.....2) that there was very, very little positive about our performance this year. Big stats against EMU, redhawk, UMass. That's meaningful, that gets it...really? Really?
Yes, it's meaningful, but not the way you take it. You take it when someone says that Ohio played well in those games to mean that "playing well in those games was enough". Actually, playing well in those games was significant in exactly the opposite direction. Playing well against EMU, NTSU, and Marshall shows that this was not a pathetic, talentless team that had no hope of beating big, bad, BG and Buffalo. To the contrary, playing well in those games shows that this team did have talent, and that they could have played better in those games. Why they didn't play better is something that must be resolved and fixed. No one disagrees about that. It isn't just you, everyone wants to know the answer to that - coaches, players, administration, and fans.
..I'm done trying to convince anyone. I'll remain astounded by the ability of so many to watch games and miss the clear message, to have missed how poorly we performed at most of the key moments.
That's just it, Monroe. We all see that Ohio did not play well. There is no need to convince us of the obvious. The question is, what should we do now?
.... But the question is what to do about it. What does referencing 123-16, ad infinitum, accomplish? It's as though we all must lace all our posts with some rant in order to prove that we too do not like the losses to BG, Buffalo and CMU, either.
It seems to me, that's a given. There's nothing to be gained from rehashing what we all know was disappointment. It's time to turn the page and see what improvements are in store.
Exactly, Robert. That's the question. What do we do now?
Do we?
1. Revel in self-pity
2. Rant repeatedly
3. Fire the coach
4. Try to understand the problem
5. Look for possible other solutions
6. Expect the coaches to solve the problem
7. Expect the players to solve the problem
8. Expect the administration to solve the problem
9. Hope the problem goes away on its own
10. Forget about it, and think about basketball
11. Think about next year
12. Something else
My personal opinion is that the "problem" we saw is not the "problem" at all, but a symptom. What the underlying problem actually was, I know I personally have no way of knowing with any certainty, but it seems clear that there was some kind of underlying issue that significantly damaged the teamwork, and the internal chemistry of this team. One example of what the underlying problem could be is a coach that isn't performing, and who has lost the confidence of his players. Another example is a player, or group of players, stirring dis-content. Yet another possible problem is a group of players reading their own press releases and believing them, and not working hard anymore. The solution for each of these would be very different, but all might show up with the same symptom - a team that isn't performing to its ability and which appears to give up. In the end, since I don't think I can know exactly what the problem was, I have concluded that I will not be the one who finds a solution.
That leaves me with #6-8, and #11. I think the administration should be taking this up with the coaches, and the coaches should be taking it up with the players, and the players should be taking it up with each other. I do think that if teams that give up become a recurring problem, that is a sure sign that a coaching change is needed. On the other hand, having watched Ohio football for a number of other years, I don't remember that ever being a problem before, so I end up believing it is a problem that can and will be solved.