ten. Big mistake. Player development and accountability is lacking. Sound familiar? Thus, it's now a battle between the Huskers and Wolverines to see which fanbase is more apoplectic over the (mis)fortunes of their football team. Michigan really has no excuse, given it's proximity to talented recruiting areas. Nebraska, however, is located in the midst of a recruiting wasteland.

« Last Edit: December 15, 2020, 11:49:18 AM by dwc13 »
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Somewhere in Mn

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #21 on: December 15, 2020, 12:10:43 PM »
Quote from: Custard on December 15, 2020, 10:49:31 AM
Had Peters been able to play against Rutgers and Purdue his stats probably would have looked a lot better. I don’t think Rod is a great play caller but is there anyone in the receiving corps that even has an outside chance of sniffing the NFL?

Bhebe is a lot like Cockburn, he does great when he’s just bigger and stronger than the other guy but he isn’t overly skilled as a route runner and he’s not fast enough to get much separation. We really could have used Dre Brown back this year although Chase had some nice moments here and there.

This team looks and performs like a team constructed of mediocre to bad HS recruiting classes and P5 transfers who couldn’t make it at better programs, which is exactly what it is. 
Our 4 star qb, two 4 star wrs, and 4 star te are playing behind an experienced ol against a lot of players who will never think about the NFL. 
I try not to get my Maserati over 30mph. Saves gas.
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Chickengeorge

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #22 on: December 15, 2020, 12:19:06 PM »
Quote from: Mn on December 15, 2020, 12:10:43 PM
Our 4 star qb, two 4 star wrs, and 4 star te are playing behind an experienced ol against a lot of players who will never think about the NFL. 
I try not to get my Maserati over 30mph. Saves gas.

My Maserati does 185.
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Somewhere in Mn

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2020, 01:19:46 PM »
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illinicalvin

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #24 on: December 15, 2020, 06:42:21 PM »
Quote from: Custard on December 15, 2020, 10:05:15 AM
Fleck hadn’t even had his breakthrough season at WMU yet when Lovie was hired. It was about 6 months later when Fleck and WMU blew our doors off at home and went on to a 13-1 record that really crystallized everything. Had we hired Fleck before that breakthrough season it would have been seen as a very risky and brazen hire
His breakthrough was 2014. At the time of our vacancy, he had back to back 8-5 seasons, major upswing in recruiting (top ranked classes for the MAC 3 years in a row), former NFL player, Illinois native.

There'd be nothing weird about hiring that candidate. Short of taking a flier on Les Miles or Mike Leach I am not sure what people could realistically expect otherwise. Probably a B+ hire in the national press and one many of us were calling for in real time.
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dwc13

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #25 on: December 15, 2020, 07:11:40 PM »
Quote from: illinicalvin on December 15, 2020, 06:42:21 PM
His breakthrough was 2014. At the time of our vacancy, he had back to back 8-5 seasons, major upswing in recruiting (top ranked classes for the MAC 3 years in a row), former NFL player, Illinois native.

There'd be nothing weird about hiring that candidate. Short of taking a flier on Les Miles or Mike Leach I am not sure what people could realistically expect otherwise. Probably a B+ hire in the national press and one many of us were calling for in real time.

A program like Illinois has to roll the dice and hopefully get ahead of the curve when making a coaching hire. It pains me to say this, but Illinois probably won't win a "bidding war" for someone already perceived to be a hot coaching prospect.
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Somewhere in Mn

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #26 on: December 15, 2020, 07:13:06 PM »
Fleck is doing a good job here. I'd rather have him here than in C-U.
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dwc13

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #27 on: December 15, 2020, 07:22:02 PM »
Quote from: Mn on December 15, 2020, 07:13:06 PM
Fleck is doing a good job here. I'd rather have him here than in C-U.

I watched the Minnesota-Nebraska game last weekend. The Gophers were down @30 players yet were determined to play. Despite being 10.5 point underdogs, Minnesota  found a way to win a road game. Much credit to their program.
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Custard

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #28 on: December 15, 2020, 08:57:47 PM »
Quote from: illinicalvin on December 15, 2020, 06:42:21 PM
His breakthrough was 2014. At the time of our vacancy, he had back to back 8-5 seasons, major upswing in recruiting (top ranked classes for the MAC 3 years in a row), former NFL player, Illinois native.

There'd be nothing weird about hiring that candidate.

It would be unusual if a P5 team hired a guy that posted back to back 8-5 seasons in the MAC, even with high level MAC recruiting. Which might be why no one did.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2020, 09:09:34 AM by Custard »
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Judge Judy

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Re: what grade would you give Lovie
« Reply #29 on: December 15, 2020, 09:00:30 PM »
Quote from: illinicalvin on December 15, 2020, 06:42:21 PM
His breakthrough was 2014. At the time of our vacancy, he had back to back 8-5 seasons, major upswing in recruiting (top ranked classes for the MAC 3 years in a row), former NFL player, Illinois native.

There'd be nothing weird about hiring that candidate. Short of taking a flier on Les Miles or Mike Leach I am not sure what people could realistically expect otherwise. Probably a B+ hire in the national press and one many of us were calling for in real time.

This is very revisionist history. Hindsight is a great thing. C’mon man, you’re better than this.
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