First off let me say that my "mountaineer Cool-aid drinking cred" is well established. I have for the long term been an eternal Mountaineer optimist, however I have been motivated by our coach to be responsive to his latest radio show. Coach stew did for at least the 11th time this year pointed out that Owen Schmitt is not on our team. I don't think that anyone in the Mountaineer Nation is ignorant of this fact. I find it insulting to both the fans and the team that Stew continually tells us who is not on the team. Those types of comments aren't made by Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, or any other "top tier" program's coach. You play with the hand you are dealt. And frankly the cards WVU had to play with this year were none too shabby. We only have the best dual threat QB in the College football history. The supporting cast can play too. So what happened? I have heard nothing but excuses. Another thing I have heard all season is that we have a "new staff," well Coach Stew the truth is that you were hired to maintain a level of consistency from the previous Coach. The only bright spot this year from a coaching perspective (on the field) is the part headed up by the only two other holdovers on defense. Otherwise there has been nothing but underachievement and excuses. Finally, the thing that forced me to turn off my radio last night was the 5 minute love fest that occurred as Coach Stew praised over and over the administration. I don't have a problem with getting along with your bosses but this yes man stuff is infuriating when you consider that building a program requires constant pressure from the coach on the administration. So what does this all mean? I can't say at this time but it is pretty discouraging. I want to see it on the field and I want to hear accountability off the field. So far I have seen nor heard neither. Truth is sometimes hard to take and I have resisted all year the temptation to lose faith but I must admit that challenge is becoming harder and harder to bare. The reality is that this season to date is a disappointment. We have not accomplished the goals that I heard at the outset. I feel the worst for the Seniors who did come into this season with such high hopes. It is a shame to send them off this way. As always I will be at Mylon Puskar Stadium ready to cheer the Eers on to victory this weekend.
WHITE OUT IS ON TAP SO PLEASE COME TO STADIUM WITH WHITE CLOTHING OR WHITE TOWEL
DaGeek
1 comment:
I can't speak from first hand knowledge 'cause I don't listen to the weekly radio show. But I agree that it is extremely insulting to keep bringing up the past. Owen Schmitt was not born a great fullback. That's why he transferred here from nowhere. He worked his ass off and learned how to become what he's become. And the fact that we don't have any competent fullbacks (in apparently Stewart's opinion) is a statement about Stewart's failure, not the team's. There are 80 some scholarship players on that team. Can't he teach someone to play fullback? Isn't that his job?
It's also disappointing to hear about Stewart's unconditional praise for the administration. Though I wouldn't want to listen to our coaches slamming the administration, I would understand it if they did. We all know our administration isn't the easiest to deal with. This is an area that Huggins handles fantastically. He states his frustrations in a backwards method that lets everyone realize what he is up against, without coming off negative toward the AD or university. (e.g. practice facility)
Don't you feel a lot better after listening to Huggins after a Mountaineer Basketball loss. After losing a terribly played game (2nd half) against Kentucky, Huggins intelligently spoke about how his team didn't shoot well and didn't respond well in a tough situation. Then he said it was his job to fix it and he will. If I heard Stewart say that, I'd probably laugh.
I must say, I do believe Stewart and his staff deserve more time to prove they can become a stronger cohesive unit. Maybe he will fail, and he has greatly underachieved this season, but he and his staff deserve a little bit of a learning curve. I too find it difficult to maintain that point of view for the same reasons though Geek. If I heard more intelligent commentary coming from Stewart, I'd have a little more faith in giving him more time.
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