IMO…The vast majority of Razorback Fans are indifferent or nearing indifference. I will stay at the embarrassed level for now. Embarrassed if much better than indifference. If we quit on this team our recruiting efforts in future classes will not be as good as they could be. Heard from trusted source we gave away 20K tickets for the first game. Attendance was good for that game and announced at 61K. I agree with that number. After Ole Miss actual attendance for Colorado State was more like 45K to me.Announced at 60K…come on administration…Jeff Long is Long gone. Thought crowd was decent for the San Jose State game.
These are fair questions, IMO, that fall on the coaches:
You make note , and everyone agrees, that we have a young team. So my question is this: Have you ever coached a young team? if you have, you did not demonstrate the ability to keep the youngsters off the roller coaster ride young teams always have. Like the win was monumental. Happy after the Colorado State win. Absolutely. Dancing sent the wrong message. Fact: Colorado State was a huge win in the eyes of the players. Tell the players it was a good win. Enjoy it for one day. Get to your treatments and be ready to take criticism for all the blown coverages and poor techniques that allowed the score to be tied at the end of 3 quarters. That mistake is a rookie coaching mistake any way you look at it. You do not get a team mentally ready to play on game day. That approach starts right after the end of the Colorado State. We must improve to attain our team goals. Come to work on monday and bring your lunch pale because we have work to do. Agree or Disagree?
Playing hard, at this level, is a given. Playing hard is where you start. Playing smart is a horse of a different color. Agree or Disagree?
Are we teaching coverages on defense, are we developing new plays to get a 4th and one somewhere outside the tackles, getting a push on the offensive line even if we have to go to zone blocking and get more double teams ( a 5 or 6 yard gain is really good for our efforts at running the ball), do we work on creating well timed misdirection in order to hold the linebackers, making adjustments on defense and not give up the same slant routes the entire game. Agree or Disagree?
Having presence as a head coach that gives the players (and fans) confidence in the road you are taking to right this ship. I do not see the quiet confidence. Agree or Disagree?
Why are we giving up so many chunk plays? I personally think the defense looks confused in pre snap. Agree or Disagree?
We all know Hunter Yurachek did not hire Chad Morris and at times CM looks like a deer in the headlights. Agree or Disagree?
I am not attacking our coach, but these questions and concerns are real in my mind and in the mind of many.
Adding a couple of other things. We had a linebacker mouth off days before the game they wanted to hold SJSU to zero yards on the ground and beat them by 70. Allowing that to happen is poor leadership. We are trying to be patient coach, so that should not have happened and should never happen again. Agree or Disagree?
Grant Morgan knew better or at least I hope that he did. Embarrassing to lay an egg after talking like that. You would think he’d know by now to speak softly and carry a big stick.
Things like this are why Alabama players don’t talk with the press and are required to stay off social media.
I will say if football program health was judged by social media bravado our team would be judged to be very competitive.
I agree with all of you, but when are we going to start criticizing the tackles on defense who had an incredible 2 tackles between the four of them. And this includes Sosa Agim who hasn’t done anything all season long. There were no tackles for loss and no hurries by the QB as a result of the defensive tackles. Don’t put all the blame on the defensive secondary when the defensive line allows the QB to look around until he finds a receiver open. Between the line and the linebackers there was never any pressure and the linebackers were slow to cover, as well as to bring down any of the runners until they had gained too much yardage. We had one sack against a team that lost easily to Tulsa at home. Agim has always been the supposed big time Pro and I haven’t seen any of that.
The coaches should be held accountable for this dismal performance. I’m not sure if our defense will ever be prepared to defend against the modern day offenses. We very seldom blitz and when we do the secondary and the linebackers never cut off the obvious quick pass to the hot man.
We can’t give up but it’s time for the coaches and players to step up to the plate and perform, at least at a heart level. If we’re not talented then we have to be smarter, tougher and play our guts out!
I don’t really consider last season a breakout year for Agim. He had some good games, like the ones against Tulsa and LSU, but was kind of quiet in a lot of games.
I think he projects as a tackle in the NFL. A lot of times in draft years you see coaches position a player where he is going to play professionally. It’s like Heston Kjerstad practicing first base this fall for the baseball team. That is probably a more likely position for him in the pros next summer than either of the corner outfield spots.
So he was picked preseason all-sec 3rd team and on the Bednarik watch list for his projected NFL position or what he accomplished last year?
"Agim, a native of Texarkana, Arkansas, put together a strong junior campaign for the Razorbacks, racking up 45 total tackles, 16 unassisted, over 12 starts in 2018. He led the team in tackles for loss last year with 10, making him the first Arkansas defender to reach double-digit TFLs since Deatrich Wise Jr. in 2015.
Nearly half of his tackles for loss were sacks (4.5), as he’ll enter the season as Arkansas’ active career leader in both categories. Agim also forced a team-best three fumbles in 2018, including two at Colorado State on Sept. 8 to make him the only Razorback on the roster to force multiple fumbles in two separate games heading into the 2019 campaign."
Sosa is being double teamed every play. And schemed against. Sosa’s attributes are agility and quickness for a guy his size…not immense strength to get a push against two dudes. Some studs do have that. I don’t think Sosa does. Doesn’t mean Sosa wouldn’t be effective on a line with other good players that also demanded attention.
I still think DE has been a glaring weakness nearly every game thus far. Whether he was there full time or half time last year, he made enough of an impression to garner preseason mentions for this season. So why move him permanently when you’re getting killed at that position now? And I guarantee you if he was getting double teamed coming off the edge, the line would be more affective. It’s easy to double team him inside when you know no one on the outside is a threat. And I won’t get started on those slow, safety size linebackers we have.
After watching the replay you are exactly right. He is doubled every play and SJS wisely ignored our senior defensive end most of the night. Picked him up late in the play because they could.
It’s a testament to Agim that he’s getting doubled however it’s a black eye on the rest of the line or coaches that they can’t take advantage of him being doubled.
Move him to defense end, then let them the opposing team run at the new tackle who will not take a double team to handle. SA is in the right spot but lacks other help to take double teams off him.